From the dark deco rooftops and crime-ridden streets of Gotham, Batman: The Animated Series celebrates its 30th Anniversary, first airing on September 5th, 1992! This iconic animated series boasts a 9.0 rating on IMDb and is featured at #22 on it's Top Rated TV Show list. This fan-favorite earned its place by telling concise stories through sympathetic heroes and villains ripe with tragedy, even creating new characters and origin stories that have become staples in the larger DC fandom.

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Coming out of a landscape of goofy Saturday morning cartoons and the much campier 60s run of Batman, this darker version was only able to exist after the booming success of Tim Burton's Batman (1989). Meanwhile, the comic book Batman was becoming more mature too, so the series took the opportunity introduce its noir tone and take their so-called children's cartoon seriously. The groundbreaking series guided by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini would become a spearhead into a whole new era of animation.

'The Laughing Fish' - 8.6

Batman TAS Joker

Bursting off the screen with Mark Hamill's trademark cackle, "The Laughing Fish" is just one of the many fantastic Joker episodes of the series. Here the Clown Prince of Crime is seen tormenting the public with his laughing gas as Batman investigates an epidemic of smiling fish. There's also a nod to the famous Batman vs Shark scene in Batman: The Movie (1966) as Batman wrestles Joker's laughing shark.

Alongside Joker is Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) who was created specifically for this series. While she was introduced alongside Joker in his first episode, "Joker's Favor" - 8.5, she would receive her official origin story in the continuation show, The New Batman Adventures (1997), with the episode "Mad Love." This is the highest rated episode of the connected shows with an impressive 9.4, telling the start of Joker and Harley's toxic relationship. These various runs are all currently collected together and streaming on HBO Max.

'Feat of Clay' Pt 1 & 2 - 8.4 & 8.6

Batman TAS Clayface
Image via DC Studios

The animated series features several 2-part storylines that often showcase a villain's origin story, like "Feat of Clay," featuring Clayface (Ron Perlman). The episode begins with a mysterious twist of events as Lucius Fox (Brock Peters) is threatened by none other than Bruce Wayne. What Fox doesn't realize is that it's actually the shape-shifter Clayface.

The 2-part episode features the struggles of actor Matt Hagan who was horribly disfigured in a car crash. Resorting to a shady pharmaceutical compound that promises to return the actors good looks, Hagan goes out of control and permanently transforms into the villainous Clayface and starts to abuse his power to imitate others.

'Robin's Reckoning' Pt 1 & 2 - 8.5 & 8.7

Batman TAS Robin

"Robin's Reckoning" takes a glimpse back at the origin story of Robin, aka Dick Grayson. While Batman and Robin are handling a routine night of crime fighting, a familiar name piques Batman's interest, and he quickly shuts Robin out of the investigation. Fearful of dragging Robin into an all too personal confrontation, Batman sets out for the goon while Robin recalls his past.

Highlighted in the documentary Heart of Batman (2018), chronicling the history of Batman: TAS, the series faced a lot of censorship stipulations, such as the use of weapons, violent or mature content and child endangerment. The latter being the primary basis for the show using an older Robin to start. Within flashbacks the present Robin remembers his youth in the circus and the fateful he lost his parents to a trapeze accident.

'The Man Who Killed Batman' - 8.8

Batman TAS Sid

No, it wasn't the madman Joker, Bane didn't break the bat or was he stumped by Riddler, in this episode Batman is seemingly killed by a bumbling low-level criminal, Sid the Squid (Matt Frewer). The episode follows Sid as he confesses to his higher ups how he was just trying to make a name for himself and move up the ranks, but didn't mean to kill Batman by forcing him to fall into an explosion.

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The episode takes a comedic turn as word gets out about the death of the Caped Crusader. Other gangsters and low-lifes start either celebrating or confronting Sid for his exploits, before he winds up drawing the attention of Joker. In a hilarious sequence Joker shows his excitement, but then remorse, as all his fun and games died with the Bat, even throwing him a funeral featuring a kazoo song of mourning and an acid bath for Sid.

'Perchance to Dream' - 8.9

Batman TAS dream

"Perchance to Dream" is a fantastic episode that dives into the trauma that drives Bruce Wayne: losing his parents. With Kevin Conroy's iconic low voice of Batman, in this episode he would focus primarily on Bruce. Waking up at Wayne Mansion, Bruce quickly realizes that there's no evidence of him as Batman.

