Joker smiling in front of a shark in Batman the animated Series
By
Richard Craig
Published 27 minutes ago
Richard Craig is Senior Author at Screen Rant, covering everything superhero related. Richard has also written extensively about horror and film soundtracks, contributing a chapter to the first major academic collection on the folk horror genre, The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror. Richard is also a performing musician and holds an MA in Music and Sound Art.
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Batman: The Animated Series set a gold standard for superhero storytelling by respecting and embracing its comic book roots, taking classic scenes straight from the pages of DC Comics. Batman: TAS consistently drew inspiration directly from memorable DC arcs, translating plots and iconic visual moments. Every episode reinforced how faithfully Gotham could be adapted while still introducing fresh emotional weight.
Batman: TAS didn’t just mimic comics, it elevated them. Character histories were preserved, psychological drama was deepened, and classic panels were brought to life with cinematic flair. Each homage proved Batman’s mythology thrives across mediums when handled with genuine admiration and narrative ambition.
These scenes show what a masterpiece series Batman: TAS, with a particularly memorable superhero opening credits. Sometimes the show adapted the comics almost shot-for-shot. Other times, subtle improvements made them feel definitive. Either way, Batman: TAS remains legendary because it treated comic continuity as a treasure worth honoring, not rewriting.
Batman Visits Leslie Thompkins In Crime Alley
batman the animated series, batman lays flowers in crime alley
In Batman: The Animated Series season 1, episode 26, “Appointment in Crime Alley,” Batman returns annually to the exact location of his parents' murder. There, he visits Dr. Leslie Thompkins, the woman who comforted Bruce as a grieving child. While protecting the neighborhood from Roland Daggett’s violent plot, Bruce never loses sight of the night that defined him.
It’s a quiet yet emotionally devastating ritual that reveals the vulnerability beneath the cowl. This moment is adapted directly from “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley,” published in Detective Comics #457 in March 1976, written by Denny O’Neil. That story established Leslie as one of the most important people in Bruce’s life.
Thompkins is a link to Batman’s humanity rather than his mission. The mournful Batman: TAS episode preserves the comic’s tone of remembrance and empathy. It reinforces that Batman’s crusade comes from love for his parents – not hatred of criminals. It’s Batman storytelling at its purest and a very rewatchable superhero narrative.
Batman Is Imprisoned In Arkham Asylum
Batman locked up in Arkham Asylum in Batman the animated series
Batman: TAS season 1, episode 28, “Dreams in Darkness,” sees Batman infected with Scarecrow’s fear toxin and wrongfully committed to Arkham Asylum. As his hallucinations intensify, even allies begin to doubt his sanity. Surrounded by his most terrifying enemies, Batman must escape not just a prison, but his own mind.
This premise mirrors the storyline “Batman: The Last Arkham,” written by Alan Grant and published in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1–4 in 1992. In that arc, Batman goes undercover and is institutionalized within a newly redesigned Arkham. He's forced into psychological warfare against a system designed to break him.
Of course, the Batman: TAS episode is less graphic. Nevertheless, it captures the same crushing paranoia and isolation the comics embraced. By grounding its horror in Batman’s fear of losing control, the show proved it could explore darkness without losing emotional depth.
Batman Is Trapped In A Wax Museum
Josiah Wormwood holding Batman's mask in Batman the Animated Series
In Batman: TAS season 1, episode 31, “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy,” finds Batman trapped in a deadly wax museum. He was pursuing Josiah Wormwood, a villain obsessed with obtaining Batman’s cowl. With the melting wax figures surrounding him and the walls closing in, Batman must rely on cunning over combat to escape.
This is directly adapted from “The Cape and Cowl Death Trap!” in Detective Comics #450 from August 1975, written by Elliot S. Maggin. The comic also focused on Wormwood’s fixation with Batman’s costume. It turns a simple garment into a prize worth killing for.
Batman: TAS improves on the setup’s theatrical tension, giving the trap an eerie, claustrophobic spectacle. It’s a reminder that Batman isn’t defined by gadgets – but by his strategic mind. Even when stripped of advantage, he refuses to surrender symbol or purpose.
Batman Is Lowered Into Joker’s Shark Tank
Joker with Bullock hanging from a giant fishing pole in Batman the Animated Series
In season 1, episode 34, “The Laughing Fish,” Joker allows Batman to replace his hostage Bullock, and is himself lowered into a tank containing a hungry shark. Joker performs the entire attempted execution like a comedy routine – laughing at his own jokes while death circles below. It’s violent, absurd, and terrifyingly cheerful.
The shark trap originates from “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” written by Denny O’Neil in Batman #251 from September 1973. It’s a crucial story that restored Joker as a truly homicidal villain after years of campy portrayals. That issue made Joker scary again.
The Batman: TAS adaptation captures that same unpredictability. Joker is a performer whose punchlines can kill. By translating this exact scene, the show continued O’Neil’s mission: proving Joker is never fun and games, even when he’s laughing.
Joker Copyrights His Joker Fish
Joker holds up a fish in Batman the animated series
The very same Batman: TAS episode adapts another classic comic storyline: Joker attempting to legally copyright fish that bear his grin. In “The Laughing Fish,” he murders anyone who refuses to give him commercial rights to his chemical-altered seafood. It is one of his pettiest yet deadliest schemes.
That plot comes from “The Laughing Fish,” written by Steve Englehart and published in Detective Comics #475 in 1978. Englehart’s story satirized corporate control while emphasizing Joker’s bizarre internal logic. In both examples, Joker enacts cruel revenge on those who block his claim.
Batman: TAS combines the strange work of Englehart and O’Neil into a definitive Joker episode. It showcases how his childish demands escalate to violent theatrics. Joker doesn’t want money – he wants validation from a world that refuses to play by his rules.
