Now it seems like ages ago when I first reported on Batman Live, the arena event that brings Batman and friends to your neighborhood. Most people were definitely put off by this announcement, especially during all the problems the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark was experiencing.

Of course the major difference is that Batman Live: World Arena Tour is NOT a musical. It’s more of a stage show to be enjoyed by the whole family. Still, it’s hard to see Batman on stage in a family friendly experience. Regardless, let’s take a look at the characters being featured, and the costumes.

Okay, so they could all be worse. Keep in mind that they are amped up in order to stand out in the large dark arenas, and to appeal to the kiddies. I’m not going to spend the time here critiquing every costume, because they already did that over at ComicsAlliance. Let’s see if a video is any better. Check out the trailer:

Wow…um, okay. Check out this sneak preview of the show:

I really want to hate on this, and I won’t say I’m excited or hopeful or anything like that. I just can’t do it. This looks like Joel Schumacher decided to take his crappy movies and make a touring Barney show out of them. That being said, I am absolutely going to this.

I am! Why not? This is something I dreamed about as a kid. A chance to see Batman and Robin right before my eyes, taking on his rogues gallery. Sure, now that I’m older it might not look as great, but I can still be excited to see Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in front of me. Regardless of how this whole thing turns out, those three are kind of a big selling point for me. Not to mention pre-pubescent fantasies. Anyways…

There were a few cool things about this production. The giant bat screen was clearly well designed and looks pretty cool. Some of the artwork was… adequate… and provides yet another way of enjoying the story without having to look at real people doing stupid stuff. Just check out this stage set of Gotham City:

That’s pretty cool. So yes, I pretty much guarantee that this is going to suck. But that is not going to stop me from seeing it. Well, unless it skips Canada, which would stop me, but other than that nothing will stop me. Well maybe if the tickets are really expensive, but if they’re not, I’m there.

Speaking of tickets, you can go to batmanlive.com to purchase them. The show starts in the UK before making it’s US debut, so you have a lot of time to mull this one over.

Now let’s start the bashing. What do you think of Batman Live: World Arena Tour? Ridiculous? Awesome? Must See? Vomit Inducing?

Sound off in the comments section below!