Marvel and DC are bitter rivals, competing in just about every arena imaginable. In the most public one, movie theaters, Marvel has been cleaning up for the past 15 years, thanks to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. DC just hasn’t been able to catch up, but the addition of James Gunn to its ranks means the script could be flipped sooner rather than later. Failing on the big screen doesn’t mean DC has been going winless, though. Its area of expertise is the animated realm, where it has produced some incredible movies and shows over the last couple of decades.
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The cream of the crop, of course, is Batman: The Animated Series, which remains the gold standard for the Dark Knight and his supporting characters. But all the attention that Bruce Timm’s claim to fame and the rest of the DC Animated Universe soak up leaves a few great series fighting for a seat at the table. Here are five great animated DC shows nobody talks about.
5) Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Aquaman gets a lot of flak for being the least interesting Justice League member, but Green Lantern doesn’t get done many favors, either. Maybe the narrative would be different if Green Lantern: The Animated Series had lasted more than one season. Rather than telling an origin story, the show drops its audience right into the middle of the action by sending Hal Jordan and Kilowog on a mission to save fellow Lanterns who are being hunted. The action-packed story is accompanied by sleek animation that is better than anything the DCAU has to offer.
4) The Batman
Taking over for the master is no simple task. However, The Batman gave it all it had when it aired in the early 2000s. What makes Michael Goguen and Duane Capizzi’s series so unique is that it focuses as much on Bruce Wayne as it does Batman. Bruce continues to make appearances all over Gotham during the day and fights crime at night with his team. The Batman also features some out-of-the-box character designs that still stand out today, such as the long-haired Joker.
3) The Zeta Project
All of the entries on this list thus far have been compared to projects from the DCAU. Well, The Zeta Project is going to avoid that fate because it’s actually part of the franchise. A spinoff of Batman Beyond, it follows a robot who only has one purpose: to kill. After a mission goes awry, though, Zeta has a crisis of faith and pushes back against his master’s orders. The Zeta Project may not focus on one of DC’s heavy hitters, but its emotional moments more than make up for that. The best way to describe it is that it’s essentially The Iron Giant in TV show form.
2) Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
One of DC’s biggest animated success stories in recent years is Harley Quinn, a raunchy comedy that puts the spotlight on The Joker’s ex, who wants to strike out on her own. Kite Man is one of the best parts of Harley Quinn, showing enough potential to earn his own solo series. Kite Man: Hell Yeah initially doesn’t put too much weight on its titular villain’s shoulders, though, making his most significant conflict being keeping his bar from closing after Lex Luthor tries to buy it. However, it kicks things up a notch after a while, making Kite Man the only thing standing between the universe and total annihilation.
1) Justice League Action
The more the merrier is a phrase that almost always applies to DC animated shows. In Justice League Action, all of DC’s powerhouses come together to fight off the forces of evil. From the outside, the show seems less serious than its predecessors, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. That’s true some of the time, but it still has a lot of heart, especially when the heroes are pushed to the brink by villains like Darkseid. With no live-action version of the Justice League on the way, the crew in Action will serve as a fine replacement.
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