#kevin rupert conroy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

popculturebuffet · 6 months

Text

Richard Moll Tribute: Batman TAS Review: Two-Face Parts 1 and 2 (Comission for WeirdKev27)

In Loving Memory of Richard Moll 1943-2023 Just one year. Just one damn year after loosing Kevin Conroy another treasured member of the Batman The Animated Series Cast passes. I wasn't expecting this and i'm hoping with all I got this isn't a trend.

While Kevin requested a tribute for Moll it was an easy request: While I sadly can't do a tribute for every tragic death as my schedule is packed, it's why poor Matthew Perry didn't get one even though his death is also truly gutting, but Moll is an actor I loved and still deeply repsect and I'm proud to honor him.

Ironically I first became a fan of Moll not thorugh two face, who I liked fine but wasn't really a faviorite of mine yet, but through his other famous roll that came before this: Baliff Bull Shanon on the NBC sitcom Night Court

If you haven't seen Night Court it's free on freevee and amazon prime so please do when your done here, but for the short version it was a sitcom about Harry Stone, a young judge who was both a goofy prankster and a kind, wise man who judged fairly and always tried to help his staff, played by the sadly also late Harry Anderson.

Bull was big, strong.. but also entirely kind and goofy. He had a childlike sense of wonder to him, missed the point often, but refrenshingly for a sticom he wasn't portrayed as a complete idiot, having a lot of emotinal intelgence. He was simply oblivious. And while VERY sweet he had a habit of reminding people, paitcuarly dan the court's prosectuer and sex pest, that he had his job for damn good reason. Moll was a treasure and never lost his step in the roll though sadly he declined to return for the recent revival and now never will.

So it suprised me when I found out Moll was Harvey all this time. It wasn't that Moll lacked talent or even him doing something after night court, he'd done plenty. It was more the range, perfectly playing Harvey in all the forms the show gave him: early on as bruce's pepppy friend, as a man grappling with his split personality in these episodes, as Harvey's brutal personality.. and later as a horrifying combo of the two as two face. All distinct, all using a diffrent vocal tone, all great.

So we're honoring his finest performance. So join me to remmeber Richard Moll under the cut as Harvey Dent grapples with the other person in the mirror.. and both become something else.

One touch i've always liked about Batman TAS is that Harvey was a recurring character before this two parter. It was only two episodes, On Leather Wings and Pretty Poison, but the former was a nice cameo to show he exists and the latter really showed off Harvey and Bruce's friendship, their easy report, the hint they had a long history we were never privy to, and it made the stakes higher when Harvey got poisoned by Ivy. It's remakrable how much legwork that one episode did to setting up this one. You can watch one without the other, Batman TAS is still largely episodic and one of the best shows ever at pulling that off... but the two enrich each other. While Batman TAS wasn't the first to try and have Harvey Dent around before he got faced, Batman 1989 ATTEMPTED it but then didn't bring back Billy Dee Williams and retconned Harvey to be Tommy Lee Jones because fuck me I guess, it's the work i'd credit with popularizing it as the Long Halloween and the Dark Knight after it made sure to show us who harvey was BEFORE, which makes what he becomes that much more tragic, that Bruce didn't just loose an ally.. he lost a friend.

It also makes what we see at the top of the episode have even more weight: Harvey having a troubled dream as he's harassed by a shadowy version of himself with a growly voice flipping a coin. Harvey is only freed from his nightmare by his assitant Carlos, who informs him the raid they've been planning is on boys.

The target is one of Rupert Thorne's gambling dens.

For those who've forgotten this guy, Rupert was the series mafia presence, head of Gotham's organized crime and slimeball, played by John Vernon aka the dean from animal house aka the character that inspired the dean from futurama. Rupert is the perfect arch enemy for a pre face harvey: it's easy to arrest a guy who kidnaps the police on christmas day after rocketing out of his aslyum on a christmas tree, it's harder to arrest someone who covers his tracks.

It's also hard because Throne's men have a bunch of high end weaponry stockpiled in there including grenade launchers. Thankfully Bat beats Grenade as bruce decided to pitch in to help with his buddy's relection campaign, helping clean house to make it easier on the police. I also like the touch of Harvey being ambivilant, not against Batman's presence but not really cordinating with him like Gordon would.

Unfortunately one of the goons makes the mistake of taunting harvey... and that wakes up the other person. As it turns out Harvey has Disociative Identity Disorder, and his alter, big bad harv, is all of the anger Harvey's surppressed his whole life condensed into a person. And Big Bad Harv suckers the goon before nearly beating him to death, with Harvey waking up from the episode horrified and making a lame excuse. As if things weren't tense enough Rupert Throne's decided to do a bit of digging into Harvey's life: he's become too big a thorn in his side and the irony's a bit too much to swallow on that, so he has Candice, his right hand minon look into that.

We cut to Harvey giving a speech at a big campaign rally Bruce is throwing. It also brings me to Batman The Animated Series Version of bruce who I like a lot: instead of playing up his uselessness or just barely using the identity when necessary, this bruce is a bruce wayne I like to see: a philamprohist who still fights to help people. It makes hiding he's batman harder sure.. but it shows Bruce more as another side of who he is rather than a mask he wears because society won't let him go around beating up people in a mask all day every day.

At the party is Grace, Harvey's girlfriend who wants to bump it up to fiance. It's unknown just HOW long it's been since pretty poison but given Harvey was willing to marry Ivy after a week, it's on brand for him to jump into life alterting decisions and he makes it clear he only hasn't because he's busy trying to get reelected, not getting that the engagment would probably bump up his raitings but whatever. Grace is mostly here so Harvey has more to loose. She's the weakest part of the episode, only being there so Harvey has a love intrest to weep at what he's become when we already have bruce. Though given this was the 90's I woudln't be shocked if Fox wanted to give Harvey a case of the not gays.... which come on. Why WOULDN'T it make sense for Two-Face to be BI-Sexual. It fits too well. Like Batman giving oral.

Every party needs a pooper though and the pooper for Harvey's party is a phone call: THrones men are being let go as someone "misfiled" a warrant.

So naturally out goes the good harvey, in comes the Big Bad Harvey who straight up THROWS his assitant carlos into an ice sculpture cleaving the thing in two.

And nearly beating BRUCE up this time when Bruce tries to calm him down. It's only grace begging him to stop that brings back standard Harvey.

Bruce didn't get to be the world's greatest detective by ignoring the obvious , so he goes to talk to harvey .And I absoutely LOVE Bruce's attitude in this scene.. the man was almost punched in the face by his best friend.. and instead of raging against him or recoling in horror he runs up to help him, recognizing this wasn't just harvey flipping out, but something deeper, correctly guessing Harvey has some sort of mental illness and needs help.

