History Awesome / BatmanTheAnimatedSeries

!!Meta
* A crowning moment for the Series as a whole, when "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE14HeartOfIce Heart of Ice]]" won an EMMY!
* This series set the precedent that, yes, children's cartoons can include dark, mature themes and still be kickass and awesome. If you trace the lineage of western animated shows, the point when they went from 'toy-hawking schlock' to 'deep, timeless, and amazing' starts with Batman.
* Creator/KevinConroy, the voice of Batman, managed a Moment of Awesome in real life as well. After the 9/11 attacks, Conroy was volunteering at a soup kitchen, feeding rescue workers, victims, and such. (Which is pretty awesome in and of itself.) Eventually, someone recognized his voice, and word quickly spread. Then Conroy stood up in a chair and recited "I am Vengeance! I am the Night! '''I AM BATMAN!!'''" He got a standing ovation.
** 30 years later, and he's still regarded as the definitive voice of Batman, the standard by which all other Batmen are measured against, much like Creator/ChristopherReeve is with Franchise/{{Superman}}. There's a reason why Conroy and Mark Hamill still performed different versions of their characters decades later.
* Creator/MarkHamill's performance as the Joker. How good is it? It ''launched his voice acting career'', and much like Kevin Conroy, his Joker is the standard which every other subsequent Joker is compared to.
** TheStinger on ComicBook/TheJoker's page (now moved to CantUnhearIt) was "Admit it - you read this in Mark Hamill's voice, didn't you?"
* In both critics' own reviews, and aggregated score sites like Rotten Tomatoes, ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm Mask of the Phantasm]]'' is the highest-rated Batman movie pre-Nolan. Even Siskel & Ebert praised it!
* You know you're awesome when Creator/PeterCullen, Mr. Optimus Prime himself, tips his hat to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUYWltB1y00 you.]]
* [[Creator/DiscoveryFamily The Hub]] gets one, for putting together [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btMtwz4P0fc this trailer]] for a [=B:TAS=] marathon coinciding with the release of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', complete with familiar voices performing the lines [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk from the original trailer]]. Yes, that is ''Creator/KevinConroy'' reciting lines from the film!
* The show's effect on Mr. Freeze, permanently turning him from an utterly generic and forgettable character into a very sympathetic AntiVillain whose popularity even rivals the Joker.
* Props to this series for creating ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, who became such a darling to fans [[CanonImmigrant she found her way into the comics.]]
* Although ''Entertainment Weekly'' is a magazine owned by Time-Warner, which also owns Warner Bros. Animation so you could suspect a little bias, but in its 1992 year-end issue, the series was listed in the magazine's ''general'' Top Ten list of TV series of the year.
* According to Creator/PaulDini, while making "The Man Who Killed Batman", the director wasn't sure Creator/ArleenSorkin could play "Amazing Grace" on a kazoo, so they just handed one to her and told her to give it her best shot. She did it, she did it perfectly, and she did it in one take - which was fortunate because she and everyone else in the studio collapsed with helpless laughter as soon as she was done.
* ComicBook/PoisonIvy's relative obscurity back then [[BreakoutCharacter was brought to a close with her memorably sultry yet deranged portrayal in this show]]. Up to then Ivy had merely been a bit player in the franchise's history, known only to hardcore comic readers. Now she's one of the most recognizable seductresses in all of pop culture and counted amongst Batman's list of main, recurring enemies.

** Also most would say that fooling the Joker is the stupidest thing you could do, considering how dangerous he is. But Barlow's plan is instead ingenious for following one rule; If you plan on tricking the Joker, make sure your dead before you carry out your plans. That's also one of the reasons Joker is ABSOLUTELY LIVID during that scene. Since Barlow is dead, he never has the opportunity to kill him now.

** [[spoiler:"Croc" suddenly speaking in Batman's voice, his face turning into Batman's silhouette out of the light, and finally every single other person in the club being revealed as police as they turn their guns on the villains. Complete with ten full seconds of audible dramatic gun cocks.]]

** And then that mousey little guy gets one of his own in season four, when he [[spoiler: shoots his own puppet, banishing his second personality forever.]]

* "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE59BlindAsABat Blind as a Bat]]". Batman [[spoiler:subdues the Penguin and his goons after a scuffle in a factory,]] the day after an accident at an air show caused him to temporarily lose his eyesight [[note]]and moments after his specially-constructed visor goes dead[[/note]]. That's right; not even ''blindness'' stops Batman.

