So, 20 years ago today, kids tuned into Fox to catch the first episode of Batman: The Animated Series. What started as a tie-in to Tim Burton's films instead became a franchise in its own right, one that helped redefine the DC Comics mythology for a new generation. It set new standards for Western animation and vocal performances and its impact is still felt 20 years later. To many fans, this became the definitive interpretation of not only the Dark Knight, but DC's entire catalog of heroes and villains.

But despite the end of Justice League Unlimited 6 years ago, it's legacy lives on and I'm still glad to be a fan. How about you guys?

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

Recently got Volume one of BTAS of DVD. So seeing a whole Heap of stuff I'd never seen before.

Still I remain a Terry McGinnis fan at heart. And Return Of The Joker is the DCAU i think I return to most frequently.

ha ha *zaps JME2 with joybuzzer*

*tips hat*

DCAU has continued to entertain me throughout my life. It is set apart by the consistent high level of quality. Never ever I really felt down by the plethora of amazing serieses and movies produced over nearly 2 decades. It is a remarkable feat to keep the bar so high for so long.

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I have to tell you something everything I wrote above is a lie.

Well, thank goodness I'm sharing a time-share with Timmy Drake...

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

I remember catching a few eps when I was a wee squirt on Cartoon Network, and loving every second.
Then a few years later, I stumbled upon a JLU episode, just as Superman dished out the most incredible punch of all time:

I still giggle like a schoolgirl every time

I too am a child of the DCAU. The voices for that show are the ones I hear in my head when I read the characters now. It as truly a spectacular part of the Renaissance age of animation, and that the whole lasted as long as it did is still a wonder in and of itself.

*tips hat*

It's truly a work of art.

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ISARMA: Daikaiju Coordinator: Just Add Radiation
Justice League- Molly Hayes: Respect Hats or Freakin' Else!
Browncoat
Supernatural Taisen - "[This Story] is essentially "Wouldn't it be awesome if this happened?" Followed by explosions."

Reviewing movies is a lot like Paleontology: The Evidence is there...but no one seems to agree upon it.

"God! Are you so bored that you enjoy seeing us humans suffer?! Why can't you let this poor man live happily with his son! What kind of God are you, crushing us like ants?!" - Kyoami, Ran

It has been the definitive form of the DC universe for me from the beginning, and I enjoy rewatching what DVDs I have of it whenever I can.

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”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

Moderator of SDN, Former Spacebattles Super-Mod, Veteran Chatnik

The DCAU had incredible stories. It was during a time when Western animation was trying new things. I saw a bit of the original BTAS. Then years later I saw the combined series on the WB as the New Superman/Batman Adventures. Incredible stories they managed to tell. Batman beyond was very well done. Best animated movie in the series, Return of the Joker. Some of the most serious takes on the series. The Joker from ROTJ had many similarities to Heath Ledgers Joker.

And of course it was a role that Mark Hamill was destined for. He played two very different personalities on opposite ends of the spectrum. The very best of humanity, and the very worst.

I am sorry to say that i missed most of B:TAS during its original run, but among my favorite shows in my Teens was Justice League and JLA.

Zor

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HAIL ZOR! WE'LL BLOW UP THE OCEAN!
Heros of Cybertron-HAB-Keeper of the Vicious pit of Allosauruses-King Leighton-I, United Kingdom of Zoria: SD.net World/Tsar Mikhail-I of the Red Tsardom: SD.net Kingdoms
WHEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE ON EARTH, ALL EARTH BREAKS LOOSE ON HELL
http://zortropolis.myminicity.com/
http://zortropolis.myminicity.com/ind
http://zortropolis.myminicity.com/tra
Terran Sphere
The Art of Zor

The DCAU has produced some of the best animation ever shown on TV. Been a fan since day one.

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"They're not triangular, but they are more or less blade-shaped"- Thrawn McEwok on the shape of Bakura destroyers

"Lovely. It's known as impugning character regarding statement of professional qualifications' in the legal world"- Karen Traviss, crying libel because I said that no soldier she interviewed would claim that he can take on billion-to-one odds

"I've already laid out rules for this thread that we're not going to make these evidential demands"- Dark Moose on supporting your claims

After 20 years, most of that still holds true for me. Examples include Batman, Superman, the streamlining of the Fourth World mythos, etc.

In other areas like the Flash's rogues or the Green Lanterns, it's different since my views on those characters/mythologies has been so heavily influenced by the stories of the last decade (GL especially).

