Summary

• The Mystery Inc. gang from Scooby-Doo are now officially part of Gen Z after more than 50 years since their debut in the 1960s.
• In The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #8, the gang solves the case of a giant attacking a museum, blending '60s aesthetics with 21st-century references.
• Modernizing the Scooby-Doo gang involves keeping their personalities while updating their surroundings to more current settings.

Warning! Spoilers for The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #8 ahead!More than 50 years after their debut, the teens of Scooby-Doo are officially of Gen Z. Created in 1969, the Mystery Inc. gang were a bunch of mystery-solving meddling kids that caught on big and have been a staple of pop culture ever since. Though there have been attempts to modernize and update the team, the original designs and personalities have mostly stayed the same. However, even though they still have '60s aesthetics, they're finally ing the 21st century.

In The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (2024) #8 by Sholly Fisch and Erich Owen, the Scooby gang are out to crack the case of a mysterious giant who's been attacking a novelty museum of giant items. When they see the size of a footprint left behind, Shaggy and Scooby start running scared. They find themselves leaping across the keys of a strange object Shaggy doesn't recognize - a giant typewriter.

Funnily enough, Scooby-Doo DOES know what it is, telling Shaggy it's a “Rancient Rword Rocessor.” Though this adventure seems right out of the 1960s, this gag places the gang firmly as youth of today.

Modernizing Scooby-Doo the Right Way

One could be forgiven for assuming The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries series takes place in the 1960s or 1970s. The kids are paired with Batman, but his colorful appearance suggests he's from the Golden Age, or directly out of the Adam West TV series. In the current Batman canon, the Dark Knight has recently woken up from a coma, mourned his dead lover, and fought a mental battle against the darkest parts of his psyche. Not exactly the stuff one brings to an adventure with a talking dog. This point of reference is interesting because it establishes these stories in the modern day.

This also expresses one of the best ways to modernize the Scooby-Doo gang: just put them in modern times. Versions of the team where they just have access to smartphones are much more fun and enjoyable than some of Warner Bros' recent misses, like the generally rejected Velma. That show has tried to do so much all at once with the characters that they don't even seem like the gang anymore. In this comic, everyone is identifiable - Shaggy and Scooby are scaredy-cats, Batman respects Velma's detective work, and Fred loves traps. Even Daphne knows to get a birds-eye view to find clues.

Stop Meddling With These Meddling Kids

from The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #6 by Amanda Deibert and Dario Brizuela

The Scooby gang have always been meddling kids, and that's why they've stayed relevant for so long. The modernizing changes that work do so because they generally keep the personalities the same, but update the team from the malt shop, to the arcade, to the mall, to wherever young people today hang out. (Roblox?) This series has been a really fun read because there are light, silly stories, but still great character work that respects the best of canon from both franchises. The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries has cracked the case on how to best modernize these classic characters.

The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #8 is available now from DC Comics.