** [[spoiler: "Now what will you do with the cape and cowl?" "I... am going... TO WEAR THEM!" * Boss reveals himself as Batman. And then he sends it to the guy in prison, to keep him warm.]]
*** [[spoiler:There's a little hint which revealed the Boss to be Batman. The Boss hung up on the villain while he was still talking, which is an equivalent to Batman's StealthHiBye.]]
*** To explain, [[spoiler: Batman in disguise sent a TrapMaster against ''himself'' just so he could set up an EngineeredPublicConfession from the villain.]] AND IT WORKED.

* In "Christmas with the Joker", the Joker threatens hundreds of lives, takes prominent social figures hostage, blows up a railroad bridge as a trainful of passengers is about to cross, all so he can [[spoiler: pie Batman in the face as a Christmas present.]]
* In "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE13Showdown Showdown]]", Jonah Hex manages to destroy Ra's al Ghul's airship, defeat his army of mercenaries, and defeat Arkady Duvall ([[spoiler:Ra's's son]]) in a sword fight, all by himself. And all of it to capture Duvall and bring him to justice for his assault on a woman back east, instead of being a railroad spy as they assume. What makes it even more awesome is that Hex is in his ''sixties'', and does all this with his bare fists, a knife, and whatever [[StuffBlowingUp explosives]] he finds, including the airship's ''own cannons''.

* With "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE12OverTheEdge Over the Edge]]", the ColdOpen showcases just how effective Gordon and the GCPD could be [[spoiler: if he ever put resources into finding and arresting Batman's SecretIdentity]].

* In "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE22Chemistry Chemistry]]", Poison Ivy gloats to a group of rich people that she created their so-called perfect husbands and wives in order to kill them off and gain their fortunes, [[spoiler: including Bruce's new wife, Susan.]] When Ivy realizes [[spoiler: Susan Wayne]] is missing, she has her other creations look for her. At which point, one of the rich people who fell for Ivy's plant men asks "Are we just gonna stand here while she does this to us?" and they decide to try and stop Ivy.

* Scarecrow gets a good one in "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE28DreamsInDarkness Dreams in Darkness]]". How many other of Batman's rogues [[spoiler: got Batman put in Arkham, and almost had him contained there long enough for the scheme to work?]]
** Of course, not without Batman getting his, as usual. He managed to [[spoiler: fight off the guards while bound in a straight jacket, stole a fire ax to cut himself out, made a guard take him to the basement and cuffed him so he couldn't warn anyone else, went after the Scarecrow, and ended the scheme with literally one second left before Gotham's water supply was tainted. And during all this, he was fighting MASSIVE fear serum solutions, some of which nearly got him killed.]]

** That last one could be chalked up to Lock-Up going insane from the delusion that his imprisonment is the ultimate promotion to watch over his victims. But it's nice to see that he's generally not just some MilesGloriosus who cowers when the odds aren't in his favor.

* In "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE44DayOfTheSamurai Day of the Samurai]]", Bruce's old nemesis Kyodai learns a forbidden art that can kill with just a touch. Batman proceeds to find the spot on Kyodai's practice dummy that's been hit the most and puts extra armor there, and when he appears to miraculously survive the fatal touch, they have a very dramatic battle ''on the side of an erupting volcano''. Finally, Batman proves himself to be honorable enough to be a samurai rather than a ninja when he [[SaveTheVillain offers to help Kyodai escape]] [[NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat (apparently) certain death]].

-->'''Clayface:''' Why don't you ''show'' them what an overdose can do, Daggett? Why don't you ask them ''(turns back into Clayface)'' about '''''ME!'''''

-->Charlie has pegged down the Joker, and discovered the means to truly destroy him. Batman could inspire fear in every thug he faced except the Joker- Charlie succeeded where Batman had failed. And by making Batman laugh, he also succeeded where the Joker had failed.

-->'''Batman:''' No... no... you are not my father! I am not a disgrace! I am Vengeance! I am the Night! '''I... AM... BATMAN!!!'''

-->'''Batman:''' No...no...you are not my father! I am not a disgrace! I am Vengeance! I am the Night! '''I...AM...BATMAN!!'''

* The first part of "The Demon's Quest" features Ra's al Ghul and his GiantMook Ubu, who's so loyal and devoted to his master that he keeps pushing Batman around for daring to walk ahead of Ra's. Batman spends the episode slowly counting the pushes he gets from Ubu: "I'll call that... strike one." "Okay, that's ''two''." Finally, at the end of the episode (the first part, that is), Ubu throws a punch at Batman for [[BerserkButton trying to leave without his master's say so]]. He catches the fist with one hand and says, "And ''that's'' three!" Batman then squeezes Ubu's fist so hard that he cries out, then throws him over his shoulder, leaving Ubu a shivering mess on the ground. SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, indeed.

-->'''Barlow, on his deathbed:''' Hiya, Joker. If you're playin' this tape, you've probably figured out [[OutGambitted you've been had]]. Yeah, I left you some cash, but only ten million - which, knowing you, [[AFoolAndHisNewMoneyAreSoonParted you've already blown]]. All the other stuff, the money, jewels, and gold, [[CounterfeitCash it's all fake]]. See, [[DyingDeclarationOfHate I always hated your guts]], and this was the perfect payback. By now, you're probably out of real money, [[IntimidatingRevenueService the I.R.S. is after you]], and [[{{Pride}} you can't admit I fooled you]], or [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten you'll be the laughingstock of the underworld]]. The joke's on you, sucker! I got the last laugh after all!
-->''[he laughs, then starts [[IncurableCoughOfDeath coughing and gasping and grabs for his oxygen tank]], but he is still grinning into the camera. The TV is subsequently obliterated by a shot fired by a'' VERY ''pissed-off Joker]''

-->''[he laughs, then starts [[IncurableCoughOfDeath coughing and gasping and grabs for his oxygen tank]], but he is still grinning into the camera. The TV is subsequently obliterated by a shot fired by a'' VERY ''pissed-off Joker]''
** Harley has an awesome moment when she whacks Joker with a nightstick as revenge for leaving her locked up in Arkham and replacing her with a fake Harley:

-->''[he laughs, then starts [[IncurableCoughOfDeath coughing and gasping and grabs for his oxygen tank]], but he is still grinning into the camera, then the TV has been shot and blown by a'' VERY ''pissed-off Joker]''

-->'''Bruce:''' [[PyrrhicVillainy Mockridge may have his money]]-- [[ParanoiaGambit but he won't be sleeping well]]...

* ComicBook/PoisonIvy's relative obscurity back then [[BreakoutCharacter was brought to a close with her memorably sultry yet deranged portrayal in this show]]. Up to then Ivy had only been a bit player in the franchise's history, known only to hardcore comic readers. Now she's one of the most recognizable seductresses in all of pop culture and counted amongst Batman's list of main, recurring enemies.

* ComicBook/PoisonIvy's relative obscurity back then was brought to a close with her memorably sultry yet deranged portrayal in this show. Up to then Ivy had only been a bit player in the franchise's history, known only to hardcore comic readers. Now she's one of the most recognizable seductresses in all of pop culture and counted amongst Batman's list of main, recurring enemies.

* ComicBook/PoisonIvy's relative obscurity back then was brought to a close with her memorably sultry yet deranged portrayal in this show. Up to then Ivy had only been a bit player in the franchise's history, known only to hardcore comic readers. Now she's one of the most recognizable FemmeFatales in all of pop culture and counted amongst Batman's top list of recurring enemies.

--> If I could, he could.

** "Pretty Poison": Bruce angrily orders one of his company's directors to immediately cancel a deal with a deforesting company in the Amazon jungle:

-->'''Ivy:''' Now boys, didn't your mommies ever tell you that's not a nice way to get a lady's attention?

** Crossing over with Heartwarming Moments: At the end of the episode, Bruce Wayne goes to visit Simon Trent at a merchandise signing, as the recent crime wave has revitalized interest in the Grey Ghost and given him a new start to his career. As they talk, Bruce uses the same language he did while fighting alongside Trent. That's right--Bruce Wayne, who guards his SecretIdentity so closely that only one villain ever sussed it out, has enough respect and gratitude for Simon that he lets him on the truth.

* From "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE3NothingToFear Nothing to Fear]]", when Batman is facing a hallucination of his father, who is calling him a disgrace, he boasts to it with [[http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GDppQN0s4DQ one of the most iconic lines in the entire franchise]]:

* The '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEx9r5enZsk opening credits]]''' pulled off a crowning moment of awesome. By demonstrating [[EstablishingCharacterMoment everything you need to know about Batman]] [[http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/11/04/ask-chris-78-why-the-batman-the-animated-series-opening-is/ in less than 30 seconds]]. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic The music]] and [[AnimationBump awesome animation]] (helmed by TMS) helped, too. And, as the creators noticed after the fact, it ''[[ShowDontTell never explicitly stated]]'' "Batman" anywhere in the credits. Its first scene also makes a clever use of Warner's logo, shaping a blimp's front view after it.

