team.” Given the recent comic book developments, in Grant Morrison’s Batmanand Batman Incorporated (which deal with the idea of duplicating Batman), it seems Two-Face might have been more than a decade ahead of his time.Īt the same time, the bad guys seem to have their own understanding of their foe, which possibly runs far deeper than they expect. “The way I figure it, Gordon’s got a bunch of them stashed someplace, like a S.W.A.T. “I don’t think it is one guy,” he explains to the Joker, like a fanboy outlining his own particular theory. For example, Two-Face has own crazy theory on Batman. The script is packed with interesting observations.
As an Irish person, I don’t even know what half-and-half is, but that’s hilarious. It helps that the script is incredibly witty – you’ll note, for example, that Two-Face takes “half-and-half” in his coffee. And so, this, a story about five of Batman’s foes sitting around shooting the breeze and playing poker while trading war stories, is a fun and interesting diversion.Ĭatwoman has her own "almost got 'im" story. An episode about the Joker paying his bills would be interesting. They’re all colourful characters – and it’s always fun to think of colourful characters, even if they aren’t doing anything especially interesting. They can be used time and time again with little need for a back story, reintroduction or exposition, but they can also serve as vehicles for more in-depth stories as required.Īs such, Batman’s gallery of villains is interesting in a way that Superman’s or Green Lantern’s simply isn’t. Part of that is undoubtedly due to pop culture exposure, but I reckon at least some of that can be tracked back to the fact that they’re just a remarkably well put together selection of adversaries, each with a clear (and yet compelling) hook. I reckon if you asked a random person to name ten Batman bad guys, they could probably do it without breaking sweat. Only Spider-Man can really challenge the Dark Knight when it comes to depth and variety of foes. The episode works because it treats all of this like it’s a regular occurence in Gotham, and these ridiculous plots are just what the villains get up to when there’s nothing better going on.Įven today, Batman’s iconic selection of villains stands out amongst other comic book characters. It’s mostly entertaining just to watch Batman’s eclectic selection of bad guys sitting around and playing cards while talking about business and “you know who”, but each of the schemes is a wacky and crazy death trap straight out of a hokier comic (from a giant dollar coin to exploding pumpkins to laughter-powered electric chair). Almost Got ‘Im is a fun little episode which centres around a bunch of supervillains trading stories about that one time that they almost killed the Batman. No other iteration of the character has successfully managed to take in virtually all facets of the Caped Crusader without breaking a sweat – the show can do drama, action, gothic thriller and even comedy.
– The Penguin, Poison Ivy and the Joker discuss the state of theatricality amongst modern supervillainsīatman: The Animated Series perhaps represents the best adaptation of the Batman mythos in any medium outside of comics. Now, prepare to meet your end, within my Aviary of Doomįah! Just because you mundane miscreants have no drama in your souls! Anyway, there he was in my av… uh, big birdhouse… Greetings, Batman! You have taken the bait, as I knew you would.
I’ll be looking at movies and episodes and even some of the related comic books. Given that we looked at Batman: Gotham Knightearlier today, I thought we might take a look at another series of vignettes related to the Batman – this time from the perspective of his bad guys. This post is part of the DCAU fortnight, a series of articles looking at the Warner Brothers animations featuring DC’s iconic selection of characters.