Batman may be one of DC’s most successful and prolific superheroes on the big screen, but the Caped Crusader has an equally – if not more – successful history in animated television series. While the character has been the star off acclaimed films such as The Dark Knight trilogy, many children grew up watching Bruce Wayne take on a wide range of foes one 30-minute segment at a time. Moreover, with Batman animated series running largely without pause since the 1960s, enjoying The Caped Crusader on TV is a multigenerational delight.
More impressive yet is the diversity that Batman’s best animated DC TV series represents. From campy and humorous to dark and brooding, there is a Batman TV show for every taste. With several shows currently airing and even more set to premiere soon, it doesn’t appear that The Dark Knight will be leaving television sets anytime soon.
Batman Animated Series In Order
- The Adventures Of Batman (1968-1969)
- Super Friends (1973-1986)
- The New Adventures Of Batman (1977)
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
- The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999)
- Batman Beyond (1999-2001)
- Justice League (2001-2004)
- The Batman (2004–2008)
- Batman: The Brave And The Bold (2008-2011)
- Young Justice (2010-2022)
- Beware The Batman (2013-2014)
- Batman Unlimited (2015-2016)
- Justice League Action (2016-2018)
- Harley Quinn (2019-)
- Batman: Caped Crusader (2023-)
16 The Adventures Of Batman (1968-1969)
The Caped Crusader’s first solo animated series, The Adventures of Batman, actually re-cut and re-presented the Batman content from The Batman/Superman Hour. Each episode presented two short Batman stories, each clocking in at just 6.5 minutes. This short animated series, which aired 17 episodes over its run, featured the voices of Olan Soule as Batman and Casey Kasem as Robin. As one could expect from the era, The Adventures of Batman as a campy and light-hearted take on the Dynamic Duo and features all The Dark Knight’s classic rogues.
15 Super Friends (1973-1986)
Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends was a staple of ABC’s Saturday morning cartoon line-up in the 1970s and 80s, and the iconic DC animated series defined the Justice League for a generation of children. Confusingly, the show actually changed names several times throughout its 13-year run, including alternates like “The World’s Greatest SuperFriends,” “The All-New Super Friends Hour,” and “The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.” Regardless of titles, the show centers on the Justice League as a group, though Batman is among the most prominent characters. The show not only features iconic DC characters but also presents dozens of original heroes and villains.
14 The New Adventures Of Batman (1977)
The New Adventures of Batman was a short-lived animated series that only aired on CBS for four months between February and May 1977. However, the show is notable for its cast of heroes. The iconic Adam West voices Batman, who is joined by both Robin and Batgirl as series leads. The show also leans into the absurd with Bat-Mite, a strange, dimension-hopping imp who claims to be Batman’s biggest fan and wears his version of The Dark Knight’s suit to match.
13 Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
Even more than two decades after it premiered, there is perhaps still no better Batman TV show than Batman: The Animated Series. Created by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, Batman: TAS blends an iconic modern-noir art style with complex writing and character depth that hadn’t been seen before in Batman’s animated adventures. The show is also the start of DC Animated Universe, which encompasses several other TV shows and movies.
Batman: The Animated Series also introduced what would become iconic versions of several characters. Kevin Conroy lends his voice to Bruce Wayne, and Mark Hamill tackles the Joker. The pair continued playing the classic hero/villain combo for years across various movies, TV shows, and video games and remain, to many, the definitive voices for each. Furthermore, the show redefined Mr. Freeze’s tragic backstory and invented Harley Quinn, who has gone on to become a DC staple in her own right.
12 The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999)
Coming out only two years after its predecessor aired its second and final season, The New Batman Adventures is a follow-up series continuing on from Batman: The Animated Series. The general narrative and writing style remains, though the show was given an updated art-style to match the simultaneously-running Superman: The Animated Series. While Batman is, of course, still a central player, The New Batman Adventures is notable for focusing a bit more on other members of the Bat Family.
11 Batman Beyond (1999-2001)
Batman Beyond starts with an interesting narrative hook: what happens when Bruce Wayne is too old to continue on as The Dark Knight? Though others have temporarily taken the mantle of Batman in other DC media, Batman Beyond sees Bruce fully pass on the torch to the young Terry McGinnis. A continuation of the canon started with Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond is particularly notable for its futuristic take on classic Batman villains and gear. Terry’s sleek suit is a marked departure from Bruce’s and has become iconic in its own right.
10 Justice League (2001-2004)
Justice League is, of course, about several of DC’s most iconic heroes, but Batman remains one of the more central figures throughout the series’ two-season run. The show is the seventh series in the DC Animated Universe and follows on narratively from Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, though it completely works as a stand-alone experience for those looking to jump in. As one would expect, the show mixes famous and lesser-known villains and is still the definitive interpretation of several DC icons for many.
9 Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006)
Justice League Unlimited picks up narratively a few years after the conclusion of Justice League and, as such, takes place in the same continuity. In fact, it’s the final project in the canon that began over a decade earlier with Batman: The Animated Series. While similar to its predecessor, Justice League Unlimited often focuses on some of DC’s more obscure characters, though Batman and the Trinity remain the central heroes. Justice League Unlimited does pick up narrative threads from previous TV shows, so it rewards long-time DCAU viewers, but it can be enjoyed perfectly well with no prior knowledge of the franchise.
8 The Batman (2004–2008)
After several animated series taking place in the DC Animated Universe continuity, The Batman (which has no connection to the DC Universe film of the same name) is its own canon, though it ties into a few other pieces of media. Both a movie, Batman vs Dracula, and a comic series, The Batman Strikes!, take place in the same worlds as this animated series. Though the narrative threads in The Batman will be familiar to Bat-fans, the series found exceptional critical acclaim, earning, among other awards, 12 Daytime Emmy awards and 6 wins.
7 Batman: The Brave And The Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold may be the DCU’s upcoming Batman movie, but it’s also a well-received animated series (and, before that, several comic series). The Brave and the Bold is a much lighter affair than most previous Batman animated series, clearly made for a younger audience. Narratively, the show is set apart by its focus on team-ups between Batman and other DC heroes.
6 Young Justice (2010-2022)
Young Justice isn’t directly about Batman as his other animated series are, but him and his Bat Family still play a crucial role. In the world of Young Justice, a team of young heroes – all with connections to a more established Justice League hero – forms to carry out missions the main team either can’t or won’t. Though Batman appears several times, it’s Dick Grayson as Robin that represents the Bat Family and acts as the team’s tech whiz. He later grows into the Nightwing persona and has a short stint as the team’s leader.
5 Beware The Batman (2013-2014)
Depsite an interesting premise, Beware the Batman had a rocky period of distribution. The show originally aired on Cartoon Network but was abruptly pulled from the schedule a few months after it premiered, only to drop it into the nighttime Toonami block seven months later, where it finished its run. The show is notable as the first computer-generated Batman animated series. The show focuses on Bruce’s early years as Batman as he is still developing his combat and detective skills.
4 Batman Unlimited (2015-2016)
Of all the Batman animated series, Batman Unlimited is perhaps the most unique. The series, which consists of 33 episodes over 2 seasons, was created as a web-series and is currently available to watch for free on DC Kids’ YouTube channel. Moreover, the episodes are all only two to three minutes long, center on a fight, and there is no spoken dialogue. While this will likely be a disappointment for those interested in story, it’s a fun way to get straight to some well-done Batman action.
3 Justice League Action (2016-2018)
Justice League Action will seem familiar to anyone who’s watched an earlier Justice League cartoon, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like Justice League (2001), Justice League Action focuses on the titular team with a particular focus on the trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The show only laster for one season, but it attracted a talented voice cast of known actors, including Kevin Conroy (Batman), Mark Hamill (Joker), Sean Astin (Shazam), Hannibal Burres (Mister Terrific), Lacey Chabert (Zatanna), and many more.
2 Harley Quinn (2019-)
Though DC media has generally been darker and more adult-oriented than Marvel’s movies and shows, at least in recent decades, Harley Quinn takes that up a notch and delivers a truly R-rated romp through the DC Universe. Focused on Harley Quinn, who breaks up with Joker in the first episode, other main characters include Poison Ivy, Clayface, King Shark, Frank the Plant, and more. Harley Quinn also takes a farcical look at DC superheroes, including Batman, who pops up from time to time across the series’ four-and-counting seasons.
1 Batman: Caped Crusader (2023-)
Little is yet known about Batman: Caped Crusader except that it’s set to air on Prime Video sometime in 2023. The show has already had a complicated journey to release Originally, Batman: Caped Crusader was ordered to series for release on the then-titled HBO Max. However, over a year later, it was cancelled before release. Fortunately, the project, which is helmed by Executive Producers J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, was able to find new life on Prime Video. With 2023 entering its final months, more information will presumably come soon about Batman next animated series.
