Batman: The Animated Series - Vol I
It's long...
For all intents and purposes, the acclaimed DC Animated universe came to an end in May 2006 with the final episode of Justice League Unlimited. The final scene of JLU ended with Batman running into the screen...bringing everything full-circle. So it's appropriate to go back to the show that started it all for DC Animated-- 1992's "Batman: the Animated Series".
I've mentioned this before, but I was scarred by this series when it first came out. My doofus roomate would ALWAYS watch it and it took me a LONG time (years) to warm up to it. Until I received this set, I had never seen alot of these episodes. I couldn't think of Batman without thinking of my jackass roommate. I REALLY hated that goon. Turns out, I was missing quite a bit.
Each collection is a four-disc set, released in four separate volumes. They're not called "seasons", because the production quantity trailed off after Season 1. It's not until Volume THREE that we finally get into the Season 2 stuff. To be more precise, Season 1 had about 62 episodes, Season 2 had about 12, Season 3 had about 6 and Season 4 had 20. Thus, it's easier and more marketable to split the whole series up into "Volumes".
There's been some controversy about the ordering of the episodes. Some people remember the official air dates and claim that the order is mixed up. Supposedly, the episode order on the DVDs are the official production order and, aside from one notable exception, it works well.
Volume One, Disc 1 contains the following episodes, in order:
"On Leather Wings"
First in continuity and airing, this actually premiered on a Friday night primetime slot on FOX in 1992. Really dark and moody and feels like a mini-movie. The music score is great and Batman's movements are perfectly synched with it. It plays as an introduction to Batman's world, as we get good shots of the police blimps and a lengthy Batmobile introduction. There's also a scene that is reminiscent of the warehouse scene from "Batman: Year One"--one that was also recreated in "Batman Begins" in 2005. This episode introduces Kirk Langstrom, the Man-Bat. An interesting choice for the premiere episode, but it works well. Harvey Bullock is also introduced.
"Christmas With the Joker"
The only episode that's out of order. I believe FOX held this back for an Xmas 1992 airing, but it doesn't work in this order. Summer Gleeson the TV reporter appears, but we don't know who her character is... a giveaway that this episode is out-of-place. Also, Robin is around, when he didn't pop-up until late into the first season. Terrible story and action, as Joker just runs around doing insane stuff and he seems to have too much robotic and technical know-how.
"Nothing to Fear"
Excellent introduction to the Scarecrow. Simple plot resolving Scarecrow's revenge on his old teaching institution. Summer is officially introduced in this episode. Batman over-acts a bit with his famous "I am vengeance...I am the NIGHT" line. See, to me, Batman's never been about VENGEANCE...he's about justice or prevention of crime. Despite all his grim n' gritty-ness, Batman's an optimist. He's not about getting even...that's the Punisher's gig. But it was the early 90's, when "bad-ass" heroes were the rage.
"The Last Laugh"
Unofficially, this is the first episode with the Joker. At the time, it was somewhat innovative that the creators didn't try to make Joker sound like Jack Nicholson. Mark Hamill begins his excellent portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime-- a highlight of the DC Animated world. Straight-up plot involving a garbage barge and the Joker's laughing gas. Joker has a strange robotic bodyguard, though.
"Pretty Poison"
Another well done introduction to a villain. In this case, it's the debut of Poison Ivy, who's snared Gotham DA Harvey Dent with her charms. Batman has to save his friend, but not before a sci-fi scene similar to "Little Shop of Horrors".
"The Underdwellers"
A "cartoon-only" villain, the Sewer-King appears. He keeps kids underground in his own little world. Seems more suited to a Ninja Turtles story and it's just...weird. One funny part, the Sewer King locks misbehaving kids in a room with flourescent light!! That IS evil! Sewer King was never seen again, so it's safe to belief that he was locked up forever.
"P.O.V.".
A somewhat weak cop caper that focusses on Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya. Batman and Montoya team up at a shipyard to catch some crooks. Kinda' lame...but at least they were trying to flesh out the suporting characters. Montoya had appeared in the comic books about
six months earlier, but her appearance there stemmed from plans for the cartoon.
Disc 2:
"The Forgotten"
More of a cartoon plot. Bruce Wayne has amnesia and ends up in a chain-gang mining camp. You really have to suspend your bisbelief, because it appears he also timewarps back to the days of Cool Hand Luke or George & Lenny.
