Batman: The Animated Series was an animated show that aired on the now defunct Fox Kids channel between 1992 and 1995 and ran for a total of 85 episodes. Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Eric Radomski, it is widely regarded as one of the best animated shows of all time and spawned an animated franchise commonly called the DCAU (DC Animated Universe) which includes shows like Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. With B:tAS being considered one of the bests, what episodes are the best of the best? Here I have compiled five of the highest rated episodes of Batman: The Animated Series according to IMDb as well as why I think they are rated so highly. 

5. “Perchance to Dream” (9.0/10) 

  • Premise: Bruce Wayne wakes up in a world where someone else is Batman, and his parents are still alive. Despite the fact that this is the world that Bruce wants, he can’t help but feel that something is off. His fears are soon founded, as he realizes he’s in a dream. He then tries to escape but finds it difficult when he is not Batman. 

  • Reason it’s Good: Out of the gate, this episode has probably my favorite climax out of every episode. It paints a good “What-If” picture of “What if Bruce Wayne wasn’t Batman?” It has a fun villain reveal that you might have guessed based on the vibe of the episode, plus each villain has their own musical motif, and this villain is no different.  

3. “Trial” (9.1/10) 

  • Premise: The lunatics are quite literally running the asylum. Batman’s rogues gallery kidnaps the caped crusader as well as Janet van Dorn, Gotham’s new district attorney who blamed Batman for the creation of the super criminals. The villains put the Dark Knight on a mock trial, with van Dorn as his defense counsel, the Joker as the judge, Two-Face as the persecutor, and the rest of the rogues as the jury and witnesses. 

  • Reason it’s Good: Not only is this a really fun concept for an episode (I especially love the detail of Two-Face being the persecutor), but it also puts to bed the idea that Batman created these criminals.  

1. “Almost Got ‘Im” (9.2/10) 

  • Premise: The Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc are playing poker, stop me if you’ve heard this one before. They decide to make a bet on who has the best story about how they ‘almost’ killed Batman. 

  • Reason it’s Good: The episode plays out as an anthology, with four vignettes, as told by Ivy, Penguin, Two-Face, and Joker, as well as one extremely funny line when it’s Croc’s turn to tell his story. There’s also a great twist at the end that makes all of Croc’s lines funnier in retrospect. 

4. “Heart of Ice” (9.1/10) 

  • Premise: A mysterious criminal named Mr. Freeze, a criminal wielding a freeze gun and wearing a suit that keeps his body temperature below freezing, appears in Gotham, robbing the offices of GothCorp, a big tech company. Ferris Boyle, CEO of GothCorp, claims that he has no idea who Freeze is, despite the vendetta that Freeze seems to have against him. 

  • Reason it’s Good: Before this episode came out in 1992, Mr. Freeze was a generic, run of the mill, ice based super villain. He had no greater purpose than “I rob banks with an ice gun!” This created the Mr. Freeze that is loved today. His tragic backstory is so good that even the much-maligned Batman and Robin (1997) used this backstory for their ice-punning “first Gotham, then the world” Mr. Freeze played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.  

2. “Two-Face”, Part I (9.1/10) and Part II (9.0/10) 

  • Premise: Gotham’s District Attorney, Harvey Dent, has been grappling with himself lately, his inner anger manifesting as a different personality, “Big Bad Harv.” A faithful accident caused by Rupert Thorne, Gotham’s biggest crime lord, causes Dent to become the villain known as Two-Face. 

  • Reason it’s Good: The two-parter follows a great emotional journey as Harvey slowly loses his sanity and sense of justice. It is a true tragedy that hits harder because we see Harvey before this episode, he’s a common character for Bruce to hang out with in the episodes before.  

Below I have also compiled a list of some of my own favorite episodes that I think also deserve your attention.