The correct order to watch DC Animated Universe shows

Both Marvel and DC Comics have cultivated a fandom with a shared universe between series. This web of continuity entangles young minds who see comics not just as adventures, but as a gateway to a whole other world whose history they could explore and learn. Superheroes then took over 21st century Hollywood, importing this same storytelling model. But the first major superhero cinematic universe debuted on the small screen, not the silver. Yes, before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). A series of interconnected cartoons with overlapping cast and crew, the DCAU ran for 14 years from 1992 to 2006.

It wouldn't have been possible in the long run without the people who made these cartoons. The first DCAU cartoon, Batman: The Animated Series, was created by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski. Timm's distinctive art style (like Jack Kirby meets pin-up girl posters) became a DCAU standard. Other notable artists who helped drive the DCAU from series to series include writers/producers Alan Burnett, Paul Dini (Harley Quinn co-creator with Timm)and Dwayne McDuffie, director Dan Riba and voice director Andrea Romano. It was Romano who gave the DCAU the most famous voices from Kevin Conroy as Batman to Mark Hamill as the Jokerand elicited from them these character-defining performances.

These is kids shows, so most DCAU episodes are simple stuff you can watch without any context. But in Justice League Unlimited, they built on their established canon, serialized storylines based on past events, big and small, in previous shows. As such, Justice League Unlimited is best enjoyed with prior knowledge of the DCAU, but how do you get it?

Minus additional films (which include “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” “Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero,” “Batman: The Joker Returns” and “Batman: The Batman”) in order of release for the DCAU:

1. “Batman: The Animated Series” follows the adventures of Batman as he faces the superstitious and cowardly villains of Gotham City. The series is famous for its gothic backdrop and Fleischer Studios-inspired animation, which is less sharp and crisp than subsequent DCAU shows.
2. “Superman: The Animated Series” – basically Timm and co. does for Superman what he did for Batman before. “Superman: The Animated Series” is most remembered for Clancy Brown's performance as Lex Luthor. It also introduced a more sophisticated art style that was used in later DCAU projects.
3. The New Batman Adventures is a sequel to Batman: The Animated Series with an updated art style and character design. A handful of crossovers with “Superman” were officially created by the DCAU.
4. “Batman Beyond” – Fast forward 40 years, an elderly Bruce Wayne leads the young Batman, teenage Terry McGinnis, in cyberpunk Gotham City.
5. “Static Shock” – Black teenager Virgil Hawkins gains electromagnetic powers when a mutagenic gas is dispersed in his hometown of Dakota City. McDuffie, one of Static's original comic creators, was involved in the series, and it was his gateway to more work on the DCAU.
6. “The Zeta Project” – A spin-off of “Batman Beyond”, which sees the android Zeta try to find his creator while on the run from the NSA. All in all, a futuristic riff on “The Fugitive” (and not the only animated one).
7. Justice League – Timm's team built on previous Batman/Superman crossovers and brought DC's greatest heroes together in one show. Uniquely, each episode was a two/three-parter, effectively allowing for 40-minute episodes instead of 20-minute episodes.
8. Justice League Unlimited – The sequel to Justice League, where the team expands from seven heroes to dozens. The two-part series format was abandoned for 20-minute episodes, usually highlighting one to three members of the now huge ensemble.

You should watch the shows in that order if you're feeling that complete. The answer is always a skip sequence, because it's the easiest way, and later built prequels usually build on earlier parts. For example, imagine watching the “Star Wars” prequels without seeing the original trilogy.

In the DCAU's case, Justice League Unlimited's season 2 finale — “Epilogue” — is more or less a “Batman Beyond” episode. If you haven't seen Batman Beyond, you won't get anything out of this episode. Even if you watch Justice League first, save Epilogue for after you finish Batman Beyond.

If you insist on watching the DCAU in chronological order:

1. “Batman: The Animated Series”
2. “Superman: The Animated Series”
3. “The New Adventures of Batman”
4. “Static Shock”
5. “Justice League”
6. “Justice League Unlimited”
7. “Batman Behind”
8. “Zeta Project”

“The Zeta Project” is the least essential DCAU show. It's not actually based on a pre-existing DC comic, making it an outlier compared to the others, and it ends disappointingly on a cliffhanger. “Batman Beyond” season 3 has a crossover episode called “Countdown”, but Zeta's debut in “Batman Beyond” will blow your mind.

“Static Shock” also feels more bloated than the others because it wasn't originally intended to be part of the DCAU. It only became that way when the season 2 premiere of “Big League” turned into a Batman crossover. After Static Shock, there were a few other crossovers with the DCAU:

1. “Static Shock” season 3 premiere “Hard A Nails” where Static visits Gotham and fights Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn with Batman.
2. “A League of Your Own” is a two-part installment of “Static Shock” Season 3 that crosses over with “Justice League.” Static is called in to help with some technical problems at the League's satellite base at the Watchtower, and ends up saving the grown-up heroes from Brainiac.
3. “Toys in the Hood” with a guest appearance by Superman. (“Superman: The Animated Series” had ended at this point, but the Man of Steel himself was part of “Justice League”.)
4. “Future Shock”, a “Batman Beyond” crossover in which Static is sent to the future.
5. “Fallen Hero” where Static teams up with Green Lantern to fight Sinestro.
6. “The Once and Future Thing” is the season 1 finale of Justice League Unlimited. It's a crossover with both “Static Shock” and “Batman Beyond,” as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern travel to the future where they meet Terry McGinnis and the now middle-aged Static.

As you can guess, the “Static Shock” crossovers were mostly one way; teenage Virgil never appeared in Justice League. Essentially, the core experiences of the DCAU are: Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. Watch them on The Real Age and I promise you'll be a superhero fan for life.