The following is a list of characters that have appeared in the television series The Batman, which ran from September 11, 2004, to March 22, 2008, as well as the show's tie-in comic called The Batman Strikes!. The animation style bears a strong resemblance to that of Jackie Chan Adventures, since Jeff Matsuda was the chief character designer for both shows. Many of the supervillains who appear in the series, like the Joker, Penguin and Riddler, are very different from their comic counterparts, and notable foes of Batman such as Two-Face, Scarecrow, Ra's al Ghul, and Mad Hatter are absent from the series altogether, though Scarecrow had early concept art made for him before he was barred from appearing, and Two-Face was planned to make an appearance in the tie-in comic book series, before it was cancelled by issue #50 in October 2008. Other characters that were planned to appear in the tie-in comic (but ultimately did not) were Wonder Woman, Bizarro, (who both had concept art made for them), Vigilante and Owlman.
Main characters Batman / Bruce Wayne (voiced by Rino Romano) is a billionaire playboy and philanthropist who secretly operates as a vigilante. The character is based on the comic book character of the same name and follows the same premise and origin, in which his parents are murdered in front of him at a young age and swears vengeance on criminals. The show follows Batman early in his career. Batman goes on to join the Justice League in the fifth season. Robin / Dick Grayson (voiced by Eve Sabara) is a 12-year-old former circus performer who Batman adopts after Tony Zucco murders his parents, the Flying Graysons. His origin in "A Matter of Family" follows Dick Grayson from the comic books with the exception of his being Batman's second sidekick after Batgirl. Dick appears as Nightwing in flashbacks depicted in the episode "Artifacts", voiced by Jerry O'Connell. Batgirl / Barbara Gordon (voiced by Danielle Judovits) is Jim Gordon's 16-year old daughter, who becomes a vigilante after being inspired by Batman. Her origin in the two-part "Batgirl Begins" deviates slightly from the comics in her acting as Batman's first sidekick prior to the introduction of Robin. "Artifacts" included sections set in the year 2027 with the character appearing as Oracle (voiced by Kellie Martin). Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan) is Batman's butler and surrogate father.
Supporting characters The Gotham City Police Department is the police department who was at odds with Batman's vigilante work until Commissioner Gordon came into view. Clayface / Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steve Harris) is a police detective and childhood friend of Batman. Bennett was created specifically for the series as one of three recurring police officers to interact with Batman. He is a supporter of Batman and is Bruce Wayne's high school friend within the Gotham City Police Department. At the end of the first season, Bennett is transformed into Clayface after being exposed to Joker Putty. Bennett remains Clayface until the fourth season episode "Clayfaces", where he is cured and restored to his human form. In a future depicted in the episode "Artifacts", Bennett is mentioned as having become Gotham City Chief of Police, replacing Angel Rojas. Jim Gordon (voiced by Mitch Pileggi) is the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department. He would later ally with Batman after he managed to apprehend Joker, Penguin, and Riddler. Angel Rojas (voiced by Edward James Olmos in the first appearance, Jesse Corti in later appearances) was created specifically for the show as one of three recurring police officers to interact with Batman. He is the head of the precinct where Ellen Yin and Ethan Bennett work. He believes Batman is the worst aspect of the criminal element and makes capturing him a priority. Ellen Yin (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) was created specifically for the show as one of three recurring police officers to interact with Batman, though her name and character arc are reminiscent of the character Ellen Yindel from The Dark Knight Returns. Yin is a new transfer to the Gotham City Police Department who does things by the book. She initially opposes Batman and aspires to capture and unmask him. Later in the series, Yin develops a grudging respect for Batman and eventually becomes his ally. In "Artifacts", Yin is mentioned as the future Police Commissioner of Gotham City, replacing a retired Jim Gordon. Cash Tankinson (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is a police officer in the Gotham City Police Department. He was first seen when paired up with Ellen Yin as a brief replacement for Ethan Bennett. In his second appearance, Cash was assigned by Commissioner Gordon to protect Bruce Wayne from Cosmo Krank. Marion Grange (voiced by Adam West) is the mayor of Gotham City for the first four seasons of the series. Lucius Fox (voiced by Louis Gossett Jr.), based on the version from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, is an employee at Wayne Enterprises, an old friend of Bruce Wayne's father, and knowing Bruce's secret identity as Batman. Though he only briefly appears at the end of season 4 and early in season 5, it is revealed he knows Bruce's secret identity and has been helping him behind the scenes for most of the series: having helped him design most of his arsenal, along with the construction of the Batcave.
