Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Mitch Brian, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it originally aired on Fox Kids from September 5, 1992, to September 15, 1995, with a total of 85 episodes. For the final fifteen episodes, the series was given the on-screen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin, which was also used for reruns of earlier episodes. The series became the first in the continuity of the shared DC animated universe, spawning further animated TV series, feature films, comic books and video games with most of the same creative talent.

The series was praised for its thematic complexity, film noir aesthetics, darker tone, artistic presentation, and modernization of its title character's crime-fighting origins. IGN.com listed Batman: The Animated Series as the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of comics, the best comic book television show of all time and the second-best animated series of all time (after The Simpsons). Wizard magazine also ranked it #2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after The Simpsons). TV Guide ranked it the seventh-greatest cartoon of all time. The widespread acclaim led the series to win four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.

## Overview

The series took influence from Tim Burton's live-action films, *Batman* (1989) and *Batman Returns* (1992), and the acclaimed *Superman* theatrical cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the early 1940s. In designing the series, Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated the Burton films' "otherworldly timelessness", incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards, police airships (although no such thing existed, Timm has stated that he found it to fit the show's style) and a "vintage" color scheme with film noir flourishes.

The visual style of the series was based on the artwork of Radomski, and the gothic look of Gotham City was derived from his initial designs. In addition, Radomski issued a standing order to the animation department that all backgrounds be painted using light colors on black paper (as opposed to the industry standard of dark colors on white paper). The distinctive visual combination of "noir" imagery and Art Deco design was dubbed "Dark Deco" by the producers.

The series initially took a variation of music written by Danny Elfman for the Burton films as its theme; later episodes of the series used a new theme with a similar style by Shirley Walker (Walker was occasionally Elfman's conductor for films). The score of the series was influenced by Elfman's work on the Burton films, as well as music of 1940s film noir.

The series is more adult-oriented than many of the previous superhero cartoons. It depicts outright physical violence against antagonists, including realistic firearms (though only one character, Commissioner Gordon, was ever depicted as having been shot, in the episode "I Am the Night"). First-time producers Timm and Radomski reportedly encountered resistance from studio executives, but the success of Burton's first film allowed the embryonic series to survive long enough to produce a pilot episode, "On Leather Wings", which, according to Timm, "got a lot of people off our backs". During the series' production, producer Alan Burnett wrote a silent episode (without dialogue) entitled "Silent Night" to explore more of Batman's sexual life, but this was never produced. Burnett also intended to make an episode featuring a female vampire that would bite Batman to suck his blood, but plans never materialized.

The series is also notable for its supporting cast—numerous known actors provided voices for a variety of recognizable villains, most notably Mark Hamill (previously famous for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original *Star Wars* trilogy) whose prominence as a voice actor was heightened through his "cheerfully deranged" portrayal of the Joker. The role was originally given to Tim Curry, but he developed bronchitis during the initial recording sessions. John Glover, who later voiced the Riddler, also auditioned for the Joker role. Hamill, who found himself to be the biggest fan of the Batman comics among the cast, credited the laughs he had honed on stage in *Amadeus* with landing him the role. The recording sessions, under the supervision of voice director Andrea Romano, were recorded with the actors together in one studio instead of taking separate recordings, as is typical. This method would later be employed for all subsequent series in the DC animated universe. Al Pacino was considered to voice Two-Face in the series, but he declined the offer. Richard Moll was instead cast in the role. Other actors included Ron Perlman as Clayface, Roddy McDowall as the Mad Hatter, David Warner as Ra's al Ghul, Michael York as Count Vertigo, Kate Mulgrew as Red Claw, George Murdock as Boss Biggis and George Dzundza as the Ventriloquist.

One of the series' best-known inventions is the Joker's assistant, Harley Quinn, who became so popular that DC Comics later added her to mainstream Batman comic book continuity. The Penguin underwent change for the series; his appearance was remodeled after the version seen in *Batman Returns*, which was in production simultaneously with the series' first season. New life was also given to lesser-known characters for the series such as the Clock King. In addition, dramatic changes were made to other villains such as Clayface and Mr. Freeze, who was changed from a gimmicky mad scientist to a tragic figure whose "frigid exterior [hid] a doomed love and vindictive fury".

