The Batman (2004–2008) 🦇

The Batman show where Joker looked like he escaped Hot Topic and became a cryptid.

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

Okay, so The Batman came out in 2004, and honestly, this show had one of the most unfair jobs imaginable.

Because it came out after Batman: The Animated Series.

That is already a nightmare position.

That’s like trying to open a burger restaurant next door to the place everyone already calls the best burger ever made. Good luck, buddy. Hope your fries are magical.

Batman: The Animated Series was already treated like sacred Gotham scripture. Kevin Conroy was Batman. Mark Hamill was Joker. The atmosphere was gothic. The writing was mature. The music had that dark orchestral Batman vibe. The whole show felt like noir got trapped inside an animated comic book and somehow came out perfect.

So when The Batman showed up in 2004 with a younger Bruce Wayne, faster action, brighter colors, slicker early-2000s animation, wild character redesigns, and a Joker who looked like a barefoot circus goblin that crawled out of a haunted trampoline factory, a lot of older fans immediately went, “Absolutely not.”

And honestly?

That was unfair.

Because The Batman was not trying to be Batman: The Animated Series. That is the most important thing to understand. It was not trying to remake that show. It was not trying to copy that atmosphere. It was not trying to give us the same Joker, the same Gotham, the same pacing, the same character designs, or the same emotional style.

Instead, it did its own thing.

And that is why I respect it.

This show feels like Batman filtered through early 2000s action cartoon energy. It is faster. Sharper. More stylized. More physical. More exaggerated. More toyetic sometimes, yes, but also way more kinetic than people give it credit for. Batman doesn’t just stand in shadows here. He flips. He slides. He leaps. He uses gadgets constantly. He fights like a martial artist who had too much coffee and decided crime was personally annoying him that day.

And honestly?

I love that energy.

Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

The Batman follows a younger Bruce Wayne early in his career as Gotham’s mysterious vigilante. This is not the fully established Batman who already has the Bat-Family, Gordon’s complete trust, and years of mythology behind him. This Bruce is still building the legend.

That alone gives the show a different flavor.

The police do not fully trust him yet. Gotham does not fully understand him yet. Even Bruce himself feels like he is still figuring out what kind of Batman he is going to become. He is more isolated, more socially awkward, and more emotionally stiff than some versions, but that makes sense because this is a younger Batman still growing into the role.

The series starts more focused on Batman and Gotham’s rogues gallery, then gradually expands into Robin, Batgirl, and eventually even larger DC Universe elements like Superman and Justice League characters. And honestly, that evolution is kind of fun because the show begins as “young Batman versus redesigned Gotham freaks” and slowly becomes “Batman is now part of a bigger superhero world.”

Does every direction work perfectly? No.

But the show constantly has momentum.

It rarely feels boring.

There is usually some new villain, weird redesign, big action set piece, or bizarre Gotham nonsense happening. The show moves fast, and that is one of its biggest strengths.

Character Rundown

Rino Romano voices Batman here, and I think he deserves more credit.

No, he is not Kevin Conroy. But honestly, nobody should have expected him to be Kevin Conroy. That would have been a losing battle from the start.

What Rino Romano does instead is give us a younger, more active, slightly sharper Batman. His voice has seriousness, but not the same mythic weight as Conroy, and that actually fits this version. This Batman is not the final form yet. He is still becoming the legend.

Bruce in this show is interesting because he feels more emotionally detached and socially awkward. He is not as smooth as some versions. He is not always the perfect billionaire playboy act. He often feels like a guy who would rather be in the Batcave than at any social event, which honestly is very Batman.

This version also feels more physically dynamic than a lot of animated Batmen. He fights like someone with real speed and agility. He is constantly moving, flipping, dodging, throwing gadgets, and using the environment. The show makes Batman feel less like a heavy shadow and more like a predator in motion.

And honestly, that works really well for an early-career Batman.

Okay. We have to talk about Joker.

Because this Joker design is still one of the most divisive Batman redesigns ever.

This man does not look like your classic Joker. He does not look like a classy gangster clown. He does not look like Mark Hamill’s Joker. He does not look like the comics most people grew up with.