Shockingly, Bruce then discovers that his parents are alive and well. In a surreal exploration of the life Bruce could have had, the bat continues to call to him, and he quickly realizes he cannot turn a blind eye to injustice. Almost giving into the dream, Bruce eventually confronts this world's version of Batman, before waking up and unfolding the plot of the Mad Hatter.

'Beware the Gray Ghost' - 8.9

Batman TAS Gray Ghost

"Beware the Gray Ghost" begins with a young Bruce Wayne watching his favorite hero, the Gray Ghost, on TV. In the present, Gotham is being terrorized by the Mad Bomber, which Batman suspects is all too reminiscent of his favorite childhood TV show. Connecting the dots Batman tracks down this idol, the washed up actor Simon Trent whose is reluctant to help Batman catch the bomber.

They say to never meet your idols save they disappoint you, but Trent soon realizes he has the courage to be like the hero he once played on TV. In a meta twist the Gray Ghost who inspired this series' Batman is played by none other than Adam West, the famed actor who played Batman in the 60s. Reportedly, if they could not convince West to take the role, the episode would have been scrapped all together.

'Heart of Ice' - 9.0

Batman TAS Mr Freeze

"It would move me to tears... if I still had tears to shed." From the poetic icy breath of Mr. Freeze, "Heart of Ice" features one of the greatest introductions of a villain. The massive outpour of admiration for this episode and its treatment of its sympathetic villain and his new backstory was made into the canonical origin story of Doctor Victor Fries, aka Mr. Freeze within the DC fandom.

In order to save his beloved wife, Doctor Fries (Michael Ansara) started feverishly studying cryotherapy, but was devastatingly cut from funding, his lab destroyed, and was exposed to chilling chemicals. Driven only to avenge his wife, Freeze built his own cryo-suit to keep his body at freezing temperatures, while subsequently losing his compassion for anything and anyone else.

'Trial' - 9.1

Batman TAS Trial

"Trial" introduces Gotham's new District Attorney, Janet Van Dorn (Stephanie Zimbalist), who doesn't take kindly to Batman's vigilantism. Adamant that Batman has caused more harm than good, she is soon abducted with Batman and brought to Arkham Asylum where the prisoners have taken over. Dorn is then brought into a boisterous courtroom and forced to be Batman's defendant.

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"Trial" has a ton of fun by gathering the most villains on one screen over the course of the series. Joker acts as judge, Two-Face as the prosecution and many more villains take roles as the jury and witnesses. Several villains complain how their behavior was all Batman's fault, however Dorn is able to gradually come to terms that Batman is not guilty. However, in more good ole fun, Joker orders the punishment nonetheless.

'Two-Face' Pt 1 & 2 - 9.1 & 9.0

Batman TAS Two Face

While this 2-part arc depicts Harvey Dent's downfall into the bipolar madman Two-Face (Richard Moll), the character was featured in numerous episodes before his critical turn for the worse. Displaying an honest desire to uphold the law, Dent becomes increasingly bothered by his darker, more explosive side. After being blackmailed by a crime boss, Dent finally snaps, and his face becomes partially disfigured.

The animated series made a big impression on the character design of Two-Face moving forward. Beforehand, the character had much more drastic patterns in its clothing and the animators were looking to simplify the look of Two-Face as they were still using hand-drawn animation at the time. Along with so many other character redesigns, this series introduced Two-Face's new design that would become so synonymous with the iconic character.

'Almost Got 'Im' - 9.2

Batman TAS GotIm

Featuring four retellings of exploits against the Batman, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Penguin and Joker recall the times in which they Almost Got 'Im. Joining up for a card game the various baddies, including Killer Croc, start to vent about the Bat, each getting a turn to tell their story. By the end Batman confronts the group looking for Catwoman, which is yet another nod to their romantic tension.

The episode is a terrific example of how great so many of the villains are in this series. From striking designs, terrific voice acting and concise stories to developed their motivations, the show features compelling arcs that make these one-off stories all the more satisfying. While Batman is surely interesting enough on his own, he needs his rogue gallery, and this series delivered them on all fronts.

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