"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich" and "Joker's Wild"

Batman: The Animated Series

Today we have made it to the fortieth episode of B: TAS. That is pretty phenomenal. The time has really flown by, hasn't it? It's also a testament to the quality of the series that forty episodes in and we are just being introduced to one of Batman's classic rogues, The Riddler. Fun fact: The Riddler was the first villain in the 1960's Batman series. Let's find out how he fares in his debut B: TAS appearance.

"Well, well, well, Bat-something-or-other, isn't it? Who invited you? Do you know what happens to gate crashers? They have to watch wits with: The Riddler."

Competitron programmer, Edward Nygma, is the creator of the popular computer game, "Riddle of the Minotaur." He's also a smug know-it-all. When he's ousted from the company by CEO Daniel Mockridge he vows revenge. That revenge comes two years later. Mockridge is getting ready to sell Competitron to Wayne Tech, buoyed by the success of "Riddle of the Minotaur." When Mockridge sees a riddle flashing behind Wayne he knows his time is up. Nygma now using the moniker The Riddler ambushes Mockridge at his club and kidnaps him despite Batman and Robin's intervention. Riddler places Mockrdige at the center of the "Riddle of the Minotaur" amusement park outside Gotham. If the Dynamic Duo can't make it there in ten minutes, the Minotaur will impale him with his sword.

Riddle me this. Why's it so dark in here?

I always think of Joker, Catwoman, Penguin and Riddler as the "Big Four" when it comes to Batman's Rogues Gallery. I think it's because they were the four villains Batman and Robin faced off against in the '60's Batman film and they were the first villains in the modern day Bat films. As I mentioned in the lead up to this post, it's pretty remarkable that it took forty episodes for the fourth member of "the Big Four" to show up. It's a testament to the strong storytelling that the series has exhibited up to this point.

Edward Nygma's animated series debut doesn't disappoint. Voiced by Lionel Luthor himself, "Smallville"s, John Glover, Nygma makes an impression the moment he opens his mouth. He's smarter than everyone in the room and he knows it. Each word out of his mouth is laced with condescension that he doesn't even bother to hide. Mockridge isn't a stand up guy, but you're not surprised that he takes so much pleasure in knocking Nygma down a peg. When Nygma returns, reborn as the Riddler, that smug condescension is still there. Acting like he doesn't know Batman's moniker is a way to try to keep him above the Dark Knight.

Batman and Robin racing through the maze is one of my favorite sequences in all B: TAS. The death traps are great and it's nice to really see Batman and Robin work together. A lot of times, it feels like Batman is letting Robin have the ideas or is constantly testing him, but in this case, Robin is the expert, evidenced earlier in the ep when we see Dick playing "Riddle of the Minotaur" on the Batcomputer. In this, they are equals. Batman hijacking the Hand of Fate to get to the middle is great. Who doesn't love watching Batman wipe the smug look off the Riddler's face. I could honestly watch this bit over and over again. The only thing that could be better is Batman getting trapped in a video game himself.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Grade: A-

The Joker: "You hold my hand and I'll slug you."

Poison Ivy: "GUARD!"

The Joker: "Just kidding, just kidding. Yeesh, Pammy, lighten up!"

(post finding out about the casino)

The Joker: "How dare that smug, preening fool try to cash in on my image!"

Poison Ivy: "Now who should lighten up?

The Joker: "Don't get cute with me, Red! He's ripping me off! I'll protest! Yeah, I'll sue! Then I'll rip his lungs out! And, I will, too."

Cameron Kaiser is opening up the hottest casino in town and it's dedicated to the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime is none too happy that he's being ripped off, so he promptly escapes from Arkham to give Kaiser a piece of his mind and blow up the casino. Luckily, Bruce Wayne is attending the opening and decides to investigate. When Batman learns that this is all an insurance scheme set up by Kaiser, he realizes he has twice the danger to deal with.

Copyright infringement

"Joker's Wild" is another Joker episode that's parts are greater than the sum. There are a lot of great moments, but I'm not entirely convinced they all come together in the end to make something great or push it to the same levels as "Joker's Favor" or "The Laughing Fish." 

I do enjoy when the Joker mingles with the common folk like Charlie Collins or the patent office clerk, but Kaiser being a crook sort of sucks the fun out of it.

The moments in the episode are really what make this episode better than it probably has a right to be. I love the beginning where we get a glimpse at what it's like in the common room at Arkham Asylum. Of course Joker is the annoying twat trying to control the TV, but it's nice to see Pam get one on him once Kaiser's casino design is revealed.

The next is Joker's escape from Arkham. It's a great sequence that illustrates how incompetent the staff of Arkham really is, how smart the Joker is and how they basically keep him there because he chooses to be there. If he wants out, he'll find a way.

The last is the interaction between Joker and Bruce Wayne when Joker is masquerading as a black jack dealer at the casino. Normally it's Joker getting in the verbal jabs at Batman, but Bruce seizes the opportunity to give back as good as he gets and the smirk on his face once he's successfully gotten Joker's goat is great.

As always, major props to Mark Hamill who makes this work far better than it probably should. Seriously, replace the Joker with any other Bat villain and this would fizzle and that's all thanks to Hamill.

Grade: B

Next up, Catwoman takes her moniker a little too seriously and the full moon brings out a werewolf... and Professor Milo?

Does anyone else love "If You're So Smart...?" I remember the promo that aired before it. It's odd what lodges in your memory. Are we at Joker overload? I'm always interested in your comments.