This Joker looks like a feral circus demon who lives in the walls of Arkham and survives off chaos, sugar, and bad decisions.

He has wild green hair that almost looks like dreadlocks. He runs around barefoot. He moves like an animal. He crawls, leaps, hangs upside down, and fights with this weird flexible acrobatic energy. He is less “criminal clown prince” and more “what if Joker was a gremlin gymnast?”

And honestly?

I kind of love it.

I get why people hated it. I really do. If you came into this show expecting the traditional Joker, this design probably felt like someone had personally attacked your childhood. But once you accept what the show is doing, this Joker becomes memorable because he is so different.

Kevin Michael Richardson gives him this wild, growly, chaotic voice that makes him feel physically dangerous. This Joker does not just sound crazy. He feels unpredictable in his body. He is not elegant. He is not smooth. He is raw chaos.

There are moments where he is genuinely creepy. The way he moves makes him feel almost inhuman sometimes, like Batman is fighting a clown-shaped creature instead of a normal man. And for this show’s action-heavy style, that actually works.

Penguin is shorter, sharper, more monstrous, and much more exaggerated. Tom Kenny voices him, and this version feels like an angry aristocratic goblin with bird-themed crime energy.

Riddler is one of the strangest redesigns because he looks way more gothic and creepy than usual. He almost has this Marilyn Manson energy, like Riddler joined an industrial band after failing too many escape rooms.

Bane is genuinely intimidating in this show. He feels huge, monstrous, and physically terrifying, which is exactly what Bane should be.

Mr. Freeze gets turned into a much more monstrous icy villain, and while I do prefer the tragic Animated Series version overall, this version still works visually for the show.

Clayface is one of the best parts of the show because his storyline actually has emotional weight. Instead of just being a random mud monster, the show gives him tragedy and personal connection.

Batgirl and Robin also work surprisingly well in this universe. Robin especially has a fun energetic contrast against Bruce’s constant seriousness. And Batgirl brings some needed warmth and personality into the team dynamic.

Pacing / Episode Flow

One thing I genuinely appreciate about The Batman is that this show almost never sits still.

Episodes move FAST.

Batman is constantly investigating something, chasing someone, fighting through some warehouse, rooftop, train station, chemical plant, underground sewer tunnel, or weird Gotham nightmare location. The pacing has that energetic early-2000s cartoon momentum where it feels like the writers were terrified children would get bored if somebody stood still for over twenty seconds.

And honestly?

That energy helps the show.

Because even weaker episodes usually still have entertaining action or weird villain moments to carry things along. The fight choreography is honestly some of the best in Batman animation. Batman feels athletic here in a way that really stands out. This dude launches himself around Gotham like he drank three energy drinks before patrol.

The show also gets progressively bigger every season.

Season 1 feels very Gotham-focused and grounded around Batman versus mobsters and rogues.

Then eventually the world starts expanding more and more. Robin appears. Batgirl appears. Justice League characters appear. Suddenly Batman is dealing with larger DC Universe madness and the scale keeps increasing.

Some fans prefer the earlier Gotham-focused seasons, and I honestly understand why. But I still appreciate that the show evolved instead of staying completely static.

Pros

The biggest strength of The Batman is confidence.

This show fully commits to its own identity instead of trying to imitate Batman: The Animated Series. That alone deserves respect.

The animation is fluid and stylish. The fight scenes are fantastic. Batman himself is incredibly fun to watch in motion. Joker is creepy and unforgettable. Clayface’s storyline has genuine emotional weight. The Bat-Family dynamics are solid. Gotham feels alive. The soundtrack is underrated. The theme song is catchy as hell.

And honestly, this show has some of the best visual experimentation in Batman animation history. Even when a redesign misses, at least it is memorable.

This show also understood that Batman can be FUN without becoming a joke.

That balance matters.

Cons

Some redesigns absolutely will not work for everybody.

If you hate the Joker redesign, honestly, I completely understand. Same with Riddler. These versions are huge departures from the classics.

The show can also lean a little too heavily into action over emotional depth at times. Some episodes feel more focused on gadgets and fights than layered storytelling.

