The DC Animated Universe (DCAU), also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans, is a shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and ended with Justice League vs. the Fatal Five in 2019. The associated media franchise includes theatrical and direct-to-video feature films, shorts, comic books, video games, and other multimedia adaptations.
The DC Animated Universe has been praised for its storytelling, voice acting, animation, and maturity, with several of its shows listed among the greatest animated television series of all time. It has also influenced the mainstream DC Comics in various ways, such as introducing new characters, revamped backstories, and character designs.
List of DC Animated Universe media
While there are many animated projects based upon DC Comics characters, the DC Animated Universe consists of TV series and films that spin off from Batman: The Animated Series. While the series is largely standalone, two characters outside of the normal Batman canon, Zatanna and Jonah Hex, would guest star. However, the first series to indicate a shared continuity with other well-known characters was Superman: The Animated Series, in which the title character encounters heroes such as Batman, the Wally West version of Flash, the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, Aquaman, and Doctor Fate. The follow-up sequel to Batman: The Animated Series, titled The New Batman Adventures would feature an art style revamp similar to Superman: The Animated Series, and these two shows would feature crossovers. Both of those shows would be followed by Batman Beyond, which featured an elderly, retired Bruce Wayne passing on the mantle to Terry McGinnis, the Batman of the future.
After Batman Beyond'''s third season, the Justice League show followed, which starred Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (John Stewart), Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz), and Hawkgirl. After two seasons, the series was rebranded as Justice League Unlimited, a successor series which expanded the League roster and was the final series set in the DC Animated Universe.
In between these shows was also Static Shock, which told the story of Virgil Hawkins and showcased a different aspect of the DC Animated Universe. It was the first time an African American superhero was the titular character of his own animated show. It explored many diverse stories and characters throughout its run. Another show that aired was The Zeta Project, which was a spin-off series based on the character Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode of the same name, an android who is on the run from NSA agents. The Zeta Project is largely unconnected to the larger DC Animated Universe, with Zeta appearing in one episode of Batman Beyond following his introduction and Batman appearing in one episode of The Zeta Project.
Television series The DC Animated Universe consists of the following animated television series:
Feature films The DCAU continuity also includes the following feature films:
Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriters Release Notes Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm Story by: Alan BurnettScreenplay by: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Paskoand Michael Reaves Theatrical Continuation of Batman: TAS Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero Boyd Kirkland Boyd Kirkland and Randy Rogel Direct-to-DVD Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (edited version) April 23, 2002 (uncut version) Curt Geda Story by: Paul Dini, Glen Murakami and Bruce TimmScreenplay by: Paul Dini Continuation of Batman Beyond, Batman: TAS, and The New Batman Adventures Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman Story by: Alan BurnettScreenplay by: Michael Reaves Continuation of Batman: TAS and The New Batman Adventures Batman and Harley Quinn Sam Liu Story by: Bruce TimmScreenplay by: Bruce Timm and Jim KriegJustice League vs. the Fatal FiveMarch 29, 2019 (WonderCon Anaheim)March 30, 2019Story by: Eric CarrascoScreenplay by: Eric Carrasco, Jim Krieg and Alan BurnettDigital HD, DVD and Blu-ray Continuation of Justice League Unlimited
Short films Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriters Notes The Dark Knight's First Night Bruce Timm & Eric Radomski A short film which acted as the developmental pilot for Batman: TAS. Justice League: The First Mission James TuckerStory by: Bruce TimmA short film which acted as the developmental pilot for Justice League. Chase Me Curt Geda Paul Dini and Alan Burnett A short film with no dialogue based on The New Batman Adventures. Batman Beyond Darwyn Cooke A short film based on Batman Beyond created by Darwyn Cooke for Batman's 75th anniversary. The short features the original voice cast of the show, as well as cameos of robotic batmen from The New Batman Adventures, The Batman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Beware the Batman, The Dark Knight Returns, Michael Keaton's Batman, Adam West's Batman, and the original comic book Batman from 1939.
Digital series
Offshoot material The DCAU also includes tie-in materials such as comic books, video games, and direct-to video films with a similar animation style; however, their continuity is disputable. While they are sometimes marketed as being part of the DCAU, some of these works have contradictory elements or are written by a different team.
For instance, many of the DCAU tie-in comics were written by a different team than the animated crew, such as the Ty Templeton penned The Batman Adventures comic series. However, some of the comics, such as the Batman: The Adventures Continue comics were written by the animated series writers, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett. Per the opinion of Bruce Timm, who has commented about the continuity of the DCAU comics previously, said "we didn't have any direct input on the comics...DC never solicited our opinions on what they were doing, nor would we have had time to give them notes if they had--I learned very early on not to get my nose bent out of joint if they did something in the comics we would never have done--my own personal way of dealing with it was to consider only the animated episodes themselves as true canon-which means that even Mad Love wasn't purely canonical until we adapted it for the animated series."
In terms of feature films, the 2006 feature film Superman: Brainiac Attacks has been stated by writer Duane Capizzi that it was not intended to be part of the DCAU, despite using the same animation style and many of the voice actors from Superman: The Animated Series.
Cancelled projects An animated series based on the Teen Titans comic books was planned for the DC Animated Universe during the mid-1990s, but was ultimately scrapped, however the team was confirmed to exist in the universe in the Static Shock (which was also not initially intended to be part of the DCAU until the second season) episode "Hard as Nails" with Robin confirmed to be a member by Batman. Instead a Teen Titans series not related to the DC animated universe was released. Also, after the success of Batman: The Animated Series in the early 1990s, Fox approached producer Bruce Timm to create a spin-off series focusing on Catwoman, but the project never materialized.
In 1998, writer John P. McCann had been tasked with coming up with a Lobo animated series in the DC Animated Universe, with Brad Garrett set to reprise his role as the character, but the show had been cancelled right before production. A few elements of the show would find its way in the 2000 Lobo webseries, an online Flash animated series starring Lobo, the galactic bounty hunter, however whether the webseries is part of the official DCAU is unclear. A wax statue with the same character design as Lobo in this series appeared in an episode of Gotham Girls which somewhat support that the webseries is part of the official DCAU, although this is still disputed. Unlike the other shows set in the DCAU, it has graphic violence, sexual content, strong profanity, and a lack of tie-ins with the greater DCAU.
Before the release of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a third animated feature based on Batman: The Animated Series was planned, entitled Batman: Arkham. The film was supposed to be a follow-up for Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, and Boyd Kirkland was attached to write and direct; but the project was soon scrapped. A second Batman Beyond movie was planned for release but was finally scrapped due to the dark tones and controversies of Return of the Joker in 2001. Around 2003, during the production of Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Warner Bros. approached Kirkland to write a Catwoman direct-to-video feature film as a tie-in with the 2004 live-action film. Although the script was written, the project was soon scrapped after the poor reception of the live-action film.
Also, a direct-to-video feature-length animated film entitled Justice League: Worlds Collide was planned to connect Justice League with its follow-up Justice League Unlimited, but the production was finally cancelled in 2004, and the script was later rewritten for the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, removing all connections to the DCAU.
In the early 2020s, Warner Bros. Animation approached Bruce Timm with the idea of producing a revival of Batman: The Animated Series set after the events of The New Batman Adventures, but Timm refused to develop a Batman show that was a continuation to The Animated Series, only being interested in a revival of Justice League that Warner wasn't interested in, with Timm opting to develop instead a new Batman series, that being Batman: Caped Crusader.
Comic books
Many of the DCAU productions have also had comic books created based on the characters of the various series, though their continuity is disputable. The comics are: