50 Fun Facts About Batman: the Animated Series

Who developed Batman: The Animated Series?

Neither had produced a series before; they pitched with a silent short called The Dark Knight's First Night.

On which network block did the series originally air?

Fox also ran it in prime time on Sundays for a stretch in 1992 and 1993.

What was the series retitled midway through its run?

Fox wanted Robin in every episode to pull in younger boys.

Who voiced Batman throughout the series?

Critics repeatedly singled out his performance; he reprised the role in the Arkham games.

Which Star Wars actor voiced the Joker?

He credited the laughs he honed on stage in Amadeus for landing the part.

Which actor was first cast as the Joker before illness forced a recast?

He developed bronchitis during the early recording sessions.

Which film star declined the role of Two-Face, which went to Richard Moll?

Moll was best known as Bull the bailiff on Night Court.

Whom did voice director Andrea Romano first want as Ra's al Ghul before David Warner?

Scheduling got in the way; Warner's Ra's became a fan favourite.

What was unusual about how the voice cast worked under Andrea Romano?

The ensemble approach became standard across the whole DC Animated Universe.

What nickname did the producers give the show's noir-meets-1940s-architecture look?

Backgrounds were painted in light colours on black paper, reversing industry practice.

Which character is the only one ever shown being shot in the series?

It happens in 'I Am the Night'; censors barred bullet holes and on-screen deaths.

What was the title of the pilot episode?

Its Man-Bat story 'got a lot of people off our backs', Timm said.

Which comics artist designed the series' Mr. Freeze in about 20 minutes?

He said he mostly copied an old drawing from a history-of-DC book.

Which 1960s TV Batman voiced the washed-up actor Simon Trent, the Gray Ghost?

The Gray Ghost's look was inspired by The Shadow.

Which Days of Our Lives actress inspired and voiced Harley Quinn?

Paul Dini drew on a dream-sequence jester she played on the soap.

Harley Quinn's red-and-black colour scheme was inspired by which 1940s character?

Her costume shape comes from the commedia dell'arte Harlequin.

Who composed the series' own main theme, later defining the DCAU sound?

Early episodes used a variation of Elfman's film theme; Walker's replaced it.

Which Hellboy actor voiced Clayface?

His Clayface, Matt Hagen, was a disfigured actor hooked on a face-changing cream.

Which singer-songwriter voiced the Penguin?

His Penguin was modelled on Danny DeVito's look from Batman Returns.

Who voiced Catwoman in the series?

The character was given Michelle Pfeiffer's blonde hair from Batman Returns.

Which Planet of the Apes actor voiced the Mad Hatter?

Michael York voiced Count Vertigo and Ed Asner the businessman Roland Daggett.

Which Star Trek captain voiced the terrorist Red Claw?

Red Claw was created for the series rather than taken from the comics.

Which Back to the Future actor voiced the gangster Tony Zucco?

Biff Tannen as the man who killed Dick Grayson's parents in 'Robin's Reckoning'.

Who wrote 'Heart of Ice', the episode that reinvented Mr. Freeze?

It won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.

In 'Heart of Ice', which GothCorp CEO kicks Victor Fries into the cryonic chemicals?

Batman leaves him half-frozen with the line 'Goodnight... humanitarian.'

What does Batman smash on Mr. Freeze's helmet to beat him in 'Heart of Ice'?

Alfred had packed the soup because Batman had caught a cold.

Who directed the series' 1993 theatrical feature film?

Mask of the Phantasm was the only DCAU film to get a full theatrical release.

Who voiced Andrea Beaumont, Bruce's former love, in Mask of the Phantasm?

She later voiced Lois Lane in Superman: The Animated Series.

Which comic arc's villain, the Reaper, loosely inspired the Phantasm?

Mike W. Barr wrote the arc; the film also borrows from Year One.

On what date was Mask of the Phantasm released in cinemas?

Rushed to theatres in eight months, it flopped, then found success on home video.

Where is the Joker's hideout in Mask of the Phantasm?

Andrea vanishes with him as the fair explodes.

The New Batman Adventures aired on which network?

It ran with Superman's show under the banner The New Batman/Superman Adventures.

Which futuristic DCAU series, starring Terry McGinnis, came directly after TNBA?

Its art style was streamlined to match the concurrently running Superman: The Animated Series.

Which episode adapted the Joker's seafood-copyright scheme from Detective Comics #475-476?

'The Demon's Quest' similarly adapted Ra's al Ghul's debut from Batman #232 and #244.

Which Korean studio was fired for inconsistent animation on episodes like 'Cat Scratch Fever'?

Season two was mostly animated by Dong Yang instead.

Why did writer Alan Burnett nearly quit animation before joining the series?

MacCurdy's promise that the show would feature guns and fighting won him over.

What does the opening sequence famously omit?

Timm and Tom Ruegger felt Batman's image made the words unnecessary.

Which real-life columnist inspired the look of the Ventriloquist?

Rhea Perlman inspired a character named Jesse, per designer Kevin Nowlan.

Which pulp hero inspired Bruce Wayne's design, along with Dick Tracy?

Walter M. Baumhofer's Doc Savage paintings were the reference.

A scrapped season 2 episode would have teamed Catwoman with which hero?

It was dropped because Fox required Robin in every episode.

In which issue of The Batman Adventures did Harley Quinn make her first official comic appearance?

The issue has become a collector's item.

Which game's Sega CD animated segments are sometimes called a 'lost episode'?

Free of Fox censorship, the fights were slightly more violent than on TV.

Which science fiction author adapted episodes into tie-in novels such as Dual to the Death?

He stitched several related episodes together to reach novel length.

Which 2020 comic miniseries by Dini, Burnett and Ty Templeton revived the show's continuity?

The original tie-in comic had outlasted the show by nearly a decade.

Which star of The Batman (2022) cited Mask of the Phantasm as a model Batman story?

The Arkham games also borrowed the show's tone and several voice actors.

Which Warner Bros. Animation president ordered the Batman series after Tiny Toons succeeded?

She asked Timm and Radomski to make the pitch short in about six weeks.

Which villain created for the series was a former prison guard named Lyle Bolton?

Temple Fugate, the Clock King, and the Sewer King were also series originals.

What is the real name of the Clock King in the series?

The name puns on 'tempus fugit'; Alan Rachins voiced him.

Who voiced Bane in his animated debut?

Bane had only debuted in the comics in 1993, a year before 'Bane' aired.

Which rogue AI villain tries to replace humanity with robots in 'Heart of Steel'?

Jeff Bennett voiced it; Karl Rossum built it.