Batman: The Animated Series, a brbtv report

Season 1

Batman is tailing a new cat burglar in town and finds that it’s a female. (Amid the amusing rooftop repartee, it’s a meeting to remember!) Plus, rumors abound of the ruthless terrorist Red Claw being in town. Over in high society, a date with Bruce goes to a charity auction’s highest bidder — Selina Kyle. Bruce steps in and helps Selina get a meeting with a corporate mogul who’s blocking her plans for a mountain lion preserve. She breaks into the mogul’s office later, as Catwoman, but almost gets caught in the trap of Red Claw. Batman saves her, and sparks fly on the rooftop once again. This is the origin episode for Catwoman. This story continued the following Saturday, while other (unrelated) episodes ran during the week. Kate Mulgrew, who went on to helm “Star Trek: Voyager,” puts on a wonderful snarl as Red Claw. Frank Welker, who has done a ton of voicework over the years, including the sounds of Flash the hound and the General Lee on “The Dukes,” provides the voice of Selina’s cat Isis.

Something that resembles a big bat flies by a police blimp, then a night watchman gets injured. Soon, Batman is a suspect, and Harvey Bullock is especially wanting to collar this “nut case.” Mayor Hamilton Hill authorizes a task force, and D.A. Harvey Dent get on board, too. Batman must dig into this mystery to defend himself, and he picks up clues, which he takes to the lab of Kirk Langstrom. Dr. March at the lab analyzes the eerie sounds on the tape and appears to be covering up their true source. Dr. Langstrom is even more immersed in this sinister research into the evolution of bats — he’s transforming into the strange bat creature sighted around town! Origin episode for Man-Bat. This was the very first glimpse of the show that many people would see, premiering in primetime on a Sunday, and it is considered the pilot episode of the series. Marc Singer of “V” voices Kirk Langstrom / Man-Bat, while Rene Auberjonois of “Benson” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” is Dr. March. And you may notice Alfred’s voice sounds different: He’s voiced by Clive Revill in just a few of these first episodes.

Victor Fries is an accomplished researcher who’s trying to find a way to save his wife Nora’s life. He plans to keep her frozen cryogenically, but then the company that’s funding this venture pulls the dollars. He gets caught up in an explosion of the freezing chamber, and his body is altered so severely that he now can only survive in subzero temperatures. He is transformed, a year later, into the villain Mr. Freeze, bent on revenge against the corporate head who stopped his funding. Batman investigates and learns the depths this man will go to for his lost wife. Origin episode for Mr. Freeze. Mark Hamill voices the character Ferris Boyle. This episode won Paul Dini an Emmy Award.

Lucius Fox thinks he’s delivering important papers to Bruce in the middle of the night, and that’s what he tells the police later, after this “Bruce” tries to kill him. Batman intervenes and is later shocked to be implicated in the crime. Meanwhile, actor Matt Hagen is addicted to a particular facial cream supplied to him — for a steep price — by Roland Daggett. The cream allows him to manipulate the appearance of his face, and it’s gotten him some great roles. But Hagen wants his own permanent supply of cream, and he wants out from under Daggett’s thumb. He breaks into Daggett Industries, but a couple of Daggett’s thugs catch him and force-feed the formula on him, causing him to O.D. This two-parter is the origin episode for Clayface. The Batwing appears, as does reporter Summer Gleeson.

Bruce Wayne is arrested for the attempt on Fox’s life. When he gets out on bail, Batman looks for answers. Matt Hagen discovers that the face cream formula has saturated every cell in his body and that now he can change his appearance effortlessly, with a simple thought. The story of his original association with Daggett is told: Daggett approached him after a disfiguring accident and asked if he wanted to become a test subject for a new formula his company was developing. Now, Hagen goes after Roland Daggett with a vengeance.

Rupert Thorne and Arnold Stromwell are battling for control of the rackets in Gotham, with the elder Stromwell losing his foothold. His only son Joseph disappears, and he demands a meeting with Thorne. It’s clear there’s some old history at work here, and Batman visits a priest for help. At the meeting, Thorne arranges for a building explosion, and Batman must rescue Stromwell. He then takes the old mobster to where his son really is — a sickbed, the victim of Stromwell and his drug empire. Stromwell turns on Batman with a gun, then Thorne arrives on the scene. Later, it’s revealed that Stromwell is haunted by guilt over a train-track incident with his brother, who’s now the priest.

Charlie Collins has been feeling like “life’s punching bag” lately. After a particularly bad day, he encounters the Joker on the road and cusses at him. Then Charlie’s car breaks down, and there’s the Joker, wondering just what he was cussing at. He says he will let ole Charlie off, if Charlie can do a little favor for him — at some future point, when the Joker calls. Two years later, Commissioner Gordon is being honored, and Joker is none too happy. He locates Charlie, who’s changed his name and moved away, and with the help of Harley calls in his little “favor.” Of course, old Chuckers is in danger of a little double-cross — and the Commissioner’s even worse off. This is the episode that introduced Harley Quinn to the show — and to the world.

Batman gets wind of a train heist. Red Claw and her team are after a closely guarded plague being transported by the Army. Batman intercepts the heist but is unable to stop it. Red Claw holds the plague for a ransom of $100 billion in gold bullion. Bruce and Selina see each other again, but the pursuit of Red Claw’s gang ruins their lunch date. Batman realizes the thugs are after Selina / Catwoman and intercepts one of the men as he threatens Selina’s secretary Maven. He then goes to the site of Selina’s planned wildlife preserve, where he finds Selina, and more.

