Is THE BATMAN the Most Underrated DC Cartoon?

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With a new Batman animated series on the horizon, Nerdist's Kyle Anderson is taking a closer look at one of the Caped Crusader's more forgotten adventures. But does The Batman hold up 20 years later?
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[@ministerjlupine8175]

The Batman vs. Dracula was absolutely awesome!

[@mysterycupofjoe2670]

I put it up there with the Phantasm. I did not expect such a great movie. The atmosphere gave me Batman '89 vibes.

[@AdamYJ]

Honestly, I liked the JLA team-up episodes. But then, it finished Batman’s arc for the show. The arc of him not just starting out but widening his circle. First to Yin, then to Gordon and Batgirl, then Robin then finally to heroes from outside Gotham.

[@NightBane345]

This show was so underrated, I loved the fresh takes they did on characters, they never felt really out of place or forced. The creators really nailed the universe they created. Wish it could've continued

[@joelmarin5890]

Yup unlike the new show that just dropped they changed stuff and it feels so forced tbh

[@NightBane345]

@@joelmarin5890 The characters was recognisable, they had the same characteristics, theme was the same, it was mostly just how they fight and appearances that was slightly different. Joker was still a psycho but did more hand to hands fighting, giving Batman more of a challenge. Same with Penguin and Riddler, but their fighting styles was tailored to their characters. Not just a copy of all the other fighters. Otherwise, it was the old characters we knew and loved

[@philh1088]

FINALLY RECOGNITION FOR MY BOY

[@aidenkz]

Deserves more respect because Batman doesn't try to hook up with Batgirl

[@GamerSlyRatchet1]

That’s a very low bar lol.

[@michaelphillips5424]

Well, that one I have to give you. 😂

[@mysterycupofjoe2670]

@@michaelphillips5424 Yup. Even if she was his age, Catwoman or Talia seem to be more on his mind level (and Batman has a difficult mind level). To hook up with Barbara and probably break her heart feels low.

[@ultraginge1990]

This slayed me 😂

[@joshuagcwong734]

The Bane, Freeze, Man-Bat, Firefly, and Clayface(s) designs in this series were peak. Also Black Mask, in fact correct me if I'm wrong but this cartoon was the first to show Black Mask in a white suit. So cool.

[@carlytto25]

YES!!!!! Yes it is. I fight people, to prove it's the best Batman cartoon (after Batman Beyond)

[@rexex345]

Honestly, my ranking is TAS era, brave and the bold, the Batman, and finally beyond... That being said for me the difference in ranking is miniscule, they're all fantastic.

[@LUCKO2022]

No

[@arghjayem]

It’s good but in terms of ranking number 1 is TAS, then Batman Beyond, then I’d say The Batman!

[@jaylenjayden9305]

My favorite batman

[@Ace20999]

My tier list is BTAS, Beyond, The Batman, last but definitely not least Brave and the Bold. To be honest it's really hard to ranked them because they are all just such good shows. Most everyone of the Batman cartoons are really good.

[@alexisduarte4542]

No I don’t remember…because I never forgot and still rewatch it from time to time love the art style .

[@PWPlatypus]

When I was still reading the comics, Kevin Conroy is the voice I hear in my head as Batman, but Rino Romano is the voice I hear for Bruce Wayne.

[@0127sasuke]

For me, Conroy is present day and beyond Bruce, but romano is the early year one Bruce (also adult Damian)

[@The_Phantasm]

I really loved The Batman. While it didn't have the fame that Batman The Animated Series had, some characters and plotlines I thought were handled significantly better than in BTAS. Characters like Catwoman, Hugo Strange, Batgirl, Killer Croc and surprisingly Firefly I thought were handled in a vastly superior way than in the DCAU. Also the Riddler voiced by Robert Englund was a standout. It also had one of the most unique depictions of Clayface ever.

[@krono5el]

def had some of the best animation quality for a weekly cartoon at the time, maybe the best.

[@MrScratch1701]

My oldest son was little when this show premiered, and we would watch it together. We loved it, and still do. It was his introduction to Batman, and I had an absolute blast enjoying it with him and using it to introduce him to other versions of the character.

