Batman: The Animated Series
Series, 1992, Fox Kids, Set in Gotham City
Batman: The Animated Series is #13 of 28 in release order and #13 of 28 in chronological order in the Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The story
Vowing to avenge the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne devotes his life to wiping out crime in Gotham City as the masked vigilante "Batman".
Batman: The Animated Series recap
In a Gotham City drawn in a dark, art deco style, Bruce Wayne fights crime as Batman, with Alfred at home and Commissioner Gordon at police headquarters. Most episodes stand alone and focus on the villains, many of them given sympathetic origins: Mr. Freeze, trying to save his frozen wife; Two-Face, the district attorney Harvey Dent with a split personality; Clayface, a ruined actor. The Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill, is the main enemy, and the show introduced Harley Quinn, his henchwoman and girlfriend, who later moved into the comics. Robin, Dick Grayson, appears from time to time, and Batgirl joins later. The original run aired on Fox Kids from 1992 to 1995, with a theatrical film, Mask of the Phantasm, in 1993. In 1997 it moved to Kids' WB as The New Batman Adventures, with a sleeker art style: Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing, Tim Drake becomes the new Robin, and Batgirl is a regular.
Batman: The Animated Series ending explained
Batman: The Animated Series has no finale. The original run stopped in 1995, and the direct-to-video film SubZero followed in 1998. The New Batman Adventures ended in January 1999 with a stand-alone episode, and the story carried on in the connected shows that followed: Batman Beyond, set in the future, and Justice League. Return of the Joker, Batman Beyond's film, shows how the Joker was finally stopped years later.
Where to watch Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is streaming on Prime Video and HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 9.0/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Pirates of Dark Water, before Eek! The Cat.
- Chronological order: after The Pirates of Dark Water, before Eek! The Cat.
Cast
- Kevin Conroy as Batman (voice)
- Loren Lester as Robin (voice)
- Mari Devon as Summer Gleeson (voice)
- Robert Costanzo as Detective Bullock / Rocco (voice)
- Bob Hastings as Commissioner Gordon (voice)
- Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred (voice)
- Mark Hamill as Ferris Boyle (voice)
- Richard Moll as Harvey Dent (voice)
- John Vernon as Rupert Thorne (voice)
- Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn (voice)
- Lloyd Bochner as Mayor Hill (voice)
- Brock Peters as Lucius Fox (voice)
Created by Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski.