Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series was an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on the Fox Network from September 5, 1992 to September 15, 1995. The series was the first in the continuity of the shared DC Animated Universe, and spawned the theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).

The visual style of the series, dubbed "Dark Deco," was based on the artwork of producer and artist Bruce Timm, The series was widely praised for its thematic complexity, dark tone, artistic quality and faithfulness to the character's crime-fighting origins. The series also won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.

The program was more adult-oriented than previous superhero cartoon series. It was the first such cartoon in years to depict outright physical violence, bloodshed, drug use (though both the bloodshed and drug use were minimal due to network censors) and the use of firearms (though only one character was depicted as having been shot - Commissioner Gordon, in the episode "I Am the Night," is shown lying unconscious due to a gunshot wound he received offscreen). First-time producers Timm and Radomski reportedly encountered resistance from studio executives, but the success of Tim Burton's first Batman film allowed the embryonic series to survive long enough to produce a pilot episode, which, according to Timm, "got a lot of people off our backs."

Cartoon Network began airing re-runs of the series on March 2, 1998. From 1998 to 1999, the show was aired after Cartoon Network's action block Toonami, and then in 2000 it was aired on Toonami itself.

Batman: TAS currently airs on the Hasbro and Discovery owned network The Hub.

Plot
The series features the adventures of the Dark Knight of Gotham City as he battles the evil that inhabits the city with the occasional help of Robin and Batgirl in stories that are faithful to the comics in both spirit and tone.



Characters
New villains such as Red Claw, Baby-Doll, Kyodai Ken, Tygrus, and the Sewer King were invented for the series, but to little acclaim. On the other hand, the Joker's accomplice Harley Quinn, Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya and the vigilante Lock-up achieved such popularity that they became characters in the comics. Older villains that were lesser known from the comics, such as Count Vertigo, the Mirror Man and the Clock King, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality. The series was also the first to suggest that Harvey Dent had a pre-existing dual personality before becoming Two-Face. This idea came from Alan Burnett, one of the series' producers and head writers.

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

One of the most noteworthy changes made in Batman: The Animated Series was the treatment of Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne. In nearly all other media, including the comics, television shows and films, Bruce deliberately plays up his image as a self-absorbed and not-too-bright billionaire playboy. In the animated series, his character is instead treated more seriously; he is assertive and intelligent, and actively involved in the management of Wayne Enterprises, without jeopardizing his secret identity. For example: in the episode "Eternal Youth", Bruce is shown angrily ordering one of his directors to cancel a secret deal with a timber company in the Amazon rainforest. In addition, during the episode "Night of the Ninja", he revealed to reporter Summer Gleeson that he has some martial arts training, as the reporter previously researched that he once lived in Japan, though he later throws a fight with the ninja Kyodai Ken in front of Gleeson to disguise his prowess. The psychological issues stemming from his parents' deaths are usually shown in the form of self-hatred when Bruce is alone. Voice actor Kevin Conroy is notable for being the first person in animation to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which was his own idea.