And as someone with some mental illnesses and a neurotypical brain not helping either of them, I really like how the episode treats Harvey's illness. The talk about it has aged REALLY well: While it was even MORE stigmatized back then, Bruce's reaction to all of this is recommend Harvey get help and then be utterly PROUD when he finds out Harvey already is doing the work, it's just taking time and the pressure of being a public figure AND hunting a crime lord really isn't helping. Harvey is treated as he should be: as a man who needs help and is struggling with it, not as some monster but as a man who simply needs help after a childhood trauma left him with an extra guest in his head. Harvey is never accused for what Big Bad Harv does and while Big Bad Harv's actions are seen as awful, as they should, no one ever blames Harvey for them if they know. It's something I struggle with: I also have big freakouts where I can't control myeslf. Diffrent type as i'm still ME when it happens, but I can still relate to this episode and harvey's struggle of both letting his pride down to ask for help and worrying about what people would think despite getting therapy being entirely normal.

Unforutnely Candice overheard this as we cut to Harvey in sessoin with his psychatrist, Nora Crest. Nora is a wonderful therapist, helping harvey slowly and making it clear what Big Bad Harv does isn't his fault. She also draws BBH out to try and help manage him better. Unfortunately.... she fails to recognize that Big Bad Harv dosen't WANT to be managed, want to be locked away, or want Harvey to come back again and in the most horrifying display yet trashes Nora's office, breaks a window and tries to attack her before she undoes the hypnosis. Again it's done well as Nora simply misunderestimated HOW bad things were and while sh'es trying her best.. .as she puts it Harvey NEEDS to check himself into a hospital. And I love how that's not portrayed as a bad thing: A dire circumstance, but we've seen how bad harv is. She's not suggesting locking him up in arkham or anything drastic, she just wants him where he can get help and where big bad harv can't hurt people.

Ultimately what holds Harvey back... is a combination of pride and society itself. In a better world Harvey going in to get treatment after two public outbursts would be seen as a heroic act and he'd win the election. Sadly we don't live in that world and Harvey correctly fears the voters would just sterotype him as crazy and he'd loose the election. He TRIES to mitgate it by having more sessions an da reduced work schedule and it works to a point.. but it's clear it's putting a band-aid on an open wound.

This meatball mental surgery DOES enough to get Harvey through the election, and almost to propose to grace.. but sadly dosen't last as Thorne has stolen his medical files and wants a meeting. Once again it's not Harvey that's the issue.. it's that society won't accept that he NEEDS help and it's OKAY to get it. And Throne's all too happy to exploit it.

Thankfully for Harvey his best friend is batman, so Bruce is able to follow Harvey and put a tracker on the car he's taken in. Thorne makes the BOLD decision to confront the man whose DiD is shown to be triggered by extreme stress... in a remote room with only a few guards, only one of them actually armed, and mock his mental illness. We also find out WHY Harvey has DiD: as a kid he hit a bully in the face. Said bully wound up in the hospital and Harvey blaming himself vowed never to be angry again. Turns out it was apendcitis. Hence Big Bad Harv.

And unfortuantely for Harvey's future and Throne's present.... Big Bad Harv comes out. He does manage most of the thugs, with some bat help, but given whose origin this is.. you know this can't end well. And it dosen't: in a truly gutting moment Harvey rushes after Throne, the goon from earlier tries to fire.. and in stopping the guy batman accidently directs his fire at a power coupling in the factory, causing an explosion. Harvey Dent as we knew him .. is gone.

Some time later Harvey's in the hospital in bad shape, with doctors promising they'll restore him with plastic surgery. Instead... we get

I know he was heavily burned, and that his face would be hard to fix.. but how did you think "make him look like a blue goblin man with a bigger eye on half his face" was EVER going to go down well. Does oscorp own this hospital?

While I joke, because i'm a goofy bastard, I do love the nod to Batman 89, with Harvey asking for a mirror in the same way as Jack Napier and Lisa Simpson... only instead of laughing he throughs a raging fit and then gapes in horror when his new visage makes his fiance pass out.

So thus ends part one. One last thing I want to note is how LITTLE batman is in this. Ther'es an action bit with bruce at the beginning of the episode and later at the climax. That's it. It's something TAS did a lot, having a more methodical build up before the third act is all I AM THE NIGHT, but it feels diffrent here as we aren't WITH bruce for most of the episode. He's still present and important to the plot, but he's a supporting character in Harvey Dent's story. There's no breaking things down with alfred, no break from the tragedy of Harvey Dent, and it's why the episode works so well. This isn't a Batman story yet.. it's Harvey Dents.

Part 2, naturally, splits time between both men as both go on their own journey. It's 6 months later and the man who was once Harvey dent has abandoned his old names: No more Harvey Dent, upstanding DA or Big Bad Harv, Harvey Dent's anger and hatred given shape and form... the two have merged. It's something I never noticed before till tv tropes pointed it out: Fitting his dual nature Two Face is a bit of both: he's aggressive, rageful, and quick to anger, berating his twin thugs when they go off script. He'd of killed them by now but damn can they belt a cover of Don't Pull Your Love

youtube

Yet we see a tactical side that just wasn't present in Big Bad Harv.. but was in harvey, with the raid being his idea and his attacks on thorne being calculated, using every bit of info on his operations Harvey ever aquiried but going outside a law he no longer belivies in. Two-Face is a new personality.. and a fairly haunted one.

He also naturally now has his gimmick, using coin flips to decide his decisions, hence why he hasn't seen grace in a while as the coin keeps telling him no. After all he lost, after all that happened he now belivies only in chance... the only justice left. And given the system allowed thorne to thrive while Harvey sacrficed his health, his time and ultimately who he was to stop him only to get nowhere.. it's hard not to see why.

It's what, once again, makes this work: it's not just Harvey's DiD that turned him into Two-Face. IT's the main cause, sure, but the regular Harvey still had an obessive, vengeful streak about him: he may of locked his anger away.. but he still hunted thorne, obessed over the case and put beating thorne over his own well being. Being DA was important, beating thorne was important.. but it wasn't worth loosing himself. He was doing the work, had he taken his doctor's advice and checked himself in.. Harvey may of been okay. He wouldn't of had the office but he'd have his mind and the love of his life. Now only rage and a determinatoin to destroy thorne remain.

Thorne naturally isn't taking this sitting down. He has some shit to throw around in anger dammit. After months of Two Face hitting him hard then fading away into the night he puts out a bounty: a million a face. And Cadance, being sneaky and what not, sets her self on the path to the moolah by pretending to be a cop and giving grace a tracker.

Meanwhile Bruce, naturally, is also doing pretty bad. In his dreams Harvey cries out to bruce asking "Why couldn't you save me?"... and Bruce has no answer.. nor one when his own father asks "WHy couldn't you save us son?" Once again Bruce has lost someone he cares about. And while with his parents the guilt isn't warranted, it was a random gunman and he wa sa children, you can see WHY he has it here: You can just feel Bruce replaying the moment he tackled the gunman, again, and again and again, thinking of all the ways he coudl've done it BETTER, all the ways that don't end in Harvey becoming Two Face. All the ways he should be BETTER. We know it was just an accident but Bruce.. can't accept it. He has to fix this, he has to save harvey from himself.

