Not many know it, but actually HBO Max It has practically all the animated Batman movies, in addition to the Justice League cartoon tapes where in the Dark Knight he is one more character in the cast.
Faced with such a scenario, the mere idea of trying to see these tapes can be overwhelming and even confusing, since with such a number of stories, the most obvious thing is that anyone who does not closely follow the saga of this character has no idea where to start.
Thinking about it here at FayerWayer we have decided to put together a list where we suggest a specific order to watch each Batman movie on HBO Max.
The criteria for assembling the sequence are merely subjective and arbitrary, looking for how to give the greatest possible narrative coherence to the arc of evolution of the hooded man.
Although of course, due to the nature of the variety of these productions, there will be more than one case in which history will not contribute anything directly to the evolution of this vigilante.
The best order to watch the animated Batman tapes on HBO Max
At the time of writing this note there are a total of 15 Animated Batman Movies, more others 9 Justice League films where the Dark Knight appears.
So for mere mental health we will omit those tapes where the hooded man is not the protagonist. We will share the list with our recommended order and we will briefly comment on those that we consider unmissable.
This is our suggested sequence, highlighting with an asterisk those that we consider the best of all:
- *Batman: Year One
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2
- Batman: Under the Red Hood
- *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
- *Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
- Batman: Assault on Arkham
- *Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
- Batman vs. Robin
- Batman: Hush
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
- *Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders
- *Batman: Bad Blood
- BONUS: Batman: The Killing Joke
Batman: Year One is the indispensable starting point, a faithful adaptation of the original graphic novel and that gives a proper dimension to the origin story of the vigilante.
For his part, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm It can be considered the best animated film (in 2-D) in the history of this character. Created by the legendary team behind the ’90s animated series.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker It deserves a special mention for serving as the end of the cult animated series that never had a decent ending.
While Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles It is as crazy a film as its title suggests, leaving aside the solemn and dark undertone that sometimes distinguishes it. same case with Return of the Caped Crusaders which works as a tribute to the classic Adam West series.
bad blood For its part, it is a tape that feels like a closing point for the modern era of this vigilante and that should definitely be seen at the end to gauge the depth of its plot.
The Killing Joke and Dark Knight Returns We do not highlight them in the list because they are rare cases. They are adaptations of highly cult graphic novels. For the same reason, these films have fans who radically hate them and some others who consider them acceptable.
It is essential to see them to form your own criteria.