Batman: The Legend of the Dark Knight (Adult Swim)

Batman: The Legend of the Dark Knight is a 2016 adult animated superhero series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and based on the DC comics character Batman, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The series also features several veteran Batman voice actors like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. The shows music was composed by Danny Elfman and features character designs by Phil Bourassa, the show was R rated due to violence, bad language and nudity. Batman: The Legend of the Dark Knight won six Daytime Emmy Awards over the course of its run. It was later followed by a sequel series called Batman & Superman.

All five seasons were released on Blu-Ray on September 26th 2021. In 2018, a direct to video film called Batman vs. The Universal Monsters was released.

Plot
Season 1 -

Season 2 -

Season 3 -

Season 4 -

Season 5 -

The Bat Family

 * Batman/Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) - The main protagonist of the series and the title character. When he was ten, he witnessed the murder of his parents in an alleyway by a mugger. It was there that he vowed to combat crime in Gotham, when he grew up he travelled the world learning martial arts and training himself to peak condition. When he returned to Gotham, he took up the mantle of Batman, he then took on Gotham's criminal underworld. At the start of the series he had been Batman for five years.
 * Nightwing/Robin 1/Dick Grayson (Austin Butler) - The 15 year old adopted son of Bruce who becomes his sidekick Robin and later the superhero Nightwing. He was taken in by Bruce after his parents who were circus performers died when their tightropes were tampered, after learning that Bruce was Batman, he created the sidekick Robin the Boy Wonder. After being Robin for 4 years he becomes Nightwing and sets out on his own. He also becomes the boyfriend and later fiancée of Barbara Gordon.
 * Oracle/Batgirl/Barbara Gordon (Ivana Baquero) - The daughter of Commissioner James Gordon who becomes Batgirl. She starts out as a shy nerdy high school girl who doesn't have many friends, however after seeing Batman and Robin rescue a group of homeless people, she then decides to become a crime fighter like them. She then fashioned herself a suit similar to Batman's and called herself Batgirl, she eventually learns Batman and Robin's identities.
 * Robin 2/Jason Todd (Scott Menville) - A troubled teenager who become Robin after Dick left. He was caught by Bruce whilst trying to steal the Batmobile's tires, however after learning of his upbringing he takes pity on him and takes him in and trains him as the next Robin.
 * Robin 3/Damian Wayne (Stuart Allan) - The son of Bruce and Talia who comes Robin after the death of Jason Todd. He was born shortly after Bruce left the League of Shadows, as a result Bruce was unaware of his existence. When he was ten years old, Ra's had Talia bring him to Bruce so he could become the next Robin. Although Bruce was uncertain, following the death of Jason Todd, agreed to train him. At first Damian's belief that criminals should be killed made things difficult between him and Bruce, however he was able to overcome his violent tendencies.
 * Alfred Pennyworth (Alastair Duncan) - Bruce's faithful and hardworking butler who became his legal guardian after his parents were murdered. He supports Bruce during his crusade as Batman, although he does sometimes worry about him.
 * Thomas & Martha Wayne (Chris Parnell & Allison Janney) - The parents of Bruce Wayne. Whilst heading home from the theater one night, they and Bruce were heading down an alleyway where they encountered a mugger. The mugger shot Thomas and Martha whilst attempting to take Thomas' wallet and Martha's pearl necklace, their deaths would later inspire Bruce to become Batman, to wage war against crime in Gotham.

Allies

 * Commissioner James Gordon (Tom Kane) - The commissioner of the GCPD and Batman's strongest ally in his war against crime. Like Batman he is deeply committed to riding Gotham of crime and making it a safer place for people to live, back in the days before Batman's arrival Gordon was the one of the few honest cops in the GCPD along with Chief O'Hara.
 * Chief Miles O'Hara (Colm Meaney) - The chief of the GCPD who is Commissioner Gordon's second in command and also one of Batman's strongest allies. Back when Bruce first became Batman, he was one of the few honest cops in the GCPD along with James Gordon.
 * Lucius Fox (Ernie Hudson) - Bruce's top executive in Wayne Enterprises and one of the few who knows his secret identity of Batman. He is the man who builds the gadgets for Bruce to use as Batman,
 * Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Elizabeth Berkley) - A skilled cat burglar who is also the on and off love interest of Batman.
 * Zatanna Zatara (Laura Baliey) - An ally of Batman who is both a stage and actual magician. She is the daughter of Giovanni "John" Zatara, who is considered the worlds greatest magician.
 * Nora Fries (Clare Niederpruem) - The beloved wife of Mr. Freeze. After she caught a rare disease, Victor froze her in cryogenic sleep until he could find a cure.
 * Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) - A reporter for the Daily Planet and the partner of Clark Kent also known as Superman.
 * Jimmy Olson (Sam Huntington) - A reporter for the Daily Planet who is also a good friend to Clark and Lois.
 * Robert Barclay (Paul Rudd) - A former criminal who became Bruce's mechanic after Bruce invited him to stay following his release. It was revealed that he was arrested after killing a convicted pedophile who tried to prey on Thomas, the pedophile however was also the state senator and as a result was imprisoned. Following his release he was unable to find employment, until Bruce took pity and invited him to stay at Wayne Manor after learning the reason for his arrest.
 * Thomas Barclay (Diesel La Torraca) - Robert and Charlotte's 5 year old son. He and his father rarely get to see each other due to Henry's dislike of him, he is shown to be a huge Batman fan much to Henry's disgust. He is shown to adore his father, although is saddened that they aren't able to see each other more often.
 * Abraham Van Helsing (Liam Neeson) - A legendary vampire hunter and the arch enemy of Count Dracula. Back in Transylvania, in the year 1897, he and his assistant, Jack Steward, attacked Dracula's castle in an attempt to stop his evil plans once and for all. However Dracula, anticipating their plans, placed the body of his human servant, Renfield, in his coffin. He and Steward where then ambushed by Dracula and after a brief scuffle, managed to stake Dracula, but not before the latter had fatally wounded him. However he appears as a ghost several times to offer Batman some advice on how to defeat Count Dracula,

The Justice League

 * Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El (Tim Daly) - The protector of Metropolis who is also a reporter for the Daily Planet and the last surviving Kryptonian. When he was an infant, he was launched into space by his parents shortly before their home-planet of Krypton was destroyed. His ship then crash-landed in Smallville, Kansas, where was adopted by a kind farming couple. When he was a teenager he was told of his origins and when he became an adult, he moved to Metropolis where he became a reporter for the Daily Planet.
 * Wonder Woman/Diana Prince -
 * Martian Manhunter/J'onn J'onzz (Phil LaMarr) - A Green Martian from the planet Mars. He arrived on Earth in a freak accident and as a result, wasn't able to return to Mars.
 * The Flash/Barry Allen -
 * Green Arrow/Oliver Queen -