Harvey's decided enough fucking around. He's gotten Thorne weak enough, it's time for the killing stroke. Only Harvey isn't being THAT merciful: he COULD kill Thorne, but like any good super villian Twoey has a sense of irony: Thorne ruined his life and reputation, it's only fair Two-Face do the same

So TF and his minons raid a place where THorne has his most secure files, the ones that outline everything. YOu know your standard maffia macguffin. Bruce naturally shows up ... but tragically he can't help someone who dosen't want to be helped, a harsh lesson of the episode: Harvey is buried deep within two face, impossibly tangled with big bad harv. There's the possiblity he could become harvey again, but he has to want to. But all that's left in harvey is a want for revenge.

Batman does at least spot a pattern: all the clubs and establishments are two themed, and thus finds his hideout, Club Deuce. Unfortunately he's not the only one as Two Face finally decides to see Grace, who thinks the police would be genuinley invested in the health of someone with a mental illness

And triggers the signal. Grace almost gets through to harvey who starts out wearing.. this

Grace takes it off, almost convinces him to get help.. then Thorne busts in

Thorne manages to ransom grace so he can get the files.. and then plans to just shoot everybody because Two Face was stupid to trust him. Thankfully it's time for the bat to make his big entrance, and our hero, villian protagnist and cardboard cutout clean house. Well okay Grace takes out Candance as is standard catfight protocol, but props to her for contributing.

It ends with Thorne in a chadelear and Harvey about to finish this. Bruce begs Two Face not to as there's no coming back from this.... but Two Face dosen't trust int he law anymore and Batman certainly hasn't finished off this son of a bitch, so he plans to play count the bullets.

How Batman stops him.. is creative as it is heartbreaking. When Two Face flips.. batman dumps a bunch of other silver dollars, stolen earlier in the ep, in. Two Face is paralized.. and Batman and Grace are left to mourn what they've lost. The episode ends somberly. No one won here: Thorne is still out there, Harvey is in arkham.. and all bruce can do is flip a coin himself into a wishing fountain.. and HOPE his friend can one day recover. It's all he has left, the same cruel fate his friend is now servant to.

So as you can tell Two-Face is a banger two parter and one of Batman TAS' best. Moll is spellbinding the whole damn time, playing all three versions of harvey perfectly, while Kevin Conroy gets some graet acting himself in both acts, as Bruce trying to be supportive.. and as the Bat desperately trying to save his friend. It's tight, gripping and a masterpiece. Check it out now, thanks for reading.. and rest in piece Richard. Thanks for giving us so much joy, so much sorrow.. and so much of you

#richard moll #batman #batman the animated series #bruce wayne #two face #harvey dent #animation #superheroes #dc comics #hbo max

16 notes · View notes

jedivoodoochile · 7 months

Text

‘Batman: The Animated Series’ Two-Face by Phantom City Creative. 🦇🪙

Kevin Altieri and Randy Rogel’s ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ episode “Two-Face, Part II” originally aired #onthisday in 1992 (with Part I airing September 25, 1992). After Harvey Dent’s tragic accident, the once Gotham District Attorney now goes by the alias 'Two-Face' (Richard Moll). Wanting revenge, Dent goes after Rupert Thorne (John Vernon) by robbing his businesses and tracking him to have one last showdown. The Batman (Kevin Conroy) has to stop his former ally from fighting Thorne and tries to appeal to the good left in him.🦇📺

#two face

3 notes · View notes

ultrahpfan5blog · 2 years

Text

Retrospective Review - Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

I believe Mystery of the Batwoman was the last DCAU movie for a long time. I remember as a young teenager, renting this movie from Blockbuster, excited because it was another DCAU movie. DCAU had a pretty good track record with the animated movies with MOTP, Subzero, and ROTJ. MOTB has a bit of a mixed reception, but while I definitely don't think its on the same level as MOTP or ROTJ, its a pretty entertaining movie.

This film is a bit of a mystery thriller, which is always something I enjoy. The central mystery around this movie is the identity of the Batwoman, who is destroying the arms supplying operations of the Penguin and Rupert Thorne. The film gives us a few different suspects and gives each one of them a possible motivation to go after the operation. For a direct to video animated film, I felt the mystery was fairly clever. I always enjoy seeing Batman the investigator, one thing which the Batman from the DCAU was really good at. So its fun to follow Batman as he investigates the various suspects. One of the suspects turns out to be a new love interest so there is also a slight romance in the movie.

Compared to some of the other animated films, this film is relatively slight. As in there is no personal stakes for Batman in this story. In a way its refreshing to have a straightforward story. Its just him to trying to investigate and figure out who is donning the Bat logo to cause unwanted destruction. Batwoman in this film is nothing like the comics so she feels like a fresh character, and there are some parallels to the Phantasm, but she's less a villainous figure compared to the Phantasm. The film is briskly paced with quality animation. There are a lot of fun animated action sequences. The film also brings in Bane, along with characters like Penguin and Thorne, to have a trio of comic book villains.

The issues with the movie are what comes with brisk pacing. The film establishes three main suspects in Kathy Duquesne, Dr. Rocky Ballantine, and Detective Sonya Alcana. All three are given motivations against one of the antagonists, which includes Carlton Duquesne. While I think the twist, that all three of them are Batwoman, works quite well, the movie doesn't give the three all that much characterization apart from the superficial. I would say Kathy probably gets the most since she gets a bit more screen time as a love interest for Bruce. But apart from a few lines of dialogue here and there, there is not much to the characters. The down side of it being a straightforward story with not personal investment for Batman is that its also less emotionally investing for us. While MOTP hits you in the heart with Bruce's heartbreak, ROTJ is enthralling with the darkness of the backstory with Joker's death, and Subzero continues to make you feel sympathy for Mr. Freeze, here you don't feel anything. This is one film that could have maybe used 10-15 mins extra to beef up the characterization of the three ladies and the villains.

The voice acting for the DCAU is top class as always. Kevin Conroy is strong as always. Kimberly Brooks, Kelly Ripa, Elisa Gabrielli, and Kyra Sedgewick all are strong as the Kathy, Rocky, Sonia, and Batwoman respectively. David Ogden Stiers, Hector Elizondo, Kevin Michael Richerdson, and John Vernon deliver the goods as the villains. Also, this was the last film roles for Bob Hastings, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and John Vernon in the roles of Gordon, Alfred, and Thorne respectively.

Overall, despite having less of an emotional pull, this was still a pretty fun movie. Good job by Alan Burnett, who had the story, and Michael Reaves and Curt Geda, who wrote and directed the film. A 7/10 for me.

5 notes · View notes

dukereviewstv · 3 years

Text

Duke Reviews TV: Batman: The Animated Series 1x10 And 1x11 Two-Face

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews TV, Where We Continue Our Look At Batman: The Animated Series By Talking About Episodes 10 And 11 Of Season 1, Two-Face...

This Episode Sees Harvey Dent Starting To Transform Into The Duality Obsessed Two-Face When He Expresses Anger Issues That Are Being Caused By Another Personality In Harvey's Subconscious Called "Big Bad Harv"...

Big Bad Harv...

Going To Get Psychiatric Help At Bruce's Behest, His Psych File Ends Up In The Hands Of Mobster Rupert Thorne (Played By Officer Mooney From Killer Klowns From Outer Space) Who Decides To Blackmail Him In Exchange For Favors In D.A'S Office...

