In 1992, the birth of Warner Bros. "Batman: The Animated Series" changed the Batman Universe forever. The dynamic series spawned a new technique in animation using black backgrounds that would eventually be dubbed "Dark Deco." Dark Deco gave every scene within Gotham an extraordinary look, redefining the image of the city. The series also revamped the classic characters, casting a unique perspective on their origins and personalities. The series included all the popular characters and even created some new ones. The most significant change was the transformation of the Dick Grayson/Robin character in the "new" 90's costume, resulting in a hipper more adult representation which the character has never seen. The Batman character continued to embody the dark image fans have come to love while maintaining the heroic qualities identified with the character.
Another significant change was the transformation of the Rogues Gallery of Villains. From the ever-popular Joker to the more obscure Clock King, the series displayed each villain's unique personality to perfection and introduced new characters, including the popular Ms. Harley Quinn. Although she wasn't born into the Batman universe until the seventh episode of the series, Harley quickly overshadowed such long time favorites as Catwoman and Poison Ivy. Thanks to Batman: TAS, Harley Quinn will be a staple in the Batman genre forever.
In Fall 1995, the final five episodes aired (85 total episodes were produced) and the curtain closed on Batman: The Animated Series.
Until "The New Batman Adventures" premiered almost three years after production on Batman: The Animated Series had ended. The animation style was changed significantly from Batman Tas due to budgetary issues and to have the show more compatible with the smoother Superman: The Animated Series which TNBA would eventually air in tandem with as part of The New Batman/Superman Adventures, then later return to its own series again.
The show had a significant change in focus from the original series with episodes focusing less on Batman and more on the many characters that inhabited Gotham City. The art was more streamlined, giving Batman a more sleek, buffed appearance and the Batsuit's colors become significantly less colorful, with the bat emblem's yellow ellipse being removed. Bruce Wayne's appearance was also changed from the previous series; his face was designed to look more handsome and his eyes were changed from black to blue, making him look closer to his appearance in the comics. Batman's gadgets and vehicles were redesigned as well and Batgirl's uniform was changed into an identical version of the costume from her comic debut in Detective Comics #359. Nearly every character design was darkened with the animation change.
The appearances of villains from his rogues gallery were also changed. For example, The Joker was made pale blue with green-highlighted black hair, and black eyes with white pupils, as well as being depicted as much smaller. He no longer had the ruby lips from the earlier animated series. His appearance would be changed yet again, in later spin-off series, which combined his appearance from the original series and the new series. Additionally, the Penguin was redesigned to match his classic counterpart rather than resemble the animal-like appearance of Danny DeVito's Penguin from 1992's Batman Returns, while Catwoman's costume revamp actually more closely resembled her movie counterpart with a sleek all black outfit and pale, almost bluish skin tone. Mr. Freeze's eyes were made red (instead of the red lensed goggles he wore in BTAS) plus changing his Sub-Zero suit's color to black replacing the sky blue and navy blue suit. Notably, Harley Quinn was the only character to not receive any drastic change in appearance or color alterations. Her popularity also became more evident. Since other villains only appeared 2-5 episodes, Harley Quinn is the only villain had appeared in 6 episodes.
Most characters were given a more ghoulish appearance. One of the most apparent was the Scarecrow's new design which became a dark, corpse-like figure with a hangman's noose around his neck.
The tone of the show shifted between "light and charming" to "dark and serious", with some of the darkest episodes ever seen in a cartoon ("Over the Edge" featured the death of Batgirl, albeit as a dream), as well as wacky, lighthearted fare. ("Critters", for example, is one of the least popular episodes amongst some fans for its tone, but actually one of producer Bruce Timm's favorites and has commentary on the DVD release of the TNBA episodes.) Many of these changes and contrasts were somewhat similar to the regular comics post-KnightSaga.
Then another Batman animated project was born. Batman Beyond", also known as "Batman of the Future" Began airing on January 10, 1999, and ended its run on December 18, 2001. After 52 episodes spanning three seasons and one direct-to-video film, the series was put on hold for the new Justice League animated series despite the network having announced plans for a fourth season.
