Summary
DCfilms are currently going through a brutal yet overdue shift. Despite the box office bombs and disappointing cancellations, DC finally made the wise choice to replace the messy vision of Zack Snyder with James Gunn, someone who has proven they understand superheroes.
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There is hope for the future of DC films, especially with a talented filmmaker like Gunn in charge. While DC’s movie future has a clear direction, for its television division, it’s more uncertain. Fans can only hope DC’s future slate of animated shows can hold a candle with some of the great hits from the past decades.
10Static Shock (2000 - 2004)
In today’s television industry, it appears like most shows are curated in a soulless content factory. Back in the early 2000s, studios like Warner Bros. took risks. Nowhere is that more evident than with the series Static Shock.
Based on the Milestones Comic hero of the same name, Static Shock was the first animated broadcast series with an African-American superhero in the titular role. With heavy involvement from the comic creators, Static Shock touched on numerous critical social issues while keeping a fun tone throughout.
9Batman: The Brave And The Bold (2008 - 2011)
One great thing aboutBatmanis how flexible the character is regarding tone. Some Batman stories have an extremely dark atmosphere, while others keep things upbeat. Batman: The Brave and The Bold definitely takes the latter approach.
Developed by James Tucker and Michael Jelenic, Batman: The Brave and The Bold mainly focuses on Batman teaming up with various heroes from both his world and the wider DC universe. If you like your Dark Knight a little more light-hearted, this series perfectly fills that need.
8Green Lantern: The Animated Series (2011 - 2013)
Arguably, no DC hero is more unfortunate with adaptations than the Green Lantern. Despite the character being created back in 1940, he never got the quality television or movie adaptations that most of DC’s mainstays had. That changed in 2011 with Green Lantern: The Animated Series.
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Developed by Bruce Timm, Giancarlo Volpe, and Jim Krieg, this CGI series regretfully ran for only one season due to the abysmal performance of the2011 live-action film. Despite that, fans still remember this show as an underrated gem.
7Justice League (2001 - 2004)
DC’sJustice Leagueis viewed as the company’s most important creation. The team ofSuperman, Batman,Wonder Woman, and many others have been a stable superhero genre for decades. In 2001, DC and Warner Bros. Animation created an animated series based on the famous squad.
With Bruce Timm at the helm, the total backing of Warner Bros. Animation, fantastic writing, and an all-star voice cast, Justice League is considered one of DC’s best-animated series and is held in extremely high regard even to this day.
6Superman: The Animated Series (1996 - 2000)
As iconic as Superman is, he hasn’t had the same success in solo animated series as Batman. BeforeMy Adventures with Superman, it had been a good while since the Man of Steel had a noteworthy animated adaptation.
In 1996, DC and Warner Bros. decided Superman would be the second hero (after Batman) to enter the now-defunct DC Animated Universe. Running for four seasons, Superman: The Animated Series was met with universal praise, laying the groundwork for many great shows to follow.
5Batman Beyond (1999 - 2001)
While social media has allowed passionate fanbases to express their discontent much more feverishly, the idea of studios angering their die-hard fans is hardly mint. Back in 2001, Batman fans expressed confusion upon the initial report of the new animated show, Batman: Beyond.
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Upon Warner Bros. Animation’s announcement, DC fans expressed a mixed reaction, primarily griping with Bruce Wayne not being the caped crusader. Despite initial wariness, Batman: Beyond has developed a strong cult following and has been praised for its considerably darker tone.
4Justice League Unlimited (2004 - 2006)
Fans of the 2001 Justice League were probably confused when it was announced not long after its conclusion that a new Justice League series was in the works. This rebranded show would serve as a direct sequel to the original series.
Featuring the same cast and crew, Justice League Unlimited expanded the team, including more heroes and villains from all corners of the DC universe. Justice League Unlimited is considered not only an excellent superhero show but one of the greatest animated series ever made.
3Teen Titans (2003 - 2006)
Most superhero fans are familiar with Teen Titans Go!, a cartoon based on the adolescent superhero team aimed solely at a young audience. While Teen Titans Go! is still airing, it pales compared to what came before.
Teen Titansfirst aired in 2003 with David Slack, Sam Register, and Glen Murakami as the lead writers. Even all these years later, fans yearn for DC to bring back the original Teen Titans show, which remains a classic thanks to anime-style animation and phenomenal voice acting,
2Young Justice (2010 - 2022)
Of all DC’s animated offerings, you will be hard-pressed to find one as polarizing and talked about as Young Justice. While the anticipation between seasons was excruciating for the fans, it was most certainly worth the wait.
Showrunners Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman didn’t directly adapt the comic series of the same name. Instead, they took elements from the original source material while adding aspects from other DC stories. The result is one of the most engrossing and captivating things DC has ever produced.
1Batman: The Animated Series (1992 - 1995)
It’s no secret that the general consensus among DC fans is thatBatman: The Animated Seriesis the magnum opus of all of DC’s animated productions. While there have been so many great Batman adaptations, both live-action and animated, few were as influential as the 1995 show.
As sharply animated, exceptionally written, and profoundly impactful as Batman: The Animated Series is, the best thing it ever did was shine a massive spotlight onKevin Conroy’s performance as Batmanand Mark Hamil’s role asThe Joker.