Will Batman Be Able To Save Harvey From Thorne? Or Will Big Bad Harv Take Over Completely And Handle The Problem For The Bat?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Two-Face...

The Episode Starts With A Dream Sequence As Harvey Runs From A Disembodied Voice Saying "It's Time"...

Woken Up By His Secretary, Carlos, Who Tells Him That Gordon Called Saying That They Started A Raid On A Derelict Building Being Held By Rupert Thorne's Men...

With Batman's Help, The Men Are Captured As Harvey Congratulates Gordon And The Police But When One Of The Crooks Kicks Mud In Harvey's Face, Dent Goes Beserk On The Crook And Has To Be Pulled Off Him

Reverting Back To His Regular Self After That, Dent Has No Memory Of What Happened And Just Simply Says That Maybe The Criminal Hit The Right Button...

Back At His Headquarters, Rupert Thorne Tells His Hot Mole, Candice...

youtube

To Find Something Dirty About Dent's Past That Could Be Used In His Favor

Later At A Campaign Rally At Wayne Manor, Carlos Tells Harvey That The Judge Let Thorne's Men Go Because The Warrant Was "Incomplete" This Leads To Harvey Losing His Temper Again Because He Believes That The Judge Was Bought Off Like Everyone In Thorne's Employ...

Bruce Tries To Calm Harvey Down But All It Does Is Make Harvey Take His Anger Out On Him, It's Only When Harvey's Fiancee Grace Slaps Him...

With Bruce Advising Harvey To Get Psychiatric Help, Grace Tells Him That Harvey Already Is, Only For Harvey To Be Embarrassed, Despite Being Reluctant To Due To His Campaign...

Visiting His Doctor That Night, She Induces Hypno Therapy On Harvey, Where She Meets Harvey's Other Personality, Big Bad Harv...

And This Scene Frightens Me Every Time I See It....

youtube

(Start At 0:37, End At 2:26)

Asking If There's Any Other Way, The Doctor Suggests Increasing Their Sessions And Doing Less Campaigning Which Harvey Agrees To Do As Long As It's Kept Quiet, But Unfortunately, Thorne's Mole Candice Is Right Outside The Door And She Heard Everything...

Months Pass And Harvey Is About To Recieve A Landslide Victory In His Re-Election But When He Gets A Phone Call From Rupert Thorne Who Tells Harvey That He Knows About Big Bad Harv, And That If He Doesn't Get Into A Car Outside In The Alley, His Political Career Wont Be Intact For Much Longer...

Worried About His Friend, Bruce Suits Up And Follows Harvey To Thorne At A Chemical Plant Where He Tells Harvey That In Exchange For Keeping Quiet About Harvey's Psych Record, He'll Want A Few Favors From The D.A'S Office...

With Thorne Asking If They Have A Deal, Harvey Has A Psychotic Break And Attacks Thorne And His Men...

Harvey Smash!

Batman Tries To Stop Harvey Not Realizing That It's Not Harvey He's Dealing With But Big Bad Harv...

With Thorne's Men Fighting Both Harvey And Batman, Thorne Eventually Grabs The File And Bolts With Harvey Going After Him...

youtube

(Start At 2:26, End At 3:12)

I Usually Love Kevin Conroy But I Don't Like That No He Did There (Despite Knowing That Alot Of People Do) I'm Sorry But I Just Wish It Was Louder So I Could Feel His Anguish To The Situation Where Here I Just Don't Feel It...

Taking Harvey To The Hospital, Bruce Worries About The Mental Scars Than The Physical Scars While Candice Rejoices At Getting Rid Of Dent Despite Thorne Not Being So Convinced Harvey Is Gone..

Later At The Hospital, The Doctor Starts Removing The Bandages...

youtube

(Start At 1:29)

So, Yeah, That Ends Part 1, So, Now We Move On To Part 2...

A Few Months Have Passed And Harvey Is Now Full Two Face, Hitting Rupert Thorne's Joints, Humiliating Him Just As He Humiliated Harvey With The Help Of His Boys, Min And Max (Voiced By Micky Dolenz Of The Monkees)...

And He's Not Using James Cagney Impression Voice For The 2 Henchmen?...

youtube

(Start At 0:04, End At 0:10)

I Am So Over This Show!

I'm Kidding Of Course, That Would Make It Cartoony And God Knows We Can't Do That For 2 Seconds With This Show...

Infuriated That Harvey Took Him For $200,000, Candice Is Basically Like...

Because They Created Him While Rupert Places Out A Contract A Million A Face For Two Face...

Back In The Batcave, Bruce Has A Nightmare About Harvey...

youtube

(End At 1:09)

Finding A Picture Of Two Face, Bruce Vows To Save Harvey By Any Means Necessary...

Getting A Visit From A Detective Leopold Who Wants Her Help In Finding Harvey, Grace Is Given A Transmitter Which She's To Activate If Dent Contacts Her...

However It's Revealed To Us, That Leopold Is Really Candice In Disguise...

Going Over His Profits, Two Face Opens His Wallet Only To See A Picture Of Grace Which Causes Him To Freeze For A Second...

Min And Max Offer To Bring Grace To Him If He Misses Her So Much, But When He Gets His Coin Out And Flips It, It's Lands On The Bad Side So It'll Have To Wait While They Pull Off Their Big Plan Of Taking Down Thorne Once And For All..

Back In The Batcave, Batman Looks At Two Face's Previous Targets Realizes That Aside From The Fact That They All Have The Number 2 In Them, They're All Fronts For Thorne's Activities, This Leads Batman To Realize Where Harvey Is Headed Next...

youtube

(Start At 1:26)

Batman Is Woken Up By A Janitor Who Tells Him That Two Face Is Gone...

Driving By A Wedding Shop Where He Imagines Grace As The Bride On A Cake. Asking His Boys To Stop So He Can Flip His Coin...

And It Must Have Landed On Good Heads Because He Calls Grace And Says That He Wants To See Her...

Having Min And Max Outside Of The Apartment Waiting For Her, Grace Hangs Up Before Activating The Transmitter Giving Candice The Signal As Thorne Rages About The File Harvey Stole...

Arriving At The Abandoned Wild Deuce Club, Grace Sees Two Face Who Has A Cloth Over His Scared Side (Kind Of A la Phantom Of The Opera)...

As He Tells Her How He Is Now With Chance And She's Basically Unable To Accept It As It Wasn't Chance That Made Him D.A. Or Made Him Fall In Love With Her As He Removes The Cloth Telling Him That He Never Has To Be Afraid Of Her...

But It All Goes Down The Crapper When Thorne's Men Knock Out Min And Max And Thorne Enters With Candice, Who Tells Two Face What Grace Did Despite Thorne Saying That She Thought She Was Warning The Police...

Despite Thorne's Men Searching All Over, They Can't Find Thorne's File Which Forces Thorne To Go After Grace..,

youtube

(Start At 0:43, End At 3:32)

Alot Of People Have Said That Joel Schumacher Took The Last Couple Of Minutes Of This Part And Turned It Into This Part In Batman Forever...

youtube

(Start At 0:44, End At 0:59)

But Like The Part With Scarecrow In Nothing To Fear I See It As A Meer Coincidence...

