''Batman: The Animated Series'' (often shortened as ''Batman TAS'' or ''BTAS'') is an American
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
based on the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
superhero
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
. Developed by
Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...
and
Eric Radomski
Eric Radomski is a Television producer, producer best known as co-creator and co-producer of ''Batman: The Animated Series''. He has also acted as producer for ''Spawn: The Animated Series'', ''Freakazoid!'', ''Xiaolin Showdown'', ''Shaggy & Scoo ...
, and produced by
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...
, it originally aired on
Fox Kids
Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
from September 5, 1992 to September 15, 1995 with a total of 85 episodes. After the series ended its original run, a follow-up titled ''
The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'' began airing on
Kids' WB
Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming service and brand of The WB that aired on the network from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006. The block moved to The CW (a result of the merger of Time Warner's The WB ...
in 1997 as a continuation of the series, featuring a revamped animation style. Lasting 24 episodes, it has often been included in the same syndicated re-run packages and home media releases.
''Batman: The Animated Series'' received critical acclaim for its darker tone, mature writing, thematic complexity, artistic presentation, voice acting, orchestrated soundtrack, and modernization of its title character's source material.
["The Greatest Comic Book Cartoons of All Time"](_blank)
IGN. January 26, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2020. The series also won multiple
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
s,
as well as the
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for
Outstanding Animated Programming.
The series became the first in the
continuity of the shared
DC Animated Universe
The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televi ...
, which spawned further animated TV series, feature films, comic books and video games with much of the same creative talent, including the 1993 theatrical release ''
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm''. Another continuation of the series is in development in the form of an audio podcast drama, with most of the cast returning along with writer
Alan Burnett
Alan Burnett (; born February 17, 1950) is an American television writer-producer particularly associated with Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, DC Comics, and Walt Disney television animation. He has had a hand in virtually ever ...
.
Overview
The series took influence from
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
's live-action films, ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' (1989) and ''
Batman Returns
''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to '' Batman'' (1989) and the second installment in the 1989–1997 ''Batm ...
'' (1992), and the acclaimed ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' theatrical cartoons produced by
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...
in the early 1940s.
[Batman-On-Film](_blank)
, ''Batman: The Animated Series''. In designing the series,
Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...
and
Eric Radomski
Eric Radomski is a Television producer, producer best known as co-creator and co-producer of ''Batman: The Animated Series''. He has also acted as producer for ''Spawn: The Animated Series'', ''Freakazoid!'', ''Xiaolin Showdown'', ''Shaggy & Scoo ...
emulated the Burton films' "otherworldly timelessness", incorporating period features such as black-and-white
title card
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
s, police
airship
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
In early ...
s and a "vintage" color scheme with
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
flourishes.
[Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, audio commentary for "On Leather Wings", ''Batman: The Animated Series'', Warner Bros, Volume One box set DVD.]
The visual style of the series was based on the artwork of Radomski, and the gothic look of
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
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
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
design was dubbed "Dark Deco" by the producers.
[''Batman: The Animated Series''](_blank)
an explanation of "Dark Deco".
The series initially took a variation of music written by
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
for the Burton films as its theme; later episodes of the series used a new theme with a similar style by
Shirley Walker
Shirley Anne Walker (née Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood. Walker was one of the first female ...
, an occasional collaborator of Elfman. 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 previous superhero cartoons, though still considered appropriate for younger viewers. It depicts outright physical violence against antagonists, including realistic firearms (though only one character,
Commissioner Gordon
James W. "Jim" Gordon, Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the character deb ...
, 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
"On Leather Wings" is the first episode of '' Batman: The Animated Series''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 6, 1992. It was written by Mitch Brian and directed by Kevin Altieri. This was the first episode ...
", which, according to Timm, "got a lot of people off our backs".
During the series' production, producer
Alan Burnett
Alan Burnett (; born February 17, 1950) is an American television writer-producer particularly associated with Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, DC Comics, and Walt Disney television animation. He has had a hand in virtually ever ...
wrote an 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 notable was
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
, previously famous for his role as
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
in the original ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' 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
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
, but he developed
bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
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
Amadeus may refer to:
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music
*Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name
* ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer
* ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
'' 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
The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televi ...
.
Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...
was considered to voice
Two-Face
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
in the series, but he declined the offer;
Richard Moll
Charles Richard Moll (born January 13, 1943) is an American actor. He played the role of Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, a bailiff on the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' from 1984 to 1992. He has also done extensive work as a voice actor, typical ...
was instead cast in the role. Other actors included
Ron Perlman
Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...
as
Clayface
Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them have been depicted as List of Bat ...
,
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...
as the
Mad Hatter
The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Car ...
,
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Oth ...
as
Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul, commonly pronounced correctly as ''Re'sh'', hence or ; "The Head of the Demon" or, in a rougher translation, "The Chief Demon". is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary o ...
,
Michael York
Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...
as
Count Vertigo
Count Vertigo is a supervillain created by Gerry Conway, Trevor Von Eeden and Vince Colletta as an enemy of Black Canary and later Green Arrow in the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal family that ru ...
,
Kate Mulgrew
Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red on '' Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...
as Red Claw,
George Murdock
George Peter ("Pete") Murdock (May 11, 1897 – March 29, 1985), also known as G. P. Murdock, was an American anthropologist who was professor at Yale University and University of Pittsburgh. He is remembered for his empirical approach to ethn ...
as
Boss Biggis,
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
as Roland Daggett and
George Dzundza
George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is an American television and film actor.
Early life and education
Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian-Jewish father, Roman Dzundza, originally from Kalush, Ukraine, and a Polish-Jewish m ...
as the
Ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...
.
One of the series' best-known inventions is the Joker's assistant,
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...
, who became so popular that DC Comics later added her to mainstream comic book continuity.
The Penguin
The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob ...
underwent change for the series; his appearance was remodeled after the version seen in ''
Batman Returns
''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to '' Batman'' (1989) and the second installment in the 1989–1997 ''Batm ...
'', 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
The Clock King is the name of three supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in '' World's Finest Comics'' #111 (August 1960), and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias.
The Clock ...
. In addition, dramatic changes were made to other villains such as
Clayface
Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them have been depicted as List of Bat ...
and
Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...
, the latter of whom was changed from a gimmicky
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...
to a
tragic
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
figure whose "frigid exterior
ida doomed love and vindictive fury".
Characters
The
Joker's accomplice
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...
, Gotham City police detective
Renee Montoya
Renee Maria Montoya is a fictional character appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Mitch Brian for '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and was preemptively introduced into mainstre ...
, the vigilante
Lock-Up, former actor Simon Trent, brainwashed comedian-turned-supervillain Condiment King, 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
Count Vertigo is a supervillain created by Gerry Conway, Trevor Von Eeden and Vince Colletta as an enemy of Black Canary and later Green Arrow in the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal family that ru ...
, the
Mirror Man and the
Clock King
The Clock King is the name of three supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in '' World's Finest Comics'' #111 (August 1960), and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias.
The Clock ...
, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality. Other original antagonists were created, such as Roland Daggett, Red Claw, the Sewer King, Boss Biggis, Grant Walker, H.A.R.D.A.C., 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
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
''.
Though the Joker's origin is never shown in the series (one of only two villains in the series who never got an origin episode, the other one being
The Penguin
The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob ...
), some of his past is seen in the feature film ''
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm''. In flashbacks, he is shown before his accident but does not speak or is referred to by name. His potential real name, Jack Napier (the same name of
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
's
version of the character from
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
'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
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'' began, during the era of
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. H ...
'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.
While the use of this origin was based on the Jack Nicholson version,
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
was given the note "Don't do Nicholson" before his audition. During production, Hamill asked the production team (consisting of Timm, Radomski, and Romano) if he could play one of the villains after a small appearance as Ferris Boyle in “
Heart of Ice”. Even though
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
had already recorded a few episodes, Hamill was given the part after Curry developed bronchitis and departed the series. 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
Amadeus may refer to:
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music
*Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name
* ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer
* ''Amadeus'' (film), ...
'' 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.
[ atman: The Animated Series: The Legacy Continues, Voices of the Knight, Arkham's Files The Joker/ref> When recording his lines with the other actors, Hamill would stand while the other actors would remain seated to invest himself in the role. Hamill's take on the Joker's laugh (and the role in general) 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
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
and Howard Cosell
Howard is an English language, English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (disambiguation), Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defe ...
, Hamill cited Claude Rains
William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
' performance in the 1933 film ''The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...
''.
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
Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...
