The Batman is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Michael Goguen and Duane Capizzi, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series first aired on Kids' WB on September 11, 2004, then Cartoon Network on April 2, 2005. The show would become exclusive to the former network for its third, fourth, and fifth seasons in early 2006. The Batman won six Daytime Emmy Awards over the course of its run. Many elements from previous Batman storylines were borrowed and adapted, such as those from the comic books, film series and the animated shows like Batman: The Animated Series from the DC Animated Universe, but it remained strictly within its own distinct continuity. Jackie Chan Adventures artist Jeff Matsuda served as art director and provided the character designs. The production team altered the appearances of many of the comic books' supervillains for the show, such as the Joker, the Penguin, and the Riddler. All five seasons are available on DVD. In 2005, a direct-to-DVD movie titled The Batman vs. Dracula was released. The Batman also received a spin-off comic book series, The Batman Strikes!, published by DC Comics; it was set in the same continuity as the show and featured the same art style. Synopsis The Batman, the costumed protector of Gotham City, is secretly billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (voiced by Rino Romano). The series focuses on Batman's earlier years of his crime-fighting career, as he began fighting crime three years prior to the start of the series, and the Gotham City police do not publicly acknowledge the vigilante's existence. Operating out of a secret lair underneath Bruce Wayne's mansion—known as the Batcave—Batman and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan), stop crime with the assistance of high-tech gadgets and a supercomputer. Season 1 At the start of the first season, crime in Gotham is in decline, but Gotham Chief of Police Angel Rojas (voiced in the pilot by Edward James Olmos and later by Jesse Corti), orders his officers to hunt down Batman. This marks the first acknowledgment of Batman's existence in the series. Despite the chief's orders, one of his detectives, Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steven Harris), believes the city needs Batman. At the start of the series, Bennett is assisted by a new partner from Metropolis, Ellen Yin (voiced by Ming-Na), who slowly becomes torn between her commitment to