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

I never had access to comics as a kid, so growing up this was the DC universe for me. With the coming of the internet, widespread fan sites, and Wikipedia, I got to learn more about what was going on in the actual comics. That includes all the crazy and excessively dark and violent stuff that's happened over the years. I've always admired the DCAU for being able to tell quality stories that appealed to all ages, without gratuitous deaths or silly retcons and reboots. I've gotten more into comics recently now that digital comics allow me to easily download all the recommended titles, but the DCAU is what made me a fan of the genre in the first place.

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"They're not triangular, but they are more or less blade-shaped"- Thrawn McEwok on the shape of Bakura destroyers

"Lovely. It's known as impugning character regarding statement of professional qualifications' in the legal world"- Karen Traviss, crying libel because I said that no soldier she interviewed would claim that he can take on billion-to-one odds

"I've already laid out rules for this thread that we're not going to make these evidential demands"- Dark Moose on supporting your claims

Likewise. It was more through the DCAU than the Burton films that I became a comics fan. I still have a love for certain characters based on their DCAU appearances like Jonah Hex and Dr. Fate.

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

I loved that old BTAS series. Episodes like 'Batman is in my Basement' and 'Silicon Soul' for the twelve-year-old me really opened my eyes about what animation could do.

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Stuart: The only problem is, I'm losing track of which universe I'm in.
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker

Honestly, whenever I consider the DCAU, I can't help but feel that its medium is a superior one for the setting and stories. I've become jaded on the actual comic book medium, with its soap opera tendencies and the inevitable effect of having scores of writers and editors in the long term, not to mention the parallel runs of multiple other comic lines by different writers and editors, resulting in botched continuity in both short and long-term periods.

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”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

Moderator of SDN, Former Spacebattles Super-Mod, Veteran Chatnik

Yeah, that's been my feeling for a while too.

All the series, especially BTAS, had the advantage of decades of stories that could analyze, pick the best of the bunch, and then distill in something new while staying true to its roots. And while the comics are ongoing and stuff is constantly reversed based on writer preferences, Team Timm stuck with what they established and gave the DCAU a defined beginning, middle, and end.

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

Cue one of the most grimly satisfying ass-kickings in the entire DCAU.

Incidentally, that's my favorite piece of Joker dialogue in the entire franchise. Paul Dini really was the best Joker writer of the entire team. The key to the Clown is to strike the right balance between humor and malice, but Dini really had a knack for it. I still think this film is Hamill's best DCAU performance.

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

And one of the best scenes in the movie, Joker actually cracks.

Joker: Funny guy
Terry: Can't say the same for you
Joker: Impudent brat. Who do you think you're talking to?
Terry: Not a comedian I'll tell you that
Joker: Shut your mouth!
Terry: The real Batman never talked to you much did he? Thats probably why you were so fixated on him.
Joker: Don't play psycho analyst with me boy!
Terry: Oh, I don't need a degree to figure you out. The real reason you kept coming back was because you never got a laugh out of the old man.
Joker: I'm not hearing this!
Terry: Get a clue clownie! He's got no sense of humor. He wouldn't know a good joke if it bit him in the cape. Not that you ever had a good joke.
Joker: Shut up. Shut up!
Terry: I mean joybuzzers, squirting flowers, lame! Where's the A material? Make a face, drop your pants, something!
Joker: Show yourself!
Terry: You make me laugh. But only because I think you're kind of pathetic. Hahahahahaha!
Joker: STOP THAT!
Terry: Hehehe. So you fell in a tank of acid and got your skin bleached and decided to become a supervilian? What, you couldn't get work as a rodeo clown? Hahahahaha!
Joker: Don't you dare laugh at me!
Terry: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Why!?! I thought the Joker always wanted to make Batman laugh! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Joker: You're not Batman!!

Being born in 1989 I had the joy of growing up with the Timm-verse, and the Marvel Cartoons of the 90's. Some of my best memories are watching BTAS with my grandpa. Most things just seemed so inadequate after watching Batman, Superman, Spidey, and the X men, the other cartoons just couldnt compare.

That remains Terry's defining moment: mind-fucking the Joker of all people...

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

Oh hell yeah, it is the defining scene of Terry's Batman career, a moment that showed just how much he was his own man.

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”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

Moderator of SDN, Former Spacebattles Super-Mod, Veteran Chatnik

Yea.h. As much as I love MOTP, ROTJ is the best of the movies and probably the sungle best entry in the DCAU. Everything from the writing to the animation to the vocal performances is perfect.

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"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification; he can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... a legend, Mr. Wayne."

-- Ducard, Batman Begins --

Rewatching some JLU episodes for fun.

---

”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

Moderator of SDN, Former Spacebattles Super-Mod, Veteran Chatnik