In this week’s The Walking Dead, we got to focus on a lot of the show’s strong female characters. Carol and Maggie played the protagonists throughout the episode, clashing with TWD newbie Paula and her female Savior squad. We’ve still not met the mysterious, murderous Negan, but the show is doing an excellent job of building up the legend of Negan ahead of his appearance. Instead of giving us Negan, however, The Walking Dead reintroduced us to Carol and gave an excellent look at how her character has changed since the beginning of this season.
I was very on edge when they began messing with Carol’s character formula. Sure, her harsh words essentially got Sam & his family killed, but it was still working for her very well. Since Sam’s death and her standoff with Morgan, The Walking Dead has begun softening those edges, and Carol’s been doing out of character things, like kissing Tobin’s face and keeping a death toll diary. When they tried working this in on last week’s episode, it felt forced and messy. This episode, however, really solidified what their goals are for Carol going on from here. The new Carol hasn’t entirely lost her killer instincts – she was able to cut herself free and kill the Saviors that had her. But it’s now a ruthlessness informed by necessity and motherly instinct. She was more than willing to let Paula walk free, but once Maggie’s baby was threatened by Michelle (not Michonne), Carol didn’t hesitate to go for the kill shot. It’s not that she’s abandoned her fighting spirit for religion and beet cookies. She’s a conflicted character, seeing the opportunity presented by Maggie’s pregnancy as a chance to redo her mothering of Sam. Or Sophia. Or maybe Lizzie & Mika.
The only possible downside to Carol’s transformation is that Maggie seems to be taking the same path of development as Carol. Certainly not to the same extreme – Maggie wanted Paula to get shot down the moment she was in range. But neither Carol nor Maggie felt good after barbecuing the remaining Saviors, and Maggie’s final line for the episode cinched that she wasn’t feeling too hot (get it?). It’s another informed change, as Maggie’s now got the life of her child to consider as well. But the fact that it’s coming along at the same time as Carol makes it feel cheaper. Not to mention the fact that a similar loss of bloodlust is taking place in her husband Glenn, too. Maggie just had an incredible scene where she dominates Gregory and gets the group half of Hilltop’s supplies. Will Maggie be abandoning this bold, authoritative figure once her child’s been born? And thinking of the cast as a whole, are we getting to a point where more and more characters can’t bear to kill? The Walking Dead is, after all, a show about dead people attacking alive people, so there’s got to be a good number of people making a stand to keep the momentum going.
The way I can see this concept working is through this episode’s reveal of who Negan is – or rather, who “Negan” are. The Saviors bringing out this “we’re all Negan” concept is pretty interesting, in what this sets up for their personalities. We already know there’s a definitive Negan that will exist, but the concept of a whole group of people embracing the same name of a brutal, bloody killer sets up a new group war that promises to be the fully fleshed out conflict that we never really got with the Wolves. If the group does let themselves get soft, with their children and home base and reignited love lives, it could make for a particularly bloody encounter to end the season. That’s how it can set up for an interesting argument – that once the Alexandrians have gotten comfortable in their new roles and new home, only to have The Negans take it all away. And when that day comes, the Alexandrians had better hope they have their killer instincts. As well as their rocket launchers.
You may be a little preoccupied with the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War, but there is this small movie coming out this summer with four turtles, Rocksteady, BeBop, Krang, and the Shredder.
Brian Tee who plays Shredder released an image of Shredder on Instagram from the new sequel that is more in line with the orginal series.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is directed by David Green, from Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec’s script, and stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Brian Tee, Laura Linney, Sheamus, and Gary Anthony Williams.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows will be in theaters on June 3, 2016.
Star Wars: Episode VIII has been filming in Dubrovnik since March 9th. Thanks to some very friendly Croatians, we now can show you some video and some pictures from the set. Let’s start with this video.
My guess is that this stunt man maybe in some sort chase and gets knocked off that staircase by either a vehicle (this will make sense in a minute) or he’s force pushed. Click on the link below for the next Instagram video.