As ground broke five years ago for the Gotham Penitentiary, which is Harvey Dent’s dream, Pamela Isley was “plotting.” Now, she’s dating Harvey. The handsome district attorney tells his friend Bruce that he’s going to propose to Pamela, after only one week of dating. But Bruce suspects Pamela’s charm goes beyond the lovely physique — especially when one of her intense kisses sends Harvey into a coma. It’s poison, they find, from an extinct wild thorny rose. Bruce does some investigation of Harvey’s girl and finds she is a research chemist for a cosmetics company. But Isley’s secrets are much more deeply rooted, Batman finds when he tracks down her lair. This is the origin episode for Poison Ivy. Singer Melissa Manchester is credited for “additional voices” in this episode.

Summer Gleeson catches Dr. Long at the university for a couple questions on the disasters that have happened there, and Bruce Wayne hops in the elevator with them. Dr. Long uses the opportunity to rail on Bruce for “disgracing” the Wayne family name. Turns out, the Scarecrow is on the rampage through the university with his fear-enhancing gas, on a vendetta because Dr. Long once labeled him a lunatic when he taught psychology there. After an encounter with him and the gas, Batman’s psyche goes wild with thoughts of his father Thomas Wayne and the feeling that he has failed him. Bullock arrives on the scene and berates Batman for letting the Scarecrow get away. Origin episode for Scarecrow, whom Batman meets for the first time, asking him who he is during their encounter at the university. In an amusing element that only animation can pull off, Professor Crane’s head is shaped very much like a fat triangle, but when he’s wearing his mask as Scarecrow, his head is very thin.

Mayor Hamilton Hill pledges a new stance against crime in Gotham City, and he likens Batman to the Joker. The Joker sees this on TV and is torqued off. Hill is also throwing a birthday party for his son, Jordan, though it’s more like a party for Hill and his influential friends. The entertainment arrives — a goofy clown named Jekko. He enthralls Jordan with his magic tricks, then he makes off with the boy! The real Jekko the clown is found, and Bruce had pegged this fake Jekko as the Joker, anyway. He saves the party from the stick of dynamite that Joker left behind, then he goes after Jordan, as Batman.

A multimillion-dollar drug sting goes bad, and officers Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock and their partner Wilkes are called to the carpet. Bullock claims that Batman botched the bust because he was forced to go in without Montoya and Wilkes when the Caped Crusader arrived. But Bullock really bungled his own cover and even had to be saved from the warehouse’s raging fire by Batman. Montoya and Wilkes give their versions of the story, lending a truer picture of reality and the heroism of Batman. All three get suspended, however. It’s up to Montoya to track the clues to the suspect’s hideout — and to our Bat-napped hero. Former teen heartthrob Robby Benson voices Wilkes.

“It’s about time,” Temple Fugate says as he boards the subway at the beginning of this episode, as if heralding the very heart of the story. It’s a flashback to when he encounters Hamilton Hill (in his lawyerly, pre-mayor days), who gives him some well-intentioned but bad-resulting advice that causes him to lose a crucial court case for his business. Fugate is determined to get revenge. Seven years later, at the kickoff of his re-election campaign, Mayor Hill is embarrassed by system malfunctions across the city, as well as derogatory billboards. Batman finds Fugate is behind it, a man obsessed with time and control. Origin episode for the Clock King. Alfred’s character is further developed as having often-sardonic wit: As Batman has him park the limo in a grimy alley and wait for him, and a rat crawls across the car hood to look at him through the window, he agreeably quips, “This is one of the finest back alleys in all of Gotham.”

Alfred’s attempt at “dry” humor is lost on Bruce, then they hear about Joker’s latest prank: an April Fool’s delivery of laughing gas in Gotham’s riverfront as Joker and his gang go looting. Alfred gets infected by the gas, as well, and goes on a rampage through Wayne Manor. Batman dons his gas mask and heads into town to bust the Clown Prince of Crime. Joker is eager, of course, to make Batman crack a joke.

Pamela Isley terrorizes the wealthy, turning them into plants for their eco-unfriendly corporate deeds. Her next target: Bruce Wayne, who receives a video invitation to the Eternal Youth Spa from an outfit called Demetechnics. He passes off the invite on Alfred and his lady friend, Maggie. At the spa, they meet Dr. Daphne Demeter (aka Isley), who tells them all about the amazing elixir that permeates the spa’s air and water. It seems to work — Alfred leaves feeling younger. But Batman is suspicious of this Spa of Youth and its magical “demetrite.” To add a touch of humor, the ever-droll Alfred is a quite reluctant suitor to the exuberant Maggie.

In the midst of a raid on one of Rupert Thorne’s crime rings, District Attorney Harvey Dent is haunted in dreams by his alter-ego, Big Bad Harv. Then, after the press flashbulbs glorify Handsome Harvey for the raid’s success, a taunt by one of the thugs sparks Harvey’s inner rage, just as publicly. Thorne, meanwhile, determines to “dig up some dirt on the dashing D.A.,” who later explodes again just after holding court at a swank party at Wayne Manor. Bruce encourages Harvey when he decides to see a shrink, who tries to work with Big Bad Harv. Thorne learns of the alter ego and uses it to try to shake down Harvey for a few favors. When Big Bad Harv appears at their seedy meeting and a scuffle ensues, Harvey gets caught in a refinery explosion. Half of his body is scarred forever, and a villain is born. Origin episode for Two-Face. This episode includes one of BRBTV’s all-time favorite quotes: “The brighter the picture, the darker the negative,” Rupert Thorne says of Harvey. In the novelization of this episode, Barbara Gordon walks into the police raid scene to talk to her dad (as a setup for the novel’s later branch into other episodes). Blooper: When Harvey is shown still in bandages at the hospital, his chin is completely unblemished (both sides), though later his face clearly shows the damage encompassing one full half of it.

