"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Joker's Favor" and "Vendetta"

Batman: The Animated Series

Today is the perfect day to talk about the most lasting impact that B: TAS has had on the Batman mythos. I'm talking about Dr. Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. Harley was first introduced in the first episode we are going to be talking about in this post: "Joker's Favor." I don't think that Paul Dini and Bruce Timm had any idea that Harley would become as popular as she has. People around the world idolize Harley and she has gone on a pretty incredible journey. She went from being Joker's girlfriend to leading her own solo series multiple times. Her current series is routinely one of the best selling comics out there, not just for DC but overall. She is also heavily featured in "Suicide Squad" and she has become a tentpole figure in the burgeoning DC Cinematic Universe. That incarnation of Harley, portrayed by Margot Robbie, has proved so popular that four upcoming movies feature her prominently. Well done, Harley.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Prophecy of Doom" and "Feat of Clay" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

I briefly mentioned the 1966 "Batman" television series last post due to Adam West's voice role in "Beware the Gray Ghost," but as we chat about another two-parter it seems like a good time to bring it up again. These definitely feel like homages to that classic show. The majority of those were two-parters with the Dynamic Duo being in some sort of danger at the end of part one. The B: TAS two-parters veered away from this, instead focusing on deeper character studies of some iconic Bat villains. Is that the case with the two-parter we are looking at this post? We'll find out. But first...

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "See No Evil" and "Beware the Gray Ghost"

Batman: The Animated Series

I don't have a lot to say when it comes to the two episodes that are covered in this blog post. I don't have any pithy observations of the show itself. So, I guess I'll just say that these are two pretty great episodes and it was a treat to re-watch them. 

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Heart of Ice" and "The Cat and the Claw" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

Before we dive into the next exceptional episodes of B: TAS, there was one thing I wanted to mention. I noticed it when watching "Two-Face". I even put it in my notes, but for some reason forgot to bring it up. Then, it appeared again in "Heart of Ice." B: TAS does these painted scenes, where the main figure is still, but there is motion somewhere else. In "Two-Face" there was a close up shot of Two-Face's face while he read, his eyes following the lines on the page the only movement. In "Heart of Ice," there is a close up of Freeze's face, his glowing red eyes blinking. It is a cool touch and it is something that really hearkens back to the old Max Fleischer "Superman" cartoons.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "It's Never Too Late" and "I've Got Batman In My Basement"

Batman: The Animated Series

Another thing that differentiated B: TAS from other animated series of the time was that it wasn't afraid to use guns firing real bullets. Other animated series of the time like X-Men and Spider-Man didn't use actual guns with bullets. The guards, police, etc used blasters. The fact that the thugs and gangsters that Batman is encountering on a nightly basis are firing on him with actual guns upped the ante and really reinforced the dangers that he was facing. This helped push the series to the next level.

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Be a Clown" and "Two-Face" Parts 1 & 2

Batman: The Animated Series

B: TAS was different from a lot of animated shows on at the time or before. It wasn't afraid to tell adult stories. It didn't try to dumb things down for it's audience. It told stories with legitimate pathos. It refused to tie things up with a neat bow in 22 minutes, or in some cases, 44 minutes. That's right, it also told two part stories and we've reached the first of those two parters in our B: TAS rewatch and it is one of, if not the best, of the bunch. But first...

"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "P.O.V." and "The Forgotten"

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman was always the star of B:TAS. If I recall correctly, he appeared in costume in every single episode. I didn't check that, so feel free to take me to task in the comments if I'm wrong. He wasn't always the focal point of every episode though. The show did a great job of focusing on the ancillary characters in Batman's orbit, from his sidekicks, to his villains, to the police, to Bruce Wayne himself. The writers trusted that the audience would remain engaged as long as the stories being told were good ones. One of the episodes featured in today's post is a great example of that. The other doesn't feature Batman very much.