History Recap / BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE22JokersFavor

* ActionSurvivor: Charlie evolves from a simple everyman to a dude capable of screwing Joker's plan over six ways to Sunday and getting him to surrender with a dud bomb and a threat to his one dream.

** Road rage is bad. Don't do it, because you never know who you'll be insulting.

** Don't always wait for someone to help you. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.

* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Charlie Collins begins as an {{Everyman}} with a touch of UngratefulBastard (at least about his day-to-day life). By the end, he becomes an ActionSurvivor with a new appreciation of his life.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The episode looks at Gotham through the eyes of average Joe. Charlie isn't a trained superhero or martial artist, and so when he enters the Joker's crosshairs, he doesn't have some fun adventure but is functionally being hunted down for sport by a deranged killer. Charlie is forced to flee Gotham for his safety, and when that doesn't work, he's forced to tough up and deal with the Joker himself... after which he immediately goes back to his mundane life.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: A non-villainous example with Charlie, who stared out as a plain old everyday man who was unlucky enough to cross paths with the Joker, but ultimately manages to terrify even him for a moment.

* HeroicBystander: Charlie becomes one twice. First, he constructs a makeshift Bat-Signal out of some items he finds in a broom closet, alerting Bruce Wayne to danger at the banquet. Then, after Joker paralyzes everyone in the Peregrinator Club, including Charlie himself, he takes it even further: when Batman enters, he ''immediately'' shouts "The commissioner's medal--it's a bomb!", allowing the Dark Knight to take care of the threat seconds before the explosive detonates. Thanks to Charlie, dozens of innocent people live.

'''Charlie:''' [[HeWhoFightsMonsters I had a good teacher!]] ''[chuckles nastily]'' [[Radio/TheBurnsAndAllenShow Say goodnight, Gracie!]]

** Charlie Collins is driving home after a miserable day at work when some jerk cuts him off on the freeway. Charlie pulls alongside the other driver, rolls down his window, and proceeds to [[GoshDangItToHeck cuss and threaten the other driver]]... until said driver turns and gives him a BIGGGG smile. Charlie's face is pretty much distilled OhCrap at that point.

* TerrorHero: Normally this is typically Batman's forte. This time, by threatening his greatest dream, '''CHARLIE SCARED THE JOKER!'''

* UglyGuyHotWife: Charlie's rather schlubby, but his wife Bonnie isn't half bad. Though considering what he did to the Joker, there might be more to him than meets the eye. Or he let himself go over the years.

* IgnoredVitalNewsReports: {{Everyman}} Charlie Collins' car radio broadcasts the last part of the bulletin announcing ''someone'' has escaped and is considered armed and dangerous. Charlie, not being a {{Superhero}}, only cares that this is aggravating the traffic jam he's in and goes in a [[RantInducingSlight Slight-Induced Rant]] [[TemptingFate on how his life sucks]]. Some minutes later, he will be [[MuggingTheMonster Mugging the Joker...]]

* MuggingTheMonster: Charlie Collins gives a RantInducingSlight to a unknown motorist... who is the Joker. Cue OhCrap.

* RantInducingSlight:
** Getting cut off on the freeway leads to a rant by Charlie, which leads to a much, much worse reaction than usual.
** Joker's reason for trying to kill everyone at the testimonial is supposedly that he wasn't invited.

** '''Batman himself'' chuckles at how Charlie terrifies the Joker into submission with a fake bomb, something that the Joker tried and failed to do for years, adding a extra layer of just how epic Charlie's BatmanGambit ended up.

** One of Joker's mooks reads a ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' comic in one scene, one of many references in the series as the two shared several writers and producers.

The episode begins with {{Everyman}} Charlie Collins driving home from his work and missing out on listening to a baseball game on the radio because of [[{{Foreshadowing}} criminal activity.]] The called-off game is just the latest bit of bad luck in a day full of indignities, and Charlie complains about his very normal, everyday problems--[[AdultFear busted after asking for a raise]], [[ParentsAsPeople his kid needs braces]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his wife Bonnie is making meatloaf for dinner]]... As if that weren't bad enough, some speeding police cars and the Batmobile chasing someone cut him off. Angered and frustrated when ''yet another'' motorist cuts him off, Charlie loses his temper and decides to pursue the other car to give the driver a piece of his mind. The resulting rant, however, is the worst thing yet--it turns out this second car is being driven by ComicBook/TheJoker, [[MuggingTheMonster who does not appreciate people yelling at him.]] Charlie desperately tries to drive away, but the Joker cuts him off at every turn and corners Charlie when he gets out of his car to run away.

** Even Batman permits himself a chuckle when Charlie terrifies the Joker into submission with a fake bomb.

* AdultFear: Leaving aside the fact that it's the Joker in all of his demented, disproportionate, overkill-prone "glory", Charlie’s plight comes down to having ticked off the wrong guy in a moment of road rage.

