Batman: The Animated Series, Volume Two (DC Comics Classic Collection)

After years of steadfastly ignoring the ardent wishes of its fan base, Warner Brothers is finally continuing to release its landmark Batman: The Animated Series in quailty DVD complete box sets,instead of dolling the episodes out at a sluggish four or five at a time! The "seasons" are somewhat complicated to explain as the Animated saga is actually comprised of three separate "series" that originally aired from 1992-1995, with some of the episodes being replayed in the upcoming "season," hence the designation of "Volume" rather than "Season" in the DVD box set releases.As has been noted, this 4-disc set features 28 episodes including the first appearances of Ra's Al Ghul, voiced by David Warner, his daughter Talia, voiced by Helen Slater, in the facinating episode entitled, "Off Balance." The set also includes the Riddler, voiced by John Glover, in, "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" This release also includes the Emmy-winning "Robin's Reckoning," which deals with the murder of Dick Grayson's parents and subsequent emotional trauma when Grayson, who is now Robin learns the identity of the killer. This episode includes corresponding commentary by the equally brilliant Bruce W. Timm and Eric Radomski.The creators of this Animated classic series set to their task after the first Batman movie and somehow managed to capture the essence of the comic book world of Batman, without the gore of the mainstream comic book titles.In one of the last hand-painted animation shows ever to have been rendered, Batman: The Animated Series is as flawless a rendition of Bob Kane's mythic creation as ever captured on comic paper or film, both live-action and animation. Time will tell, but I believe the Batman Animated saga is worthy of being crowned the greatest animated Superhero series to have ever been produced. Regardless of its place in history, it changed the animated genre forever as well as, ironically, the comic book and film depictions that spawned it. It is pure magic.The "Dark Deco" design of Gotham City and all of the characters in the Batman mythos were deftly crafted by many of the modern comic industry's greatest talents including: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini and the aforementioned Bruce W. Timm. Every subtle nuance was anticipated and superbly rendered in serious stories that merged the childhood wonder and excitement of comic books with the adult appreciation for drama, humor and tragedy.Each half-hour episode feels like a movie, and the voice actors who portrayed the characters were so well matched that theirs are now the ONLY voices I hear when I read the comic. Since I'm 48 and have been reading The Batman since I was a kid, that's saying something.Credit goes to the voice talents of Kevin Conroy, who pulls off the best Batman and Bruce Wayne voices I have ever heard, along with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars Trilogy) for literally BECOMING the Joker in his voice portrayal. Other steller voice talents belong to Efrem Zimbalist Jr., for a flawless Alfred Pennyworth, the stalwart Wayne family butler; Adrienne Barbeau as the Catwoman Selina Kyle; and Arlene Sorkin as Harley Quinn (a character created in the Animated Series, which in a cool twist, was then introduced into the mainstream comic book titles.)The talented Shirley Jackson composed the memorable music, which again blends perfectly with the whole to create a true animated masterpiece.Because these series feature stories of the Dark Knight, it remains utterly amazing that the bulk of the episodes take place in Gotham City at night, but nonetheless manage to have amazing color and true vitality. This striking visual style was given to each character, too, making them seem more sturdy and larger than life but totally believable.While the background of the characters is outside of the mainstream comic book continuity, the Animated Series remained true to the core of the characters' personalities and motivations more than ANY other rendition. It is so compelling that you can not only see Gotham, but feel, smell and even taste this "fictitious" city!To watch these shows is to fall permanently under the spell of The Batman, the great loner detective, who was driven to crimefighting after the senseless murder of his parents that occurred in front of him during a robbery when he was a boy.This Batman is noble, tragic, funny, brilliant, obsessed, selfless, real and completely heroic, elements that were sadly missing in the many movie portrayls of the character and often missing in today's comic book maintstream depictions that too often rely on violence (rationalized as "action") in lieu of honest storytelling.If you have never seen this show, whether adult or child, you should. And for those of us who watched with utter amazement and joy during its original run, these are hugely anticipated DVDreleases.Let us hope that the remaining episodes will be released soon, and that the subsequent series, Batman Beyond, which was a look at the Caped Crusader in the future complete with an aging Bruce Wayne and a new "Batman," will also soon be released in full on DVD.