[@kencoleman5007]

I was in college during the Batman's run, and I really enjoyed it, though I enjoyed Brave & the Bold much more. Some of my favorite shows from the series were the Killer Croc, the Clayface stories, the Poison Ivy-Batgirl origin episode. I loved how the Penguin included some of that Burgess Meredith style quacking.

[@codybailey3367]

Anyone that enjoys this show should check out it's tie-in comic The Batman Strikes. It did a good job giving more time to underused villains like Croc, Man-Bat, and Black Mask and spent a good bit of time developing the relationship of the batfamily.

[@GamerSlyRatchet1]

Sometimes I like stories in that comic more than some episodes of the show.

[@codybailey3367]

@@GamerSlyRatchet1 The story where Ethan helps Hugo Strange was one of the best, and all the Poison Ivy stories were great as well. So many stories would have been perfect as episodes.

[@bhgemini]

19 years later and my DVD-rip of The Batman vs. Dracula is still my go-to in flight film.

[@garethspotfur1]

They set the tone perfectly from episode. Grim dark knight vs the capering joker. “Mark my words, this town has happy days ahead!” And I like the growth of the bat family, and the final season with the league. Bruce learned he couldn’t save the day alone, and grew into that.

[@dnmstarsi]

Yeah, it's easily one of the most overlooked. Character designs were overall interesting for the Dark Knight and each season was interesting in their own right. Season 1- Year Two as Bats, intro to various villains like Joker and Penguin as well as the relationship with Detectives Bennett and Yin (Former is basically DCAU Harvey Dent who sorta ends up getting the Jim Gordon from Killing Joke treatment sadly). Season 2- New villains like Riddler and (Clayface who was Detective Bennett from the end of S1) partnership with Yin. Season 3- Batgirl becomes his first partner (DC Embargo was a dumb thing that gave us some interesting scenarios) (eventually) along with a new Batmobile though Yin got written out. Also new theme song. Season 4- Robin joins the group and Batman eventually learns to work with other heroes aside from his Bat Family. Season 5- Batman works with the Justice League.😊

[@Sach6251]

I liked the batman and the original animated series a lot. Both of them were amazing

[@gemini_jack4927]

I remember the plug and play for this game I loved it so much

[@slospop1125]

This is a a great show that is very underrated and was always fun to watch, but I still say Yin and Batgirl were done dirty.

[@Turo602]

On the topic of voices, you forgot to mention Chris Pratt, who voiced Jake in Attack of the Terrible Trio and Allison Mack who was known for Chloe Sullivan on Smallville and a weird sex cult in real life who played Clea in the Everywhere Man.

[@RSRye]

Would love another one of these for Batman Brave and The Bold‼️‼️

[@BHuang92]

The Batman's Joker was one of the most maniac and wildest of all of the animated Jokers!

[@Nimi450]

I watched and I love EVERY single one of the designs, not counting that the French dub of it is absolutely stellar and Iconic, Joker especially is at his most demented and I love it.

[@Attivian]

This came out my senior year of high school and I remember the toys being responsive to the episodes and being the main selling point of the show. I remember watching it but never finishing it.

[@atibamorales9380]

I love how Kevin Conroy plays two versions of Robin's father. Batman in the original animated series as his adopted father goes on to play the voice of Robin's birth father. And Mark Hamil as an antagonist to both.

[@MrFinster53]

The Batman aired when I was a freshman in high school, so it was still one of the cartoons I was watching on the weekends. Really enjoyed their take on the characters. Also, it wasnt until like 7 years ago that I mentioned it to a friend and she referenced the sing-song nature of "the battmaaaan" and I was like "they didnt sing, it was only a whisper" and discovered we were both right and the audio from my tv never really picked up the singing lmao.

[@GamerSlyRatchet1]

It’s a pretty fun show and I’m glad this show isn’t getting bashed on like it used to be back when I was younger. To answer the question, though, I feel Beware the Batman is more underrated. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

[@DinobotTM2]

When listing all the DCU cartoons, you forgot The Zeta Project. But it's ok, we all forget it.

