Bruce Timm Was a Mad Genius for Creating DC’s Most Experimental Animated Show: It Was Never Batman: Caped Crusader

SUMMARY

• Green Lantern: The Animated Series was one of Bruce Timm's experimental and best work.
• The show delved deep into Lantern mythos and gave audiences interesting characters.
• The show was canceled after one season due to the live action film and poor toy sales.

Show More▼

Bruce Timm has created a lot of animated DC shows that have stood the test of time. Be it classics like Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League or newer take on characters like Batman Beyond, the animation legend has cemented himself as the godfather of DC’s animated shows.

Justice League Unlimited || Credit: WB

However, there is one show by Bruce Timms that did not get the traction it deserved, which the man himself has dubbed as some of his best work. While an animated series about DC superheroes from Bruce Timm was no surprise, it must be noted that this show was animated using computer graphics, as opposed to traditional 2D animation. Green Lantern: The Animated Series lived well and died young.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series was some of Bruce Timm’s best work

Razer, as he appears on Green Lantern: The Animated Series || Credit: WB

Green Lantern: The Animated Series was one of the most unique works to come out of Bruce Timm‘s canon. Following Hal Jordan and his companions as they embark on an odyssey through space, the show was rendered with computer graphics and featured one of Timm’s new creations, the Red Lantern Razer, as part of the main crew.

The show delved deep into the Lantern mythos, depicting multiple Earth Green Lanterns, while also exploring the whole emotional spectrum. From fan-favorite characters like Atrocitus and Saint Walker to newcomers like Razer and Aya were all well-fleshed out and played to perfection by their respective actors. There were also other characters from deep in Green Lantern mythos that made an appearance, such as Mogo, the planet Green Lantern.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series was canceled thanks to Green Lantern (2011)

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively first met on sets of Green Lantern | Credit: Warner Bros

Yes, The Green Lantern film was so bad that it killed the IP’s live-action chances along with a good TV show. Long before Ryan Reynolds was Deadpool, he was almost DC’s Green Lantern.

However, the plot of the film was lackluster enough that there was no chance that the actor would be playing the role again. A running joke in the fandom is that the only good thing to come out of the film was Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s relationship.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series had set a lot up in the one season that it got, but the film was not the only thing that caused the show to go off-air. There was also the fact that Green Lantern failed to push toy sales to the mark that it was expected, which was a major source of income for action cartoons.

Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Batman Beyond, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Green Lantern can be streamed on Max

Written by Anuraag Chatterjee

Articles Published: 898

Anuraag Chatterjee, Web Content Writer
With a passion for writing fiction and non fiction content, Anuraag is a Media Science graduate with 2 year's experience with Marketing and Content, with 3 published poetry anthologies. Anuraag holds a Bacherlor's degree in Arts with a focus on Communication and Media Studies.