I've been thinking about doing this a while, so I'll try to compile a chronological timeline of the events of Batman: The Animated Series. Years will be centered around the main series.
- Showdown flashback (1883)
- Avatar flashback (1898)
- Beware the Gray Ghost flashback
- Bruce falls into the cavern on Wayne Manor (not shown; ~ 29 years before Batman: The Animated Series)
- The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne flashback, Bruce's parents are killed (~27 years before Batman the Animated Series)
- Bruce travels the world and trains to fight crime, returns to Gotham years later (not shown, ~17 years before Batman: The Animated Series)
Night of the Ninja flashback - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm flashback (10 years before Batman: The Animated Series)
- The Dark Knight's First Night (10 years before Batman: The Animated Series, immediately after the Mask of the Phantasm flashback)
- Robin's Reckoning flashback (10 years before Batman: The Animated Series)
- Jack Napier becomes the Joker (5 years before Batman: The Animated Series, Mad Love flashback)
- The Joker's Favor flashback (2 years before Batman: The Animated Series)
- Batman: The Animated Series, Season 1
The flashback of Mad Love takes place between Be A Clown and Joker's Favor
Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm
Batman: The Animated Series, Season 2
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
Old Wounds - The New Batman Adventures (2 years after Batman: The Animated Series)
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker flashback (5 years after beginning of the series) - Rebirth, Part 1 flashback (20 years after The New Batman Adventures)
- Batman Beyond (40 years after The New Batman Adventures)
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
I'm probably forgetting a few; I know I didn't factor the rest of the DCAU in there.
Ages:Some of this is guessing, but some is given. Others are taken from the comics, which match up pretty well.
Batman:On supplemental materials, Bruce is 6 when he falls into the bat-filled cavern on the Wayne Manor property, and 8 when he watches his parents murdered. He's also 18 when he travels the world to received his training. While not officially mentioned, Batman is 25 in the comics when he first becomes Batman, matching up with his early flashbacks. With Batman: The Animated Series taking place 10 years after, Bruce is around 35 during the series. With The New Batman Adventures taking place 2 years later, he's about 37 then. In Batman Beyond, we're shown he quits 20 years later at 57 (coincidentally, Batman is 55 when he comes out of retirement in The Dark Knight Returns). During the main series, 20 years after that, he's around 77.
Nightwing:In the Golden Age, Dick becomes Robin at 8 years old, but later interpretations put him at 12. Which is what works in the context of this series. Dick is around 12 in Robin's Reckoning when he first becomes Robin, which puts him at 22 during the events of the main series (finishing college, as we see). Later that year, he graduates and also quits being Robin. After traveling the world like Bruce, we see him return during The New Batman Adventures at age 24 as Nightwing.
Batgirl:The official word is that she's "about twenty-one" during the New Batman Adventures. Two years before, she'd be finishing up high school at around 18-19. Batman Beyond would put the second Commissioner Gordon at 61.
Robin:Tim is 13 during The New Batman Adventures and around 53 during the events of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
Joker:It's said that he would have been 80 at the time of Batman Beyond. Which makes him 40 and 38 during TNBA and BTAS, respectively. He's 28 when he's working as a mob hit man in Mask of the Phantasm and 33 when he actually becomes the Joker. True to comic appearances, he's around the same age as Batman.
This was awesome stuff!
Great timeline write-up Slash Man.
But how would you factor in fitting Batman's first meeting with Superman and his involvement with the Justice League into the timeline? I'd guess it's safe to say that Batman meeting Supes and Lois Lane for the first time in The World's Finest episodes would take place within the same time as TNBA aired. What I'd find more curious is where to fit JL and JL: Unlimited? I can only assume that Batman helped establish the Justice League at least one year after TNBA/Superman TAS. Of course, he'd call himself a part-time member of the League...despite spending his own money to build the Watchtower. :D
I'll take a guess and say the two JL series take place within in two years, but future incidents, such as Batman consoling a dying Ace during a flashback in the 'Epilogue' JL Unlimited episode, take place several place years later. Makes you wonder how long did Batman's membership with the Justice League last for. :-\
Never factored in the Justice League(s). Though TNBA was definitely concurrent with the Superman series, just look to the multiple crossovers to put it in perspective. I've never found actual dates for Justice League in relation to the previous series'. Though it's at least a few years; the artists deliberately aged Superman since the series.
