This week, Batman celebrates his 75th birthday and as tribute we at Multiversity are celebrating with looks at our favorite appearances of Batman! Read on below!
10. The Zeta Project
I guarantee you’ve never watched The Zeta Project. I’ve never watched The Zeta Project and my only good qualities are knowing obscure TV shows and reaching D-list on the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game. Despite my research which involved watching the below video three times, I’m still not sure what this show’s about.
Apparently a pacifist robot showed up in Batman Beyond and received his own spin-off about his life in an 80’s cartoon? I could go on crapping down this show’s throat, and I likely will at a later point, but The Zeta Project, or Le Project Zeta if you’re fancy, achieved what Teen Titans never could, despite the latter being a much much better show than the former. Batman actually guest starred on The Zeta Project. Two Batmen guest starred on The Zeta Project, actually. In the episode “Shadows”, Terry McGinnis and old Bruce Wayne show up to… I genuinely don’t know. What’s important here is that if we’re comparing Teen Titans and The Zeta Project to see which is more of a “Batman Show”, The Zeta Project definitely wins. Maybe that’s a reason Robin in Teen Titans never liked to bring up Batman. Between his own ward and a cool teen robot, he chose Cuddly Brainiac. I’d be pissed at my mentor if h-… wait hold up. I just found a wiki page describing the titular robot Zeta:
Infiltration Unit Zeta was built by the NSA. His mission was to discover information about terrorist organizations by killing a target and taking over his life.
Okay. Batman definitely made the right choice here.
9. Super Friends
After the 1966 Adam West show, Super Friends is likely the second biggest reason Batman is so prominent in the cultural lexicon. That said, the Batman here is essentially your no-frills champion of justice. If Adam West was vanilla ice cream, the Bruce Wayne of Super Friends is tart flavored frozen yogurt. Since this was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, all the action consisted of the Super Friends flailing around until somebody’s pet sidekick scared the villains away, or everyone involved just got bored and went home. Really, there’s hardly anything truly noticeable about Batman and Robin on this show.
Absolutely nothing.
8. Young Justice
I count Young Justice as one of the best cartoon in recent memory but their version of Batman’s just a dick. You know how Bruce Wayne sometimes gets ridiculously excited at the prospect of putting children in costumes and sending them off to get their asses kicked? Imagine if he was immediately granted authority over every young hero in the DC Universe. When the Justice League finds out that Captain Marvel is actually ten year olds, Batman fights for the right to have a child fight crime with him.
It is a wonder the series finale didn’t end with more deaths, or at least any caused by Batman himself. However, in the time-skip between seasons heavily implies Jason Todd showed up and died immediately. Still, that never stopped Batman from collecting every super-powered teenager across the world and forming them into his own team. Hell, Batman spent more time collecting teenagers than coming up with names for his special ops squad. They went six years going by “The Team” without realizing the name of the show was Young Justice.
7. Teen Titans Go!
When Batman finally showed up in a Teen Titans show, namely the chibi spinoff Teen Titans Go!, he didn’t appear as a superhero so much as a cackling dolphin with a deep love for Commissioner Gordon.
I wish I could explain this further. I really do.
6. The Batman
When The Batman premiered in 2004, it was burdened with the thankless task of following up the juggernaut Batman: The Animated Series, a show so popular that I’m sure we’re getting half a dozen angry comments on how it’s not the #1 spot in this list. Oh yeah, spoilers I guess.
Continued belowRather than trying to imitate what made TAS so popular, namely a dark noir-infleunced aesthetic and interpretations of villains that were heavily influenced by the comics, The Batman went into left field to create what could best be described as the Ultimate Universe version of Batman. With unique character designs and a more modern feel, The Batman set itself apart from other incarnations in the first few seasons by grounding the perspective through a teenage Barbara Gordon and actually making Clayface interesting. Then it lost its mind in later seasons by kicking out Batgirl in exchange for a rather boring Robin and a season of Justice League team ups that led to an alien invasion filled series finale. I don’t know either.
Before The Batman tried to become a grittier Brave and the Bold, it still had some classic underrated episodes. If you ever get the chance, the episode “Seconds” is well worth a look. I can’t find a clip on YouTube because all I’m finding is “Batman in x seconds” videos so here’s the trailer to The Batman vs. Dracula
Without a doubt, “They’re breaking into the bank. It’s a blood bank.” is my favorite line in any Dracula movie.
