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thegreenfairy13 · 6 years ago

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Mr. Van Dahl’s Remarkable Double Life - Final Chapter

At last, I finished my slightly cracky tale about the marriage of Jim and Oswald. Read it on Ao3 here.

Jim is incredibly relieved he’s finally allowed to leave the basement - for about five seconds.

Oswald is standing behind him, still complaining about the cream smeared all over his fancy clothing, when Victor Zsasz blocks their path.

“I think you’re going nowhere,” the assassin declares smugly while already launching himself at Jim. Oswald shrieks in terror and raises his cane the exact same moment the hitman's fist connects painfully with Jim’s jaw. Not having expected the sudden attack, he drops to the floor. The mobster surges forward but Jim isn’t having it.

“Stop it! Both of you!” he hollers despite the white and black dots dancing merrily before his eyes and the excruciating ringing in his ears.

Zsasz, completely surprised by the Penguin’s sudden attack, freezes. Oswald lowers his arm dutifully. Good, Jim thinks. At last, his husband is listening. Well, after the last couple of days, he’ll probably fulfill all of his wishes - before returning to his wicked ways by next week.

“What the hell is he doing here?” the detective inquires while getting back to his feet. Shaking his head, he wonders if this week qualifies for the worst of his life. The sad answer is: no. This week doesn’t even make it into his top ten.

Nervously licking his lips, the Penguin tries putting on a nonchalant demeanor and fails miserably. Blushing furiously, he gives everything away. For whatever reason, Oswald is a terrible liar when it comes to Jim. The cop smirks despite himself. Oh, he knows exactly why the killer is at their home, but he needs it to hear from his husband.

“So?” he urges, cocking his head slightly. This will be the first time Oswald has to confirm what they truly are.

“Uhm…”

“You hoped I’d agree with your ridiculous plan, right?” Jim growls in annoyance and Zsasz’ eyes widen. He can tell the killer is speechless.

“Who would agree to get tortured?” he sputters once he found his voice again while Oswald simply glares at him.

“I never said anything about torture,” he snarls petulantly.

“You said Jim Gordon is being kept in your basement and I should come over,” Zsasz argues, slowly losing his patience. Jim can’t blame him. This whole ordeal is infuriating.

Pressing his mouth into a thin line, the kingpin tries pushing past the killer.

“Oswald!” Jim commands, inwardly rejoicing when his husband stops still in his tracks. “Isn’t there something you want to tell Zsasz?”

The gangster tenses but Jim doesn’t care. Oswald promised, and there’s no way the cop is letting his husband off the hook now. He turns around, a pleading look gracing his features but Jim merely nods, encouraging him to go on. Meanwhile, Zsasz is looking from one man to the other, becoming more confused by each passing second.

“Fine,” Oswald huffs at last. “Zsasz, I’m proud to announce that James Worthington Gordon is, in fact, my husband. I specifically hired you to go after him and rough him up regularly in order to keep up the pretense that my husband and I are enemies.”

The hitman’s mouth drops open, closes, and drops open again. It’s the first time Jim sees one of the most feared psychopaths helpless. In his utter confusion, he almost resembles a baffled child. Jim snickers while marveling at the killer’s unease.

But then Victor’s mouth curls into the most discomforting smile and the moment is gone. Staring at Gordon, the killer looks incredibly impressed. “How?” he utters, awe-stricken. “How did you trick him into believing he’s your husband?”

If Jim wouldn’t be so proud of his husband, he’d for sure be annoyed. But at this moment, the only thing that counts is Oswald finally having confirmed their relationship and making it clear that they are married.

Smiling softly at his huffy husband, Jim verifies the statement.

“We have a certificate,” Oswald adds briskly, leaning heavily against his man. “And as we won’t be keeping our marriage any longer a secret, your services will no longer be needed. Well, regarding Jim,” he adds as an afterthought. “I might have other assignments for you, though.”

“Absolutely not,” Jim interrupts sternly, finally dragging his man upstairs. He doesn’t miss the conspiratorial look his mobster shoots the killer.

Jim hopes to finally let Olga and the rest of Oswald’s staff in on their secret but, of course, he has no such luck. Once they reach the kitchen, Harvey and Selina already stare curiously at the pair of them.

“Where have you been?” his friend growls sourly. “I thought your little psycho has killed you after all.”

“And what is this stuff on his suit?” Selina chimes in, staring at Oswald with obvious disgust.

Harvey takes only one look before making a gagging motion. “I’m worried sick and you’re having kinky sex with your man?!” he explodes, almost flinging his glass at them.

“There’s a child present!” the Penguin yelps, horrified about the cop’s accurate observation.

“Child,” Harvey snorts. “The little brat probably stepped on this earth fully grown with a plan in her hands how to rob elderly ladies.”

“I’m offended,” Selina remarks good-naturedly, sticking out her tongue at the man beside her.

Jim’s head hurts already. What even made him think this would work smoothly? “What are you even doing here?” he asks her, internally debating how to throw them out both as soon as possible.

“I was curious about your fate,” she simply replies. “And Ozzie’s cook makes some rad breakfast. Did you two know that?”

“As I hired her,” Oswald interrupts, “I have a vague idea,” he finishes drily.

“So what’s the deal?” Harvey pointedly looks at Jim. “Despite you two making me gag, that is.”

“We’re going public,” Jim replies quietly. “No more lies.”

Humming in agreement, Harvey nods. “That might be best. Our colleagues at the precinct were already celebrating your death. They’ll be relieved you teamed up with our honorable mayor.”

Oswald makes a pained noise beside him but still entangles his fingers with his cop. He’s tense, and despite his promise, still not certain going public is the right thing to do; neither is Jim, but the lies, the secrets will eventually drive them apart. Besides, the cop really has to give his ribs a solid break from getting broken.

“Jim, I’m terrified,” he mumbles barely audible and the grasp on Jim’s hand tightens.

The policeman squeezes back. Not caring about their audience, he wraps his arm consolingly around the gangster’s hip and pulls him close.

“I know,” he tells him softly. “But we have all of eternity to figure everything out now,” he reassures while pressing a soft kiss to his temple. The mobster trembles imperceptibly in his grasp and it’s almost enough for Jim to blow it all off. He knows Oswald loves him, would literally die for him, would let him go if requested. It’s just...Jim doesn’t want to go anywhere. He belongs right here: At the Penguin’s side. In Gotham. Forever.

“I’ll make a few calls,” Oswald declares then. “We’ll be gracing the Gazette’s cover by tomorrow, that’s for sure,” he concludes with a dramatic sigh.

Before he can leave the room, Jim holds him back by his sleeve. “Thank you,” he breathes into his ear. Pulling his husband into a tight hug, Jim clings to him as if he’d leave forever.

“Everything for you,” Oswald murmurs back, squeezing Jim’s bicep slightly.

For the first time, the cop truly feels as if they’re having a real chance. Despite being married, their relationship has rather resembled a fleeting affair. But from now on, they’ll act like a team.

Harvey rolls his eyes when Oswald hobbles clumsily out of the room, but Jim knows his friend long enough to tell he’s happy for them. The silence in the small space stretches, only interrupted by the noise of Selina happily munching a cupcake from the counter. Jim feels guilty for lying to his friend for so long and grateful for him still supporting his decision.

“I take it the birdman is immortal, too,” Harvey states, startling Jim from his musings. The cop purses his mouth before nodding reluctantly.

“Thought so,” Harvey grumbles. “Always knew the little cockroach is indestructible.” Slurping his coffee loudly, he continues, “To be honest, I should lock you two up in Arkham and throw away the keys.” Shaking his head with mock annoyance, he grabs a croissant from the table. “And I wasn't even invited to the wedding,” he grumbles.

“Oh stop it,” Selina sighs, rolling her eyes. “At least you get to blackmail me.”

“What?!” Jim asks in surprise.

“Selina is my informant now,” Harvey declares smugly. “Else I’d tell Bruce Wayne and Mr. Cobblepot she was willing to let you die.”

Jim sputters. “Oswald would never hurt her.”

“Figured that myself,” Selina answers drily. “Not as long as you are his loverboy,” she adds with a salacious wink.

“Yeah, but the possibility of Bruce Wayne being mad at you did the trick,” Harvey sing-songs victoriously. The little cat merely glares at him.

Jim wants to bury his head in his hands. He’ll never hear the end of this, that’s for certain. Thankfully, Oswald saves him from diving deeper into Bruce Wayne’s love life. Besides, what’s there to say? Selina Kyle is his villain, just as Oswald is his.

