10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Batman: The Animated Series

9. There Were Some Seriously Cool 'Lost Episodes'

Batman Vengeance Boxart
Ubisoft

Longtime fans of BTAS will no doubt be aware of the DC Animated Universe. The show spawned an entire universe of spin-offs and animated films that are all equally as beloved as BTAS itself, but the DCAU wasn't just restricted to the animated medium. Video games and comics all formed a part of this particular franchise, and while discerning their canonicity can prove arduous, a lot can effectively be dubbed 'lost episodes'.

Seeing as how Batman kickstarted the DCAU, it only seems fair that a lot of these 'lost' stories are devoted to him. The first and most well known came in The Adventures of Batman & Robin video game, which released in 1994. The title featured a brand new story where most of the cast from the animated series reprised their roles, and while the animation is nowhere near the quality of the actual show itself, it's still worth watching for die hard fans.

Likewise, other video games like Batman Vengeance and Rise of Sin Tzu further expanded upon BTAS, albeit after it became The New Batman Adventures. The former was really quite underrated, and was genuinely really dark, pitting Batman against the Joker and the GCPD. The latter, meanwhile, wasn't as successful, but did introduce a new character in Sin Tzu. There was also a spin-off comic called Shadow of Sin Tzu, which even featured Cassandra Cain's Batgirl in a minor role. (It does not, however, appear to be a part of official continuity.)

Outside of the games, numerous comics centred around BTAS were released from the mid-nineties onwards. They're genuinely brilliant, and one in particular, The Lost Years, even fills in the gaps between BTAS and TNBA. Go check it out if you're in the mood for more!

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.