With The Police Arresting Thorne And His Gang Along With Two Face Who Has Grace By His Side. Gordon Wonders If There's Hope For Harvey And Batman Replies Simply Where There's Love, There's Hope, Before He Tosses A Coin Into A Fountain For Harvey Ending Our Episode...

Now Before I Give My Opinion On The Episodes, I'd Like To Talk About Those Last Words Of The Episode...

"Where There's Love, There's Hope"

Those Lines Are Slightly Melancholy For Me...

Why?

Because After This Episode We Never See Grace With Harvey Again....

After This Episode And A Brief Cameo In Fear Of Victory, The Next Time We See Two Face Is In The Strange Secret Of Bruce Wayne Where He's Full On Two Face And Bidding On Bruce's Secret Alongside The Joker And The Penguin..

So, The Question Is What Happened To Grace? Did She Fall Off The Edge Of The DCAU Continuity?

Hi, Duke Here, The Following Was Going To Be A Long Winded Rant On Grace And What I Thought The Writers And Creators Did To Her, But After I Wrote That Rant, I Looked On DCAU Wiki And Discovered That They Moved Grace's Story With Harvey To The Comics...

Namely The Batman And Robin Adventures Comic, Where In Issues #1 And #2..

She Falls Victim To A Nefarious Plot By The Joker, Who Enrages Harvey By Suggesting That Grace And Bruce Wayne Are A Couple, This Leads Two Face To Kidnap Grace, Bruce And Dick, Threatening To Kill Them All...

But Realizing That He Has Succumbed To His Bad Side, Grace Stabs Two Face In The Face With His Coin Implicating That Their Relationship Is Over...

However, In Issue 22 Of Batman And Robin Adventures...

Two Face's Life Is Thrown Into Chaos When He Loses His Trademark Coin During A Breakout And Has Replaced It With A Quarter. Little Jonni Infantino, A Gangster Who Caused The Breakout..

And An Obvious Nod To Carmine Infantino, Comic Book Artist And Former Editor Of DC Comics...

Threatens To Kill Grace If Two Face Doesn't Provide Him Information On One Of Rupert Thorne's Thugs, Weird Tony Hendra, Who Was One Of Harvey's Last Cases As D.A....

Running To A Payphone, Two Face Calls Grace, Warning Her To Get Out Of Her Apartment Before Jonni Can Get To Her. Calling Bruce Afterwards To Tell Him That Harvey Saved Her Life, He Tells Her That He Will Send Alfred To Pick Her Up And Bring Her To The Mansion...

After That, That's The Last We See Of Grace, But It's Hinted That She Still Deeply Loves Harvey...

These Stories Are Good, But I Wish That #1 And #2 Were Portrayed On The Animated Series...

Mainly Because I Know There Are People Like Me Who Don't Go Out To Comic Book Stores And Get The Comics, So, In Turn People Like Me Are Confused About Where Characters Like Grace Are...

Not That There Are Anymore Characters That Leave The Show And Have Me Asking Where They Are, Like I Did With Grace But Still...

If Paul Dini Or Bruce Timm Are Looking At This I'd Like To Know Why They Went This Route With Grace And Didn't Explain Where She Was On The Animated Series For The People Who Didn't Read The Comic?

I Mean They Explained What Happened To Nora Fries After Sub Zero The Least They Can Do Is Explain What Happened To Grace After Two Face...

Anyway We Now Return You To Your Review Already In Progress....

God!

But Aside From My Problems With That These Two Episodes Are Very Good...

The Story And Characters Were Well Written And Their Take On The Character Of Two Face Is Brilliantly Written, Definite Props To Richard Moll For Amazingly Voicing Two Face In This And Many Episodes Of BTAS, All In All I Say See Them Both...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#batman the animated series #BTAS #Kevin Conroy #Bob Hastings #efrem zimbalist jr.#richard moll #Mari Devon #John Vernon #micky dolenz #dc animated universe #DCAU

1 note · View note

falconlord5 · 4 years

Text

His Silicon Soul

Ah-hah! One of the best episodes!

Written by Marty Isenberg and Robert N. Skir.

Directed by Boyd Kirkland

That first thug sounds like Rupert Thorne.

One interesting thing about this show is that sometimes the thugs are dressed very 40′s ish, and sometimes late 80′s/early 90′s.

RoboBatman! Way better than Robocop.

And now for the real Batman, i.e. the only billionaire (other than maybe Lex and Tony Stark) who would actually be able to help in a pandemic.

Jim Gordon is always awesome.

Alfred has the right idea, but not the best execution...

I can sympathize with Rossum here to an extent, but he’s still being kind of an ass. A simple ‘it’s possible HARDAC built a duplicant of you before you blew it up’ would have sufficed and gotten Bruce out of there quicker.

And cue the mental breakdown from the android.

That’s kind of creepy for a kid’s show.

This kind of feels like a prototype fight for the Justice Lord Batman vs Justice League Batman fight in Justice League.

As improved as Kevin Conroy’s voice acting is, and the writing is for dramatic episodes, it still comes off kind of hammy here.

Animated by Dong Yang Animation.

#batman #Batman the Animated Series #dcau #His Silicon Soul #live blogging

1 note · View note

momachan · 1 month

Text

"A mask of confidence to the world... and a private one racked by conflict and wounds. I imagined myself as a young Bruce witnessing my parents attacked and crumbling in front of me. I saw them lying in their blood in the filth of Crime Alley. I saw my own father lying drunk in a pool of his dried blood. As Bruce, I held them, comforting them in my arms... as Kevin, I cradled my bloody father as he struggled for life. As kevin, I held Chris... cradling him as he raved at the voices plaguing him. As Bruce, I felt disoriented and lost, not sure of my identity as my parents were cruelly yanked from me. I felt disoriented and lost as an actor whose identity was being yanked from him. Was I my public face or my private facet? Had I made too many compromises? My heart pulsed, I felt my face flush, my breath grew deeper, I began to speak, and a voice I didn't recognize came out. It was a throaty, husky, rumbling sound that shook my body. It seemed to roar from thirty years of frustation, confusion, denial, love, yearning... Yearning for what? An anchor, a harbor, a sense of safety, a sense of identity. Yes, I can relate. Yes, this is terrain I know well. I felt Batman rising from deep within."

DC Pride: The New Generation (DC Cultural Anthologies (2021). "Finding Batman."

#dc comics #batman #bruce wayne #btas #batman the animated series #kevin rupert conroy #kevin conroy #dc universe #voice actors #finding batman #dc pride #dc cultural anthologies

24 notes · View notes

twistedtummies2 · 3 months

Text

Year of the Bat - Number 13

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.” Number 13 is…The Man Who Killed Batman.

In contrast to our previous pick, “Appointment in Crime Alley,” this is one of the most comedic and quirky episodes of the entire series. It almost feels like a dark comedy you’d see in the 80s, more than anything else, and that’s part of what makes it so great! The plot revolves around a wannabe gangster called “Sid the Squid,” voiced by the marvelous Matt Frewer, of all people. The story begins with Sid going to his employer, crime boss Rupert Thorne, seeking help. When Thorne asks to know what’s going on, Sid begins to elaborate on his story, and most of the remaining episode plays out in flashback.

