Batman: TAS, episode #46: Almost Got 'Im

As I've mentioned before, one of the best things about The Batman as a character is the interactions he has with his various opponents, who are typically more interesting than he is. Again, it's akin to him being the antagonist in his own comic, since the stories behind the villains and their behavior are usually the real drivers of whatever comic they're appearing in. That makes Almost Got 'Im one of the best episodes of the entire series, since it's another take on a technique employed more than once in the actual comics, where his most notable villains get together and compare war stories about how they were almost successful in taking out their nemesis. The most notable of these to me as a kid was Batman #291 "Where were you on the night Batman was killed?"

That story was actually a four-parter, where Ra's Al Ghul serves as judge and Two-Face as the "prosecutor" of a court trying to determine who actually killed The Batman. That issue was Catwoman's testimony and the next three contained the stories of The Riddler, The Joker, and... Lex Luthor? I fail to see how The Penguin didn't qualify and was, instead, replaced by the arch-nemesis of Superman, but there it is. The plot of this episode basically follows the mode of that story, but also some far earlier versions, like Detective Comics #61 (1942), where three regular criminals play poker in prison and talk about how their perfect schemes were ruined by The Batman (and Robin.) This is that same plot, except not in prison and with four of our hero's greatest foes (Poison Ivy, Two-Face, The Penguin, and The Joker) telling their tales about how they almost pulled it off. It also has appearances by Catwoman and Harley Quinn, so quite the cast. Again, I think this is one of the best episodes of the entire series. It's not much in terms of a story from beginning to end, since it's essentially four associated vignettes in a shell. It also almost requires foreknowledge of the character and his history, as there are no explanatory notes about why any of them are doing what they do. This was clearly an episode dreamed up for the regular fans of The Batman who had seen many episodes of the cartoon and/or read many issues of the comics, which is probably why it appeals so much to me. A lot of the little details speak to the experienced Batman fan, such as The Joker referring to Poison Ivy as "Pam" (her real name is Pamela Isley) and taking jabs at Two-Face ("Gee, that's too bad, Harv. But I guess you'll always come in... second.") It's also noted that "Harvey" and "Pam" used to date (a reference to episode #9, Pretty Poison.) Those insights and familiarity aren't restricted to each other, as they speculate about what drives their opponent to do what he does and The Penguin chimes in with: "It's obvious our caped friend suffered some crime-related trauma when he was younger!"

Speaking of which, this is the best rendition of The Penguin in the series, as he spares no effort to exercise his vocabulary (a habit I tend to share): "I find your meedly machinations mildly diverting. But for sheer criminal genius, none surpasses my most recent ornithologically-inspired entoilment." The Penguin vignette is, of course, totally corny, which befits his character, as he sics hummingbirds with poison coating their beaks on The Batman. Plus, when those are foiled, he releases a cassowary against him. Not an ostrich. Not an emu. A cassowary. All of the characters are shown at the maximum of their personality aspects (The Penguin notes: "Naturally, I had flown the coop by the time he escaped.") Ivy is contemptuous of anything that's fauna, rather than flora. Two-Face is only interested in the personal challenge against the man he accuses of ruining his life and creating his obsession ("There was this time I had just robbed the Gotham Mint of two million in two-dollar bills!") And The Joker is at his most macabre and most showman-like (taking over the Late Night show, putting The Batman in an electric chair powered by laughter before releasing his laughing gas on the audience, roasting a hot dog over the chair as our hero is electrocuted, etc.) "You know him as The Dark Knight, but we prefer to think of him as 'history.'" This is why this episode functions without a substantial central plot. It's all about showing who these people are and why they so often square off with the Caped Crusader. That's further emphasized by the appearance of Catwoman rescuing The Batman in The Joker's story. Despite The Batman escaping, Catwoman is captured by Harley and taken to a cat food factory where she's going to be fed into the machine to later be canned and fed to someone's cat, which is among the more gruesome potential results that have appeared in the series. And the callbacks to the comics didn't end with the plot, as Two-Face's story shows the giant penny that first appeared in Batman #81 (1954) and forever after took up a space in the Batcave's trophy area (in the comics, at least, as those rarely appear in the show.)

On production notes, whichever studio they employed did a solid job on most of the characters... except our hero. The Batman appears with an elongated head, such that his square jaw is more rectangular when appearing amidst the rest of him. He's also given a hooked nose, with a bump on the part of his cowl that covers it. We also see him have no reluctance whatsoever to engage physically with Ivy, sending a left cross right to her face as she tries to gas him. I feel like the series tried to avoid showing direct violence to female villains, so this moment stood out. But it also hewed to a lot of the classic imagery, showing the familiar delta-wing shadow of The Batman as he descended into the cat food factory to engage with Harley and save Catwoman. It was a nice touch as the ending became her version of "Almost got 'im" as she tried to convince him that they could be more than just occasional encounters: "Well, I'd like to think our relationship isn't just restricted to saving each other from freaks and weirdos." This, of course, coming from the woman dressed up as a cat on a rooftop with the man dressed up as a bat. But, again, it's that kind of deviation from the norm that defines his rogues' gallery and which makes them and, by reflection, him so interesting as a character. The fact that this one appeals to the "experienced" Batman fan just demonstrates how deep those connections can go, while still having enough entertaining dialogue and action moments for those who haven't explored as much of the mythos. It's similar to how classic Warner Bros. cartoons had goofy moments for kids, but a lot of subversive jokes for adults, as well. Again, this one is right near the top of the entire series for me and I've probably rewatched it more times than any other.

Next time, we return to Oswald Cobblepot and Birds of a Feather.