The Batman is an animated superhero series developed by Michael Goguen and Duane Capizzi. It starred the titular superhero and centered around his early crimefighting exploits in Gotham City, as well as building up the Bat-Family as it progressed. The series premiered in 2004 on Kids WB, and later moved to Cartoon Network, running for five seasons until 2008.
The series was well-received for its stylized animation and creative adaptation of its source material, and has a dedicated following. It ties into the comic series The Batman Strikes! and the film The Batman vs. Dracula.
Summary[]
The series introduces three brand new characters, exclusive to the continuity of this cartoon alone: Gotham City police chief, Angel Rojas, detective Ellen Yin, and Bruce's high school pal, detective Ethan Bennett. All three characters dominate the supporting cast for the entire first season, but fade away into obscurity with the close of season two.
Season three opens with a new theme title track, as well as the introduction of another mainstay supporting cast member – Batgirl. Batman grudgingly takes young Barbara Gordon on as his new sidekick partner.
With Season four, Robin is finally introduced, becoming a permanent supporting cast member, featured in nearly every episode. By Season five, other members of the DC Universe began making appearances including the Martian Manhunter, Superman, the Flash, Green Arrow and Hawkman. The heroes were first addressed as the Justice League of America in the epilogue to the season four finale "The Joining (Part II)", but were featured with greater prominence in the 2008 two-part series finale "Lost Heroes". The final episode of the series was broadcast on March 8th, 2008.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Rino Romano as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Alastair Duncan as Alfred Pennyworth
- Ming-Na Wen as Ellen Yin (Seasons 1 - 2)
- Steve Harris as Ethan Bennett (Season 1)
- Mitch Pileggi as Commissioner Jim Gordon (Seasons 2 - 5)
- Danielle Judovits as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Seasons 3 - 5)
- Eve Sabara as Dick Grayson/Robin (Seasons 4 - 5)
Recurring[]
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Joker
- Tom Kenny as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin
- Gina Gershon as Selina Kyle/Catwoman
- Jesse Corti as Chief Angel Rojas (Seasons 1 - 2)
- Louis Gossett, Jr. as Lucius Fox (Seasons 4 - 5)
- George Newbern as Clark Kent/Superman (Season 5)
Episodes[]
Season 1[]
| Episode | Air Date | No. |
|---|---|---|
| "The Bat in the Belfry" | September 11, 2004 | 1 |
| "Call of the Cobblepot" | September 18, 2004 | 3 |
| "Traction" | September 25, 2004 | 2 |
| "The Cat and the Bat" | October 2, 2004 | 6 |
| "The Man Who Would Be Bat" | October 30, 2004 | 4 |
| "The Big Chill" | November 6, 2004 | 5 |
| "The Big Heat" | November 13, 2004 | 7 |
| "Q & A" | November 20, 2004 | 8 |
| "The Big Dummy" | November 27, 2004 | 9 |
| "Topsy Turvy" | February 5, 2005 | 10 |
| "Bird of Prey" | February 12, 2005 | 11 |
| "The Rubberface of Comedy" | April 30, 2005 | 12 |
| "The Clayface of Tragedy" | May 7, 2005 | 13 |
Season 2[]
| Episode | Air Date | No. |
|---|---|---|
| "The Cat, the Bat, and the Very Ugly" | May 14, 2005 | 1 |
| "Riddled" | May 21, 2005 | 2 |
| "Fire and Ice" | May 28, 2005 | 3 |
| "The Laughing Bat" | June 4, 2005 | 4 |
| "Swamped" | June 11, 2005 | 5 |
| "Pets" | June 18, 2005 | 6 |
| "Meltdown" | June 25, 2005 | 7 |
| "JTV" | July 9, 2005 | 8 |
| "Ragdolls to Riches" | July 16, 2005 | 9 |
| "The Butler Did It" | August 20, 2005 | 10 |
| "Grundy's Night" | August 27, 2005 | 11 |
| "Strange Minds" | September 3, 2005 | 12 |
| "Night and the City" | September 10, 2005 | 13 |
Season 3[]
| Episode | Air Date | No. |
|---|---|---|
| "Batgirl Begins, Part I" | September 17, 2005 | 1 |
| "Batgirl Begins, Part II" | September 24, 2005 | 2 |
| "A Dark Knight to Remember" | October 1, 2005 | 3 |
| "Fistful of Felt" | October 8, 2005 | 4 |
| "RPM" | November 5, 2005 | 5 |
| "Brawn" | November 12, 2005 | 6 |
| "The Laughing Cats" | November 19, 2005 | 7 |
| "Fleurs du Mal" | November 26, 2005 | 8 |
| "Cash for Toys" | February 4, 2006 | 9 |
| "The Apprentice" | February 11, 2006 | 10 |
| "Thunder" | February 18, 2006 | 11 |
| "The Icy Depths" | May 6, 2006 | 12 |
| "Gotham's Ultimate Criminal Mastermind" | May 13, 2006 | 13 |
Season 4[]
| Episode | Air Date | No. |
|---|---|---|
| "A Matter of Family" | September 23, 2006 | 1 |
| "Team Penguin" | September 30, 2006 | 2 |
| "Clayfaces" | October 7, 2006 | 3 |
| "The Everywhere Man" | November 4, 2006 | 4 |
| "The Breakout" | November 11, 2006 | 5 |
| "Strange New World" | November 18, 2006 | 6 |
| "Artifacts" | February 3, 2007 | 7 |
| "Seconds" | February 10, 2007 | 8 |
| "Riddler's Revenge" | February 17, 2007 | 9 |
| "Two of a Kind" | February 24, 2007 | 10 |
| "Rumors" | March 3, 2007 | 11 |
| "The Joining, Part I" | April 28, 2007 | 12 |
| "The Joining, Part II" | May 5, 2007 | 13 |
Season 5[]
| Episode | Air Date | No. |
|---|---|---|
| "The Batman/Superman Story, Part I" | September 22, 2007 | 1 |
| "The Batman/Superman Story, Part II" | September 29, 2007 | 2 |
| "Vertigo" | October 6, 2007 | 3 |
| "White Heat" | October 13, 2007 | 4 |
| "A Mirror Darkly" | November 3, 2007 | 5 |
| "Joker Express" | November 10, 2007 | 6 |
| "Ring Toss" | December 8, 2007 | 7 |
| "The Metal Face of Comedy" | December 15, 2007 | 8 |
| "Attack of the Terrible Trio" | February 2, 2008 | 9 |
| "The End of Batman" | February 9, 2008 | 10 |
| "What Goes Up..." | February 16, 2008 | 11 |
| "Lost Heroes, Part I" | March 8, 2008 | 12 |
| "Lost Heroes, Part II" | March 8, 2008 | 13 |
Trivia[]
- The Batman has no connection to The Batman Saga.