DC Universe Animated Original Movies
Creators
Bruce Timm · Alan Burnett
(September 18, 2007)
DC Universe Animated Original Movies are feature length direct-to-DVD animated movies. They did not form a single continuity, but are stand-alone movies mostly. Starting with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, however, many of them form a single continuity, which seemingly ended with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. They are not directly connected to other movies and animated series, with Batman: Gotham Knight intended to be part of the Nolanverse and Batman: Assault on Arkham is part of the Arkhamverse.
History
- Superman: Doomsday (September 2007)
- Justice League: The New Frontier (February 2008)
- Batman: Gotham Knight (July 2008)
- Wonder Woman (March 2009)
- Green Lantern: First Flight (July 2009)
- Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (September 2009)
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (February 2010)
- Batman: Under the Red Hood (July 2010)
- Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (September 2010)
- All-Star Superman (February 2011)
- Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (June 2011)
- Batman: Year One (October 2011)
- Justice League: Doom (February 2012)
- Superman vs. The Elite (June 2012)
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (October 2012)
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (January 2013)
- Superman: Unbound (May 2013)
- Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (July 2013)
- Justice League: War (February 2014)
- Son of Batman (May 2014)
- Batman: Assault on Arkham (August 2014)
- Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (January 2015)
- Batman vs. Robin (April 2015)
- Justice League: Gods and Monsters (July 2015)
- Batman: Bad Blood (January 2016)
- Justice League vs. Teen Titans (March 2016)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (July 2016)
- Justice League Dark (January 2017)
- Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (April 2017)
- Batman and Harley Quinn (August 2017)
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (January 2018)
- Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (March 2018)
- The Death of Superman (August 2018)
- Reign of the Supermen (January 2019)
- Justice League vs. The Fatal Five (April 2019)
- Batman: Hush (August 2019)
- Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (October 2019)
- Superman: Red Son (February 2020)
- Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (May 2020)
- Superman: Man of Tomorrow (August 2020)
- Batman: Soul of the Dragon (January 2021)
- Justice Society: World War II (April 2021)
- Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (June 2021)
- Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two (July 2021)
- Injustice (October 2021)
- Catwoman: Hunted (February 2022)
- Green Lantern: Beware My Power (July 2022)
- Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (October 2022)
Not yet released:
- Legion of Super-Heroes (2023)
- Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023)
- Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part One (2023)
- Justice League: Warworld (2023)
DC Showcase is a series of short-films focusing on DC characters who normally are unable to have a feature unto themselves. They are released as a co-feature with the main DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The first exception is Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, which was released as part of a DC Showcase anthology DVD with the first three shorts.
The DC Animated Universe, or DCAU, is the name given to the shared continuity existing between the DC Comics-based animated series Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project, Static Shock, Gotham Girls, Lobo: Webseries, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited.
This continuity is also sometimes referred to as the Timmverse (after Bruce Timm, the continuity's most consistent creative influence) and in the past, the Diniverse (after Paul Dini, who has mostly departed from Warner Bros. Animation).
Contents
- 1 In-continuity of the DCAU
- 1.1 TV series
- 1.2 Films
- 1.3 Web cartoons
- 2 Not In-Continuity with the DCAU
- 2.1 Teen Titans
- 2.2 Legion of Super-Heroes
- 2.3 Other series
- 2.4 Comics
- 2.5 Books
- 2.6 Video Games
- 3 References
In-continuity of the DCAU
While there have been several animated series based upon DC Comics characters over the decades, what is commonly accepted as the "DC Animated Universe" refers to the stable of shows and films that spin off from Batman: The Animated Series, the original show in this universe. Older shows such as Super Friends and newer shows such as Justice League Action are not part of this continuity.
TV series
The DC Animated Universe primarily consists of these animated series (and their related films; see below):
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995 on FOX Kids; later renamed The Adventures of Batman & Robin)
- Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000 on Kids WB; later compiled into The New Batman/Superman Adventures)
- The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999 on Kids WB; compiled into The New Batman/Superman Adventures)
- Batman Beyond (1999-2001 on Kids WB)
- Static Shock (2000-2004 on Kids WB)
- The Zeta Project (2001-2002 on Kids WB)
- Justice League (2001-2004 on Cartoon Network)
- Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006 on Cartoon Network)
Films
The following animated movies are also part of the continuity:
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993; theatrical release)
- Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998; direct-to-video)
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000; direct-to-video)
- Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003; direct-to-video)
Web cartoons
Two canonical DCAU Macromedia Flash web cartoon series were downloadable from the WB website. As can be expected, the animation wasn't up to par with the television shows. Although these webtoons were well received, only Gotham Girls is available on DVD as part of the Birds of Prey complete series DVD.
- Gotham Girls (2000-2002)
- Lobo: Webseries (2000) (Only show to have uncensored content)
Not In-Continuity with the DCAU
Teen Titans
A source of controversy among fans has surrounded the place of Teen Titans in the DC Animated Universe. During the series' production, Bruce Timm stated that there would be no crossover with Justice League Unlimited; however, it should be noted that he did consider doing it, and chose not to for style and presentation reasons. Also, series producer and creator Glen Murakami has stated that the inspiration for the series is the 1980s The New Teen Titans comic book series, and not the Justice League animated series. Although Batman does refer to "the Titans" in the Static Shock episode "Hard as Nails", there is little to suggest that the mentioned Titans are those represented in this series. During the show's run, it was never established to be a part of the larger DC Animated Universe.
Legion of Super-Heroes
Despite popular belief, this series, which premiered in 2006, was not spun off "Far From Home" (or "New Kids in Town"). According to producer James Tucker, it was Kids WB's idea to cash in on Bryan Singer's movie Superman Returns.[1] Like the Titans, there is a Legion of Super-Heroes in the DCAU, but this is a different incarnation altogether.
Other series
Several other animated television series and films based on the DC Universe were not set in the DCAU:
- The Batman (2004–2008)
- Krypto the Superdog (2005–2006)
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008-2011)
- Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006)
- DC Universe Animated Original Movies (2007-present)
- Young Justice (2010-2013; 2019-present)
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series (2012-2013)
- Teen Titans Go! (2013-present)
- Beware the Batman (2013-2014)
- Lego DC Comics Super Heroes (2014-present)
- DC Super Hero Girls (2015-present)
- Justice League Action (2016-2018)
Comics
Several tie-in comics were published by DC and later its youth oriented imprint, Johnny DC. Though in some cases, production crew from the animated series were involved in the comics, they are generally reckoned out-of-continuity with the series. The comics introduced Superman, Luthor, Huntress, Killer Frost, Amazo, Shadow Thief, Chronos and many others before ther animated debuts, and in a wholly different manner.
On some occasions, information from the comics is used—if a DCAU original character goes unnamed in the show itself. Examples include Dottie, Tayko and Weasel from Batman Beyond.
Books
Many easy reading books were written, as tie-ins to Batman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Justice League and others. Novelizations and comic book adaptations of DCAU films have also been released.
Video Games
Several video games were made based on the DCAU, featuring the same character designs and most of the same voice cast. However, because of their interactive nature and often lack of story line, most games present continuity problems: