In a past interview with Toon Zone (via DC Animated), Rich Fogel, one of the writers of DCAU’s Justice League: The Animated Series, opened up about the approach they took with the series’ story. Here, he revealed how he and other lead producers like Bruce Timm wanted the show to be a little lighter than Batman: The Animated Series, saying:
We knew Justice League wouldn’t be as dark and psychological as Batman. We wanted it to be epic, colorful and fun so the viewers would get that kind of “gee-whiz” buzz you get when you read a really good comic book.
And the gamble paid off, as this Justice League animated series, while not being as deep and grave as BTAS, still managed to capture the essence of the comics and deliver something that the fans connected with.
DCAU’s Justice League Had to Be a Lighter Counterpart to BTAS
The contrast between something like a noir-style detective story and a superhero team-up of epic proportions is completely different from each other, which Timm, Fogel, and others understood. This is one of the reasons why Justice League: The Animated Series
Batman’s world thrives in darkness, but the Justice League has Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman, characters who traditionally embody traditional heroism. To showcase each, the series needed room for humor, light, and hope alongside the high-stakes action.
With a culmination of different superheroes comes different personalities as well, which is hard to fit into a 30-minute episode without an evident clash amongst them. And seeing as it was a team of people that fought for the good of humanity, the essence had to be that of hope, strength, and a sense of justice.
While the show missed the extremely deep and grave nature of narratives in the series, it didn’t shy away from topics that resonated with a wider audience, even predicting the political future of the USA in one episode. Therefore, while being a lighter version of Batman: The Animated Series, it still managed to retain what made the DCAU great.
How Bruce Timm Understood the DC Superheroes Like No Other
One of the biggest ways Timm knew what made the superheroes of DC Comics so iconic was his understanding of what these characters metaphorically stood for.
Batman is the dark vigilante of Gotham, Superman is the idealized protector of Earth and bringer of Hope, and Wonder Woman is the warrior of truth. Instead of overcomplicating them, he leaned into these cores, making them instantly recognizable while still keeping them multi-dimensional. This helped elevate heroes like The Flash in a way that hasn’t been done since.
Adding to this was his understanding of the connection of these characters with the audience, where his wisdom in tone and themes played a big part. Timm understood that each hero’s world had its own tone. Instead of forcing a single style, he tailored each series while maintaining a shared DCAU identity.
Here is more information on Justice League: The Animated Series in a tabular format below.
Which is your favorite Bruce Timm animated project? Tell us in the comments below.
Batman: The Animated Series is streaming on Prime Video (US).
