Top Ten Batman the Animated Series Episodes

The 25 Best 'Batman: The Blithe Series' Episodes

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

Over the last 25 years, there have been half dozen Batman movies, multiple cartoons, dozens of toys, at to the lowest degree i massively successful video game franchise, and countless comic books. But it was Batman: The Blithe Serial — which premiered Sept. 5, 1992 — that provided this era's definitive version of the Nighttime Knight. Kevin Conroy's layered performance as Batman sounded both dedicated and capable, while Mark Hamill made the Joker both hilarious and terrifying in a manner no one else has equaled. Over the course of 85 episodes, almost every major role player in Gotham Metropolis got a showcase, as Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and the remainder of the bear witness's creators streamlined Batman's complicated and tangled history into one comprehensive story universe. In honor of the show's 25th anniversary, here are our 25 favorite episodes, ranked.

(Note: This gallery will follow the season-episode numbering listed on Amazon, where the series is available to stream at present, and thus treats The New Batman Adventures — which also turns 20 on Sept. xiii — every bit flavour four)

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25. "On Leather Wings" (Season one, Episode i)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Correct from the get-go, the evidence had a good sense of aesthetics and genre storytelling, portraying Batman'southward boxing with his opposite number, Man-Bat, similar an old-school horror picture. —Christian Holub

24. "Double Talk" (Flavor 4, Episode 4)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

So often throughout the series, much is made of how Arkham Asylum is basically a revolving door for Batman's villains. They go out, Batman sends them back in again, and on and on. This episode is the singular example of Bruce actually succeeding at helping one of his enemies (the Ventriloquist) to escape that bicycle of violence and depravity. —C.H.

23. "Never Fear" (Flavour 4, Episode 6)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Of all of Batman's rogues, Scarecrow (Jeffrey Combs) underwent the biggest aesthetic change in the season four revamp, becoming more nightmarish in the process. "Never Fear" introduces Scarecrow's new look and as well makes a good argument for why Tim Drake (Mathew Valencia) is a great Robin when it falls on him to save the twenty-four hours by saving Batman from himself. —Chancellor Agard

22. "Riddler'south Reform" (Flavour 3, Episode 23)

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Credit: DC Comics

"Riddler's Reform" is a neat example of what makes the Riddler (John Glover) stand out from most of Batman's rogues gallery. Like the Joker, he isn't motivated by coin. He's way more than interested in the chase and proving to the world, through his Rubik's Cube-similar schemes, that he'due south the smartest person out there, and Batman is his worthiest opponent. Unfortunately, that compulsion is what screws up his attempts at going straight in "Riddler'south Reform," which ends with Batman ingeniously outsmarting him nevertheless once more. —C.A.

21. "You lot Scratch My Back" (Season 4, Episode v)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Of all the flavor iv redesigns, no i changed more than drastically than the artist formerly known as Robin. Merely fifty-fifty later on Nightwing (Loren Lester) got his own operation and his own badass costume, he nonetheless wasn't mature enough to handle everything on his own. Then once again, no ane is. This episode doubles as a showcase for Nightwing and proof for why, as far apart as they may move, the members of the Bat family unit notwithstanding need each other in the end. —C.H.

20. "Baby Doll" (Flavour 3, Episode 20)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Hot have alert: "Infant Doll," which aired in 1994, is the perfect episode for the TV industry'due south current revival craze. Written past Paul Dini, who's responsible for some of the serial' most poignant installments, this heartbreaking episode is all well-nigh the dangers of clinging to the past. It explores the damaging aspects of nostalgia through Mary Dahl, a.k.a. Baby Doll (Alison La Placa), an actress who starred on a hit sitcom many years ago and suffers from a disease that prevents her from aging. No matter how hard she tries — i.e. kidnapping her quondam castmates and property them earnest on the testify'due south old gear up — she can't recapture the magic of the good years and ends the episode crying at Batman's feet. —C.A.

xix. "Judgement Day" (Flavor 4, Episode 24)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Before he became Two-Face up, Harvey Dent (Richard Moll) was Gotham's justice-seeking district chaser, and even though he's gone to the dark side, he hasn't lost that part of him. In fact, that side of him returns with a vengeance in "Judgement Solar day," which sees Harvey's already shattered psyche create a 3rd personality called the Judge, a sword-wielding vigilante, to practise what Batman couldn't: eliminate Two-Face and the rest of the Dark Knight's rogues gallery for good. It's rather plumbing equipment that the testify returned to the tragedy of 2-Confront for its final episode considering Two-Face is the nearly of import villain in Batman: The Blithe Serial; he's one of Batman's biggest failures and another reminder of everything he has lost. —C.A.

