Batman: TAS, episode #59: Blind as a Bat

On the one hand, this is another Len Wein episode (Hooray for comics royalty from the 70s and 80s.) OTOH, this is another Penguin (Paul Williams) episode which pretty much guarantees that it's not going to have a ton of story or depth attached to it. The fact that said character is the lead in the highly-regarded HBO series of his name (and the utter transformation of Colin Ferrell in the role) is just another oddity of the continuing legend of The Batman. Of course, the Penguin has always been kind of an odd bird...

The premise is that Wayne Enterprises is building weapons (something the comic Bruce Wayne was always opposed to and a tendency that carried into the film productions of both Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan.) In other words, he didn't want to be another Tony Stark of the era when this was written and produced; long before the more ethical behavior of the Robert Downey, Jr. version of Tony Stark that recent Marvel fans were so fond of. In that respect, it's an unusual angle for Wein to take from the very beginning. Is that because of a dearth of real stories that could be attached to the "odd man" version of the villain that persisted for decades? This whole premise was obviously constructed around him from the basic visual design on up. It's no surprise that the super helicopter produced by Bruce's company is extremely, uh, gut-forward in its appearance or that it flies in the same manner that you might imagine a penguin would fly, if it could, despite the machine being named "the Raven X1-11." Everything about it looks clumsy but with hidden strengths and a ferocious bite, which is often how the Penguin has been depicted, albeit less so in the latter respect.

And that's the real difference in this presentation of the character. Although the Penguin has never shied away from violence during his efforts to steal and puff up his reputation/feathers (much like the current president...), Wein's version seems even more intent on drawing blood at every opportunity. When he heightens the threat presented by the chopper in order to encourage the release of its ransom, he's willing to sacrifice innocent citizens by collapsing one of the city's bridges. When he wants his henchmen to do something, he's not cajoling or even commanding. He's directly threatening with an extended umbrella blade. This is a more rough-and-tumble character who reflects an early example of the vision that later became standard in things like the Gotham TV series and the aforementioned HBO series, where the Penguin isn't just an odd villain for The Batman, but a real gangster who's intent on killing anyone who gets in his way. We also get to see the return of the redoubtable Leslie Thompkins (Diana Muldaur), who not only remonstrates with the blinded Bruce Wayne to take a break and let someone else handle the birds, but also displays a previously unknown talent for welding... The helmet that Bruce uses to assist his sight leaves him with the appropriate red eyes, just like all of the bats in his cave, which was another nice touch.

But, even after all that, this still ends up being another "villain of the week"-style episode, with only the Batman's vision problems providing any variation from many before and after it. And, given that his "direct link" invention obviates that blindness for most of the episode, even that little twist isn't genuinely played into. As with most Penguin episodes, if you've (ahem) seen one of them, you've basically seen them all. One interesting moment from an animation history perspective was when the Penguin fires the Raven's lasers to bring down the Batwing. That laser sound effect is the same one that they were using for the Super Friends back in the mid-70s and many, many other productions and which may still be in use today, for all I know. It's one of those "Wilhelm screams" of animation in that you can always think back to cartoons that may have exercised it when you hear it.

Next time, the return of another comic writing legend and a much more interesting villain in The Demon's Quest, part 1.