Batman Power Hour Companion: Act 2

Here's the commentary for Act 2 (of 6) of my Batman: The Animated Series video power hour. The full video is embedded in the first post in this series or you can go directly to the YouTube link. Please enjoy!

Clips 11 and 12: Pretty Poison
Air: 9 (September 14, 1992)
DVD: 105

Even though Two-Face is one of the most iconic villains in the Batman universe (he appears in seven episodes, tied with Catwoman and trailing only the Joker and Harley Quinn), his two-part origin story has to happen later in the timeline than Clayface's, because his pre-Two-Face character plays a pivotal role in the origin of another villain: Poison Ivy. The first of two clips from this episode not only sets up Pamela Isley's dastardly attack on Gotham's dashing district attorney, it also offers a rare glimpse into Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent's relationship. I think having those two be close friends adds much more to the Batman/Two-Face dynamic than making them rivals for the same girl's affection, to which they were reduced in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. It adds an extra reason for the hero to want to save/rehabilitate the villain over and above the traditional reasons, like the two being opposed on the good/evil spectrum.

Poison Ivy's introduction - as in the Clayface clip that ended "Act 1" of the Power Hour - is the first time we hear the character's villain name, both times spoken by the villain his/herself. Like the preceding clip, this one is less about action and more about Poison Ivy's origin story, which she courteously narrates to Batman while he's immobilized by a perverse Little Shop of Horrors-esque giant fly trap. Some incarnations of Poison Ivy give her the power of controlling her victims with mind-affecting pheromones, but I find her a plenty powerful enough force given just her army of mutated plants and her natural immunity to poisons and toxins; not to mention that she's skilled enough in botany which allows her to use her nasty poisonous lipsticks (and their corresponding antidotes, of course).


Clips 13 and 14: Two-Face, Part 1
Air: 17 (September 25, 199)
DVD: 110

It's appropriate that the second two-part origin story in the show's timeline centers on a character with a predilection for all things binary. The first clip from this episode shows the tragic chemical plant explosion that transformed Harvey Dent into Two-Face - a departure from the villain's comic book origin where he is disfigured by a vial of acid thrown in his face during a trial. The second clip is arguably the most emotional and frightening reveal of the entire show, when the audience (along with Harvey Dent's fiancée Grace) first sees Two-Face in all his blue-tinted glory. But what's not included in the power hour is as important as what is: Harvey Dent's slow journey to insanity, due to the pressures of fighting crime while on the campaign trail, the destructive psychiatric effect of deep seated repressed anger issues, and the threat of blackmail from one of Gotham City's most notorious crime bosses. Again, check out the episodes on Amazon if you want the full story.

Speaking of the last plot point, one thing I find especially poignant about the two two-part origin stories we've seen so far, is that they both symbolize a changing of the guard from Gotham's old school crime bosses to the costumed extremists that populate Batman's rogue's gallery. In Feat of Clay, pharmaceutical magnate Roland Daggett (not to be confused with John Daggett from The Dark Knight Rises) produces the chemical that turns Matt Hagen into Clayface. And in Two-Face, Rupert Thorne is the driving force behind Harvey Dent's transformation, both mentally and physically. Thorne and Daggett both continue to play important roles as the series progresses, but it's interesting to see this type of escalation (mentioned by Jim Gordon at the end of Batman Begins) at work.


Clip 15: Two-Face, Part 2
Air: 18 (September 28, 1992)
DVD: 111

In the exciting conclusion of the two-parter, Two-Face has his arch enemy in his sights and is about to put his fate in the hands of "the great equalizer," his trademark two-headed coin. It's never fully explained why the merged psyche of Harvey Dent and Big Bad Harv has an obsession with chance, beyond the fact that his new dual nature makes his life "a dichotomy of order and chaos." Not to keep comparing these episodes with The Dark Knight, but the coin is one plot points, albeit a minor one, that I felt was handled better in Christopher Nolan's movie (although I would have liked to have seen the villain actively scratch off one side of the coin, rather than just having it be passively damaged). Speaking of the movies, Batman's method of foiling his foe - confusing him mid coin flip by tossing a conveniently placed crate of silver dollars at him - was lifted directly for Batman Forever, where Val Kilmer's Batman makes strategic use of his coin purse to defeat Two-Face in the climactic battle.