The heroes and the rogues in Gotham are inseparably entangled. They have always been. Harvey had Fish. Bruce will forever love Catwoman. And he? He’s lost to the Penguin. They’ll spend eternity with each other, and despite the fact that they’ll fight and even temporarily break up, they’ll never be able to truly stay away from each other. Oswald is his destiny, it’s as simple as that.

Jim still doesn’t know how to feel about living forever, doesn’t know if he can wrap his head around what happened, but he's got enough time now to figure everything out.

When Oswald returns, he looks pale yet also relieved and determined. His announcement to the Gazette must have gone well. Out of habit, he scowls at Harvey and Selina before focusing on Jim.

“No turning back now,” he jokes with more bravado than he possesses. Jim has to admit, he’s afraid, too. Gotham will for sure be after them. This city won’t make it easy on them and their enemies know their weaknesses now. Yet, should anyone ever be as stupid as to consider taking his man from him, Jim will make sure hell looks like a spa-resort in comparison. And vice-versa.

“I love you,” Jim tells him earnestly, desperately almost, when finally all is said and done. His little Penguin nods.

“When I made the call,” he starts, rummaging through his pockets, “I found something.” Oswald pauses as Jim holds his breath. The earnest expression on his face speaks volumes and Jim wouldn’t dare to interrupt now.

“Before my mother and my father broke up for good, he gave her a ring. My mother kept it all those years. She never had another man.” He gulps, stares at the floor before bravely carrying on. ”There was never another man for me too,” he whispers. Trying to get down on one knee, Oswald asks Jim a question the man can hardly process. Harvey gasps beside him, for sure being hardpressed to keep his coffee in. Jim couldn’t care less.

Of course, there’s only one answer to Oswald’s question. Of course, they’ll renew their vows.

Before the scrawny gagster can damage his shattered knee any further on the cold, hard tiles, Jim catches him and wraps him safely up in his arms. Harvey might throw up all he wants, he’ll need to get used to this. He hardly notes Selina’s excited squee when accepting the ring from his husbands' hands.

He only knows they’ll make it. They’ll be happy - forever. Or at least until Oswald realizes Harvey is going to be Jim’s best man.

#gobblepot #fanfiction

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phantom-le6 · 3 years ago

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Episode Reviews - Batman: The Animated Series Season 1 (3 of 10)

We’re now into our third instalment from season 1 of Batman: The Animated Series, and this one begins with the re-invention of a formerly minor character that made that character a major foe of the Batman, albeit a bit infamous in the history of the live-action films.

Episode 14: Heart of Ice

Plot (as given by me):

In the middle of the hottest August in record for the people of Gotham, a series of cold-related crimes that involve the use of a freezing gun are occurring. The crimes all involve thefts of equipment from facilities owned by GothCorp. Batman deduces that the equipment all fits together to create a larger and more powerful version of the freeze gun, and that the final component is only made by a single GothCorp manufacturing plant.

That night, the thieves strike and Batman intercepts them, learning that the thieves are led by a man calling himself Mr Freeze, and it is Freeze who uses the cold gun in committing the robberies. Batman’s efforts to stop the theft fail, and when Freeze leaves one of his men behind who was hit by the freeze gun, Batman takes him back to the batcave to thaw him out. At the same time, the dark knight begins to demonstrate that he has picked up a cold.

Batman meets with GothCorp CEO Ferris Boyle the following day in his Bruce Wayne identity to try and find out why the company has been targeted. Boyle claims the only person who would hate GothCorp so much died in an explosion when he was fired over an unauthorised experiment. Batman suspects a cover-up and returns to GothCorp that night to investigate. He finds a video tape showing that GothCorp scientist Victor Fries developed a form of cryogenics technology with GothCorp resources to save the life of his ailing wife Nora. When Boyle tried to end the experiment, Fries fought for his wife’s life, resulting in Boyle kicking Fries into vials of coolant. At that point Mr Freeze, who is in fact Victor Fries, enters and fires at Batman with his freeze gun.