[@emperorandras879]

The Beatman title at first though lmao

[@Thrumm]

They did Batgirl and Detective Yin dirty.

[@takerutenkuuji6474]

So true

[@mysterycupofjoe2670]

Please elaborate. I remember they had big roles. Detective Yin did phase out near the end though.

[@jalontillmon2807]

So dramatic

[@jamesbounds]

A very underrated Batman show. It has my favorite villains designs of Firefly and Black Mask.

[@thesixfootsixexperience8781]

I remember I really liked ragdoll in this show. He felt like kind of a visual surrogate for Scarecrow

[@katobrucelee08]

The clayface 2 parter was really solid

[@Mr110074]

This along with 2003 Teen Titans was my first exposure to superheroes and the DC universe. It’s holds up really well and the original theme song is awesome!

[@sfmwolfproductions]

I’ve always loved the show for how unique it is, it’s nice to see it be recognized even today

[@crcoghill]

I was 13 when it came out and, man!, do i still love it.

[@thedarkknight727]

The most compassionate Batmen have been this: The Batman: 2004 Batman: Brave and The Bold Batman: Ninja And that’s why I was always on board with those. 😉

[@TheFrozenblaze_]

This was my Saturday morning Batman, and now it's 20 years old 😵. I still remember adjusting which way the rooftop antenna was pointing with the control box so the signal would come in the most clear.

[@rennydarko8304]

The alliteration when talking about poison ivy was crazy 💀

[@derheadbanger9039]

Wheras BTAS is the ULTIMATE Batman version, I liked "The Batman" for how radically different it was.

[@Nxluda]

This joker is my favorite. Because he perfectly represents the dichotomy of comedy.

[@eddyrehman9026]

Yes where art books and visuals books THE BATMAN 2004 this was beloved and underrated #thebatman #thebatman2004 #thebatmantheme

[@benbone2559]

I actually think Beware the Batman is better than it gets credit for as well. If Batman is in an animated series (starting with BTAS, I guess), there is a pretty solid chance it's going to kick ass.

[@IchanceI]

This and Batman beyond are super underrated

[@troymilanharrison2023]

The Batman was my BTAS. I didn’t grow up with Kevin Conroy, I grew up with Dierdrich Bader and Rino Romano voicing the character

[@dejavudu8667]

1:30 20 years ago???? I didn’t need to feel that attacked today

[@mathieuleader8601]

Frank Groshin as Dr. Strange is a great highlight of the show for me.

[@uzumaki2689]

"Cheesecake pinups" is my new favorite term now

[@CoolMan1_SonicAndOtherStuff]

Just so you know, this isn't a "kid's cartoon". That's just a stereotype people make on almost all animation. It being a cartoon doesn't make it a kid's thing specifically. Kids CAN watch it, but they didn't make it specifically for them. Call it a cartoon for everyone of all ages. There's only ONE batman cartoon that's made for kids, which is a little preschool show called "batweels". To answer the question, YES, its underrated! It's sad that people don't talk about it anymore! Because as a batman fan, I never actually watched any of the batman cartoons until I saw this show! AND I REALLY ENJOYED IT! The best parts of the show imo were robin and batgirl! It's such a shame that they abandoned yin and ethan as soon as they introduced the more iconic batman characters like robin, batgirl, and commissioner gordon. The show felt kinda rushed after they did that. It felt like they got a little too excited to introduce the more well-known characters, that they want didn't finish yin and ethan's story. But nonetheless, robin and batgirl still ended up being my most favorite characters of the whole show. And I totally agree with what you said about season 5 focusing too much on the JL, and overshadowing batman and the bat family. I agree, they should've just made their own justice league show that takes place in the batman universe. But oh well. And there were definitely alot more stories they could've told instead of stopping at a 5th season. But that doesn't take away from the fact that the show was still amazing! We need to get more people talking about it!