## Characters

The Joker's accomplice Harley Quinn, Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya, the vigilante Lock-Up, former actor Simon Trent, and ninja Kyodai Ken are original creations who became characters in the comics. Older villains that were lesser known from the comics, such as Count Vertigo, the Mirror Man and the Clock King, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality. Other original antagonists were created, such as Roland Daggett, Red Claw, Lloyd Ventrix, the Sewer King, Boss Biggis and Emile Dorian, but to little acclaim, and did not make any appearances outside the series, though Daggett was re-imagined as businessman John Daggett for *The Dark Knight Rises*.

Aside from creating characters that crossed over into the main line of DC Comics, several of the series' reinterpretations were carried over as well. Mr. Freeze was revised in the comics to emulate the series' tragic story, the success of which actually compelled DC to bring the character back after "killing" him off some years earlier. Clayface was revised to be much more similar in appearance to his animated counterpart; and Two-Face's double-sided, black-and-white suit has become a common appearance for the character.

### Bruce Wayne / Batman

At the age of eight, Bruce Wayne, the son of billionaire philanthropists, witnessed the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, during a mugging on the street. The event left him traumatized and mentally scarred for the rest of his life. This left Bruce to be cared for by his family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Over the years, Bruce slowly turned the pain and trauma he sustained into a burning fuel for a lifelong obsession, as he underwent rigorous training in mental and physical conditioning, the martial arts, criminology, sciences, manhunting, forensics, detective work, interrogation methods and intimidation, for the next years of his life. Having observed the rampant crime and corruption across Gotham City, he chose to deal with the crime-wave in Gotham in his own way, by utilizing his years of training and swore an oath to dedicate his entire life to fighting crime, in a bid to avenge the murder of his parents and to use his pain and suffering to drive him to do good, while being guided by his self-enforced moral code to never kill and to refrain from utilizing firearms. Inspired by the presence of bats, his childhood fear, which used to be present around his home, Bruce chose to undertake the alias of The Batman, a feared, near-mythical and bat-masked vigilante.

One of the most notable changes made in *The Animated Series* is the treatment of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne. In nearly all other media, including the comics, television shows and films, Bruce deliberately plays up his image as a vacuous, self-absorbed and not-too-bright billionaire playboy. In *The Animated Series*, his character is assertive, outwardly intelligent, and actively involved in the management of Wayne Enterprises, without jeopardizing his secret identity. For example: in the episode "Eternal Youth", Bruce is shown angrily ordering one of his directors to cancel a deal with a timber company in the Amazon rainforest that had been made behind his back, threatening him with termination upon failure to comply.

Kevin Conroy used different voices to distinguish between his portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman, a tactic used previously by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's live-action films. Conroy based his dual-voice performance on the 1934 film adaptation of *The Scarlet Pimpernel*.

### Dick Grayson / Robin

The story of Dick Grayson began at a circus. Growing up, Dick was a circus performer. He traveled the country with his mother, Mary, and father, John, performing acts as "the Flying Graysons," a world-famous trapeze troupe that performed with Haly's Circus. Eventually, things turned for the worst. The circus was set to perform in Gotham and was setting up when a mobster named Tony Zucco went up to Mr. Haly and attempted to extort him in exchange for protection money. When Haly refused to pay, Zucco retaliated by having his thugs sabotage the circus's trapeze with acid. At this time John and Mary were set to begin their act. In the middle of their performance, the tampered wires snapped and sent them plummeting to their deaths right before Dick's eyes. Bruce Wayne happened to be in attendance to witness the incident and quickly sprung into action as Batman during the chaos. Having had the experience and trauma of being suddenly, violently orphaned, Bruce decided to take Dick under his wing so they could set about avenging the Graysons' murders. After a series of intense training, Dick began making a costume and a Superhero identity for himself. Getting inspiration from his mother's favorite bird and his favorite folktale hero, Robin Hood, Dick chose the name "Robin", and he officially became Batman's sidekick, thus creating the Dynamic Duo.

The series also redefined the original Robin, Dick Grayson. While much of Dick's past remains the same, his Robin costume is modernized with short sleeves and long tights, exactly like Tim Drake's original Robin outfit but with a non-italicized "R" symbol. In addition, Dick is given a more serious and mature personality to match the tone of the series. The episode "Batgirl Returns" establishes that Dick and Barbara Gordon attend the same college and that they have a mutual romantic attraction to each other, but neither one knows the secret identity of the other. Their relationship is one of the plot elements of the film *Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero*.

