Batman TAS Definitive Episode Timeline (2020 Edition)
This has been a long time coming. Many years ago, under the moniker “Jordacar” (which I still share with my bro), I tried re-arranging the 85 episodes (and 2 movies) of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES into something resembling a coherent, narratively-rich semi-chronological viewing order. To my surprise, it got to be pretty popular. So naturally, when my brother and I turned our eye towards reviewing the series episode-by-episode, it made sense to use that very same timeline to put a slightly different spin on the show, beyond the production or airdate order.
To date, we’re well past the halfway mark on our reviews, and I still occasionally see fans bringing up the timeline that I made, so I realized that it was long past time to bring it home to my own website, rather than leaving it on ComicBookMovie. Plus, I can link all of our reviews!
Originally I tried to reorder the episodes to create a sense of Batman’s early years, which is especially challenging with TAS because that only gets covered on a couple of episodes, and beyond that there’s this huge gap in Batman’s history that we never really got to see, where Joker had his origin and Robin was trained and Batman first fought Penguin.
So for the revised version, I tried to order it the way a more traditional TV show might evolve, with much of the oversized 65-episode first season parsed out into more manageable 13 or 22-episode blocks. There’s still a good sense of continuity and escalation as before, but the early goings are not as much “these take place in Batman’s early days” and more “this is a TV show finding its footing.” That’s why there are a lot of poorer episodes in the first season, like “Basement” and “Prophecy”. Best to get those out of the way early.
The revised order helps to cast the recurring cast members like Bullock, Gordon, and Mayor Hill in a new light, showing Batman’s evolving relationship to Gotham’s VIPs, being seen as a menace, a rival, an anti-hero, and eventually a friend, which helped me find the ideal placement for Mask of the Phantasm when those tensions are at their peak. Also, trying to keep track of all the rogues (not to mention spacing out the many Joker episodes) was just about enough to make me need a trip to Arkham.
So without further ado, the list, with links to all our video reviews:
SEASON 1
015 The Cat and the Claw, Part 1
016 The Cat and the Claw, Part 2
031 The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy
-I’ve noticed a lot of fans like to place “Conspiracy” first due to the Bat-signal introduction, but I felt that “Cat/Claw” made for a stronger opening.
013 I’ve Got Batman in My Basement
006 The Underdwellers
004 The Last Laugh
019 Prophecy of Doom
035 Night of the Ninja
-Obviously not Robin’s first time out, but the Boy Wonder comes off as relatively new to the game, enough that this works as the first time we might see him in action.
064 Read My Lips
-Despite airing much later, I placed this episode early due to Gordon’s behavior around Batman. He doesn’t seem used to the disappearing act yet, suggesting an earlier point in their relationship. But Alfred mentions that Batman’s fought some real weirdos already, so Scarface clearly isn’t the first freak he's had to deal with.
008 The Forgotten
017 See No Evil
012 It’s Never Too Late
026 Appointment in Crime Alley
SEASON 1 WRAP-UP
Again, a lot of non-powered enemies to start out with and a few more super villains early on than before. I like “Last Laugh” for a first Joker episode (I think it was the first that I watched) because it’s a fun action story that’s not particularly deep. And I still like the idea of the first “season” ending with a hard-hitting downer like “Appointment”.
SEASON 2
002 Christmas with the Joker
001 On Leather Wings
003 Nothing to Fear
MOVIE: Mask of the Phantasm
“Christmas with the Joker” makes for a great Xmas special to break up the seasons, and it’s such a wacky adventure that it almost feels separate from the rest of the show. From there, the episode that many consider the pilot, “On Leather Wings”, serves as the season 2 premiere, opening the world to full-on sci-fi stories.
As for Phantasm, we decided to slot it in here after much consideration. This group of episodes is where the tension between Batman and the cops is at its peak. I think it makes sense to put it earlier because it’s such an emotional and introspective story rather than an epic culmination of events. It’s still tricky to come up with a proper resolution to the cops thinking Batman’s a killer, but the way he consistently rescues Gordon, Dent, and other important people in subsequent episodes probably helps his PR.
005 Pretty Poison
007 P.O.V.
018 Beware the Gray Ghost
009 Be a Clown
010 Two-Face, Part 1
“Two-Face” is a real game-changer, because it’s one of the few super-villain origin stories that doesn’t play out in flashback, using a character that had already appeared previously. Plus it’s the only 2-parter in the series with a big chunk of time separating the episodes, so I had fun spacing them out with other adventures. On a normal show, it could serve as a great mid-season cliffhanger.
036 Cat Scratch Fever
025 The Clock King
043 Moon of the Wolf
059 Blind as a Bat
020 Joker’s Favor
011 Two-Face, Part 2
023 Vendetta
034 The Laughing Fish
054 Zatanna
024 Fear of Victory
040 If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
044 Day of the Samurai
029 Eternal Youth
037 The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne
SEASON 2 WRAP-UP
We agreed that the first big super-villain team-up in “Strange Secret” made for a fine season 2 finale, plus we get another glimpse into Bruce’s past to bring it full circle.
SEASON 3
Now we’re getting to the REALLY good stuff. The world of Gotham is fleshed out, all the rogues are on the board, the sci-fi elements are becoming more prominent
014 Heart of Ice
021 Feat of Clay, Part 1
022 Feat of Clay, Part 2
027 Mad as a Hatter
The pairing of “Almost” and “Perchance” is one of my favorite discoveries. First off, they’re such wildly different stories; one is a look in Batman’s mind, while the other shows him from a completely outside perspective. Put them together, and things come back around very nicely with that final scene with Catwoman on the roof, as Batman has now already seen a vision of a life with Selina away from the freaks and the masks and the Bat, but he knows it’s just not in the cards.
063 Fire from Olympus
038 Heart of Steel, Part 1
039 Heart of Steel, Part 2
045 Terror in the Sky
048 What is Reality?
041 Joker’s Wild
047 Birds of a Feather
049 I Am the Night
050 Off Balance
053 Paging the Crime Doctor
068 Trial
060-61 The Demon’s Quest
If “Trial” had been a 2-parter, it would’ve made a great finale. Instead it serves a good lead-up to the epic globe-trotting adventure in “Demon’s Quest”.
With the last “season”, we’re now fully into “The Adventures of Batman & Robin” portion of the show, with a whole heaping dose of continuity, sidekicks, and full-blown supervillains!
SEASON 4
057-58 Shadow of the Bat
062 His Silicon Soul
072 Harlequinade
052 Mudslide
075 Bane
065 The Worry Men
067 A Bullet for Bullock
066 Sideshow
069 Avatar
070 House and Garden
071 Terrible Trio
073 Time Out of Joint
076 Baby Doll
077 The Lion and the Unicorn
078 Showdown
074 Catwalk
079 Riddler’s Reform
080 Second Chance
081 Harley’s Holiday
082 Lock-Up
It’s probably no accident that “Lock-Up” came out around the same time as all those villain-reform episodes, as it offers a great counterpoint to the overall theme.
083 Make ‘Em Laugh
055 The Mechanic
I put this one as late as possible (I think it was the very last one I ever saw). It’s really a disposable episode, but it works as the official demise of the TAS Batmobile, making way for the TNBA design.
084 Deep Freeze
085 Batgirl Returns
MOVIE: Sub Zero
Thank you so much to all y’all who enjoyed my previous iterations of the timeline and have messaged me with your feedback over the years, it really means a lot! I hope you’ll check out our reviews, follow our podcast on Apple and Spotify, check us out on Patreon and consider becoming one of our patrons!