Wielding a coin scarred on one side to help him make his criminal calls, the badly damaged Dent goes on a rampage against Thorne’s holdings as the new villain Two-Face. The enraged Thorne puts a $2-million bounty on his attacker’s head. Bruce is having nightmares about this good friend who’s now lost, vowing to help him. Harvey’s fiance Grace is heartbroken and is approached by the (supposed) police for help in locating Harvey (it’s really Thorne’s galpal Candace and an accomplice in disguise). Batman realizes that every place Two-Face has robbed is named something relating to the number 2. He catches up to Two-Face and tries to appeal to him with news of Grace. He gets through to Harvey, but unfortunately, when Harvey calls Grace, she unwittingly hands him over to Thorne. At the cataclysmic confrontation it’s clear that Two-Face doesn’t believe in the law like Harvey used to, but Batman manages to disable him at his center of power. Monkee Micky Dolenz voices Two-Face’s twin redheaded, freckle-faced henchmen, Min and Max. In the novelization of this two-parter, he also has twin hench-ladies named Hi and Lo. Also in the book, there’s some added material when Batman pays a visit to Harvey’s psychiatrist, Dr. Nora Crest, and not only gets some insight into Harvey’s multiple personalities but also gets an encouraging word about his own alter ego and the work that goes with it.

Scarecrow sends college athletes telegrams that strike fear and make them mess up on the playing fields. He’s got a scheme going to cash in with the bookies when they lose. (“I need the money, Batman,” he defends when Batman corners him. “You know the cost of chemicals these days!”) But Dick Grayson has also been hit by the fear toxin, and Robin must fight to overcome it. Scarecrow sets up football player Mitch Knoll as the next in his awful scheme, but Batman and Robin intercept him at the stadium. Tim Curry provides voicework for this episode, as a henchman.

Thieves lift a valuable bejeweled egg, and Batman tries to intercept them. He finds birdseed at the scene. Little kids Sherman and Roberta, meanwhile, are having fun with their junior detective kit, spotting a vulture in Gotham and smelling a mystery. They follow the vulture back to its owner — Penguin, who is collecting the bejeweled egg from his hired thieves. Batman bursts in and must save the kids when they get caught up in the crossfire. But Batman gets gassed and can barely stumble back to the Batmobile. It’s now the kids who must save him, managing to fire up the Batmobile and get it back to their house, where they hide Batman in the basement, excited that they’ve got a real, live investigation on their hands.

Spider Conway, a key witness in a case against Rupert Thorne, is swiped out of police custody before he can testify. Spider also happens to have once accused Harvey Bullock of taking bribes from Thorne, so Batman investigates Bullock. He then goes to Thorne for answers. But then a new player slithers onto the scene — Killer Croc. Batman finds some rather reptilian clues at the crime scene, then tracks the Croc’s cave hideout, where he finds the missing Conway. Origin episode for Killer Croc. You get to see a little bit of this villain’s unusual physical movements: when he runs, he alternately swoops his “arms” down for support.

A luxury ocean liner sinks, then one of Bruce’s wealthy pals tells him how the prophet Nostromos warned him not to get on the ill-fated cruise. The man’s daughter Lisa, however, is skeptical of this prophet that her father won’t make a move without. Batman learns that Nostromos is really an actor and petty criminal named Carl Fowler, who works with a partner named Lucas. Bruce then has a near-fatal “accident” with an elevator. He decides to “see the light” of Nostromos’ prophecies, and he gains entrance into the revered brotherhood. Nostromos has been warning this brotherhood about a large-scale economic collapse, and has convinced them to set up a superfund to prepare for it. Lisa is voiced by “Dynasty,” “Melrose Place” and “Spin City” alum Heather Locklear.

Homeless people seem to be disappearing, so Bruce goes undercover to find out why. Thugs jump him, and he wakes up in shackles with a couple of the disappeared homeless men, Salvo Smith and Dan Riley — and he’s lost his memory. It’s some sort of mining work camp, run by a sadistic blob of a mobster type, Boss Biggis. Alfred realizes Bruce is missing and tries to find him through a tracking device. Bruce is overwhelmed, meanwhile, by dreams and visions of his former life. Soon, these “inmates” wage an unsuccessful uprising, which lands Bruce in a punishment box. As Alfred closes in on his master’s location, Bruce remembers more and more of who he is. Lorin Dreyfuss, brother of Richard Dreyfuss, voices Salvo Smith.

