DC characters you enjoy more outside of comics

[Vakanai]

Dick Grayson, his comic book versions I've read are too hit or miss.

[Noodle]

I do like Clark. Much prefer more Clark time. I just didn't much care for that show, anyway. I don't really recall why, to be honest. I seem to remember it playing up some sort Bruce/Lois angle (flirtation), which I dislike a great deal (didn't care for the Bruce/Diana angle in JL, either, and loathed the Bruce/Barbara thing so very much). Frankly, being connected to TNBA did NOT help. Liked it so much better when it was B:TAS. If it hadn't been Bruce all three times, it might have been different, but it wasn't. This was long before I ever watched any comics, and DCAU was where I began to dislike Batman a good bit. I do enjoy some stuff with him in mostly older comics.

So, I didn't really care for that Lois very much when I started. Not really big on Lana in Clark's adult life, either, though that's not a deal-breaker, and didn't liker her dating Lex (which I don't like Lois doing either, I admit). I quit regularly watching pretty quickly, so only recall that it didn't grab me. Except for the Bruce/Lois thing (which might have been Justice League for all I can remember - haven't watched any of it since original airing), I couldn't even tell you what I didn't care for about it. No passionate feelings, just that it didn't keep me interested.

edit: I remember really liking the opening episodes. After that, not so much. Looking the episode guides, I did keep watching throughout the first season. Looks like I just didn't pick up again after the hiatus between seasons. Looks like I only saw three or four random eps after that.

Yeah, that was when they moved Batman from Fox to WB and since they were on the same network tried to integrate them together since they were on the same network. In a way it was good because it was the ground floor for the DCAU, but, man, that first year or so was kinda rough. So I get that. I was kinda on the other side of that coin, as I really didn't like the Batman cartoon after it moved to WB vs. being on Fox. That was mostly for the change in animation and character designs, though.

[stargazer01]

Probably Wonder Woman. She seem more likable in live action so far to me. I liked her in her movie, the Lynda Carter TV show, BvS and JL. She was very friendly and caring in JL.

Also the Flash was very charming in the first 2 seasons of his newer TV show and in animation. I don't read his comics, except in JL ones, but he seems more charismatic in other media.

[Tzigone]

I was kinda on the other side of that coin, as I really didn't like the Batman cartoon after it moved to WB vs. being on Fox. That was mostly for the change in animation and character designs, though.

I didn't like the animation change, I admit. It was so different. I was disappointed Dick wasn't a regular (he was my favorite). But I really hated what happened with Dick and Bruce and Dick and Barbara. Fortunately, I've forgotten most of the specifics (not all, alas).

[L.H.]

Kaldur'ahm and Beast Boy.

[Blue22]

Beast Boy and Raven. It feels kinda blasphemous to say that when they're my favorite two superheroes but I've always had a soft spot for their portrayals in the 2003 cartoon. Course I could also be biased because that cartoon was what introduced me to the characters.

Gar's characterization in all three Young Justice seasons is REALLY good too. I actually prefer his origin there over his actual one.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Batman. There has never been a better version of the character than the one that appeared throughout BTAS all the way through JLU. None of the comic book versions have come close.

Wonder Woman. The comic book version has grown on me a lot in recent years but Gal Gadot really elevated the character for me. It's the same as Christopher Reeve as Superman except that with Superman, the movies just aren't anywhere near as good as the comics at their best.

[Adekis]

I get that. Seems (to me at least) that there's kind of two types of Superman fans: The ones that like Superman and the ones that like Clark. I fall into the second category and the shows did a great job of establishing his world (i.e. Lois, Lex, The Daily Planet, Smallville, Cadmus, fleshing out his villains).

But, to each their own.

I think the DCAU Superman starts off really good, and becomes... something else.

See, as a Superman fan, STAS does a lot for me. The worldbuilding of Superman's universe (not just Metropolis), the characterization of both Kal/Clark and Lois, the variety of villains, the brilliant use of supporting characters - all stellar. It's not perfect. Any time Batman is there, it's obvious that Bruce Timm has a favorite, and I definitely get kind of tired of Superman keeling over from getting tased or shot like he's Spider-Man or something, but the characterization and story work does so well that I can forgive that stuff.

But then in JL and JLU, we lose most of Superman's World. No more Lois, no more Jimmy, no more Daily Planet, and crucially, no more Clark. See, the version of a Clark Kent fan that I am is very, let's say "glasses-centric"? I really dislike the trend of looking at Superman, in full costume no less, and calling him "Clark" like just the name is enough to give him that crucial tether to everyday humanity. And then making him less emotionall stable, or less of a moral paragon to boot, because without Clark, you allegedly need him to be more vulnerable. But really what it means is there's a few seasons there where Superman's kind of a self-righteous jerk and the writers are threatening to turn him evil.