Yes, I love the new Christopher Nolan movies. But I have to admit, this animated incarnation of Batman from the early nineties will always be the definitive version of the character for me. I readily admit I'm biased, as I grew up watching these shows, and seeing them today brings me back to a simpler time in my life. But even now, as an adult, I am amazed at how well the storytelling on display holds up over a decade later.This set builds upon the solid foundation laid by the first volume (which is also well worth a purchase), coming across as almost universially strong. The writers and artist had clearly found their groove. The characterizations are stronger and more nuanced, the animation is more consistant, and even the weaker episodes here are leagues better than some of the clunkers found on the first set.Special praise needs to be handed out to the voice cast, which is uniformly excellent. Kevin Conroy IS Batman. Period, the end. He switches between the playboy Bruce Wayne and driven Dark Knight with ease, and his "Batman voice" is nowhere near as grating as Christian Bale's. All of the villains' voices ooze personality without sounding like characitures. The performers really make you believe the characters have feelings and souls underneath their brightly colored costumes. And of course, special praise should be given to Mark Hamill's absolutely inspired take on the Joker, which you can hear numerous times throughout this set.Although almost all the episodes on this set are good, standouts for me include:-"Robin's Reckoning," the Emmy-winning exploration of the Boy Wonder's origins (although Part I is definitely sronger than Part II)-"The Laughing Fish," a pretty straightforward adaptation of the seventies comic tale in which Joker tries to collect royalties on fish he has mutated to look like him-"If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?," the Riddler's origin story and a far more interesting take on the character than the laughing buffoon seen in the Adam West TV series or the mid-nineties film-"Almost Got 'Im," a brilliantly told series of vignettes in which each member of Batman's rogues gallery relates how they almost took out the Bat (Penguin and Joker's are the best tales)-"Harley and Ivy," which is a fan-favorite and definitely in my top 5 list of all time great episodes. The always fun Harley Quinn (voiced to a T by Arleen Sorken) is thrown out by the Joker and teams up with Poison Ivy on a seemingly unstoppable crime spree. This episode is a riot, but it also features a rather adult and complex portrayal of the Joker-Harley relationship, where he's clearly the abusive boyfriend but they both genuinely love each other. Plus, who knew Poison Ivy could be so funny?With 28 episodes on the set you get a lot of bang for your buck, and the featurettes and commentaries are an insightful look into the creation of the series (I genuinely wish there were more of them). Any Batman fan should purchase this set, as it features an adult take on the character without the disturbing violence and imagery seen in the recent films, making it perfect for family viewing. Both kids and adults will be entranced.

God! Where do I even start?! The second volume is a triumph! Its superhero storytelling at its best, and absolutely essential for all Batfans young and old!Heck, the episode called 'The Laughing Fish' is worth the money alone! Hands down the best episode of the Batman Animated Series, and honestly, one of my favorite Batman stories ever told in any medium. Whenever I get the chance to turn someone new on to this wonderful series, 'The Laughing Fish' is always the episode I pick out, and I have never had anyone tell me they were disappointed in the program I had selected. 'The Laughing Fish' is a phenomenal, stylish, disturbing, and cartoonish tour de force of superhero entertainment.But that's not all, folks! Almost every single episode is fantastic! Sure, its got its clunkers, 'Moon Of The Wolf' and 'Cat Scratch Fever' for example are God awful, but it also includes some of the best work to ever come out of the animated series.Along with the incredible Laughing Episode episode, volume two also boasts the Emmy Award winning two-parter 'Robin's Reckoning'. A very earnest and touching episode where the Boy Wonder's origin is completely explored, and I remember it being one of my favorites as a child. It hasn't lost its touch, the episode struck a chord with me. The darn thing works!There is another fantastic two-parter included here and it is called 'Heart Of Steel', and it is a fan favorite. A wonderful Sci-Fi Batman story that remains one of the most exciting episodes of the Animated Series.A few other stand-outs in volume two are the Riddler Episodes, and a Penguin episode titled 'Birds Of A Weather'. Paul Williams of Phantom Of The Paradise fame returns to give voice to the most sympathetic rendition of the beloved super villain. Penguin's best episode in the series and, most likely, the best Penguin tale there is in any medium.As a kid I really enjoyed the two episodes featuring a villain called Kyodai Ken, a master Ninja Assassin from Bruce Wayne's past. The better of the two, an episode called 'Day Of The Samurai' is still one of my favorite episodes in the show's run. I loved the character of Kyodai Ken, and although I wish Bruce Timm and Co. did more with the character, I respect the fact that he never became old, tiresome, or non-threatening. Great character.'Almost Got 'Im' is a Paul Dini classic, and another fan favorite. I was also quite partial to 'Perchance To Dream', it was a very bizarre and well done episode, almost like Batman does the Twilight Zone. I loved it. I think I might watch it again tonight actually, as it is a very absorbing story, and I enjoy the way they tell it.The second volume is, in my opinion, the very best of the Animated Series. Volume One was pretty good too, and Volume Three (with the exception of a few episodes) was a rather week set. Volume Two is Batman The Animated Series at the top of its game, at full stride, and it just never lets up. The special features are short but sweet, and the commentary tracks are both informative and funny as usual. Buy the discs for the shows. I'm so happy I did, they helped to renew a love for Batman I hadn't felt so intensely since I was a kid. And as you grow up, anything that makes you feel twenty years younger is a good thing. And this, this is a good thing.