At Wayne Industries, Jervis Tetch is perfecting ways to tap into the brain activity of other creatures, as well as humans. He’s also infatuated with his assistant, Alice, who has a boyfriend that she’s having trouble with. Jervis plans to move right in and sweep her off her feet. While they’re out on a date, they encounter muggers, whom Jervis is able to control with his thought-altering device. Batman finds the criminals and the circuitry cards that are controlling them. Alice, meanwhile, reconciles with her boyfriend, forcing Jervis to more drastic measures. Jervis also targets his supervisor, Dr. Marcia Cates, as he designs an “Alice in Wonderland”-type menagerie with which to imprison his fair Alice. Dr. Marcia Cates is voiced by “M*A*S*H” regular Loretta Swit, while the baby voice of Alice is Kimmy Robertson, the lovable secretary Lucy of TV’s “Twin Peaks.”

The International Relief Consortium is expecting a delivery of some bearer bonds earmarked for humanitarian aid, but the courier encounters Josiah Wormwood, an eccentric millionaire with a penchant for deathtraps. Batman tracks the Baron, one of Wormwood’s associates (quite publicly, in the middle of a speaking engagement!). The Baron then hires Wormwood to get Batman’s cape and cowl. He’s also very interested to know what Wormwood did with those bearer bonds. Wormwood sets traps for Batman through riddle-rich notes left with Commissioner Gordon (who, by the way, introduces the Batsignal in this episode). Veteran actor John Rhys-Davies voices the Baron Waclaw Jozek.

A world where his parents didn’t really die, he was never Batman — and he’s engaged to Selina Kyle! That’s what Bruce Wayne sees, but it just can’t be real, can it? Even though this life might be blissful, Bruce begins to chase down his suspicions, all the way to Batman, whom he tussles with. When he gets close enough to pull this Caped Crusader’s mask, he finds … Mad Hatter, the one behind this whole ruse. Bruce realizes he must wake up and get his real life back.

Gotham residents are reporting purse-stealing “Leprecauns” on the street, so Batman investigates (rather than taking a break, as Alfred advises!). Small children are being made to toil in the dark tunnels of Gotham’s underbelly. Their “Sewer King” forces these orphans and runaways up to the street to steal. Batman saves one of the “Leprecauns” from a speeding subway and takes him back to the Batcave for Alfred to take care of. Batman then must make the children and the Sewer King “see the light” regarding this slavery. We get a nice look at one of the ways Batman conceals the Batmobile in an alleyway: a camoflage crate that folds up and retracts into the vehicle. One of the series’ occasional departures from the usual Rogues Gallery of villains, this episode feels more like a social commentary.

A break-in at Wayne Cosmetics is the seventh hit for Wayne Industries in two weeks. The clue left at the scene causes Bruce to recall his old schoolmate and foe during his time in Japan: Kyodai Ken, the only student at the martial arts school who could consistently beat Bruce, and the one who resented his American wealth. Bruce recalls how he caught Kyodai stealing from their sensei, Yoru, who banished Kyodai from the school in disgrace. But Bruce won’t answer the questions of Summer Gleeson or even Dick about the break-ins. Batman encounters the Ninja on a city rooftop, and Robin drops by to break it up. Summer, determined to find her own answers about “The Bruce,” follows him to a charity reception at the museum and gets caught in Kyodai’s kidnapping of Bruce. Dick’s sarcasm toward Bruce’s standoffish behavior is well-established here, and it would build over the seasons. The novelization of this episode tells us that the museum where Bruce attends the charity reception is the Gotham Natural History Museum, and speaking of history, we learn that the statue of Ares shown in the Wayne Enterprises Storage facility where Kyodai Ken takes Bruce and Summer was received from a Greek shipping magnate seeking to cover his debts.

Judge Maria Vargas is being blackmailed — but by whom? Batman traces the clues to a vacation locale, Yucca Springs, and a psychiatrist, Dr. Hugo Strange. Bruce Wayne gets himself hooked up to Dr. Strange’s gizmo, which reads his thoughts. Strange then learns that Bruce is Batman, and he decides to auction off this juicy tidbit to arch-criminals Joker, Penguin and Two-Face. Bruce realizes this and retapes the tape. But Alfred gets caught up in Strange’s trap, too. The bidding of the criminals begins, and the tape rolls. But it’s not quite the tape that Strange thought it was. And, of course, no one could possibly believe him when he tries to assert that billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is the notorious Batman!

As she’s visiting a tiger at the zoo, Selina Kyle is shot by a poison dart and abducted by a sensient, speaking ape. She doesn’t show up to her dinner date that evening with Bruce Wayne, so Batman investigates. Selina wakes up at the island retreat of Emile Dorian, a genetic researcher with a fascination with cats. He’s inoculated her with a dose of his research, designed to turn her into a real cat — and a mate for his “ultimate life form,” the male cat Tygress! Batman visits Kirk Langstrom, who once worked with Dorian and talks of his off-kilter research. He then is able to track Selina to the island lab of this mad scientist. This episode is influenced by William Blake’s 1794 poem “The Tyger,” which explores a darker side of creation.

Batman, an inmate at Arkham Asylum? “There’s always time to heal,” Dr. Bartholomew tells him. We flash back to where this started: Batman thought he was breaking up the sabotage of a spa’s water supply, but he got hit by a strange gas in the process. There was an antidote, he learned, but he wouldn’t take it because it would’ve caused him to sleep for two days. Instead, he continued to investigate — and he began to hallucinate. He was committed to Arkham, where no one will believe his allegations that the Scarecrow is going to taint Gotham’s drinking water. The Scarecrow couldn’t be happier that Batman has been infected by his fear gas, as he prepares his large-scale “experiment” on the effects of fear.

