DC’s animated lineup, much like their live-action movies, is rather inconsistent in terms of quality, but the animated lineup has a higher percentage of good vs bad than the live action one does, so here is a list of the 10 best movies released so far. Yes, the majority of this list is Batman and Superman films, but that’s just the way it crumbles: Batman has somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 movies of his own out of around 50 titles in total.

10. Justice League: War (2014)
Justice League: War is the first in a long running series of DC Animated Movies based on the New 52 Justice League run from the comics. This story follows the members of the Justice League coming together to battle Darkseid and his invading army of Parademons. It’s a fun movie, while not too impressive or amazing, and the series that follows certainly has ups and downs. 

9. The Dark Knight Returns Parts 1 & 2 (2012/2013)
A two-part adaptation of the comic of the same name, The Dark Knight Returns focuses on Batman in his old age trying to fight against the current crime gang known as the mutants. Feeling the wear and tear of his old age, Bruce struggles to deal with his villains and the police force as they’ve grown less tolerant of his vigilantism. This story gets some mixed reception comic-wise, but I think the movies do enough to heighten some aspects to make it overall a good time. 

8. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
A sequel in a small duology of Superman/Batman team-up movies, with the preceding being Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. This movie focuses on Supergirl’s sudden appearance on earth. Cousin to Superman and just as strong as him, she struggles to find where she belongs, trying to deal with Superman’s reputation, Batman’s skepticism and Wonder Woman wanting to train her on Themyscira. A sudden kidnapping from Darkseid helps no one either, causing The Trinity to embark on a rescue mission to save her. This movie has great scenes and a fantastic vocal performance of Andre Braugher as Darkseid. 

7. Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Despite being a big event, this movie is a standalone to watch. Based on the popular comic event, this story follows Barry Allen, aka The Flash, as he goes back in time to save his mother from being murdered. To his surprise, his action causes a chain of alterations in the timeline, resulting in a much different world he returns to in the present. This is definitely one of the most popular DC animated movies and for good reason. 

6. Superman Vs The Elite (2012)
This movie focuses on Superman as he encounters new heroes known as The Elite, led by Manchester Black, someone with strong psychic abilities. However these new heroes don’t seem to hold to Superman’s convictions about not killing and minimizing harm when fighting villains. This conflict forces Superman to confront these new “heroes” and show them what being a hero is all about. It’s an interesting story that does some entertaining things with Superman’s character. 

5. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
For the fans of the popular cartoon, Batman the Animated Series, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is a great movie set in that world. Flashing back to the earliest days of Bruce’s vigilante career, this movie shows a previous relationship Bruce had with a woman named Andrea. While in the present, a mysterious new vigilante is killing mob bosses around Gotham, forcing Batman to unravel the mystery. A phenomenal emotional story for Bruce as a character, with the BTAS charm, cast and style to add to the experience. 

4. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
Fan-favorite sequel series Batman Beyond has its own movie with Return of the Joker. Decades after his death, The Joker returns to terrorize Gotham again, much to Bruce and the new Batman and protector of Gotham, Terry McGinnis’ dismay. Terry has to adjust to fighting Batman’s greatest foe, while also figuring out how he could even be alive. This movie is a great entry in the story of Batman Beyond and adds an element of depth to the BTAS universe. 

3. All-Star Superman (2011)
This movie, based on one of the most popular Superman stories, follows Superman in his final days. He finds out that he is dying due to solar radiation poisoning his cells. He took in more than he could handle and now he’s paying the price. But before he goes he decides to do as much as he can to help people. Whether that’s showing Lois Lane an amazing look into his life as a hero for both the sake of her story and their relationship, making sure new heroes are prepared to take over for him, or dealing with whatever scheme super villain Lex Luthor has planned before his scheduled execution, which coincidentally is around the same time Superman’s sickness will take his life. This movie is a great look into Superman’s character and especially Lex’s character and their relationship. 

2. Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
A pseudo-anthology style movie, there is a central plot that runs throughout the whole movie. It’s divided up into six segments all done by different animation studios, resulting in a variety of creative art and animation to experience this Batman tale in. The main plot subtly builds in the background of these more self-contained segments, as to not take away from the unique story beats and emotional moments these segments provide. A fantastically unique Batman story both in terms of visual style and story moments. 

1. Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
While this story is much different from the comic with the same name, it still manages to be an extremely entertaining experience and an interesting story featuring the introduction of the character of The Red Hood and the tragedy his character faces. Accompanied by amazing vocal performances by John DiMaggio as The Joker and Jensen Ackles as the titular Red Hood, this movie remains to this day one of the most praised entries in DC’s animated lineup.

If you’re interested in expanding your superhero tastes by venturing into DC Animation, any of these movies work as a great entryway into that world, and they are available to stream on HBO Max.