### Barbara Gordon / Batgirl

Barbara Gordon is first seen in the two-parter "Heart of Steel", where she becomes convinced her father is an impostor. She makes her first appearance as her alter ego Batgirl in "Shadow of the Bat", after her father Commissioner Gordon is arrested under charges of corruption. Her Batgirl costume is exactly the same from *The Adventures of Batman* and the Bronze Age of Comics, sporting the same gray bodysuit, blue cape and cowl and yellow bat-symbol and utility belt, but with blue gloves and boots to mirror that of Batman's costume instead of yellow ones. She makes several appearances throughout the series, and attends the same university as Dick Grayson, though neither of them are aware of each other's crimefighting alter ego. In "Batgirl Returns", Barbara actually makes a cease fire deal with Catwoman, and they work together in solving the case of missing valuable cat statues while Batman is away. All of Barbara's/Batgirl's appearances are in episodes written by Brynne Stephens.

### The Joker

Though the Joker's origin is never shown in the series, some of his past is seen in the feature film *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm*. In flashbacks, he is shown before his accident but is not referred to by name. His potential real name, **Jack Napier** (the same name of Jack Nicholson's version of the character from Tim Burton's 1989 film), is established in the episodes "Dreams in Darkness" when it is spoken by Dr. Bartholomew and in "Joker's Wild" where it is written in a dossier. The use of this origin was due to the show being heavily patterned after the success and influential tone of Tim Burton's film. However, when *The New Batman Adventures* began, during the era of Joel Schumacher's films, Joker's origin was retained but his identity was retconned as being merely one of many aliases as seen in the episode "Beware the Creeper", meaning his true identity is still unknown. This reflected the efforts of the writers to put the character back in line with his conflicting multiple origins from the comics.

In *Mask of the Phantasm*, the man who would become the Joker started out as a chauffeur and hitman for mobsters Salvatore Valestra, Buzz Bronski and Chuckie Sol. Twice on separate occasions, he saw Bruce Wayne and exchanged glances years before they would clash as the Joker and Batman later. It is hinted in the rest of the series, presumably after the Valestra Mob had gone their separate ways, the pre-Joker struck out on his own and formed a small gang. The pre-Joker broke into the ACE Chemical Plant that marked the first time he encountered Batman, a fight which ended witb him falling off a catwalk and into a drainage vat of chemicals. He was washed out into the bay and discovered the chemicals bleached his skin chalk white, dyed his hair green, stained his lips red, leaving them in a permanent rictus smile, and dyed his suit purple. This new, clown-like appearance snapped his already sadistic mind and drove him to eternal insanity. He reinvented himself as the Joker, Batman's greatest enemy and Gotham City's most dangerous costumed criminal.

While the use of this origin was based on Jack Nicholson's character, Mark Hamill was given the note "Don't do Nicholson" before his audition. Even though Tim Curry had already recorded a few episodes, Hamill was given the part instead. Hamill, who found himself to be the biggest fan of the Batman comics among the cast, credited the laughs he had honed on stage in *Amadeus* with landing him the role. He worked to craft a multifaceted laugh for the Joker that could change to reflect the Joker's current mood, likening it to a musical instrument. Hamill's take on the Joker's laugh is considered to be groundbreaking for the voice-acting industry, and led to Hamill having an enormously successful voice-acting career. Of the many influences for his performance, including Jay Leno and Howard Cosell, Hamill cited Claude Rains’ performance in the 1933 film *The Invisible Man*.

### Other characters

 File:BTASVillains.jpg
Other antagonists that appeared in the series included classic villains such as Poison Ivy, Catwoman, the Riddler, Two-Face, the Mad Hatter, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, the Man-Bat, the Penguin, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Bane, the Ventriloquist and his dummy Scarface, Hugo Strange and Tony Zucco. Friends and allies of Batman featured in the show not previously mentioned include Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, the Gray Ghost (an original character created by the series to portray Bruce Wayne's childhood hero and crimefighting inspiration), Lucius Fox, and Leslie Thompkins.

## Feature films

* *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm* (1993) – based on *The Animated Series*; the film started production as a direct-to-video release, but was ultimately changed into a theatrical release. Although the film was not a financial success upon its initial release, it earned widespread acclaim and has since become a commercial success through its various home video releases.
* *Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero* (1998) – a direct-to-video release, which was produced as a tie-in to the 1997 film *Batman & Robin*. *SubZero'*s release was delayed until the following year due to *Batman & Robin* failing to meet commercial and critical expectations.