Simon Trent is an aged, out-of-work actor well-known for the series “The Gray Ghost,” of which Bruce was an ardent childhood fan. But now, someone is patterning bombings around town on one of the “Gray Ghost” episodes. Bruce tracks down Trent (living right there in Gotham, ironically!), who’s been selling off his show collectibles to the local comic shop to pay the rent (before the popularity of eBay, for sure!). Trent helps Batman only begrudgingly, sick of the typecasting his Gray Ghost role has thrust upon him. On his original episode reel, however, lies the secret behind the “Mad Bomber,” and it’s enough to convince him to don that costume one more time. It’s a joy to hear Adam West — the Batman of the 1960s TV series — voice Simon Trent. In shades of West’s real life, his character is treated to a ride in the Batmobile, a trip to the Batcave, and even an autograph signing, where BRBTV has seen West many a time in real life! Summer Gleeson appears. Flashbacks of “The Gray Ghost” program are lovingly presented in black and white. At the end of this episode, an authentic-looking People magazine cover honors Trent and the Gray Ghost. Bruce W. Timm, one of the masterminds behind the show, does a guest stint as the comic shop owner Ted Dymer, while Kevin Conroy voices his own character’s father, Thomas Wayne.

Selina Kyle is convicted of some Cat-crimes, but the judge sentences her to five years probation — if she keeps the claws and catsuit off. When she returns to her apartment, Maven tells her that her cat Isis has run off. Selina goes out looking for Isis and witnesses two employees of Roland Daggett rounding up stray cats. She intervenes, then Batman arrives, but Selina is arrested. Bruce posts her bail, then Catwoman is off to investigate Daggett Labs, which has Isis and is performing experiments on cats and dogs. When Catwoman finds the changed Isis, she’s bitten and infected by the experimental toxin. It seems the evil Professor Milo is behind this toxic research. A nice episode for the Catwoman-Batman chemistry.

Batman is weary. “I wonder if I’m really doing any good out there,” he tells Alfred. He makes his yearly pilgrimage to the site of his parents’ murder, speaking with Leslie Thompkins. He also interrupts yet another criminal thug shakedown in the alley, with no thanks. Then Commissioner Gordon is badly hurt in a smuggling bust on crime lord the Jazzman, and Batman feels responsible. He doesn’t want anyone else to pay for his “mistakes.” Dick Grayson comes home from college and tries to encourage Batman. The Jazzman then escapes custody, and Batman goes after him. Barbara Gordon makes her first appearance, keeping vigil at her father’s bedside, though her more formal introduction is in “Heart of Steel,” which originally aired a week later.

Joker, Penguin, Two-Face and Killer Croc are sitting around playing poker and talking about Batman. Poison Ivy arrives and joins in the game. They take turns telling how they each almost got Batman. Ivy begins with a Halloween tale of dousing Batman in her plant toxin. Two-Face then tells of strapping Batman to a giant penny amid his own bank robbery. Croc talks about the time he “threw a rock at him.” Penguin dramatically tells of entrapping Batman in his aviary. Joker “saves the best for last,” but his own tale of a corny late-night talk show is upstaged by Catwoman. A special BRBTV thumbs-up goes to this episode for explaining where that giant penny in the Batcave came from.

Batman rescues a security guard from a fierce werewolf, then investigates the zoo’s missing timber wolves. Former Olympian Anthony Romulus has pledged to double a charitable donation if Batman will come collect the check, but when Batman gets to his house, it’s a trap. He’s gassed and apprehended, and the person who’s behind it all, and who’s pulling the strings of Romulus, is demented Professor Milo. Romulus’ Olympic wins were helped by a steroid derivative that Milo has given him, a serum tinged with the hormones of timber wolves. But this serum has some unwanted side effects, as far as Romulus is concerned, and though Milo tries to turn his new creature against the Batman, this angry werewolf turns against Milo, as well. This one features a nice cast: Harry Hamlin voices Romulus, Peter Scolari is the security guard, John Hamner, and Treat Williams is Milo.

The mutant Man-Bat is terrorizing Gotham again, though everyone was convinced Kirk Langstrom was cured by the antidote. His wife Francine sees evidence of the creature and is upset, confronting Kirk about his research. Kirk swears he’s not taking the mutagen. Batman gets a DNA sample from Kirk to test it. He then has a run-in with the Man-Bat and can tell something’s up (could be those bright red pants the creature is wearing!). The creature’s DNA doesn’t match Kirk’s. Batman discovers that Dr. March has been continuing his own research on the bat serum — and that daughter Francine accidentally came into contact with it. It’s winter in Gotham for this episode.

Joker escapes from Gotham on a rocket-powered Christmas tree, ruining Dick’s vision of a quiet Christmas Eve watching “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Batman and Robin head out on patrol to check the city, then back home. But just as they settle in front of the TV, they see that Joker has hijacked the airwaves with his own “Christmas special.” Batman works to track the broadcast signal, as Joker unveils his “family” of holiday guests — Commissioner Gordon, Summer Gleeson and Harvey Bullock. He challenges Batsy to find them by midnight, or else! This episode has some delightful humor, from Joker singing our favorite schoolyard version of “Jingle Bells” (“Batman smells, Robin laid an egg …”) to the Dark Knight telling his ward that he’s never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” because he “could never get past the title,” to Joker leading both his Gotham audience and all of us into a real commercial break, gazing straight at us with “We’ll return in just a moment, but first, a word from our sponsor!” Clive Revill does the voice of Alfred.