While the cast was on a Press Tour in China for Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, a video was played featuring a new clip of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and she has some choice words for Batman and Superman. Check out the clip.
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, violent vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice stars Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. The film also reunites “Man of Steel” stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.
The new film was written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
The film is set to open worldwide on May 6, 2016, and is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Batman characters created by Bob Kane, and Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment.
According to Batman-On-Film founder and editor-in-chief Jett Ramey, early reactions from those who have seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have been universally positive. Though he has not seen the film himself, Jett spoke with someone who had, giving Jett his “non-spoilerish” thoughts on the film.
According to Jett’s source, Ben Affleck and Jesse Eisenberg are “the standouts.” Affleck’s Batman is described as “brutal” and Eisenberg’s portrayal of Luthor is “a very modern take on the character. He’s completely two-faced and the trailers don’t do him justice.”
In addition, the source reports that Gal Gadot “is great” as Wonder Woman, though “her role is quite small,” while the movie’s “references to future Justice League characters are handled very well and the film doesn’t feel crammed.” On Superman, the writer simply states that “Superman does “Superman things.””
The most interesting part of the report regards the film’s tone and the titular characters’ conflict: “The film is really dark – maybe even darker than Chris Nolan’s Batman films. It’s definitely darker than Man of Steel. It’s closer to Watchmen in my opinion than The Dark Knight Trilogy or Man of Steel. The reason why Batman and Superman are against each other is handled in a very organic manner and there are some fantastic parallels drawn between these two very different characters.”
As a podcaster, reviews help improve your show’s ranking in iTunes, so it is easier for new listeners to find it. But have you ever tried to explain to your listeners how to review your show, it’s tough, and most people give up.
So here are the instructions. I will use our podcast as the example.
If you listen to the Monkeys Fighting Robots podcast, thank you so much for helping to support the show by subscribing and leaving a rating and review in iTunes. The reviews help improve the show’s ranking in iTunes, so it is easier for new listeners to find it.
If you are in the iTunes Store, great. If not, click the Store button (upper left corner for iPhone, lower left corner for iPad).
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Scroll down to the Podcasts section and click on Monkeys Fighting Robots.
To subscribe, click on the SUBSCRIBE button near the top.
To rate and review the show, click on either Reviews (on the iPhone) or Ratings and Reviews (on the iPad).
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Click on the Write a Review button.
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Click on the number of stars
Enter your title and your review.
Click Submit in the upper right corner. You are done! The review will not show up right away, but you are all set.
In iTunes On Your Computer (Windows or iOs)
Open iTunes.
If you are in the iTunes Store already, great. If not, click the iTunes Store button in the upper right corner or in the menu bar.
Click in the search box in the upper right corner, type in Monkeys Fighting Robots, and hit Enter.
Click on the Monkeys Fighting Robots logo under Podcasts.
To subscribe, click the Subscribe button in the left column below the show logo.
To rate and review the show, click Ratings and Reviews just above the show description and below the show name in the middle.
Click Write a Review.
If you don’t have an Apple ID, you will be prompted to create one now.
If you haven’t written a review in iTunes before, enter a name to be displayed with your review.
Enter the title and the review.
Be sure to click on the number of stars.
Click Submit and you are done! The review will not show up right away, but you are all set.
Thank you so for taking the time to rate and review the Monkeys Fighting Robots podcast. The podcast future is bright, and the ratings, reviews, and subscribers help us stand out from the crowd.
This week we are blown away by how good 10 Cloverfield Lane is, overact to the first appearance of Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, and wonder about the end game for for the season of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Do you have a question that you want answered during the next show? Email Matthew Sardo at matt@popaxiom.com.
Never heard of Matt Sardo? For starters, he made the Kessel Run in less than 11 parsecs. Prior to that, he gave Doc Brown the idea for the flux capacitor and led the Resistance to victory over SkyNet – all while sipping a finely crafted IPA. As a radio host, he’s interviewed celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. He’s covered everything from the Super Bowl to Comic-Con.