Back at Mr Freeze’s hideout, Batman deduces the suit Freeze wears is a result of the coolant altering his biology. Freeze confirms he is no longer able to live outside of a sub-zero environment, compelling him to lash out at Boyle for the change. Freeze leaves with his men and the freezing canon, as well as Batman’s utility belt. However, the caped crusader is able to free himself and pursues Freeze to a building where Boyle is being given an award for being the “humanitarian industrialist of the year”. When Batman attacks and retrieves his utility belt, Freeze opts to enter and confront Boyle directly.

Inside, Freeze reveals his true identity to Boyle as he freezes him up to his waist, but Batman intervenes before he can complete his revenge. The suit that keeps Freeze cool also triples his strength, making direct combat useless, but Batman is able to stop him by cracking a thermos of chicken soup (given to him earlier by Alfred) against Freeze’s glass helmet. Batman gives a tape showing Boyle’s actions to the press and sarcastically bids the half-frozen CEO good night. Later, Freeze is incarcerated in a specially chilled jail cell.

Review:

This episode is another example of how much of an impact this series had on the Batman’s comic books and other mediums. Before this, Mr Freeze was apparently a minor rogue, simply being a guy with a freezing gun that would have been not much different from the Flash’s long-time enemy Captain Cold. The tragic backstory and Freeze’s need to remain in a sub-zero environment were created for this episode, and as a result the Mr Freeze the fans of today know and love now exist. Sadly, Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin film never did the whole thing justice, meaning that live-action film audiences who have never seen this episode or read any comics related to Mr Freeze from after this episode have never been given this character as he should be seen.

The episode also features what was technically the first voice role in the series for Mark Hamill; he provides the voice of Freeze’s target Ferris Boyle, and only gained the role of the Joker later when Tim Curry found he couldn’t do a Joker voice without straining his vocal cords. It’s weird to learn this given that three Joker stories were already produced by this point, and perhaps it was this sort of re-casting and re-recording that at least contributed to the episodes not airing in their intended order.

It’s a good story, and easily stands up as a fairly flawless example of the show’s quality. I especially like how Batman empathises with Freeze enough to leave Boyle frozen after exposing him to the press. A pity more unethical people in power never receive similar comeuppance. Another top scorer, 10 out of 10 for this episode.

Episode 15: The Cat and The Claw (Part 1)

Plot (as given by me):

Batman investigates a cat burglar and discovers it to be a woman; more specifically, Catwoman. Catwoman uses a trained cat named Isis to assist her in her burglaries, and upon meeting Batman, she battles and attempts to flee him while also flirting with him. There is a moment where her escape is almost ruined by the near-running over of Isis, but Batman saves the cat before losing both the cat and her owner.

Later, Bruce Wayne attends a charity auction in aid of an animal charity, where the featured lot is a date with him. The bidding initially only reaches the low thousands before wealthy animal rights activist Selina Kyle bids $10,000 for the date. Bruce is immediately attracted to Selina and insists on honouring the date, despite Selina’s protestation that she only made the bid to help the animals and has no real interest in a date. Gunfire is then heard from outside, prompting Bruce to leave so he can act as Batman.

The gunfire turns out to be a group of terrorists trying to steal a truck of US army weaponry, but Batman manages to interfere and foil the theft. Commissioner Gordon explains that a mysterious terrorist leader known only as Red Claw is in Gotham, and Batman promises to investigate. The next day, Bruce turns up for his date with Selina, but beforehand Selina confesses to her secretary Maven that she is more interested in Batman. The date is prematurely spoilt, however, when Selina learns that some land she was trying to acquire for a mountain lion reserve has been nabbed by a business cartel, Multigon International.

Bruce uses his influence to arrange for Selina to meet Stern, the chairman of Multigon, who claims they’ll be developing the land into a luxury resort. Selina is unconvinced and tells Stern she will have every environmental group putting Multigon under a microscope. Unknown to Selina, Stern and Multigon are in league with Red Claw, who orders Selina monitored so she can’t jeopardise their plans. That night, Batman grills the local mobs for intel on Red Claw, while Selina returns to Multigon in her alternate identity as Catwoman.

Catwoman and Isis manage to gain information on Multigon’s real plans, unaware that Red Claw and her men are on the premises and planning the theft of a virus from a military transport train. When Catwoman trips an alarm, Red Claw’s men try to capture her. She almost makes a clean getaway, but Red Claw foils this by firing explosive ordnance at a ledge she is clinging to. Batman manages to save Catwoman, only for her to then escape him. She returns home with Isis and reports her success to Maven, unaware that one of Red Claw’s men has followed her and seen her unmask.

