Kicking off the whole shebang with the long-adored Batman: The Animated Series, the DC Animated Universe blossomed into something quite spectacular. First adding Superman into the mix, shows like Batman Beyond, Static Shock and Justice League all expanded the world to eventually encompass the entire DC Universe in animated form - even going as so far as to add parallel worlds to the equation. This animated universe endured for a little over a decade, but DC's recent attempts to resurrect a shared universe have been left pretty high and dry - mainly due to its pseudo emulation of the DCNU. Rather than carve out something unique and different writers have instead chosen to imitate DC's most successful line of comics to date, perhaps in some strange attempt at corporate 'synergy'. Either way it sucks a great deal, failing to recapture the magic the old universe managed to convey. The animated universe of old not only had a fluid yet consistent art style, but also a huge swathe of talented actors portraying DC's best and brightest. The saddest part is that it had so much more left to give, but at least fans can rest easy knowing that the old universe never made a misstep during its tenure.
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.