I wish Nightwing and Batgirl had appeared in the Justice League Unlimited series. Barbara Gordon appeared in Batman Beyond, but she was much older, like Bruce.
I think it was a shame that we only got to see the epilogues of a few characters. It's a bit baffling to me; with the increased popularity of BTAS/DCAU in recent years, WB has cashed in on the series in every way possible... EXCEPT bringing back the actual series. It's been cancelled twice already, but I'd at least like to see it go for one more round with the intention of bridging the gap between series' and, maybe adapting some plotlines from the Batman Adventures. Seriously, who doesn't think it would be a hit?
I recall a thread asking if three films is enough to tell Batman's story - and my answer is still no.
The DCAU Batman is still top dog, and the fact he's so fleshed out in terms of story really helps.
I'm just here to look back and appreciate just how good it all was.
We have the MOTP origin, which remains the high water mark in the franchise. Then the team-ups with Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and then the whole Justice League. He started out a loner but he wasn't always that way. But he ultimately ended as he started.
Batman simply gets too old to fight crime, throws in the towel and feels disgusted with himself in having picked up a gun. Because he didn't cultivate relationships, and simply focused on crime fighting, he lives alone for many years. He saved Gotham and the world countless times, but that's it. Alfred, Gordon and Fox are all dead. The romance with Catwoman, Wonder Woman, or any other female, never eventuated.
Very bleak stuff, but that's how I see Bruce's journey ending in reality. And by fast forwarding to the 'end', you then get a true idea just how tragic and isolated Bruce's personality really is.
The new Batman under his wing gives his purpose and drive - again showing the Batman persona never truly leaves him. Even though his body is not able, his mind always is.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Mon, 26 Oct 2015, 07:57
I recall a thread asking if three films is enough to tell Batman's story - and my answer is still no.
The DCAU Batman is still top dog, and the fact he's so fleshed out in terms of story really helps.
You can tell how much Bruce Wayne changes over the course of BTAS and TNBA too.
When we see him in BTAS, Bruce puts on a show as the public playboy and pretends to be a klutz, which included putting on a ditsy voice, so nobody would make suspect he could Batman. I could be wrong about this, but I think Bruce slowly began to tone down his playboy reputation when that Gotham University professor had condemned him for his behavior and claimed his father would've been ashamed of him during the episode 'Nothing to Fear'. Bruce's interest in philanthropy and welfare in Gotham City grew in the end of 'The Forgotten' episode, where he offered to help those two homeless men find work, shortly after freeing them from slavery. And you can really tell how touched and hurt he felt in that dream sequence where he's surrounded by tons of homeless people looking for help. Since then, he built a reputation in caring for the community e.g. demanding Mockridge to hurry up with a business deal to ensure jobs could be available for people in the episode 'If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?'.
In TNBA, you really notice that Bruce doesn't even put on a face anymore - not even a fake rich accent. Yet he still maintains his reputation as a responsible businessman, if hardly ever seen. In fact, I'd say his personality grows even colder, more serious and cynical as time goes by, as Dick Grayson decided that he had enough of it in the episode 'Old Wounds'. The only light moment that I can remember of Bruce during the TNBA era was when he was trying to get out of a phone call with Barbara in that 'Mystery of the Batwoman' episode, which implied the two had a fling together.
That goes without saying. The Burton films and the TAS, TNBA and DCAU Batman made me a strong fan.
Quote from: Edd Grayson on Thu, 10 Dec 2015, 10:02
That goes without saying. The Burton films and the TAS, TNBA and DCAU Batman made me a strong fan.
