Quickly, I sat on the couch, cross-legged, as the shows ominous theme began.

Countless hours I spent writingBatman: TASfan fiction my first true creative venture.

I remember fondly putting on my VHS recording of Ive Got Batman in My Basement as a wee one.

He was also the head of the DC animation division until 2013.

Of course, hes a still a vital part of the DC animated universe.

Obviously, its really cool.

Its always gratifying when something youve done gets that much traction.

Sometimes it kind of surprises me.

Like when I go to conventions and see the amount of girls sometimes guys dressed up as Harley.

What do you think it is about Harley Quinn that has made her such a lasting presence?

And in the past, we have definitely explored some of the darker edges of her story.

She was kind of in an on-going abusive relationship with the Joker.

Shes become her own standalone character and definitely not in an abusive relationship with the Joker anymore.

I guess that is somewhat empowering and people can relate to it.

But truthfully, she was a really, really popular character even before all this.

I think part of it is probably, to pat my own back, design.

So that definitely has to be a part of it.

Why did you decide to make him Batman?

It was kind of a happy accident.

When I first started envisioning this series, I came up with a Superman character pretty easily.

In fact, thats how this whole thing started.

The thought of reimagining Superman, basically rebooting Superman from the moment of his origin.

It resets the entire board.

So what do I do with Batman?

I knew right out of the gate I didnt want him to be Bruce Wayne.

So he didnt become Batman.

He didnt have a reason to become Batman.

Whatever became of him, I dont know.

Presumably, he exists in this universe but who and what he is, I dont know.

All I know is that he is not Batman.

That hes dark and spooky-looking, and hes got that badass costume and the bat imagery.

So I always wanted to go all the way with it and actually make him a vampire.

Was there a script and a design and all that?

We never went as far as a design for him.

So I did do a design of her, but that was as far as we got.

We had the idea, but Fox Kids said, No way, dont go there.

Nocturna would have turned Batman into a vampire?!

Yeah, that was the idea.

So anyhow, I never let go of any idea.

I always keep things in my back pocket.

He has only appeared in a handful of episodes in total.

Did you take a look at any Elseworlds stories when creatingGods and Monsters?

I am very familiar with the entire Elseworlds genre.

Some of them are great.Gotham by Gaslight, great idea, great comic.Red Son, great comic.

There are some good ones.

But there are some really bad ones.

Gets pretty silly pretty quick, right?

So I didnt have to.

I was familiar enough with the genre to know there were certain things I didnt want to do.

Because it was out of continuity, so you’re able to do it.

So therefore they did it every single time.

I really wanted to avoid that trope.

Suddenly, weve got this ten-episode web series that will start next year.

You mentioned Bruce Wayne in your universe and whether he exists or not.

Are we going to see alternate versions of some of the supporting characters?

Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Bruce Wayne himself?

We dont really know yet.

The movie is packed with existing DC characters.

Or if we have a news reporter, why not make it Lois Lane?

Would she like this Superman?

Maybe she thinks this Supermans a dick?

That changes their relationship right out of the gate.

So there are a lot of supporting characters from the DC universe being given the weirdGods and Monstersmakeover.

You have done TV shows, and youre doing these animated films.

Have you ever thought about doing a DC live action film?

Well, first they would have to offer it to me.

That has never happened.

I find that hard to believe.

I have never once gotten a call that said we would like you to make a live action whatever.

If they did, I would definitely think about it.

I have never pursued it.

And if there was a live action project, would it be Batman?

[Laughs] Sure.

So my theoretical Batman movie might fall somewhere in between there.

Better thanBatman and Robinand maybe not as good asThe Dark Knight.

Well, Ill look forward to it if it ever happens.

You and me both.

You did really wonderful work with some of Jack KirbysFourth Worldconcepts inSuperman: The Animated Series.

It has come up in discussion several times.

Or aFourth Worldanimated movie that wasnt also a Batman or Superman movie.

It just wouldnt happen.

Not the way things are now.

But sure, I love those characters.

I love all of it.

Its some of my favorite Kirby stuff.

What are your thoughts on that?

Well, its unfortunately news to me.

I havent really kept up with the Batman Beyond comics theyve been doing in the last few years.

Not that I dont want to.

Im just really busy and dont have a lot of time to read comics.

I also kind of just dont want to know.

So I just dont want to know.

And again, its not a value judgment.

I just have to think of it as not canon.

To me, theBatman Beyondcomics are not myBatman Beyond.

Its gone beyond that.

If its officially part of the DC universe continuity, great.

More power to them, but its not myBatman Beyond.

Do you have a favorite piece of work that youve done?

Some of the movies are better than others.

Its the one that I actually go back and watch.

I can actually go back and binge watch the entireJustice League Unlimitedin a week.

We were a well-oiled machine at that point.

And the crew that we had was really stellar.

Dwayne McDuffie, I miss him every single day of my life.

[McDuffie passed away in 2011.]

I was so in sync with Duane.

He understood me in a way that no other writer Ive worked with has ever understood me.

And it wasnt just Duane.

Sitting in the writers room with Duane, Stan Berkowitz, Matt Wayne, and James Tucker.

It was just the most fun I have had in this business.

Normally, I kind of hate sitting in the story room breaking episodes, but that was a blast.

Every episode was a joy to work on with that crew.

And it was a wonderful show.

Thank you so much, Bruce.

It was a pleasure talking to you.

John Saavedra is an assistant editor at Den of Geek US.

Chat with himon Twitter!

Or check out all his work athis website.