This I bought mainly for the Tyger Tyger episode. Of the 28 episodes released between September 1992 and January 1993, the below are my favorites.Perchance to Dream. After being knocked out in a mysterious warehouse, Bruce wakes up in a world where his parents are alive, he is engaged to Selina Kyle, and someone else is Batman. But he cannot read anything. All devised by the Mad Hatter.The Laughing Fish. A personal favorite. The Joker starts threatening the patent office when they refuse to patent his deformed fish. Has lots of Harley Quinn.Cat Scratch Fever. When Catwoman searches for her missing cat, she uncovers a plot by Roland Daggett to infect Gotham City that Batman must stop. Bruce bails Selina out of jail and protects her later when she is infected and can barely move.The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne. Dr Hugo Strange uses his mind reading machine to learn Bruce's secret identity and attempts to auction it off to The Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face. But Two-Face refuses to believe Bruce Wayne is Batman. Dick Grayson impersonates Bruce in the last scene.Heart of Steel -- 2 parts -- First appearance of Batgirl. A hyper-sophisticated robot steals computer technology from Wayne Enterprises, leading Batman to a sentient supercomputer and its plans to replace humans with androids. Batman traces a series of robots to Cybertron's headquarters. Lots of references to R.U.R. play.Tyger Tyger. The best episode. Selina Kyle is captured by Dr. Emile Dorian and transformed into a humanoid cat creature. Tygrus falls for her. Very well-done.Almost Got 'Em. In a bar, a collection of Batman's enemies chat about their failed attempts to kill him. 4 stories. Catwoman saves Batman, then he saves Catwoman from Harley Quinn. Also Bruce impersonates Killer Croc. Has stories by Poison Ivy, then Two-Face, then Penguin, last and longest is by The Joker.I am the Night. Batman has serious doubts about his calling and he is depressed when Commissioner Gordon is seriously wounded by the Jazzman. But he feels better when Wizard thanks him and Gordon calls him a hero. The first appearance of Barbara Gordon.The Man Who Killed Batman. Sid the Squid tells his story of how he accidently seemed to have killed Batman, and now everyone wants to kill him, especially The Joker and Rupert Thorne. He is followed and saved twice by Batman. One scene has Harleen Quinzel pretending to be a lawyer bailing out Sid. Here she has a deeper voice.Zatanna. Zatanna Zatara, an old friend of Bruce Wayne from long ago, is framed for grand larceny, and Batman helps her to prove it was Dr. Montague Kane who committed the crime. Zatanna seems to be in love Bruce and knows him as John Smith.The Mechanic. The Penguin finds the mechanic (Earl Cooper) who designs the Batmobile and forces him to turn the current model into a deathtrap [an idea that had already been used in Batman Returns]. Batmobile destroyed. Also how Earl and Bruce met and built the Batmobile.Harley and Ivy. Another favorite. Harley Quinn teams up with Poison Ivy and both become the Queen of Crime, as Joker and Batman find out. The Joker had thrown Harley out, but ends up missing her. Harley tries to steal the Harlequin diamond, runs into Ivy and they become partners.There are others, but these are my favorites. Box set has documentaries on Robin Rising, Gotham's Guardian's, and Voices of the Knight.