DC has had success bringing their heroes to the small screen. Arrow led the way on the CW. This was followed by Flash on the CW and Constantine on NBC. The later was short-lived but now he pops up on Arrow. Last year we got a young Batman on Fox’s Gotham. This year Supergirl debuted on CBS. Which will be crossing over with the Flash later this month. Plus the CW added Legends of Tomorrow featuring: Atom, Firestorm and Hawk Girl. In television success breeds more success. Which got me thinking, who’s next? Some possibilities follow.
Nighwing (Dick Grayson)
Out from under Batman’s shadow Nightwing is a compelling character. His fighting skills are on par with Batman yet he is on many levels so much saner and better adjusted. Of course, maybe that hurts him as a character? Nightwing was going to be a main character on TNT’s now defunct Titans series. It would be fun to see him strike out alone as he explores becoming his own man away from Batman. Plus he has an interesting love life dating the likes of Starfire.
Wonder Woman
They’d tried doing this one in 2011 with Adrianne Palicki (now Mockingbird on AOS) playing everybody’s favorite amazon. It was a mess. In this series Wonder Woman was both a business woman (who’s business was marketing Wonder Woman) and a deadly superhero and yet she also had a “normal” alter-ego Diana Prince. It was terrible on many levels. For instance in one scene they actually argue about the size of her action figures breasts. Just because this show was bad that doesn’t mean the character still wouldn’t work if they didn’t make it so complicated. After all Diana is one of the most powerful DC heroes nearly as strong as superman and a better fighter than batman. A powerful woman in a man’s world. She just needs a real show where she doesn’t torture and kill bad guys because that’s not her.
Green Lantern – Hal Jordan
Just because it was a terrible movie doesn’t mean it can’t be a great TV show. After all Green Lantern is as iconic as Flash and Green Arrow. You often see them working together in Justice League. Hal is a regular guy, test pilot who has a ring that allows him to stand toe to toe with Superman. Plus he’s a guardian of Earth. This could be a very cosmic series.
Zatanna
This fun-loving and powerful magic user has been seen in Smallville but still hasn’t soloed. She is certainly the least known and least iconic of this bunch but she is still an interesting character. She’s learning to come to terms with her powers which are virtually “do whatever you want” as long as you speak backwards. Oh she has dated Constantine which adds to her cool factor.
Aquaman
The king of Atlantis. Also made a live action debut on Smallville. Yeah he gets “dissed” a lot because his power is “talks to fish”. But he really is a lot more than that. He is super strong, an excellent warrior and king of an advanced under water civilization. Could make a nice fish out of water series.
So which DC comic would you like to see star in their own live action show?
Note: this post assumes adult Batman and Superman are off limits due to movie duties.
Me Him Her shows a few too many signs of being a directorial debut. It can’t decide what kind of reality it wants to set itself in, the camerawork is surprisingly boring and even bad in parts. But unlike so many directorial debuts, when it works, it’s quite funny and endearing.
The movie follows Corey who’s been summoned by his best friend Brendan to come to Los Angeles to help him come out as gay. Brendan and his agents fear his acting career will be demolished if he reveals his sexuality, so Corey has to help him deal with these anxieties. However, Corey becomes distracted by Gabbi, who has just broken-up with Heather, her narcissistic, manipulative girlfriend. Corey and Gabbi hook up and have mixed feelings afterwards: They both can’t understand why she’s so haunted by someone as terrible as Heather, and also, what does them having sex do to the identity they’ve defined for themselves and the rest of the world?
Me Him Her often escapes into the fantastical and the absurd with hilarious results, but the movie doesn’t keep these elements consistent enough. They come and go. They feel like they could have been a great tool to enhance the rather simple, slice-of-life story at the center of the film. But they just come off as insubstantial. We also never quite come to understand Corey as a character. He’s not the one that has to go through the most difficult journey, but the story is mainly told from his point of view. A certain nuance is missing from his character that would’ve made him more interesting as a character. At a rather scant 97 minutes, it almost feels too long. Performance-wise Dustin Milligan, Luke Bracey and Emily Meade do quite well by themselves, though. They fully commit themselves to their characters and their comedic timing is just on point. They manage to carry the movie very well.
