Ranking The Modern Animated Batman TV Shows

3. Batman Beyond (1999–2001)

The only major mainstream animated Batman series to not have Bruce Wayne as the main character, Batman Beyond, was one of the more creative Batman series to air.

The premise of Batman Beyond was to see what a new character could do in the batsuit. No Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, or other former Robin would don the cape and cowl this time. A whole new character—16-year-old Terry McGinnis—would become the next Batman.

An elderly Bruce Wayne hung up his mask and cape some 20 years ago before Terry accidentally finds out Wayne was once Batman. Wayne then takes on an Alfred-esque role for McGinnis, and a whole new cast of villains await them.

Stylistically, Batman Beyond was a complete shift from what co-producers Paul Dini and Bruce Timm did just years earlier with the original Batman: The Animated Series. The series takes place 20-plus years from where we stand today, and the artwork features several cyber-punk and science fiction-inspired themes as a result. The colors are vibrant, and even McGinnis’s batsuit is brighter and more enhanced than Wayne’s.

The lack of more familiar villains (at least initially) is a shock at first, but the concept behind the series was well executed, and the relationships between characters felt real and genuine.

There’s also the fact that this series gave us one of the best animated films in Batman history in Return of the Joker. For that alone, this series is noteworthy.

Batman Beyond was one of the first truly dark Batman mainstream TV series. At the time, it was probably the darkest version of Batman to not be on the page of a comic book. But the show could still be touching, and after the initial shock of not recognizing Gotham or hardly any of the characters, the show has lasting appeal for any fan of Batman and the themes and tropes associated with the Dark Knight.

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