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
Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them have been depicted as List of Bat ...
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 using 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 using 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.
Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...
used different voices to distinguish between his portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman, a tactic used previously by Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...
in Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
's live-action films. Conroy based his dual-voice performance on the 1934 film adaptation of ''The Scarlet Pimpernel''.
Other characters
Other antagonists that appeared in the series included classic villains such as Poison Ivy, Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
, the Riddler
The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in Oc ...
, Two-Face
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
, the Mad Hatter
The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Car ...
, Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul, commonly pronounced correctly as ''Re'sh'', hence or ; "The Head of the Demon" or, in a rougher translation, "The Chief Demon". is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary o ...
, Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul ( ar, تاليا الغول; ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown, and fir ...
, Man-Bat
Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...
, the Penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
, the Scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...
, Killer Croc
Killer Croc is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery. Originally a ...
, Bane
Bane may refer to:
Fictional characters
* Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman
* Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series
* Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy
* Bane the Druid, a Gu ...
, the Ventriloquist and his dummy Scarface, Hugo Strange
Hugo Strange is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character is one of Batman's first recurring villains and is also one of the first Batman villains to discover t ...
and Tony Zucco
Anthony Zucco is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940), Zucco is a mobster responsible for murdering the parents of Dick Grayson, which leads to Gra ...
. Friends and allies of Batman featured in the show not previously mentioned include Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...
, Harvey Bullock, the Gray Ghost (an original character created by the series to portray Bruce Wayne's childhood hero and crimefighting inspiration, voiced by Adam West, the actor who had played Batman in the 1960s ''Batman'' series), Lucius Fox
Lucius Fox is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Bruce Wayne / Batman. He is Bruce Wayne's business manager at Wayne Enterprises who runs the business interests that s ...
, and Leslie Thompkins
Leslie Maurin Thompkins (sometimes spelled Tompkins) is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Batman, of whom she is an ally. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil a ...
.
Cast
Protagonists
Supporting protagonists
Antagonists
Supporting antagonists
Episodes
Animation
In order to complete the first season's 65 episodes, Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...
outsourced the series to several different overseas animation houses: Spectrum Animation
Spectrum Animation was an animation studio in Japan, made up of former TMS Entertainment employees. Spectrum animated several episodes of '' Batman: The Animated Series''.
On the commentary track for " Heart of Ice" on the ''Batman: The Animated ...
, Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
, Studio Junio and Tokyo Movie Shinsha
, formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946.
TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as ''Lupin the Third'', ...
in Japan, Dong Yang Animation
Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD is a South Korean animation studio that was founded in 1981 and contributed animation production services to many famous American animated shows since the late 1980s throughout the 1990s and the 2000s. It supplied it ...
, Koko Enterprises Ltd. and AKOM
AKOM Production, Ltd. (Animation KOrea Movie 애이콤 프로덕션) is a South Korean animation studio in Songpa-gu, Seoul that has provided much work since its conception in 1985 by Nelson Shin. Its biggest claim to fame is the overseas animati ...
in South Korea, Jade Animation in Hong Kong, Blue Pencil in Spain and Network of Animation (NOA) in Canada.[''Batman: The Animated Series'' – Filmography](_blank)
TMS also animated the first season's opening theme sequence. AKOM was eventually fired due to its inconsistent animation in many episodes such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Moon of the Wolf".
The 20 episodes of the second season were animated largely by Dong Yang, with the exception of three done by Studio Junio ("A Bullet for Bullock", "Avatar" and "Baby-Doll") and one done by Jade Animation ("The Terrible Trio").
On the commentary track for " Heart of Ice" on the ''Batman: The Animated Series, Volume One'' DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
, producer Bruce Timm stated that Spectrum was responsible for airbrushing Mr. Freeze's helmet in every frame that featured him. Such attention to detail ultimately drove the studio to bankruptcy; most of their staff members are now working for Production I.G
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
.
Adaptations
The show also featured numerous adaptations of various Batman comics stories. The following episodes were adaptations:
* The episode "Appointment in Crime Alley" is based on "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" from ''Detective Comics'' #457 (March 1976) by writer Denny O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
and artist Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
Early li ...
.
* "Dreams in Darkness" is loosely based on " Batman: The Last Arkham" from '' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #1–4 by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle
Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics' Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratca ...
(June–September 1992). This episode adapted the comic book story with the inclusion of the Scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...
instead of Victor Zsasz
Victor Zsasz ( or or , the last being the original Hungarian pronunciation), also known as Mr. Zsasz or simply Zsasz, is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.'' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #1. The character first appea ...
and Dr. Bartholomew instead of Jeremiah Arkham
Jeremiah Arkham is a fictional supervillain and the head of the Arkham Asylum in DC Comics, created by Alan Grant. Arkham was created in 1992, and slowly "lost his mind" during his time in the Arkham Asylum, subsequently becoming the second B ...
.
* "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy" was an adaptation of "The Cape and Cowl Death Trap!" from ''Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #450 (August 1975), written by Elliot S. Maggin
Elliot S. Maggin, also spelled Elliot S! Maggin (born 1950), is an American writer of comic books, film, television, and novels. He was a main writer for DC Comics during the Bronze and early Modern ages of comics in the 1970s and 1980s. He is ...
and drawn by artist Walt Simonson
Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...
.
* Part 1 of "Robin's Reckoning
"Robin's Reckoning" is a two-part episode of the critically acclaimed '' Batman: The Animated Series''. The episodes originally aired on February 7 and 14, 1993, and were written by Randy Rogel and directed by Dick Sebast. It earned the series a ...
" takes its cues from "Batman and "Robin the Boy Wonder"" in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940) by writer Bill Finger
Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatu ...
, artist Bob Kane
Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...
and illustrator Jerry Robinson
Sherrill David Robinson (January 1, 1922 – December 7, 2011), known as Jerry Robinson, was an American comic book artist known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s. He is best known as the co-creator of Robin and ...
.
* The episode "The Laughing Fish" was based on three Batman comics, blended together; "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" from ''Batman'' No. 251 (September 1973) by Denny O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
with art by Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...
, followed by "The Laughing Fish" and "Sign of the Joker!" from ''Detective Comics'' #475–476 (February–March 1978), both by writer Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early li ...
with art by . During a spotlight podcast from Comic-Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events ...
2007, Paul Dini
Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) ...
explained that the reason why the episode combined those stories was that the show's creators could not adapt them separately, because their content and thematic elements would not have been cleared by the censors.
* "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" was based on the comic stories "The Dead Yet Live" and "I Am the Batman!" from ''Detective Comics'' #471–472 (August–September 1977) by Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early li ...
.
* "Moon of the Wolf" is based on the comic story of the same name by writer Len Wein
Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...
with art by Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...
, from ''Batman'' No. 255 (April 1974).
* The episode "Terror in the Sky" is loosely based on "Man-Bat Over Vegas", originally presented in ''Detective Comics'' No. 429, by writer and artist Frank Robbins
Franklin Robbins (September 9, 1917 – November 28, 1994) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his p ...
. The setting has been shifted from Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
to Gotham Harbor, and in keeping with the family-friendly rating of the television show, the She-Bat is not a vampire in the adaptation. The final line of the episode, "the nightmare's finally over", is similar to one of the final lines from the original comic, "Now Fran's vampire nightmare is about over".
* The episode "Almost Got 'Im" appears to be influenced by a four-issue story arc in ''Batman'' #291–294 (1977), entitled "Where Were You on the Night Batman Was Killed?". All four stories were written by David Vern Reed
David Vern Reed (born David Levine; 13 December 1914 – 11 August 1994), was an American writer, best known for his work on the ''Batman'' comic book during the 1950s in a run that included a revamp of the Batplane in ''Batman'' #61 and the int ...
and drawn by John Calnan
John Calnan (February 26, 1932 – December 27, 2016) was an American comics artist best known as the co-creator of Lucius Fox with writer Len Wein.
Early life
John Calnan graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. One of hi ...
under the direction of Batman editor Julius Schwartz
Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various t ...
. In each of the four issues, one of Catwoman, the Riddler, and the Joker all recount their claims to have killed Batman. However, the plot for "Almost Got 'Im" is quite different (six stories in the show, and four completely different ones in the comic book), with only the Joker as an overlapping antagonist.
** Two-Face's strategy in "Almost Got 'Im" (strapping down Batman to a giant coin and flipping the coin in the air) was taken from the comic ''World's Finest Comics'' No. 30 (September 1947) by writer Bill Finger
Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatu ...
and artist Bob Kane
Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...