Should Landis do another feature, I hope he makes it better than this one. There are sudden signs here and there of a better director, but too many of his choices come off as amateurish and unimaginative. One can hope that he has learned from this and make a better film next time. As a writer, he’s pretty much got it. As a director, we’ll have to wait and see.
Me Him Her is available on VOD through outlets such as amazon.com.
Batman The Animated Series is damn near perfect in just about every way. The design and art direction is unique and memorable. The stories are simple, self-contained treasures that bring a lot of complexity to our favorite characters. The animation is a triumph of traditional hand drawn work. The music is big and resonates with a full orchestra. The voice acting is spectacular, with each actor bringing out emotional performances. It’s a fantastic series that you need to watch right now. (Once again, Andrew Stewart also wrote a great piece on this series that you should check out). And just like with Superman TAS, here are the twenty greatest episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. If you’ve never seen the show, here are some good places to start.
Spoilers Ahead
20. Shadow of the Bat
Barbara Gordon is one of Batman’s most enduring characters. She’s got a lot of energy, is very funny, and is just as tough as Batman and Robin. While this wasn’t the first episode Barbara Gordon was introduced in, this was the first episode where she became her alter ego Batgirl. The episode focuses on a plot against Commissioner Gordon, and it’s up to the dynamic duo to stop it, but it doesn’t hurt to have a little help from the new girl on the block. The best parts of the episode are when Robin and Batgirl interact with each other. They’re both funny, and the show did a clever job of setting up their relationship. It has a lot of fun moments, and the mystery in the episode has a lot of great twists and turns that are reminiscent of the Noir stories the creators were inspired by.
19. Nothing To Fear
The Scarecrow’s initial design is one of the weaker looks of the show. His outfit just looked too goofy for the show’s atmosphere. They did eventually fix his design in later episodes, however, his first episode isn’t really about him, but rather about Batman. After Scarecrow douses Batsy with fear gas, Bruce Wayne gets horrid visions about the death of his parents and feels an overwhelming sense of guilt. The episode goes deeper into Batman’s psyche as he fights off the visions and eventually is able to conquer his fear and capture the Scarecrow. With the most quoted line in the show that proved that Kevin Conroy is Batman.
18. Mad As A Hatter
The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch) is one of Batman’s less well-known villains in his rogue’s gallery. He certainly has his own stories, but he’s never gotten to Joker or Catwoman levels of notoriety, and it’s a shame, because he can be really fascinating. Jervis Tetch’s introduction focuses on his obsession with a girl he works with named Alice. It starts off fairly innocent, but then it slowly grows more deranged and dark as his wants start to fully grow. The episode mainly focuses on Tetch’s point of view, and how he starts arguing with himself on his controversial methods, but then follows his wants despite growing crueller and more diabolical. And of course it has a bitter, dark ending that the show was known for doing so well
17. Appointment In Crime Alley
The very premise of this episode probably wouldn’t make it pass the writer’s room on any current superhero animated show. There’s no famous villain, it doesn’t follow the traditional story telling methods, and it’s filled with a lot of ambiguity that may not go over well with kids. But, that’s what makes the episode so fascinating. Batman has to go to the Gotham slum Park Row, now named Crime Alley, to meet Dr. Leslie Tompkins on the anniversary of his parent’s death. However, everything that can go wrong does go wrong, there’s a plot by a wealthy businessman to blow up the slum, a crazed lunatic with a gun, armed thugs, and a runaway street car. Batman saves everyone, but he doesn’t really win, again the episode is rather bitter in its ending, but it perfectly shows Bruce Wayne’s endurance and willingness to keep fighting for those in need.