## Comic adaptation and novelization

*The Animated Series* was accompanied by a tie-in comic book, *The Batman Adventures*, which followed the art style and continuity of *The Animated Series* instead of other Batman comic books. *The Batman Adventures*, through several format changes to reflect the changing world of the series and its spin-offs, outlasted the series itself by nearly a decade, finally being cancelled in 2004 to make way for the tie-in comic of the then-new, unrelated Batman animated series; *The Batman*. The character of Harley Quinn's first official comic appearance occurred in issue #12 of the series. It has become highly sought after by collectors and fans of the character.

There was also a short-lived series of tie-in novels, adapted from episodes of the series by science fiction author Geary Gravel. To achieve novel-length, Gravel combined several related episodes into a single storyline in each novel. The novels included:

* *Shadows of the Past* ("Appointment in Crime Alley", "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter)
* *Dual to the Death* ("Two-Face" two-parter, "Shadow of the Bat" two-parter)
* *The Dragon and the Bat* ("Night of the Ninja", "Day of the Samurai")
* *Mask of the Phantasm* (*Batman: Mask of the Phantasm* movie)

DC announced in February 2020 that Paul Dini, Alan Burnett and artist Ty Templeton would be leading a new miniseries, *Batman: The Adventures Continue*, to be first published in April 2020, based on the animated series and following shortly after its conclusion, with Tim Drake still adjusting as the new Robin to Batman.

## Critical reception

*Batman: The Animated Series* has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest animated television shows ever made. It has been critically acclaimed for its sophistication, mature tone, complex story, voice acting, orchestrated soundtrack, artistic ambition, and faithfulness to the source material. In 1992, *Entertainment Weekly* ranked the series as one of the top television series of the year.

In his reference book, *Batman: The Complete History*, Les Daniels described *The Animated Series* as coming "as close as any artistic statement has to defining the look of Batman for the 1990s." Animation historian Charles Solomon gave the series a somewhat mixed assessment, commenting that "the dark, Art Deco-influenced backgrounds tended to eclipse the stiff animation and pedestrian storytelling" and concluding that the series "looked better in stills than it did on the screen."

IGN listed *The Animated Series* as the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of comics, the best comic book cartoon of all time, and the second-best animated series of all time (after *The Simpsons*). *Wizard* magazine also ranked it #2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after *The Simpsons*). TV Guide ranked *Batman: The Animated Series* the seventh-greatest cartoon of all time (out of 60).

### Influence

Due to the success of *Batman: The Animated Series*, many crew members went on to design and produce *Superman: The Animated Series* for The WB Network. During this time they created *The New Batman Adventures*, which featured the same streamlined animation style as *Superman: The Animated Series*, as well as numerous character re-designs from the original series despite taking place in the same continuity.

In 1999, a futuristic spin-off series titled *Batman Beyond* premiered on The WB, featuring a teenager named Terry McGinnis taking on the duties of Batman under the guidance of an elderly Bruce Wayne. Then in 2001, the *Justice League* animated series premiered on Cartoon Network, featuring Batman as one of the founding members of the League. This was continued in 2004 by *Justice League Unlimited*, featuring a greatly expanded League. Many DC cartoons unrelated to the larger DC animated universe, such as *Teen Titans* and *The Batman*, also featured character designs strongly influenced by those of Bruce Timm.

The dramatic writing and stylized art of *Batman: The Animated Series* separates it from many traditional comic book-based cartoons. It can be considered the dramatic equivalent of more adult-oriented cartoon shows like *The Simpsons*. For this reason the show's popularity (along with that of its various spin-offs) endures among older audiences and comic book fans.

The Lego minifigures of various Batman characters are more strongly based on the designs from *Batman: The Animated Series* than any other form of Batman media. More precisely, the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn's minifigures seem to have identical costumes and faces to the characters from the series.

The dark atmosphere, mature themes, and even some of the voice cast from the series are employed in the *Batman: Arkham* video game series. Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, Robert Costanzo reprising their roles, while actors like Loren Lester lent their voice to other characters. Furthermore, the first two games are co-written by series veteran Paul Dini. Also, Batman's design and costume in *The Animated Series* are featured as an alternate skin in *Batman: Arkham City*. These skins are available as downloadable content; they were also available in pre-orders at GameStop and a valid membership to Power-Up Rewards. There are also *Animated*-inspired alternate skins for Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin.