Batman Beyond is set in the chronological future of the DC animated universe, although it was released before Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Static Shock. Some characters from the series appeared two years later in "Future Shock", an episode of Static Shock, and then again in "The Once and Future Thing," episodes of Justice League Unlimited. The character of Terry McGinnis was revisited a final time in the JLU episode "Epilogue", which tells much about the future of Batman.
Batman Beyond is said to exploit the darker side of many Batman projects, playing on key elements such as emotions, personal relations, the fear of the unknown, and technological malfunctions. As such, it was considerably darker than most other children's programs at the time, although producer Bruce Timm recalls it was conceived as a kid-friendly Batman cartoon. It is also the first Batman series to portray the hero as a teenager.
The pilot episode begins in 2019, where an aging Batman, equipped with a high-tech Batsuit, takes on the kidnappers of Bunny Vreeland (the daughter of Veronica Vreeland, one of Bruce Wayne's many girlfriends). During the battle, Batman suffers a heart attack which leaves him unable to fight, forcing him to betray a life-long principle by threatening a criminal with a gun. By this point, Bruce Wayne's assistants, Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox have both passed away, and as a result Bruce Wayne retires the Batman persona. It is implied by virtue of his lengthy career as Batman, and his retaining the Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl costumes, that a tragic occurrence had transpired that caused Bruce to sever his ties with the Justice League and forbid his allies to assume their alter-egos (the events which caused all of this are revealed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker).
The story fast-forwards to 2039 in Neo-Gotham, a futuristic megalopolis equipped with staggering high rises and flying vehicles. Bruce Wayne is a recluse living in bitter isolation with no companion but his guard dog, Ace. Terry McGinnis is an athletic 16-year-old high school student and reformed troublemaker with a deeply ingrained sense of personal justice. His first act in the series is to defend a fellow passenger on a commuter rail from a member of the Jokerz gang. After trying to defend his girlfriend from a gang of Jokerz, Terry engages in a high-speed chase which ends on the grounds of Wayne Manor, where he runs into the elderly Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Terry fend off the Jokerz side-by-side, but the exertion aggravates Bruce's heart condition. Terry helps Bruce back to the manor, and, after Bruce nods off for a bit, stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave. He is chased out by a recovered and angered Bruce.
Terry returns home to discover that his father had been murdered, apparently by the vengeful Jokerz. Soon after, he finds out that the man actually responsible for the murder was Mr. Fixx, the bodyguard of Derek Powers,—CEO of a merged Wayne-Powers and his father's employer—because he possessed knowledge of illegal chemical weapons being produced by Powers. Terry "borrows" the Batsuit, intending to bring Powers to justice. Bruce initially opposes his efforts and vehemently demands Terry return the suit (at one point paralyzing the suit while Terry is wearing it), but Terry convinces Bruce to let him take on the Batman mantle, and he subsequently defeats Mr. Fixx. Realizing that crime and corruption are running rampant in Gotham without Batman's presence, Bruce offers Terry the chance to assume the role of Batman.
Terry's first foe is Derek Powers, now mutated through a combination of deadly chemical gas and radiation into the radioactive monstrosity Blight. Terry soon comes to have his own rogues gallery: the seductive shape-shifter Inque; the hypnotist Spellbinder; the bitter, deaf sound expert Shriek; the deadly assassin Curare; the insane terrorist Mad Stan; the African hunter Stalker; the nerdish Willie Watt; a new version of the Royal Flush Gang; and the Jokerz, a gang idolizing the notorious Clown Prince of Crime. On occasion, Terry is also forced to face his mentor's old foes, such as the rejuvenated Mr. Freeze; common criminals using Bane's strength-enhancing Venom substance in the form of slap-on patches; the immortal Ra's al Ghul; and, almost inevitably, the Joker himself.
Terry forms a begrudging partnership with Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl. She is unhappy with the idea of a new Batman, especially a teenager, as she is still haunted by the same event that caused Bruce to retire. However, she knows that she and the police under her command need Batman, whether she likes it or not. Furthermore, she understands from personal experience that she can not deter Terry any more than she could have been deterred from being Batgirl.