"Be a Clown"
A serious cartoon always takes a step down when a kid is involved. This isn't too bad...Joker crashes the birthday party of the Mayor's son, disguised as Jekko the clown. The Mayor's son is impressed and stows away with Joker. In air dates, I believe this was the first Joker episode to be shown. A good sequence where we only see parts of the Joker, then panning up to the big overall reveal, lends validity to this.
"Two-Face (Part 1 &2)"
A great, tragic, psychiatric thriller--especially the first part. Harvey Dent sure didn't waste time getting over Poison Ivy, as he's already engaged to another woman. Dent's transition into Two-Face is altered a bit from his comic roots-- instead of a court room attack, he wanders into a chemical exposion in a warehouse. Gangster Rupert Thorne makes his first signifcant appearance, as well.
"It's Never Too Late"
More with Thorne and a rival gangster named Stromwell. Batman's almost a background character in this crime novel story. Pretty good, but not if you're expecting superhero action.
"I've Got Batman in My Basement"
Worst. Episode. Ever. Really..it is. While the other episodes all had a darker, adult theme that didn't insult your intelligence, this one does. KIDS again take the spotlight and it's awful. It's more like a Speed Buggy episode, as two kids drive the Batmobile around town. We're talking Anakin Skywalker in Phantom Menace type of bad. Batman is knocked out with ONE shot from Penguin's umbrella and has to hole up in the kids' basement for a few days. The Penguin comes to visit and it's a Triple A version of "Home Alone'. Yuk, yuk..those whacky and resourceful scamps rig up all kinds of kooky traps (and hilarity) for the villains! The KIDS are loosely based on Encyclopedia Brown, and you've got to wonder why this story was included. Maybe they weren't sure that the "adult" feel wouldn't work and wanted to test out some Saturday Morning Goofiness. Really pisses over what the series had established.
"Heart of Ice"
Then, one of the best episodes. The plot isn't anything too innovative, but this story stands out in Batman mythos because it really breathed life into Mr. Freeze for the first time in his history. Freeze is made into a tragic, sympathetic villain.. and within five years, this was worked into the comics. A big accomplishment for a cartoon. The sound effects and voice acting is also great-- the sound of Freeze's ice gun is terrifying and his cold methodical voice is a splendid touch. Very cool scene where Batman swoops out of the darkness onto Freeze's goons.
Disc 3:
"The Cat and the Claw (Parts 1&2)"
Introduction episode for Catwoman. Really should have been one part, but Catwoman had recently appeared in "Batman Returns",
so they needed to make her appearance seem like a big event. Having a blonde Catwoman doesn't work for me (I'm guessing this was a Michelle Pfeiffer tie-in). Also doesn't help that her character design is the ugliest of all the DC Animated chics. Weird, angled ski slopes on her head and hair. I really REALLY hate the cartoon's design for Selina Kyle.
But this episode is also the introduction of Red Claw, a cartoon-only amazonian
terrorist chick.
"See No Evil"
A small-time gangster attains an experimental invisibility suit and uses it to steal stuff and visit his daughter. The guy's
a scumbag, but the writers do a good job of "sympathy for the devil" by playing up the separation from his daughter. He's
a crook, but he really just wants to make his little girl happy.
"Beware of the Gray Ghost"
It's Adam West, old chum. West returns to Gotham City as the the voice of the aging Grey Ghost-- an old movie serial villain who inspired
Batman. Even without the West connection, this is still a high quality episode. The "Mad Bomber" (who doesn't bomb at
midnight) and his use of radio-controlled pinewood derby cars might seem stupid. But they're not the main attraction.
"Prophecy of Doom"
A new age psychic loon is trying to mesmerize Gotham. Very forgettable episode featuring Batman fighting in a planetarium.
"Feat of Clay (Parts 1&2)"
Similar to the Two-Face intro, as we meet struggling actor Matt Hagen. Ever since an accident destroyed his face, he's been dependent
on Roland Daggett's facial cream. An overdose of said cream changes Hagen into Clayface. The "death/overdose" scene is
comical-- I don't know of any gangsters who would whack someone by drowning the victim in facial cream. But then,
I don't know any gangsters, period. Again, while Hagen's a scumbag, there's
some sympathy generated, as he's really just an aging actor trying to hang on to the glory days of his youth. Clayface received a huge
upgrade from the animated series, as his enhanced powers were eventually worked back into the comics. Previously, the comic
Clayfaces had been guys who could simply change their facial features. Now, Clayface is more like Spider-Man's buddy the Sandman.