A pretty female leaves a briefcase at the guard’s desk just as Wayne Enterprises headquarters is closing for the workday. The guard thinks it’s an empty briefcase, but when he walks Mr. Wayne to his car, the briefcase grows arms and legs and trots off, accessing sensitive areas of the building. Bruce Wayne learns some valuable artificial intelligence chips have been stolen from the research and development area. He visits old friend Karl Rossum, an authority on AI at CyberCom, and is introduced to Rossum’s pride and joy: HARDAC (Holographic Analytic Reciprocating Digital Computer). Lucius Fox appears, and Barbara Gordon is introduced, “all grown up” from when Bruce saw her last.

Commissioner Gordon has been replaced by one of HARDAC’s androids, along with Mayor Hamilton Hill and some others. Barbara is suspicious of how “cold” her father has been acting. She uses the Batsignal to call Batman and tell him someone is impersonating her father. They’re interrupted by Harvey Bullock, who’s also really an android. Rossum realizes HARDAC is out of control; he’s given the computer too much free will. He attempts to change HARDAC’s programming and is knocked out. Barbara decides to break into CyberCom and do her own investigating, getting caught by the android assistant Randa Duane.

That catchy little title line is delivered to Eddie Nygma by his boss, Daniel Mockridge of Competitron, as Mockridge is firing him so he doesn’t have to pay royalties on Nygma’s computer game, “Riddle of the Minotaur.” Dick loves the game, and Bruce is cutting a deal with Mockridge to bring Competitron and its jobs to Gotham. Mockridge then receives a mysterious riddle, and Batman suspects he’s walking into a trap. Enter the Riddler, who’s got more than a tricky computer game up his sleeve. He leads Batman and Robin into the elaborate maze at the Riddle of the Minotaur amusement park to retrieve Mockridge. Origin episode for the Riddler.

As Joker and Poison Ivy bicker on the couch of Arkham Asylum’s rec room, the TV airs Summer Gleeson’s report on the grand unveiling of billionaire Cameron Kaiser’s new casino. It’s the “Joker’s Wild” casino and resort, and Joker is highly perturbed to see some guy trying to cash in on his image. He escapes from Arkham to sabotage the casino, and when he first arrives, he’s mistaken for the staff. He saddles up to a blackjack table, soon joined by Bruce Wayne, who recognizes him immediately and taunts him about the casino’s ghastly decor. But as Batman investigates Kaiser, he sees that Kaiser deliberately led Joker to his casino for his own ulterior motives. There are several Warner Bros. / Looney Tunes references here: In the opening Arkham scene, there is the whistling of the Looney Tunes theme song, then Joker imitates one of the Looney Tunes characters. At the closing scene back at Arkham, Bugs Bunny is seen briefly on the TV.

There seems to be another Batman crusading around town, catching bad guys. When he stumbles into Wayne Manor, it’s clear to Alfred that he’s one of Karl Rossum’s HARDAC machines. As the real Batman investigates, he tracks Rossum to a farm to see if HARDAC could have created a Batman duplicate during their last encounter. Rossum just wants to move on with his life, but later he’s visited by the Batman duplicate, who seems to have all of the real Batman’s thoughts and memories — and needs his help with his failing circuitry. The real Batman arrives, and the two Batmans struggle. HARDAC is plotting to replace all of humanity with duplicates.

Batman is tracking a secret “Society of Shadows” and a notorious figure named Vertigo. Lucius Fox and Wayne Tech await the shipment of a prototype sonic drill, but it’s intercepted by Vertigo and his eyepatch, which emits vision-distorting radiation. Batman shows up to stop him, but a mysterious dark female arrives to allow Vertigo to escape. The female is later accosted by the Society of Shadows, and Batman arrives to help. He’s wounded, and she takes him away to nurse him, unmasking Batman. She’s Talia, she tells Batman, sent by her father to stop Vertigo and his evil intentions. Another introductory episode, not just for Talia but for the powerful Ra’s al Ghul. Alfred is shown polishing the giant penny in the Batcave. Gotta love that.

Computer systems are malfunctioning all around town, accompanied by strange riddles. It reeks of Edward Nygma. Then a giant Chinese puzzle box is delivered to police headquarters. Batman and Robin crack it open, revealing a big computer. Batman leaves Robin to examine it as he traces Riddler’s strange riddles. Robin finds a virtual-reality world inside the computer, and he and Commissioner Gordon step inside. Gordon stays a bit too long, though, and gets trapped inside, his heart racing faster and faster all the time with the shenanigans Nygma has in store for him in the VR landscape.

Joker infects the fish of Gotham with his laughing toxin, then he goes to the copyright office to have the fish registered in his name so that he can collect royalties for them! When the copyright director, G. Carl Francis, tells him you can’t copyright a natural resource, Joker targets the poor guy. He infects him with his toxin, though Batman protects Francis with the antidote. But then Joker targets the next guy in line at the copyright office. Batman and the police try to protect him, but Joker sends the man’s cat into the house with one of the infected fish!

