THE DCAU:
THE D.C. ANIMATED UNIVERSE
In 1989, Batman starring Michael Keaton & Jack Nicholson brought bat-mania back in style. BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES came to television in 1992 and capitalized on the popularity of Batman Returns (1992), the 2nd Tim Burton directed Batman film, featuring Catwoman, who guest starred in the first installment aired. I watched the show off and on; I was impressed with it's darkness and it's overall quality; my family hated it. It was one of those shows that I always hoped to see more of, but never really found the time. But how often does an animated series really last? I mean, most animated series don't go on for more than a few years. Luckily for me, the D.C. Animated Universe expanded over time to encompass several different shows & movies. There are currently 12 animated series that have taken place in this universe, & there have been a series of Animated Batman Movies, which overall are better than their live action counterparts. Justice League Unlimited, which ended it's run in 2006 featured many characters from the other series combined, and was a huge ratings success for The Cartoon Network. Justice League & Justice League Unlimited are my favorites of the bunch. There was a 2010 Justice League movie, that was originally intended to be part of the DCAU and bridge the gap between Justice League & Justice League Unlimited, and though the story was changed to focus on 2 realities that aren't featured in the DCAU, enough story points remained that I feel, given the nature of the story, it allows it to be viewed where it was originally intended, though others may disagree.
The series that DO make up this D.C. Animated Universe are:
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1992)
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (December 25, 1993)
THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN (1994)
SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1996)
THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES (1997-1999)
BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUBZERO (March 17, 1998)
THE NEW SUPERMAN ADVENTURES (1997)
BATMAN BEYOND (1999)
GOTHAM GIRLS ["Webisodes"] (2000)
LOBO ["Webisodes"] (2000)
STATIC SHOCK (2000)
BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER (December 12, 2000)
JUSTICE LEAGUE (2001)
THE ZETA PROJECT (2001)
BATMAN: MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN (October 21, 2003)
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (2004-2006)
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS (February 23, 2010)
ALL of Batman: The Animated Series, The Adventures of Batman & Robin, & The New Batman Adventures are available on DVD (along with the 3 Bat Movies: "Mask of the Phantasm", "Subzero" & "Mystery of the Batwoman"). All of Superman: The Animated Series is now available. All of Justice League / Justice League Unlimited is available on DVD. All 3 seasons of Batman Beyond are available on DVD, as is the "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" movie. The 1st Season of The Zeta Project is available; no word on when or if the 2nd will be released. Static Shock has a single 6 episode release but there's no word on any boxed sets. The Gotham Girls webisodes are featured extras on the 'Birds of Prey' boxed set. There's no word on a release of the Lobo Webisodes.
BATMAN
SUPERMAN
GOTHAM GIRLS
STATIC SHOCK
JUSTICE LEAGUE / JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED
BATMAN BEYOND
THE ZETA PROJECT
OTHER SITES DEDICATED TO THE DCAU:
