The Rise & Fall Of DC Nation Shorts

In 2011, Cartoon Network had a new hour-long programming block that aired on Saturday and Sunday mornings called DC Nation. This would show two separate half-hour animated shows, at first with Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice, then later with Beware The Batman and Teen Titans Go!. At the end of each episode was an original short feature that was a Cartoon Network production done with both DC Comics and Warner Bros. Some of these were simply replays of DC-based sketches from the Mad animated series, along with mini-documentaries like footage of cosplayers at cons, demos of how certain hero’s weapons would work in real life, or character profiles on some of the secondary superheroes. The shorts also premiered a chain of several cartoons that were usually intended to be humorous. Called DC Nation Shorts, these original animated vignettes would throw the spotlight on truly rare characters. Each of these shorts would feature a different assortment of directors and artists behind them which lead to some creative productions.

First let’s look at the shows that made up the DC Nation. The Green Lantern series lasted only a single season created to pick up on where the failed live-action movie left off and was the first fully-CGI series based on a DC Comic. Young Justice was inspired by the comic of the same name about the sidekicks and other junior partners of the Justice League which had the bonus of conveying how these heroes would eventually grow up and take on apprentices of their own. Beware The Batman was the second CGI series featuring the same director as Green Lantern with a new take on the Dark Knight in a version of Gotham cluttered with C-list villains as they couldn’t use high profile ones like Joker. Lastly, the only real hit out of all of these was Teen Titans Go!

The short that got the most installments was The New Teen Titans, a pseudo-sequel to the Teen Titans animated series with the original voice actors reprising their roles. These took the cast and turned them into spastic caricatures of their previous selves. This is a familiar genre called chibi where they reinvent characters from a non-comedy anime and has them into an even more cartoonish version of themselves. The super-deformed style was used for Teen Titans Go!, except it was Americanized as the whole series would mock the prior series and be filled with crude humor that for some reason resonated with viewers to the point that Cartoon Network would have huge marathons, specials, and movie crossovers continuing the Titans' antics.

The only other show that managed to get a series of its own was Super Best Friends Forever which was developed by Lauren Faust of My Little Pony fame. It had Batgirl, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl uniting to form their own all-girls team. Five shorts were made for DC Nation, but Cartoon Network turned this idea down for their own take geared more toward selling toys under the web series of DC Super Hero Girls. This had most of the DC heroes in high school, and did sell several toys including action figures, fashion dolls, and Legos, but after five seasons and multiple specials it was discontinued. In 2019, Cartoon Network went back to Faust’s idea for the show, but replaced Wonder Girl with Wonder Woman, as well as adding Zatanna, Bumblebee, and Jessica Cruz to the team with appearances by other DC Comics heroes and villains. Despite Cartoon Network’s efforts, they gave little airtime to episodes of the second series and ultimately ended it with a made-for-video crossover movie with Teen Titans Go!

The girl power theme was amped up in a few other shorts. Thunder And Lightning took Black Lightning’s daughters and gave them their first appearance outside of the comics. Animator Robert Valley did an amazing trilogy of Wonder Woman who was once again voiced by Susan Eisenberg, but this time she had a cool invisible car and a rocking 70s vibe. The best of all was a 7-part feature by Brianne Drouhard of She-Ra predecessor, Amethyst: Princess Of Gemworld, where the 80s magical girl is given a video game makeover that old school Nintendo fans will find refreshing, plus it series was animated by the actual anime studio David Production.

DC’s biggest player Batman of course had several stories dedicated to him. Batman: Strange Days was created to celebrate the Dark Knight’s anniversary and made to look like a black and white noir movie. Another anniversary short was done of Batman Beyond when Terry and Bruce must fight evil Batman robots. Batman Of Shanghai was a trilogy animated by Wolf Smoke that reimagines the Caped Crusader as a supernatural kung-fu fighter in China. Riddler also had his own Looney Tunes-inspired one-shot where he’s voiced by Weird Al Yankovic.

The Man of Steel got some shorts done of him as well, one of which was a historical retrospective made for his anniversary. Superman Of Tokyo only got two installments also done by David Production about a baby granted powers after Superman left his cape with a babysitter which can change the infant into an adult. Tales Of Metropolis featured Superman’s secondary characters like Jimmy Olsen and Bizarro, including a great one where Lois Lane goes out of her way to get an interview with Batman.

The paranormal corners of the DC Universe had some light shined on them here too. Before Creature Commandoes got their own series on Max there were a couple of shorts done for DC Nation where the military monsters were reworked in the style of an 80s action cartoon. Chowder creator CH Greenblatt produced some kid-friendly tales of the ghostly Deadman. Shade The Changing Man also received a one-shot focusing on his psychedelic talents.

A few other superhero teams got some attention in these shorts. The Metal Men had a recurring sequence where a Silver Age super scientist and morphing robots go from one mistake to the other. The Doom Patrol also had an animated portion before their live-action TV series which was formatted like a 60s spy show in fragmented episodes featuring Jeffrey Combs and Clancy Brown.

Two funny animal teams made their animated premiere, one of which was the Super Pets based on the children’s books by Art Balatazar with cute cartoon versions of Krypto, Jumpa, Ace, and Robin the robin, but unlike that terrible movie, these shorts were genuinely funny. The other was the original group of Farm League where the heroes and villains are replaced by various animals such as Supermanatee, Wonder Wombat, and Shazham, with the best of all being Batmongoose who wastes time narrating to himself instead of getting snacks for his teammates.

A selection of distinguished heroes got more time in animation. Green Arrow was given an anime renovation with more high-tech gear including a talking bow with AI. Shazam got even better in a 3-parter, each one focusing on his specific superpowers but done in an old-time rubber hose cartoon design reminiscent of Popeye. Sword Of The Atom starred the shrinking superhero on a journey to the jungle where he encounters a civilization of microscopic aliens.

Plenty of lesser-known DC characters get their own comedic shorts. Weird Al Yankovic returns as Animal Man who goes out of his way to save animals instead of the humans who are currently being attacked by Darkseid. Plastic Man had plenty of fun in some vignettes that was intended to be his own TV series which Sponge Bob voice actor Tom Kenny was pushing for. The breakdancing hero Vibe even landed a 2-parter where he uses his sonic powers in a dance off with the evil Professor Ivo and his robot.

One of the more ambitious cartoons was World’s Funniest, a series of ten episodes animated by Aardman Animations done entirely in claymation. They were formatted like Aardman’s Creature Comforts shorts where random DC characters are being interviewed but for some reason all of them are voiced by a couple of kids just improvising funny dialogue. These starred Batman, Superman, Catwoman, Joker, and a silent but very tall Robin.

Altogether, the DC Nation shorts was a grand experiment for various studios and animators to give their own take on both the notorious and anonymous characters of the DC Universe. There were some real opportunities given for creators and comic book fans alike which is something that is sorely missing in today’s bewildering streaming empire.