Episode 3: Nothing to Fear
...except for zombie Roosevelt.Synopsis: During a charity event to raise money for the troubled Gotham University, Bruce Wayne is confronted by a troubled professor, Dr Long. Troubled by a series of crimes that have rocked the University, the professor lashes out by telling Bruce that his father would be ashamed of what Bruce has done to the family name. Before leaving the event, Bruce notices a strange helicopter landing on the roof of the University's bank. Inside the bank, The Scarecrow breaks in with his henchmen, using his fear gas to subdue the guard. While his henchmen grab what money they can, Scarecrow is only interesting in burning the bank down, pouring gasoline around the room and claiming "this isn't about money, it's about revenge." Batman arrives wearing a gas mask, preventing Scarecrow from using his fear gas, but after a fight he is able to shoot Batman with a dart loaded with fear toxin while starting a fire. As Scarecrow and his men escape, Batman is haunted by a vision of his father calling him a failure and a disappointment. Batman retreats to the cave to analyze a scrap of fabric from the Scarecrow's costume for traces of the chemicals in the gas, all the while still suffering the effects of the toxin. After Scarecrow reveals his identity to his men (Dr. Jonathan Crane, former professor of psychology at the University, dismissed for his radical fear-based experiments) he stages another attack, this time flooding a charity event with fear gas and kidnapping Dr. Long. When Batman arrives again, the crowd turns against him, the toxin making them see him as a monster. Scarecrow escapes in a blimp, but Batman pursues him, fighting a henchman on top of the blimp, leading to the vehicle to be damaged by machine gun fire. As the blimp goes out of control Batman has another vision of his father, this time overcoming it by force of will. He pulls himself together in time save Dr. Long, but not to capture Crane. Analysis of the chemicals and some detective work on who would have access to them and has a history with the University leads Batman to Crane's identity. When Crane arrives in his lab, he finds canisters of his own toxin are open and leaking into the room. Breathing in the gas, he has visions of demonic bats, and Batman is able to subdue him easily.
This is a step back up in quality. While I don't love the design these early episodes used for Scarecrow, he is a great character for a Batman story. Things are a little simplistic here, and Scarecrow spends a good chunk of his screen time in a somewhat awkwardly expository mood, but the real story here is Batman fighting the effects of the toxin. This is the first time the series spends any time on Batman's past, and his visions of his father are a chilling addition to the plot. We finally get a genuinely warm moment with Alfred. While in the Batcave, looking haggard in the midst of his analysis of the scrap of Scarecrow's costume he tells Alfred about the toxin, and his fear of his father's disappointment. Alfred, until now a smug smartass for two and a half episodes straight, assures Bruce, "I know your father would be proud of you, because I'm so proud of you."
The absolute highlight of this episode is when Batman is hanging onto the blimp and he has a vision of his father again, this time as a giant that morphs into a demonic skeleton. When Batman summons his will to fight his fear, it's with a line that went on to become truly iconic. "You are not my father, I am not a disgrace! I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!"
There's a couple pretty good scenes with Detective Bullock again too. He confronts Batman after the attempted bank arson, seeing the scrap that Batman's carrying and accusing him of trying to steal evidence. At the end of the episode he tries to convince the Commissioner that Batman and Scarecrow are in cahoots, even betting his badge on it. Gordon then reveals Scarecrow tied up with what looks like a note featuring a bat logo on his chest. This is pretty much the comic relief of the whole episode, with the exception of a couple zingers from Alfred. I love how the keep the police visible in an episode like this, even though they really don't figure into the completion of the case at all. It might not do a lot for this particular episode, but in the overall series it's helping to keep Bullock established in the audience's mind.
The last shot of the episode really sticks with you. Bruce stands in front of the grave of his parents, wordlessly laying a pair of roses in front of the headstone. As he walks away, his shadow takes the form of Batman. Other than maybe the visions of Thomas Wayne, its the best bit of animation this episode.
I'm starting to notice a few cool inside jokes and references here and there. The guard at the bank is reading a Tiny Toons comic book before he's attacked, this show and Tiny Toons shared a lot of the same team. At one point Bullock mocks Batman by calling him Zorro, and Zorro was one of Bob Kane's major inspirations for creating Batman. The list of possible sources for the chemicals Batman found include Axis Engineering, referencing Axis Chemicals from the 1989 Batman flim, and Star Labs, a Superman reference.
Topic: Batman: The Animated Series (Read 16890 times)
