If you grew up watching
Saturday morning cartoons in the mid-90’s or you’re just a big fan, then you
know that there is no show like Batman: The Animated Series. In way this
cartoon revolutionized the way superhero cartoons were made. Without it, we
wouldn’t have Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League or Batman Beyond,
which followed soon after. This Emmy award-winning series gave us Batman, the
way he was meant to be and the first season of the series was a great example
of cartoons at their finest. So, here are the top 5 episodes (in my opinion)
from season one of Batman: The Animated Series.
5. P.O.V
If
you’ve seen this episode, you’re probably wondering why it would be in the top
5 of the season, but sometimes the best Batman stories are the ones that rarely
have Batman in them at all. A disturbance at a warehouse leads to three
different point of views from three different police officers, each with their
own unique sighting of the Caped Crusader. What made the episode great was the
fact that each of their stories intertwined with the other. Batman did make a
big appearance at the end to thwart the enemies’ escape, as he normally does,
with the help of Officer Montoya.
Favorite Moment: The rookie cop believes Batman to be “unstoppable” by
the way he explains how he took down the criminals. Nice to see a cop other
then Gordon giving Batman some praise.
4. Feat Of Clay Part
Two
Normally in a
two-part episode, the first is used to establish new characters or introduce a
new villain and the second is when the action really starts to pick up. This
was the case in the conclusion to Feat Of Clay. Batman has a terrific showdown
against Clayface, ending with what was arguably the best piece of animation in
the entire series. The effect of Clayface uncontrollably changing shapes at the
end of the episode was animation to admire. Even by today’s standards, it was
something special.
Favorite Moment: Batman leads Clayface into a room full of TV monitors
with pictures of him throughout his acting career. The shock of what he used to
be compared to what he has become leads Clayface to become unstable and morph
into many different characters at one time.
3. Nothing To Fear
The Scarcrow was
always one of my favorite Batman villains. His famous fear toxins would always
pose a threat to Batman just like it did in Nothing To Fear. Just the third
episode of the series, Batman has his first encounter with Scarcrow, and his
inner most fears. After a dose of fear gas, Batman has horrifying images of his
father telling him he’s “failed”. This thought was put in Batman’s head after
one of Thomas Wayne’s old colleagues called Bruce “a disgrace to the family
name”. But there is nothing like seeing Batman overcome his fears in order to
defeat the Scarcrow. As an added bonus, Batman doses Scarcrow with his own fear
toxins as Scarcrow believes Batman to be a giant bat-like creature…awesome.
Favorite Moment: After Scarcrow escapes his first meeting with Batman,
Detective Bullock accuses Batman of with holding evidence from the police, so
when Bullock shoves Batman, he shoves back.
2. On Leather Wings
In the very first
episode, some of the greatest moments of the season can be seen. Batman is a
vigilante in the eyes of the police, which leads to an action-packed
confrontation between the cops and the Dark Knight. Even though they used a
“less important” villain in Man-Bat, it worked great as a starting point for
the series, especially since it sparked differences between Batman and the
police when reports said, “A bat-like creature robbed by lab.” Until they
discover Man-Bat that is. Spectacular animation is used when Batman latches on
to the foot of Man-Bat as he takes him on the ride of his life across the skies
of Gotham.
Favorite Moment: The police appear to have Batman surrounded within
the Phoenix Labs building, but with a batarang, a few smoke pellets and a dumb
SWAT team member who throws a grenade into a room full of explosive chemicals,
Batman is able to avoid capture, escape and save a solider from the explosion in
the process.
1. Heart Of Ice
This episode,
written by Paul Dini (producer), redesigned Mr. Freeze as a villain and as a
character in general. Before this episode, Freeze was just a criminal with a
“freeze gun”. In Heart Of Ice, Dini creates an entirely new origin story for
the character. A scientist, working on a cure for his wife’s rare disease, is
involved in a lab accident, which afterwards requires him to wear a high-tech
suit designed to keep his body temperature below 0 degrees to survive. Mr. Freeze
broke through in this episode and became an elite villain in the Dark Knight
rogues gallery. His actions and battles with Batman in this story are just a
couple reasons why Heart Of Ice is the best episode of the first season.
Favorite Moment: Mr. Freeze is faced with a slight dilemma. He needs
to get twenty stories up to crash a party, but instead of just using the door,
then elevator or stairs (depending on if he “needs the exercise” or not), he
decides to kick open a fire hydrant, fire his freeze gun into the water and
propel himself up into the building. Why use a door when a frozen fire hydrant
can suffice.
My top 5 may look
noting like yours, but based on animation and good storytelling, it is clear
that these five episodes are worthy of some respect. There is a total of 4
seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, so stay tuned for the top 5 episodes
from season two.
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