In Batman - The Animated Series, Vol. 2, we see more of the classic episodes that added to the already large legend and popularity of one of comics' most enduring characters.DISC 1Eternal Youth - Seeking vengence for "crimes against nature", Poison Ivy sets up a vacation spa for unsuspecting philantrophists she blames for the ruining of the planet. One of those people, however, is Bruce Wayne/Batman's butler Alfred!Perchance To Dream - One of The Dark Knight's stranger episodes as he confronts not only The Mad Hatter.....BUT HIMSELF!The Cape & The Cowl Conspiracy - Batman takes on a thief who steals information and rare items by threating his victims with death traps. This time, this thief wants to steal the mask of Batman.Robin's Reckoning: Pt. 1 - Robin's past is revealed for the first time. We also see the first signs of conflict between Batman & Robin as both hunt down the murderer of Robin's parents seperately! This conflict was explored more in the re-vamped version of BatMan in later years.Robin's Reckoning: Pt. 2 - The conclusion of Robin's origin as we see him become (briefly) almost as dark as Batman himself as he finally faces off with his parents' killer!The Laughing Fish - One of the darker Joker episodes as The Joker tries to get a pattened on his grotesque version of fish!Night Of The Ninja - A part of Bruce Wayne's past is revealed as an old foe returns to seek revenge on him.BONUS FEATURE: Robin Rising - A unique look at this series' version of Robin. One thing is for sure, he isn't the Adam West version!DISC 2Cat Scratch Fever - Despite the threat of returning to jail, Selina Kyle is forced to become Catwoman again to stop a plaque on animals in Gotham but when she becomes infected herself, Batman comes to her aid.The Strange Secret Of Bruce Wayne - While investigating a blackmail scheme, Bruce Wayne runs across Dr. Hugo Strange whose hypnotherapy machine can actually read and see thoughts!Heart Of Steel: Pt. 1 - Dr. Carl Rosom, a genius in automatry/robotics, builds HARDAC to replace humankind after the death of his daughter but when he realizes own creation has plans of his own, he tries to stop it but its too late! Now, it is up to Batman to pull the plug on this super-computer before everyone he knows (not to mention the world) is replaced with robot duplicates!Heart Of Steel: Pt. 2 - The conclusion to this sci-fish but still great two parter!If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? - The debut of The Riddler as he seeks revenge on an employer that cheated him out of money for work.Joker's Wild - The Joker escapes from prison to wreck a casino in his name, not knowing that he's actually being duped in a much larger scheme.Tyger, Tyger - Catwoman is captured and mutated into a half-woman/half-cat being! Batman must rescue her BUT he must face Tygress, the perfect hybird of human intelligence and cat-like ferocity!BONUS: Gotham's Guardians - A look at Batman's supporting cast of heroes and villians!DISC 3Moon Of The Wolf - A star athlete drinks a steriodial compound that turns him into a werewolf!Day Of The Samari - Batman returns to Japan to face off with The Ninja! This is pt. 2 (though not officially) from Disc 1's "Night Of The Ninja."Terror In The Sky - Man-Bat has returned or so it seems! Is Kurt Langstrom becoming this vicious creature again or is someone else taking to the skies?!Almost Got 'Im - An entertaining look at The Joker, The Penguin, Two-Face, Poision Ivy and Killer Croc's tales of how they almost got BatMan!Birds Of A Feather - The Penguin tries to go straight for a female who does nothing but use him for her own gain! Now, the jilted bird wants revenge!What Is Reality? - Batman & Robin fight to save Commissioner Gordon from The Riddler's computer VR game.I Am The Night - One of the most (if not THE most) emotional episodes as Bruce Wayne nearly gives up being Batman after Commissioner Gordon is nearly killed!BONUS: Voices Of The Knight - Meet the actors that bring these characters to life!DISC 4Off Balance - Batman must team with a mysterious woman to take on Vertigo! This eppy also features the first appearance of Raus Al Gul, one of Batman's greatest enemies!The Man Who Killed Batman - A bumbling thief seemingly gets lucky and kills Batman! Now, he has all of Gotham (including The Joker) after him!Mudslide - Continuing the "Feat Of Clay" two parter from Vol. 1, Clayface returns to find a cure at all costs for his condition only to cross paths with Batman.Paging The Crime Doctor - The brother of gangster Rupert Thorne is forced to perform an illegal operation with the unwilling help of an old collegue.Zatanna - A woman from Bruce Wayne's past is framed for a crime she didn't do. Batman aids her in finding the real thief!The Mechanic - The Penguin blackmails Batman's private mechanic into rigging the Batmobile for a trip of doom! I should note that the man voicing Earl The Mechanic in this one is the late, great Paul Winfield!Harley & Ivy - The two femme fatales team up to take on Gotham, The Batman & The Joker!This volume is well worth the money! Add this to Vol. 1 & Vol. 3 (plus get BatMan: Mask Of The Phantasm and Batman/Mr. Freeze: SubZero) and you'll have the original collection of episodes!I SEE NOW THEY ARE COMING OUT WITH THE RE-VAMPED EPISODES IN DECEMBER! YES, MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! THE STORYLINE WILL NOW BE COMPLETE!Anyway, the product is worth the $30!