The impact of BTAS can't be overstated. It's for my money the most complete version of Batman. When you add up all the episodes for DCAU's Batman across the various seasons, it's 252. That's a lot a character growth over a long period of time. The most of any Batman incarnation including Adam West, and they managed to maintain consistent quality.
I love the films (B89, BR, BvS). Seeing something like B89 as a young child really burns the character into your memory in an unforgettable way. Good Batman films should inspire you to dig deeper into the character. B89 did that for me, and I was just very lucky BTAS began airing at this time. Everything else is just gravy when we consider BTAS/JL/JLU/BB.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sun, 14 May 2017, 00:23The impact of BTAS can't be overstated.
It really can't.
And the thing about BTAS that people seem to forget a lot is that it was a real sleeper hit. I mean, for me, I was expecting (and would've been happy with) something along the lines of
The Adventures of Batman. Maybe the animation would've been better, I imagined, but the writing of it was basically going to be typical Saturday morning stuff, circa the late 80's/early 90's.
Obviously BTAS was a lot more than that.
But it took people a while to recognize that. About six or twelve months is my recollection. But once it settled in, BTAS became a real juggernaut. All at once Kevin Conroy became a hero to fans, Paul Dini was practically red carpet royalty, Bruce Timm was considered every bit as influential art-wise as a Neal Adams or a Norm Breyfogle.
And BTAS launched comics that I don't think will ever get their full due. The Batman Adventures vol. 1 is arguably its own thing... but it took the BTAS concept in some amazingly well-written directions. The Batman & Robin Adventures is underrated. Not great. But very good and definitely underrated. The Batman Adventures vol. 2 is another home run but for different reasons than vol. 1.
And obviously BTAS led to the creation of the DCAU/Dini-verse/whatever and that's a masterpiece all on its own.
It's an incredible show and there truly are very few out-and-out clunkers. But even the clunkers still have a mostly solid array of voice talent and music backing them up so they're not total losses.
To me, any good adaptation of Batman needs to
translate the comics and then
enhance the mythos. BTAS did both admirably. So even when the occasional clunker episode comes along... oh well, this is still the show that gave us Harley Quinn as a character. It's still the show that made Poison Ivy an awesome villain. It's still the show that gave us Conroy as Batman.
I've never been willing to call BTAS "definitive"... but it's damned close. And really, it's only one or two relatively minor issues that keep it from being definitive.
So good!
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sun, 14 May 2017, 06:32
And BTAS launched comics that I don't think will ever get their full due. The Batman Adventures vol. 1 is arguably its own thing... but it took the BTAS concept in some amazingly well-written directions. The Batman & Robin Adventures is underrated. Not great. But very good and definitely underrated. The Batman Adventures vol. 2 is another home run but for different reasons than vol. 1.
They have re-issued those comics into new collected volumes and I snapped them up ASAP. They're good stories in their own right, but they're absolutely an extension of the TV show. Much more than the 66 comics.
This is partly due to the animation style. The artwork in the BTAS comics is like freeze framing an episode. The same spirit is there, and it helped a great deal these comics were done while the show was still running.
The show is 22 years old and it continues to have a timeless quality. The Art Deco look and the Elfman/Walker soundtrack just screams definitive to me, even if the violence levels aren't high or the GCPD isn't exactly an incompetent mess. It's the gold standard when it comes to Batman animation and there's a very good chance it will never be topped.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sun, 14 May 2017, 07:03It's the gold standard when it comes to Batman animation and there's a very good chance it will never be topped.
That shadow looms very large indeed. The Batman from 2004 was burned in effigy for either getting too close to or diverging too much from BTAS. The ultimate no-win situation.
I can't help thinking that's one reason silly ideas like that
Gotham High animated series get floated or why The Brave & The Bold, Beware the Batman and other things go so far out of their way to be different from BTAS. Nobody in his right mind wants to compete with BTAS.
