Batman Animated: A Guide to the world of the Dark Knight

Batman Animated: The Guide to the Dark Knight

Batman is 82 years old with piles of books, movies, and any other form of media one could think of sure has a stockpile of ways to delve into Gotham. As a fairly new fan of the Dark Knight, I found watching his library of animated films a daunting, yet addicting task. It is overwhelming trying to figure out where to start watching the crusades of the caped vigilante, so I will attempt to list and give a brief explanation as to why I think this would be the most rewarding and easiest path to dive into the world of the Dark Knight.

1. Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)

Why here? Well, simple, it marked the return of Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar to the characters that they are best known as. Combine this with a whole host of classic Batman Villains and let the campiness ensue. Batman wasn’t as brooding and grumpy in the '60s.

2. Batman: Year One (2011)

This is based on the graphic novel that covers Bruce Wayne’s transformation from a terrified child to a terrifying superhero. This is the more commonly accepted and known form of Batman, you see him begin his training, returning to Gotham prepared to take the mantle of the city’s Savior. Batman is more brooding but inexperienced and you see him make a mistake on his first night of patrol, a rarity in the Batman Universe.

3. Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Working as an anthology film, Gotham Knight delivers 6 tales that dive further into Bruce’s journey as a young vigilante to the Dark Knight.

4. Batman Under The Red Hood (2010)

This tale focuses on Batman’s greatest failure coming to wreak havoc on Gotham’s criminals and not following the same code he does. It’s here where Batman explains why he has the strict “no kill” code, giving a narrative to the often heatedly discussed rule of the Dark Knight.

5. Son of Batman (2014)

As the title indicates, Bruce learns he has a son who had been raised in secret by Talia Al Ghul, one of Bruce’s many, many love interests. Due to being raised by his far more ruthless mother, young Damian does not share his father’s morals and Bruce is determined to set the youngster on the straight and narrow.

6. Batman vs. Robin (2015)

As Damian takes the mantle of Robin after Stephanie Brown’s far too brief run as the…Girl Wonder? Batman tried (and fails) to tame is unruly son, trying to enforce his ethics onto Damian who was brainwashed/taught by his mother to be as ruthless as needed to get the desired results, a mindset that puts Damian directly at odds with his father leading to a battle.

7. The Killing Joke (2016)

Easily one of the darkest tales of the franchise, The Killing Joke was based on the graphic novel of the same title. It’s a look into the deranged, maniacal psyche of Batman’s most infamous Villain, The Joker. The clown prince of crime is on the loose and this time it had tragic consequences for yet another member of the Bat-family.

8. Batman The Dark Knight Returns Parts 1 & 2 (2013)

Covering Bruce’s return as Batman, an older, battle-tested yet far less nimble Bruce Wayne is forced out of retirement as Gotham spirals out of control and the Police fail to maintain law and order. It’s a unique look into an older Batman who is bitter, brooding and detached in many ways of not just the world around him but the people around him as well. This 2- part film is a nice way to cap off a journey into the mind and world one of the most famous heroes of our time.

I hope this helps if you are just getting into the world of Batman as it is an overwhelming task given his various adaptations and forms of media. This is by no means a “definitive” way to watch the animated films (They are probably the closest to the heart of the comic adaptations of Batman) but is a good place to begin your descent to Gotham. Other animated films that are worth watching but not really canon with this list:

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Batman: Gotham By Gaslight

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

Batman Bad Blood