18. "Harlequinade" (Flavor 3, Episode 16)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) is a complicated graphic symbol — it's incommunicable to reduce her to something so elementary as "the Joker'southward abused girlfriend" or "smartass blonde." This episode, in which Batman recruits Harley to help him end the Joker'due south solo program, shows off her many sides — including her goofiest qualities, seen here mocking the always-serious Batman as he tries to stiffly explain their operation. —C.H.

17. "P.O.V." (Season 1, Episode 7)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Harley Quinn wasn't the only original graphic symbol this show introduced to the Batman canon. There was also Renee Montoya (Ingrid Oliu), the passionate police detective with a healthy respect for Batman. "P.O.V" and its Rashomon-style storytelling helped first establish Montoya as a presence, and she only grew from there. —C.H.

16. "Robin'southward Reckoning" (Flavor 2, Episodes four and 5)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Throughout the show'due south run, it was never actually clear if the writers knew what to practise with the Dick Grayson version of Robin, who e'er felt more like a plot device than an bodily grapheme. However, there were moments when things clicked, equally they did in the Emmy-winning "Robin's Reckoning," which digs into Dick'southward origin story with an emotional maturity you wouldn't expect from a children's series and foreshadows the dynamic duo'south eventual separation. Growing upwardly, this was 1 of my favorite episodes of the series and it nonetheless is to this day. —C.A.

15. "Mad Honey" (Season iv, Episode 21)

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Credit: DC Comics

An adaptation of Timm and Dini's Eisner Accolade-winning comic of the aforementioned name, "Mad Dearest" dives into Harley Quinn'due south origin story and her toxic and dysfunctional relationship with the Clown Prince of Criminal offense. Information technology'due south tragic but very funny, and information technology'south some other bully showcase for Arleen Sorkin, who does a fantastic task of differentiating between Harleen Quinzel and her change-ego. —C.A.

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14. "House & Garden" (Season three, Episode 14)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Almost every appearance by Poison Ivy (Diane Pershing) in this series acts as a commentary on patriarchy and the oppressive expectation of heteronormativity. Hither, for example, Ivy only gets allow out of Arkham once she settles down with a nice husband and gets incorporated into his nuclear family. At least, that's how it seems — by the end of the episode, Ivy has transformed her white-spotter-argue firm into a phantasmagoria of body horror and so grotesque it could make John Carpenter wince. —C.H.

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xiii. "The Laughing Fish" (Season 2, Episode half-dozen)

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The Joker's list of heinous crimes is long, from the time he trounce Jason Todd to expiry with a crowbar to the fourth dimension he tortured and crippled Barbara Gordon. But none of those crimes are so uniquely "Joker" as his plot to trademark Gotham City'south fish past branding them with his signature smiling. The merely thing the Joker loves more than destroying Batman's loved ones is interrogating the assumptions of social club — and then why shouldn't this work? As he puts it, "They share my face! Colonel Whatshisname has chickens, and they don't even have mustaches!" —C.H.

12. "Shadow of the Bat" (Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

In the '90s, Barbara Gordon was confined to a wheelchair equally Oracle, and so the simply place to see Barbara as Batgirl was on Batman: The Animated Serial. Barbara (Melissa Gilbert) made her debut in season 2's "Middle of Steel," but she wouldn't go full greatcoat and cowl until "Shadow of the Bat." As is the case with Harvey Paring, spending fourth dimension with her before she embraced her comic book destiny helped us become invested in her journey. When the time came for Barbara to go Batgirl, B:TAS did a good job of differentiating her from Robin; whereas Robin is beholden to Batman, Batgirl is her ain hero and she'll do this task even if Batman and Robin tell her no, which they both try to exercise in this episode. This is the perfect introduction to Batgirl, who would have on a much bigger function in flavour 4, which features more of Batman's partners. —C.A.

