99. Batman: The Animated Series (1992-5)

by Samuel Juliano IV

Batman: The Animated Series aired from 1992 to 1995 on Fox Kids with 4 seasons and 85 episodes.  The show was created by: Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Eric Radomski, and Alan Burnett.  The show followed the beloved character of DC comics Batman(Voiced by Kevin Conroy)  and his crusade against crime in his hometown of Gotham.

Batman has one of the best rogues’ galleries in superhero history right up there with Superman, Spiderman, the X-men, and the Flash.  The portrayals of these villains in the show prove that.

The Joker ( Voiced by Mark Hamill) is arguably the most popular super villain of all time.  In the show he first appeared in the episode “Christmas with the Joker” This episode also has the first appearance of Robin (Voiced by Loren Lester).  This Episode tells the story of how Batman and Robin save Christmas from being ruined by The Joker.

Other great episodes featuring the joker are:  “The Last Laugh” which is about the Joker releasing laughing gas into Gotham so he can steal without any trouble.  It features a hilarious scene involving Alfred (Voiced by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) wrecking Wayne Manor while intoxicated by Joker’s laughing gas.  The Episode also features one of the Joker’s most memorable lines to me which is: “You killed Captain Clown. You killed Captain Clown!” “Be a Clown” is about Joker kidnapping Mayor Hill’s son Jordan out of revenge for Hill giving a comparison between Joker and Batman.  This episode gives a heartfelt message that warns us against parents neglecting their children.

Another villain is Catwoman (Voiced by Adrienne Barbeau).  She is a cat burglar and often always is a love interest for Batman.  She is the first of Batman’s villains to appear in the series. She appears in the first episode entitled “The Cat and the Claw Part 1.”  The Episode is about Batman and Catwoman’s first meeting and Catwoman trying to save mountain lions from being killed by the villain Red Claw in order to build a resort over the land the mountain lions live on.

This story continues in the eighth episode entitled “The Cat and the Claw Part 2.”  After an attempt on Selina Kyle’s life during their date by Red claw’s gang Batman figures out that Selina Kyle is Catwoman.  Catwoman and Batman then work together and stop Red claw’s to threaten to release a virus on Gotham (the virus turns out to be fake) so the city would pay her a ransom.  At the end of the episode however, Batman reluctantly arrests Catwoman after admitting his feelings for her.

Two-face (voiced by Richard Moll and Malachi Throne) is another of Batman’s villains.  His character development is one of the best of the series. He goes from on of Batman’s most trusted friends when he was district attorney Harvey Dent to one of Batman’s worst enemies when he turned into Two-Face. 2 of Two face’s most defining characteristics are: his split personality and his reliance on flipping a coin in order to make decisions.

 His first appearance was in the episode “On Leather Wings” where he authorizes Harvey Bullock’s plan to make a strike force in order to take down the villain Man-Bat.  In the latter episode “Pretty Poison” Harvey begins dating the super villain Poison Ivy (Harvey does not know she is Poison Ivy). Poison Ivy is a bio terrorist who wants revenge on Dent, Mayor Hill, and Bruce Wayne (Batman) for the building of Stonegate Prison which killed many plants and destroyed a lot of land.  She attempts to poison Harvey but Batman heals him with an antidote for the poison. Batman then tracks Poison Ivy to her hideout and takes her down.

Two-Face’s best episodes are: The two part episode “Two-Face” which shows Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face.  “Second Chance” is about Batman and Robin saving Two-Face after he was kidnapped during a surgery that would return him to Harvey Dent.  After interrogating crime bosses Rupert Thorne (Voiced John Vernon) and the Penguin (Voiced by Paul Williams) they figure out that the evil side of Two-Face set up his own kidnapping in order to escape.  A fight ensues but Batman and Robin save Harvey and return him to the hospital.

The Penguin is a crime boss who runs the restaurant the Iceberg Lounge.  He is one Batman’s worst enemies. Penguin first appears in the episode “I’ve Got Batman in My Basement.”  The Episode is about Penguin trying to steal a faberge egg using his vulture named Scrap. The episode ends with Batman defeating Penguin in a sword fight, saving a group of children from Penguin, recovering the stolen egg from Penguin, and arresting Penguin.  

Another good episode with the Penguin is “Blind as a Bat.”  After Penguin steals a prototype high tech helicopter made by Wayne Tech Batman is temporarily blinded for 36 hours by an explosion caused by Penguin’s escape.  So Batman had to make a high tech helmet to regain his sight. During the final showdown of the episode Batman’s new helmet is damaged which forced him to fight the Penguin fully blind.  Even though Batman was blind at the time he still defeated the Penguin.

Harley Quinn (Voiced by Arleen Sorkin) is the Joker’s sidekick.  She was originally a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. She fell in love with the Joker while having him as her patient.  She then broke him out of Arkham Asylum and became his partner while going insane. Good Episodes with Harley Quinn include:  “Joker’s favor” which is about Joker and Harley trying to blow up Commissioner Gordon (Voiced by Bob Hastings) at a celebration for said Commissioner, “Harley and Ivy” which is about Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy go on a crime spree, and “Harleyquinade” which is about Harley teaming up with Batman and Robin to stop Joker from detonating an atomic bomb.  Harley Quinn was an original character made for the show. After the show she was integrated into the comics and has been in them to this day.

One of my favorite villians from the show is Mr. Freeze (Michael Ansara).  He is a tragic villain. His origin was depicted in the show in the two-part episode “Heart of Ice.”  After using company money to try to cure his wife of a terminal disease his boss confronts him saying his funding was cut and Freeze has been using company resources without being authorized to do so.  After this his goons try to disconnect Freeze’s wife’s cryogenic chamber.

After a scuffle Freeze is kicked by his boss into his equipment and transformed into Mr. Freeze.  The rest of the episode is about Batman trying to stop Mr. Freeze from getting revenge. Another good episode featuring Mr. Freeze is “Deep Freeze.”  Mr. Freeze even got his own movie entitled “Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero.”

Other episodes I like from the show include:  “The Laughing fish” which is about the Joker trying to copyright fish, the two-part episode “Feat of Clay” showing the origin of the villain Clayface who is one of my other favorite Batman villains, “Vendetta” which is the episode that introduces the Villain Killer Croc,  “What is reality” which is about Batman and Robin save Commissioner Gordon from a virtual reality world created by the villain the Riddler, “The Demon’s Quest” which is about the villain Ra’s al Ghul trying to recruit Batman to succeed him in ruling his empire and reset the world by destroying it, and “Almost Got’Im”which is about various villains telling stories about how they almost killed Batman.

Batman himself had good character as well.  This was clearly depicted in the episode “Nothing to Fear”  which is about Batman facing his inner demons after being exposed to the villain Scarecrow’s fear toxin.  

Another good episode that shows Batman’s character development is the episode “Perchance to Dream.”  The episode is about Batman who is under the illusion that he is in another reality where his parents were not killed and Selina Kyle is his fiance.  This turns out to be the work of the villain the Mad Hatter. Batman figures out his mind is under the Mad Hatter’s influence in a cool way showing of his detective skills.  He remembers in dreams letters are always upside down. He decides to leave the illusion accepting his Parents’ deaths and defeats the Mad Hatter.

Batman has two sidekicks in the show.  They are named Robin and Batgirl(Voiced by Melissa Gilbert).  Robin is Batman’s main sidekick of the show and Batgirl is more of an ally of Batman.  Batgirl is Barbara Gordon who is the Daughter of Commissioner Gordon and Robin is former circus acrobat Dick Grayson who is the adoptive son of Batman.  A good episode featuring Batgirl is “Batgirl Returns” which is about Batgirl teaming up with Catwoman to recover a stolen jade cat jewel. A good episode featuring Robin is the two-part episode “Robin’s Reckoning” which is about Robin’s origins and him facing his inner demons which are about the death of his biological parents.

As a kid I was and still am obsessed with Batman.  I was Batman for Halloween for about five times. I played the Arkham games.  I owned the whole series of Batman: the Animated series on tape. Me and my siblings (Especially my brother Danny)  always watched the show together when we were little and bonded over it. Batman: the Animated Series remains one of my most favorite TV shows of all time.