!!The series

* The '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEx9r5enZsk opening credits]]''' pulled off a crowning moment of awesome. By demonstrating [[EstablishingCharacterMoment everything you need to know about Batman]] [[http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/11/04/ask-chris-78-why-the-batman-the-animated-series-opening-is/ in less than 30 seconds]]. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic The music]] and [[AnimationBump awesome animation]] (helmed by TMS) helped, too. And, as the creators noticed after the fact, it ''[[ShowDontTell never explicitly stated]]'' "Batman" anywhere in the credits.

** Another smaller one for Joker. When Charlie cuss's him out, Joker simply just smiles at him, a smile that screams out "''You were saying?"''

** Subtle yet extremely awesome moment for Charlie. It's fairly well known that Joker has his "One Bad Day" philosophy: Essentially, that anyone can be become just like him with just one extremely bad day being all it takes. Well, Charlie didn't just receive one bad day, Joker gave him ''two'' bad days. Hell, if we're being honest, it's more like Charlie had two bad ''years'' worth of psychological torment and paranoia. And as Collins is about get himself and the Joker killed, it seems that he's finally cracked as well...Except it was (at least mostly) an act to get Joker to give up on harming him and/or his family. Sure enough, the episode ends with Charlie reverting back to his normal bumbling self. In other words, not only did Charlie manage to scare the Joker, not only did get Batman to laugh, but, despite taking around two years worth of psychological torment, he also inadvertently ''[[MachiavelliWasWrong proved Joker's philosophy wrong!]]''

* In "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE17OldWounds Old Wounds]]", Dick finally gets sick of Bruce's obsessive and borderline abusive {{Jerkass}} behavior and quits being Robin. When Batman tries to stop him Dick flattens him with one punch.

* The first part of "The Demon's Quest" features Ra's al Ghul and his GiantMook Ubu, who's so loyal and devoted to his master that he keeps pushing Batman around for daring to walk ahead of Ra's. Batman spends the episode slowly counting the pushes he gets from Ubu: "I'll call that...strike one." "Okay, that's ''two''." Finally, at the end of the episode (the first part, that is), Ubu throws a punch at Batman for [[BerserkButton trying to leave without his master's say so]]. He catches the fist with one hand and says, "And ''that's'' three!" Batman then squeezes Ubu's fist so hard he cries out and throws him over his shoulder, leaving Ubu a shivering mess on the ground. SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, indeed.

** The part where Batman, shirtless except for his cape and cowl, and Ra's al Ghul, also shirtless, start '''SWORDFIGHTING''' in classic Creator/ErrolFlynn style over a bomb set to halve the world's population - honestly, that two-part episode was one extended MOA.

* "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE6TheUnderdwellers The Underdwellers]]" features a one-shot villain, the Sewer King, who [[TheFagin runs an underground thieves' guild consisting of young homeless runaways]], and of course, [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil he verbally abuses them constantly.]] One of the young boys, Frog, brings Batman into the sewers, and Batman is horrified (more accurately, ''furious'') when he discovers how the leader treats his "charges." So he uses the Sewer King's bell to lure all the kids into the hall, and once they're there, he ''rips the bell off'' and lets it slam to the floor - mostly as a symbolic gesture to the children, but it's easy to imagine he's also just that pissed off.

'''Sewer King:''' ''([[StealthHiBye alive and well]])'' ...hahahahahahaha! I rather enjoyed it! I told you - they're ''my pretties!''

--->'''Batman:''' I don't pass sentence; that's for the courts! But this time...''this time,'' [[PapaWolf I'm sorely tempted to do the job]] '''[[PapaWolf myself]]'''!

** After The Joker abandons her and tries to blow up a bomb with a plane. She shoots a Jester head and not only nails Joker but knocks him out, all after a [[OneLiner "Laugh this off, puddin!"]].

** After the Joker's plane crashes, she holds him at gunpoint; when Batman rushes up to stop her, she warns him not to come any closer, and ''Batman backs down.'' The Joker is momentarily stunned, but quickly starts taunting Harley: "You wouldn't ''dare.'' You don't have the guts!" Harley starts to cry, her finger shaking on the trigger--but she pulls it...only to reveal that the gun is one of the Joker's fake weapons (three cards that say "Rat-Tat-Tat" pop out instead of bullets). The Jokey glares at Harley, only to suddenly smile and cry, "[[Series/TheHoneymooners Baby, you're the greatest!"]], prompting the two to tightly embrace.