Clip 16: The Mechanic
Air: 48 (January 24, 1993)
DVD: 155

Again with stories from the movies, anyone who's familiar with Tim Burton's 1992 classic Batman Returns should recognize this plotline, where the Penguin takes control of the Batmobile and drives it around remotely with a helpless Batman trapped inside. Only, this episode uses the backstory and subsequent blackmail of Earl, the mechanic who designed and maintains the current Batmobile, to get into this sequence. And also Robin is there too. This clip is the first (unjustified) departure from my rule of using each villain's first appearance in the series, because the Penguin's debut episode, I've Got Batman in my Basement, has no redeeming qualities except the music (where the Penguin leitmotif is revealed). Oh, and also maybe that scene where the episode's pre-teen protagonists ineffectually try to use the Batmobile's weapons, like an unfunny trip to Q Branch in a James Bond flick.


Clip 17: Vendetta
Air: 21 (October 5, 1992)
DVD: 123

Unlike The Mechanic, this clip from Vendetta is completely by the book: the episode is Killer Croc's first appearance, the clip features his first encounter with Batman, and we even get the villain referring to himself by name. Croc is a difficult character to pin down: in the Arkham Asylum video game, he's portrayed as little more than an overgrown scaly cannibal, while this episode paints him as a gangster with a personal grudge against Harvey Bullock. When he shows up in later shows (he appears in five altogether, one less than the Penguin and Poison Ivy), it's mostly for comic relief. On the technical side, I had to do some clever internal cutting to get around the commercial break between Acts 2 and 3, which stings out with the cliffhanger of Batman being held underwater. Go ahead and watch it again to see if you can spot the edits.

Clip 18: Mad as a Hatter
Air: 24 (October 12, 1992)
DVD: 127

Those of you who are die-hard fans of the series will notice a discrepancy in the music played over this title card. That's because it's actually the Mad Hatter's musical leitmotif from the opening of "Perchance to Dream," the episode that aired two spots after this one. "Perchance" might be my favorite of the episodes not included in the power hour (vying with "Fire from Olympus"), but since its high-concept premise is too complex to capture in even two minute-long clips (no spoilers!), I decided to keep the spirit of the episode alive by using some of its music. Also, it's more descriptive than the eerie atmospheric tones that introduce the actual episode. Although this, his debut appearance, is the only Hatter-centric episode featured in the power hour, his trademark mind-control technique is often co-opted by other villains as a part of their more complex schemes, as evidenced by his five total appearances.


Clip 19: Fear of Victory
Air: 19 (September 29, 1992)
DVD: 124

Although it's admittedly pretty early in the hour to be repeating villains (there are still no fewer than six classic antagonists yet to be introduced), this is a seminal episode because it's the first on-air appearance of Batman's trusty sidekick Robin. Not only that, but it's also the first time we see Scarecrow's visual makeover that will remain through the rest of the series. It's not evident from this clip, but the Boy Wonder has been re-imagined as the College Student Wonder, and earlier in the episode he was dosed by a special variation of Scarecrow's fear toxin that is activated by adrenaline, so his ability to keep it together during his high-flying antics is all the more impressive. In addition, Robin's perfectly-timed circus catch would become one of the clips used in the Season 2 Adventures of Batman and Robin opening title sequence.


Clip 20: Joker's Favor
Air: 7 (September 11, 1992)
DVD: 122

For the end of Act 2, I used a rare clip that doesn't include any villains, but rather allows us to explore the relationship between Batman and another one of his most trusted allies: Commissioner Gordon. It's established early in the show that Gordon is always firmly on the side of the Bat, even when his colleagues on the Gotham Police Force are less than convinced of the masked vigilante's good intentions. It's also established early that Batman is so super stealthy that he can sneak out of a room through a window without even the only other person in the room noticing that he's gone (another trope that was expertly co-opted for Nolan's films). And this is the first episode where that happens.