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.

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.

Episodes
Batman: The Animated Series actually consists of three seasons that each have different names. Season 1 is titled Batman: The Animated Series, Season 2 is titled The Adventures of Batman & Robin, and Season 3 is titled The New Batman Adventures.

The series originally aired on Fox from 1992 to 1995. It was later shown in re-runs on The WB, Cartoon Network, Toonami, Toon Disney, Disney XD, and most recently on The Hub. Each episode is approximately 22 minutes long, excluding commercials. The New Batman Adventures, although featuring different character designs and animation style, is a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series that aired on The WB from 1997 to 1999. There are a total of 109 episodes from both series, along with multiple crossover episodes from Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock. Both series have been released to DVD in four-volume box sets.

Batman: The Animated Series ran on Toonami's afternoon block from July 3, 2000 to February 16, 2001, after briefly appearing on Toonami's Rising Sun block from May 20, 2000 to July 1, 2000.

List of Batman: The Animated Series Episodes