Between “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” the upcoming “Justice League” films, Ben Affleck’s impending solo movie, and next year’s “The Lego Batman Movie,” the Caped Crusader is everywhere these days. But that has seemed like the case for the past 60 years. Batman is practically synonymous with superheroes in the eyes of many, and deservedly so. But while the brooding character has evolved and re-evolved countless times, 1992’s “Batman: The Animated Series” still has never quite gotten the respect it deserves. As noted by kaptainkristian in his video,“Batman – Evolving the Legend,” it would be tough to find a piece of DC media that wasn’t massively influenced by the Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski-developed television program. It became such a success because it took the best elements from each era of Batman prior and brought them under one banner, making it accessible and familiar to anyone who knew the character.
Premiering on Fox Kids in September 1992, “Batman: The Animated Series” was a direct response to Tim Burton’s moodier, darker 1989 film. In a time when “G.I. Joe” and “Transformers” cartoons set the standards for the genre, Timm and Radomski’s TV show took a radical, sophisticated, and more grounded approach to the iconic character, which is notable in a time when the movies themselves were ironically getting goofier, over-the-top and more cartoonish under director Joel Schumacher. But what helped to make the show work was its balance of humor alongside the grim undertones incorporated in the character’s origins. In short, it was a harmonious balance of everything people loved about the character, from the silliness of the ‘60s iternation, to the swashbuckling of the ‘70s to the bleakness of the ‘80s. And that’s what helped informed the next two decades, as it gave both a template to follow and a solid foundation to build upon. But in the process, it didn’t just add to the mythos; it re-shaped it.
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For instance, this is how Harley Quinn came into the picture. At first conceived as a throw-away henchmen in the comics, through her original design in the series, a unique dynamic with The Joker, and striking voice acting from Arleen Sorkin, she was transformed. It’s hard to imagine Margot Robbie in “Suicide Squad” — potentially the subject of her own stand-alone feature film — without that groundwork. But “Batman: The Animated Series” was also responsible for re-inventing D-list villains like Clayface and Mr. Freeze, the latter the subject of the Emmy-winning episode “Heart of Ice.”
But beyond all this, what helped make “Batman: The Animated Series” the quintessential portrayal of the character was how the animated series alway focused predominantly on Bruce Wayne himself, and his relationship to The Dark Knight, especially in a time when the movies found the villains overshadowing the superhero at hand. And this helped come through with the signature voice acting work from Kevin Conway in the titular role and Mark Hamill as The Joker himself, which are now the definitive incarnations of those characters for a multitude of comic fans. But that’s merely scratching the surface, of course, and to hear more about how the impact of “Batman: The Animated Series” has changed the impact of the characters forever, check out the video for yourself.