Ranking The Modern Animated Batman TV Shows

4. Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008–2011)

I’ll admit, I was surprised at how much I liked this show. As someone who grew up with a darker version of Batman, I’ve never truly enjoyed the Silver Age version of Batman. But Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a very pleasant surprise and change of pace for me.

The style of this Batman series was a breath of fresh air in an ever-darkening narrative surrounding the Caped Crusader. The Brave and the Bold harks back to the Silver Age era of comics, one more lighthearted and less concerned with shades of grey. But that styling didn’t make this series feel too childish or disrespectful to the Bat. In fact, the writing was extremely well done.

The balance between comedy and seriousness was done well throughout the series, and the relationships Batman formed between his comrades and villains were written cleverly.

How Batman interacts with the Joker will always be one of the determining factors in a Batman show’s success or failure, and this version of these two arch-enemies play off each other extremely well.

The voice cast for Brave and the Bold was chosen well, and even if you don’t particularly like Jeff Bennett as Joker or Diedrich Bader as Batman (I wasn’t fond of Bennett to be honest), both still brought their version of their characters to life and represented them well.

The animation was crisp and exciting, and the show was never once boring. If you want a break from the brooding, morally ambiguous Dark Knight, then Brave and the Bold is perfect for you. Even if you don’t, the show is worth watching for its clever writing and eccentric animation style.

Next: Now to the Future