Review:

As the show’s introduction to Catwoman, I’ve often felt this episode and its part 2 follow-up had one major flaw; the inclusion of another villain. Much as it’s cool to have Kate Mulgrew of Star Trek: Voyager fame voicing the TV show original villainess Red Claw, I think Catwoman should have been a featured solo villain rather just being the top-billed villain out of two. After all, she doesn’t need an additional antagonist to tip her into villainy like Two-Face did, and she’s certainly the most well-known and high-profile of Batman’s female adversaries to the general public, especially in the early 90’s. As with this show’s initial version of the Penguin, animated series Catwoman is based on the Michelle Pfieffer Selina Kyle in a grey catsuit.

The Pfieffer influence on this character is less of an issue than styling the Penguin after the one played by Danny DeVito, since it only boils down to a hair colour and not a physical deformity. However, that’s about where the influence ends, as this version isn’t just a pure cat-burglar, nor is she seeking revenge as I understand the Pfieffer version did. Instead, we’ve ended up with someone who is to cats, and to a lesser extent other wildlife, what Poison Ivy is to the plant world. In other words, an eco-warrior, albeit one that commits theft to finance activism where Ivy is more about direct eco-terrorism in most cases. On the one hand it keeps the character unique from past versions of Catwoman, but it also detracts from the simple uniqueness of her being a thief where most of Batman’s other adversaries are either criminally insane or part of organised crime.

Overall, part 1 is ok, but I feel like they should have been split into different stories so a simpler version of Catowman could have commanded the spotlight in her series intro. For me, this episode only warrants 7 out of 10.

Episode 16: The Cat and the Claw (part 2)

Plot (as given by me):

The mob boss leaned on by Batman in part 1 informs him of an impending train heist being made by someone outside the local criminal underworld. With nothing on the public schedules and no last-minute changes communicated to Commissioner Gordon, he and Batman deduce the train must be a classified military one. The train is soon raided by Red Claw and her men; they manage to secure the canister of virus before Batman can intervene, and he is forced to let them go in order to avoid them unleashing the virus.

The next day, Bruce tries to take Selina out for their re-arranged date, but they are pursued by Red Claw’s men, who try to run the couple off the road. Bruce manages to defeat the thugs by executing a series of evasive driving manoeuvres and then running them off a bridge by playing chicken. He urges Selina to let him help, having deduced the men were after her and revealing he truly cares for her. However, Selina insists she can take care of herself. Later, back at the Batcave, Batman struggles to work out why Red Claw’s men would target Selina until Alfred finds a cat hair on Bruce Wayne’s suit jacket. The colour is unique and matches cat hairs left by Catwoman’s cat Isis, causing Batman to realise Selina is Catwoman.

That night, Batman rescues Maven from one of Red Claw’s men and asks her where Selina is. Maven reveals that Selina has gone to the Multigon site on the land she’d wanted for the mountain lion refuge. Maven also reveals to Batman that Selina loves him, but if this has any impact on him, he doesn’t show it. At the site, Catwoman is caught taking photos of weapons stored in an abandoned military bunker, and has to be saved by Batman, but then both are captured. Red Claw, who is in the process of holding Gotham to ransom with the virus, opts to use it to kill Batman and Catwoman as her forces evacuate, believing a placebo will have the same effect. However, the pair of them manage to escape, and Batman quickly works to set the bunker on fire to destroy the virus while Catwoman gets out.

Batman’s efforts not only destroy the bunker and the virus, but he heads a fuel truck into the side of the transport helicopter Red Claw’s men meant to use for escape. Police helicopters then arrive to arrest the men, along with Stern as well. Red Claw, rather than flee, attempts to attack Catwoman, but is instead attacked and pinned by a mountain lion. Catwoman is then able to escape, but back at her apartment, Batman reluctantly arrests her.

Review:

This episode is mostly more of the same as what part 1 gave us, but the pay-off isn’t really any better than the build-up. In fact, if anything it’s a little anti-climactic, and in large part that’s due to everything to do with Red Claw and this version of Catwoman not just being a straight-up thief. For me, I can’t really say much more and only give this part 6 out of 10.

