James' Review -Batman The Animated Series & The New Batman Adventures

 

He is vengeance. He is the night. He is Batman.

For decades across many comics, the caped crusader has fought injustice in Gotham and mesmerized many readers. However, his comic roots are not the only area where to find Batman. In the 1960s, a campy version of the Dark Knight, played by Adam West, graced the small screen alongside Burt Ward's Robin at a time when comic book adventures of superheroes in DC were more goofy after a big scare in the 1950s. In the 1980s, Batman returned to his darker roots and in 1989, the world saw Michael Keaton's Batman. After the success of Tim Burton's movie, a sequel dropped in the early 90s.

And it was in the 90s when a new Batman arose, starting a new era for DC on TV. But even though the DC Animated Universe wasn't fully established until crossover events came up and the Justice League aired, this was the beginning of Batman the Animated Series, starring the late Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Starting in early September of 1992 all the way to September of 1995 before returning in September of 1997 as The New Batman Adventures and ending in January of 1999 with a total of 109 episodes, BTAS, developed by Bruce Timm, followed Batman as he battled iconic enemies such as The Joker and the now-iconic Harley Quinn, Penguin, Riddler, Red Claw, Killer Croc and Two-Face. The show, despite being family-friendly, carried a dark tone with some lighter stories and tackled deep, mature themes and was a fantasy superhero noir story. However, episodes like the two part Heart Of Steel were sci-fi based and were pretty akin to The Terminator or Blade Runner. In fact, I consider Heart Of Steel one of my favorite BTAS stories. 

Kevin Conroy, cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne, provides the character with two different voices to make them sound distinct when they interact with different people. Bruce talks in a soft, kind voice while Batman speaks in a deep, almost menacing voice, especially when talking to people who know Bruce Wayne. Alongside Kevin, other members of the cast include Mark Hamil of Star Wars fame as The Joker, Bob Hastings as Comissioner Jim Gordon, Robert Costanzo as Detective Bullock, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. One episode features 1960s Batman actor Adam West as Simon Trent aka The Grey Ghost, the episode is called "Beware The Grey Ghost" and it's one of the best episodes ever.

My father and I spent a few years watching it and just recently finished seeing BTAS season three aka The New Batman Adventures with the episode "Mad Love", which adapts a comic story from a tie-in comic series, focusing on Harley Quinn and The Joker. Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures (which is technically seen as season three of the former) are impressive and incredibly well-animated by 1990s kids show standards and all three seasons are worth watching in their entirety. Full of action, thrilling stories full of plot and depth, Batman fans of future generations would enjoy seeing every moment of animated 90s Batman goodness. 9.9/10. 

RIP to Kevin Conroy, an incredible actor.

-James M