11. "Beware the Grey Ghost" (Flavor 1, Episode 18)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Ever since he was commencement created by Neb Finger and Bob Kane, the Dark Knight has been handed down from one generation of creators to the next. Everyone does information technology differently (Frank Miller's grim-and-gritty dark hero is a far cry from Grant Morrison's psychedelic yogi) but nobody does it wrong. The least you can practise is pay respect to those that came earlier, which is what makes this loving tribute to the tardily Adam Due west feel and so sweet. —C.H.

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10. "2d Gamble" (Season iii, Episode 24)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

B:TAS was oft at its best when information technology institute means to explore both Batman and Bruce Wayne, and that's one of the reasons Harvey Dent is probably the bear witness'due south best villain because it immune the series to do that since Harvey was Bruce's best friend first before he became Two-Face. The evidence returns to that well in "Second Chance," which sees Bruce fighting to make sure Harvey has a surgery that could put him back on the path of rehabilitation. Information technology'south i of the few times we see Batman personally invested in a fight against a bad guy, to the point that he actually drops the Batman voice when he offers Harvey a pick, "The coin or me?" Unfortunately, Harvey chooses neither. —C.A.

9. "Sins of the Father" (Season four, Episode 2)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

The B:TAS version of Tim Drake is not exactly the same every bit the comics; the prove creators basically combined aspects of Tim'due south Robin with that of Jason Todd — notably the famously murdered Robin's aggressive personality and trend to fall in with the wrong oversupply. Tim'due south introduction was non the outset episode of the revamped New Batman Adventures season, merely his decision to continue the Robin legacy is what really marks the start of a new era. —C.H.

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8. "The Demon'southward Quest" (Season three, Episodes four and 5)

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Perhaps the most unexpected development of Batman mythology in the 21st century has been the sudden centralization of Ra'due south al Ghul. In the wake of Christopher Nolan'southward Batman Begins, every Batman origin story (and fifty-fifty some Green Pointer origin stories) depict him preparation with Ra'southward as a formative experience on his manner to donning the cape and cowl. The B:TAS version of Ra's (David Warner) is a nod back to earlier versions of the character — here he even so goes insane from the restorative powers of Lazarus Pits and is dedicated to a program of eco-terrorism — but making Batman's encounters with him feel so epic and romantic surely helped solidify Ra's position in the mythos, laying the groundwork for his future takeover. —C.H.

seven. "Most Got 'Im" (Season two, Episode 18)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

Nearly of the episodes on this list are incredibly distressing, because Timm and Co. loved mining Batman mythos for all of its pathos. But what makes the series stand up apart from pretty much every other recent adaptation is that it never forgot to take fun with the Caped Crusader as well. Case in point: "Virtually Got 'Im." Humor abounds every bit Poison Ivy, the Joker, Two-Face, Penguin (Paul Williams), and Killer Croc (Aron Kincaid) gather to play poker and share stories about the times they virtually killed Batman. Dini hits gold by digging into the more comical aspects of Batman'southward rogues, from Two-Face up trying to kill Batman past strapping him to a giant penny to Killer Croc's hilarious brag that "I threw a rock at him!" Bat-Cat 'shippers volition also get a kick out of Catwoman (Adrienne Barbeau) maxim "Almost got 'im" to herself subsequently Batman rebuffs her advances however once more because he needs to grapple off and end another bad guy. (P.Due south.: There's a card game based on this episode y'all should definitely check out) —C.A.

6. "Perchance to Dream" (Season 2, Episode 1)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

It's easy to dismiss It's a Wonderful Life-esque stories considering we've seen them done and so many times to the bespeak that they experience cliché; however, "Perhaps to Dream," which is essentially Batman: The Blithe Series' take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything," is the exception because of the emotional depth information technology displays. The Mad Hatter uses Batman's centre's want against him, trapping him in a dream where his parents never died and thus he never became Batman. However, Bruce doesn't give into this temptation and rejects this world, choosing his dark crusade instead, which is 1 of the most heroic and heartbreaking things we'll e'er run into him exercise on the show. Furthermore, this episode is likewise a showcase for Kevin Conroy, who voices not one merely three characters: Batman, Bruce Wayne, and Thomas Wayne. —C.A.

