Crisis of Infinite Episodes - SuperRabbit

Super Rabbit returned in the fun and reverent 2013 series finale of The Looney Tunes Show. Warners has continued its fine tradition with this superb tale including Braniac, Lex Luthor, and Zod.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

SubZero is a good movie that plays almost like it was a three part episode of the series but it really doesn't rise to the level of epicness of the Mask of the Phantasm. That's not to say its not terribly enjoyable, because it truly is.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

And so we have come to the very first of what would become many animated features and the only one to be released theatrically. This truly is a masterful film which captures the tragedy of Bruce Wayne. It's not just that he lost his parent at such a tender age, becoming Batman and forgetting his own personal happiness was a destiny he was never able to escape.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Lost Episode

Although its been dubbed by fans as "The Lost Episode" the compilation of animated cut scenes from 1995's The Adventures of Batman and Robin Sega CD game lack a complete plot - as significant story points were covered in the gameplay sections. Still, the 16 minutes of animated segments do contain some fun and in fact violent action scenes that are something any fan of BTAS would want to check out. Poison Ivy, Clayface, Riddler, Harley and of course the Joker are all along for the ride making this a somewhat more gratifying series conclusion than the official one.

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Episode Count: 0613
Series Count: (79 of 81)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Lion and the Unicorn

I suppose its somewhat fitting that Batman: The Animated Series should close like it opened, with an adequate but underwhelming adventure featuring Red Claw. While this episode did offer some interesting insight into Alfred's past, it was a sub-par series finale and not one of the series finest. In fact, although I am pretty sure I had seen all of the episodes prior to the Infinite Episodes experiment, this is the one episode that I had no recollection of  upon the most recent viewing. Thankfully, the series isn't quite over yet...

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Episode Count: 0612
Series Count: (78 of 81)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - A Bullet For Bullock

Its fitting that before series end, Bullock (who Alfred described as looking like an unmade bed) and Bats got a team up. For not including any sort of super villain this was a surprisingly enjoyable adventure with an emphasis on solving a mystery. I'm not sure it made Bullock any more likeable, but you got to give the guy credit, at least he is trying to be on the right side of the law.

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Episode Count: 0611
Series Count: (77 of 81)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Catwalk

Catwalk gave us the team up that no one asked for in Catwoman and the Ventriloquist.  And yet, this episode worked surprisingly well and just may be my favorite Catwoman spotlights. Although it was fun seeing Batgirl and Catwoman team up, its also nice seeing Selina being a bit villainous as the puppet master pulled her strings.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Showdown

The series gets points for creativity by introducing  Jonah Hex through this weird western tale via Ra's al Ghul flashback. That being said, this portrayal of Hex didn't do much to win me over as a fan of the bounty hunter or his ugly mug.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Terrible Trio

 This one has a reputation for being one of the series worst, but that's not really fair. While it may not be a great episode due to the lackluster villains, a trio of bored frat boy 1%ers, this is not Batman in My Basement. Its just a fairly mediocre tail.

 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Deep Freeze

 From the return of the cold and calculating Mr. Freeze to the interesting Easter eggs and homages peppered throughout, this was a massively entertaining episode.Who would have thought that anyone would crave Mr. Freeze's curse? But I suppose some would rather live forever than enjoy the life they have. Kind of funny given urban legends that it was a Walt Disney look-alike who wanted to cryogenically freeze himself. The portrayal of Freeze was once again solid. Yes, he is a villain, but only so far as his actions would help save his wife.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Lock-Up

The title character, Lock-Up just wasn't terribly interesting and consequently, I found the episode to be a bit forgettable.  I guess the idea of a cruel warden is a good contrast to Batman who wants justice rather than vengeance. But overall, this was kind of a dud.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Batgirl Returns

Trouble in paradise? The episode opened with a slightly inappropriate fantasy in which Barbara rescued and then seduced Batman. Guess sidekicks just didn't cut it for her any more. Being a huge Batgirl fan, I loved this episode which truly gave Babs the spotlight.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Make 'Em Laugh

I wasn't really feeling this episode about Joker's bid for the "King of Comedy" in Gotham City. Seems like he wouldn't concern himself with something so petty. But introducing Hatter tech did give it a modest boost in enjoyability.  

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Harley's Holiday

Probably the best Harely episode, at least from the original series pre-revamp even though t did get a little ridiculous - what with Robin using fish as nun-chucks and Veronica's dad attempting a rescue with a tank on a freeway. But you get to see that underneath the craziness, Harley wants to be a better person than she is. She just had a bad day.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Time Out of Joint

Not quite as good as the Clock King's debut, this follow up was another delight. Time manipulation is the perfect ability for the royal keeper of minutes and seeing Batman infused with Flash-like abilities due to his time accelerator was a bit of fun. Too bad Clock King never really caught on.

 
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Episode Count: 0602
Series Count: (68 of 81)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Baby-Doll

On the one hand, Baby Doll had all the makings of a classic Batman rogue. Tragic backstory? Check. Psychological issues? Check. Semi-creepy physical appearance? Check. On the other hand, she was a little too Looney Tunes for my tastes. So, basically one and done was about right for her.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Riddler's Reform

I always forget about this episode. I don't know why. Its not quite the stand out that the previous two Riddler episodes were, but its still solid and it has a classic ending with Batman stumping the Riddler and it driving him mad.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Second Chance

Despite a fairly unnecessary appearance by Penguin in which he proves far too formidable, this episode builds to a superb twist and proves to be yet another excellent outing for Two-Face. For the record, the dude has issues. Not sure how Batman made a coin that always landed on its side, but if such a thing were possible, it would be a good way to mess with Two-Face’s mind. Well played Bats.

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Episode Count: 0599
Series Count: (65 of 81)

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Bane

Although Bane was still a brand new villain, he got a fairly serviceable introduction here. Sure it wasn't the instant classic like the introductions of Freeze or Two-Face, but Bane's brains as well as brawn were introduced giving the baddie more respect than he would get on screen for years to come. 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Harlequinade

 

By this point, Harley had already cemented herself as a star, but her musical solo was the icing on the cake. It was a ton of fun watching Batman team up with the Clowned Queen of Crime just waiting for her to double cross him, because you knew it was coming.