Gotham Rogues Gallery

 * Joker/Jack Napier (Mark Hamill) - A clown based criminal with a warped sense of humor and the arch nemesis of Batman. He was originally a friendly and kindhearted henchman of Boss Antonio, at a heist at Ace Chemicals he was betrayed and thrown into a vat of chemicals and was left for dead. However he survived but was left with green hair, white skin, ruby red lips and a wrapped sense of humor, he later met Harleen Quinzel during his incarceration at Arkham Asylum where she fell in love with him and became his accomplice and lover. Despite the fact that he was verbally abusive to her, Joker does truly love Harley and would do anything for her.
 * Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel (Tara Strong) - The former psychiatrist of Joker and later his henchwoman and lover. She was assigned to him after he was imprisoned at Arkham Asylum, over time she fell in love with him and eventually broke him out and became his lover and partner in crime. She later dawned a jesters suit and started calling herself Harley Quinn. Despite the fact that was sometimes verbally abusive to her, Joker did truly love her and would do anything for her.
 * William & Wallace MacKay (James and Oliver Phelps) - Joker's two henchmen from Scotland. Originally henchmen of Boss Antonio until they became fed up with his and Francesca's treatment of them, they both then betrayed him and sided with Joker. William wields a magical claymore that can cut through nearly anything whilst Wallace wields a pair of machine gun bagpipes.
 * Bud & Lou - Joker and Harley's two pet Spotted Hyenas.
 * Two-Face/Harvey Dent (Troy Baker) - The former district attorney of Gotham City and formerly one of Batman's strongest allies in his war on crime. Tragically however, it came to an end when Boss Antonio threw a beaker of acid in his face, which left the right side of his face brutally scarred. Renaming himself Two-Face, Dent then became a criminal who was obsessed with chance. He has a double headed coin for which he uses to decided if his victims should live or die.
 * Killer Croc/Waylon Jones (Ron Pearlman) - A supervillain who was born with a rare genetic condition that gave him the appearance of a crocodile. He was originally from Louisiana, until he left and made his way to Gotham by swimming up the coast.
 * Scarecrow/Dr. Jonathan Crane (Robert Englund) - A supervillain who specializes in exploiting peoples fears and phobias and using his fear gas. He was once a professor of psychology at Gotham University until he was fired for experimenting on some of his students, following his dismissal he decided to turn to crime and use his fear gas as a weapon.
 * Poison Ivy/Pamela Isely (Mae Whitman) - A misanthropic botanist who had the ability to command plant life. She was original a scientist who specialized in working with plants, until she was assaulted by a colleague who then tried to cover up his crime by burning down the laboratory. However Ivy survived,
 * Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot (Nolan North) - A Gotham city mobster who considers him to be the "Gentleman of Crime". Unlike many of Batman's enemies who are mentally unstable, Penguin is both sane and highly intelligent.
 * Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries (Maclain Nelson) - A supervillain who uses cryogenics as a weapon against Batman. He was formerly a gifted scientist who specialized in cryogenics, however after his beloved wife Nora became sick with a rare disease, he put her into a cryogenic sleep until he could find a cure for her. However an accident resulted in him falling into a vat of frozen liquid in which his body temperature being lowered to below zero, resulting in him wearing a special cryogenics suit in order to survive.
 * Riddler/Edward Nygma (David Tennant) - A supervillain who is known for his love of riddles and puzzles. He is one of the few villains to know Batman's true identity as Bruce Wayne, however he doesn't reveal it as he believes to reveal it would "ruin the game".
 * Mad Hatter/Jervis Tetch (Peter MacNicol) - A supervillain obsessed with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. He was once a scientist who worked at Wayne Enterprises until he was fired after harassing a female employee named Alice,
 * Bane (Antonio Banderas) - A hulking supervillain from the (fictitious) Caribbean Island nation of Santa Prisca who has mighty physical muscular due to the strength enhancing drug known as Venom. He was born in the infamous Santa Prisca prison, Peña Duro to serve out his fathers life sentence, whilst growing up in the prison he was chosen to be a "volunteer" in the testing of the drug Venom. Unlike most of the prisoners who died from the tests, Bane survived and as a result, the Venom greatly enhanced his physical strength. Eventually Bane let a revolt against the prison guards and governor, he then made for the United States where he eventually arrived in Gotham.
 * Clayface/Basil Karlo (Tim Curry) - A supervillain and former actor who possesses a clay-like body and shapeshifting abilities. He was once a prolific but highly narcissist horror actor, he then discovered that his most famous film the Dread Castle was to be remade without him starring in it although he was to be involved with the advising staff. Whilst on set he secretly murdered several cast and crew members including the actor who played his role as the Clayface killer, whilst being confronted by Batman and Robin he became doused in chemicals which gave him his shapeshifting abilities.
 * Hush/Thomas Elliott (Kevin Conroy) - A former childhood friend of Bruce Wayne who became the supervillain known as Hush. However unbeknownst to Bruce, Thomas was envious of the wealthy lifestyle Bruce was born into and
 * Ra's al Ghul (David Warner) - The eco-terrorist leader of the Society of Shadows who is the father of Talia and grandfather of Damian Wayne. He was born in the 10th century to a nomad tribe in the Arabian desert, when he grew up he served as a soldier until he was severely injured. An unknown person brought him to a cave where he was bathed in the Lazarus Pits, a mystical pool of water which can both cure any injury, illness and extended the users life beyond its natural lifespan.
 * Talia al Ghul (Katrina Law) - The daughter of Ra's who is the former lover of Bruce Wayne and mother of Damian Wayne. She and Bruce both first met when Bruce was studying martial arts from Ra's, they soon began a relationship. However their relationship came to an end after Bruce learned of Ra's real intentions and refused to be apart of it, after Bruce had left, Talia discovered that she was pregnant with Damian.
 * Dr. Hugo Strange (Corey Burton) - The chief psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who claimed to have study Batman from afar and later discovered that Bruce Wayne was Batman. This has lead him to develop an obsession with Batman and hopes to take over his role as Gotham's protector,

Other Villains

 * Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) - The CEO of LexCorp and the archenemy of Superman. His reasons for wanting to rid the world of Superman is due to him viewing as a threat to the human race, but in truth he is jealous of Superman's popularity and influence.
 * Mercy Graves - Lex Luthor's loyal bodyguard.
 * Boss Antonio (Joe Mantegna) - A ruthless Italian America Mafia Don and the main antagonist of the first series. He is a ruthless mafia boss who rules Gotham's criminal underworld with an iron fist and has several key members of the Gotham City council in his pocket, he is also one of the most ruthless of all of Batman's enemies. He was also the boss of Jack Napier until he betrayed him and tried to kill him by throwing him into a vat of chemicals, however this attempt only resulted in Jack becoming the Joker. He and Francesca were both killed when Joker returned to seek his revenge.
 * Francesca Antonio - Boss Antonia's wife. She is an extremely vain and rude woman who cares only about the finer things in life, she is also incredibly rude and often insults her husbands Scottish henchmen William and Wallace MacKay. Eventually both she was killed by William and Wallace, who both cut off her legs and then threw her off a building in revenge for her abusive treatment of them.
 * Henry Swaddle (Bobby Cannavale) - The fiancée of Charlotte and a detective in the GCPD. He is shown to be a ruthless and incredibly arrogant police detective who shows no mercy to criminals, he is also shown to treat former criminals very unfairly as was shown his rather harsh treatment of Robert. He is also shown to have a huge dislike of Batman whom he considers the ultimate criminal and would do anything to arrest him, his obsession with arresting Batman and his arrogance has lead him to being despised by his fellow officers in the GCPD. He has also being nicknamed "Officer Angry" much to his anger, he also has a very difficult relationship with Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara who on several occasions have suspended him, with little to no avail.
 * Charlotte Barclay (Jamie Gray Hyder) - Robert's ex-wife and the mother of Thomas, as well as the fiancée of Henry Swaddle. She was once married to Robert, however after he was sent to prison for killing a pedophile she divorced him and began dating Henry Swaddle.
 * Mary Napier (Wendie Malick) - Joker's evil and abusive mother who is the main antagonist of season 5. Once a kind and loving to him, however after the death of Joker's father when he was young, she remarried a man named named Tom who was later revealed to be a pedophile, to which she was fully aware of. Over time she became cruel and abusive- towards Joker and would do nothing to help him when Tom either beat or rape him, she would always tell him that it was his fault. Years later after Joker reported Tom to the police, resulting in Tom's execution, Mary then declared her hatred and swore to him that she would make him suffer greatly.
 * Tom - Joker's cruel and abusive stepfather who is the reason he became a supervillain. Years ago shortly after the death of Joker's beloved father, Joker's mother, Mary married Tom. Tom however was very abusive to Joker and would beat him if he didn't obey him, he was later revealed to be a pedophile and would then subject Joker to either physical or sexual abuse, eventually Joker would report him to the police. As a result Tom was tried and executed for his crimes. His actions ultimately lead to Joker becoming the criminal he was today.

Universal Monsters

 * Count Vlad Dracula (Graham McTavish) - The legendary king of vampires from Transylvania and the main antagonist of Batman Vs. The Universal Monsters. Back in Transylvania in 1897, Dracula fought and killed his arch nemesis Abraham van Helsing, but not before Van Helsing had managed to stake Dracula through the heart, his remains were then transported from Transylvania to America, where they were buried in a crypt in Gotham City Cemetery. However, over 100 years later, he was mistakenly resurrected by Two-Face and Killer Croc when the former accidently cut himself and dropped some blood on his weathered corpse.
 * Adam/Frankenstein's Monster (Clancy Brown) - A large and hulking humanoid creature who was created in 1796 by Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein. He was created from several different body parts and was brought to life by electricity, tragically he was rejected by Victor who was repulsed by his appearance and then tried to destroy him. However he survived and took revenge on Victor, first by killing his best friend Henry and then his beloved fiancée Elizabeth. After Victor froze to death whilst trying to hunt him down, Adam brought him back to Switzerland and buried him in his family's tomb.
 * Wolfman/Larry Talbot (Troy Baker) - A young Englishman who was cursed with lycanthropy after being bitten by a werewolf. He was camping in Wales when he was attacked by a werewolf, whereupon he received the curse of lycanthropy. Distraught over his situation, he fled to the United States and vowed to live somewhere where he couldn't harm anyone. However Count Dracula eventually tracked him down and forcibly recruited him to his cause, Larry however tries several times to warn Batman of Dracula's plan, but to no avail.
 * Dr. Septimus Pretorius (Andy Serkis) - A mad scientist who is an ally to Dracula. He was formerly a respected scientist from Germany, until he was found out to have been performing several unethical experiments
 * Igor - Dr. Pretorius' hunchbacked assistant.