[@shamrockjamaica]

If we’re talking underrated it would be Beware the Batman

[@Turo602]

Season 4 was easily the most solid block of Batman television this series produced with so many memorable episodes. The disrespect here is crazy, especially over Robin. The brother/sister dynamic between him and Batgirl was so refreshing and you also neglect to mention that Batgirl was never working with Batman in an official capacity. He was against her involvement in season 3. Dick Grayson is his adopted son, so of course he'd get more screen time with Batman.

[@tvariuness]

Do Beware the Batman next

[@jinpei05]

Losing Detective Yin to Commissioner Gordon at the end of season 2 really weakened the series. They were already leading her and Batman to an amazing partnership, but they also hinted at a possible romance between her and Bruce. It would have been very interesting to see them trying to juggle a partnership and romance while not knowing Batman and Bruce were the same person and a love triangle with Catwoman.

[@BooboosANDBloodshed_95]

I was 8 years old when I first saw this version on WBKids. I initially thought it sucked ass . Then, 10 years later, while at uni and under the influence of some 🍃 my dorm mate and I ended up watching and loving it. 😂😂😂 Now,it has been another 10 years since I've watched it. Maybe it's time for a rewatch.

[@zachbundy7026]

It's strange to think the voice actor for Batman is now the narrator on the Curious George cartoon.

[@GamerSlyRatchet1]

Also, a small correction, but Alan Burnett was on the show since season 4. They also brought in Andrea Romano as the voice director.

[@beatlefreak67]

I was there every Saturday morning to catch the latest episode!!! We had it good!!!!

[@Kazuma11290]

Loved this show when it aired. People today want everything to be interconnected as if that even matters, but every story is better when one writer has a singular focus.

[@swagman299]

:45 skipping the Zeta Project is criminal 😭

[@neosawyer9471]

I don't know. Beware the Batman had an interesting serialized concept that was surprisingly well done.

[@scarrantsandreviews]

I didn't really like DC superheroes as a kid but I remember really liking The Batman. It came on after Pokemon, Yugioh, and Jackie Chan Adventures so I just kind of kept watching

[@Gzilla313]

When listing off the DCAU projects you forgot the Batman Beyond spinoff show The Zeta Project. Zeta Project will not be erased!

[@richborn6700]

Rino Romano was a good Batman, but after the two PlayStation Spider-Man games in the early '00s he'll always be the voice of my favorite Spider-Man

[@TheWanderingFire]

I love this series. It's different from BTAS, but in a good way.

[@swagman299]

The season finale of season 3 was supposed to be Hush and the jawline change was due to the writters and artist saying he is more experienced

[@jerrydelgado3684]

This Batman show was my childhood Batman show

[@Trekapedia]

I really enjoy this cartoon. People trash on it because it’s not Batman: The Animated Series but I think it’s a good show and I take it on its own.

[@implodingnerd]

This was the Batman I grew up with besides Conroy's in JLU. I love this show.

[@duckmurai]

I remember watching this when I was in high school. Love the character design by Jeff Matsuda

[@DreamDesignDraw]

Who remembers the Cartoon Network PC game that was also popular during the time the show was popular.

[@yodudeyo100]

Green Lantern The Animated Series is ridiculously underrated because it's overshadowed by a disappointing live action film. It's unfortunate because the animated series is quite fantastic!

[@rus.t]

I really wish a future live action Batman would incorporate a portion of this show’s Clayface(s) story

[@ministerjlupine8175]

Absolutely! This show was like a less campy version of the old Adam West Batman show along with allllllll those characters! Great fight scenes. [EDIT] My bad, I was referring to The Brave and the Bold.

[@EVGriffinJr]

Batman: the animated series will always be my favorite. That said this version had its moments and is underrated.

[@MideXIII]

Broooo I was thinking Bruce Wayne looked like Jackie Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures. Makes sense both shows were done by the same artist.

