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.
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.