The lack of direct competition is a hell of a compliment to BTAS all by itself.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Mon, 15 May 2017, 01:43
That shadow looms very large indeed.
I'm curious to see how you rank Superman: TAS.
Beware The Batman is the only Batman cartoon I would consider to be a disappointment, and honestly, it wasn't that bad. It was just average.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Tue, 16 May 2017, 00:52I'm curious to see how you rank Superman: TAS.
I don't think Superman has ever really had a BTAS-level show. Not even STAS, oddly enough.
Fleischer was good but the animation really is that thing's saving grace. If the animation wasn't as awesome as it is, I seriously doubt those shorts would even be remembered. Minimal character, minimal plot, lots of action, amazing animation.
The Filmmation stuff... eh, it's a decent encapsulation of the Silver Age, I guess. That's about the most you can say for it.
Ruby-Spears might've been great if it had been given a second season. And even what we got was a major upgrade over Filmmation. But ultimately, most people don't even know the Ruby-Spears show ever existed because it ended before it could achieve much of anything.
STAS... honestly, I've never been able to shake the kind of patronizing attitude Dini, Timm and the rest all had about Superman. "I mean, Superman's
COSTUME... you know? Obviously Batman is intrinsically cooler than Superman. Nobody who isn't retarded questions that. And if someone questions it... well, obviously they're retarded. Because Batman is automatically cooler than Superman. I mean, who wouldn't rather watch even Lewis Wilson's Batman serials than Christopher Reeve's Superman movie, right? So just by doing a Superman show, you're automatically behind the 8-ball because of what a loser Superman is and how awesome Batman is. Batman's butt hairs are cooler than Superman's heat vision, you know? This whole thing is stupid. Only retards like Superman. But they paid us so we're doing a Superman show... but in the least retarded way we can think of. Even though Batman is cooler, did we mention that?"
Granted, much of that is hyperbole. But I've always suspected they'd all rather have been doing another season of BTAS than anything to do with Superman. And it shows in the final product. Yeah, some episodes are genuinely moving. But the whole enterprise has a sort of rote quality about it, as though basically nobody is all that invested in the show. Nobody was willing to pour the same level of creativity into Superman that they were Batman.
I really don't understand why everybody kisses Tim Daly's ass either. Half the time, he sounded like he was reading his lines for the first time off cue cards. Which he probably was. George Newbern at least pretended to give a damn.
Anyway. In the end, STAS is good. But it doesn't do for Superman what BTAS did for Batman, and I sincerely believe that's because its creators had such a chip on their shoulder about the character. I'd rather not have a show than have to put up with such a grating, patronizing attitude from its creators.
I wish I could talk about subsequent Superman animated shows but there haven't been any.
NB4 anybody can mention it, yes, I know I'm in a cranky mood tonight. But that doesn't mean the above isn't true. Because it is.
B:TAS is always going to get all the praise. But I have a lot of time for S:TAS.
It explored Superman's roster of villains and did them justice.
It has one of the best Lois Lane's from any medium.
Superman was more prone to injury which increased the drama.
Tim Daly's voice was warm and stern. I liked him a lot.
The main theme isn't from John Williams and it works very well.
I dig that Superman had different suits - the space and anti-kryptonite suits.
It had consistency in tone and quality.
It's an underrated show which does Superman proud. It may be nostalgia, but I honestly can't see another animated Superman series topping it. It just feels right. It's the day to B:TAS's night.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Tue, 16 May 2017, 02:32
STAS... honestly, I've never been able to shake the kind of patronizing attitude Dini, Timm and the rest all had about Superman.
I love STAS and think it's a worthy adaptation for Superman. But I must admit, you could tell the showrunners made Batman run the center of the universe and Metropolis whenever they had the chance. Take the World's Finest crossover episodes for instance, where Bruce and Lois had a brief a romance together, or Batman easily throws Superman over to the other side of the club when they first meet. Or in another STAS episode where Superman agrees to disguise himself as Batman to prevent suspicion that he's missing in Gotham City, while they track him down and eventually they found him captured by Brainiac. While I don't think it ultimately made the show Batman-centric, I can see why you're a little put off.