Harley’s driving the getaway car for Joker as the Batmobile is hot on their tail. She hands Joker the wrong gun, and their plot is foiled, even though they do get away. Joker is so irate that he boots Harley out of the hideout. Harley then decides that Puddin would just love it if she stole the famous Harlequin Diamond for him. She runs into Poison Ivy during the heist, and the two strike up the most delightful of criminal partnerships. As she takes Harley under her wing, Ivy tries to instill a little self-esteem in this Joker “doormat.” Their crime spree is fun, but Harley begins to miss the rotten old Clown Prince of Crime. We get to see Harley out of costume at Ivy’s Toxic Acres hideout, her blond hair swept up in a ponytail.

What happens when the Batmobile gets crunched? It goes to its own personal mechanic, Earl Cooper. Penguin gets wind of a recent supply order through an auto-parts distributor and tracks down Earl. Turns out, Earl once worked for Global Motors until he blew the whistle on a bad brake design of one of their models. Batman took him under his wing (so to speak) to build a better Batmobile. Penguin hears Earl’s story as he sets a trap with the tricked-out Batmobile. Earl tries to tip off Batman and Robin, but they still get trapped in the wayward vehicle. Love the Bat-helmet sculpted just like Batman’s cowl. A black-and-white flashback scene offers a nice glimpse at a vintage Batmobile, along with a Batman having just the plain black bat emblem on his chest (a style he would ironically return to in future episodes!).

As Sidney DuBree’s been trying to move himself up in the rackets, he’s got a chance to really make a name for himself (as “Sid the Squid”) with a special shipment of drugs coming in from out of town. His buddies have just set him up, though. Batman arrives, and he and Sid get caught in an explosion. When Sid crawls out, everyone thinks Batman was killed. Sid becomes a hero — and a target — to the other underworld types. A bunch of ’em get hauled in during a bust, and soon Dr. Harleen Quinzel arrives as Sidney’s legal counsel and whisks him away. Joker’s worried that there’s no Batbody in all this, so he sets up a scheme with Sid to see if he can smoke out the still-living Bats.

One of the Batman lore’s well-loved females makes an appearance in this one: Zatanna, whose magician father Zatarra helped train Batman overseas. She’s got her own magic show now, and in Gotham she stages a big-scale disappearance of cash from the Gotham Mint. The trick doesn’t go as planned, though, and soon she’s being hauled off in handcuffs. Bruce, who was in the audience, smells a setup, so Batman swoops by and whisks her out of police custody. They go to the Mint to look for clues that will prove her innocence. The trail leads to Montague Cane, well-known debunker of magicians. Fishnet stockings are Zatanna’s trademark, though they’re not part of her costume here.

Batman and Robin stake out an extortion ring that’s aiming to sabotage a high-rise construction site. When they drag a name — Billy Marin — out of one of the thugs, Batman is all of a sudden mum to Robin. Batman goes out alone, and Robin is miffed, thinking he’s being treated like a child. He does a little digging and realizes that this Billy Marin character is really Tony Zucco — who was responsible for his parents’ deaths. The action flashes back to Dick Grayson and his circus family and that fateful night after Zucco was unable to shake down Haly’s Circus for protection money. Robin is determined to get his own revenge on Zucco, no matter what Batman says, for the murder of his parents. Diane Pershing, our own Poison Ivy, is the voice of Dick’s mother. Sid the Squid is mentioned as an alias of Tony Zucco in an apparent editing error, as Sid the Squid appears as a different character in “The Man Who Killed Batman.” The flashback scene of the Graysons’ death plays very similar to the flashback scene in the 1995 film “Batman Forever,” with Dick’s parents flying to meet each other in the air and the rope swinging back empty in the shadows. The flashback features a solid-black bat on Batman’s chest and red hair on the Commissioner’s head. In the novelization of this episode, contained in Geary Gravel’s “Shadows of the Past,” there’s an additional sequence occurring at the beginning where Dick visits the circus, now under the ownership of the Demers Brothers, and gives a comeuppance to an arrogant trapeze artist. We learn in the book that Mr. Haly’s first name is Phinneas, and while Dick’s parents are not mentioned by name in the episode, they are John and Mary.

As Penguin loots some priceless art, Batman nabs him. This bird is caged again, but when he’s released, he’s determined to regain his place in Gotham’s high society. Veronica Vreeland, meanwhile, has been a little bored lately. She’s looking to shake things up. She calls Oswald Cobblepott and invites him to dinner, drawing frowns from her society friends. Then she invites Ozzie to a party. Her snobby pal Pierce thinks the droll Penguin is the entertainment, but Veronica was actually impressed when Oswald gallantly defended her from would-be muggers.

The action takes another flashback, this time of a young Dick Grayson training with Bruce Wayne in fencing. He overhears Bruce talking with James Gordon about Zucco and decides to try to track the mobster himself. In his wanderings on the lower east side, he saves and befriends a hooker, then gets a lead on Zucco in an all-night diner. He finds Zucco, and Batman arrives in time to stop the ugly scene. Batman takes Dick back to the Batcave and reveals all. Back in the present day, Robin locates Zucco, and Batman arrives as Robin’s anger comes to the boiling point. Though this two-parter helps set the stage for the angry Robin’s evolution to Nightwing, we still see a tender side of Batman at the very end. In the novelization, there’s an added sequence of Commissioner Gordon arguing with Bullock over the usefulness of the Batman, and providing a tidbit to Batman about Arnold Stromwell. Batman then visits Father Mike Stromwell, then Arnold, now in witness protection.