Episode 17: See No Evil

Plot (as given by me):

A thief with a suit that makes him invisible commits numerous robberies across Gotham, using most of it to provide money for himself, but also giving some of the stolen items to a little girl called Kimmy, who believes her invisible benefactor to be her imaginary friend Mojo. One robbery occurs while Bruce Wayne is out shopping for a new watch, and he promptly intercedes as Batman. However, the invisible thief is able to get the drop on Batman and escape, and Batman begins to investigate further.

It turns out that the suit is made from a plastic that bends light instead of absorbing it when an electrical current is supplied. In the process, however, the plastic becomes toxic; the inventor has died and one of his assistants is trying to dispose of it, but some has been stolen by the other assistant, an ex-con named Lloyd Ventrix. Kimmy is Lloyd’s estranged daughter, and he is using the invisibility suit to circumvent a court order keeping him away from Kimmy and her mother. With Kimmy believing Lloyd to be Mojo, she has informed him that she and her mother will move soon, prompting Lloyd to use Kimmy’s belief to abduct her.

Batman pursues Ventrix to a nearby empty drive-in movie theatre, where Kimmy is now recoiling from her father after learning who he truly is. With Ventrix’s head visible following his reveal, Batman is able to knock him aside, enabling Kimmy to flee to her house and her mother nearby. Batman and Ventrix then engage in a protracted battle which leads them from the drive-in theatre to the Gotham rooftops. There, Batman is able to make a water tower rain down on Ventrix, rendering him visible long enough for Batman to subdue him for the police. Later, Kimmy confides in Batman that she and her mother will soon be moving, though her mother believes she has just developed another imaginary friend to replace ‘Mojo’.

Review:

This episode seems to have elements that make it a slight homage to the H.G. Wells’ story The Invisible Man, and fans of the 2020 modernised remake film of the story may be interested to note that the film’s lead actress Elisabeth Moss actually appears in as the voice of Kimmy. Personally, I know her better as Zoe Bartlett from TV drama series the West Wing, but it’s still interesting to note that she’s twice had acting roles relating to stories about invisible men. For me, though, the greater interest lies in getting to see Batman involved in what ultimately boils down to a domestic dispute that goes sideways as badly as a show like this can allow. It’s rare to see Batman, or any superhero, deal with a situation like this, and it’s a refreshing change not just in this show, but in superhero lore as a whole.

My only real complaint with this episode is that Batman never once tries to employ an alternate mode of vision to see his invisible adversary. His first confrontation with Ventrix reveals the suit’s current could be increased to produce a heating effect, suggesting the suit would emit a thermal signature. As such, infra-red lenses designed to register thermal energy instead of light energy would have been a clear and obvious solution. The fact that Batman never even tries this feels like very poor attention to detail on the part of the show’s makers. Batman is, among other things, a highly skilled tactician, and anyone deducing they’d fought an invisible thief once should surely have gone into their second bout with a better counter-measure than ‘fight across half the city and hope to luck into something like a water tower’. For me, this episode gets 7 out of 10.

Episode 18: Beware the Gray Ghost

Plot (as given by me):

A series of bombings occur across Gotham City, and Batman finds evidence that suggests the bomber is mimicking the plot of a TV show he watched as a child, ‘The Grey Ghost’. Unfortunately, the original reels of the shows were apparently destroyed in a fire years ago, so the series has never been committed to video. This prompts Batman to track down the show’s lead actor, a man named Simon Trent. Trent is out of work because his time spent playing the Grey Ghost type-cast him, and he is forced to sell off the last of his Grey Ghost memorabilia to cover his rent.

Batman uses his wealth as Bruce Wayne to return Trent’s collection to him and enlists his aid in the case. At first, Trent is reluctant, but eventually gives Batman a copy of the relevant episode, asking to be left in peace. Batman watches the episode in his civilian attire back at Wayne Manor, and learns the bombs are being hidden in remote-control toy cars. At the next bombing, the police and Batman have more success preventing major damage, but at one point the bomb cars almost kill Batman, and only Trent’s intervention in his old Grey Ghost costume saves the dark knight.