. In a backup tale, both Batman and Robin were tied to a giant penny that was catapulted onto spikes by a lesser-known villain, the Penny Plunderer. That is the same giant penny which is part of the decoration of the Batcave
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...
.
* "Off Balance" is a direct adaptation of "Batman: Into the Den of the Death-Dealers" from ''Detective Comics'' #411 (May 1971), written by writer Dennis O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
and drawn by artists Bob Brown and Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
Early li ...
. Famous for the first appearance of the mysterious character Talia.
* The two-part episode "The Demon's Quest" is a direct adaptation of "Daughter of the Demon" from ''Batman'' No. 232 (June 1971) and "The Demon Lives Again" ''Batman'' No. 244 (September 1972), written by Dennis O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
and drawn by artist Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...
. Famous for introducing one of Batman's deadlier foes; Ra's al Ghul
Ra's al Ghul, commonly pronounced correctly as ''Re'sh'', hence or ; "The Head of the Demon" or, in a rougher translation, "The Chief Demon". is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary o ...
, the father of Talia.
* The episode "Sideshow" is loosely based on "A Vow from the Grave" from ''Detective Comics'' No. 410 by writer Dennis O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
and artists Bob Brown and Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
Early li ...
. This episode adapted the comic book story with the inclusion of a separate Killer Croc
Killer Croc is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery. Originally a ...
story.
* "A Bullet for Bullock" is based on the comic of the same name from ''Detective Comics'' No. 651 (October 1992), by writer Chuck Dixon
Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Early life
D ...
and artist Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon.
Biograp ...
.
* The feature film '' Mask of the Phantasm'' is also an adaptation. The film's flashbacks were inspired by " Batman: Year One", whereas the character of Andrea Beaumont
Andrea Beaumont, also known as the Phantasm, is a fictional character, fictional DC Entertainment supervillain and antiheroine created by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, and designed by Bruce Timm. Beaumont first appeared as the main antagonist in the ...
and the storyline itself were modified from Mike Barr's story " Batman: Year Two", which ran in ''Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' #575–578 in the late 1980s; the villain in the comics was named the Reaper
A reaper is a agricultural machinery, farm implement or person that wikt:reap#Verb, reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass. The first documented reaping machines were ...
.[HBO. "HBO First Look: ''Batman Mask of the Phantasm''." HBO (c. 1993)]
Part 1
Part 2
In other media
Sixteen minutes of animated segments in the video game ''The Adventures of Batman & Robin
''Batman: The Animated Series'' (often shortened as ''Batman TAS'' or ''BTAS'') is an American Superhero fiction, superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, and produ ...
'' for the Sega CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...
are sometimes referred to as a "lost episode" of the series. These segments are intended to be interspersed between gameplay elements of an early-1990s video game and as such, the sound, color and story are not quite of the same quality of the actual television program. And because Sega did not have to follow the censorship rules of the show, the fights are also a little more violent. Many of the shows voice actors reprised their roles for the game, and are thus in the lost episode as well. Similar cutscenes appear throughout the video games '' Batman: Vengeance'' and '' Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu''.
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 media releases.[Dini, Kidd, p.117]
* '' Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero'' (1998) – a direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
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.[Stomp Tokyo Video Reviews](_blank)
''Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero'' review.
Comic adaptation and novelization
The Batman Adventures
''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
Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Batman or The Batman may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
Characters
* Batman (Terry McGinnis)
* Batman (Thomas Wayne)
* Batman (Earth-Two)
* Bat ...
''. The character of Harley Quinn's first official comic appearance occurred in issue No. 12 of the series. It has become highly sought after by collectors and fans of the character.
Superman & Batman Magazine
It is a tie-in for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''The Batman Adventures'', with 8 issues published between 1993 and 1995. The stories feature the appearances of Superman and other DC characters before their appearances in the base series and spinoff television series, but otherwise unrelated to the stories in the subsequent television series.
Batman: The Adventures Continue
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.
Novels
There was also a short-lived series of tie-in novels, adapted from episodes of the series by science fiction author Geary Gravel
Geary Gravel is an American science fiction author and professional sign language interpreter. He lives in western Massachusetts and has written thirteen books.
Bibliography Autumnworld Mosaic
*''The Alchemists'' (1984; nominated for Philip K. ...
. 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'')
Broadcasting
''Batman: The Animated Series'' premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
's children's block Fox Kids
Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
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
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
Sunday evenings (followed by the live-action sitcom ''Shaky Ground
Shaky Ground is an American sitcom, created by Bob Keyes, Chip Keyes, and Doug Keyes, which starred Matt Frewer as Bob Moody, a hapless but supportive and caring father. Robin Riker played his wife and Matthew Brooks, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and ...
''); however, the TV ratings fell short (as the show aired opposite the perennial favorite ''60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
''), 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
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
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
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
's children's block Kids' WB
Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming service and brand of The WB that aired on the network from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006. The block moved to The CW (a result of the merger of Time Warner's The WB ...
. Later that year, ''The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'' premiered on Kids' WB, airing alongside '' Superman: The Animated Series'' as part of an hour-long program titled ''The New Batman/Superman Adventures
''The New Batman/Superman Adventures'' is a name given to a package series that combined '' Superman: The Animated Series'' with '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''The New Batman Adventures'' produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It aired from ...
''.
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
aired reruns of ''Batman: The Animated Series'' from March 2, 1998, to August 18, 2004. On July 3, 2000, the series was added to Cartoon Network's Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
line-up. In 2005, reruns of the series were aired on Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
.
The series later began airing on Toon Disney
Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix ...
's Jetix
Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the S ...
line-up on September 30, 2007, again alongside ''Superman: The Animated Series'' (despite Warner Bros. being one of Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's biggest competitors).
The show aired on Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro was a Canadian specialty channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment that was based on the Teletoon programming block. The service was dedicated to broadcasting classic animated television programs as well as some live-action se ...
(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.[Teletoon Retro](_blank)
, TV Index.
The Hub The Hub may refer to:
Places
* The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines
* The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival
* T ...
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
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
'' and even created an animated version of one of the film's trailers, featuring Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...
and Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
re-dubbing Batman and Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
's dialogue from the trailer.[BTAS/TDKR trailer on The Hub](_blank)
Web Video.
Reception
''Batman: The Animated Series'' has often been ranked as one of the greatest animated television shows ever made. It has been critically acclaimed for its mature tone, writing, voice acting, orchestrated soundtrack, visual aesthetic, and faithfulness to the source material
A source text is a text (sometimes oral) from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language.
Description
In historiography, distinctions are commonly m ...
. In 1992, ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' ranked the series as one of the top television series of the year. IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
.com listed the 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
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''). ''Wizard'' magazine also ranked it No. 2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after ''The Simpsons''). ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' ranked it the seventh-greatest cartoon of all time. The widespread acclaim led the series to win four Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s, including Outstanding Animated Program.["Batman" (1992) – Awards](_blank)
IMDb. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
In his reference book, ''Batman: The Complete History'', Les Daniels
Leslie Noel Daniels III, better known as Les Daniels (October 27, 1943 – November 5, 2011), was an American writer.
Background
Daniels attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he wrote his master's thesis on ''Frankenstei ...
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."
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. During this time they created ''The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'', 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
''Batman Beyond'' (known as ''Batman of the Future'' outside the United States) is an American superhero animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration ...
'' premiered on The WB, featuring a teenager named Terry McGinnis
Batman (Terrence "Terry" McGinnis Wayne) is a fictional superhero appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and first appeared in the pilot episode of the animated television series ...
taking on the duties of Batman under the guidance of an elderly Bruce Wayne. Then in 2001, the ''Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' animated series premiered on Cartoon Network, featuring Batman as one of the founding members of the League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
. This was continued in 2004 by ''Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...
'', featuring a greatly expanded League. Many DC cartoons unrelated to the larger DC animated universe, such as ''Teen Titans
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
'' and ''The Batman
Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Batman or The Batman may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
Characters
* Batman (Terry McGinnis)
* Batman (Thomas Wayne)
* Batman (Earth-Two)
* Bat ...
'', also featured character designs strongly influenced by those of Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...
.
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
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''. 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
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
minifigures
A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Denmark, Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced wor ...
of various Batman characters are more strongly based on the designs from ''Batman: The Animated Series'' than any other form of Batman media.[Lego](_blank)
, Batman Story. More precisely, the Joker, Two-Face
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...
and Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...
'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.[Batman: Arkham Asylum](_blank)
, game overview. Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...
, Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
, Arleen Sorkin
Arleen Sorkin (born October 14, 1955) is a retired American actress, screenwriter, presenter and comedian. Sorkin is known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime serial ''Days of Our Lives'' and for inspiring and voicing the DC Comics ...
, Robert Costanzo
Robert Jason Costanzo (born October 20, 1942) is an American film, television and voice actor. He has an acting career spanning over 40 years and is often found playing surly New York City types such as crooks, low-level workers and policemen, an ...
reprising their roles, while actors like Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
and Loren Lester
Loren Lester (born October 4, 1960) is an American screen, stage and voice actor best known as the voice of DC Comics superheroes Nightwing and Robin in various media, starting with the DC Animated Universe. He is also a graduate of the Occidental ...
lent their voice to other characters. Furthermore, the first two games are co-written by series veteran Paul Dini
Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) ...
. Also, Batman's design and costume
Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people.
The term also was tradition ...
in ''The Animated Series'' are featured as an alternate skin in '' Batman: Arkham City''. These skins are available as downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
; they were also available in pre-orders at GameStop
GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
and a valid membership to Power-Up Rewards. There are also ''Animated''-inspired alternate skins for Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
, Nightwing
Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin.
Although ...
and Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
.
Actor Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...
, who portrays Batman in ''The Batman
Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Batman or The Batman may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
Characters
* Batman (Terry McGinnis)
* Batman (Thomas Wayne)
* Batman (Earth-Two)
* Bat ...
'' (2022), has cited ''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' as an example of Batman media that effectively captured the character's psyche in a fashion he hoped his interpretation would emulate.
Accolades
Music
''Batman: The Animated Series'' featured a strong musical score written by several different composers throughout the course of the series. The main theme of the show, which was heard during the opening and ending credits of each episode, was composed by Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
. At first, Elfman turned down Bruce Timm's offer to compose the theme for the show and so Timm hired Shirley Walker
Shirley Anne Walker (née Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood. Walker was one of the first female ...
to do so. However, Elfman later changed his mind and composed a variation of his 1989 ''Batman'' film theme for the series. Walker's unused theme went on to become the main theme for the second season of the show, when the name was changed to ''The Adventures of Batman & Robin''.
In 1996, Walker won her first Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for her music direction of the episode "A Bullet for Bullock" (scored by Harvey R. Cohen). She would then go on to win another Daytime Emmy Award in the category of music-composition for ''Batman Beyond
''Batman Beyond'' (known as ''Batman of the Future'' outside the United States) is an American superhero animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration ...
'' in 2001.
Although at least twenty-four different composers worked on the series, Walker, Lolita Ritmanis
Lolita Ritmanis (born November 1, 1962) is a Latvian-American composer, known for her film score, film and television scores, including her work on the animated series ''Batman Beyond''.
Early life
Born on November 1, 1962, in Portland, Oregon, ...
, and Michael McCuistion are regarded as the main contributors. After the series finished up in 1995, the three then went on to score '' Superman: The Animated Series'' (which also featured a theme by Walker) in 1996, ''The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'' in 1997 and ''Batman Beyond'' in 1999. Television composer Kristopher Carter
Kristopher Lee Carter (born February 5, 1972) is an American composer. He grew up in San Angelo, Texas and lives in Los Angeles, California.''Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, A biographical guide featuring performers, directors, writer ...
scored alongside Walker, Ritmanis, and McCuistion throughout the many DCAU
The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televisi ...
series and later filled in for Walker after her death in 2006.
Soundtracks
On December 16, 2008, La La Land Records announced the release of a soundtrack companion to ''Batman: The Animated Series'' on a two-disc CD set, which featured 11 episode scores (including those of "On Leather Wings", the "Two-Face" two-parter, "Joker's Favor" and "Perchance to Dream"). The release was limited to a pressing of 3,000 copies, which sold quickly.[The World's Finest Online](_blank)
soundtrack release. About one month after its release, the soundtrack set had sold over 2,500 copies. According to a spokesperson of La La Land Records, the sold out status of the soundtrack "can only help as the label hopes to convince Warner Bros. to release more ''Batman: The Animated Series'' soundtracks." The soundtrack received largely positive reviews.[Music on Film](_blank)
soundtrack review.
soundtrack review.
On March 24, 2009, La La Land Records released the complete score for the animated film '' Batman: Mask of the Phantasm''. It was a limited edition of 3,000 units and has since sold out.
The 2008 soundtrack was re-released in July 2012, minus "Gotham City Overture" (a suite featuring Walker's themes from the series, some of which do not appear elsewhere on the album) and "Music of the Bat 101" (a bonus track with Walker herself demonstrating the show's main music).[La-La Records](_blank)
, soundtrack status. The re-release is a limited edition of 5,000 units by La La Land Records.
On July 19, 2012, La La Land Records also released a four-disc CD set with a further 21 episode scores (including those of "Heart of Ice", the "Feat of Clay" two-parter, "Almost Got 'Im" and "The Laughing Fish"), titled ''Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Two''. Volume 2 is a limited-edition release of 3,500 units by La La Land Records.
On October 7, 2014, La La Land Records released a four-disc set with another 24 episode scores (including those of the "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter, "Mudslide", "I Am the Night" and "The Man Who Killed Batman"), titled ''Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Three''. Volume 3 is a limited-edition release of 3,000 units by La La Land Records.
On March 29, 2016, La La Land Records released the complete soundtrack for the animated film '' Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman''. It was a limited edition of 2,000 units.
On July 26, 2016, La La Land Records released ''Batman: The Animated Series – Original Soundtrack from the Warner Bros. Television Series, Volume Four'', which contains the remaining material from the first 65 episodes. The final nine episode scores from the first season are featured (including those of "Fear of Victory", "His Silicon Soul" and "Joker's Wild"), as well as never-before-released cues from scores featured on earlier volumes. Volume 4 is a limited-edition release of 3,000 units by La La Land Records.
La La Land Records is also planning to cover the later incarnations of the series (''The Adventures of Batman & Robin'' and ''The New Batman Adventures'') in the future, provided that sales of existing volumes are strong enough and that there is strong fan encouragement. A '' Superman: The Animated Series'' soundtrack has also been released as of January 2014, and a ''Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' volume was released on July 26, 2016. ''Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and ...
'' and a second volume of '' Superman: The Animated Series'' will only be released if ''Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' and the first '' Superman: The Animated Series'' volume sell well.
On July 22, 2014, WaterTower Music
WaterTower Music (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label and run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based o ...
released six digital albums on download and streaming platforms (covering La La Land's first and second volumes, including "Gotham City Overture" and "Music of the Bat 101") for the series in honor of the 75th anniversary of Batman.
Asterisked tracks contain thematic material by Shirley Walker; double-asterisked tracks contain Danny Elfman's ''Batman'' theme.
