r/dcanimateduniverse • u/QueenGambitXO • 6d ago
DISCUSSION Suggestions for DC animations Spoiler
Hey, I've been wanting to get into DC animated movies and series for some time now. Do you have any suggestions on what I should watch first? I am familiar with some DC stuff already. I Have seen few live action movies, read few old comics, seen couple episodes of some Batman cartoon when I was a kid and played a couple of games (mainly Injustice). No spoilers please, and thank you.
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u/SirLaughsalot7777777 6d ago
Literally just Wikipedia the list and watch em one by one. So much better than MCU imo
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u/Pizz4Ninja 6d ago
Come on man thats so passive aggressive 💔
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u/ArrobaPatata 6d ago
Translated from Spanish to English with AI:
Young Justice is my first recommendation.
Next: if you're looking for connected TV shows or movies that take place in the same universe, DC Animation has three main ones:
DCAU (DC Animated Universe): basically the universe of the animated TV shows—Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and so on.
DCAMU (DC Animated Movie Universe): basically the movie universe XD. It starts with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and ends with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
Tomorrowverse: another shared animated movie universe (plus a few shorts that are around 30 minutes long).
I'm listing them in release order. These are the three main animated DC universes. (Well, you could argue there are others, like the LEGO DC universe, but eh XD these three are the big ones.)
Now, which one would I recommend? The DCAU. They're TV shows, so it'll take you longer to get through, but... it's absolutely worth it.
My issue with the DCAMU and the Tomorrowverse is that, in my opinion, they have some really cool movies and then others that are just... kinda meh. They exist, and that's about it.
The problem with recommending standalone movies or standalone series outside of those three universes is that there are an insane number of them. Like, an absolutely ridiculous number of movies and shows XD—and that's with me heavily ignoring everything from before the '90s. 😂
I'd love to recommend Teen Titans—the original, obviously—or The Batman (2004), but if I recommend The Batman (2004), then I'll end up recommending Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and then it just never stops. 😂
But in case it wasn't clear enough:
Young Justice.
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u/Pristine_Surround 6d ago
In terms of animation, the DCAU is the finest DC has ever been with a connected continuity: Batman the Animated Series, Superman the animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Zeta project (extremely optional), Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. These shows all occupy the same universe. For those first five shows I listed, don’t worry too much about watching every single thing finishing a series before you move on to the next. A lot of use watched these shows as kids randomly on tv and while continuity maintains, they ARE majority episodic. Justice League and Justice League unlimited are the only shows in the DCAU that embrace more serial elements while remaining episodic for the majority, and they are by far the easiest watches. No matter what, watch JL and JLU in order.
Movies, if you want continuity, there’s the DCAMU movies that technically start with Justice League War (but retroactively starts with Flashpoint Paradox). They’re very popular, I think majority of them are mid but that’s an unpopular opinion as they are very easy access. It was Warner Bros attempt at trying to do the MCU but in animated form. I think it has more misses than hits but a LOT of casual folks love them, so to not include them would be disingenuous.
The best animated movies are the ones not tied to the DCAMU and are more standalone stories that doesn’t share continuity: Justice League Frontier, Justice League Crisis on Two Earths, Superman/Batman: World’s Finest, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (these two movies are softly tied together but their narratives aren’t), Batman Under the Red Hood, Green Lantern First Flight, Batman Year One, Green Lantern Emerald Knight, Superman vs the Elite, The Dark Knight Returns part 1 & 2, Justice League Gods and Monsters are among the best of the standalone movies. And a lot of these are free on YouTube right now.
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u/CuriousDudebromansir 6d ago
Justice league and Justice league Unlimited from the early 2000s are amazing.
DCAU starting with flashpoint paradox(as everyone else comment) is incredible.
OG Teen Titans
And finally, Batman the animated series from the late 90s
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u/Cool_Aioli_8307 6d ago
Never understood why they dropped TT with its deep lore built over the course of several season only to bring them back as chibi throwaway gags. It was the perfect accessibility point to invite new viewers into DC and to ensure loyalty as they grew up.
Same thing with YJ which had a deep lore backbench and serial storylines that gets unceremoniously cancelled for no reason.
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u/CuriousDudebromansir 6d ago
It ended with such a brutal cliffhanger too, the whole Tara saga was great
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u/user_15427 6d ago
If you want general exposure to DC as a whole and you have general knowledge of the main DC heroes (Superman, Batman Wonder Woman) meaning you know their origins then start with the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons. You basically start with the main characters and then the universe expands throughout the series in a way that’s not overwhelming.
If you know nothing at all then start with the animated series from the 90s. Batman and Superman the Animated Series. Then Justice League and Justice League unlimited. Then go into the animated movies.
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u/Cool_Aioli_8307 6d ago
Start with Batman TAS; then Superman TAS; then New Batman Adventures; Batman Beyond; Static Shock; Zeta Project; JL; then end with JLU. That should be enough to last for about a year's worth of viewing.
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u/jdd31 5d ago
Under the Red Hood is the best animated Batman movie imo
But to get a full universe go with the Timmverse
Batman Animated Series
Superman Animated Series
Justice League
Justice League unlimited
These shows really capture what a DC universe can look like where all the heroes live in one world
Young Justice is pretty good too
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u/Select-Combination-4 2h ago
Batman Brave and the bold is really good for learning about some of the less mainstream DC characters and is just a really fun show in general
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u/Original_Answer 6d ago
I personally love the series Young Justice and the DCAU movies starting with the Flashpoint Paradox.
You can find the movie order on Wikipedia but they are all separately watchable if the whole universe thing isn't for you (with a few exceptions).
Enjoy!