The Joker was Batman's deadliest arch-enemy who was menacing, merciless, shrewd, and extremely dangerous. He exasperated every wicked trick to take over Gotham City, make a profit and ruin Batman's life both emotionally and physically. The “Clown Prince of Crime” had no pity for anybody he forced to take part in his wicked schemes either by intimidation or fraud, and was particularly unkind to his sidekick and love interest Harley Quinn, such as manipulating her to amuse himself. He also escaped death several times after his defeats with Batman.

Batman: The Animated Series is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Mitch Brian, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it originally aired on Fox Kids from September 5, 1992, to September 15, 1995, with a total of 85 episodes. For the final 20 episodes, the series was given the on-screen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin, which was also used for reruns of earlier episodes. The series became the first in the continuity of the shared DC Animated Universe, spawning further animated TV series, feature films, comic books and video games with most of the same creative talent.It also marked the first DC Comics animated series to be produced by Warner Bros. Animation, as DC's prior series like The Batman/Superman Hour, Super Friends and Swamp Thing were produced by Filmation, Hanna-Barbera and DiC Entertainment, respectively.

The series was praised for its thematic complexity, film noir aesthetics, darker tone, artistic presentation, and modernization of its title character's crime-fighting origins IGN.com listed Batman: The Animated Series as the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of comics, the best comic book television show of all time and the second-best animated series of all time (after The Simpsons). Wizard magazine also ranked it No. 2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after The Simpsons). TV Guide ranked it the seventh-greatest cartoon of all time.[8] The widespread acclaim led the series to win four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.