My Top 5 DC Animated Series
Hey party people from Planet-M, it’s great to be back after the summer holidays and have I got a great Top 5 list for you, now when it comes to animated series we all know that DC has made some of the best and for this week I am going to be listing out my Top 5 DC Animated Series and why I like them.
Just remember that all of this is based upon my own opinion and if you have any suggestions for future blogs on comic book subjects, films in general or Top list then please leave them in the comments down below.
5: Teen Titans
Why: First on the list the original Teen Titans series, I will admit that I’m a fan of the teen titans as I did a Top 5 on the Titans in an earlier blog and this was the series that introduced me to them, the series was light hearted and action packed, but was capable of being serious and dark when the story called for it. Having Deathstroke/Slade be voiced by Ron Perlman was genius as he brought a cold, sadistic and calculating personality to the top assassin. Every character is developed throughout the series with a good look into their backstories and with Robin you get a few hints to his life previously fighting alongside Batman.
4: Justice League/Justice League Unlimited
Why: I know that these count as two series, but since they both continue from one another I’m going to count them as the same. Bruce Timm’s DCAU finally came to a close with this series as he brought the Justice League together, the series continued from The Batman and Superman animated series and built up its cast of characters by bringing Wonder Woman, Jo’on Jonz the Martian Man Hunter, Green Lantern, Hawk Girl and The Flash. The writing for the entire series as a whole was some of the best as not only did they capture what the justice league was about and the individual member’s personalities, but the characters also acted like the friends they are in the comics as the first half of Unlimited talked about what could happen if one of them were to die, the rest sought revenge and went completely out of control.
3: Young Justice
Why: Now what can I say about Young Justice, it’s well written and the animation is on the same level as many of the new 52 based DC animated films, but despite that what really made me like this was because these characters weren’t just younger versions of their mentors, many of them had conflicts with them while at the same time had the same powers, but weaker versions of them making them more relatable as they seek to be taken as seriously as their mentors. Now I know it’s not that much in terms of why, but I don’t really need that much of a reason, it’s a good show and I can’t wait for the 3rd season.
2: Batman the Animated Series
Why: Well of course this series was going to be on the list and there’s a reason for that, not only is this one of the most popular iterations of Batman, but it’s become the default to when anybody thinks of Batman. The Animated series will always be some of Bruce Timm’s and Paul Dini’s best work not because they brought Batman to life in the most timeless way possible, but because they were able to get to the true core of the character showing that he didn’t just want to defeat super villains, but he wanted to help cure these victims of mental illness, this is shown best in episodes like the Emmy winning Heart of Ice where they showed Mr Freeze as a sympathetic villain seeking revenge over the loss of his wife and Two Face as a good man and friend of Bruce Wayne held captive by a split personality in Two Face Part 1 and 2. Not only this, but whenever I read a Batman comic and I think of what Batman or Joker would sound like I would always think of the vocal performances of Mark Hamill’s The Joker and Kevin Conroy’s Batman. And of course the best thing about this series is that it didn't pander to its audience, it was capable of treating them with intelligence and that is always a good aspect of television series.
1: Batman Beyond
Why: Now here is the no. 1 Batman Beyond, Now my reasons for liking this more than the original animated series is not because this is the first Batman series I have ever watched, but it’s because of how it enhanced the original animated series to me when I finally watched it. Now I’m not going to give the full details away, but the first 15 minutes of the first episode are what really made me like this series, the emotion and the sorrow as the original Batman hangs up the cowl for good and the reason why he does, this scene was only made better when I watched the original series and saw the very same Batman as he joined the justice league and saved the day, only to know what his future was.
The animation is spectacular really creating a sense of futuristic scale to Neo Gotham; this truly showed the creativity in the creative team involved. Terry McGuiness is probably one of the best to become the next Batman, the characters are well developed as it is good to see where all these villains are in this future and the series may have ended abruptly, but it was continued in one of the best Batman stories, The Return of the Joker.
Well that was our blog for this week at Planet-M, I’d like to give a shout out to Ethan for suggesting this week’s Top blog and I hope you the readers will make your own suggestions in the comments below, Thank You for Reading.