Gotham City
A (fictitious) American city located in New Jersey.


 * Ace Chemicals - A chemical plant located in the industrial section of Gotham. It was there, during a heist ordered by Boss Antonio, that Jack Napier fell into a vat of chemicals and became the Joker.
 * Arkham Asylum - A mental asylum located in Gotham. It is where most of Batman's enemies are sent after they have being caught by him,
 * Blackgate Penitentiary - A prison located on a small island in Gotham Bay, it is where Batman's sane enemies like Penguin are sent. During the American Civil War it was a military fortress, then in 1936 it was converted into a prison.
 * Gotham Police Department - The municipal police force of Gotham City. James Gordon serves the GCPD as its commissioner, whilst Miles O'Hara serves as its chief.
 * The Iceberg Lounge - One of Gotham's most popular nightclubs that is owned by the Penguin.
 * Wayne Enterprises - A multinational company, the majority of which is owned by Bruce Wayne. Bruce uses the resources from his company to fund his crusade as Batman,
 * Wayne Manor - The home of Bruce Wayne and where he grew up in. It is considered one of the finest homes in all of Gotham,
 * Batcave - The secret of lair of Batman and is where he keeps the Batmobile and several of his gadgets.

Metropolis
A (fictitious) American city located the state of Delaware.


 * Daily Planet - The newspaper company where Clark Kent, Lois Lane and James Olsen work at. The editor of the Daily Planet is Perry White, a stern but fair man.
 * LexCorp - A large company that is run by Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor. It was originally founded by Lex Luthor's grandfather in aerospace engineering until when Lex Luthor took over and greatly enhanced it, it is now one of the world's premiere companies in military defense.

Others

 * Transylvania -
 * Dracula's Castle - A foreboding castle located in the Carpathian Mountains and the former home of the legendary vampire, Count Dracula.
 * Dinosaur Island - An uncharted tropical island located in the Pacific Ocean. As its name implies, it is inhabited by dinosaurs, pterosaurs and cannibalistic Neanderthals. Bruce, Dick, Barbara, Alfred, Jason, Robert and Thomas were stranded on the island for three months.
 * Mount Magma - A volcano located in the center of the island.
 * Neanderthal Village - A village that as its name implies, is inhabited by Dinosaur Islands cannibalistic Neanderthals.

Trivia

 * Bruce Timm and Paul Dini both previously created and produced Batman: The Animated Series.
 * This is the fourth time that Danny Elfman has composed for Batman. The first time was for Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, the second time was for 1992's Batman Returns and the third time was for Batman: The Animated Series.
 * The Riddler's appearance was modeled after his voice actor David Tennant, ironically Tennant was planned to appear in the film The Dark Knight Rises as the Riddler but was later cut from the film.
 * Robert Englund based his portrayal of Scarecrow on his iconic role as Freddy Krueger.
 * Joker is portrayed as being far more sympathetic then his mainstream comics counterpart. For example despite being verbally abusive towards her, he does truly love Harley Quinn and is left both devastated and broken by her death.
 * Graham McTavish had previously voiced Count Dracula on the Netflix anime series, Castlevania.
 * Maclain Nelson and Clare Niederpruem are married in real life.
 * The series features several veteran voice actors who worked on several animated DC shows, movies and games:
 * Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill both previously voiced Batman and Joker in both the DC Animated Universe and Arkham games.
 * Tara Strong previously voiced Harley Quinn in both the Arkham and Injustice games.
 * Troy Baker previously voiced Two-Face in the Arkham games.
 * Ron Perlman reprises his role as Killer Croc, having previously voiced the character in the 2004 series, The Batman.
 * Nolan North and Peter MacNicol previously voiced Penguin and Mad Hatter in the Arkham games.
 * Corey Burton had previously voiced Hugo Strange in Batman: Arkham City.
 * David Warner had previously voiced Ra's al Ghul in the DC Animated Universe.
 * Kate Bosworth and Sam Huntington portrayed Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen in the 2006 film Superman Returns.
 * Clancy Brown reprises his role as Lex Luthor. Brown had previously voiced him in several DC animated shows and films.