5 Best Batman Animated Shows, Ranked

"Batman" has a long history on screens big and small. After DC's Dark Knight debuted in the pages of "Detective Comics" in 1939, it took only four years for him to make the leap to the big screen in the first "Batman" serial. The 1960s saw Batman make his first television appearances, first in the live action series led by Adam West, and then in the animated series "The Batman/Superman Hour" and "The Adventures of Batman."

Since his animated debut in 1968, Batman has continually returned to cartoons in various different series. While early efforts kept close to the spirit of West's campy turn as the Caped Crusader, Tim Burton's darker reinvention of "Batman" on the big screen in 1989 marked a turning point for animated adaptations, leading to the casting of Kevin Conroy as a far more serious take in 1992's "Batman: The Animated Series." Since Conroy's definitive performance, different iterations of "Batman" have, respectively, gone darker, campier, and — in one instance of creatives taking a ginormous swing and walloping it into the stratosphere — "Batman" even went cyberpunk. 

While previous "Batman" animated series leaned into the severity and gothic overtones of the character, 2008's "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" from Cartoon Network marked a return to the campy Silver Age influences that shaped Adam West's turn as the Caped Crusader.

The series took its name from the DC comic series "The Brave and the Bold," noted for featuring various superhero team-ups. Following the basic premise of its namesake, the series saw Batman working with a different DC hero each episode, a format that allowed the show to shine a spotlight on lesser-known characters like Red Tornado, Deadman, and Wildcat. Guy Gardner's Green Lantern, Blue Beetle, and Doctor Fate all popped into "The Brave and the Bold" years before appearing in live-action movies.

With a more simplistic visual style and a lighthearted, often comedic tone, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" primarily targeted younger viewers. For older fans, there was joy to be found in the series' evocation of Batman's sillier capers in the live-action 1960s series. However, the lighter tone and significantly reduced focus on Bruce Wayne's life when not in his batsuit left the series feeling less developed than other animated "Batman" shows.

"When I originally pitched ["Batman: The Animated Series] back in 1990, it was pretty different than what ended up on screen," executive producer Bruce Timm told Animation Magazine in a 2024 article. "It was [initially] more of a pulp, serial, mystery, film noir show, rather than having to make it accessible to 7-year-olds and make the toy company happy."

While the result of that compromise is a masterpiece of animated television, it left the door open for the stranger, more adult version of "Batman" that Timm initially conceived. So, when Warner Bros. approached him about reviving "Batman: TAS," talks soon led to the development of a more mature series in the spirit of Timm's original vision: "Batman: Caped Crusader."

Debuting on Amazon Prime Video in 2024, "Batman: Caped Crusader" delivered a bleak 1940s-inspired vision of Gotham City. The series radically reimagined many iconic characters, including Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and Clayface. If "The Brave and the Bold" is one of the most lighthearted animated "Batman" series, then "Batman: Caped Crusader" is certainly the darkest.

Its more grounded approach leaves "Caped Crusader" feeling like a scaled down version of Timm's 1990s animated series, but it is still a treat for fans keen to see a more adult version of the "Batman" they grew up watching.

This 2004 Kids' WB series was faced with the daunting task of completely rebooting Batman's animated adventures after the monumentally successful "Batman: The Animated Series." Given that Bruce Timm and Kevin Conroy had defined "Batman" for an entire generation, winning fans over with a new series would be no simple feat. However, while this series may not have achieved the same level of popularity as its predecessor, "The Batman" was a success in its own right.

This show brought "Batman" more decidedly into the 21st century, in contrast to the 1940s-style retro world of "Batman: The Animated Series." "The Batman" followed a younger Bruce Wayne — voiced by Rino Romano — and fitted him out with a range of up-to-date tech. In the first two seasons, the traditional Bat-Signal was replaced by the Batwave — a handheld device that alerted Bruce when Batman was needed. Batman was also seen driving a redesigned and much sportier Batmobile in this series.

"The Batman" gave many of the Dark Knight's classic villains creative makeovers. The Joker sported a mane of long green hair, fingerless gloves, and bare feet, complementing his more physical role on the series. Bane became a towering, red-skinned beast; the Riddler was given a haircut and makeup reminiscent of Marilyn Manson, and Mr. Freeze's costume looked frostier than ever.

In 1999, perhaps the most original take on "Batman" ever committed to animation arrived on television. "Batman Beyond" took place in a future Gotham City, dubbed Neo-Gotham, where Bruce Wayne had retired as Batman after his weakening heart had forced him to pick up a gun, crossing a line he never thought he would. Enter teenager Terry McGinnis, whose father was killed by corrupt businessman Derek Powers. After crossing paths with Bruce and learning his secret, Terry took up the mantle of Batman, acting under the original Dark Knight's tutelage.

"Batman Beyond" revisited classic "Batman" villains such as Mr. Freeze, Bane and, in a direct-to-video movie, even the Joker. Where the series shone, though, was in its introduction of an all-new rogues' gallery, including villains such as the liquid-bodied Inque, the sound-twisting Shriek, and the hypnotic Spellbinder. The series even saw Terry working alongside Neo-Gotham's police commissioner and former Batgirl, Barbara Gordon.

The series featured a sleek, hi-tech, red-and-black batsuit complete with rocket boots and gliding wings, as well as a flying Batmobile and a whole host of new gadgets for Terry's Dark Knight. "Batman Beyond" was so successful that Terry's futuristic Batman went on to appear in episodes of "Justice League Unlimited" and landed his own comic book series.

Bruce Timm's classic animated take on "Batman" remains the Caped Crusader's strongest animated adaptation — and perhaps the definitive "Batman" adaptation in any medium. "Batman: The Animated Series" created a visually dark world for the Dark Knight and broke new ground for animated television. Telling surprisingly mature stories for young audiences, the series plunged head-first into the psychology of the masked hero and the dichotomy of Batman and Bruce Wayne.

Villains like Two-Face, Clayface and Harley Quinn — who was an original creation of the series — were not simply threats to be bested by Batman, but characters who were once normal people — their falls to villainy engendered as much sympathy as dread. The series also featured the Bat Family, with two Robins and Batgirl joining Batman in his war on crime. The evolution of original Robin, Dick Grayson, into Nightwing was just one example of the series' commitment to in-depth, character-driven storytelling.

After its first 85 episodes, "Batman: The Animated Series" shifted to a simplified art style and picked up where it left off under the title "The New Batman Adventures." While perhaps not quite as visually arresting as its predecessor, the new series delved deeper into DC lore and continued the gripping storytelling fans had come to expect from this groundbreaking series.