16. If You’re So Smart Why Aren’t You Rich?
The Riddler’s introduction created a humorous episode for green clad question master. After getting royally screwed over by a shady Drumpf like businessman, Edward Nygma vows revenge on his former employer by kidnapping him and putting him in the center of an amusement park maze filled with death traps. Batman and Robin have to figure out how to get through the labyrinth and save someone that’s not exactly well liked by either of them, but is still an innocent man. The banter between Batman and Robin is funny, but still in character, and it’s easy to feel sympathy toward Edward Nygma as he did get screwed by shady yet legal business practice. Despite being a funny episode, it still has some of that ambiguity the show was known for.
Jim Carrey wishes his Riddler looked this dignified.
15. The Laughing Fish
The Joker was one of the show’s many crowning achievements. The range of Mark Hamill’s voice could jump from playful to terrifying in a heartbeat. There were many episodes dedicated to his special brand of crazy, but there’s something that’s both very menacing and bizarre about this one. The Joker decides that he wants to obtain a hedonistic lifestyle by creating a special brand of fish that share his smile. But, once he finds out that he can’t trademark a fish because it’s a national resource, he hunts down copyright lawyers until he can get what he wants. His plan makes no sense, and it’s really funny to laugh at it, but the episode gets haunting when Joker starts going after these poor guys who are just doing their job. But, as Batman says, “in his sick mind, that’s the joke.”
God, working for the Joker must suck.
14. Legends of the Dark Knight
When the show combined with Superman TAS, the show took a new direction in terms of look and story telling. Some episodes were fantastic, and others were just okay, but one of the best ones in the new season focuses on three kids describing what Batman is like. One views him as a monster, one views him as the classic 1966 Batman, one views him as The Dark Knight Returns, and one views him as Joel Schumacher’s films. No really, they make fun of the Schumacher films, and it’s pretty awesome. The vignettes are short and sweet, and the episode is pretty simple overall, but the episode shows just how many creators have reinterpreted Batman, and why he has a lasting impact on artists and creators.
13. I Am The Night
Here’s another episode that probably wouldn’t have made it pass the writer’s room, but this one is a little different from the “Appointment in Crime Alley.” This episode is more internal; we see Batman, tired and withered. You see him being buried by the weight of exhaustion from everything, and after a criminal named the Jazzman shoots Gordon, Batman feels that he’s failed enough and decides to not be the Dark Knight anymore. This episode is really heavy, and dark, but it never gets melodramatic. It’s interesting to see the character doubt himself so heavily that he considers quitting, and it’s genuinely disconcerting to see Gordon get shot, and be in danger. But, thankfully Batman triumphs over Jazzman, and his own insecurities.
“What do you mean there are still people who hate that Ben Affleck is playing me?”
12. The Man Who Killed Batman
One of the greatest aspects of this show was how well it made Gotham City seem like a real place. It did this very well by creating communities in its little world. It’s displayed in many episodes, but this episode does it even better, by showing the community of crime in Gotham and its hierarchy. The episode is told from the point of view of a timid little screw up named Sid the Squid and how he allegedly killed of Batman. Suddenly he’s the most popular criminal in Gotham, but his fame comes with a price, and gets him into a lot more trouble than he could have ever imagined with characters like crime boss Rupert Thorne and the Joker. This episode brilliantly made Gotham feel like a real place, and gave a lot of character to the grunts of the crime world. It’s also one of the funniest episodes ever written with great jokes and banter, particularly with Joker’s funeral for Batman. Yes, you read that right.
11. Perchance To Dream
Imagine waking up in a world where you got everything you ever wanted, and became free of all your responsibility, but you knew that it was all a lie. Would you stay in this world? Or would the truth demand you to abandon it? This is the predicament Batman finds himself in one day, he wakes up and he’s not Batman anymore. On top of that his parents are alive, he’s marrying Selina Kyle, and there is someone to fight crime as Batman for him. It’s everything he could have ever wanted, but just as he starts to accept it, he discovers that it’s not real. So he takes on his alter ego to discover the truth, which I wont reveal here. It’s a slow burn of an episode, but it has that wonderful darkness that just plunges you into dark recesses of the mind.