It's revealed that Sid was suckered into helping some of Thorne’s thugs with a scheme, the idea being the shrimpy little buffoon would distract Batman while the other goons got away. However, this plan works too well, and Batman is seemingly accidentally killed while trying to capture Sid. The runt of the underworld suddenly becomes hailed as a king of crime, but he soon finds his new reputation is more of a curse than a blessing. Things escalate to the point where the Joker himself seeks Sid out, hoping to find out if it’s true that the little weasel has destroyed the Dark Knight. This is where things get interesting, and it’s why the episode is so greatly remembered: when the Joker finds out Batman might be dead, he first tries to prove that he isn’t by staging a robbery…and when he starts to realize Batman may truly be gone…he’s DEPRESSED. The Joker becomes crestfallen, unable to finish the job, genuinely saddened and hurt by the realization that not only has his nemesis apparently kicked the bucket, but that he wasn’t the one who did it! He throws a mock funeral for the Caped Crusader – accompanied by probably the greatest eulogy in fiction, and Harley Quinn playing “Amazing Grace” on a kazoo…no comment – and then tries to kill Sid by dropping him in a coffin into a vat of acidic chemicals, which may or may not be the same ones that turned the Clown Prince into what he is today. (That part is ambiguous.) All this stuff with the Joker is classic, and everyone talks about it; it’s equal parts dark, funny, and surprisingly sorrowful, making for one of the Harlequin of Hate’s greatest scenes in the entire franchise. Indeed, Mark Hamill – the voice of the Joker – has gone on record more than once saying this was one of his favorite episodes, and that Joker’s most famous quote from the story (our episode quote of the day) has always been his favorite line.

As great as the stuff with the Joker is, it’s far from all that makes this episode good! I won’t go into detail on how Sid escapes the Joker, and how the story ends, but suffice it to say, obviously, Batman isn’t ACTUALLY dead. In fact, he reveals he’s been trailing Sid basically all this time, hoping and waiting for the opportune moment to strike at Thorne in the process. (Which honestly makes the stuff with the Joker even funnier, when you realize Bruce was literally trolling the Ace of Knaves behind the scenes. Glorious.) Sid, himself, is actually a big part of what makes the story so much fun: he reminds me a lot of characters like Smee from “Peter Pan” or Kronk from “The Emperor’s New Groove.” In terms of comics, he also reminds me a lot of my preferred versions of Killer Moth: Sid is basically a fanboy of criminals, who wants the prestige and power famous crooks get. However, he’s way too dumb, way too clumsy, and way too softhearted to be any real threat or make a name for himself. This makes the way things end ironic and surprisingly heartwarming, and it keeps him from being an unlikeable or annoying character, because we realize he’s in WAY over his head, and it only gets worse and worse as the story goes on. We don’t exactly want Sid to win, but we don’t want him to suffer, either. He’s another case of an unusual protagonist, and one of the best examples the show ever gave us. Whether you love the story for him, the Joker, or even other reasons, there’s plenty that makes this episode a true classic.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 12! Hint: “Life used to be so placid! Won’t you PLEASE put down that acid?! And Say That We’re Sweethearts Again!”

9 notes · View notes

twistedtummies2 · 5 months

Text

Top 15 Villains from "Batman: The Animated Series"

Today marks the birthday of the late Kevin Conroy; a fine actor who did many things…but who most people recognize nowadays as the single greatest Batman voice there ever was. Conroy, of course, got his start in the part with the seminal “Batman: The Animated Series.” This television adaptation of the Batman mythos was and still is widely considered to be the definitive interpretation, and was the start of the much-renowned DCAU, which would go on to feature such shows as “Justice League�� and “Static Shock.” For many, however, B:TAS was not only the first but the finest, and remains highly lauded to this day. Part of what made this show great, of course, was what makes virtually any take on Batman great: the Dark Knight’s colorful cavalcade of creepy and crooked antagonists. Batman’s Rogues Gallery is arguably the single greatest in all of superhero history, and the Animated Series did a pretty good job taking many of the greatest villains of the bunch, and reimagining them for a broad television audience. Much like the show itself, many of these scoundrels were not only appealing baddies for kids to boo and hiss at, but also made for great, complex characters, whom adults could get into on a different level, at the same time. Some of these villains were, I dare say, even BETTER than their comic book counterparts, not only then but still to this day! And even for those who were not, typically, the versions found in this show remain among the most respected. With that said, let’s waste no more time! In honor of my favorite Batman, here’s a countdown of his greatest foes! These are My Top 15 Favorite Villains from Batman: The Animated Series!

15. Bane

For many people, the Animated Series was their introduction to the character of Bane. And while I can’t say this is the absolute best take on the villain, I do still think this version has merits (incredibly bizarre design choices in both eras of the show aside). While the character’s origins felt a bit rushed and superficial, compared to the comics, Bane himself was fittingly depicted as a menacing, powerful villain, whose obsessive desire to physically break Batman made for some really gripping, intense scenes in the show. Anytime Bruce went up against this hulking monster of a man, it was always a big deal, because on a purely physical level, Bane could easily outmatch the Caped Crusader, even without the aid of his “super steroid,” Venom. Bane even got the honor of appearing in the spin-off movie, “Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman,” where he teamed up with the Penguin (along with gangster Rupert Thorne, and an original antagonist named Carlton Duquesne). The character would later go on to be the inspiration for a personal favorite episode of mine in “Batman Beyond,” which is worth noting, albeit more indirectly. In the show proper, Bane was voiced by Henry Silva; in the film, he was played by Hector Elizondo. Both brought a necessary grit and menacing, firm toughness to Bane, giving him an intellectual side despite his brutish exterior. You always got the sense that, strong as Bane was, he was just as lethal mentally as physically, which made for a dangerous combination whenever he and the Dark Knight came toe to toe.

14. Baby Doll.

Not all of the best villains from this series came from the comics. Mary Dahl, a.k.a. Baby Doll, was an original villain for the series, and many consider her to be one of the best of said bunch. While she only appeared twice, both of her episodes are memorable outings for many people. Dahl was once a child actress…an ETERNAL child actress, in fact, as she was diagnosed with a medical condition that makes her seem physically the age of a child, even though her mental and emotional state continued to develop into adulthood as she matured. She’s a grown woman trapped in a little girl’s body, and this - combined with tragic and twisted occurrences in her past - has caused her grip on reality to become shaky and tenuous. She thus becomes the villainous Baby Doll - inspired by a character she once played on television - forever seeking the perfect life she’s never been allowed to have, one way or another. Whether she was trying to rebuild a family she never had, or find a romance that could not be, Baby Doll was equal parts creepy, funny, and very sad: all great qualities to have in a layered villain. It’s really a shame that the series didn’t do more with her.

13. Ventriloquist & Scarface.

Arnold Wesker is a man with a problem. A problem that manifests itself through his wooden ventriloquist dummy, the murderous mobster called Scarface. Wesker suffers from a split-personality; as the Ventriloquist, he is timid, mild-mannered, quiet, placid, and even very sweet. But under the surface is a dark side to his character, for which Scarface acts as an avatar: a psychotic, ruthless, homicidal gangster who thoroughly enjoys being rotten to the core. The duality of Wesker’s character made for a lot of really wonderful scenes and some great episodes, as the struggle between his better half and the dark side inside of him could be used for humorous effect, but also made for frightening and at times extremely tragic scenes. He’s a person who constantly battles with demons he can’t fully control, and so no matter what sinister schemes Scarface hatches up, we always feel sort of sorry for the Ventriloquist himself. One of the most interesting parts of the show was that, because Scarface was just a block of wood at the end of the day, the animators could get away with some pretty messed up things to take the dummy out, which they couldn’t do with a human being. Scarface, over his long and sick career, was shot full of holes, burned to a crisp, crushed down, and shredded into sawdust, just for a FEW of the ways he “died” over the course of the series. Inevitably, however, the dummy would always be remade: as long as evil lived in Arnold’s heart, he could never really be rid of his diabolical alter-ego.

12. Ra’s Al Ghul.

Many nowadays consider Ra’s Al Ghul to be one of Batman’s absolute top-tier villains. He’s certainly one of the most unique. The Demon’s Head - voiced by David Warner in the series - was the leader of a widespread organization (here referred to as “The Society of Shadows”) with the goal of bringing purity to the world. Doesn’t sound so bad, but like so many who claim to want what’s best for the planet, Al Ghul’s scheme comes with a catch: it involves basically eradicating half the life on the globe. (Thanos approves.) While Ra’s has noble intentions, he suffers from something close to a God complex, and is quite, quite mad, despite his usual demeanor of sophisticated refinement. His daughter, Talia, also has feelings for Bruce Wayne, and Ra’s is fully aware of the Dark Knight’s alter-ego. As a result, Batman always faces a dilemna when facing the villain: he is one of the most personal threats Batman will ever face, as he represents a sort of temptation that Bruce must always be cautious of, and seems to represent how badly Bruce could have turned out, himself, if his desire to see justice done went too far. Episodes with Ra’s Al Ghul always felt sort of special; they were usually more akin to Indiana-Jones-esque globetrotters than your typical Batman story, which made them unique and gave them a grander scale than many other tales. I feel kind of bad for placing him so low in the ranks, but I ultimately just like other villains more. Plain and simple.

11. Catwoman.

I’ve always had a sort of odd relationship with the version of Catwoman found in BTAS. On the one hand, this is arguably one of the most definitive takes on the character, at least for me. Anytime I think of Catwoman, the Animated Series version is one of the first to come to mind. Similarly, voice actress Adrienne Barbeau’s handling of the character is one of the most iconic, in my humble opinion. However, Catwoman’s actual EPISODES were frequently somewhat lackluster; they weren’t necessarily bad, mind you, but there was always this feeling something was missing with this portrayal in many stories, with only a few exceptions. With that said, the character really was a great portrayal, with Selina Kyle acting as an animal rights activist and philanthropist by day, and a cunning cat burglar by night. She was a very duplicitous character, as Catwoman often is; constantly going back and forth between acting as an enemy and an ally to the Dark Knight and his associates. She’d be helping them take down worse criminals one second, then trying to claw their faces off the next. You couldn’t trust Catwoman for too long, but that was part of what made her precisely so fascinating.

10. Penguin.

I have long stood by the opinion that BTAS created perhaps the most definitive portrayal of the Penguin ever made. I say this because the Penguin, himself, is a character who has evolved over the years. In times long past, he was a gentleman thief who used various tricks - most notably his gadget-geared umbrellas, and various trained birds - to commit his many colorful capers. In more modern times, the character has been reimagined into more of an eccentric gangster; he still has the gimmicks, but they’re more toned-down in favor of depicting him as a calculating schemer who works behind the scenes. There’s also the matter of the Penguin’s design: ever since “Batman Returns” with Danny DeVito’s grotesque interpretation, Penguin’s design has fluctuated between a more human and dapper demeanor, and a more monstrous, gruesome appearance. What was great about the Animated Series version of the character was that you kind of got the best of all those worlds combined: for the first three seasons of the show, Oswald Cobblepot had a DeVito-inspired design, and was depicted as a crafty gentleman thief. In the revamped “New Batman Adventures” era of Season 4, however, the character was given a more classical design, but also depicted in a more modern fashion, as a mobster working from the Iceberg Lounge. In the show, the character was played by the great Paul Williams; in the aforementioned “Mystery of the Batwoman,” the villain was voiced by late, great David Ogden Stiers. While Stiers only did the one film, I honestly can’t decide which of the two did a better job with the character overall. (I’m tempted to say Williams, only because he had more time in the part.) Whichever voice and whichever era you prefer, the Penguin was a persistent thorn in Batman’s side right up to the end.

9. Poison Ivy.

While many people seem to prefer the more sympathetic takes on Poison Ivy that have come about in recent years - and make no mistake, I’m all for a sympathetic Ivy, when it’s done well - I actually have always preferred the more classical, cold-blooded Femme Fatale interpretation of the character. There is no better example of such a rendition than the one found in the Animated Series. Voiced by Diane Pershing - who is, by far, the greatest voice for Ivy there ever has been - Ivy’s use of killer plants and dangerous pheromones in her crime sprees made for some particularly disturbing and unsettling episodes when she was working on her own. Aside from that, we can’t forget how this series started the famous duo of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and seeing the two of them work together on other capers was honestly just as entertaining, if not more so. I also loved the dichotomy of Ivy’s personality, with her so often putting up this facade of being strong, cool, and confident…but then going absolutely feral whenever anyone caused trouble for her “babies.” As deadly as she was darkly beautiful, Poison Ivy was one of the most memorable villainesses in the whole show.

8. Riddler.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore the Riddler. Speaking overall, in general, he’s my second favorite Batman Villain of all time. So for many, it’s probably going to be surprising that he shows up just sort of barely nipping into the Top 10. Make no mistake, however, I love John Glover’s take on the Riddler from this show. Aside from perhaps Frank Gorshin’s take in the 1960s, this has become perhaps the Gold Standard by which all other Riddlers since have been held: versions like the character found in the Arkham games, Justice League Action, and many others were all, directly or indirectly, influenced by this specific interpretation. For the past twenty years before the Animated Series, the Riddler was largely seen as a lame, washed-up has-been of a character; a product of more infantile times who had no place in a modern world. We still get ripplings of that idea floating around today. The Animated Series revamped the character greatly, making him a more serious, calculating villain, who was treated not as a clown but an intellectual equal to the Dark Knight. A deranged tech genius who used his skills to create truly ingenious traps, and whose clues were not necessarily easy to figure out. Unfortunately, the creators sort of wrote themselves into a corner with the character, as they found it difficult to conjure up stories for the Riddler; he really only had three episodes to his name, his only other substantial appearance being a small supporting role in the Superman crossover “Knight Time.” Beyond that, however, the Riddler was largely relegated to just having cameo appearances. Perhaps ironically, he was better treated in the spin-off comics for the show…but that’s another story for another time.