Joker’s Lethal Binary Joker Venom
A man infected with Joker gas in Batman the Animated Series
Also within “The Laughing Fish” is one of Batman: TAS’s absolute darkest moments when Joker introduces his binary toxin. These are two harmless chemicals that become lethal renditions of his Joker Gas when combined inside the victim’s bloodstream. Batman must rapidly solve murders with these few clues.
This version of Joker Venom comes from “Sign of the Joker!” in Detective Comics #476 from 1978, again written by Steve Englehart. It expanded Joker’s inventiveness and intelligence, making him a master chemist instead of merely a prankster with weapons. Like in Batman: TAS, this iteration kills its victims while prompting a sinister rictus grin to creep across their face.
Batman: TAS’s merging of these arcs creates a multi-layered portrayal of Joker at peak menace. Even separated from the comics, viewers experience the evolving mythology that shaped him. The deadliest punchlines come from the smartest clown in Gotham.
Hugo Strange Learns Batman's Identity
Hugo Strange threatening Bruce Wayne with a VHS tape in The Strange Secret Of Bruce Wayne in Batman The Animated Series
In Batman: TAS season 1, episode 37, “The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne,” Dr. Hugo Strange uses a memory-extraction machine to uncover Batman’s identity. He accidentally achieves this by luring Bruce Wayne to a spa resort. For once, Batman isn’t fighting a weapon – he’s fighting the truth being exposed.
This is adapted from two Steve Englehart stories: “The Dead Yet Live” and “I Am the Batman!” in Detective Comics #471 and #472 from 1977. In the comics, Strange discovers the secret through a medical institute that Batman visits for radiation treatment. He sedates the Dark Knight and poses as him, even seizing Wayne Enterprises.
The Batman: TAS episode instead uses blackmail and greed as motivations, but preserves a terrifying implication. Batman’s greatest vulnerability isn’t physical harm, it’s losing anonymity. If one man knows his secret, Gotham changes forever.
Batman Investigates A Werewolf
Batman grappling Werewolf in Batman The Animated Series Moon of the Wolf
Batman: TAS season 1, episode 43, “Moon of the Wolf,” sees Batman investigating the monstrous transformations of Anthony Romulus – a champion athlete turned werewolf. The episode leans heavily into a gothic horror theme, recalling classic English werewolf films. It boasts fog-covered docks, fearsome animalistic growls, and a markedly different threat to Batman.
The story is taken from Batman #255 (1974), written by Len Wein, a comic known for reintroducing supernatural elements after years of gritty crime focus. It also highlighted Batman as a detective capable of tackling both mystical and scientific threats. Much like in Batman: TAS, Batman’s investigations led back to the scientist Professor Milo.
The animated version keeps that chilling monster-movie energy while giving the werewolf a tragic dimension. It proves Batman isn't just Gotham’s protector. He’s a guardian against the nightmares lurking beyond human understanding. Batman belongs anywhere fear exists.
Two-Face Flips Batman On A Giant Coin
Two-Face with Batman strapped to a giant coin in Batman the Animated Series
“Almost Got ’Im,” is often cited as the greatest episode of Batman: TAS. Season 1, episode 46 features numerous villains discussing how they nearly caught Batman. In Two-Face’s story, he recounts a deathtrap involving Batman and a gigantic silver dollar. After capturing the Dark Knight, Two-Face straps Batman to the giant coin and threatens to flip it to kill him.
Two-Face’s giant coin first appeared in Batman #81 from 1954, written by Bill Finger. The original deathtrap likewise targeted Batman, and later became one of the Batcave’s most famous trophies. It symbolizes Batman’s ability to transform villains’ madness into souvenirs of victory.
The animated version of the scenario adds comedy without losing Golden Age charm. It’s a loving wink to longtime comic readers – acknowledging the sillier side of Bat-history while celebrating its lasting legacy. Gotham’s strangest iconography has meaning.
Harvey Bullock Asks Batman For Protection
Harvey Bullock meeting with Batman in the snow in A Bullet For Bullock of Batman The Animated Series
Batman: TAS season 2, episode 2, “A Bullet for Bullock,” features the tough, grudge-holding detective begging Batman for help after becoming a target of an unknown assassin. Bullock’s bravado vanishes, revealing a flawed but loyal cop who fears dying alone. The subsequent adventure sees the two unlikely allies working together for the first time.
This story originates from Detective Comics #651 (October 1992). Written by Chuck Dixon, it similarly explored Bullock’s abrasive personality hiding a good heart. Batman protects him not because he’s likable, but because all lives in Gotham are worth saving.
The Batman: TAS adaptation succeeds by deepening the complicated respect between the two men. Bullock doesn’t suddenly admire Batman, but he understands him a little more. Batman: The Animated Series excelled not only at adapting villains and icons but also the everyday Gothamites who make Batman necessary.
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9.2/10
9/10
Batman: The Animated Series
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-PG Animation Drama Mystery Action Science Fiction Release Date 1992 - 1995-00-00 Network FOX, Fox Kids Showrunner Bruce Timm Directors Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, Frank Paur, Dan Riba, Dick Sebast Writers Michael Reaves, Brynne Stephens, Randy Rogel, David Wise, Len Wein, Marty Isenberg, Richard Mueller, Sam Graham, Peter Morwood, Dennis O'Neil, Carl Swenson, Beth Bornstein, Steve Hayes, Chris Hubbell, Martin Pasko, Henry Gilroy, Elliot S. Maggin, Eddie Gorodetsky, Diane DuaneCast
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Kevin Conroy
Batman (voice)
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Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
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