Volume 1 track listing
#Gotham City Overture 14:01 (not included on the re-release)
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' – Main Title (Danny Elfman) 1:02
*"On Leather Wings" (Shirley Walker):
#Sub-Main Title / Batwing / Bat Attack 1:51
#Batman Drives to Gotham 1:00
#Batman Investigates / Batman Uses Infrared / Police Rush Building 1:48
#Batman Escapes / Batman Flies 1:48
#Bats / Evidence Goes Up in Smoke / The Formula / Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Bat 3:01
#Gotham from the Air / Ride 'Em Batman / Epilogue 2:16
*"The Last Laugh" (Shirley Walker):
#Sub-Main Title 1:35
#The Submarine / Joker Loots Gotham 2:35
#Alfred Loses It 0:58
#Bat Boat / Batman Catches the Big Fish / Batman Fights the Bad Guys 2:18
#Cliff-Hanger Under Water / Batman A.K.A. Houdini 1:56
#Batman the Terminator 2:01
#Batman vs. Joker / Batman vs. Joker Part 2** 3:47
*"It's Never Too Late" (Lolita Ritmanis):
#Sub-Main Title / Stromwell's Flashback 2:01
#Batman on Top of Church / Stromwell Arrives at Pete's / Thugs Exit 1:20
#Stromwell Confronts Thorne 1:15
#It's Party Time / Batman Carries Stromwell 0:48
#Stromwell Sees Joey 1:41
#Stromwell Tricks Batman / Thorne's Men Move In / Thorne Chases Stromwell 3:22
#Stromwell's Flashback #2 1:45
#Batman Cracks Heads / Thorne Removed 1:20
*"Pretty Poison" (Shirley Walker, Lolita Ritmanis and Michael McCuistion):
#Ground Breaking Ceremony / Penitentiary Time Lapses 1:11
#Batman Catches a Chopper / The Chopper Crashes / Rooftop Chase 1:58
#Batman Sneaks Around 1:09
#A Little Plant Muzak / The Carnivorous Plant 0:59
#Batman vs. Poison Ivy / Poison Ivy in Prison 3:52
*"Christmas with the Joker" (Shirley Walker, Lolita Ritmanis and Michael McCuistion):
#14 Seconds Opening / Jingle Bells / The Joker Blasts Off 1:03
#Down the Mountain / Sidewalk Red Herring 0:51
#'Pukey Christmas Music / Christmas with the Joker / Game Show Music 2:18
#The Train Crashes 1:19
#Observatory Cannon / Cannon Out of Control / Robin Blows Up Cannon 1:11
#More Game Show Music / Drive to the Toy Company 1:39
#Nutcracker Suite Medley 1:24
#Pie in Batman's Face / Dangling Hostages Saved / Deck the Halls 1:40
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' – Alternate Main Title (Shirley Walker) 1:09
*"Two-Face, Part I" (Shirley Walker):
#Harvey's Nightmare / Dent's Soap Box 2:24
#Batman Tracks Dent 2:07
#Split Personality / Harvey / Harv 4:21
*"Two-Face, Part II" (Shirley Walker):
#Part One Recap 0:33
#Sub-Main Title / The Heist 1:49
#Bruce Wayne's Nightmare / Two-Face Remembers 2:47
#Batcycle / What About Grace? 1:58
#My Name Is Two-Face 1:52
#The Great Equalizer / Where There's Love 4:03
*"Joker's Favor" (Shirley Walker):
#Sub-Main Title / Cussing Out the Joker / I Had a Bad Day 3:18
#Joker's Hide-Out 1:19
#Charlie's Neighborhood / Joker Finds Charlie 1:18
#Charlie Arrives in Gotham / Joker Collects His Favor 0:42
#Harley's Party Source 0:44
#Crashing the Party 1:33
#Batman Saves the Commissioner / Batman's After the Joker / Charlie Gets the Joker 3:38
*"Vendetta" (Michael McCuistion):
#Sub-Main Title / Conway Is Abducted 0:43
#A Clue / The Crocodile's Lair 1:27
#Another Clue 1:19
#Croc's Cave / Killer Croc 2:52
#Batman Chases Croc / Sewer Fight 2:54
#Bullock Gets the Croc 1:09
*"Perchance to Dream" (Shirley Walker):
#Sub-Main Title / The Dream Begins 0:52
#It's Impossible / Bruce Sees Batman / Bruce Watches Batman at Work 2:14
#My Life Is a Dream 2:48
#Climbing the Church Tower / Belltower Fight 2:45
#Your Own Private Wonderland / Back to Reality 2:48
*"Birds of a Feather" (Shirley Walker):
#Birds of a Feather 1:54
#That Fine Roman Nose / Penguin vs. Muggers 2:32
#Penguin Takes Veronica 0:40
#The Drop / Rubber Duckie Ride 1:50
#The Penguin's Opera / High Society 2:19
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' – End Credit (Danny Elfman) 0:34
#Music of the Bat 101 (Bonus Track) 6:45 (not included on the re-release)
Volume 2 track listing
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' Main Title (Danny Elfman) 1:05
*Beware the Gray Ghost – Carl Swander Johnson:
#Beware the Gray Ghost 0:54
#Simon Trent 1:47
#Trent Meets Batman / Trent Runs 1:33
#He Runs But He Can't Hide 0:36
#Trent Helps Batman 0:55
#Lethal Toys / The Ghost Saves Batman 1:25
#Toy Car Chase 0:43
#Gray Ghost's Shrine / Mistaken Identity 0:46
#Twisted Ted / Up in Smoke 1:36
#Bruce's Hero 0:31
*Beware the Gray Ghost – Bonus Track:
#Gray Ghost Suite 1:24
*The Cat and the Claw, Part I – Harvey R. Cohen, Wayne Coster, Shirley Walker:
#The Catwoman (S. Walker) 4:51
#Riding the Truck* (W. Coster) 1:01
#Multigon International (W. Coster) 0:18
#Introducing Red Claw (H. Cohen) / A Word with the Boss (W. Coster) 0:55
#Catwoman at Multigon H.Q. (S. Walker) / Cats in the Office (S. Walker) (Features "Ode to Joy" by L. Beethoven) 1:31
#Batman Rescues Catwoman* (H. Cohen) / Lovers or Enemies (W. Coster) 3:33
#Who Will Save You? 0:30
*The Cat and the Claw, Part II – Harvey R. Cohen
#The Cat and the Claw 0:44
#The Train* 1:59
#Bruce Wayne's Chaperone / A Bumpy Ride 1:57
#Alley Cat* / Catwoman Strikes* 3:30
#Bat Draft* 2:14
#The Fallen Resort* 0:57
#More Than You'll Ever Know* 0:46
*The Cat and the Claw – Bonus Tracks:
#String Quartet (W. Coster) 1:01
#Ode to Joy (Composed by L. Beethoven; Arranged by Shirley Walker) 0:10
#Introducing Red Claw (Alternate) (H. Cohen) 0:39
#Ode to Joy Alternates (Composed by L. Beethoven; Arranged by Shirley Walker) 0:28
*Nothing to Fear – Shirley Walker
#Nothing to Fear 0:43
#Machine Gun / The Scarecrow Arrives 1:42
#The Vault** / Sprinklers 3:22
#Scarecrow's Hideout 0:22
#Scarecrow's Backstory 0:35
#Batman's Flashback / Batman and Alfred 0:46
#Scarecrow Invades the Museum / Scarecrow's Attempt at Escape** 2:13
#Dirigible Flight / Fear Strikes Again / Escape and Explosion 3:22
#Scarecrow Discovered / Scarecrow is Captured / Scarecrow on a Skewer 1:54
*Heart of Ice – Todd Hayen, Shirley Walker
#Heart of Ice 0:38
#The Iceman Cometh Again / Cold as Ice* 3:30
#Top Secret 0:57
#The Swift Hand of Vengeance 1:55
#Ice Assault / Frigid Frenzy / Alfred's Cold Remedy 2:34
#Arkham Asylum 0:59
*Heart of Ice – Bonus Tracks:
#Newsbreak (Expanded) 0:44
#Benefit Classic 1:15
#Office Muzak 2:25
#The Iceman Cometh Again (Alternate) 2:53
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' End Credits (Extended) (Danny Elfman) 0:46
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' Main Title (Piano Version)(Danny Elfman and Shirley Walker) 1:03
*Appointment in Crime Alley – Stuart Balcomb
#Sub Main Title 0:31
#Batman Drives to Crime Alley / Where Are We Going to Go? 2:23
#I'm Not Afraid Here* 1:12
#Searching for Leslie / Leslie's Held Captive 0:49
#The Billboard 0:52
#Baby Picture* 1:59
#Chasing the Trolley / Trolley Rescue* 1:28
#Batman Sees the Newsstand Clock* / Leslie Sweats / Batman Swings During Speech 1:09
#Good People in Crime Alley* 0:38
*Mad as a Hatter – Harvey R. Cohen
#Mad as a Hatter 1:00
#Poor Jervis / Frabjous Day* 2:00
#A Walk in the Park* 0:38
#Ejection* / The Plunger* 1:15
#The Mock Turtle Song 0:34
#Until Tomorrow* / Will You, Won't You* 1:03
#All's Fair in Love and War* / Mad Hatter's Friends* / Storybook Land* 3:04
#Off with His Head* / The Maze* / Batman Comes to Tea* 4:15
*Mad as a Hatter – Bonus Track:
#Dining with Jervis 1:18
*The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne – Lolita Ritmanis
#The Strange Secret* / Batman Intervenes 2:21
#Tragic Past* 1:23
