Before the CW came into existence, there was the WB, which came from a partnership between Time Warner and the Tribune Company. Among the programming the channel hosted was its Saturday morning cartoon block.
While most networks targeted younger demographics, much of the Kids WB’s content was geared more toward tweens and teens (and children in adults’ bodies). The Saturday morning block of the WB, which ran from 1995 to 2006, boasted content that spanned a variety of genres. Some of this content was truly groundbreaking for the time, with the shows listed here being true gems.
9 Cardcaptors
This anime is another entry in the crowded magical girl subcategory of anime. Of course, cute outfits and the power of friendship are among the main tools the protagonists use.
Cardcaptors follows young girl Sakura, along with her best friend Madison and rival Li Showron, as they hunt magical cards that she accidentally unleashed onto the world. Initially called Cardcaptor Sakura in Japan, the American dub is drastically different from the original animation, cutting out subplots and completely changing characters’ relationships.
8 X-Men: Evolution
The X-Men have seen several incarnations over the course of their animated careers, from the classic X-Men cartoon of the 90s to the excellent but abruptly canceled Wolverine and the X-Men. X-Men: Evolution is the awkward phase of the franchise, where the majority of the X-Men, including Scott Summers and Jean Grey, are 2000s teenagers in High School.
Viewers watched as the adolescent mutants learned to control their powers while learning life lessons in the process. The series not only featured the X-Men going toe-to-toe with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but it also introduced two new X-Men — Spike and X-23 — who would later become part of the mainline comics.
7 The Zeta Project
Technically, The Zeta Project DC Animated Universe. The character of Zeta initially appeared in an episode of Batman Beyond, and the two shows would end up crossing over with each other. Still, for some bizarre reason, nobody really talks about it.
That’s a shame, too, because this was a wild adventure for the time. It follows the former robot assassin Zeta and the human girl, Ro, as they outran government agents while on a quest for his freedom. This show was a gateway into the science fiction philosophy of Isaac Asimov, dealing with whether robots can be sentient and have free will.
6 Yu-Gi-Oh
This is the anime that coined the phrase “heart of the cards.” Yugi Muto must go on a quest to compete against other champions of the card game Duel Monsters to rescue his grandfather’s soul, held captive by Maximillion Pegasus. Yugi was guided by the spirit of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Yami Yugi, who resided in Yugi Muto’s Millennium Puzzle.
Yu-Gi-Oh is known for its frantic battles with life-sized holographic monsters, and convoluted rules that the anime had to explain from episode to episode. This is yet another American import whose original incarnation was vastly different.
5 Spectacular Spider-Man
Spectacular Spider-Man is considered by many to be a masterpiece among the wall-crawler’s many incarnations. The cartoon borrowed from multiple storylines and comics, including Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, while also writing its own story.
While the art style was rather simplistic, the show made up for it with fun fight scenes and great writing. Spider-Man’s classic lineup of enemies was present, and the theme song slaps. Unfortunately, thanks to the acquisition of Marvel by the Walt Disney corporation, the series was canceled on a cliffhanger that will likely never be resolved.
4 The Batman
While many recognize Batman: The Animated Series as the cream of the crop when it comes to Batman cartoons, fans of the Caped Crusader should check out this animation. It even offers two new companions for Bruce Wayne, Detective Ellen Yin (Ming-Na Wen) and Detective Ethan Bennet (Steve Harris), who has one of the most tragic arcs in the series.
The Batman takes on a noir aesthetic while putting a fresh take on classic characters, including an animal-like Joker. The theme song is an edgy electric guitar riff by The Edge from U2.
3 Jackie Chan Adventures
In this anime-flavored animation, Jackie Chan Adventures pitted Chan, his wise uncle, simply called Uncle, his niece Jade, and secret organization Section 13 against criminal group the Dark Hand in a race to obtain the MacGuffin of the week.
Some of these objects were magical talismans, other times they were portals to ancient Chinese demons, and other times, Chan would be up against other mysterious forces in this globe-trotting adventure. In spite of being called Jackie Chan Adventures, the real Jackie Chan didn’t even voice the character, but showed up at the end of each episode for a Q & A segment.
2 Static Shock
These days, plenty of shows feature black superheroes in prominent roles, but they were rarely seen on television at the time. That’s one reason Static Shock, the cartoon based on DC Comics/Milestone Media’s Dakota-verse, was so groundbreaking for the time.
Having acquired his electric powers from a chemical gas explosion known as the Big Bang, Static and his best friend Richie fought crime and a host of super-powered fiends while dealing with high school drama, all without losing their cool.
The show dealt with issues from personal loss to bullying and even racism. It also helped that the show also had crossovers with Batman and Superman, as well as celebrity cameos such as Shaquille O’Neal.
1 Batman Beyond
On paper, Batman Beyond should have been a failure. It takes place in the future, Gotham is cyberpunk, Batman is old and retired, and a brash teenager is taking on the cowl? That doesn’t sound like the Batman.
By sheer miracle, Batman Beyond honored the legacy of the caped crusader while creating its own identity, with a high-tech rogues gallery of both new and familiar faces. What anchors this cartoon is the relationship between new Batman Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne, who, after initially wanting nothing to do with him, would become a mentor and surrogate father to him. Batman Beyond would go on to become an official part of the DC Comics canon, as well as make appearances in Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited.