The New Batman/Superman Adventures

*The New Batman/Superman Adventures*
The New Batman/Superman Adventures
Based on	Batman; by Bob Kane; Bill Finger; ; Superman; by Jerry Siegel; Joe Shuster;
Starring	Kevin Conroy; Tim Daly; Mathew Valencia; Arleen Sorkin; Dana Delany; Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.;
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 –; February 12, 2000
Related
	Superman: The Animated Series; Batman: The Animated Series; The New Batman Adventures;

The New Batman/Superman Adventures is a name given to a package series that combined Superman: The Animated Series with The New Batman Adventures produced by Warner Bros. Animation.^[1] It aired from 1997–2000 on Kids' WB.^[2] Although it was part of the DC Animated Universe, each half-hour episode in the hour-and-one-half block featured either a single repeat from the original Superman: The Animated Series run, the original Batman: The Animated Series run, or a brand new story featuring Batman from The New Batman Adventures. These new stories focus more on Batman's supporting cast and introduced new characters such as Tim Drake. The two animated universes were united in the Superman 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 of Batman: 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 of Superman: The Animated Series.

Production

In 1997, it was announced that the Batman series would have a revamp, replacing its art style with streamlined designs for more consistent animation, and to maintain similarity with the simultaneously running Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000). The WB wanted more episodes of Batman, 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 the Superman series as part of an hour-long segment called The New Batman/Superman Adventures. The shows shared a brand new opening, but TNBA was later given the same opening and closing of BTAS when aired in syndication and released on home video.

Voice Cast

Main cast

Actor	Role
Kevin Conroy	Bruce Wayne / Batman
Tara Charendoff	Barbara Gordon / Batgirl
Dana Delany	Lois Lane
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.	Alfred Pennyworth
Robert Costanzo	Detective Harvey Bullock
Tim Daly	Clark Kent / Superman

Regular villains

Actor	Role
Mark Hamill	The Joker
Arleen Sorkin	Harley Quinn
Clancy Brown	Lex Luthor
Corey Burton	Brainiac

Recurring characters

Bob Hastings – Commissioner Gordon
Loren Lester – Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Nicholle Tom – Kara In-Ze / Kara Kent / Supergirl
Joseph Bologna – SCU Lt. Daniel "Dan" Turpin
George Dzundza – Perry White
Mathew Valencia -Tim Drake / Robin
Lauren Tom – Angela Chen
David Kaufman – James "Jimmy" Olsen

Recurring villains

Ron Perlman – Matt Hagen / Clayface & Jax-Ur
Michael Ansara – Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze
Paul Williams – Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin
Diane Pershing – Dr. Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy
John Glover – Edward Nygma / The Riddler
Jeffrey Combs – Prof. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow
Richard Moll – Harvey Dent / Two-Face
George Dzundza – Arnold Wesker / The Ventriloquist / Scarface
Adrienne Barbeau – Selina Kyle / Catwoman
Roddy McDowall – Dr. Jervis Tetch / The Mad Hatter
Henry Silva – Bane
Brooks Gardner – Waylon Jones / Killer Croc
Mark Rolston – Garfield Lynns/Firefly
Laraine Newman – Mary Dahl / Baby Doll
Charity James – Roxanne Sutton/Roxy Rocket
Sela Ward – Page Monroe/Calendar Girl
Stephen Wolfe Smith – Klarion the Witch Boy
Lori Petty – Leslie Willis / Livewire
Michael Ironside – Darkseid
Malcolm McDowell – John Corben / Metallo
Michael Dorn – Kalibak
Bruce Weitz – Bruno Mannheim
Gilbert Gottfried – Mister Mxyzptlk
Brad Garrett – Lobo
William H. Macy – Director of the Paranormals Institute
Bud Cort – Toyman

Episodes

Note: These are the crossover episodes from the two series.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Series	Original air date
29	"World's Finest"	Toshihiko Masuda	Alan Burnett, Paul Dini and Rich 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 episode was later released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD as The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest.
43	"Knight Time"	Curt Geda	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)
Supergirl must team up with Batgirl to take down Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Livewire in Gotham City, while Batman and Superman are unavailable to help them.
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.

Feature film

The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest (1997) – a direct-to-video compilation of three episodes that originally aired back-to-back-to-back as a single TV special during the second season of Superman: The Animated Series.^[3]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1998	Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Daytime Television Program	The New Batman/Superman Adventures	Won	^[4]

References

^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 114–122. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 810–814. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ IMDB, The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest.
^ "26th Annual Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Retrieved June 6, 2021.

External links

Official website

[1] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 114–122. ISBN 978-1476665993.

[2] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 810–814. ISBN 978-1476665993.

[imdb-3] IMDB, The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest.

[4] "26th Annual Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Retrieved June 6, 2021.

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