Disc 4:
"The Joker's Favor"
A road rage incident leads to the Joker tailing a motorist. Joker's obviously in a psychotic mode, but as he's pursuing the guy,
he uses hand signals to denote a lane change. That's funny. Joker has a moment of levity and decides to not kill
the guy. Instead, he plans to use him as a flunky in a future crime. The guy changes his name and moves, but the Joker still finds him,
years later. With the guy's assistance, the Joker and the debutting Harley Quinn stage an attack on Jim Gordon at a banquet. Harley
first appears, out-of-costume, as a female cop resembling a stripper.
In the end, the guy's assistance wasn't essential to the plot... but that's not the point. Joker's simply an insane loon
and does what he wants.
"Vendetta"
Harvey Bullock is being framed and this brings Killer Croc into the scene. Bullock sent Croc to the clink years ago.
Funny that Croc is portrayed like a cunning gang boss, when in subsequent episodes he appeared like a dimwitted lunk.
"Fear of Victory"
The Scarecrow (and his new blonde hairdo) is back to scare the wits out of people. This time he has a fear inducing drug
that is triggered by adrenalin. He releases it at a football game involving Dick Grayson and his roomate. This might have been
the first episode that brought Robin into the fold, as he's away at college, here. The football game itself is one of
those anachronisms of the show that you either love or hate-- all the football players appear in leather helmets, circa
1948.
"The Clock King"
A complete joke in the comics, the new Clock King, Temple Fugate, is given a serious twist. It's almost reminiscent of a
Twilight Zone episode-- the mayor tells the anal retentive Fugte to relax and take some time off during the day. He does so
and his life is ruined in that easy hour. Mayor Hamilton Hill gets a big part in what's essentially a nerd losing
his grip on reality and becoming obsessed with revenge.
"Appointment in Crime Alley"
A recap of Batman's origin, involing Dr. Leslie Tompkins and her clinic. Roland Daggett returns with a sadistic real estate
plot to bomb the area around Tompkins' clinic. For a lot of people, this was probably their first exposure to
Leslie, Batman's surrogate "mom".
"Mad as a Hatter"
Jerivs Tetch tries to use his new mind control devices to impress a co-worker named Alice. Surprisingly, it doesn't work and
Tetch becomes the Mad Hatter. Hatter misunderstands Alice's feelings, which leads him into
his crime career. So it's somewhat tragic in that way: he's a dork who over-estimated his status with the ladies.
In another suspend disbelief/cartoon-only elements, Hatter kidnaps Alice and sets up shop
in a Wonderland-themed amusement park. I always felt that Hatter, with his dependency on Lewis Carroll stories would
be the easiest villain to figure out and thwart-- not the Riddler.
"Dreams in Darkness"
Scarecrow's back again and this time he's poisoning the Gotham City water supply. Batman gets a whiff of Scarecrow's
fear toxin and is committed to Arkham Asylum. I got the sense that they were trying for a character study on Batman, but
it doesn't work and feels like a gimmicky story from the 1950's.
Why'd You Buy This?
The groundwork is laid and the continuity slowly begins to build. For instance, Kirk Langstrom's work was cited in 2004's Justice League Unlimited "Cadmus" arc. The series was sort of feeling itself out and doesn't really begin to gain momentum until late in Volume 2, when Ra's al Ghul is slowly introduced. You'll also notice that Batman is fairly vulnerable in the early episodes. He has trouble taking out thugs and gets knocked down and thrown around alot. Compare that to the 70's cartoon Batman who would whip out
a custom Bat-gadget for any scenario.
Batman's gadgets are more of the practical variety and his arsenal seems scaled down, somewhat.
He has stuff like re-breathers, grappling hooks and bolos -- not Bat-Bazookas, Bat-Anti-Hypnosis Pills or Bat-Radar Jammers (all crap
he used in old "SuperFriends" cartoons). As a result, this new animated Batman comes off as being a skillful hero, not some
weenie who magically pulls out a super-gadget from his cloak. The 70's Batman was almost identical to the Super Globetrotters' Afro-Man
in that regard.
The discs' extras are interesting. Disc 1 contains the original test-case of the opening sequence, along with commentary from Bruce Timm and friends. "On Leather Wings" has a commentary track, but the creators are more interested in talking about their production process than plot or characters. Disc 2 contains an excpetional 15 minute documentary on the show's creation and impact. Comic creators Mark Waid and (sigh) Geoff Johns chime in with their thoughts.
Recommended DVD package. Much easier (and rewarding) than reading the last 20 years worth of Batman comics.
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