After the two costumed crime fighters evade more of the bomb cars, they head back to the Batcave to analyse one decoy car Batman managed to retrieve. Trent is shocked when he discovers the only evidence on the car leads back to himself, but then realises that Ted, the toy collector he has sold his memorabilia to, is behind the bombings. Batman confronts Ted, who reveals he is a toy addict that has had to turn to crime in order to finance his collecting. He tries to trap Batman with some of the bomb cars, but Trent then intervenes as the Gray Ghost. The ensuing confrontation results in a fire that destroys Ted’s collection, and he is soon taken into police custody.

In the aftermath, Trent’s popularity soars and his reels of the show are turned into a video release of the old Grey Ghost series. As he autographs copies of the series, he does one for Bruce Wayne, who reveals his secret identity to Trent through a call-back to something he’d said earlier as Batman.

Review:

This episode literally has one thing going for it; the worst live-action Batman actor of all time having a guest role alongside one of the best Batman actors ever (Jason O’Mara of the DC Animated Movie Universe holds joint-top spot with Kevin Conroy in my estimation at present). While I know many people love and respect West’s version of Batman, I cannot stand it. Granted, West was forced to play the character as it was at that time, which was a horrible campy parody of what Batman originally was, and later returned to when the comics code that stemmed from 1950’s McCarthyism was relaxed, and then ultimately scrapped in favour of age-based certification similar to the film and TV industry.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that West’s Batman was simply too light and silly to be a true Batman. Frankly, I see this episode less as an homage to West’s real-life story (though it does use his struggles with being type-cast as a plot point), and more as the actor’s redemption. Here, he gets to play a role in a serious version of Batman, and he actually does it very well. It’s such a shame, however, that in the end they’re just dealing with a toy collector gone mad enough for crime, yet not mad enough to really develop the full supervillain melodrama of costumes, gadgets, etc. For once, we have an adversary so underwhelming as to prove there’s such a thing as a Batman story being too grounded. For me, the episode only warrants 5 out of 10.

Episode 19: Prophecy of Doom

Plot (as given by me):

Bruce becomes concerned when fellow businessman Ethan Clark claims that psychic fortune-teller Nostromos has been saving him a fortune by steering him clear of certain disaster. Ethan’s daughter Lisa is convinced Nostromos is a con-man, and that he makes accidents happen according to his predictions just to prove them true. Bruce attends an event with Nostromos, who claims an accident will soon befall him. Shortly after he claims this, Bruce’s glass shatters seemingly of its own accord.

Suspecting the glass was broken by a device emitting high-frequency sound, Batman later identifies Nostromos as former actor and ex-con Carl Fowler. Fowler’s associate, Lucas, is a special effects man, which suggests how the con is being pulled, but not its ultimate conclusion. The next day, Lucas tries to kill Bruce Wayne in his personal elevator at Wayne Enterprises, but Bruce manages to escape as Batman. He is unable to catch Lucas, and feigns falling for the con after the near-death experience to learn the intended conclusion.

It turns out Nostromos is predicting a massive societal collapse, and is convincing his wealthy followers to stash their funds in a single combined account so it will be unaffected by the collapse. However, Nostromos can’t touch the funds without Ethan Clark’s written authorisation. Lisa also discovers the con, but is captured by Lucas before she can tell her father. Bruce realises Nostromos will somehow try to leverage Ethan into signing his consent ahead of the supposed collapse so he and Lucas can walk away with all the money.

At the observatory where Nostromos has based himself, the fake psychic convinced Ethan to sign the papers, otherwise Lisa will be killed in the giant mechanised model of the solar system suspended from the ceiling. Batman arrives just after Nostromos and Lucas have tied Ethan up, and he manages to defeat them both and save Lisa in a battle that wrecks the solar system model in the process. The two con-men are taken to jail, and as Ethan ponders how he was easily misled, Bruce quotes a Shakespearean passage about the fault lying not in the stars, but in ourselves.

Review:

This episode is quite ‘meh’ compared to others in the series. While seeing Batman bust up a con operation is a bit of something different, the sheer ridiculousness of the whole pretence makes it almost cringeworthy to watch. I’m not quite sure where this episode’s idea came from or what its purpose was, but if it was to teach audiences not to buy into such things, I think they should have toned the con down a bit. Frankly, if anyone bought into a con as badly acted and generally blatant as this one was in real life, they’d have to be way too gullible to even live, much less accumulate enough wealth to make a worthy mark. 4 out of 10 for this one.

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