History Franchise / DCAnimatedUniverse

The DirectToVideo WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies line is considered something of a SpiritualSuccessor, featuring many of the same production staff with a similar design aesthetic and story tone. The films were originally self contained but eventually formed the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse, a SpiritualSuccessor to the DCAU by having a line of films form a SharedUniverse of its own. Some of these works are extremely close to the DCAU in some fashion, but ultimately in an AlternateContinuity all the same:

* CanonWelding: The showrunners initially maintained that the shows should be seen as standalones, they specifically said that they weren't sure whether ''Batman Beyond'' was the actual future of the ''DCAU'' (always saying it was a "possible future") or how ''Static Shock'' fit in, with Superman being directly alluded to as a ficitonal character in ''Static Shock''. Occasional episodes would start to connect them, such as the ''Batman Beyond'' episode "Meltdown", the various ''Justice League'' crossovers on ''Static Shock'', and the various time travel episodes on ''Static Shock'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'', that connected both shows to each other and to ''Batman Beyond'' definitively. The main shows ended with "Epilogue" merging elements and pieces from different eras and cementing ''Batman Beyond'' as the effective end of the DCAU. At least with the exception of the various episodes and movie that involve the 31st century Legion of Super Heroes.
* CharacterDevelopment: The ''DCAU'' is praised by fans for its subtle characterization where even when it isn't directly spelled out, characters visibly change across the entire series and develop organically from earlier interactions:
** In ''Batman: The Animated Series'', Batman began as being on the whole quite humanistic, friendly, and willing to crack some quips despite being a serious detective in addition to sharing smiles and bonding with both Alfred and Robin (Dick Grayson) and being a BigBrotherMentor to the latter. By the time of ''The New Batman Adventures'', he has become DrillSergeantNasty to the Bat-Family (particularly to Batgirl and Tim Drake) and very standoffish and rude (as in the case of his first meeting with Superman) in addition to becoming a colder and more driven hero.

The inevitable crossover occurred with "World's Finest", which teamed Batman and Superman against the Joker and ComicBook/LexLuthor and firmly placed them in a SharedUniverse. After several more crossovers, both shows ended about the same time in 1999, when ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' came on to take their place. While initially divisive for its premise as a teenage Batman in the future mentored by an elderly Bruce Wayne, ''Batman Beyond'' was able to continue the legacy of the prior shows and had many standout moments of its own. In fact, an episode featuring a future version of the ComicBook/JusticeLeague proved popular enough that Creator/CartoonNetwork made an order for the production to create ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' in 2001. This new show introduced what can be considered a third TimmStyle revamp, an attempt to include more individuality between characters that was lost with the streamlined design. With two seasons focusing on seven core members of the Justice League, the production staff made a massive ReTool for the series to include dozens of characters never before seen in the ''DCAU'': ''Justice League Unlimited''. After another couple of seasons, reaching the absolute height of ambition to showcase the entire DC Comics roster, the ''DCAU'' officially ended in 2006.

There are a few web cartoons that are on the fringe level. The first is ''WebAnimation/LoboWebseries'', a completely adult oriented entry starring ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}''. It was originally going to be a family friendly cartoon on Kids WB but got retooled because having the lead of an adult oriented franchise for a kids show is problematic. The second is ''WebAnimation/GothamGirls'' featured a lot of female characters associated with Batman. It paved the way for ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens''.

* ''WebAnimation/LoboWebseries'' (2000) [[note]]The only R-rated cartoon in the DC Animated Universe.[[/note]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* ''Adventures in the DC Universe'' [[note]]Although this one ended up being almost wholly {{retcon}}ned; it was published a few years before the ''Justice League'' cartoon and its setting was a mix between the then-known DCAU and the DC Universe at that time (chiefly ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'', with Aquaman as a founding member and Kyle Rayner as the League's titular Green Lantern).[[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'' was also personally overseen by Timm and uses virtually the same character designs introduced in ''The New Batman Adventures'' period, although the tone of the film is much more adult.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTheFatalFive'': While its canonicity to the DCAU appears to be open-ended, Bruce Timm considers it to be canon.

