The Correct Order To Watch The DC Animated Universe Shows

Marvel and DC Comics have both cultivated fandom with a shared universe between series. This web of continuity entangles young minds, who come to see the comics not merely as pulp adventures, but gateways to a whole other world whose history they could study and master. Then, superheroes took over 21st century Hollywood by importing this same storytelling model. But the first major superhero cinematic universe debuted on the small screen, not the silver one. Yes, before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). A series of interconnected cartoons with overlapping cast and crew, the DCAU ran for 14 years from 1992 to 2006.

That long run would’ve been impossible without the people who made these cartoons. The first DCAU cartoon, “Batman: The Animated Series,” was co-created by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski. Timm’s distinctive art style (like Jack Kirby meets pin-up girl posters) became the DCAU standard. Other important artists who helped steer the DCAU from series to series include writers/producers Alan Burnett, Paul Dini (the co-creator of Harley Quinn with Timm), and Dwayne McDuffie, director Dan Riba, and voice director Andrea Romano. It was Romano specifically who cast the DCAU’s most famous voices, from Kevin Conroy as Batman to Mark Hamill as the Joker, and coaxed those character defining-performances out of them.

These are kids shows, so most DCAU episodes are simple affairs you can watch without any context. But by “Justice League Unlimited,” they were building on the canon they’d created, with serialized storylines pulling from past events, major and minor, in previous shows. “Justice League Unlimited” is thus best enjoyed if you have prior DCAU knowledge — but how should you go about getting it?

Discounting the spin-off movies (which include “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” “Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero,” “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker,” and “Batman: Mystery of Batwoman”), here is the DCAU in release order:

1. “Batman: The Animated Series” — Follows the adventures of Batman as he faces the superstitious and cowardly villains of Gotham City. The series is famous for its Gothic backgrounds and Fleischer Studios-inspired animation, which is less sharp and more expressive than subsequent DCAU shows.
2. “Superman: The Animated Series” — Basically Timm and co. doing for Superman what they’d previously done for Batman. “Superman: The Animated Series” is most fondly remembered for Clancy Brown’s performance as Lex Luthor. It’s also where the more refined art style used in later DCAU projects was introduced.
3. “New Batman Adventures” — A sequel to “Batman: The Animated Series,” complete with an updated art style and character designs. A handful of crossovers with “Superman” officially created the DCAU.
4. “Batman Beyond” — Set 40 years in the future, an aged Bruce Wayne mentors the new Batman, teenager Terry McGinnis, in a cyberpunk Gotham City.
5. “Static Shock” — Black teenager Virgil Hawkins gains electromagnetic powers when mutagen gas is dispersed across his hometown Dakota City. McDuffie, one of Static’s original comic creators, was involved in the series and it was his gateway into working more on the DCAU.
6. “The Zeta Project” — A spin-off of “Batman Beyond” that sees the android Zeta trying to find his creator while on the run from the NSA. Overall, a futuristic riff on “The Fugitive” (and not the only animated one out there).
7. “Justice League” — The Timm team built on the past Batman/Superman crossovers and brought DC’s greatest heroes together in a single show. Uniquely, each episode was a two/three-parter, in effect allowing for 40 minute episodes rather than 20 minute ones.
8. “Justice League Unlimited” — A sequel to “Justice League” where the team expands from only seven heroes to several dozen. The two-part episode format was ditched for 20 minute episodes, usually spotlighting one to three members of the now huge ensemble.

This is also the order you should watch the shows in, if you’re feeling so completionist. The answer is always release order, because it’s both the simplest way and later-made prequels usually build on earlier-made installments. Imagine, for instance, watching the “Star Wars” prequels without seeing the original trilogy.

In the DCAU’s case, the season 2 finale of “Justice League Unlimited” —”Epilogue” — is more or less a “Batman Beyond” episode. If you haven’t seen “Batman Beyond,” you’ll get nothing from that episode. Even if you watch “Justice League” first, save “Epilogue” for after you complete “Batman Beyond.”

If you insist on watching the DCAU in chronological order:

1. “Batman: The Animated Series”
2. “Superman: The Animated Series”
3. “New Batman Adventures”
4. “Static Shock”
5. “Justice League”
6. “Justice League Unlimited”
7. “Batman Beyond”
8. “The Zeta Project”

“The Zeta Project” is the least essential DCAU show. It’s not actually based on a pre-existing DC comic, making it an aberration compared to the others, and it frustratingly ends on a cliffhanger. There’s a crossover episode in season 3 of “Batman Beyond” titled “Countdown,” but Zeta’s debut in “Batman Beyond” itself will fill you in.

“Static Shock” also feels more bubbled off than the others, because it wasn’t originally supposed to be part of the DCAU. It only became such when the season 2 premiere, “The Big Leagues,” turned into a Batman crossover. “Static Shock” subsequently had a few other crossovers with the DCAU:

1. The “Static Shock” season 3 premiere “Hard A Nails,” where Static visits Gotham and fights Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn with Batman.
2. “A League of Their Own,” a two-parter in “Static Shock” season 3 that crosses over with “Justice League.” Static is called to help out with some technical issues at the League’s satellite base, the Watchtower, and ends up saving the adult heroes from Brainiac.
3. “Toys in the Hood,” featuring a guest appearance by Superman. (“Superman: The Animated Series” had concluded by this point, but the Man of Steel himself was part of “Justice League.”)
4. “Future Shock,” a “Batman Beyond” crossover where Static is sent into the future.
5. “Fallen Hero,” where Static teams up with Green Lantern to fight Sinestro.
6. “The Once and Future Thing,” the season 1 finale of “Justice League Unlimited.” It’s a crossover with both “Static Shock” and “Batman Beyond,” because Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern travel into the future, where they meet Terry McGinnis and a now middle-aged Static.

As you can tell, the “Static Shock” crossovers were mostly in one direction; the teenage Virgil never popped up in “Justice League.” Basically, the core DCAU experience is: “Batman: The Animated Series,” “Superman: The Animated Series,’ “New Batman Adventures,” “Batman Beyond,” “Justice League,” and “Justice League Unlimited.” Watch those at the right age, and I promise you’ll be a superhero fan for life.