The belovedBatman: The Animated Seriesincluded much of Batman’s iconic rogue’s gallery, but one villain was absent – at least in theDCshow’s original run. Originating as a series that would marketBatman Returnsfollowing thegame-changing success of 1989’sBatman,Batman: The Animated Seriesgrew well beyond its original role of marketing the live-action films and became one of the most widely-appreciated Batman adaptations, in addition to kickstarting the eventualDC Animated Universe. As comprehensive of aBatmanadaptation as it is, not every element of Batman’s comic lore made it into theanimated series.
Theanimated Batman seriesincludes what many viewers consider to be among the best iterations of numerousBatmancharacters. In addition to the iconic performances of the late Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, respectively, the show also reimagined Mr. Freeze, granting him a new and tragic origin story that made its way into the comics and further iterations of Freeze. Interestingly, one villain was originally set to appear inBatman: The Animated Series, but was absent from the show’s original iteration.
Fox Wouldn’t Allow Batman: The Animated Series To Use Firefly
The originalBatman: The Animated Seriesadapted the often-dark subject matter of Batman’s comic mythos, but the series was forbidden from crossing certain lines. Extreme violence, alcohol, breaking through plate glass, and face-punches, and other subject matter were prohibited from being shown in the series, andFirefly’s pyromania, naturally, prevented him from appearing in the original series.Batman: The Animated Seriescleverly worked around these rules, but its successor series was allowed far more freedom.
Batman’scensorship made it difficult to depict the Joker’s murders, yet the series ended up making his signature Joker venom far more horrifying by showing its effects without its victims explicitly dying.
Firefly Made His Debut In The New Batman Adventures Instead
Two years after its conclusion,Batman: The Animated Serieswas succeeded byThe New Batman Adventures. While the censors at Fox Kids were stringent about what was allowed and not allowed inBatman,The New Batman Adventuresaired on Kids’ WB, whose censors were far more lenient.This allowed Bruce Timm and Paul Dini to finally bring Firefly to the DCAU, with Lynns appearing in two episodes and later reappearing in the DCAUJustice Leagueseries.
The more lenient censorsalso resulted inThe New Batman Adventuresbeing a far darker series than its predecessor. The Joker could be shown explicitly killing people, fistfights were far more violent, and oftentimes the episodes themselves often had far darker narratives than before. Fascinatingly, the originalBatman: The Animated Seriesis seen by many as more memorable than its successor, even with its stricter censorship rules, yet without the network change, the DCAU’s Batman would never have battled Firefly.
Batman: The Animated Series
Cast
Batman: The Animated Series follows Bruce Wayne as he assumes the role of the masked vigilante Batman to combat crime in Gotham City. This acclaimed 1992 series explores his dual identity and features an array of iconic villains, while Bruce vows to avenge the murder of his parents.