Wayne Tech is pioneering a new military-style helicopter with zero-visibility radar technology as its “eyes.” Bruce has “serious misgivings about building weapons systems,” though. Penguin hijacks the Raven during its demo, and Bruce is injured from an explosion during the melee. That means Batman is temporarily out of commission, and the Commissioner’s Batsignal goes unanswered. When Penguin gets more and more out of control, Batman is determined to get back into action fast. With the help of Leslie Thompkins, he uses the copter’s technology to make himself a new set of “eyes.”

Bent on revenge for his disgrace at the hands of Batman, Kyodai Ken kidnaps the star pupil of Bruce Wayne’s old sensei, who reaches out to Bruce — and to Batman — for help. Five hundred years ago, a man mastered a powerful fighting art, one manipulating the ki lines, or currents of life force in the body. The art was called kiba-no-hoko, or “Way of the Fang.” The master hid his only instruction scroll at Mount Kajiiki. The secret location, passed down in the master’s family, now rests with Sensei Yoru. It’s this secret art that Kyodai Ken is after. Batman arranges to hand off the map to the scroll for the girl, but Kyodai Ken leads him on a futile chase. The ninja takes the map to the secret cave location — and the scroll disintegrates to his touch, save for one crucial fragment that further fuels his revenge: the instruction for o-nemuri, the touch of “Eternal Sleep.” Next, Kyodai Ken kidnaps Alfred to egg on his opponent. At one point, Batman complies with Kyodai’s demand to unmask himself to fight. Goh Misawa takes over the voice of Yoru. In the novelization of this episode, Yoru’s star pupil is named Kairi Nakano rather than Kairi Tanaga, and the address that comes up on Bruce’s tracer is 536 Tezuka rather than 563. Also in the book, Dick accompanies Bruce and Alfred to Japan and becomes immersed in a tournament of the game “Go.”

A little girl’s imaginary friend isn’t really imaginary — he’s just invisible. Using the name Mojo, he’s also involved in a life of thievery with his skill for not being seen. Batman has a run-in with this new villain, who is actually the girl’s father, Lloyd Ventrix, who’s out on parole. His ex, Helen, however, doesn’t want him anywhere near her or their daughter. Bruce wonders if the technology for Mojo’s cover-up came from Wayne Tech and its experiments on invisibility plastic, which bends light instead of absorbing it. Origin episode for Mojo. The villain’s last name is pronounced “Ventris,” though the screen credits list it as “Ventrix.” Michael Gross voices Lloyd Ventrix, while Jean Smart is Helen and Ken Howard voices Hartness.

Ra’s al Ghul abducts Robin from his Gotham State University dorm room one stormy night, then gets into the Batcave to make his introduction to Batman, telling him that his daughter Talia has also been abducted. He takes Batman to India to trace the clues, where Batman wards off attacks under the watchful eyes of Ra’s. The mysterious Ra’s seems to be ill, as he rails against the greed of man and the destruction of the rainforest when he and Batman move their search to Malaysia. Their journey continues to the Himalayas, and soon Batman discovers the true nature of this demon’s deception. There are some romantic vibes between Talia and Batman. Frank Welker voices a thug in this episode. Ubu is voiced by Manu Tupou.

Ra’s al Ghul has been testing Batman all along, needing a strong man to take on the mantle of his mad empire. He dips into the Lazarus Pit and comes out stronger but with the accompanying temporary insanity, and Batman must step in to scoop Talia out of his threatening grasp. Batman refuses when Ra’s demands that he marry Talia. Ra’s, Talia and Ubu then depart the cave for their desert stronghold. Batman and Robin track them through the clue of the satellite Orpheus. Batman sneaks into the stronghold, impressing Ra’s further and learning more about his vision for a utopia on Earth, utilizing the various Lazarus Pits around the globe. There is some nice, dramatic kissing action between Talia and Batman, but BRBTV still maintains that Catwoman is Batman’s one true love! Ubu is voiced this time by George DiCenzo.

There’s a new gang in town leaving a trail of heists behind them. Commissioner Gordon puts Batman on the case, giving him a homemade video of the scene. The Caped Crusader tries to hit up a thug, Charles “Rhino” Daly, for info, and Rhino promptly reports this to the “Boss.” Batman gets to see this Big Guy — who’s quite small, actually. Meet Scarface, a ventriloquist’s dummy. And the one who’s pulling his strings? Arnold Wesker. It creeps out even Batman, who realizes Wesker has multiple personality disorder. Scarface, meanwhile, is planning to rob a shipment of platinum. Batman decides to “divide and conquer.” Origin episode for Scarface / the Ventriloquist. In a humorous moment, the ever-cranky Scarface turns to Wesker and rails, “Don’t put words in my mouth!” Joe Piscopo plays the manager. Earl Boen is Rhino.

Yani Stavros gets struck by lightning right before he’s about to feed some illicit criminal info to Gordon. His boss, Maximillian Zeus, has delusions of grandeur, even amid the law’s pursuit of him. He sees Batman and thinks of him as Lord Hades. His assistant and lover Clio, meanwhile, is worried that the shipping magnate is descending further and further into madness, since his business is failing and he has sold out to the mob. Batman appeals to her to try to reach the old Maxie she knew. Bess Armstrong as Clio sure sounds a lot like Heather Locklear, who did voicework for “Prophecy of Doom.” Nicholas Savalas, who voices Stavros, is the son of actor Telly Savalas and the half-brother of actress Nicollette Sheridan.