Batman Power Hour Companion: Act 1

So, I consider myself somewhat of a creative person. And one of the ways that I express my creativity (at least for the past six years) is by assembling and editing Power Hours - the age-old musical drinking game comprised of 60 one-minute-long clips, after each of which the participants all drink a shot of beer. A few years ago, and for a different publication, I outlined my general philosophy behind creating a power hour mix. I still hold to this philosophy for the most part in terms of purely musical power hours, but this past winter I took my first foray into expanding the visual realm, which presents additional concerns and challenges to a familiar format.

After months of tinkering, I presented the fruits of my labor on the YouTubes: a video power hour featuring some of the best, most iconic clips from the masterful 1990s WB show Batman: The Animated Series. I would venture to say it's been pretty well received, at least for a YouTube rookie, with more than 3,100 views over the past two months. My hope is that this project serves as an entertaining and educational trip through my favorite depiction of the Batman universe, and that it both appeals to the tastes of hardcore fans and encourages Bat-n00bs to get into the world of the caped crusader. And if my creation has the added benefit of inspiring a few people to purchase the DVD collections of Batman: The Animated Series (which I wholeheartedly recommend, especially volumes 1 through 3), then hopefully Warner Home Video will allow it to live on the internet unmolested for everyone to enjoy.

Below is the full video of the power hour followed by some of my personal commentary for what I've designated as Act 1 - minutes one thru ten. Five more installments will follow until I've created the official companion to my Batman: The Animated Series Video Power Hour:

Clips 1, 2, and 3: On Leather Wings
Air: 2 (September 6, 1992)
DVD: 101

The first minute of a Batman: The Animated Series power hour has to be the conveniently minute-long Opening Sequence. While this particular minute was taken from the Pilot episode (which was actually second to air), this minute is repeated at the top of every episode of Batman until it was rebranded The Adventures of Batman and Robin part-way through Season 2. That means I've watched this minute at least 70 times when it aired, another 70 times when the DVDs came out, and again 70 times when I re-watched the entire series with my girlfriend. (We've been introducing each other to our favorite shows. So far I've contributed Batman and Arrested Development, she's brought The Wire and Alias. I think we're pretty even at this point...) And even after more than 200 viewings, plus untold reruns and rewatchings, this minute will never get old.

The A.V. Club concisely summarizes the opening within this great feature chronicling the whole series, but suffice it to say it's a brilliantly staged, tonally perfect vignette of a typical Batman situation. Composer Shirley Walker's beautiful orchestration of Danny Elfman's "movie theme" also sets the musical tone for the entire series, and since power hours were originally musical in nature, it's fitting to start with a primarily musical minute. The next minute is predominantly musical as well, as we now get our first taste of the "animated theme" that Walker composed for the series. But going beyond the music, this clip also gives us our first look at two of Batman's most iconic tools: the Batmobile and his all-important grapple gun. This is the first time that Batman uses his signature device in the show's chronology, but he will fire it countless hundreds of times over the course of the series... and he will NEVER MISS. Whether he's standing on the top of a skyscraper or balancing atop a vehicle travelling well in excess of the local speed limit or hurtling through the air in a blind freefall, Batman can whip it out of his utility belt and instantly attach it to the nearest streetlamp or windowsill without even breaking a sweat. Never fails.

The next minute, the third one taken from the Pilot, continues the musical theme, while also continuing the grapple gun theme. In another crack shot, Batman fastens his grappling hook around the ankle of his dark inversion, Man-Bat, and the two of them go flying through the skies. Although the preceding scene - where Kirk Langstrom transforms into Man-Bat - is brilliant and terrifying in its own right, this minute is more visually stunning, and it also provides a better sample of Walker's Man-Bat leitmotif, the first of many such musical themes that we will hear throughout the hour. Also, pay attention to the voice of the pilot of the police blimp (a timeless invention of the show's producers) - it's Kevin Conroy showing his vocal range. Not only does he create distinct voices for Bruce Wayne and Batman (for the first time in the character's filmed history) he also portrays Bruce's father Thomas and lends his talents to the occasional bit part.

Clips 4 and 5: The Cat and the Claw
Air: 1 (September 5, 1992)
DVD: 115

Many think it was strange to feature such an unheralded villain as Man-Bat in the pilot episode, but I understand the producers' motivation for not wanting the pressure of portraying an iconic character in their very first show. The first show to air, however (and thus America's first look at the animated caped crusader) introduced a character who can only be described as an anti-hero. Catwoman (she's not referred to by that name in the episode, nor in Christopher Nolan's most recent movie) never outwardly schemes against Batman and their relationship is always steeped in mutual respect and romantic potential. The first clip shows the first meeting between the two, while also showcasing Catwoman's musical leitmotif, and the second clip features a bit of timely heroics by Batman, followed up by what might be the most awkward rejection in comic book hero history.