[@demochris1786]

I remember this being in WB back then, I was wondering why Batman sounded younger, but I didn't that was because he was young when does series started, also I just realized that the voice actor of this version of Batman / Bruce Wayne is Canadian, also while Mark Hamill is the best in original joker, I kind of like Kevin Michael Richardson the most, the man played Joker perfectly almost Jester like and he had a variety of vocal ranges

[@christopherballero866]

While I've heard a lot of good things about The Batman unfortunately it came out at a bad time. After the DCAU many people wanted a break from Batman

[@fenixrock]

The character design was great and the the sound department did awesome job: FXs, voice acting, music. Unfortunately the show downplayed too much Batgirl and Yin just to introduce Robin and Gordon. It could've been a nice alternative timeline.

[@AnvilPictures]

Ragdoll is my favourite villain because his powers are possible.

[@TomCat0217]

I have rewatched this series about four times since buying the complete series on Blu-ray. I just finished a rewatch of the series for Batman: Caped Crusader. I was disappointed that The Batman vs. Dracula wasn’t included in the complete series, but after watching it midway through the series during my first rewatch on Max, I thought it was unnecessary for it to be included since it’s not important to the series. That movie came out during the third season where the Gordons appear in, but don’t appear in the movie and none of the events ever get brought up in the series like the movie never happened. The fifth season with the Justice League does seem like a preview of what The Brave and the Bold was going to be like as Bruce would team up with at least two heroes in every episode and The Batman ended the same year TB&TB first aired. The odd part is that the Justice League in this series was like a boys only club and didn’t have any women, not even Wonder Woman to complete the Trinity. If they could not have used Wonder Woman for the series because of some issues like how they couldn’t use Wonder Girl for Teen Titans at the time, I would’ve replaced Hawkman for Vixen as Hawkman’s team-up episode was boring. My favorite villain design of the series is Mr. Freeze as Clancy’s performance and Mr. Freeze’s design went so hard and my favorite episode of the series is The Cat and the Bat as Gina Gershon was a great choice to voice Selina for the series and her and Bruce had a great dynamic with fighting a crime boss’ army of ninja.

[@diSTUD013]

The art style reminds me of Gabriel Ba, the guy who did the artwork in the Umbrella Academy graphic novels

[@rmannayr2129]

BATMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@nateelliott9270]

Thank you! As someone born in the 90s I missed the first half of dcau (got in at beyond) this show was so good

[@OpticalSorcerer]

If we're discussing underrated superhero shows, "X-Men: Evolution" is at the top of my list!

[@raabaddler5802]

No it's rated exactly as good as it was by everyone who wasn't exposed to it before the rest of better batmen, we would have been better served by more jackie chan adventures honestly

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

3:34 i thought that was steve blum.

[@ministerjlupine8175]

This was my absolute favorite Joker!

[@thewolf01x95]

I'm not even a batman fan n I loved that cartoon

[@uchihabomber1296]

Yes it really is and it’s somehow the one Batman cartoon I don’t see anyone talking a lot about cuz they want to keep it only to the animated series

[@ministerjlupine8175]

Although I'd love to see Batman Beyond come back with new seasons.

[@hawk222]

Man, this was such fun show for me back in the day! Though I think I may have somehow missed the final season (or I've just forgotten by this point, who could say).

[@SLouiss]

It came out at a time when I was “too cool” for cartoons. Watched it after getting over that sad phase in life and loved it.

[@PeterTennant]

For me its the fourth best Batman animated show 1 TAS 2 Brave and Bold 3 Beyond 4 The Batman 5 TNBA 6 Beware The Batman

[@mathieuleader8601]

I would have brought back Yin as foe Cassandra Cain or Thalia Al Ghul

[@jasonguinn6075]

I gave the Batman a try cause im a Jeff Matsuda fan. Loved the Jackie Chan series so it was a dunk slam for me. The penguin being inspired by heist movies and making his own team is awesomeness!!! I love the Ventriliquist episodes..isnt that right, dummy. I enjoyed that Batman/Dracula stand alone episode

[@wsjones1981]

This was a great, I felt the same about season 5, Batman deserved more even though I did enjoy Flash's appearance.

[@deadpoolstaby]

I actually loved this series, and in last season was dope with all the team ups

[@icywisemanofthenorth4716]

By far my favourite batman show. As well as my favourite Joker.

[@coolkidswithasthma]

Loved this show, remember watching it every Saturday morning since it aired