Fans of the beloved Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond will be able to stream their favorite Caped Crusader exclusively on HBO Max on January 1st, according to Comicbook. As far as animated shows are concerned, few have reached the level of success that Batman: The Animated Series has. With Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne, Crisis On Infinite Earths) voicing The Dark Knight and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: A New Hope) voicing The Joker, the series took the famous duo and revolutionized the way Batman fans listened to their favorite adversaries.
Although it was only a children’s television show, it exhibited mature elements. The blood red background of Gotham city, the psychotic complexities of the villains, and the dark brooding tone of Batman made the series entertaining for adults as well as their children. Series creators Bruce Timm and Paul Dini were heavily influenced by Batman’s history in the golden and silver age of comics and Tim Burton’s Batman film that released in 1989. BTAS premiered in 1992 and aired for four volumes all while introducing a famous character named Harlene Quinzel, who is well known today as Harley Quinn.
After the success of young adult shows like Dawson’s Creek in the late 90’s, Timm and Dini were tasked with developing a fresh take on Batman with a younger character taking over the cowl. The pair of veteran creators were able to generate a compelling story while simultaneously roping in their past work on BTAS, the result was a cult classic called Batman Beyond. With an edgier theme song, future tech gadgetry, and a testosterone fueled teenager, Batman Beyond brought a refreshing new take into the history of Batman. The main character Terry McGinnis was voiced by Will Friedle (Eric Mathews, Boy Meets World) and showcased the struggles of a young teen who loses his father to corporate kingpin Warren Powers. Struggling to find justice, Bruce Wayne eventually takes Terry in as an assistant and trains him to become the next Batman.
Along with these shows HBO Max will also introduce some animated films and Christopher Nolans Dark Knight Trilogy. “HBO Max will also kick-off 2021 by dropping animated Batman feature films (including Bad Blood, Hush, Death in the Family), as Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy,” according to Comicbook. Batman fans can rest assured there’s more content to come to the streaming platform.