Debuting in 1992, Batman: The Animated Series kicked off the DC Animated Universe, or the "Timmverse" as fans call it. Mixing grounded stories of The Dark Knight battling gang bosses to rid Gotham of organized crime with outlandish adventures where the Caped Crusader faced off against his famous rogues gallery of colorful criminals, BTAS was an instant hit with critics and audiences.
With a focus so heavily set on Batman, his sidekicks, and his better-known foes, some characters from the Batman mythos - and the larger DC Universe didn't get as much time in the spotlight as they perhaps deserved. Perhaps if the series went on longer, these secondary and tertiary characters could have had a shot to stand out from the crowd.
10 Lucius Fox Would Become A Bigger Character In The Following Decade
Originally introduced in the comics in 1979, Lucius Fox was not a character that general audiences, or even some Batman fans, were all that aware of until 2005's Batman Begins, when Morgan Freeman took on the role and played the character in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. While Lucius Fox shows up in BTAS, he never had a moment to shine.
Lucius Fox appeared in just a handful of the episodes that make up Batman: The Animated Series. Even in the episodes that Lucius does show up in, he rarely has a standout moment. Considering how well the character has been used in the 21st century, it is a shame BTAS didn't give Fox his due.
9 Renée Montoya Became The Hero The Show Never Let Her Be
One of a handful of characters created for Batman: The Animated Series, Renée Montoya was a police officer who was often teamed up with Detective Harvey Bullock. Sadly Montoya's primary purpose in the show was to be the straight woman to Bullock's more comedic and sloppy personality.
Renée Montoya made her way to the comics where she soon became the second person to take on the mantle of The Question. These days, Montoya is the Commissioner of the GCPD, showing just how much more important she could have been on the show.
8 Batgirl Has Enough Stories For Her Own Series
While Batgirl has played a major role in the comics for decades, she rarely had a chance to shine in Batman: The Animated Series, even when she became a larger part of the series with The New Batman Adventures, as she was often overshadowed by Batman or Robin. The character also played a role in Batman Beyond, but by that time Barbara Gordon had hung up her costume and followed in her father's footsteps to become Commissioner of the GCPD.
Batgirl has been a popular character since her first debut in 1961. Over the years, she has had a number of solo series and appeared in team books, like Birds of Prey. In reality, Batgirl has enough stories to be worthy of an animated series of her own.
7 Bane Never Reached Iconic Status In The Series
Created to be a major villain in Batman's life, Bane made his debut in the comics in his own one-shot, Batman: Vengeance of Bane, by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, before going on to be the architect behind the events of Knightfall. While Bane has become one of the bigger Batman foes in the comics, he never had much of a chance to shine in the animated series.
Bane had one episode where he was the main villain and appeared in a few other episodes after that, but the series played him for his brute strength, essentially ignoring the character's strategic mind. Bane is best remembered in the Timmverse for being a withered husk of a man in his one heartbreaking appearance in Batman Beyond.
6 Lex Luthor Could Have Been A Great Rival For Bruce Wayne
While Lex Luthor played a very big role in the Timmverse as the main villain in Superman: The Animated Series and the first season of Justice League Unlimited, he only showed up once in Batman: The Animated Series. That appearance was enough to make it clear that Luthor could have been a wonderful rival to Bruce Wayne.
Luthor is essentially the evil Batman - a billionaire genius who loves to put on a costume and fight, and while BTAS had wealthy villains for Bruce Wayne to deal with, none of them were as charismatic as Luthor. It's hard not to wonder great a battle between Batman and Luthor - both in the boardroom and above the streets of Gotham - could have been.
5 Nightwing Showed Up Late, And Barely At All
As soon as Dick Grayson first showed up as Robin in BTAS, fans were eager to see him become Nightwing. Viewers got to see Dick take on his adult identity during The New Batman Adventures, but the character did not get much of a chance to stand out among the growing cast of the show.
Like Batgirl, Nightwing has more than enough of a history to deserve his own animated series. In the least, he could have played a role in other Timmverse shows like Justice League Unlimited or Batman Beyond. Instead, Nightwing seemed to vanish from Batman's, and the creators of the shows', memories.
4 Leslie Thompkins Was Left Behind
Despite playing an important role in the early years of Bruce Wayne's life, and being one of the few people to know that Bruce is Batman, Leslie Thompkins rarely shows up outside the comics. While Thompkins was a major character in the live-action series Gotham and has shown up in Titans, the character has somehow never made her way into the movies.
As for BTAS, Leslie Thompkins appeared just six times. When she first shows up in the series, it seems like Leslie is being set up to be an important person in Batman's life, suggesting that she would play a larger part in the show. Sadly, the character quickly faded away.
3 Andrea Beaumont Never Returned
There's a strong argument to be made that Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the greatest Batman movie of all time. Filled with fantastic action and stunning animation, Mask of Phantasm not only gave fans an amazing fight between Batman and Joker, but also introduced Andrea Beaumont, aka The Phantasm, into the mythos of the Dark Knight.
His first real love, Andrea almost saved a young Bruce Wayne from a life of vigilantism before vanishing in the night, only to return years later as a terrifying new villain for Batman to stop. Outside of Mask of the Phantasm, Andrea only made one other appearance in the Timmverse, a brief cameo in Justice League Unlimited. For fans of the character, it wasn't enough.
2 Summer Gleeson Was Just A Stand-In
Created for the animated series as an apparent stand-in for Vicki Vale, Summer Gleeson is a character who actually shows up more often than most BTAS fans may realize, but the character is never fleshed out. Gleeson, a reporter, is mainly used as a way to quickly deliver some exposition to the audience so that an episode can get to the action faster.
Reporters have played a major role in superhero stories from the start, and just about every superhero is close to a reporter - if they aren't a reporter themselves. Summer Gleeson could have played more of a role in this aspect, but she was never given the time to grow as a character.
1 Roxy Rocket Looked Promising But Never Took Off
Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for The Batman Adventures Annual #1, Roxy Rocket made her animated debut in The New Batman Adventures episode "The Ultimate Thrill." The adrenaline-loving villain went on to pop up in Superman: The Animated Series and the video game Batman: Chaos in Gotham, but never hit the heights her creators hoped she would.
Roxy Rocket is a wonderfully designed character, and her episode is a lot of fun, but she came too late into the run of the series, showing up halfway through what would be the final season of BTAS. Sadly, Roxy has never found much luck in the comics either.