Batman: TAS, episode #23: The Forgotten

This episode is a really interesting intersection of two aspects: It's not really a Batman story, but it is a really well-told story with pertinent social themes, not only to the viewers, but to the characters involved. The Batman ending up somewhere in what looks like Wyoming to battle a mine operator is something that would've come out of he "Good ol' Bstman" frame of reference, in that the unusual locale and circumstances were something different for the guy usually skulking around warehouses or hanging from rooftops (The Simpsons go to Japan!) By the same token, it does embody one of the central themes of the character (defending those who can't defend themselves) and it turns out to be a really solid story, with good pacing and great visual cues and sequences that build the atmosphere at all the right points. Director Boyd Kirkland doesn't shy away from the Cool Hand Luke cues, with both the music and the ironic banter among the prisoners becoming easy reminders of that classic film.

But it's also built in other ways. The opening shot of the pigeons flying from a rooftop near the rescue mission is then mirrored by a cauldron of bats mimicking their motion as an indicator that we've transitioned to the Batcave. We've gone from Bruce Wayne to The Batman without even needing to see the costume. Kirkland then follows with a great visual sequence of a few seconds showing Bruce Wayne getting into his "transient" disguise. It's an example of letting the visuals tell the story, rather than adding dialogue which only muddies the waters (If you want to lose an hour of your life, ask me about this approach vis-à-vis Blade Runner sometime.) He continues that with Bruce driving around, looking for a suitable location to investigate the disappearances. It's just good storytelling and we get to see things without a word spoken to distract us, although it has to be said that a "transient" driving around in a nicely-maintained Studebaker probably blows his disguise. But, so rarely in this series, even while needing to present a situation where there's a threat to our main character, Kirkland doesn't hesitate to remind us that this is The Batman, master unarmed combatant, as he takes out two guys while keeping his hands in his coat pockets the whole time. Unfortunately, he's then distracted by a cat (Selina!) and we move to the next stage of our story.

Bruce in the mining camp gives the storyteller two opportunities. The first is the chance to further engage those Cool Hand Luke parallels, where the stories of the people in slavery only emphasize the already obvious injustice of the situation. It introduces us to the most laid back and positive chain gang worker ever, in Riley, but it's also a way to introduce someone who can be the level-headed one while Bruce is impaired. Speaking of level-headed, the second opportunity is the chance to show Alfred again as Bruce's right-hand man who's able to do more than just polish the silverware, as he smartly puts a tracker on a truck and then kinda flies the Batwing out to its location. That scene is a little awkward, because we've just been impressed with Alfred's confidence and ambition (and complete understanding of our main character: "Only vampires loathe daylight more than Batman!" He only missed the "The") and now we're reduced to him being completely impotent compared to the technology. One also wonders why it was appropriate to still wear his tuxedo out to "The Bowery!" of Gotham and not out to the hinterlands where gold mines exist. Lazy animators or something else?

That great visual storytelling continues in the dream sequence with The Joker. We see the hints at who Bruce Wayne/The Batman is without a voiceover or anything except what we see in front of us. The Joker is horrifying as a dream menace to begin with, but here, of course, it's also a clue.  But despite getting back to more of what a Batman story would normally be, the writers don't leave the central theme, as we see images detailing how many are doing without food or proper shelter in Gotham, the same way it is in the real world in the wealthiest nation on Earth. We also get to maintain that firm grip on the character's reality, as The Batman makes short work of multiple regular guys in the perfect environment: darkness, a cave, and with few firearms at hand. Again, the unarmed combat master who simply won't be stopped by Joe Average criminals. Even in those circumstances, the threat is present and the the tension remains, which makes it an interesting action sequence, rather than just a device to move the story along. That whole "character's reality" shows up in another way at the end, where we see the contrast between regular people and Bruce Wayne, millionaire. In that way, Bruce never really confronted the existence of the people who are doing without the bare minimum and it was kind of awkward to see him essentially rub it in their faces; to say nothing of how it arcs very close to being a secret identity revealing moment.

But in contrast to the previous non-super-villain episode, this was a really well done story from beginning to end. Next up, we see our first appearance of one of the more esoteric of The Batman's enemies, The Mad Hatter, in Mad as a Hatter.