As we near the debut of
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Sepia Tones
my mind races towards those pure gems of the Dark Knight that already
exist in the ether of Animatia. Animatia is, of course, the fictitious
country where all cartoons come from.
Paul Dini is the dictator there –
as he should be – and he rules with a dynamically drawn fist. And here,
on this wonderful island, sit the tomes that built a generation of
Bat-fans. Some (me) would say these tomes were truly the
best
generation of adaptations and explorations of Batman. I’d like to
pontificate, ruminate, and extrapolate to you those episodes of
Batman: The Animated Series (and
The New Batman Adventures) that truly
defined a cartoon legacy.
1 and 2.
Two-Face (Parts 1 and 2)
Of all the designs Bruce Timm would bring to light for the Dark
Night, it was Two-Face who took the prize in my mind for the most
striking. Up to that point I personally had no knowledge of Harvey Dent.
Being introduced to him a mere five episodes earlier, I’d figured the
Gotham DA to be the fastidious
order in Bruce Wayne’s reenactment of
Law & Order.
With this chilling origin story though, Alan Burnett and Randy Rogel
show a deeply scarred man come to terms with is inner demons made flesh.
The fact that Batman was just a step or two behind the explosion that
would lose him a great friend to villainy was the kind of mature punch I
wasn’t expecting in a children’s program. Keep that in mind as we
continue our journey.
- Feat of Clay (Part 2)
Origin stories were
B:TAS‘s most potent products of the
series. While I could hit on so many points already listed with Two
Face, here, it’s really the ending sequence of the second half of
Clayface’s debut that earns it a spot on my all-time top ten. As Matt
Hagen is confronted with a bank of TV’s mocking his present malleable
form with the visage of a career’s worth of characters, he can no longer
hold a single form. The muscle memory of his Clayface form jerks and
contorts Hagen into a gloppy nightmare as a tenderized Batman seeks
solace in the back of the bay. With no other option to stop the
cacophony, Clayface electrocutes himself into unconsciousness – but not
before he snarks to Batman that he would have
killed for a death scene like the one he just performed. Natch.
- Almost Got ‘Im
Quentin Tarantino, eat your heart out! The key line here “And then I threw a rock at ‘im!”… “It was a big rock.”
- House and Garden
Simply put, if you don’t find yourself disturbed at Poison Ivy’s
children mutating into plant monsters, then there’s just no hope for
you. Again we’re presented with a concept no kids’ cartoon would touch
prior, or frankly, afterwards. Was it all in service to megalomaniac
super-villainy? Sure. But when you see the carefully placed seeds of
doubt – that Ivy might have actually wanted normalcy at some point in
her prior life – then you
know that behind the ass-kickery is an artful commentary on the biological desire to procreate.
- Harley’s Holiday
While Mark Hamill’s Joker is
the Joker of pop culture (in my
opinion), it was the creation of Harley Quinn that deserves the
recognition on my list. Here, amidst some obviously campy comedy, comes a
deeper heart and message. That the broken Dr. Quinzelle still lingers
somewhere beneath the makeup and madness. And while
Mad Love
would likely steal a spot on anyone else’s list, it’s the quick decent
into villainy here that earns the episode my love. Harley truly
tried to reform. But the universe had other plans.
- Deep Freeze
Mr. Freeze is forced to turn Walt Disney into an immortal life
himself. OK, it’s not actually Disney, but… yeah. The final image of
Grant Walker frozen on the ocean floor for eternity is frozen in
my mind for the sheer ironic terror it invokes.
- Growing Pains
I think it should be clear: most of my favorite moments from the show
all curtail towards the mature. Such is life. Here, Robin (Tim Drake,
now), is duped into saving a little girl afraid of her evil father. The
dad? Clayface. The daughter? Just an extension of malleable mud, played
perfectly by the former actor. Robin? Never the same again.
- Legends of the Dark Knight
Look, I know I put another anthology on this list, but c’mon. Dini
and his crew were able to capture the essence of Frank Miller, Dick
Sprang, and Bill Finger in 22 minutes. That’s not
just a novel approach to presentation. That’s a master class in adaptation.
- Perchance to Dream
Laren Bright, Michael Reaves, and Joe R. Lansdale deserve the highest kudos. We drop into the episode
in medias res (yet another mature presentation choice, for
kids
cartoon show). Things feel off. Bruce Wayne’s life isn’t as it should
be. He’s happily in a romantic relationship. But the words in the paper
are illegible. Confused, he stares out to the skyline. And Batman
swings past him. The tension reaches a boiling point. And then, Thomas
Wayne gently offers his hand to his adult son, Bruce, in comfort. The
needle scratches on the record of the young minds watching. The Mad
Hatter has captured the actual Batman in a dream machine, whilst he
pilfers and plunders Gotham City. Before the dream can end (with Bruce
Wayne pitching himself into oblivion), the Hatter appears. “I was
willing to give you any life you wanted… Just so you’d stay out of
mine!” Consider my mind blown, and my heart stolen for an amazing moment
captured in celluloid.
* Please note: I figured I should finally title my article with a
super link-baity trap like this to lure the unsuspecting and angry
public to my musings. Suffice to say the list above represents just my
opinion. If you don’t share that opinion, clearly, you are wrong and you
should feel ashamed that you’d dare disagree with me.
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