| The New Batman/Superman Adventures | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Based on | |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Shirley Walker |
| Composers | Michael McCuistion Lolita Ritmanis Shirley Walker Kristopher Carter Harvey Cohen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Production company | Warner Bros. Television Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | The WB (Kids' WB) |
| Release | September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13) – February 12, 2000 (2000-02-12) |
| Related | |
The New Batman/Superman Adventures is a name given to an animated package series that combinedSuperman: The Animated Series withThe New Batman Adventures produced byWarner Bros. Animation.[1] It aired from 1997 to 2000 onKids' WB.[2] Although it was part of theDC Animated Universe, each half-hour episode in the hour-and-one-half block featured either a single repeat from the originalSuperman: The Animated Series run, the originalBatman: The Animated Series run, or a brand new story featuring Batman fromThe New Batman Adventures. These new stories focus more on Batman's supporting cast and introduced new characters such asTim Drake. The two animated universes were united in theSuperman episode "World's Finest", which tells the story of Batman and Superman's first meeting. The new Batman episodes that began airing in the Fall 1997 season were later released as a DVD box set ofBatman: The Animated Series as Volume 4. New Superman episodes that later aired in the Fall 1998 season and onward are now considered to be the third season ofSuperman: The Animated Series.
In 1997, it was announced that theBatman series would have a revamp, replacing its art style with streamlined designs for more consistent animation, and to maintain similarity with the simultaneously runningSuperman: The Animated Series (1996–2000). The WB wanted more episodes ofBatman, so 24 new episodes were produced featuring a format that focused more on Batman's supporting cast. Also, because of the animation similarities,TNBA was aired simultaneously with theSuperman series as part of an hour-long segment calledThe New Batman/Superman Adventures. The shows shared a brand new opening, butTNBA was later given the same opening and closing ofBTAS when aired in syndication and released on home video.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Mark Hamill | The Joker |
| Arleen Sorkin | Harley Quinn |
| Clancy Brown | Lex Luthor |
| Corey Burton | Brainiac |
The following are the crossover episodes from the two series:
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Series | Original release date | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | "World's Finest" | Toshihiko Masuda | Alan Burnett, Paul Dini andRich Fogel Story by : Alan Burnett and Paul Dini | Superman: The Animated Series | October 4, 1997 (1997-10-04) | |||||||||||
| 30 | Steve Gerber Story by : Alan Burnett and Paul Dini | |||||||||||||||
| 31 | Stan Berkowitz Story by : Alan Burnett and Paul Dini | |||||||||||||||
The Joker steals a large piece of Kryptonite and then comes to Metropolis, offering to kill Superman for Lex Luthor in exchange for one billion dollars. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne visits Metropolis to negotiate a business deal with Lex. Bruce also uses this opportunity to suit up as Batman and hunt him. Superman, wary of Batman's vigilantism, uses his X-ray vision to discover his identity, while Batman uses a tracking device on Superman's cape to discover his. The Joker kidnaps Lois Lane and uses her as bait in an attempt to kill Superman. He has her bound and gagged in a LexCorp lab and calls Superman telling his location. Superman wears his radiation-proof suit, but Joker uses acid from his boutonnière to melt through the suit. Batman manages to stop him and save the two, causing Lex Luthor to become irritated and give him one last chance to defeat the two. After the Joker fails to defeat Superman and Batman again, Lex Luthor, out of fear that he will be exposed, tries to withdraw from the deal by killing him. This fails and leads instead to the Joker trying to take revenge on Superman by destroying Metropolis in a giant wing, while he uses the other half of the Kryptonite to try to stop him. It is ultimately up to Superman and Batman to stop this madness. Note: The episodes were later released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD asThe Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest, a direct-to-video compilation of the episodes that originally aired back-to-back-to-back as a single TV special during the second season ofSuperman: The Animated Series.[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| 43 | "Knight Time" | Curt Geda [fr] | Robert Goodman | Superman: The Animated Series | October 10, 1998 (1998-10-10) | |||||||||||
Superman comes to Gotham to fill in for Batman, who has mysteriously disappeared. | ||||||||||||||||
| 20 | "Girls' Night Out" | Curt Geda | Hilary J. Bader | The New Batman Adventures | October 17, 1998 (1998-10-17) | |||||||||||
| 52 | "The Demon Reborn" | Dan Riba | Rich Fogel | Superman: The Animated Series | September 18, 1999 (1999-09-18) | |||||||||||
Ra's al Ghul needs Superman's strength to fully heal, so Batman steps in to stop him. | ||||||||||||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Daytime Television Program | The New Batman/Superman Adventures | Won |
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