7. Scarecrow.

While not necessarily my favorite take on Jonathan Crane, I would argue that the Animated Series gave us the definitive take on the Scarecrow. In the first three seasons, the character was played by Henry Polic II, with a fairly comic-accurate design. In the fourth season, the villain was revamped from the ground up, with a more creepy, frightful appearance, and unsettling vocals provided by Jeffrey Combs. You can argue which one was really better (I personally prefer TNBA’s Scarecrow, but the first three seasons gave Crane much more to do, so to speak), but regardless, this show really helped to establish the Master of Fear as one of the Caped Crusader’s most formidable opponents. I loved just about every episode the Scarecrow appeared in; even his weakest outings had some redeeming qualities, largely due to the way the character worked: with his Fear Toxin in hand, able to bring about people’s worst nightmares before their eyes, this haunting adversary was able to provide some very tense, dramatic, and creative stories. Heck, even in episodes where he WASN’T the focus, Crane often stole the spotlight with his wicked personality and exaggerated visual stylings. The more often I see both versions of Crane in this show, the more I love them each.

6. Clayface.

Yet again, another villain whom many would argue was given his definitive interpretation in BTAS. In the comics, there have been multiple Clayfaces over the years. The Animated Series mixed and matched different elements from pretty much all of them to create what many would consider to be the ultimate version of the character. In the show, Clayface is a former actor named Matt Hagen, who was transformed into a being of living clay-like material after ingesting a dangerous amount of a substance called “Renuyu.” Intended as a beauty cream, Renuyu was unstable, and Hagen’s hideous change was the ultimate show of how imperfect the formula was. The event not only melted Hagen’s body, but also twisted his mind, causing him to become a callous, thieving scoundrel, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Clayface’s appearances were few in number, but what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality. Just about every episode he showed up in was a favorite of mine; most of them were among the darkest and most emotionally wrenching stories of the show, dealing with themes of identity and innocence lost. Combine this with the remarkable visuals a shapeshifting clay monster could allow for, and it’s not hard to see why he made such a noteworthy mark. (P.S.: For certain readers...yes, I chose this specific screenshot for "that" reason. Bua ha ha.)

5. Two-Face.

Played by the late Richard Moll, Harvey Dent - a.k.a. Two-Face - has almost always been one of Batman’s most personal and tragic foes. The Animated Series pulled no punches in that regard: viewers were given a couple of episodes to meet Harvey before he ever became the villainous Two-Face, which made Dent’s change from hero to villain all the more impactful. On top of that, as the show went on, Harvey’s sanity was repeatedly tested and challenged, as the scars that afflicted him were more than simply skin deep. As tragic as Two-Face was, he could also work well as a menacing straightforward villain (such as in episodes like “Sins of the Father”) or even have a good deal of humor to him (such as in “Almost Got ‘Im”). Much like the Scarecrow, the more often I look at Two-Face in this particular show, the more I find myself enjoying what they did with the character, as they really did cover just about every angle possible with this half-and-half hoodlum.

4. Mr. Freeze.

Anyone who knows about “Batman: The Animated Series” probably knows what it did for the character of Mr. Freeze. Much like the Riddler, the series revamped the villain for a new generation, and the revamp they did continues to influence takes on Freeze to this day. In fact, this reinterpretation was SO good, that any version that DOESN’T borrow from it usually seems to be detested by fans. Also like the Riddler, Freeze made relatively few appearances in the DCAU as a whole…but, like Clayface and the Scarecrow, every single episode, even the weaker ones, was at least interesting, if not outright great. (As maligned as “Cold Comfort” is, you can’t say it isn’t memorable.) Michael Ansara’s vocals and the sorrowful, almost Shakespearean dialogue and background the character was offered allowed for one of the most fascinating reinventions of a character in the entire series, and many to this day consider Freeze to be one of their favorite Batman villains largely just because of this interpretation. To be honest, the great surprise here is that he isn’t in my Top 3…but hopefully the ones above him will not disappoint.

3. The Mad Hatter.

Anybody who knows me probably also knows I love the Mad Hatter. Not only that, but they probably know that, out of every interpretation of Jervis Tetch there’s ever been, this is by far my favorite. This is a case of a character who is most assuredly better in the series than he ever was, and arguably ever has been, in the comics themselves. In the comics, Tetch is usually depicted as a psychotic little creep with little to no redeeming value; a nasty little wretch who needs to be decked out by Batman’s fist as fast as possible. The Animated Series, however, created perhaps the most human, tragic, and marvelously mad Hatter of them all. In the show, Jervis Tetch - voiced to sheer perfection by the magnificent Roddy McDoall - is a former neuroscientist, who was driven off the deep end by the combination of his discovery of a method to control people’s minds…and the unrequited feelings he had for his secretary, coincidentally named Alice. Over the course of the series, we see Jervis seemingly go increasingly more insane and become increasingly more warped and deranged, but there’s always this underlying sympathy, given how he started out. He’s yet another villain where, even in his weakest episodes - I’m looking at you, “Animal Act” - he, himself, proved to always be a spotlight moment. It’s really no surprise he ranks in my personal top three.

2. Harley Quinn.

Really, what can I say here? It’s Harley Quinn. The Animated Series created this character, Arleen Sorkin (God Rest Her Soul) MADE this character, and to this day I don’t think any other version of Harley has ever come close to the absolute marvelousness of the original. She’s funny, she’s complex, she’s sympathetic but still has her mean moments, and she’s frankly become so popular since this series that I’m starting to get a little bit frustrated with the gal. Nevertheless, I'll always love this original interpretation. (pauses) I’ve seriously got nothing else. This is a no-brainer.

1. Joker.

Just as “Batman: The Animated Series” gave us arguably the greatest Batman voice of all time, in the form of Kevin Conroy, it also provided us with by far the greatest and most influential Joker voice of all time, courtesy of Mark Hamill. Funny enough, Tim Curry was originally planned to voice the Joker, and even did some recordings for a couple of the character’s early episodes. However, for various reasons, Curry’s work was dropped, and Hamill was instead brought on to play the Clown Prince of Crime, having impressed the creator’s after playing a totally different character in the episode “Heart of Ice.” Hamill used Claude Rains’ work as the Invisible Man as inspiration, and the rest is pretty much history. From the early seasons, to TNBA, to nearly every other show in the DCAU, the Joker was a constant presence of villainy, always sort of lurking in the back of Batman’s mind, a symbol of the evil he was sworn to combat. Mocking and malicious, this dastardly demon has really never been portrayed better than he was in this show, I would argue; other attempts since have come close - including other versions voiced by Hamill, who would continue to play the character for many years to come - but no cigar. There’s not a whole lot else I can say: he’s the Joker. His presence at number one should shock nobody. Without any doubt, the Clown Prince of Crime is My Favorite Villain from “Batman: The Animated Series.”

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Roxy Rocket.

Clock King.

Killer Croc.

Lock-Up.

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 15 #batman #batman the animated series #btas #tnba #dcau #batman villains #villains #wb #happy birthday kevin conroy

8 notes · View notes