And don't get me wrong! I actually love the Cadmus arc of JLU season 1, and I love most of the rest of the show generally. Just focusing on Cadmus because I think it's where Superman most threatens to turn evil and acts self-righteous and less likable. I think it's one of the best superhero stories ever. But it's more like a super Game of Thrones than anything else. Batman's kind of a jerk. Superman's kind of a jerk. You want them to become their best possible selves, but you know they won't. They'll be good enough to affirm that these are characters you like, but not enough to stop having the occasional moment of strained drama. And it's not like I think it doesn't work in-universe - er, at least for Superman. In Batman's case I can't trace Bruce's descent from paragon in BTAS to jerk in JLU very clearly, but for Superman, it seems pretty clear that poor Clark just never fully recovered from the events of "Legacy," when Darkseid took away his sense of identity and turned him against Earth. And it's a fair cop!

But the relatively realistic and well-done portrayals of a less emotionally unstable, more self-righteous Superman that might conceivably become a fascist in a parallel world, eventually mutated into something like Injustice, which becomes that scene in Batman v Superman where a future Superman apparently willingly works for Darkseid because Lois died, or that line in the Supergirl TV show where Clark breaks down because he legitimately doesn't know whether he could choose between saving Lois or greater numbers of people. This despite the fact that in 1978, he doesn't even hesitate to save a train or a schoolbus or a town over Lois, and it leads to the [in]famous climax.

What I'm saying isn't that the DCAU is bad. It's not. It's actually stellar. But like some people who have trouble embracing Batman after BTAS, I have some trouble embracing the DCAU Superman after STAS. And beyond that, I think some trends that JL started had some pretty negative consequences for the character's wider pop culture image down the line.

...

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Well that was a wall of text. Sorry about that. I know I can be overly wordy.

I think Kaldur'ahm is the best DC character not to be half as good in the comics as he is on TV.

[Vampire Savior]

Oh gee. Lots of characters. It's really hard to beat Heath Ledger's Joker. Speaking of which, Harley Quinn is better in the DCAU than in anywhere else. John Stewart and Shayera Hol are way better in the DCAU than they are in the comics. I also prefer the DCAU Brainiac over any of the comics incarnations I've read...the same goes for Lex Luthor. When I consider it, it's actually going to be a long list. It might actually be easier to ask me what characters I think are better in comics than in other media.

[j9ac9k]

Honestly, almost all the ones on tv. I don't read Flash or Supergirl or Black Lightning or anything with the Legends crew, but I enjoy their shows. Green Arrow is the big exception because I enjoy comics Ollie a lot more than tv Ollie. Oh, and also Black Canary (although at this point I might like White Canary more)

And while I love comics Doom Patrol, DCUniverse DP is amazing.

And in terms of movies, definitely Aquaman.

[SiegePerilous02]

It depends on which comics, but for Batman I vastly prefer early BTAS Batman (and less serious stuff like the Adam West show) to most modern takes on the character. I dislike later DCAU Bruce and how he became colder in TNBA and Beyond, or how the worship of him got out of control in JL/U, but the guys in the original seasons is perfect. And as he was my first exposure to the character, I am typically drawn to similar versions. Bronze Age Bruce is my favorite.

DCAU Joker is also considerably better than the comics version. Helps that they kept him affably evil throughout most of the show, and killed him off just as he was getting too heinous, which the comics will not do. In fact, in general I'd say all the characters who appeared in BTAS are either just as good or better than their comic counterparts. The big exceptions maybe being Dick and Babs, who have too much history with the Titans and BOP that couldn't make it into the shows, but even they are still great. Barring the creepy romance with Bruce, DCAU Babs is more fun than most of her comic versions while also being able to easily slide into a serious story.

DCAU Shayera is the best version and why Thanagarian Hawkgirl/woman isn't the main female Hawk in the comics after that still mystifies me. I really don't care for the reincarnated lovers angle at all.

Jason Momoa's Aquaman. Helps that Arthur may be among the least consistently defined of the major DC heroes, so them writing the character's personality around Momoa works.

For Kid Flash-era Wally, YJ and TT Wally are better than the comics.

[KangMiRae]

Batman! I think he's cool in the comics for sure, but I enjoy him more in every other adaption or representation other than the comics.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I really enjoyed Adam Wests Batman. I am not a fan of the Batgod dick that he seemed to turn into in the newer comics. Adam West just had a fun mix of cheesy and adventure that I still love watching to this day.

I think you'll really enjoy Bendis & Derrington's Batman Universe. It's very much channeling an Adam West vibe

[hareluyafan1]

Is there anyone in the DCU you prefer in outside media than reading about in comics?

Swamp Thing.

My first ever exposure to the character was the 1991 cartoon and I absolutely love it. I've grown to like the comics as well but the cartoon remains my favourite version of the character and his world.