In this review I,ve decided to consitrate on the audio commentary. In ROBIN'S REKCONING part 1 Bruce Timm and Eric Rodominski discuss the character development of Robin and his relationship with Batman.The fight scenes and Robin's confrontation with Batman over Tony Zucco are fully realized and dramatically portrayed!In ALMOST GOT 'IM Bruce Timm, Eric Rodominski and Paul Dini discuss the villains who are playing cards and talking about Batman. Killer Croc is talking dumb and is actully Batman pretending he is Croc and Bruce finds it amusing he does this and the directers are commenting on the quality of the animation! All of the villains, sultry and sexy Poison Ivy, brutal Killer Croc, the crafty Penquin and the mad Joker are all well animated as is Two Face with good body language and gestures! Contrast this to the comment made about vol 1 in which the writer said the animation would be more exciting if it were less stiff and more animated! Considering certain budget restraits the animation is marvellous and the characters are very expressive!In HARLEY AND IVY the contrast of the sexy Ivy and the goofy Harley is fully realized in the body language of the two girls and Bruce Timm's comments along Boyd Kirkland agree with just how expressive the girls really are! Whether it's takes or expressions as well as actions the characters are full bodied characters even when the budgets are fairly tight! While GARGOYLES has a higher budget from Disney, if it weren't for the success of BATMAN the ANIMATED SERIES there would be NO GARGOYLES!I'm amazed at just how attractive the backrounds really are! When I recorded this show it was on vhs tape. In 2015 I'm watching these episodes for the first time on crystal clear DVD and i'm blown away by the quality of the craftsmanship! In HEART OF STEEL A Barberra Gordon. before Batgirl, does battle with a bunch of androids and Kevin Alteiri mentions his enjoyment of japanese anime as an enfluence on the episode! The 1990s saw a rise in creativity and we won't see animation rise to the level of the hand drawnanimation of the 1990s again! Not even the cgi computer graphics can match the power of hand drawn animation in the 20th century! I can hardly wait tor BATMAN vol 1 and 3 to come out by next weds!

I have seen all the episodes from the original animated series, from vol. 1 to vol. 3 (Vol.4 is another version of the show, so I won't include it). The original animated series is SUPERB. I mean... is everything that everybody wants from Batman! Is dark, action-packed, and the script and animation are fantastic.BTAS Vol. 2 is loaded with many good episodes but I don't think that they were so good as Vol. 1. In fact, I think that the only reason that this volume is worth buying it, is because of the two Riddler episodes ("If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?", "What is Reality?") and four episodes that includes Joker and Harley ("The Laughing Fish", "Almost Got 'Im", "The Man Who Killed Batman", "Harley and Ivy")The rest of the episodes are pretty good. The Penguin episodes are MUCH better than the one in Vol. 1, the two Ninja episodes are pretty cool, the Robin episodes are very emotional, the Hugo Strange (Egghead) episode is kind of funny, the Mad Hatter episode is very confusing, the "Heart of Steel Part 2" episode is action-packed, and the episode "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy" is very interesting.I didn't liked "Tyger, Tyger" and "Moon of the Wolf". I also found the episode "Mudslide" pretty weak for a Clayface episode. The rest is okay (I was very disappointed that there were no Scarecrow episodes).NOW! I don't recommend BTAS Vol. 3!! Unless you are a Harley fan, Ra's Al Ghul fan, or Batgirl fan (there are only 3 Harley episodes, 3 Batgirl episodes, and 4 Ra's Al Ghul episodes). The rest of the episodes are pretty weak and cliché! Also, my second favorite villains which are Riddler and Scarecrow were tuned down here! I mean... Scarecrow only makes a small appearance in a couple of episodes and the Riddler episode was VERY weak. :(Adios.