10. Growing Pains
Clayface’s introduction was met with a lot of heartache and dread, as we saw his life get destroyed by a chemical compound that turns him into living mud. Most of his episodes were heavy, but this one smacks you right in the feels. Clayface creates a little girl named Annie to scout out Gotham City for him, she somehow creates her own consciousness, and asks Robin (Tim Drake) to help her out. Of course Clayface finds the two, and they try to fight him off, but Annie realizes that there’s no escape, so she latches himself back on to Clayface and is able to subdue him. Now in most kids cartoon shows this type of episode would most likely have a happy ending in some way. Not here. Annie is dead and she never comes back. Batman! It makes you feel things you never wanted to before.
“Don’t worry kids! We’ll all have emotional scarring together!”
9. It’s Never Too Late
This is an episode that gets overlooked, and it’s a shame, because it’s a real gem. Crime boss Arnold Stromwell is in a gang war with up and coming Mafioso Rupert Thorne over the flow of drugs in the city. Yeah, this show didn’t sugar coat anything, it talked about drugs in a very realistic way. Batman comes in to try and help Arnold get out of the business by showing his drug addicted son, and even tries to get a priest to talk some sense into Stromwell. The episode gave a lot of depth and humanity to a crime boss and even showed some disturbing imagery and touched on very adult themes. But, it never talked down to kids, it treated every audience member with a great level of respect. And yes this episode will also probably make you break out the tissue boxes.
8. The Joker’s Millions
This is another episode that gets overlooked, and the reason it’s on this list is because it’s a bit more of a pick me up after the last bunch of episodes mentioned. The Joker is broke, but he supposedly inherits a former crime lord’s wealth. Instead of using the money to create more crimes, Joker decides to live his life well and indulge in, and the Dark Knight is livid about his new-found wealth and freedom. But, of course it all turns out to be a sham, and Joker freaks out about the IRS. It’s a very funny episode, and definitely worth while, and it’s the only Joker episode where you actually feel kind of bad for him.
7. Trial
A common criticism of Batman is that he creates his own villains, and that his actions probably do more harm than good. This episode spins that argument on its head by having a trial in Arkham Asylum. Two-Face is the prosecutor, Joker is the judge, and new DA Janet Van Dorn Batman’s defense. The only problem is Van Dorn thinks Batman is a menace and deserves to be locked up just like the rest of them. This is a fun episode, because all the villains are together and interacting with each other. Janet Van Dorn is another great character that sadly didn’t appear much in the show, but really the best part of it is how The Dark Knight and Van Dorn realize that they are both fighting for the same goals in the end, and how they’re going to escape a courtroom of insanity.
Okay, the jury may be a little biased.
6. Heart of Ice
Mr. Freeze was one of the Caped Crusader’s sillier villains, but this show completely reinvented him as a more sociopathic, revenge driven character that had a tragic back story. The back story was so popular that the comics adopted it, and most people consider it to be the official cannon. Everyone knows it, Freeze’s wife is dying, Freeze cryogenically freezes her, Freeze gets screwed over by a greedy business man, random chemicals happen, and then the ice suit cometh. The episode did this back story so well that it turned this goofy looking walking refrigerator into a tragic character that’s almost Shakespearean. This episode was so good it won the creators their first Daytime Emmy. It certainly wouldn’t be their last.
5. Mad Love
So, remember that little talk about this show not sugar-coating anything? This episode goes up to 11 on the disturbing factor as it looks closely at the relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker. Here we discover that the Joker manipulated Harley when she was a psychiatrist at Arkham and warped her mind. Before she was independent, but now she is a tool for the Joker’s disposal, and she doesn’t even realize it. She gets abused for almost killing Batman, all of her love is not reciprocated, and The Joker just keeps reinforcing the idea that it’s all her fault. She doesn’t get the joke. But, there isn’t a joke to get, the Joker is a monster that will continue to torture Harley Quinn until the day they die. The episode is based on a comic that Paul Dini and Bruce Timm worked on. The comic goes into more detail, but the voice actors in this episode really give it their all, and create one of the most heart breaking episodes ever.
