There’s no doubt that Batman: The Animated Series is the greatest superhero cartoon of all time. For many of us, Batman: TAS holds the most hallowed incarnations of these great characters, from Kevin Conroy’s Batman to Mark Hamill’s Joker. It introduced many new ideas that would later be brought to the comics and other interpretations, not the least of which is the breakout character Harley Quinn, as well as launch an entire universe of animated stories set in the DC Universe.
Since this week marks the 25th anniversary of the show's debut, we’re celebrating our 10 favorite episodes of the innovative series. But it’s worth noting that we’ve excluded episodes that were adapted from specific comics. Great segments like “Mad Love,” “Legends of the Dark Knight,” and “The Laughing Fish” are all undeniably fantastic, but we thought it better to point out episodes that were wholly created for the show. So with that said, here are our picks for the top 10 Batman: The Animated Series episodes ever...
“Harley’s Holiday”
Poor, poor Harley. She’s got a good heart but can never catch a break. This standout episode finds Harleen Quinzel released from Arkham Aslyum with a clean bill of health/sanity, only to find herself in a snowballing situation that puts her back on the wrong side of the law through no fault of her own. Batman’s rogues rarely undergo rehabilitation (the Arkham staff is terrible at their jobs), but “Harley’s Holiday” gives a glimpse of what would happen if they did.
It’s kind of a sweet episode, with Batman and Robin trying to help Harley stay on the straight and narrow, and ends with Harley planting a big wet one on the Dark Knight’s kisser. It’s clear that Paul Dini has a soft spot for his seminal creation, as he would explore a similar storyline in his Detective Comics run over 10 years after this episode aired.
“Two-Face”
On its own, this two-parter (how appropriate) is a completely adequate telling of Harvey Dent’s transformation into the duality-based villain known as Two-Face. But what makes “Two-Face” such a standout of Batman: The Animated Series is the fact that we’d seen Harvey Dent appear prior to this episode. In any other kid’s animated show, it’s likely that Dent would’ve been introduced and turned into a villain within a single episode (if they bothered to do the origin at all), but “Two-Face” is an example of the kind of mature storytelling that Paul Dini, Kevin Altieri, and Bruce Timm strived for on this show.
“Two-Face” explores the loss of one of Batman’s allies within the system and lays the groundwork for what will become a tradition of exploiting the sympathetic sides of Batman’s rogues that is one of the many hallmarks of this show.
“Harley and Ivy”
One of the best things about Batman: The Animated Series is that it didn’t hesitate to put characters besides the Dark Knight in the spotlight. One of the best examples is “Harley and Ivy,” which teams a Joker-less Harley Quinn with a ferocious Poison Ivy to form one of the greatest thief teams in Gotham. It’s pure fun with some great character development for Harley, who finds herself finally breaking free of The Joker’s abuse (mostly) with the help of a new friend.
It’s also surprising how much this episode gets away with – at one point a group of cat callers asks the girls if they’re going to get spanked for their aforementioned cat calling, only to have a bazooka pointed at them and their car blown to smithereens.
“Perchance to Dream”
“Perchance to Dream” is a Hamlet reference and, fittingly, this episode is Shakespearean in its tragedy. Bruce Wayne wakes up in Wayne Manor, discovering that his parents are alive and he’s engaged to be married to Selina Kyle. He has memories of his previous life – Batman – but none of it exists in this new reality. He’s even led to believe that his memories of another life were merely a delusion, and that this has been his real life all along. Unfortunately, Batman has never been one that attracts happiness.
Ultimately, Bruce begins to figure out the façade of the world he’s in and willingly gives it all up. It shows the strength of his character and the commitment to his mission. If you’re a comic book fan and the story sounds kind of familiar to you, it should: It explores a similar theme as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Superman tale “For the Man Who Has Everything.”
“Beware the Gray Ghost”
This episode, both in story and out of it, is all about the legacy of caped crusaders. Featuring a washed-up actor best known for his role as the Gray Ghost named Simon Trent (voiced by Adam West), this episode explores the notion of nostalgia as it pertains to Batman’s career and history. The idea that Batman used to watch The Gray Ghost with his father and that the character was presumably an inspiration in the creation of the Batman persona is a nice touch. It portrays Bruce Wayne with a sense of fondness for the past instead of the pain and suffering that’s usually associated with that time in his life.
Additionally, having West portray the Gray Ghost is something of a passing-of-the-torch kind of gesture and works remarkably well.
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