These 10 Batman episodes show why the 90s were Gotham’s golden era

Batman fever is reaching fever pitch once again. The spin-off series The Penguin , starring Colin Farrell, is set to premiere September 19. The highly-anticipated sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux , is out in theaters October 4. And this summer, Prime Video debuted the new animated series Batman: Caped Crusader.

The new show is created by Bruce Timm, best known for being the creator of the ’90s classic Batman: The Animated Series. In fact, Batman: Caped Crusader takes its inspiration directly from TAS, bringing back the old show’s Art Deco look and retro-future style, updated with a darker, often more adult tone. TAS was a ground-breaking animated show for its time, bringing the superhero to the screen with great respect for the comic book source material, using black paper to draw backgrounds in an immediately distinctive style, and introducing incredible new characters like Harley Quinn, and beautifully reinventing others like Mr. Freeze. The show also took the time to really explore the psychological makeup of Batman’s rogues gallery, making some of the villains downright sympathetic.

To celebrate Caped Crusader, and all things Batman, we’re taking a look back at the 10 best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.

11 10. “Baby-Doll”

Season 3, Episode 4

Batman must face off against Mary Dahl, a former child-star driven to madness by the fact that she has remained completely childlike in her appearance and size all the way into adulthood. Her career is gone, and all she has left is vengeance. As Batman attempts to stop the violence Baby-Doll unleashes on Gotham, he also attempts to reach her soul. The ending of the episode is one of the most emotional in the entire series, with Dahl forced to confront what she has become, breaking down in tears, and Batman offering her real sympathy and a helping hand.

10 9. “Robin’s Reckoning”

Season 1, Episodes 51 and 52

Dick Grayson, aka Robin, has always been a tricky character to pull off well, but Batman: The Animated Series proved it could be done with its stellar two-part episode in which Batman’s young sidekick reckons with the loss of his family. In a flashback, the episode reveals how the family of acrobats, The Flying Graysons, were killed during a performance by the villainous Tony Zucco. Learning Zucco’s present whereabouts, Robin goes behind Batman’s back to find Zucco and exact vengeance. That is, until Batman finally manages to stop him, reminding him of the difference between vengeance and justice, and connecting once again over the shared trauma of losing their families.

9 8. “Harley and Ivy”

Season 1, Episode 47

Few things are more fun than watching two villains team up, and no episode does it better than “Harley and Ivy”, in which Harley Quinn is kicked out by her boyfriend, the Joker, and goes to stay with Poison Ivy. The two form a great bond, with Ivy pushing Harley to be more confident and independent, and not put up with Joker’s constant abuse. The pairing quickly became a fan favorite thanks to their great chemistry, though of course, in the end, Harley can’t stand to be without her great love.

8 7. “Nothing to Fear”

Season 1, Episode 10

Batman has always been a hero defined by fear, both the fear that he strikes into his enemies, and the fears he’s long had due to the murder of his parents. TAS used the classic villain Scarecrow to force Batman to confront his fears thanks to his fear toxin. The caped crusader begins hallucinating his worst nightmares, including the emotional devastation that his parents might not be proud of what has become. It all leads him to a final realization, and one of the greatest lines in the show’s run: “I am the night! I am vengeance! I am Batman!”

7 6. “The Last Laugh”

Season 1, Episode 15

Everyone loves a good Joker story, and TAS had plenty of them, thanks to the great portrayal of the classic villain by voice actor and Star Wars star Mark Hamill. Perhaps his most iconic episode is this one, in which the Joker poisons Gotham City with laughing gas as one big April Fool’s Day prank. The episode also spends a lot of time with Alfred, who has been noticing the toll all Batman’s crime fighting has been taking on him.

6 5. “The Man Who Killed Batman”

Season 1, Episode 49

There are a lot of big, famous villains in Batman’s rogues gallery, but sometimes it’s the small guy who has the toughest go of things. When Batman is apparently killed by accident by small-time gangster Sydney “The Squid” Debris, he’s celebrated for it by the likes of the Joker, despite all his protestations. The beauty of the episode is the way it paints a picture of the life of Gotham’s less noteworthy characters, and how Batman has shaped their world. Plus, it turns out Batman wasn’t dead, so all’s well that ends well.

5 4. “Beware the Gray Ghost”

Season 1, Episode 32

TAS pays homage to the classic 1960’s Batman series starring Adam West in this emotional story about an aged TV star who once played a hero called The Gray Ghost. When a series of remote control bombing plagues Gotham, Batman realizes that it’s a copycat crime resembling the plot of an episode of an old show from his childhood. The episode deals very earnestly with what it’s like to watch the culture move beyond you as you grow older, and works as a reckoning with the show’s own relationship to the much campier ’60s series.

4 3. “Heart of Ice”

Season 1, Episode 14

Coming early in the show’s run, this episode about Mr. Freeze served as something of a mission statement for the depth that could be found by really digging into the emotional live of Batman’s villains. While in the comics, Freeze was something of a joke character, TAS gave him real gravitas. In the episode, Victor Fries has turned villain in an effort to find a cure for his terminally ill wife, who he is keeping cryogenically frozen, while also trying to take revenge on the man responsible. It’s a beautiful, emotional story, and one of its most acclaimed for very good reason.

3 2. “Almost Got ‘Im”

Season 1, Episode 35

Batman: The Animated Series always put a big focus on the villains, but few did it better and more cleverly than “Almost Got ‘Im”, in which Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc get together for a game of cards while hiding from the police. Throughout the game, they share their own stories of almost, but never quite, defeating Batman. Unlike some of the other episodes, which humanize the villains through tragic tales, this one goes for a more laid back, humorous feel, treating the classic baddies like just a bunch of pals trading anecdotes.

2 1. “Two-Face”

Season 1, Episodes 17 and 18

The story of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, has always been one of the most central stories in the Batman canon, and it’s never been portrayed better than in this two-part TAS episode. Scarred in a terrible attack by a gangster, the noble Gotham District Attorney begins his tragic fall into villainy as he attempts to take the law into his own hands. Mirroring Batman’s own vigilantism, Bruce Wayne must contend with watching his former friend seek vengeance rather than justice, and reckon with the consequences of his own fight against crime in Gotham. It’s an example of the very best Batman: The Animated Series could be, bringing real emotion and depth to all of its characters in ways audiences and even comic book readers had never experienced before.

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