Catwoman: You can't deny there's something between us.
Batman: Yes, and I'm afraid it's the law.

A big part of this two-part episode was the juxtaposition between Bruce Wayne's schoolboy crush on Selina Kyle and Catwoman's romantic interest in Batman, playing on how their different identities almost amount to different personalities. This idea was loosely adapted for Nicole Kidman's character in Batman: Forever, except it's much less effective when the love interest is a cut and dry damsel-in-distress rather than a costumed extremist in her own right. Obviously there wasn't enough time in the scope of this power hour to do this plot device justice, which is one reason I think it acts as such an effective marketing tool for the series as a whole.

Clip 6: The Last Laugh
Air: 15 (September 22, 1992)
DVD: 104

With the first two chronological episodes out of the way, it's time to introduce Batman's primary arch-nemesis, the Joker. This was neither the Clown Prince of Crime's first appearance on the air (both Joker's Favor and Be a Clown aired before it) nor on the DVDs (Christmas with the Joker precedes it by two spots), but I thought it was ideal to place first in the power hour for no fewer than three reasons. Number one, this episode features the Joker on his own, without his sidekick Harley Quinn (who was introduced to the world by this series, much like the police blimps). While she has gone on to become a popular character in Batman's rogue's gallery, it makes sense that the Joker should predate her. Number two, it's the most complete and comprehensive version of Joker's musical leitmotif that defines the character through the 12 episodes in which he appears (the most for any villain on the series, naturally). And number three, sometimes it's fun to spend some time with the Joker and his goons as they pull off a heist - cf. the riveting first six minutes of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

Clip 7: Heart of Ice
Air: 3 (September 7, 1992)
DVD: 114

This 20-minute episode did more to define the character of Mr. Freeze than his campy appearances in the 1960s TV show and his laughable portrayal in 1997's Batman and Robin could do to drag him down. Later in the power hour, we'll see more relating to his tragic origin that was imagined for the show rather than taken from the comics. In fact, the character was originally known as Mr. Zero in the comics and didn't become Mr. Freeze until the aforementioned TV series. But this clip serves the purpose of showing the villain in action, as well as getting to hear his punny self-introduction, which amounts to the last vestige of humor to exist in the character. This episode marks one of the four episodes to be directed by series co-creator Bruce Timm, clips from three of which are featured in this power hour.

Clips 8 and 9: Nothing to Fear
Air: 10 (September 15, 1992)
DVD: 103

The first clip from Scarecrow's debut appearance is another great example of how this show uses music to introduce its characters. Although they consciously left out a Batman origin story, our hero meets nearly every villain onscreen - the only ones who are taken for granted as existing before they're introduced during the show are Joker and Penguin. Whenever possible, I tried to showcase these introductions in the power hour, whether they're the villains introducing themselves, their first encounter with Batman, or their first major sequence. And Scarecrow's first use of his hallucinogenic fear toxin - where he induces an attack of acute arachnophobia in an unsuspecting security guard - is top-notch.

In the time between the two clips taken from this episode, Batman gets himself dosed with some time-released fear toxin and has to deal with a reaction in the worst possible circumstances: while hanging from a damaged blimp hundreds of feet above the city. Naturally, Batman's worst fear involves his parents, as he's beset with images of his father calling him a disgrace to the family name. In a display of sheer willpower, our hero talks himself out of the bad trip, dispelling his ghostly tormentor by uttering one of the most iconic self-descriptive lines in his long history: "I am vengeance! I am the night! I AM BATMAN!"

Clip 10: Feat of Clay, Part 2
Air: 5 (September 9, 1992)
DVD: 121

This climactic battle against Clayface happens near the end of his two-part origin story, the first of two villains to receive such treatment. In an interesting twist, the man who becomes Clayface in the show shares characteristics of both the golden age (1940s) and silver age (1960s) versions of the character: he starts out as a B-movie actor, like the golden age Basil Karlo, but he has the name of the silver age Matt Hagen. This sequence doesn't tell us much about Clayface's story, whatever his name happens to be, but it features some top-notch action - illustrated by the fact that every attack he throws at Batman in the episode became part of his moveset as the final boss of 2011's award winning video game Batman: Arkham City. And if this encounter is good enough to end one of the greatest video games of all times, it's good enough to be the first act-out of my power hour.