4. Almost Got Im
Gotham City’s infamous rogue’s gallery is often considered to be the best aspect of Batman. The criminals are so creative, and interesting that they often steal the show. So having five of them in the same room together bouncing off each other is somehow so perfect. Two-Face, Joker, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Penguin are hanging out in a speakeasy playing poker. They’re not planning anything, they’re not there to pull off a heist, they’re just hanging out, and swapping stories about how they almost killed Batman. The conversations these characters have felt so real, and funny. It’s not loaded with quips either, the dialogue feels natural, and brings life to these characters. They poke fun at each other, they comment on all the stories, and they seem to weirdly get along for homicidal maniacs. The little stories they all tell are wildly entertaining, and funny on top of the banter, but the episode never loses the Noir atmosphere it creates. It’s a great episode that works well with so many awesome baddies.
3. Baby-Doll
Many of Batman’s villains are outcasts shunned from society, and take their rage out on those who cast them out. Mary Dahl is no exception, but this episode plays with the concept in a different way. Mary Dahl (a character created for the show) was the star of a cheesy 50s style sitcom called Baby Doll, a show where she played a tiny tot that caused a lot of trouble. She was born with a rare condition called systemic hypoplasia that causes her body never age. When she was on the show, she was loved, but laughed at and it started to do things to her mind as she grew older. When she tries to quit the comedy routine and do Shakespeare it doesn’t go well. She goes insane and ends up kidnapping the cast, so she can feel that sense of love attention again. This episode is heartbreaking, because we feel her pain just moments after we laughed at her antics. It’s silly on paper, but handled really well in this episode and it just hits you right in the gut. It’s funny yet tragic, colorful yet dark, sympathetic yet horrifying.
2. Robin’s Reckoning
Another episode that earned the creators an Emmy; this episode explores Robin and Batman’s relationship and how they’re both very similar and yet very different. The episode goes back and forth between Bruce and Dick’s first meeting, and how their viewpoints on each other can escalate. We see Dick’s parents die, and the fallout of his guilt, and Bruce’s quest to find their killer, a sleazeball named Tony Zucco. The Dynamic Duo get at each other’s throats, and go hunting for Zucco each on their own. What’s great about the episode is that we see how personal both take this case, and how Batman trained Robin so well. It also shows that both heroes really care about the other, and wouldn’t know what to do if one died. Also this episode had a lot of atmosphere and mood by showing the even sleazier side of Gotham, there was even a hooker in it, again this show didn’t sugar coat anything. It’s a great story about the Dymanic Duo, a great introduction to Robin’s character, and is a bit of a tear-jerker.
1. Two-Face
Two-Face is the perfect episode. It has a tortured soul, a strong Noir atmosphere, and shows that Batman just can’t save everybody, no matter how hard he tries. The episode is all about Harvey Dent’s transformation, and how he battles a dark other side to himself named Big Bad Harv. As Dent gets more stressed from the weight of his job, the criminal enterprises blackmailing him, a broken legal system, and a fiancé to satisfy, Big Bad Harv starts taking over Dent’s mind and body. His severe split personality disorder comes to full fruition when an explosion destroys half of his body. What’s really sad about this episode is that Harvey Dent was well established in the show before this. He was Bruce Wayne’s friend and was working as the district attorney for Gotham City. So, to see this character completely transform into this monster, and then to see Bruce’s guilt for being unable to save him is diabolically depressing, and the episode doesn’t have a happy ending like most of these. Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face, and he’s forever tortured by himself and has to be stopped by his former friend. It’s the best episode of the series.
And there you have it guys the 20 greatest episodes of Batman The Animated Series. Looking back on these episodes it’s amazing how much this show got away with, and it probably wouldn’t do as well in today’s market, so it’s pretty fantastic that we got such a great show at the time it came out. Do you agree with the list? Or did you not see some of your favorite episodes on there? Let us know in the comments below. And in just two weeks Batman V Superman will be here, and we still have more animated awesomeness to cover. Next time we’re looking at the adaptation of one of the most well-known Superman story of all time, his death. Join us next time as we look at Superman Doomsday, the animated adaptation of The Death of Superman.