### Accolades

**Annie Awards**

* 1992 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Achievement for Voice Acting - Mark Hamill (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation - Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field of Animation - Paul Dini (nominated)
* 1995 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
* 1995 – Best Individual Achievement for Music in the Field of Animation - Shirley Walker (nominated)

**Primetime Emmy Awards**

* 1993 – Outstanding Animated Program – Jean MacCurdy, Tom Ruegger, Alan Burnett, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm, Randy Rogel and Dick Sebast for "Robin's Reckoning: Part 1" (**WON**)

**Daytime Emmy Awards**

* 1993 – Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Michael Reaves, Sean Catherine Derek, Martin Pasko and Paul Dini (**WON**)
* 1993 – Outstanding Animated Program - Tom Ruegger, Eric Radomski, Frank Paur, Kevin Altieri, Alan Burnett, Jean MacCurdy, Bruce Timm and Boyd Kirkland (nominated)
* 1993 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing - Russell Brower, Matt Thorne, Robert Hargreaves, Mark Keatts, Bob Lacivita, Jeff M. Sliney, Mike Dickeson, Thomas Milano and Aaron L. King (nominated)
* 1993 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker for "Feat of Clay, Part 2" (nominated)
* 1993 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Harvey Cohen for "Cat Scratch Fever" (nominated)
* 1994 – Outstanding Animated Children's Program - Frank Paur, Jean MacCurdy, Tom Ruegger, Dan Riba, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett (nominated)
* 1994 – Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Brynne Stephens, Martin Pasko, Michael Reaves, Alan Burnett, Randy Rogel, Laren Bright and Paul Dini (nominated)
* 1995 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing - Tom Maydeck, Robert Hargreaves, J.J. George, Mike Dickeson, Daryl B. Kell, Russell Brower, Matt Thorne, Mark Keatts and John Hegedes (nominated)
* 1995 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker (nominated)
* 1996 – Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class - Harry Andronis, Matt Thorne and Tom Maydeck (nominated)
* 1996 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker and Harvey Cohen for "A Bullet for Bullock" (**WON**)
* 1996 – Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class - Robert Hargreaves, Matt Thorne, Russell Brower, Mike Dickeson, Bob Lacivita, Tom Maydeck, Mark Keatts, John Hegedes, Pat Rodman and Kelly Ann Foley (**WON**)

**Saturn Awards**

* 1993 – Best Genre Television Series (nominated)

**Young Artist Awards**

* 1994 – Best Youth Actor in a Voiceover Role: TV or Movie - Scott McAfee (nominated)

## Broadcasting

*Batman: The Animated Series* premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company's children's block Fox Kids on September 5, 1992, and aired in that block during weekday afternoons at 4:30 PM. In December, just three months after its debut, Fox also began airing episodes of the series on prime-time Sunday evenings (followed by the live-action sitcom *Shaky Ground*); however, the TV ratings fell short (as the show aired opposite the perennial favorite *60 Minutes*), and the series was removed from this time slot in March 1993.

After the series produced its 65th episode (the minimum number necessary for a TV series to be successfully syndicated), Fox Network executives ordered a second season of 20 more episodes that was later reduced to airing weekly on Saturday mornings. The second season featured Robin more prominently and, as a result, was retitled *The Adventures of Batman & Robin* in the title credits; this run of episodes had two new opening sequences and ending credits. In total, the series reached 85 episodes before finishing its original run on September 15, 1995.

In 1997, following the end of Fox Kids' five-year exclusive broadcast contract, the series began airing in reruns on The WB Network's children's block Kids' WB. Later that year, *The New Batman Adventures* premiered on Kids' WB, airing alongside *Superman: The Animated Series* as part of an hour-long program titled *The New Batman/Superman Adventures*.

Cartoon Network aired reruns of *Batman: The Animated Series* from March 2, 1998 to 2004. On July 3, 2000, the series was added to Cartoon Network's Toonami line-up. In 2005, reruns of the series were aired on Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang.

The series later began airing on Toon Disney's Jetix line-up on September 30, 2007, again alongside *Superman: The Animated Series* (despite Warner Bros. being one of Disney's biggest competitors).