After the absolutely stunning run of action cartoons in the 80's, the 90's were suffering from a serious backlash against "violent" programming and there were no exciting cartoons left on the air.That is until this absolute masterpiece of a cartoon series began airing in 1992. This series hit the ground running with astounding story-telling and a dynamic visual style that was brought off with a new animation technique that was developed specifically for this show.Stylistically, the show is set in a 1940's art-deco esque Gotham with a modern twist that is perfectly accented by the noir-film style that each episode is produced with. The story telling is dark and exciting, yet never too violent or scary for young-ones (no blood etc.) and the writers absolutely nailed the character of Batman and his cast of Rogues who are brought to life with astounding voice acting.If you like Batman, this is the best television series/DVD collection they have made to date.This second season collection includes the classic episodes: Perchance to Dream, Night of the Ninja, Day of the Samurai, Joker's Wild, and the fan favourite Almost Got 'im which features Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc. all discussing the time they came closest to getting the Bat. A MUST HAVE for Batman fans!

Avendo preso poco tempo fa il primo volume, non potevo farmi mancare pure il secondo. Confermo come già scritto che contiene pure la lingua italiana. Batman TAS è una serie leggendaria per chi come me è cresciuto a cartoni e action figure negli anni 90. Questo secondo volume, come il primo contiene altri 28 episodi, distribuiti in quattro dischi. Ahinoi il volume tre (quello che dovrebbe completare la mitica serie) è sprovvisto della lingua italiana e per i ""malati di completismo"" come me, puó essere un problema.

Una sería de colección para los fans del hombre murciélago. Llegó bien empacada y la calidad es aceptable. Contiene audio latino.

Ah Batman TAS! Great, great show! I almost enjoy it MORE as an adult, as I grew up watching this!I'm still hoping for an eventual HD transfer (though a lot say it's as improbable as it is quasi-impossible technically), but for DVD standard, the playback shows pretty well.The Volume 2 includes Almost Got Im, probably the best episode ever on TAS.Commentaries by Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski, Paul Dini and co. are lively and interesting. The one on Heart of Steel part II is espacially entertaining, they recall fondly the great time they had on this episode and what level of violence they could get away with. Of course, same fond memory goes for any other commentary on volume 1 and 2, as they are still proud to be a part of that legacy.What are you doing Bat-fan, BUY THE ANIMATED SERIES DVD if you don't already own it! Rewatch value at it's best! :)

Genau wie ich es mir vorgestellt hab. Schreibe die Rezension nur weil Amazon meinte die DVD sei verloren gegangen. Ist aber perfekt angekommen 10/10

This second volume of the old but brilliant 'Batman: The Animated Series' contains a further twenty-five episodes across four discs with all of them being extremely good. As with the previous volume, the episodes in this set are mostly episodic in nature, with a couple of two part episodes as well, but despite the lack of an overall series arc the quality of each episode is high enough that I don't mind such a lack.This volume includes some very well-known and extremely entertaining episodes. Highlights of the volume include 'Laughing Fish' that sees the Joker try to copyright all the fish in Gotham, 'Cat Scratch Fever' where Catwoman tries to go straight but finds her cat is missing, and 'Almost Got I'm', probably one of the funniest episodes of the series as a whole that sees various villains recount how they almost killed Batman. The volume also includes what is probably my favourite episode of the entire series, 'I am the Night', where Batman has something of a crisis of confidence brought on by the anniversary of his parent's death and a mistake during a bust.The episodes in this volume also introduce a number of new characters such as a pre Batgirl Barbara Gordon, the Riddler, the Society of Shadows (along with Talia and Ra's al Ghul) and Zatanna. All these new characters are well voiced the existing cast still do a very good job with their performances. As with the previous volume, the animation of the series is looking a little dated these days but is by no means terrible.This second volume of 'Batman: The Animated Series' continues to be extremely entertaining and the series as a whole is one of, if not the best animated versions of Batman and is easily worth a full five stars.