Favorite episode of Batman: TAS

[Missy]

In honor of Batman: The Animated Series coming to DVD (see James' thread here), I thought I start this thread where we can talk about our favorite Batman: TAS episodes.

Mind you, this is only for Batman: The Animated Series, not The Adventures of Batman & Robin. To help you differentiate between the two, I found this Batman: TAS episode quide.

Favorites:

His Silicon Soul (Heart of Steel part 3): Something about the robot Batman touched me so much. Maybe it was the way that he was more human the Bruce -- killing himself after he thinks he's killed the real Bruce.

Harlequinade: I think this is the one where Batman laughs at her and calls her a "fool".

Honorable Mentions:

The Under-Dwellers: The very subtle way they insinuated that the Sewer King was molesting the children was perfect, and I swear I thought Batman was going to kill the Sewer King at the end.

Beware the Gray Ghost: For me, it was all about Adam West's appearance. Say what you will of the old Batman TV show, but West was the right man for the voice and brought a lot to it. The flashbacks to Bruce's childhood were nice too.

The Cape & Cowl Conspiracy: The fact that Bruce had a mask on under his mask is still funny.

Robin's Reckoning (part 1 & 2): Perfect origin story for Dick Grayson, and truly one of the most emotional episodes ever.

Heart of Steel (part 1 & 2): Can you say Blade Runner?

Almost Got 'Im: "... and I threw a rock at 'im!"

[James D.]

I cannot remember if this episode fell under TAO Batman and Robin, but it was such a great episode:

Riddler's Reform

If not, then "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"

I'm a Riddler fanboy.

Oh, and pretty much every episode Yoda listed up there, you can throw into my list. This show ruled, didn't it?

Edited May 29, 2004 by James D.

[Missy]

You know what the best episode ever is? I forget the title, but it's the one where Barbara/Batgirl dies at the hands of the Scarecrow. From this, Jim learns who Batman is and unleashes Bane on him. In the end, Batman kills Bane, and both Jim and Bruce fall from a roof and to their deaths. However, Barbara wakes up in The Cave, because, as it turns out, she was gassed by the Scarecrow and dreamt it all. But, because we never see her get the gas, we don't know it until the end. Afterwards, she comes this close to telling her father who she is, but he stops her. Implying that he already knows. Great shit!

A very close tie for first would be the one where Robin (Tim) learns why/how Dick quit and became Nightwing.

Batman: I thought we had the same goals.

Robin/Dick: Things changed! I changed! The game's over, Batman! [pause] I quit.

Batman: Robin, wait!

Batman grabs Robin's arm, trying to talk to him, but Robin lays Batman out with one punch.

Batgirl: gasp!

Dick rips mask and cape off, tosses them to the ground, and leaps away.

Another good episode is the one where the three kids tell the different stories about Batman, and the girl retells a portion of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. The best part, they captured Frank Miller's style perfectly!

But, alas, all three of those episodes are from The Adventures of Batman & Robin, and not Batman: TAS.

[slothian]

I really wish I could remember more, but the episodes don't get that much airplay anymore.

I always liked 'Christmas with the Joker', 'Second Chance' which saw Two-Face stage his own kidnapping before he was to undergo surgery on his face, 'Bane' was good introduction as was 'Two-Face' - I don't get the comics, y'see.

The best, or most memorable, for me is Avatar, when Ra's al Ghul tracked down an ancient Egyptian mummified priestess w/ Batman & Talia on his tail. It introduced me to one of the most fascinating villains I've come across and his relationship with both Batman and his daughter. Vocal characterisation was good too - very menacing English accent, even if he's meant to be a bit more oriental