The Magic Of The DCAU

    The DCAU, or DC Animated Universe started in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series.  It was a series that quickly changed the tune of kids television with a much darker tone than most cartoons were known for.  It was more like the comics of the 1970s amd 1980s than the campy Adam West Batman live action series in the 1960s.  It featured a twisted Joker played gloriously by Mark Hamill and there is also Kevin Conroy who is considered to be the voice of Batman himself.  The series introduced a new character known as Harley Quinn who had her live action movie debut last week in Suicide Squad played my Margot Robbie.  The show ran for eighty-five episodes and ended in 1995. Nowadays, you can probably find it listed on websites listed as one of the top ten cartoons of all time.

      In 1996,  Batman: The Animated Series returned as The New Batman Adventures as well as the start of Superman: The Animated Series.  Then in 1997, World's Finest happened, the first crossover between the two series.  The crossover was very well received.  Fast forward to 1999,  you get Batman Beyond, or the Batman of the future.  Batman Beyond brought a new level of darkness to the shows and brought in various sci-fi elements to the already established Batman mythology.

     Next we have Static Shock,  a story about a teenager with electromagnetic powers.  The series was considerably lighter than Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond if I remember it correctly.  After Static Shock you have the short lived and often forgotten Zeta Project, which was a spin off of Batman Beyond.

     Finally we are up to Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, the former consisting of two part episodes focusing mostly on the founding seven members of the Justice League, (Superman, Batman, The Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and, Wonder Woman.)  The latter were mostly single episodes focusing on a march larger and extended team including lesser known characters such as The Question and Huntress.  The show ran for five seasons between the two series. and concluded the DC Animated Universe.

     Now that the history is out of the way let;s talk about the magic behind it.  It is the first multi connected television series.  Yes that's right before the Arrow, Flash and pre Legends of Tomorrow crossover of last year.  Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that started in 2008, the DCAU pretty much stated the interconnected universe for superhero television and movies.  Most of the shows were well received and with the six shows, they ran for over ten years.

     What did you think of these shows?  Did you grow up with them or did you watch reruns or on DVD?   Let us know in the comments below or on the Facebook page, thanks for reading!