"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Harley and Ivy" and "Shadow of the Bat" Parts 1 & 2

Batman The Animated Series

In this post's episodes, sisters are doing it for themselves. B: TAS shifts focus to it's female characters and the results are pretty great. We get two debuts. The first is an iconic pair that continues in the comics today and a character that has become as well recognized as Batman and Robin themselves.

[a trio of frat boys pull up alongside Harley and Ivy and make lewd comments]

Poison Ivy: "Now boys, didn't your mommies teach you that's not the way to get a ladies attention?"

Frat Boy: [slaps his butt] "And what are you gonna do, spank me?"

Harley Quinn: "That's right pigs." [raises a bazooka] "And here's the paddle."

[yelling, the boys leap out of their car and run just before Harley blows it to pieces.]

After a chase with Batman results in a loss of loot and barely escaping, Joker has had it with Harley. He blames her and subsequently kicks her out of the gang. Harley is bound and determined to show "Mistah J" that she doesn't need him. A chance encounter with Poison Ivy during a museum heist leads to a fruitful partnership. Harley and Ivy begin a crime spree that eventually draws the attention of not only Batman but the Joker. Can Harley disentangle herself from her former paramour or is her new partnership with Ivy doomed?

There's a new Dynamic Duo in town.

With "Harley and Ivy", we have yet another B: TAS episode that has heavily impacted the Batman comics since it debuted. Harley and Poison Ivy have become a pretty iconic duo. Their relationship has grown and blossomed and evolved into a romantic relationship.

It shouldn't shock you that the idea for that the idea to put this pair together came from Paul Dini. Dini constructs a B: TAS episode that is all about female power and it's pretty great, especially since the show doesn't always do the best in regards to it's female characters. I'm looking directly at Catwoman. That's not the case here. Harley and Ivy are a killer duo, successfully pulling off heists and getting away with it for an indeterminate amount of time. There are a ton of explicitly feminist moments from Harley blowing up the frat boys car to Ivy bonding Batman with the "tools of the male oppressors" aka cleaning and cooking implements. The duo is even finally captured not by Batman, but by Renee Montoya.

This is also the first episode that really explicitly tells you that the relationship between Harley and the Joker is extremely unhealthy and abusive. Harley is basically Joker's punching bag. He berates her and blames her before casting her out. Later in the episode, he doesn't even realize she's gone until he realizes the chores around the hideout aren't getting done. Despite this, Harley can't let him go and it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking not because you yearn for these two crazy -- literally-- kids to get back together, but because you desperately want Harley to see her worth. It's a fairly realistic portrayal of a domestic abuse victim. I'm not sure how anyone could ever look at Harley and Joker's relationship and think that is something to model their own after, especially if they've seen this episode.

Another killer episode from Paul Dini. It looks like "Zatanna" was kind of a fluke.

Grade: A

Barbara: "So, Batman can't help me? Fine. In that case, let's see what Batgirl can do."

Deputy Commissioner Gil Mason is a rising star in the GCPD thanks to his anonymous tips bringing down various Gotham figures, the most recent being Rupert Thorne. Mason loses his golden boy sheen when he arrests Commissioner Gordon on jumped up bribery charges. No one believes that Gordon is guilty and Batman is bound and determined to prove his innocence. A rally is organized to get the public behind the Commissioner and when Barbara tries to get Batman to attend, he refuses. Barbara takes matters into her own hands, whipping up her own batsuit and pawning herself off as Batman. When gang members attack the rally, her ruse is revealed, but she gets a taste for crimefighting. Can Batgirl unravel the plot against her father without getting herself killed?

Batman is looking very... different.

This two-parter has been in the works ever since Barbara Gordon first appeared in the "Heart of Steel" two-parter. Remember when she broke into the Cybertron warehouse. That's what we call foreshadowing. 

This two-parter works because the focus never really leaves Barbara. The set up is wonderful. Gordon being in jeopardy makes the stakes very personal for Barbara and it makes sense why she would get involved. It never feels forced. You root for Babs and it doesn't hurt that Batman is at his most dickish in these episodes. He is totally focused on clearing Gordon, which is great, but his reaction to Barbara asking him to appear at the rally for her dad is obnoxious and condescending. It also spurs Barbara to take matters into her own hands.

There's a new Bat...girl in town.

Batman is mainly absent for the back half of part 1. He takes up his Matches Malone guise to get more information about Gordon's frame-up and sends Robin to the rally. It's at the rally that Barbara gets her first taste of life as Batgirl. I liked how the episode didn't make Barbara a natural. If anything, she's lucky more than anything. She gets a couple good shots in, but she's blinded by her desire to get revenge. 

Barbara is sick of being discounted by everyone from her dad to Batman to Robin. So, she takes matters into her own hands and thus Batgirl is born. 

My main complaint with part one is that it's pretty obvious from the jump that Gil Mason is on the take, but then the show sees the obviousness and throws Two-Face into the mix as the real mastermind behind Gordon's frame-up. He wants to install Mason as the new Commissioner so he controls the police force. 

Part two is a little more standard but no less entertaining. Batgirl is on the case and no matter how condescending Robin is, she's not going home. She continues to make mistakes but makes up for them and grows throughout. She even takes out Mason during the climactic showdown at the docks. She earns the respect of the Dynamic Duo and Gotham gains a new protector in the end.

Batgirl is one of my all-time favorite comic characters and it makes me happy that B: TAS did right by her.

Grade: B+

How do you all feel? Did you also enjoy seeing some of the ladies of B: TAS take center stage? Let me know in the comments.

Next up, Batman goes blind and he has to save Robin and Talia from her dad.