Charlie initially refuses, but after the Joker threatens his family, he grudgingly comes back to Gotham. His attempt to go for help is intercepted by ComicBook/HarleyQuinn to bring him back to the Joker, who tells him the favor he brought him back to do--opening the door at the Commissioner's testimonial. That's it. Charlie is understandably baffled, but knows how nuts and dangerous the Joker is and thus does not argue much. However, he does realize that there must be something much more sinister at work, and before the ceremony he gives a last ditch effort to contact Batman, jury-rigging a Batsignal that Bruce Wayne just happens to see as he is leaving the party early.

!! Tropes in this episode include:

* AndIMustScream: The Joker's gas totally paralyzes people--while it's obvious they are still conscious, which meant that Commissioner Gordon is watching as a timed bomb counts down, ''and all he can do is watch it happen.''

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: After having an absolutely awful day, Charlie just wants someone to realize that he's not a nobody--what really angers him about the motorist cutting him off on the freeway is the other person "treating him like [he] doesn't exist." He then gets his wish of being important to someone...unfortunately, that someone is the Joker.

--> '''Joker:''' I'll let you off if you promise to do a [[BlatantLies little]] favor for me.
* {{Deconstruction}}: The episode looks at Gotham through the eyes of average Joe. Charlie isn't a trained superhero or martial artist, and so when he enters the Joker's crosshairs, he doesn't have some fun adventure but is functionally being hunted down for sport by a deranged killer. Charlie is forced to flee Gotham for his safety, and when that doesn't work, he's forced to tough up and deal with the Joker himself...after which he immediately goes back to his mundane life.

* TheEveryman: Charlie, an average man who lives an average life that Joker derides as "mundane" and "meaningless." The fact that the Joker spends two years keeping track of this poor guy only to find him and sadistically hold him up to a promise later, [[ForTheEvulz even though it doesn't benefit him in the least]], only serves to show what a monster he is.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GoshDarnItToHeck: Charlie's motorway rant to the Joker, which is explicitly stated as "cussing him out," is remarkably tame: "Hey, buddy! Yeah, I'm talking to you, clown! You think you own the whole road? Why, for two cents I'd..." However, given that Joker himself is a complete psychopath, it's not surprising that he chooses to take this mild string of insults so personally.

* IgnoredVitalNewsReports: {{Everyman}} Charlie Collins' car radio broadcasts the last part of the bulletin announcing ''someone'' has escaped and is considered armed and dangerous. Charlie, not being a {{Superhero}}, only cares that this is aggravating the traffic jam he's in and goes in a [[RantInducingSlight Slight-Induced Rant]] [[TemptingFate on how his life sucks]]. Some minutes later, he will be [[MuggingTheMonster Mugging the Joker]]...

* InsaneTrollLogic: Joker's whole plan to blow up everyone at the dinner honoring Commissioner Gordon is based on this. The Clown Prince of Crime feels that ''he'' has created the most work for Gordon and the Gotham P.D., and therefore deserves the award, or at least an invitation...never mind that the "work" Joker is talking about includes mass chaos and murder. The Joker does it again later when revealing what the "favor" he wants Charlie to do is...open a door for Harley so she can wheel a cake into the banquet hall. Charlie, who's spent the last two years with the Joker breathing down his neck, is pushed into StunnedSilence at hearing the extremely insignificant request.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The Joker gets away with basically psychologically torturing Charlie for two years, [[TheWoobie scaring him enough he has to move and change his name.]] As if this weren't cruel enough, he basically just [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness leaves him to die]] after getting his favor. Eventually, Charlie corners the Joker with one of his own bombs, and implying he's [[TakingYouWithMe fine with blowing himself up as long as the Joker dies too]]. The Joker [[VillainousBreakdown completely loses it and calls out for Batman to save him]]. We then find out the bomb was a fake and the Joker is hauled off by Batman, which he probably finds especially humiliating this time as a normal person defeated a big scary villain like him.

* MyCarHatesMe: When Charlie flees from the Joker (breaking through a fence to do so), his car starts to sputter going up a steep hill. Charlie prays: "Go, go, go... come on!" [[SubvertedTrope However,]] when the radiator overheats and his car stops, Charlie simply gets out of the car and runs for it.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The main reason the Joker's plot to kill Commissioner Gordon fails is because he decides to involve Charlie Collins in the plot ForTheEvulz.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Charlie is an average man who lives an average life that the Joker derides as "mundane" and "meaningless," his only dream to be with his family--he's nothing more than a hobby for the Joker. It turns out that the Joker's dreams are pretty petty too... Charlie lampshades the fact that the only thing that brings the Joker any joy is destroying innocent lives like Charlie's.