5. Beware the Batman
This is the newest series on the list and I’d arguably one of the more stylish. Yes the CGI can be wonky at times, but Beware the Batman does a great job of breaking down the core Batman mythology to create a journey for Batman we haven’t really seen before. Alfred’s a former special forces agent looking to take care of a Bruce Wayne who’s not as invulnerable as he’s often seen. Katana’s role as Batman’s bodyguard rather than sidekick elevates both her character and relationship with Bruce Wayne. Plus, Professor Pyg and Mister Toad are main villains. This show could be twenty minutes of fart noises but I will be sold on anything involving Professor Pyg. Both Pyg and the killer theme song by Dum Dum Girls.
If this show was fifteen minutes of that intro and Professor Pyg I’d be sold.
4. Batman Beyond
After the wild success of Batman: The Animated Series, which haunts our list like the legendary white whale, the DC Animated Universe expanded into the 21st century by moving into a very exaggerated version of what old people thought the 21st century would be. With Batman Beyond, the cowl was passed on to millennial Terry McGinnis as he tried to protect Gotham City with the help of his mentor, an old sassy Bruce Wayne. Though the series itself was often hit-or-miss, it often expanded the DC Universe in some unexpected directions while building a new Gotham City for Terry to call his own. After the series ended, The Tomorrow Knight still had some of his best adventures with the direct-to-DVD Return of the Joker and his appearances in Justice League Unlimited.
Though the focus was more often on Terry, old Bruce’s snarky comments were often highlights of the series. And most importantly, we got the following scene.
Batman Live is touring America in November and December 2012.
3. Batman: The Animated Series
Since Al Gore created the Internet in 1999, 40% of its content has been dedicated to talking about how Batman: The Animated Series is the best thing since sliced bread. Honestly, they’re not wrong. This incarnation of Batman, more than any of the movies, is the reason why Batman is seen as a serious hero in the mainstream. It broke down every hero and villain, identified their most primal traits, and crafted what would ultimately be the definitive version of the Batman universe. The influence this series had over the general perception of who Batman is, and ultimately what DC Comics is cannot be understated. Classics like “Almost Got ‘Im”, “If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?” and the feature-length film “Mask of the Phantasm” supersede many of the comics as some of the best Batman stories ever told. There are however more than a couple episodes that haven’t aged well, and many people who’ve been raised on stuff influenced by TAS may not see what the big deal is, but Batman: The Animated Series still remains one of the most influential series of all time.
Continued belowHowever, it doesn’t have the best version of Batman. Nor does it have the best version of Batman in the DCAU.
2. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
This is the best version of Batman in the DCAU.
Okay, karaoke aside, I’d still argue that Justice League did more for Batman as a character than The Animated Series did. Though the first series did a lot to define the “classic” Batman, it for the most part stayed in his own wheelhouse. With JL(U), the grim Batman who’d spent most of his time fighting crime in a noir Gotham was pushed feet first into a world full of sorcery, aliens, and a flirtatious relationship with Wonder Woman. TAS may have defined Batman, but Justice League arguably had much more fun in poking what made The Dark Knight tick.
There is, however, only one series that undisputedly had the most fun in poking and prodding what Batman was all about.
1. Batman: The Brave and The Bold
I will defend this series to the grave.
Batman: The Brave and The Bold started off a little slow, having Batman team up with D-listers like Red Tornado and Blue Beetle. The series eventually grew into its own identity has being the most batshit crazy animated version of the DC Universe. With an entire musical starring Neil Patrick Harris, Bat-Manga, and a whole episode revolving around Superman’s jerk-faced Silver Age covers, The Brave and The Bold proved itself as the funnest incarnation of Bruce Wayne. That said, it was also definitely a show that never lowered the stakes. Episodes like “Deep Cover for Owl Man!” and “Chill of the Night” are just as tense and action-packed as B:TAS while the final episode was a genius look at the nature of endings, television, and the paradox of producing a goofy Batman cartoon in the 21st century. If you’ve never seen “Mitefall” or any episodes of Brave and the Bold, then the following clip may not have much impact. For me, it’s still one of the most sincerely touching speeches Bruce Wayne has ever uttered.
Still, I’m sure that there are plenty of people who don’t agree with Brave and the Bold in the top spot which is great! If you have any opinions on the best animated Batman shows/appearances/anything feel free to share in the comments below! Until then, we’ll play you out with our final entry.
Bonus: The Lego Movie