The show aired on Teletoon Retro (a Canadian broadcasting channel), debuting on January 8, 2010. The first 65 episodes were confirmed, with the first being "The Cat and Claw, Part 1". The show was scheduled to air on a weekly basis, airing at 7:00 AM, 6:00 PM, and midnight. All times are Eastern.

The Hub started broadcasting the series on September 6, 2011. The channel aired a 10-episode marathon of the series on July 20, 2012, to coincide with the theatrical release of *The Dark Knight Rises* and even created an animated version of one of the film's trailers, featuring Kevin Conroy and Adrienne Barbeau re-dubbing Batman and Catwoman's dialogue from the trailer.

## Critical reception

*Batman: The Animated Series* has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest animated television shows ever made. It has been critically acclaimed for its sophistication, mature tone, complex story, voice acting, orchestrated soundtrack, artistic ambition, and faithfulness to the source material. In 1992, *Entertainment Weekly* ranked the series as one of the top television series of the year.

In his reference book, *Batman: The Complete History*, Les Daniels described *The Animated Series* as coming "as close as any artistic statement has to defining the look of Batman for the 1990s." Animation historian Charles Solomon gave the series a somewhat mixed assessment, commenting that "the dark, Art Deco-influenced backgrounds tended to eclipse the stiff animation and pedestrian storytelling" and concluding that the series "looked better in stills than it did on the screen."

IGN listed *The Animated Series* as the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of comics, the best comic book cartoon of all time, and the second-best animated series of all time (after *The Simpsons*). *Wizard* magazine also ranked it #2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after *The Simpsons*). TV Guide ranked *Batman: The Animated Series* the seventh-greatest cartoon of all time (out of 60).

### Influence

Due to the success of *Batman: The Animated Series*, many crew members went on to design and produce *Superman: The Animated Series* for The WB Network. During this time they created *The New Batman Adventures*, which featured the same streamlined animation style as *Superman: The Animated Series*, as well as numerous character re-designs from the original series despite taking place in the same continuity.

In 1999, a futuristic spin-off series titled *Batman Beyond* premiered on The WB, featuring a teenager named Terry McGinnis taking on the duties of Batman under the guidance of an elderly Bruce Wayne. Then in 2001, the *Justice League* animated series premiered on Cartoon Network, featuring Batman as one of the founding members of the League. This was continued in 2004 by *Justice League Unlimited*, featuring a greatly expanded League. Many DC cartoons unrelated to the larger DC animated universe, such as *Teen Titans* and *The Batman*, also featured character designs strongly influenced by those of Bruce Timm.

The dramatic writing and stylized art of *Batman: The Animated Series* separates it from many traditional comic book-based cartoons. It can be considered the dramatic equivalent of more adult-oriented cartoon shows like *The Simpsons*. For this reason the show's popularity (along with that of its various spin-offs) endures among older audiences and comic book fans.

The Lego minifigures of various Batman characters are more strongly based on the designs from *Batman: The Animated Series* than any other form of Batman media. More precisely, the Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn's minifigures seem to have identical costumes and faces to the characters from the series.

The dark atmosphere, mature themes, and even some of the voice cast from the series are employed in the *Batman: Arkham* video game series. Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, Robert Costanzo reprising their roles, while actors like Loren Lester lent their voice to other characters. Furthermore, the first two games are co-written by series veteran Paul Dini. Also, Batman's design and costume in *The Animated Series* are featured as an alternate skin in *Batman: Arkham City*. These skins are available as downloadable content; they were also available in pre-orders at GameStop and a valid membership to Power-Up Rewards. There are also *Animated*-inspired alternate skins for Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin.

### Accolades

**Annie Awards**

* 1992 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Achievement for Voice Acting - Mark Hamill (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation - Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski (nominated)
* 1994 – Best Individual Achievement for Story Contribution in the Field of Animation - Paul Dini (nominated)
* 1995 – Best Animated Television Program (nominated)
* 1995 – Best Individual Achievement for Music in the Field of Animation - Shirley Walker (nominated)

**Primetime Emmy Awards**

* 1993 – Outstanding Animated Program – Jean MacCurdy, Tom Ruegger, Alan Burnett, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm, Randy Rogel and Dick Sebast for "Robin's Reckoning: Part 1" (**WON**)