I guess it could be suggested that Dini and Timm were good at getting ideas behind psychologically disturbed villains than sci-fi villains like Superman's rogues gallery, and that's why you might feel Superman didn't go. For instance, the STAS Toyman could easily be mistaken for a Batman villain because of his creepy backstory and appearance. Same thing could be said about Metallo, I guess.
But despite their Batman allegiance, I still think Dini and Timm had some affection for Superman, judging by the show paid a lot of tribute to John Byrne's run and the episodes with Mr. Mxyzptlk were good old Silver Age fun.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Tue, 16 May 2017, 02:32
I really don't understand why everybody kisses Tim Daly's ass either. Half the time, he sounded like he was reading his lines for the first time off cue cards. Which he probably was. George Newbern at least pretended to give a damn.
I never got that impression from Daly. I thought he was always commanding as Superman and as Clark Kent. When I first heard of Newbern's voice in JL, I thought he sounded meek, as oddly as that may sound.
I thought the World's Finest crossover was good fun.
Batman throws Superman with a judo move. I don't see the problem with that, because martial arts is Batman's thing. Superman instantly retaliates with a hard punch that sends Batman flying against the wall. I don't see the problem with that, because raw power is Superman's thing.
Superman uses x-ray vision to discover Batman's identity and Batman uses detective work to discover Superman's identity. Again, I think that matches each character. In Dawn of Justice, Clark hears Alfred's voice in Bruce's ear which helps tip him off. I liked that touch.
Batman is a cool character and that's just who he is. But instantly discovering someone's identity without breaking a sweat and having near unlimited power to instantly dispatch enemies is also pretty darn cool, right? In my opinion that is very cool.
Bruce is a playboy. That's his schtick. Clark is the well mannered farmboy. He isn't going to be chatting up supermodels. Is he annoyed with Bruce's flirting? Yes. But is he jealous? No. Deep down, he knows Lois is his. And by the end of the story, Lois remains his. And he still has his superpowers.
Here is a video mapping out the entire DCAU timeline, including BTAS.
https://youtu.be/zNI89P1pYoY
I could've done without the inane political references, but it's a good video regardless. It's weird to see the events of JL were happening around the same time as TNBA though.
I've watched the WatchTower Database's videos from time to time. I really enjoyed seeing others with such an obsessive interest in the continuity of the series. It's funny that even as more modern entries were added to the DCAU, the timeline still essentially holds up, even when you take into account the suspect in-universe dates given.
I do think they put a bit too much emphasis on the changing looks over time that came with different art styles. That's always been easy to dismiss because many aren't even meant to be literal. Though recent DCAU artists have tried to make it a canon change, which more often than not causes conflicts.
Quote from: Slash Man on Fri, 3 Dec 2021, 18:21
I've watched the WatchTower Database's videos from time to time. I really enjoyed seeing others with such an obsessive interest in the continuity of the series.
As good as that video is, I noticed they forgot to add a couple of events in the BTAS timeline. Temple Fugate's meltdown would've happened sometime in the mid Eighties, and he became the Clock King seven years later, presumably during the early Nineties. Batman would've rescued Earl Cooper from goons trying to prevent him from becoming an automobile whistleblower sometime between 1983 to 1985 and then he would later hire Cooper as his personal mechanic to build the new Batmobile. That would've been around the same time Tony Zucco had murdered Dick Grayson's parents. If you look at the flashback scenes in the episodes
The Mechanic and
Robin's Reckoning Part I, the Batsuit sported a black insignia without the yellow oval, and the utility belt had pouches around it. The costume would get updated with the yellow oval and an advanced utility belt a few years later, maybe around the time Dick became Robin.
I can forgive them for some oversight, there are a lot of events that happened in the entire DCAU timeline that it's hard to keep track.