And while the Justice League expansion is fun, it does slightly dilute the pure Gotham atmosphere the earlier seasons had.

Also, fair or unfair, this series constantly lives under the shadow of Batman: The Animated Series, and that comparison is brutal for literally any Batman cartoon.

Final Thoughts

The Batman is one of the most underrated Batman animated shows ever made.

It had the impossible task of following one of the greatest animated series ever created, and instead of copying it, it went in a completely different direction. That decision made a lot of people reject it at first, but over time, I think more fans have started appreciating what this show actually was.

This series is stylish, weird, energetic, creepy, funny, and full of personality.

It gave us a younger Batman still becoming the legend. It gave us one of the weirdest Joker interpretations ever made. It gave us awesome fight scenes, memorable redesigns, strong Bat-Family dynamics, and a Gotham that felt unique from every other version.

No, it is not better than Batman: The Animated Series.

But honestly?

Very few things are.

That does not stop The Batman from being genuinely great in its own way.

Rating

8.8/10

This is an underrated Batman series that deserves way more respect. It is not perfect, and some redesigns are definitely a lot, but the show has personality, energy, strong animation, memorable villains, and a version of Batman that feels fresh without losing the core of the character.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning ⚠️

Alright.

From this point onward we are fully entering spoiler territory.

So if y’all somehow have not watched The Batman yet, now is your chance to leave before we start talking about giant vampire Joker gremlin energy and Clayface tragedy.

Spoilers

One of the best long-running storylines in the entire series is Ethan Bennett becoming Clayface.

Because honestly?

That transformation is DARK.

Bruce slowly watching his own friend mentally and physically fall apart gives the show way more emotional depth than people give it credit for. Ethan starts off as one of the few genuine connections Bruce has inside Gotham law enforcement, and then Gotham completely destroys him piece by piece until he literally becomes this unstable shape-shifting mud monster.

And what makes it sad is Bruce never fully gives up on him.

Even after Ethan becomes dangerous, Batman still sees the person underneath all that rage and mutation. That emotional attachment adds weight to every Clayface appearance afterward.

Then there is Joker.

Oh boy.

This version becomes even more insane the longer the show goes on.

There are episodes where he genuinely feels like a horror creature instead of just a criminal mastermind. The way he crawls around ceilings, stretches his body around environments, and moves unpredictably makes him feel physically unsettling. There is one scene where Joker basically moves around like Gotham’s homeless sleep paralysis demon and I remember thinking, “Yeah no, this man absolutely bites people.”

The vampire Joker episode especially is PEAK weirdness.

The show basically goes full gothic horror nonsense and turns Joker into an actual giant vampire bat creature. And somehow?

It works.

Barely.

But it works.

Also, I genuinely love the episode where Batman and Joker are forced to work together temporarily because their personalities bouncing off each other is hilarious. Joker in this show constantly feels like he is five seconds away from turning literally anything into chaos just because he is bored.

Robin’s introduction also ends up working way better than I expected.

At first I was worried the show would lose its atmosphere once Robin entered the picture, but honestly the contrast between Dick Grayson’s energy and Bruce’s constant seriousness creates some really entertaining dynamics. Robin actually feels like a kid trying to keep up with Batman instead of a tiny adult.

Batgirl was also surprisingly solid here.

I liked that she brought more emotional balance into the team because Bruce in this show can become SO serious sometimes that he practically feels allergic to smiling.

And honestly?

One of the coolest things about the later seasons is seeing this version of Batman slowly evolve from isolated vigilante into an actual leader. By the time Justice League characters start appearing, Bruce has grown a lot compared to where he started.

Also, the Superman crossover episodes are just fun.

Watching this younger Batman interact with Superman’s optimism is entertaining because Bruce constantly looks like he is internally annoyed by literally everybody around him.

And lastly, I gotta circle back to Joker one more time because I still cannot get over how insane this redesign is.

This man is barefoot.

BAREFOOT.

Who approved that.

Why is Gotham’s most dangerous criminal running around like he escaped a Hot Topic jungle gym.

And yet somehow?

It became iconic anyway.