**Daytime Emmy Awards**

* 1993 – Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Michael Reaves, Sean Catherine Derek, Martin Pasko and Paul Dini (**WON**)
* 1993 – Outstanding Animated Program - Tom Ruegger, Eric Radomski, Frank Paur, Kevin Altieri, Alan Burnett, Jean MacCurdy, Bruce Timm and Boyd Kirkland (nominated)
* 1993 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing - Russell Brower, Matt Thorne, Robert Hargreaves, Mark Keatts, Bob Lacivita, Jeff M. Sliney, Mike Dickeson, Thomas Milano and Aaron L. King (nominated)
* 1993 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker for "Feat of Clay, Part 2" (nominated)
* 1993 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Harvey Cohen for "Cat Scratch Fever" (nominated)
* 1994 – Outstanding Animated Children's Program - Frank Paur, Jean MacCurdy, Tom Ruegger, Dan Riba, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett (nominated)
* 1994 – Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program - Brynne Stephens, Martin Pasko, Michael Reaves, Alan Burnett, Randy Rogel, Laren Bright and Paul Dini (nominated)
* 1995 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing - Tom Maydeck, Robert Hargreaves, J.J. George, Mike Dickeson, Daryl B. Kell, Russell Brower, Matt Thorne, Mark Keatts and John Hegedes (nominated)
* 1995 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker (nominated)
* 1996 – Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class - Harry Andronis, Matt Thorne and Tom Maydeck (nominated)
* 1996 – Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Shirley Walker and Harvey Cohen for "A Bullet for Bullock" (**WON**)
* 1996 – Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class - Robert Hargreaves, Matt Thorne, Russell Brower, Mike Dickeson, Bob Lacivita, Tom Maydeck, Mark Keatts, John Hegedes, Pat Rodman and Kelly Ann Foley (**WON**)

**Saturn Awards**

* 1993 – Best Genre Television Series (nominated)

**Young Artist Awards**

* 1994 – Best Youth Actor in a Voiceover Role: TV or Movie - Scott McAfee (nominated)

## Comic adaptation and novelization

*The Animated Series* was accompanied by a tie-in comic book, *The Batman Adventures*, which followed the art style and continuity of *The Animated Series* instead of other Batman comic books. *The Batman Adventures*, through several format changes to reflect the changing world of the series and its spin-offs, outlasted the series itself by nearly a decade, finally being cancelled in 2004 to make way for the tie-in comic of the then-new, unrelated Batman animated series; *The Batman*. The character of Harley Quinn's first official comic appearance occurred in issue #12 of the series. It has become highly sought after by collectors and fans of the character.

There was also a short-lived series of tie-in novels, adapted from episodes of the series by science fiction author Geary Gravel. To achieve novel-length, Gravel combined several related episodes into a single storyline in each novel. The novels included:

* *Shadows of the Past* ("Appointment in Crime Alley", "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter)
* *Dual to the Death* ("Two-Face" two-parter, "Shadow of the Bat" two-parter)
* *The Dragon and the Bat* ("Night of the Ninja", "Day of the Samurai")
* *Mask of the Phantasm* (*Batman: Mask of the Phantasm* movie)

## Video games

Several video games based on the animated continuity were released during the 16-bit game-machine era, using *The Adventures of Batman & Robin* second season branding. Konami developed a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), while Sega released versions of the game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Mega-CD and Game Gear. The SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive and Game Gear versions were side-scrolling action games, while the Mega-CD version featured a 3-D driving adventure. All of the games had art true to the series, while Sega's versions featured art elements directly from the show's creators. The CD version has over 20 minutes of original animated footage comparable to the most well-crafted episodes, with the principal voice actors reprising their roles.

There was also a game made for the Game Boy based on the series and created around the same time. Developed and published by Konami, this game was distinctive upon the fact that it still used the earlier *Batman: The Animated Series* moniker instead of *The Adventures of Batman & Robin* second season title given to the other games.

Though not directly related, the *Batman: Arkham* video game series features some of the voice cast from *The Animated Series* returning to their roles, including Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, along with Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn in *Batman: Arkham Asylum* and Robert Costanzo as Harvey Bullock in *Batman: Arkham Origins*, while actors like Loren Lester lent their voice to other characters. Additionally, the first two games were written by *Animated Series* writer Paul Dini. Many of the characters' costumes from the series also appear as downloadable skins in the games.

## Proposed spin-off

Due to the success of the show, Fox approached Bruce Timm to make a spin-off centered on Catwoman, but the project was abandoned shortly thereafter.

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