It’s a little crazy to realize The Batman animated show is old enough to rent a car without incurring extra insurance charges. When it launched on Kids’ WB two decades ago, the show had one obvious agenda: recast the Dark Knight for the modern age—and perhaps stir up a few fan rants in the process.
If you were a child in 2004, you likely recall the first time you laid eyes on that Joker with dreadlocks or the Batmobile that appeared to roll right out of a Hot Wheels dream sequence. And if you were a hardcore Batman: The Animated Series viewer, you might’ve winced a bit. Or a lot.
Let’s be real, responses to The Batman were messy from the very beginning. The animation design by itself ignited fiery playground discussions and online disputes. Some were unable to move beyond Bruce Wayne’s acutely defined face, the Bat-Wave device, or the Joker’s crazy makeup.
One viewer even remembered their worst critical friend convincing them to write off the show early, particularly in contrast to the idolized BTAS designs. But nostalgia does have a peculiar knack for altering recollections. Eventually, more and more people gave the show another try—sometimes after seeing The Batman vs. Dracula film—and discovered that they grew to appreciate its daring decisions.
What truly made The Batman stand out was the way it reimagined Gotham’s villains. This was not the typical Joker—this one wore dreadlocks, went barefoot, and possessed the grace of a circus acrobat. The Riddler appeared to belong in a Marilyn Manson music video, and Mr. Freeze was a literal walking chunk of ice.
Even the Penguin was able to bring the heat with some intense martial arts moves. These weren’t cosmetic alterations; the creative team behind the show was trying to make each villain new, and sometimes that caused controversy. But for a whole generation of viewers, these interpretations became just as iconic as the classic ones.
The violence was another massive change. Whereas BTAS embraced noir atmosphere and psychological drama, The Batman went all in on the fight choreography. You could see the creators had some affection for anime like Dragon Ball Z.
Batman didn’t just punch— he flipped, kicked, and hurled himself through combat with high-gloss choreography that can still be appreciated today. Seeing the Penguin pop out with kung fu moves? That was the height of 2004.
But the series was not exclusively about explosive fight scenes. Throughout its five-year existence, The Batman quietly managed one of the strongest character developments in superhero cartoons. It began with Bruce as the traditional solo vigilante, but added, over time, a team dynamic.
There was Detective Ellen Yin and young Jim Gordon (although Yin later disappeared with minimal explanation), followed by Batgirl and Robin. By the last season, Batman was a member of the Justice League. It was a gradual process, but one that saw Bruce move past his loner persona—something that would’ve been a shock even to his BTAS counterpart.
Viewers who hung in there also appreciated that the villains became more sinister and complex in the long run. The first episodes were all about groundwork, but subsequent seasons introduced team-ups and deeper psychology.
Characters such as the Riddler and Hugo Strange found themselves, and season four is often cited as the peak season of the show. Even a standout episode, “Seconds,” had the temerity to kill off Batman, Robin, and Batgirl—don’t worry, they recovered.
Of course, not everyone was on board. Some fans never recovered from the redesigns or initial tonal changes, and to them, The Batman is still an odd glitch in the Bat-verse—about as 2004 as a can of Pepsi Blue, according to one fan.
Even the cynics, though, couldn’t deny that the fight animation was on a different level and the original theme song by The Edge (yes, of U2) was the type of earworm that gets stuck in your head long after the show is over. That theme did get replaced later, but it’s still part of the show’s indelible identity—along with the neon sheen of early-2000s animation.
In hindsight, The Batman made its niche within DC’s animated history. It didn’t shy away from making bold swings, even if it turned off long-time viewers in the process. But for those who came of age with it—or stumbled upon it years later during a nostalgia marathon-it ‘s a testament that occasionally the most divisive, unconventional interpretations of a superhero are the most indelible.