What to Binge This Weekend: Watch Batman and Superman Meet in Animated Form
If you’re on the ground at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend and are able to cram into the hanger-sized Hall H, you’ll be among the privileged few to see all-new footage from the upcoming battle of the DC Comics titans, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Scheduled for release on March 25, 2016, the Zack Snyder-directed blockbuster will feature the first-ever live-action meet-up between the Dark Knight (Ben Affleck) and the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill), and, based on the advanced trailers, that confrontation won’t go well.
Those of us outside the San Diego city limits, though, can still experience the World’s Finest duo at their animated finest courtesy of Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, which are streaming in their entirety on Amazon Prime. For anyone who grew up on the Filmation incarnations of Batman and Superman, it’s impossible to overstate how revolutionary these shows were when they debuted on Fox and The WB, in 1992 and 1996, respectively.
Batman in particular set the gold standard for almost all superhero cartoons to follow, with animator Bruce Timm making expert use of shadows and the night-enshrouded Gotham skyline to put the “dark” in the Dark Knight. Timm’s style referenced Tim Burton’s Gothic take on Batman without imitating that 1989 live-action blockbuster, while the writing staff (including Paul Dini) penned stories that packed the punch of the Caped Crusader’s classic comic book tales. Writing for Entertainment Weekly at the time of the show’s premiere, Yahoo TV’s own Ken Tucker called it a “very cool show” and put it on his Top 10 list for 1992. This promo clip captures the essence of the series — and the character of Batman — in a mere two minutes.
Beyond Batman himself, Timm and Dini also provided the definitive contemporary interpretations of his massive rogues’ gallery, and made a lasting contribution to his roster of villains in the form of Harley Quinn, the Joker’s No. 1 fan. (Quinn eventually crossed over into comic book continuity and will make her first live-action appearance in the post-Batman v Superman adventure, Suicide Squad.) And even when the series took a more kid-friendly direction in later seasons (changing titles — from The Adventures of Batman & Robin to The New Batman Adventures — and networks, from Fox to The WB), it remained intelligently written and richly animated — a heroic example of just how good superhero cartoons can be.
With Batman successfully added to their utility belt, Timm and Dini next turned their attention to Superman, who has always been a tougher character to crack. Rather than try to reinvent the Big Blue Boy Scout, they embraced the character’s past, while also revealing new vulnerabilities (and not just of the Kryptonite variety). Once again, Timm devised a distinctly retro-modern animation style that complemented the hero’s identity and provided the light to Batman’s darkness. Initially confined to their separate cities, Batman and Superman finally had a meet-and-greet in a three-part episode from Superman’s second season, battling their signature heroes, the Joker and Lex Luthor respectively.
Together, Batman: TAS and Superman: TAS provided the foundation for the DC Animated Universe, which expanded outward from 1992 to 2006, adding more heroes, villains, and shows, culminating in the cartoon cavalcade of costumed avengers (not to be confused with the capital-A Avengers) that was Justice League Unlimited. It’s no accident that the live-action division is taking a similar approach with Batman v Superman, which will serve as the springboard for an entire cinematic universe populated by the likes of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and the Flash (Ezra Miller). They’ve got some big cartoon shoes to fill…
Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series are both available to stream on Amazon Prime.