#The Strange Doctor / The Joker's Phone Message* / Strange Has Left the Building 0:58
#The Diabolical Plan* 3:07
#Bruce Makes Another Tape 0:45
#Strange Tries to Run / Flying the Unfriendly Skies* /Running on Empty* / Batman Makes the Catch / Robin is Revealed 3:00
*I've Got Batman in My Basement – Shirley Walker, Carlos Rodriguez
#The Heist 2:17
#Sherman Tracks Vulture / Birdseed / Penguin Revealed 1:36
#Batman Gets Gassed 2:11
#Batmobile Goes Bats / Sherman and the Batmobile* (Carlos Rodriguez) 2:09
#The Vulture Flies / It's a Matter of Life and Death 0:43
#Vulture Attack / Penguin Pays a Visit 1:04
#It's Them or Us / Polite Penguin 1:49
#Penguin the Bully / Batman vs. Penguin 2:20
#Front Page Penguin 0:41
*Feat of Clay, Part I – Jeff Atmajian, Shirley Walker, Carl Swander Johnson
#Feat of Clay* (J. Atmajian) 1:09
#Mr. Fox's Resignation (S. Walker) 3:32
#Matt's Make-Up (S. Walker) 1:31
#Matt Finds the Formula (C. S. Johnson) 0:35
#Creation of Clayface (J. Atmajian) 0:45
#Bell Goes for a Ride*/** (C. S. Johnson) 1:56
#Bruce Looks for Answers (J. Atmajian) 0:49
#Teddy Discovers Clayface (S. Walker) 0:43
*Feat of Clay, Part II – Shirley Walker
#Sub Main Title 0:36
#Arrival at Imperial Pictures 0:19
#Man of Many Faces 2:11
#Suffocation for Fox / Foiled by Batman 1:08
#Batman Confronts Clayface / The Matt Hagen Films 3:09
#Batman Confrontation with Clayface / Clayface Dies 4:48
#The Morgue 0:50
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' End Credits (Alternate Beginning) (Danny Elfman) 0:48
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' Main Title (MIDI Version)(Danny Elfman and Shirley Walker) 1:04
*Almost Got 'Im – Stuart Balcomb
#Almost Got 'Im 1:24
#Pumpkin Patch* / Batman's Scorn* 1:11
#A Bad Penny* 1:12
#Penguin's Setup* / Birds of a Feather* 2:42
#Laugh O Meter / Catwoman to the Rescue* / Catwoman KO'd 1:10
#Shadow Secrets* / Cat Food for Thought* / Maybe Some Day 2:08
*Almost Got 'Im – Bonus Tracks:
#Club Source #2 0:59
#Club Source #4 0:57
#Joker Talk Show Source* (Extended) 0:49
#Joker Bumper* 0:15
#Just for Laughs 1:40
*If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? – Carlos Rodriguez
#If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?*/ Silent Radio 0:45
#The Wasteland*/ Rescue Attempt* / Riddler Escapes* 4:18
#Minotaur's Myth* / The Griffin /Griffin Fight / Hand of Fate 3:05
#Hijacked Hand* / The Minotaur / Destroy Them / Deadbolts* 3:06
*If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? – Bonus Tracks:
#If You're So Smart Source (Shirley Walker) 2:11
#Riddle of the Minotaur Source 0:13
#Griffin Theme 0:09
#Question Mark Motif 0:08
#Hand of Fate Motif 0:09
#Wasteland Motif 0:07
#Musical Puzzle 0:12
*The Demon's Quest, Part I – Michael McCuistion
#The Demon's Quest* 1:47
#Sad News / Strike One 1:06
#Calcutta / Alley Fight* 1:48
#Black Cat / Sweet Dreams, Kitty* 2:03
#After You 0:33
#Power Trooper* / The Demon's Guard / They Call Him Ra's* 2:45
#Strike Three – You're Out 0:44
#The Lazarus Pit* / Revitalized Demon* 2:04
*The Demon's Quest, Part II – Harvey R. Cohen
#Recap* 0:52
#The Demon's Quest, Part II* 1:26
#Parted Lovers / Goodbye Beloved* 1:29
#Orpheus / Lets Do It* / Caravan* 1:47
#Pay for This Trespass 1:13
#Lower the Bombs / Crazy / To the Tower 1:10
#To Remember Me, Beloved* / Countdown* 1:44
#He'll Ruin Everything* 3:35
#Prisoner of Love* 0:57
*The Laughing Fish – Shirley Walker
#The Laughing Fish / Joker's Insane Scheme 3:15
#Friendly Fish Truck / Missile Fish / Francis Gets Happy (Extended) / I Know You're Watching 1:13
#Jackson's Cat 0:57
#Oceanside Aquarium / Sharkey's Appetite 2:13
#Catch of the Day / How Do You Spell Relief? 1:57
#Batman Rides the Shark / Jumping Joker Sees Jaws / Is the Joker Gone? 3:30
*The Laughing Fish – Bonus Tracks:
#"Joker's Fish Song" (Features "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" Arranged by Nerida Tyson-Chew) 1:03
#Joker's Door Chime #1 0:11
#Joker's Door Chime #2 0:12
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' End Credits (Alternate Ending) (Danny Elfman) 0:44
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' Main Title (with Sound Effects) (Danny Elfman) 1:04
*Shadow of the Bat, Part I – Shirley Walker
#Shadow of the Bat / Thorne on the Roof 2:01
#Gordon's Arrest 1:02
#We'll See About This / The Evidence Room 1:07
#Two-Face's Hideout / The Batgirl / Batgirl Takes Action / Batgirl Gets Trashed 2:37
#Bad Company / A Different Disguise / Matches Malone 3:56
*Shadow of the Bat, Part II – Harvey R. Cohen
#Recap* 1:19
#Shadow of the Bat, Part II / Casing Gil's Apartment* 1:21
#Robin and Batgirl Follow* / Matches Gives the Signal / Bad Guys Escape 2:58
#Water in the Tunnel / Water, Water Everywhere* / Saving Robin / Batgirl Up the Rope* 1:47
#Blasted Out of Jail / Batgirl Finds Out 1:00
#Subway Escape* 1:44
#Rescue of the Commish* / Batgirl's a Real Drag / Batgirl Sees the Statue* 3:16
#Welcome to Gotham 0:32
*Shadow of the Bat – Bonus Tracks:
#Recap (Alternate) 1:20
#Matches Gives the Signal (No Bass) / Bad Guys Escape (No Bass) 1:41
*Harley and Ivy – Peter Davison, Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis, Shirley Walker
#Harley and Ivy* (M. McCuistion, L. Ritmanis) 2:57
#Harley is on Her Own (S. Walker, L. Ritmanis) / The Girls Escape (S. Walker) 3:18
#Toxic Dump (P. Davison) / Crime Spree (S. Walker) 1:10
#Batman Finds a Clue* (P. Davison) / Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (S. Walker) / Locked in Chains (P. Davison) / Batman Escapes Bondage* (P. Davison) 1:43
#The Joker's Flower (S. Walker, L. Ritmanis) / Batman Rescues Mr. J* (M. McCuistion) / No More Women (S. Walker) 2:04
*Read My Lips – Shirley Walker
#Read My Lips / Scarface's Boys 2:14
#What a Dummy 1:17
#Drapes for the Bat / Lumber Slumber / No Apples 2:50
#A Prima Notion 1:14
#Platinum Vault / Hang in There 1:24
#Dummy Up / Here We Go Again 3:24
*Fire from Olympus – Shirley Walker
#Fire from Olympus 2:17
#Max on High 1:16
#Lightning Demonstration 0:39
#Sneaking Batman In / Fire in the Sky 2:39
#Batman Enters Olympus / Snake Fight 1:51
#Olympus Battle 4:59
#(Alternate Beginning and Ending) 1:57
Volume 3 track listing
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' Main Title – Danny Elfman 1:03
*Robin's Reckoning, Part I – Carlos Rodriguez:
#Robin's Reckoning/Yahoo!/Robin's Catch/Interrogation 2:50
#Boy Wonder 0:55
#Extortion/The Flying Graysons 1:49
#Goodbye/Master Dick 1:03
#Crap Shoot*/Stromwell's Mansion 0:59
#The Bonding*/Never Again 1:00
*Robin's Reckoning, Part II – Peter Tomashek:
#Circus Memory 1:24
#Fencing Memory 0:53
#Dick Eavesdrops/Stealthy Dick 0:59
#Dick on the Street 2:44
#Dick Finds Zucco/Into the River/Out of the River 1:56
#Redial (William T. Stromberg)/Batman Drops In 0:56
#Amusement Park Fight/Robin Gets Zucco/Robin Does Right 3:40
#Sunrise 0:34
*Robin's Reckoning: Bonus Track – Carlos Rodriguez:
#Circus Fanfare/The Flying Graysons (alternate) 1:05
*P.O.V. – Shirley Walker:
#Gotham's Finest/Bad Guys Escape 1:42
#Bullock's P.O.V. 3:37
#Wilkes’ P.O.V. 1:35
#Montoya's P.O.V. 1:40
#Suspended Cops 0:44
#Renee Finds Batman/Batman Fights the Mob**/Montoya Cleans Up 5:07
#Epilogue 0:27
*The Clock King – Carlos Rodriguez:
#The Clock King*/Gone with the Wind/Fugate Loses It 1:25
#Political Graffiti*/Fugate Catches Train* 1:36
#Back Alley Batman/Clock Creep Hits Bank/Adieu, Batman* 1:43
#Time Is Running Out/Batman the Safe-Cracker 1:11
#Timing Is Everything*Batman Saves the Mayor* 2:36
*Tyger, Tyger – Todd Hayen:
#Tyger, Tyger*/Introducing Tygrus 2:31
#Tygrus Exercises 1:07
#Dorian's Island 1:23
#The Catwoman/You Made Her a Monster 0:43
#Tygrus Notices Catwoman/Her Fate Is in Your Hands 1:59
#Run Thru the Jungle/Bat vs. Cat/Fight on the Bridge/Batman and Tygrus Fall 2:18
#Selina Convinces Tygrus/Not His Enemy 2:24
#Tyger Burning Bright 1:40
*See No Evil – Shirley Walker:
#See No Evil/Memoirs of an Invisible Con/Footprints 6:09
#Kimberly's School/Stay Away/Abandoned 2:59
#Mojo's Pearls/Hold On... Batman 5:03
#Safe and Sound 0:37
*Cat Scratch Fever – Harvey R. Cohen:
#Cat Scratch Fever/Cat Catchers/Animal Testing 3:08
#Dagget Labs*/Selina Is Bitten* 0:57
#The Toxin Takes Effect* 2:13
#Let the Hunt Begin/The Chase Continues*/Toboggan Run 1:39
#On the Ice*/Under the Ice 1:43
#Bad Guys Take a Dip* 0:34
#Isis’ Return 0:47
*The Forgotten – Shirley Walker:
#Down Into the City 0:37
#Bruce Becomes Homeless/Bruce Is Blackjacked 2:42
#The Oven 0:47
#The Dream Sequence/Dan Protects Salvo/Alfred Finds Bruce's Car 2:27
#Bruce's Family Flashback 0:34
#Sweatbox Breakout/Trapped in the Canyon 1:21
#Mining for Batman 2:52
#Master Bruce 0:29
*Be a Clown – Michael McCuistion:
#Gotham Acres/Crooks Interrupt Mayor's Speech/Joker the Costume Freak* 1:59
#Jekko the Magnificent/You, You, You 1:15
#Pure Dynamite/Dynamite Birthday Cake* 1:51
#Jordan the Stowaway 0:39
#It's Not a Game, Jordan/The Old Ace Up the Sleeve/The Crystal Ball 1:43
#Batman in Straightjacket/The Show Continues* 2:20
#Rollercoaster Fight* 1:01
#Jordan & Mayor Reunited 0:16
*Be a Clown: Bonus Tracks – Michael McCuistion:
#Organ Source 1:24
#Water Tank Source 1:02
#Carousel Source 1:48
#Circus Source (unused) 1:45
*Dreams in Darkness – Todd Hayen:
#Dreams in Darkness/Batman Guesses Wrong/Batman Cracks Up 2:55
#Batman's Fate*/Threshold of Fear 2:18
#Batman Tries to Escape/Mass Madness* 0:32
#Batman's Delusions* 3:46
#Batman Conquers Fear*/Safe at Home 2:09
*The Underdwellers – Lars Clutterham & Stuart Balcomb:
#Let's Play Chicken (L. Clutterham) 1:10
#It Was a Leprechaun (L. Clutterham) 0:48
#The Underdwellers (S. Balcomb) 1:42
#Blinded by the Light*/Batman Saves Frog* (S. Balcomb) 3:18
#The Sewer King (S. Balcomb) 1:14
#Batman Sounds Alarm (L. Clutterham) 1:27
#Be Our Guest/Endangered Species? Not/Hanging Out to Dry/Batman Dethrones King (L. Clutterham) 2:14
#The Light, the Light (S. Balcomb) 0:34
*Terror in the Sky – Shirley Walker
#Terror in the Sky/The Man-Bat 1:44
#Carpet Inspection/Batman Operates/Francine Is in the Trash 1:01
#Man-Bat Out of the Sky/Man-Bat Chases Batman 2:34
#Batman Looks Thru Files/March Confesses 1:18
#Francine, Come Home 0:49
#Woman-Bat Wrecks the Plane/Langstrom Out the Door 2:59
#Detransformation 2:21
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' Main Title Demo (Two Pianos)- Shirley Walker and Danny Elfman 1:04
*Night of the Ninja – Mark Koval:
#Night of the Ninja 2:10
#Karate School/Flashback/Ninja Assault* 3:36
#Just in Time 0:56
#Bruce Catches Kyodai 1:13
#Kidnapped/Watertower 0:39
#Master Crime Fighter 1:39
#Ninja Meets His Match*/Thanks for Your Help 3:18
*Day of the Samurai – Carlos Rodriguez:
#Day of the Samurai/Ninja's Arrival 1:54
#Kyodai Ken Is Revealed/Bruce's Sketch 0:42
#Bruce Meditates/Once Upon a Time, Alfred/Uramachi District/Batman Gives Chase 3:48
#Kyodai Ken Finds Scroll/The Big Sleep/Kyodai Studies Scroll 1:37
#Alfred's All Tied Up/Batman Does as He Will/Batman Examines Dummy 2:02
#Batman Confronts Kyodai* 2:32
#Most Ingenious, Sir/The Essence of Samurai 0:54
*Prophecy of Doom – Shirley Walker:
#Prophecy of Doom 1:19
#Abandon Ship/Grave Danger 1:34
#Elevator Cliffhanger/Elevator Escape 1:47
#The Great Fall/Spiritual Crisis 2:33
#Nostromos Sees the Light/Guilty as Charged 4:24
*Prophecy of Doom: Bonus Track – Shirley Walker:
#Nostromos Source 1:01
*Eternal Youth – Lolita Ritmanis:
#Eternal Youth 1:47
#Wild Weekend/Detective Batman/Batcave Greenery 1:19
#Alfred and Maggie Go Back/Batman's Chemistry/Behind the Curtain 1:40
#Bat Gliding*/Petrified People 1:47
#Ivy the Eco-Terrorist 1:54
#What's It All About...? 0:48
*Eternal Youth: Bonus Tracks – Lolita Ritmanis:
#Video Source 2:03
#Spa Source 1:51
*What Is Reality? – Richard Bronskill:
#What Is Reality?/Police Station 1:18
#The Riddler's File/Robin Opens the Box 0:58
#Hard Copy* 1:16
#Riddler and the Commissioner*/Batman's Fire Out*/Batman in Computer Land* 1:27
#Batman's Riddler* 0:56
#Batman and Pegasus*/And So On, and So On 3:07
#Trapped* 0:38
*Mudslide – Shirley Walker
#Mudslide/Clayface Slips By 1:17
#Your Goose Is Cooked/You Used to Be Neater 3:44
#Movie Source 1:15
#MP-40/Clayface Escapes 1:26
#He's Melting/Breaking Up Is Hard to Do 1:27
#Inside Addition 4:14
*I Am the Night – Michael McCuistion:
#I Am the Night 0:37
#Roses/Stakeout/Roses on the Pavement/Brass Knuckles 1:56
#Battering Ram/The Jazzman Was Ready*/Catching the Jazzman/Commissioner Is Shot 2:23
#Emergency 0:27
#Batman Pays a Visit 0:38
#Batman's Rage/Jazzman in Prison 1:25
#Robin Sees Batman/Jazzman in the Laundry/Jazzman's Escape 0:58
#Batman Unmasks/This Is My Hunt*/Batman Saves Gordon* 2:25
#Batman Talks with Kid* 1:15
*Heart of Steel, Part I – Richard Bronskill & Tamara Kline:
#Sub-Main Title/The Briefcase (R. Bronskill) 1:03
#Briefcase on the Prowl (T. Kline) 1:53
#The Escape* (R. Bronskill) 3:15
#Cybertron Industries/HARDAC/Next Duplicant/Another Gordon (T. Kline) 1:52
#Teddy Bear/Randa's Compact/Compact Goes to Work (R. Bronskill) 1:18
#Randa Finds the Batcave/HARDAC Has Control (T. Kline) 1:22
*Heart of Steel, Part II – Carl Johnson:
#Heart of Steel, Part II* 0:58
#Another Mayor/Another Bullock 2:41
#A Very Exclusive Club* 1:49
#Trash Can Robot 1:36
#A Watchful Eye/Flying Over Cybertron*/Robots Run Amok*/Randa Is Terminated 3:24
#Let's Go Home* 0:39
*Heart of Steel: Bonus Tracks – Tamara Kline, Richard Bronskill & Carl Johnson:
#Futuristic Muzak (T. Kline) 0:45
#Sub-Main Title/The Briefcase (alternate)/Randa's Compact (alternate) (R. Bronskill) 1:31
#Let's Go Home (alternate)* (C. Johnson) 0:40
*Blind as a Bat – Steve Chesne & James Stemple:
#The Raven (S. Chesne) 1:34
#Raven Runs Amok* (J. Stemple) 0:52
#The Vision Thing (S. Chesne) 0:52
#Sight, or No Sight/Tooling Up*/Quoth the Batman, "Nevermore"*/** (J. Stemple) 4:29
#Batwing Disabled/Disabled Batman (S. Chesne) 4:05
#Cornered*/Good News* (J. Stemple) 1:01
*Paging the Crime Doctor – Shirley Walker:
#Paging the Crime Doctor 3:44
#Leslie Remembers/Matt Finds Leslie/Old Friends/Abducted 2:00
#Signs of a Struggle/The Disorderly Orderly/Playing with Sharp Objects/Laser Blazer 4:08
#Rooftop Escape/About My Father 3:28
*The Man Who Killed Batman – Shirley Walker:
#The Man Who Killed Batman 1:23
#Sid Wanted In/Sid the Squid 2:27
#Squid, Squid, Squid/Locked Up 1:46
#Sid Meets the Joker/The Diamond Exchange/No Punchline 2:13
#Batman's Funeral (includes "Amazing Grace," trad.) 3:33
#Pine Box/A Lot of Respect 1:43
#''Batman: The Animated Series'' End Credits – Danny Elfman 0:45
Home video
VHS
United Kingdom
United States
Chinese dubbed
Spanish dubbed
DVD
Region 1
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
(via DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
Entertainment and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner can refer to:
People
* Warner (writer)
* Warner (given name)
* Warner (surname)
Fictional characters
* Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs''
* Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter Me ...
) has released ''Batman: The Animated Series'' on DVD in Region 1 in three volume box sets. A fourth volume containing all 24 episodes of ''The New Batman Adventures'' was also released and these episodes now also begin with the original Season 1 opening sequence, and also end with the standard final credits. Warner Home Video later released ''Batman: The Complete Animated Series'', which features all episodes from both the original series and ''The New Batman Adventures'', on DVD in Region 1. The set includes all features from the four individual volumes, plus a bonus 17th disc with a new special feature and a 40-page collector's book containing artwork. The DVD was originally on sale for a limited time only and went out of print in January 2009. Warner Home Video released a second printing of the DVD in May 2009, but then withdrew it three months later.
Region 2
Volumes 1 and 2 were released on DVD in the UK on October 10, 2005 (Volume 1), and August 21, 2006 (Volume 2). These DVD volumes were exclusive to the retail chain HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
in the United Kingdom, a complete series 25th-anniversary collection was released in the UK on October 30, 2017, containing all four volumes. Volumes 3 and 4 were previously unreleased in the UK before the 25th-anniversary box set release.
On June 14, 2008, Volume 1 was re-released in the UK as a non-HMV exclusive, though both the artwork and the extras remain the same as the original HMV exclusive release.[Amazon UK](_blank)
''Batman Animated'' Season 1. Volume 2 was released in the same way on March 3, 2009.[Amazon UK](_blank)
''Batman Animated Season'' 2.
Region 3
In Hong Kong, the show was packaged into four different DVD volume sets just as it was done in Region 1. Volumes 1 and 2 were both released on February 28, 2005, while Volume 3 was released July 7, 2005, and Volume 4 was released February 17, 2006.
Region 3 DVD releases.
Region 4
In Australia, Volume 1 was released on October 19, 2005.[ABC Shop](_blank)
, Region 4 DVD releases. Volumes and the box set are available at websites like eBay.com
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer to consumer, consumer-to-consumer and business to consumer, business-to-consumer sales through ...
, Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
and Quicksales.com. All four volumes are available on the Australian iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
, and were released individually on DVD on November 9, 2016, by Village Roadshow
Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Ex ...
.
Blu-ray
During the series's 25th anniversary panel at the New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a f ...
on October 8, 2017, it was announced that the complete series and all 24 episodes of ''The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'' would be released on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
later in 2018 (due to the financial success of the ''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' Blu-ray release in 2017). The Blu-ray release came out in fall 2018.
The numbered, limited-edition box sets also included a code for a free digital SD and HD copy of the complete series, three collectible Funko
Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories ...
Pocket Pops of Batman, the Joker and Harley Quinn, seven exclusive lenticular cards of original animation artwork, as well as Blu-ray copies of both spin-off animated films ''Mask of the Phantasm'' and ''SubZero''.
Streaming
The series debuted on DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
in September 2018 in high definition. It moved to HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on January 1, 2021.
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
''Batman: The Animated Series'' (often shortened as ''Batman TAS'' or ''BTAS'') is an American Superhero fiction, superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, and produ ...
'' second season branding. Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
developed a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
(SNES), while Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
released versions of the game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...
, Mega-CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...
and Game Gear
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...
. 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.[IGN](_blank)
, ''The Adventures of Batman & Robin'' – Sega CD. The CD version has over 20 minutes of original animated footage comparable to the most well-crafted episodes,[Moby Games](_blank)
''The Adventures of Batman & Robin'' video game description. with the principal voice actors reprising their roles.
There was also a game made for the Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
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
Arleen Sorkin (born October 14, 1955) is a retired American actress, screenwriter, presenter and comedian. Sorkin is known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime serial ''Days of Our Lives'' and for inspiring and voicing the DC Comics ...
as Harley Quinn in '' Batman: Arkham Asylum'' and Robert Costanzo
Robert Jason Costanzo (born October 20, 1942) is an American film, television and voice actor. He has an acting career spanning over 40 years and is often found playing surly New York City types such as crooks, low-level workers and policemen, an ...
as Harvey Bullock in '' Batman: Arkham Origins'', while actors like Loren Lester
Loren Lester (born October 4, 1960) is an American screen, stage and voice actor best known as the voice of DC Comics superheroes Nightwing and Robin in various media, starting with the DC Animated Universe. He is also a graduate of the Occidental ...
lent their voice to other characters. Additionally, the first two games were written by ''Animated Series'' writer Paul Dini
Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) ...
. Many of the characters' costumes from the series also appear as downloadable skins in the games.
In ''Lego DC Super-Villains
''Lego DC Super-Villains'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure game, action-adventure Platform game, platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales. The fourth installment in the ''Lego Batman'' series of games, it is a spin-off that focuses e ...
'', a downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
level was released, based on the '' Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' film, and contained some characters from the show, including the ''Batman: The Animated Series'' version of Batman, The Joker
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
, Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...
, Two-Face
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
, Andrea Beaumont
Andrea Beaumont, also known as the Phantasm, is a fictional character, fictional DC Entertainment supervillain and antiheroine created by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, and designed by Bruce Timm. Beaumont first appeared as the main antagonist in the ...
as The Phantasm, Mad Hatter
The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Car ...
, Man-Bat
Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...
, and Captain Clown.
Cancelled spin-off
Due to the success of the show, Fox approached Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...
to make a spin-off centered on Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
, but the project was abandoned shortly thereafter.
See also
* ''Gotham Girls
''Gotham Girls'' is an American Flash animated web series focusing on several of the female characters of Gotham City, produced jointly by Warner Bros. Animation and Noodle Soup Productions. The web series, which ran from 2000 to 2002, starred ...
''
* List of ''The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...
'' episodes aired from September 13, 1997
References
Bibliography
* Dini, P. and Kidd, C. '' Batman Animated'', Perennial Currents, 1998.
External links
Official website
Official DC comics Site
*
' at Fox Kids
Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
(Archive)
''Batman: The Animated Series''
at The World's Finest
''Batman: The Animated Series'' at DCAU Wiki
*
at Big Cartoon DataBase
The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows, and cartoon shorts.
The BCDB project began in 1997 as a list of Disney animated featu ...
''The Animated Batman''
"Batmanimation" The home for all things animated Batman
Homage to the Animated Series through the Riddler character, Flash games and animations
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