Batman: TAS, episode #19: Fear of Victory

This episode was almost the perfect example of the "Batman as antagonist" phenomenon that I've mentioned, as the bulk of the story is about The Scarecrow, his methods, and his life, with The Batman on hand to disrupt it. Unfortunately, given my previous post, it's also the perfect example of how little Robin adds to the whole equation. With Dick Grayson, in a charming scene about how the NCAA insists that college life has always been (star QB on his way to the pros, still living in the dorm just like everyone else!), subject to the fear chemicals from the opening moments and relatively neutered by their effects, Robin becomes more of a liability and a sideshow than anything that would be helpful to The Batman or, in truth, entertaining to the audience. And this extends beyond the fear element, when Robin also serves as the walking exposition device ("He's locked up in Arkham! ... Isn't he?") for scene transitions and is even highlighted as a problem element by The Batman ("Calm down!") In short, he's a gateway into bringing the threat of The Scarecrow closer to our hero without the episode turning into a replay of their first encounter (Nothing to Fear.) On the one hand, that's a troubling depiction of The Batman's crimefighting partner. On the other hand, it's also a bit of an exposé into the fairly one-note nature of the villain.

That's kind of a funny, stylistic dichotomy, in that this appearance by Jonathan Crane is in the different and unique-to-BTAS Scarecrow costume with the jagged teeth and wild eyes. So it's not entirely second verse, same as the first. It also presented us with one of the best title cards of the series, to date, with the much more menacing Scarecrow leering from the shadows. It's also our first look inside the famous Arkham Asylum, with some great reactions from both The Joker and Poison Ivy, but an oddly indifferent one from Two-Face (Perhaps Richard Moll wasn't available in the way that Mark Hamill was for one throwaway line?) It's also a great example of "the kids won't care" perspective to have all of them sitting in their cells in full costume. Up to this point, the producers have put in some real effort to maintain a consistency in appearance that isn't too jarring from reality. This was one of those moments where that care was abandoned. How much more difficult would it have been to draw all of them in asylum gray or orange? No one is going to mistake The Joker for any other inmate.

.

Speaking of reality, it was more than a little disconcerting to have it revealed that The Batman keeps cats in the Batcave... as test subjects. Certainly, the ethics of those situations have become more prominent in our (relatively) more enlightened society in the past 30 years, but even in the early 90s, you'd have been hard-pressed to find people accepting the idea that cats made suitable subjects for experimentation, especially by an avowed hero to that society. (For that matter, what would Selina Kyle say?) Also on that general topic, it was somewhat enlivening to hear The Scarecrow, inmate at Arkham, admit that his scheme wasn't about continued vengeance on Gotham U (referred to as "Gotham State" by the sportscaster; editor!) or whatever his current obsession may be that had him committed, but instead because: "I need the money, Batman!" It's a very pragmatic approach for a hero whose regular opponents aren't normally so wedded to the practicalities of conducting huge criminal efforts and who almost never demonstrate an interest in living a wealthier lifestyle. Some of that pragmatic edge seemed to have rubbed off on The Batman, as well, since he was pretty willing to bash his friends in this episode, telling Robin to calm down and rather harshly suggesting that Commissioner Gordon should "Put two and two together!" when assessing who could be behind the recent spate of events among pro athletes.

And, of course, some of it descends into standard superhero tropes, with two guys and a crowbar deconstructing a large portion of the roof of a major building in downtown Gotham, while no one and nothing on the perfectly empty street is threatened by the rubble below, including the Batmobile. On top of that, we somehow imagine that the audience watching, children and adults, have no idea what a proper football pass is (hint: They don't turn end over end.) I couldn't have been the only comic fan who was also a diehard football fan (both kinds.) Again, overall, those little details seem to indicate a lower level of care for the end product; with the idea that this was just a standard Batman villain episode, but with Robin to drag it down even farther. Fear of success?

Next time, we introduce one of the strangest members of The Batman's gallery, the Penguin, in I've Got Batman in My Basement.