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 - 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.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Trial

Easily the best part of this episode  was seeing so many villains together and interacting, but lets be honest, the premise of a trial for Batman in Arkham was sort of weak. 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Man Who Killed Batman

 Spoiler alert. Batman didn't really die. Nevertheless this episode had a clever plot in which the spineless Sid "the Squid," a low level goon nearly, but completely by accident offed the Batman. Instantly, Sid became a target for real goons and supervillains alike trying to become king of the mountain by offing him.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Harley and Ivy

Before this episode, Harley was already a breakout sidekick but this was her first step in becoming a free standing star among modern day Bat villains. This also revealed another level of jerkiness to the already despicable Joker who really cares for no one but himself - which only deepens the tragedy that is Harley Quinn.

 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - The Laughing Fish

 Although I give the slight edge to Joker's Favor, The Laughing Fish is a strong contender for the best Joker episode as well as a one of the series best overall episodes. Like Joker's Favor, this outing demonstrates the Joker's menace by pitting him against normal everyday, semi-helpless individuals who are rendered powerless to do anything but be terrified. 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Almost Got 'Em

This is one of those "classics" that really does deserve its good reputation. The unconventional device of vignettes told by villains over a poker game was a great hook with a great Croc-centric twist. Overall, the Joker tale with Catwoman was the best and I enjoyed her "almost got 'im" line quite a bit.

Batman: Assault on Arkham First Look and Trailer

Yahtzee! This looks like another hit.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Joker's Favor

You never want to be in debt to the Joker. The series had its share of great Joker episodes, but for my money Joker's Favor is the cream of the crop. For one thing, this episode introduced Harley Quinn, not only to animation, but this was her very first appearance anywhere. She would later be adapted to the comics, but her origins were here. So along with that historic bit of trivia, Joker's Favor really captured the Joker's sadistic nature in a way that made him a terrifying not only to Batman but to average Joe's like you and me. All it takes is one bad day...

Onscreen History of Harley Quinn

Unlike so many of the most popular comic book heroes and villains, Dr. Harleen Quinzel AKA Harley Quinn was actually introduced first onscreen before finding her way onto the printed page.

Evolution of the Batman (and Robin) - Birds of Prey

Before it was a series, Birds of Prey was a comic book focusing on Oracle's (AKA Batgirl) team of female superheroes. The series adapted the idea into a pseudo Smallville spinoff set in the future. Each episode of the series conveniently opened with an explanation of the twisted premise of the show.

Legend tells of a caped crusader, Batman, guardian of New Gotham, and his one true love, Catwoman, the queen of the criminal underworld.


Their passion left behind something extraordinary, a daughter, Huntress. Half metahuman, she has taken up her father's mantel and under cover of the night, fights to protect the innocent and helpless.

Joining her in this struggle, Oracle, who was once Batman's protégé, Batgirl.

She was caught in the crossfire of the war between Batman and Joker, now she fights crime a different way, a master of the cyber-realms and mentor and trainer to heroes.

Together, they have taken in a young runaway, Dinah, a metahuman herself with powers to open hidden doors to the mind, powers that she is only beginning to explore. Together, these three are the protectors of New Gotham - the Birds of Prey.

The main baddie of the 13 episode series was none other than Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Huntress' therapist! Dun Dun Dun...

Back in the day, the comic book Huntress really was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman (though not so in current continuity), but I am pretty sure that Catwoman never had actual super powers (unless you are talking about the Halle Berry version, and I pray you aren't) . Also, Dinah Lance was the Black Canary (not her daughter) and I don't recall her having Jean Grey powers. Aside from Haley and the Joker cameo, a couple of other notable Batman villains showed up along the way: Lady Shiva and Clayface. Also, we did get to actually see Batgirl in action. Overall, the series was more of a future elseworld than a "Batman show" which in spite of decent ratings was canceled after just half a season.

Up Next: Calling All Titans!

Batman Serial * Batman and Robin Serial * Batman '66 TV * Batman '66 Movie * Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder * Batman on Scooby Doo * Batman the Super Friend * The New Adventures of Batman * Batman '89 * Batman Returns * Batman: The Animated Series * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm * Batman Forever * Batman and Robin * The New Batman Adventures * Boo Wonder * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * Batman Beyond * Gotham Girls * Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker * Batman on Justice League * DCAU Crossovers * Birds of Prey *

* Special Musical Edition * Special Christmas Edition * Special OnStar Edition

Evolution of the Batman (and Robin) - Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

In the year 2000, the Batman Beyond series got its first film treatment bringing back Batman's ultimate nemesis in the direct to video release of Return of the Joker.

The movie opens with the future Batman fighting a gang of Joker inspired villains "cleverly" dubbed the Jokerz.

But as it turned out, the gang really was working for THE Joker.

This opens up a big mystery as we are treated to a series of flashbacks revealing the Joker's death at the hands of a tortured Robin years back witnessed by Batgirl and Batman himself.

But somehow the returned Joker knows the identity of the original Batman and strikes out against old man Wayne.

You can read my brief review here, but lets just say, it was a pretty entertaining movie with a not too unbelievable resolution. The interesting thing about this movie is that it was originally cut as PG-13 but concerns about violence in cartoons resulted in much of the blood and violence being edited out. We were also treated to some additions like seat belts in the reedit. Luckily, both editions found their way to DVD. I recommend the unedited cut. For a rundown of the changes, check out this article at worldsfinestonline.com. Even still, the edited cut retains some dark themes what with the implied torture and killing and all.



The movie ends by revealing the fate of Nana Harley Quinn, so we can all rest easy knowing she will be around for years to come.




Up Next: Selling Out to OnStar

Batman Serial * Batman and Robin Serial * Batman '66 TV * Batman '66 Movie * Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder * Batman on Scooby Doo * Batman the Super Friend * The New Adventures of Batman * Batman '89 * Batman Returns * Batman: The Animated Series * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm * Batman Forever * Batman and Robin * The New Batman Adventures * Boo Wonder * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * Batman Beyond * Gotham Girls * Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

* Special Musical Edition * Special Christmas Edition *

Evolution of the Batman (and Robin) - Gotham Girls

Between 2000 and 2002 a Flash-based web series depicting the girls of Gotham was produced for the world wide web titled Gotham Girls. The series' three season focused on the ladies of Gotham city: villainesses Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman as well as heroines Batgirl and Zatanna.

The 3-5 minute episodes made up 30 episodes in total, some of which allowed interaction from the viewer such as being able to click on which spell to make Zatanna cast.

Overall, the episodes were pretty silly and fun with plots such as Harley Quinn getting turned into a baby by plant toxins.

The third season took a bit of a different approach. telling a story related to the Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero movie. In this season, Dora, the sister of Mr. Freeze's wife Nora, seeks revenge against costumed villains such as Freeze whom she blames for her sisters condition. In the process, she pretty much becomes Ms. Freeze.


Pretty much all of the character designs came from the simplified New Batman Adventures looks which actually adapted pretty well to the Flash animation format. The episodes are still available online, so go check them out:

Part 1

Up Next: Return of the Joker

Batman Serial * Batman and Robin Serial * Batman '66 TV * Batman '66 Movie * Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder * Batman on Scooby Doo * Batman the Super Friend * The New Adventures of Batman * Batman '89 * Batman Returns * Batman: The Animated Series * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm * Batman Forever * Batman and Robin * The New Batman Adventures * Boo Wonder * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * Batman Beyond * Gotham Girls

* Special Musical Edition * Special Christmas Edition *