All 13 DC Animated Series Featuring Batman, in Order

There are a couple of iconic non-metahuman superheroes in existence. However, Batman definitely takes the cake as the best and most popular among them. Apart from the character’s comic book history and his numerous movie appearances, we’ve seen the Caped Crusader appear in various animated series as well.

So far, there have been 13 Batman animated series, starting way back in 1968 right up until this year, when a new show is premiering. Some are connected and intertwined with each other, while others are standalone works, but don’t worry – we’ll break it all down for you to get the best picture and the best order to watch all 13 Batman animated series.

Batman’s animated series in order (by release date)

Right off the bat, I’ll give you the complete list of all Batman animated series, ordered by their release date. So, if you want to just dive right in and start watching, here’s the full list:

1. ‘The Adventures of Batman’ (1968-1969)
2. ‘Super Friends’ (1973-1986)
3. ‘The New Adventures of Batman’ (1977)
4. ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ (1992-1995)
5. ‘The New Batman Adventures’ (1997-1999)
6. ‘Batman Beyond’ (1999-2001)
7. ‘Justice League’ (2001-2004)
8. ‘The Batman’ (2004-2008)
9. ‘Batman: The Brave and The Bold’ (2008-2011)
10. ‘Beware The Batman’ (2013-2014)
11. ‘Batman Unlimited’ (2015-2016)
12. ‘Justice League Action’ (2016-2018)
13. ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ (2023)

As mentioned before, some of these shows are connected, while others are completely standalone. As we continue with the article, I’ll try to explain in detail how the shows are or aren’t connected to each other. Bear with me, though, because there will be SPOILERS throughout the rest of the article!

Are all animated series featuring Batman connected? What’s the best order to watch them?

Not all the Batman’s animated shows are connected to each other. However, there’s a specific group among these shows that canonically belong to the same universe known as the DCAU, or the DC Animated Universe.

Those shows include ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ (1992-1995), ‘ The New Batman Adventures’ (1997-1999), ‘Batman Beyond’ (1999-2001), and ‘Justice League’ (2001-2004). Those aren’t the only shows (& movies) in the DCAU, but they are the only ones that revolve heavily around Batman, so they are the only ones relevant to this article.

Many other shows on this list, such as ‘The Batman (2004-2008), ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ (2008-2011), and ‘Beware the Batman’ (2013-2014), were based on the DC Universe and share some similarities – but are not an official, in-canon part of the DCAU.

As for the rest of the shows on this list, they are usually either standalone like ‘Batman Unlimited’ (2015-2016) or are connected in their own respective ‘universes,’ such as the first three entries on this list: ‘The Adventures of Batman’ (1968-1969), ‘Super Friends’ (1973-1986), and ‘The New Adventures of Batman’ (1977).

So, to answer what the best way to watch all animated series featuring Batman is – you should just watch them as they came out or by release date. To line them up in chronological order would essentially be impossible since not all the shows belong to the same universe or continuity. It would just cause a ton of confusion for you as a viewer to try and do so.

Instead, I suggest that you watch the shows as they are coming out. That way, you’ll not only experience the shows in their own universes, but you’ll also see how different eras and different writers/directors had their own unique takes on the Caped Crusader, as well as how the character evolved over the decades.

In the following paragraphs, I’ll do my best to give you a chronological order of all the shows, divided between their own respective universes.

Batman animated series in chronological order

I’ve already mentioned that not all the shows and series on the list are connected or even a part of the same universe. So, it’s impossible to order them chronologically altogether, apart from ordering them by their release date. However, if you still want a chronological order of those Batman animated series that are connected, you’re in the right place.

First up, we have the three shows from the 1960s and 1970s, and they are, chronologically:

1. ‘The Adventures of Batman’ (1968-1969)
2. ‘Super Friends’ (1973-1986)
3. ‘The New Adventures of Batman’ (1977)

Then, you have the shows that are a part of the DCAU. Chronologically, the list of these shows looks like this:

1. ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ (1992-1995)
2. ‘The New Batman Adventures’ (1997-1999)
3. ‘Batman Beyond’ (1999-2001)
4. ‘Justice League’ (2001-2004)

Bear in mind these aren’t the only shows that make the DCAU, as there are series and movies that don’t necessarily include Batman but are a part of the DCAU. There are also Batman animated movies that belong to the DCAU, but they aren’t on this list, as we only listed Batman animated series. Those DCAU Batman movies are:

1. ‘Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’ (1993)
2. ‘Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero’ (1998)
3. ‘Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker’ (2000)
4. ‘Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman’ (2003)

Finally, the rest of the shows on the list are either standalone projects or loosely connected to one another. The best way to watch these remaining shows, even if they aren’t necessarily connected, is by following the list below:

1. ‘The Batman’ (2004-2008)
2. ‘Batman: The Brave and The Bold’ (2008-2011)
3. ‘Beware The Batman’ (2013-2014)
4. ‘Batman Unlimited’ (2015-2016)
5. ‘Justice League Action’ (2016-2018)
6. ‘Batman: Caped Crusader'(2023)