"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "The Strange Case of Bruce Wayne" and "Heart of Steel" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

It's always fun to watch B: TAS continue to do new things and introduce new characters. The two episodes we deal with in todays blog post do both. The first episode finds three classic villains working together and maybe my favorite two-parter in the show's history introduces the civilian identity of my all-time favorite Bat-character.

Two-Face: "Get out of my face, clown!"

The Joker: "Which one?"

Batman stops two thugs from extorting a prominent judge using a video tape. When the judge goes to extreme measure to try to get the tape back, his interest is piqued. Batman's investigation takes him to Yucca, a resort ran by psychiatrist, Dr. Hugo Strange. Dr. Strange has pioneered a technique to extract his famous clients darkest secrets and recording them on a videotape. He then uses that information to extort them. When he discovers that Bruce Wayne is Batman, he calls in the Joker, Two-Face and Penguin in order to sell the information to the highest bidder. Can Batman stop the Strange and safeguard his secret?

Don't be so feisty.

I have nothing concrete to base this on, but I always believed that the reason that they chose Dr. Hugo Strange as the villain for "Batman: Arkham City" was due to this episode. Sure, he kind of ends up as a chump at the end, but this is still the only one of Batman's rogues to figure out his secret identity and perhaps the writers of the game thought that Hugo Strange deserved better than this.

Let's be real, though. Strange is not the high light of this episode. The high light is watching three of Batman's most well known adversaries interact for the first time in the series history. Sure, we've seen glimpses of them in Arkham. Batman's hallucinated them, but it's great to see them physically talk and taunt each other and eventually team up when they feel like Strange is toying with them. 

The plot of the episode is super flimsy considering what's at stake. There should be more tension here, but there's really not. Batman never seems concerned with his secret identity being revealed. It's pretty obvious from the jump that Batman has things well in hand and the resolution backs that up. When Strange just tells them that Bruce Wayne is Batman, no one believes him. The writers want us to believe that Batman has done so well in portraying Wayne as an inept playboy that it is literally laughable he could be Batman, but I'm not sure what we've seen so far backs that up. Adding insult to injury, Strange is further humiliated when Bruce Wayne shows up, but it's actually Robin wearing lifts. 

This episode had loads of potential but basically squanders it all and no amount of banter between Joker, Penguin and Two-Face can make up for that.

Grade: C

Barbara Gordon: "Oh, this is Wubby. I've had him forever. Dad won't pick me up at the airport without bringing him along."

Commissioner Gordon: blushing "Well... he knows the way better than I do."

Major companies around Gotham City are being burgled and the culprit seems to be a mechanical briefcase. Experimental A.I. chips are being stolen, which leads Bruce to meet with his old mentor, Karl Rossum, head of Cybertron. Rossum became obsessed with cybernetics after his daughter was tragically killed in a car accident, leading him to create a prototype A.I, Holographic Analytical Reciprocating Digital Computer or H.A.R.D.A.C. Bruce makes a date with Randa Duane, who is actually a cybernetic lifeform with H.A.R.D.A.C. When Bruce is called away during their date, she incapacitates Alfred and discovers the Batcave. Can Batman escape his weaponized cave and stop H.A.R.D.A.C and Duane from replacing all of Gotham with cyborgs? Or will he need a little help from Barbara Gordon?

Third wheel much?

Out of all the two-parters that B: TAS produced, this is probably my all-time favorite. It's just so cool. It's like "Blade Runner" through the lens of B: TAS. The cyborgs that Rossum creates are basically Replicants. And Karl Rossum is voiced by J.F. Sebastian himself, William Sanderson.

There is so much awesome in this episode. The pre-commerical opening may be one of the best in the series history. Batman going after the cyborg, hang-gliding off the roof before being shot down into the ocean and washing up on the beach. It's exhilarating and tons of fun to watch. 

Bruce's meeting with Rossum is pitched just right and Sanderson walks that fine line between hokey paternalism and creepy. I loved all the cyber gadgets in his office that walk that fine line between cheesy and cutting edge. 

The cliffhanger that ends part one is killer. The Batcave turning on it's master is great and the visual of Batman being grabbed from ahead and jerked upwards makes you hate having to wait a week to find out how the Dark Knight get's out of this predicament. 

The action pieces are top notch. My favorite is probably Batman's showdown with Robo-Bullock on the rooftop of police headquarters. It's a pretty striking visual to see Bullock crash into the Bat-Signal. Batman's final confrontation with Randa Duane at the end of part two is equally good. Batman has definitely met his match strength wise with these cyborgs and watching Batman outsmart them is a nice reminder that Batman isn't all just fists and kicks. The visuals continue to be great. The cyborgs of Mayor Hill, Gordon et all, contorting their bodies and crab walking. Or Randa's human layer being chipped away as she fights Batman, revealing more and more of her exo skeleton with each hit.

And we can't forget that this two-parter introduces my favorite Bat character of all-time: future (and best, ok, only) Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. Most shows would waste no time putting Barbara into her iconic role, but B: TAS is no ordinary superhero show. Before making her one of Batman's sidekicks, they make sure that she is compelling enough to stand on her own. 

The scene that introduces Barbara is sweet and endearing and establishes the relationship that Barbara has with her father. It's adorable and feels really real. It may seem initially like Wubby is just a cutesy knick knack or something for Barbara to use to embarrass her dad a little in front of Bruce, but it's so much more. It's how Barbara knows that something is seriously wrong with her dad after he's replaced by one of H.A.R.D.A.C.'s cyborgs. When the Gordonbot carelessly tosses Wubby to the floor, it's a moment, one that is earned due to the previous scene.

This episode lays the groundwork for Babs to eventually suit up and stand at Batman's side and it's exciting to see and frustrating too. Let's face it. I want Batgirl now.

Grade: A

Next up, riddle me this, riddle me that, Edward Nygma takes on the Bat, while the Joker gets into the gambling game.

So, does everyone else love the "Heart of Steel" two-parter as much as I do? Does anyone not? If you don't, I'd love to hear why so I can criticize you until you cry. Kidding. Or am I?