Few pieces of media accurately capture the soul of the Caped Crusader than Batman: The Animated Series. the show might have been animated and featured a popular superhero, but the story, characters, and situations had more substance and complexity than any daytime drama.
As with any TV series, everybody has their favorite episode. But which episodes really show the heart and core of the bat? No doubt many of the episodes on this list have been featured elsewhere, but this is our list of episodes that defined the iconic series.
Christmas With the Joker
Our first entry on our list comes in the form of this honorable mention. The episode "Christmas with the Joker" might not have a complex storyline, heart-gripping drama, or a thrilling detective story like other episodes of the series might. But it did do something new for the time. It reinvented Batman's greatest adversary.
This episode of the first season features the debut arguably everyone's favorite Joker, Mark Hamill's interpretation. This version of the Clown Prince of Crime would go on to be a hallmark of the series and even inspire other versions. The Joker might have a variety of origins, but we're pretty fond of this one.
Legends of the Dark Knight
Season 4 of the series is where most fans are divided. Although the show adopted a more angular, pop-art-inspired look, the stories and the adventures were still the meat of the show. This episode, " Legends of the Dark Knight," not only pays homage to other interpretations of Batman but shows his effects on the citizens of Gotham.
The episode pays tribute to the original comic series by Bill Finger, introduces younger viewers to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and even makes fun of Joel Schumacher at one point. It's a fan favorite that pays accurate respect to Batman's history and impressive career.
Never Fear
Of course, we can't talk about season 4 without mentioning its most famous redesign, the Scarecrow. In the early seasons of the show, Scarecrow wasn't nearly as terrifying as he could be in the comics. "Never Fear" reworked him from the ground up gave us not only a terrifying appearance, but a chilling episode as well.
Brought to life by the Re-Animator himself, Jeffrey Combs, Scarecrow works in reverse in this episode, taking away fear instead of spreading it. To quote the man himself, you take away fear you take away control. Even Batman succumbs to his fiendish plot and almost goes off the deep end in the process. The tension is positively palpable.
The Man Who Killed Batman
We've heard of being in the right place at the right time, but no one knows that concept better than Sid "The Squid" Debris. When a geeky wannabe gangster accidentally knocks Batman over a rooftop ledge, he becomes known as "the man who killed Batman" and soon suffers the cost of fame and reputation.
Not only are rival gangs after him, but a chance encounter with the Joker is what puts this episode on our list. We're exposed to a different side of the character when he realizes just how much he needs Batman to exist. "Without Batman, crime has no punchline." just goes to show, there are two sides to every coin.
Two-Face (Parts 1 and 2)
Speaking of coins, appropriately, our next episode is a two-parter featuring a certain split personality. "Two-Face" tells the tragic saga of Gotham's White Knight, Harvey Dent. Of course, the series could have gone the vein of other Batman adaptations and just feature him as a villain of the day, but this one established Dent early on, making his fall more crushing.
Keeping with the dual theming, this episode chose us both the internal suffering of Harvey Dent, as well as the one person Batman could not save. It's an emotional experience that definitely stands out in the series.
Mad as a Hatter
DC Comics has always been an excellent source of sympathetic villains, But our heart goes out to the re-imagining of a lonely wretch name Jervis Tetch. Instead of being the campy hat-obsessed caricature he was in some of the comics, the Mad Hatter was reinvented into a brilliant scientist with a broken heart.
Looking back, this episode served as a way to show that not all villains are cut and dry. Though his Wonderland-inspired crimes earned him a deserved spot in Arkham Asylum, his motive wasn't cruel or chaotic like the Joker's would have been. At the end of the day, the Mad Hatter is a lonely man who used his technological genius for the wrong reasons.
Beware the Gray Ghost
Any fan of Batman: The Animated Series has to have a soft spot for "Beware the Gray Ghost" simply due to the fact that it features the original TV Batman playing a similar role in the animated universe. This episode not only shows us a more cheerful side to Gotham's Dark Knight but also shows us the problems of fame and stardom for a superhero actor.
Paying tribute to not only Adam West, but possibly Michael Keaton's experience playing a superhero, the episode shows us the ups and downs of a TV hero, as well as the effect he can have on an audience.
Trial
Although we were tempted to put "Almost Got 'Im" on our list, we had to go with this lovely episode featuring the best of the best of Batman's Rogues Gallery. When a cut-throat attorney with little love for Batman is kidnapped by the members of Arkham Asylum, she is forced to play defender when she and Batman are put on trial.
With Two-Face as the prosecutor, Joker as the Judge, and a hung jury loaded with the series best villains, it's a regular who's who of Batman. The episode itself also brings into question did Batman create the villains or did villainy create the Batman? It's a fascinating episode that definitely earns its spot.
Heart of Ice
Easily one of the episodes that affected the Batman mythos the most was the reinvention of Mr. Freeze. The tale of Mr. Freeze is like a tragedy straight out of Shakespeare. He's a desperate man committing acts of villainy, not because he has to, but in order to save the woman he loves.
What people sometimes forget is that Freeze is suffering, a product of an accident rather than a choice. The character with so popular in the show, the revised version even carried over into the Batman canon. Even Joel Schumacher's goofy adaptation used the version created in the show.
Mad Love
Perhaps the most iconic addition to the Batman mythos from the animated series has to be the introduction of Harley Quinn. Not only did she evolve from Joker's ditzy sidekick into a thoroughly thought-out character, but one of her most famous episodes shed light on abusive relationships in a whole new way.
"Mad Love" gives us an inside view of Joker and Harley's relationship. Though the pair of them are often the source of the show's signature dark humor, behind closed doors they have a much more tragic dynamic. We won't spoil the ending, but the final frame perfectly sums it up in one heartbreaking image.