This speaks more for Batman than anyone else, but Warner Animation has probably been the single biggest influence on the character in the past two decades outside of live action. Batman: The Animated Series gave birth to Harley Quinn (a fan favourite character who's now heading to the big screen), redefined certain characters outside of the page and even predicted the Caped Crusader's future - pretty impressive for a children's cartoon if I do say so. Batman simply wouldn't be the character he is today had it not been for his animated counterparts, nor would his universe be quite as rich. Though rebooted along with the rest of DC's universe, Terry McGinnis's role as the Batman of the future was canonically cemented in the comics timeline, something that pleased countless fans of the show. Aside from offering now definitive portrayals of Batman's many characters, animation's contribution to building the Bat's universe really is immeasurable. It may not be a necessity to impact the source material in such a way, but animation really hasn't had the same effect on it since.
Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.