Antagonists
Bane (voiced by Joaquim de Almeida in "Traction", Ron Perlman in "Team Penguin", Clancy Brown in "The Batman/Superman Story") is a South American mercenary who derives superhuman strength from the Venom steroid. Black Mask (voiced by James Remar) is a meticulous and ruthless crime lord. He has no fingerprints or distinguishing features, making him difficult to identify. Black Mask is the head of a criminal organization which he runs through a second-in-command known as "Number One". Number One is the name of several top henchmen who serve Black Mask. When a Number One disappoints Black Mask, he either demotes that person or disposes of them, followed by a random minion becoming the new Number One. The first Number One (voiced by Diedrich Bader) is a silver-haired man who sports tactical goggles. The second Number One is dressed as a basic Black Mask thug. This Number One's status was unknown. The third Number One (voiced by John Mariano) has black hair and tactical goggles. After Number One disapproves of his plan, Black Mask disposes of him by exposing him to Nth Metal, causing him to fly away into the atmosphere. The fourth Number One is an eyepatch-wearing woman. The Black Mask Thugs are the basic minions of Black Mask. Catwoman / Selina Kyle (voiced by Gina Gershon) is a professional cat burglar and activist. Catwoman is the only recurring villain in the series who's never arrested and never unmasked by Batman, leaving it unlikely he even knows her true identity. Clayface / Basil Karlo (voiced by Wallace Langham in "Clayfaces", Lex Lang in "The Batman/Superman Story") is a failed actor who steals a sample of Joker Putty and gains superpowers. He operates as the second Clayface in a bid to gain attention. Cluemaster / Arthur Brown (voiced by Glenn Shadix as an adult, Kath Soucie as a child) is a former game show contestant who seeks revenge on those he believes rigged the show and cost him his title as champion. Though he became obese while living in his mother's basement, he built up the strength to support his body weight and is shown to make use of this strength when he fought Batman. Cluemaster's Minions are the dwarfish servants of Cluemaster who wear full masks. They are implied to be members of Cluemaster's former baseball team. Captain Slash (voiced by Diedrich Bader) is a villain from an in-universe video game played by Robin and Marty Slack. Count Dracula (voiced by Peter Stormare) is based on the traditional character of the same name, adapted for The Batman vs. Dracula. Dracula's corpse was sent from Transylvania to Gotham City after he was staked. Penguin accidentally revives him when blood from a cut falls on Dracula's heart. He began feeding on the people of Gotham, turning them into his minions nicknamed the Lost Ones and allowing the Batman to be blamed. Posing as cultural anthropologist Dr. Alucard, Dracula attempts to seduce Vicky Vale to use her soul to revive his immolated bride Carmela Karnstein. However, Batman manages to find a cure for all of the Lost Ones, returning them to humans. Dracula is disintegrated after Batman lures him to a device that generates sunlight. Count Vertigo (voiced by Greg Ellis) is a former employee of Queen Industries who uses an eyepiece to induce vertigo. Everywhere Man / John Marlowe (voiced by Brandon Routh) was created specifically for the show. He is presented as an art collector and scientist specializing in quantum physics who is friends with Bruce Wayne. He creates a device called the Quantex which can duplicate matter, and uses it to duplicate himself. However, the duplicate has a slightly darker personality and eventually locks the original up, takes his place, and begins using other duplicates to commit theft. Firefly / Garfield Lynns / Phosphorus (voiced by Jason Marsden) is an arsonist who wields a bug-like suit. Late in the series, he steals a phosphorus isotope and is accidentally transformed into a metahuman with innate fire abilities. Dr. Jane "Blaze" Blaisedale (voiced by Rachael MacFarlane) is a nuclear physicist who is fired after conducting unsafe experiments, later allying with Firefly. Gearhead / Nathaniel Finch (voiced by Will Friedle) is a criminal racer who can hack into vehicles using cybernetic implants in his arms and possesses retractable claws. The Batman Strikes! reveals him to be a former underground racing celebrity who was injured in an accident and rendered quadriplegic before an unknown doctor gave him cybernetic implants. Francis Grey (voiced by Dave Foley) is a clockmaker and thief who stole a pocket watch which led to his arrest after he bumped into a police officer and sent a hot dog cart into traffic causing a power outage, a four car pileup, and a tanker truck exploding. After being imprisoned for years, Grey develops the ability to rewind time for a specific amount of seconds and battles Batman. After his son was killed in a poison bomb that was meant to take out Gotham City, Grey rewinds time to the day he stole the pocket watch. He decides not to steal the watch, causing the timeline to change. In the present, he now runs a clock repair company with his son. The Joining is an extraterrestrial technology-based collective entity intent on absorbing Earth. They battle Batman in the fourth and fifth season finales, "The Joining" and "Lost Heroes", with "The Joining" seeing Batman form the Justice League to combat them. Joker (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is Batman's maniacal nemesis, bent on causing chaos and making people laugh. While this version of Joker has green dreadlocks and is shown to be barefoot, he does wear spats-like coverings when he later wears his traditional suit. He wields various gadgets, but is equally skilled in combat, using his feet as dexterously as his hands to increase his mobility. Harley Quinn / Harleen Quinzel (voiced by Hynden Walch) is initially a psychiatrist who works on a talk show. The Joker, being a fan of her show, decides to take Harley on a night on the town to help her get over being fired for trying to humiliate Bruce Wayne on television. Punch and Judy (voiced by an uncredited Rino Romano when impersonated by Clayface) are the Joker's henchmen. Prank / Donnie (voiced by Michael Reisz) is a classmate of Barbara Gordon who the Joker temporarily recruits as his sidekick. Donnie joins the Joker in an attempt to become funnier, but quickly regrets it after Joker tried to push him into a chemical vat, leading to Batman and Batgirl rescuing him.