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 - 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 - Batman Villain Tiptoes

No, these aren't shows, but these gifs of Bat-foes tip toeing are mighty mesmerizing.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - House and Garden

 And this just may be Poison Ivy's signature episode featuring its own creepy take on "cabbage patch kids." It was also nice to have Robin back. It feels like its been a while since he has been in the fray,  and though I don't care for him to be in every episode, his presence added little je ne sais quoi this time around, pardon the french.

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 - 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.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Dreams in Darkness

Aha, and here it is. While the Scarecrow's previous appearances had been good, he hadn't quite hit it out of the park yet. Problem solved. Despite his limited screen time, this was the pinnacle for the animated series' Scarecrow. From the very beginning twist of Batman being committed to Arkham, this was a fun, mind-bending ride as we got to watch Batman lose the ability to separate reality from fantasy. 

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Eternal Youth

Not one of the series strongest. Maybe its just that people turning into trees is a little too bizarre to be taken seriously.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Pretty Poison

Another episode, another debut of a classic Batman rogue. Poison Ivy was introduced to comics in the 1960's but it was the animated series that finally acquainted her with the masses. And unfortunately, like Mr. Freeze (who also starred with her in Batman and Robin) it would sort of be all down hill from here.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Super Best Friends Forever: Time Waits For No Girl

I adored this one. I love Batgirl and this was a really cute look at her spunky personality and lots of her gadgets. In particular, I loved the iconic pose in front of the moon. It was also great seeing Poison Ivy even if we didn't get to see her get beat up. This set the bar pretty high for the SBFF batch and for my money, this is the best DC Nation short so far...

Watch Full SBFF and Animal Man Shorts Now

What a week it was for DC Nation. Not only did we get the onscreen debut of Saint Walker on Green Lantern (along with an appearance by Mogo) but three fantastic shorts. Animal Man made his onscreen debut with two short shorts and Batgirl starred in the second SBFF short in which Poison Ivy made a quick appearance.What a time it is to be a DC fan, and here are the shorts in case you missed them:

Onscreen History of Poison Ivy

Pamela Lillian Isley first blossomed into Poison Ivy in the 1966 comic Batman #181. Often depicted as an eco-terrorist, Ivy used plant toxins and plantkinesis to further her agenda.

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 *

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

Thumper (or was it Thumper's mom) used to say, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all). I am going to take that advice and am not going to say nothing about Batman and Robin. Batman Forever lightened things up and did pretty well, so I guess the gang thought, "Hey lets add more neon, more nipples, more sidekicks, more villains, more jokes. That should be good, right?" Wrong. In 1997, Batman and Robin made just $107 million on a budget of $127 million. Not only that, but it put the Batman franchise "on ice" (haha) for nearly 10 years and almost killed the comic book genre before it began. I think it is safe to say, this was Batman's lowest point in his on screen career. It could only go up from here.

Its really hard to pinpoint the worst element of Batman and Robin. There are just so many candidates, but most of the negatives lead to the conclusion that the movie was intended to introduce and sell action figures and toys rather than entertain. Batman Forever had Robin, so of course Batman and Robin needed Batgirl (whose costume was surprisingly nippleless). And each of the heroes had not only their normal ugly costumes, but some silver embossed "special edition" variation.

Then there was Mr. Freeze. Oh my, the one-liners never stopped. Sadly, the movie writers took the reinvented and beloved origin given to Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series, and made it suck.

And since you can only sell so many Freeze toys, we were given Poison Ivy and Bane as well. Poison Ivy on her own wasn't that bad, but watching Batman and Robin fight over her was. And it sure was convenient that Batman had his own Bat-credit card on hand to impress her. He "never leaves the cave without it." Yikes.

Freeze and Ivy were bad, but Bane was ridiculous. The villain was reduced to a moronic Hulk-like stooge that doubled as a driver. This may very well be the worst use of any major super villain in any super hero film.

Its safe to say, fans were disappointed and plans for Batman 5 AKA Batman triumphant were canceled. That film actually sounds interesting, introducing Scarecrow and Harley Quinn (possibly played by Madonna) making Batman think the Joker has returned. But I am pretty sure what we ended up with in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is worth not ever getting that sequel.




There is actually a fan edit of the film called Batman and Robin De-Assified, which literally "deassified" the movie by cutting all the close-up butt and crotch shots., lame jokes, and zany sound effects. The streamlined 66 minute film is reportedly not that bad but some of the bad parts had to stay in to keep the film's continuity. Basically, most of this stuff was cut:

Up Next: The New Batman Adventures

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

* Special Musical Edition *