Batman: TAS, episode #12: Appointment in Crime Alley

I mentioned in my intro post that The Batman had been revitalized in the late 60s/early 70s, after years of moldering as the "fun" Adam West of the TV series, by writer Denny O'Neill and artist Neal Adams. O'Neill's socially conscious, contemporary scripting and Adams' brooding, photorealistic art style (developed during his sojourn in advertising work) became THE Batman for many readers and recreated the concept of the Darknight Detective that Bob Kane had originally intended the character to be. So, it's interesting to note that this episode, Appointment in Crime Alley, is based on the 1976 O'Neill script "There is No Hope in Crime Alley" (Detective Comics, #457), but is also written by comic legend, Gerry Conway. Conway broke into a career of writing comics at the age of 16 with a story for DC's House of Secrets. Like fellow series writer, Marv Wolfman, he had a run during the horror comics revival of the early 70s, co-creating characters and series like Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing, but he also tried his hand at virtually ever major character of both DC and Marvel, including a year-long run on The Batman in Batman and Detective. (Along the way, he was also editor-in-chief at Marvel for about a month and a half.) In that respect, he seems like a natural choice to try his hand at BTAS.

The terrifically moody title card and initial look at the streets (even if it's only a model) set the tone not only for the story but the visual style that will be employed in this episode. I think it's safe to say that both are pristine examples of The Batman as a figure around which to build a story. This is The Batman, from the excellent shadows in the whole action sequence where he beats down the thugs trying to clear out a family to the flow of the camera through the scenes as we learn the story of Park Row/Crime Alley and how "progress" often leaves people behind who have nowhere else to go. This is the most clear-cut example of a film noir story we've yet seen and it's a great one. Conway stuck to O'Neill's script almost note-for-note and again demonstrates how close comics are to animation in particular and film, in general. This is a story told visually, without any "comic booky" elements, unlike Be a Clown. We don't need to hear dialogue to notice Bruce's frustration in his exercise room as he watches Roland Daggett (Ed Asner) on the news. We see it simply from the way he's hitting the heavy bag. When dialogue is introduced, it's not exposition. Alfred tells him he doesn't want to be late. He asks, rhetorically: "Have I ever been late?" It could just be a wry joke between the two of them or it could be true and have deeper context. It does, but it isn't spelled out, but instead left for the viewer to figure out as we move along. It's a lead, not an announcement. That, again, is good storytelling.

Characterization is also on point here. Nitro is a nerd about explosives and demonstrates his enthusiasm in a way that many would find socially awkward, if not obtrusive. We see that point emphasized when Daggett overtly brushes his hand with the detonator out of the way. These are the people he feels like he has to associate with in order to expand his empire, but he's not about to socialize with them or tolerate their behaviors. Dr. Leslie Thompkins is also a real character, as she points out that Park Row is her home and she's not afraid of walking the street by herself. This isn't a woman staged to show how horrible it is to be stuck in the slum with the undesirables. That's Daggett's illusion. Instead, this is a woman who knows the people here and knows that they're due the respect and dignity of anyone else. Fearing what might happen to her, personally, is beneath that dignity. That's a solid character. The clock metaphor overlays everything; about Bruce's past, about the impending explosion, about time moving on from what was once a great neighborhood in Gotham (and still could be.) Daggett is also the perfect noir villain ("We cannot allow the underclass to hinder us from building a better tomorrow!") and immediately working the camera and public reaction when The Batman exposes his scheme.

The dialogue also often serves the atmosphere. When The Batman shows up at the hotel and has the little exchange with the tactical squad member ("Who do you think you are?! ... Oh."), we get the average person's response to the hero. When that hero finds the direct perpetrators, they're not only embedded in the world ("Fancy meeting you again, Crocker." "You told the parole board you'd given up the arson-for-hire thing, Nitro.") but it's a world with a hard Batman; THE Batman ("Talk to me, Nitro!") who locks the perps in their own truck with more explosives. If he doesn't rescue the people they've endangered, they probably go down with them. Similarly, the action scenes don't stick out. They're all part of the pacing, from the aforementioned combat in the apartment to the saving of the runaway trolley. A great visual sequence shows the actual effects of trying to do something so outlandish, as the Batmobile loses a tire and a rim in the process, forcing The Batman to lock it up before he goes off in pursuit of his real targets of the evening.

And, finally, the crowner is that they don't bother with the origin story. We're fans of The Batman. We know the bloody origin story. We don't need it played back to us in flashbacks. It's enough for him to leaf through Dr. Thompkins "Memories" book (A little on point for a book title. Couldn't it have just been "Scrapbook" to be just as obvious?) and end with him kneeling over the two roses with the final card being the picture of him and Leslie in the newspaper clipping. It's a reference to something we already know and don't need to be hit over the head with. It's a noir approach. It's a well-told story approach. O'Neill deserves great credit for the initial idea, but Conway almost as much for translating it properly to the screen and director Boyd Kirkland for maintaining the right pace and delivery that keeps us entranced from opening to ending. You can pick little nits with the seemingly ineffective gag on Leslie when she's left behind to die and Daggett wearing white socks with his suit, but those are animation (and clothing style) details that don't detract from the episode in any real fashion. This, even without the bizarre villains, is a Batman story and it's neck-and-neck with Heart of Ice as the best episode we've seen so far.

Next up, we stay with the "mundane" aspects of crime in Gotham with a story called P.O.V., which hearkens back to Kurosawa's masterpiece, Rashomon.