* BackportedDevelopment: ''Justice League Unlimited'' drew into a close as just ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' was wrapping up. However, when ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'' and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTheFatalFive'' revisited this universe, they brought over elements from stuff that came after ''IC'' (including the "One Year Later" TimeSkip) and the ComicBook/New52, the former film featuring A.R.G.U.S. (a government agency that debuted during the New 52) and the latter film not only featuring A.R.G.U.S. making a return appearance, but both Miss Martian (a Teen Titan that was a part of ''One Year Later'') and Jessica Cruz (who debuted as a part of ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil''[='=]s aftermath) as main characters.

The inevitable crossover occurred with "World's Finest", which teamed Batman and Superman against the Joker and ComicBook/LexLuthor and firmly placed them in a SharedUniverse. After several more crossovers, both shows ended about the same time in 1999, when ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' came on to take their place. While initially divisive for its premise as a teenage Batman in the future mentored by an elderly Bruce Wayne, ''Batman Beyond'' was able to continue the legacy of the prior shows and had many standout moments of its own. In fact, an episode featuring a future version of the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague'' proved popular enough that Creator/CartoonNetwork made an order for the production to create ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' in 2001. This new show introduced what can be considered a third TimmStyle revamp, an attempt to include more individuality between characters that was lost with the streamlined design. With two seasons focusing on seven core members of the Justice League, the production staff made a massive ReTool for the series to include dozens of characters never before seen in the ''DCAU'': ''Justice League Unlimited''. After another couple of seasons, reaching the absolute height of ambition to showcase the entire DC Comics roster, the ''DCAU'' officially ended in 2006.

The DirectToVideo WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies line is considered something of a SpiritualSuccessor, featuring many of the same production staff with a similar design aesthetic and story tone. The films were originally self contained but ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar kicked off the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse, which formed a SpiritualSuccessor to the DCAU by having many of these films form a SharedUniverse of its own. Some of these works are extremely close to the DCAU in some fashion, but ultimately in an AlternateContinuity all the same:

The DirectToVideo WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies line is considered something of a SpiritualSuccessor, featuring many of the same production staff with a similar design aesthetic and story tone. [[WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse Until]] ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar'', its films were mostly in their own self-contained universes. Some of these works are extremely close to the DCAU in some fashion, but ultimately in an AlternateContinuity all the same:

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1392752245036763900

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_dcau_1168.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Earth's mightiest heroes. No, not [[WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes those mightiest heroes]].]]

** ''Superman TAS'' and ''Justice League (Unlimited)'' were very arc-based in structure, and related since the former built the SharedUniverse of the ''DCAU''. Key arcs include Luthor going from businessman to criminal to politician and finally [[spoiler:aspiring God]], the other arc was the Fourth World [=/=] New Gods with Superman's rivalry with Darkseid which had long term consequences on the entire franchise.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: [[https://dcau.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_sexual_innuendos_and_double_entendres_in_the_DCAU Well...]]

* CanonWelding: The showrunners initially maintained that the shows should be seen as standalones, they specifically said that they weren't sure whether ''Batman Beyond'' was the actual future of the ''DCAU'' (always saying it was a "possible future") or how ''Static Shock'' fit in. It's only in ''Justice League Unlimited'' that they actually welded all of the shows into one continuity together, with "Epilogue" merging elements and pieces from different eras and cementing ''Batman Beyond'' and ''Return of the Joker'' as the actual conclusion and future state of the ''DCAU''.

** [[spoiler:Hawkgirl is a spy and a soldier, not a space cop.]]

** [[spoiler: The Joker doesn't outright [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily the second Robin]], instead coming up with something [[MindRape much worse...]]]]

** [[spoiler:Hawkgirl is a spy and a soldier, not a space cop.]] Likewise, Bane and Doomsday don't do [[HeroicRROD what they're best]] [[HeroKiller known for]] (respectively breaking Batman's back and killing Superman).