"If our first glimpse of this Batman is of the crazed, bitter, DKR-type… then where do we go from there?"
Simple. You make a redemption story for Batman. Have him learn to regain his faith in his initial ideals again.

I don't think Robin being a girl was because "gay subtext is too icky." Remember, at the time, women weren't that prominent in comics, and having Carrie be Robin helped change that. Besides, let's face it, that Robin works a lot better on a girl than a guy.

But seriously, where the hell was his mom??? I get that his parents are divorced, but you'd think that she'd still show especially since she's overprotective.

True

Don't worry it happens to the best of us :)
I kinda figured that Rudy would grow up to be more adventurous and reckless, and Louise would grow up to be more calm and compassionate considering how different she is now compared to what she was like in the earlier episodes. Old Louise would never have felt sorry for Gene…

I always hoped Rudy would grow up to have a backbone (and be a bit reckless) as consequence of hanging out with Louise.
"I've tasted life, and I'm ready for more." - or something to that affect

You can never have too much Rudy

Anyone else surprised Rudy didn't - I don't know - die in the bounce house? This is a kid who needs an inhaler every 2 hours and has said that he can't sing if he wants to live. Also, where is Rudy's overprotective mom??? I have a feeling that Rudy's life is a lot sadder than we realize. Hopefully, he'll grow up to…