5. "Eye of Water ice" (Flavour 1, Episode 14)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

What'due south left to be said about this Emmy-winning episode that hasn't been said in the 25 years since? Written by Dini and directed by Timm, "Center of Ice" is the episode y'all make your friends lookout man to convince them this is not just another children'southward animated serial. Information technology'south a sympathetic exploration of how a heartbreaking loss can drive someone to madness, which ties into the bear witness's overall concern with vengeance and justice. Mr. Freeze (voiced hither with cold perfection by Michael Ansara) wants revenge for his hypocritical corporate boss' crimes confronting against him and his wife, which isn't too dissimilar to Bruce "I am the nighttime! I am vengeance!" Wayne'south own crusade (obviously Batman is trying to aid the rule of police and non transgress it). Before "Heart of Water ice," Mr. Freeze was a punchline of a villain, only after, he became this tragic and compassionate figure, and the show'south backstory was integrated in the comic. Watching "Center of Water ice" at present makes the arch portrayal of Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin even more than disappointing. —C.A.

4. "Harley and Ivy" (Season 2, Episode 28)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Although much of B:TAS is purposefully anachronistic and often seems to be set sometime in the mid-20th century, it's hard to miss all the ways '90s pop culture seeped in. Most memorably, the show reconfigured the plot and themes of Thelma & Louise to create a unique friendship betwixt supervillains Harley Quinn and Poisonous substance Ivy. Harley and Ivy complement each other so well (including the priceless detail that Ivy alone is allowed to the Joker'southward laughing gas) y'all're basically rooting for them by the end — especially when they shush a couple catcallers with a bazooka. —C.H.

3. "Two-Face" (Flavour 1, Episodes ten and 11)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Animation

Timm and the rest of the team managed to have the best of both worlds when information technology came to Two-Face. Like Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight, their Harvey Dent is riven by tragedy and stands equally a stark reminder of Batman'southward failure to relieve his own friends. But similar Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever, their Two-Face is as well obsessed with gimmicks themed around the number "2." The combination of cartoonish villainy with existent desolation makes Ii-Face one of the show's most compelling villains — perhaps second only to the Joker. That'due south why yous've seen him on this list and so many times already. For full impact, the prove introduced Dent early on as 1 of Bruce's few real friends, making his eventual fall (portrayed tragically hither in the show's first double-header) so devastating it haunts Bruce for the residuum of the show. —C.H.

2. "Over the Edge" (Flavour 4, Episode 12)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

This is how you exercise a "it was an all only a dream" episode. Written, of course, by Dini, "Over the Edge" is a thrilling one-half 60 minutes that takes the viewer on an emotional rollercoaster as Barbara Gordon, who was doused with Scarecrow's fear toxin, has a bright nightmare in which she dies while out in the field equally Batgirl. Her death pushes her male parent over the edge and he embarks on a vengeful cause to bring Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and anyone who helps downwardly. He's so desperate that he eventually hires Blight to become the job done, which leads to one of the series' about brutal fight scenes. It's clear from the outset that this is all a dream, but that doesn't make it whatsoever less engrossing. Considering Dini grounds the story in Barbara and Jim's human relationship, this dream has consequences for the real earth: Barbara wakes upwardly and realizes she needs to tell her father she'due south Batgirl, which is one of the show's nearly tender scenes ever. 1 of the best things about season 4 is how it expanded the show's scope by focusing more on Batman's partners and making them just every bit fleshed out as him, and this episode is a great example of that strength. —C.A.

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ane. "The Man Who Killed Batman" (Season ii, Episode 23)

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Credit: Warner Bros. Blitheness

By temporarily removing Batman from the action, this Dini-penned episode shows how much the Night Knight means to Gotham'due south citizens in diverse ways. Perhaps no one is more offended by Batman's apparent death than the Joker, who even puts on a false funeral for his old foe (though he tin't resist planting a "Kick Me" sign on his empty coffin). Above all, the fact that Batman was seemingly killed by a 3rd-rate nobody is what truly infuriates the Joker and crime boss Rupert Thorne. The very idea that accidents happen, that a nameless mortal could disrupt the mythic battles of superheroes and gods, threatens to upend Gotham'due south unabridged frail psychological ecosystem — at least until Batman returns at last to bring justice again. —C.H.

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