All 31 animated Batman movies ranked from worst to best

20. Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Now this is a Batman movie that tried something different. Directed by Sam Liu and produced by Batman: The Animated Series‘ Bruce Timm, what sets Batman: Soul of the Dragon apart from most of the other movies on this list is that it isn’t based on any comic nor is it set in any pre-established shared universe. It’s just a standalone tale, and a pretty great one at that.

The film’s plot takes us into Bruce Wayne’s past, revealing that he trained in martial arts alongside five other students: Shiva, Richard Dragon, Jade, Ben Turner and Rip Jagger. Years later, Dragon reaches out and attempts to put the band back together to stop the nefarious Kobra Cult.

It’s different from your typical Batman story, but again, that’s why Soul of the Dragon works so well. It’s also got a unique aesthetic and it leans into that well, as there are times that it feels like you’re watching a ’70s kung fu series instead of an animated Batman movie, and that makes for an enjoyable change. The voice cast is also stellar, with David Guintoli proving himself to be a great Dark Knight – something we would again get to appreciate when he returned to the role in subsequent animated movie The Doom That Came To Gotham.

Soul of the Dragon had a blank canvas and a dream, and it made us see the vision. A job well done indeed. More experiments like this one would be welcome in the future.