** Charlie returns the favor by trapping the Joker in an alley with a bomb. Joker is absolutely terrified, thinking he's actually going to die, and cries out for Batman to save him. [[spoiler: Batman is actually about twenty feet away, watching the whole thing, and Charlie knows it. But Batman lets the Joker sweat for a few minutes before trying to stop it... and revealing that the bomb was a fake all along (and Collins knew it).]]

* ParanoiaFuel: An InUniverse example occurs for Charlie--after the Joker extracts the promise of "a little favor," the poor guy spends ''two years'' with the threat of the Clown Prince of Crime coming back into his life at any moment to murder not just him, but his wife and young son as well. And even after legally changing his name and moving across the country, one day Charlie picks up the phone...and the Joker is on the other end, explaining that ''he's been watching him the entire time.'' And just to twist the knife further, a few seconds later, a car pulls up with two of the Joker's goons inside, making it clear that there's no escape.

** ThePeepingTom: Charlie Collin is spied upon by the Joker for ''two years'' to ensure he will not break his [[DealWithTheDevil Deal with the Joker]].

* PerspectiveFlip: This episode tells the tale from the point of view of the {{Everyman}} citizen HoldingOutForAHero who has aroused the wrath of the SuperVillain and must become an ActionSurvivor. Indeed, Creator/BruceTimm stated that this episode, along with "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE51TheManWhoKilledBatman The Man Who Killed Batman]]," was inspired by the style of Creator/WillEisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'', in which many of the stories revolve around ordinary people and the hero is often not featured except at the beginning or the end.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Averted when a FreezeFrameBonus of Charlie Collins' driver license reads: Charlie Collins, Woodrust Drive, '''Gotham Estates, N. Y.'''. So at the very least, one of Gotham City's ''suburbs'' is in New York state.

* AdultFear: Having one bad day on the road will lead to a crazy stranger stalking you and your family for two years, not allowing you to cry for help. Charlie says as much when he explains that the Joker threatened his wife and their son.

** Charlie attempts this at the start of the episode. Big mistake.

* CallBack: Back ''to'' this episode, rather than from it. The Peregrinator's Club is later robbed by Harley and Poison Ivy in [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE56HarleyAndIvy their self-titled episode]].

** Road rage is bad. Don't do it, because you never know who you'll be [[MonsterClown insulting]].
** [[UngratefulBastard Try to appreciate]] [[TheEveryman what you may already have in life]] [[FromBadToWorse while you still can.]] [[CharacterDevelopment Maybe it's not as bad]] [[BookEnds as you think.]]
** [[HoldingOutForAHero Don't always wait for someone to help you.]] [[TheRealHeroes Sometimes]] [[BadassNormal you have to take matters]] [[ActionSurvivor into your own hands.]]

* FlawExploitation: Charlie wins his BatmanGambit by exploiting Joker's dream to kill or be killed by the Batman (TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou) and his belief that [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke everybody is only a "bad day" away from where the Joker is]], by invoking HeWhoFightsMonsters and NotSoDifferent.

* NotSoDifferent: Charlie is an average man who lives an average life that the Joker derides as "mundane" and "meaningless," his only dream to be with his family--he's nothing more than a hobby for the Joker. It turns out that the Joker's dreams are pretty petty too... Charlie lampshades the fact that the only thing that brings the Joker any joy is destroying innocent lives like Charlie's.

* FadeToBlack: The last shot of the episode is Charlie entering the shadows and vanishing into silhouette, symbolizing his return to his "mundane and meaningless little life."

The Joker is furious about "a miserable little nobody" like Charlie making demands of him, and tries browbeating him into obeying him again by threatening Charlie's family. But, driven to mad desperation by the Joker's machinations, Charlie reveals he has taken one of Joker's bombs and plans on killing them both. He says that he has truly figured the Joker out; the Joker's only real dream [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou is defeating Batman in a grand public spectacle]], or, at the very least, dying in the effort of it--Charlie gloats that he'll now make sure that dream will never come true because he will blow himself and the Joker up. His family will be safe and the Joker will only be remembered as the villain who was unceremoniously killed by "a miserable little nobody." And he hits the nail right on the head, as suddenly the disdainful and mocking Joker is reduced to gibbering, pleading, and screaming for Batman's help as Charlie menacingly advances to kill him with his own trap.

** "Home... I never thought that would sound so good. I wonder what Bonnie's making for dinner? Right now anything that tastes great. [[BookEnds Even meat loaf.]]"

** It can't get more badass than {{Everyman}} Charlie Collins actually instilling fear in ''the Joker''. He even surprises the Clown Prince at the start of his revenge by punching him in the breadbasket hard enough that it sends him reeling into a chain-link fence, unable to retaliate. Except verbally, by threatening his family - and that's when Charlie pulls out a bomb and ''really'' scares the hell out of him.

* HeroicBystander: Charlie becomes one twice. First, he constructs a makeshift Bat-Signal out of some items he finds in a broom closet, alerting Bruce Wayne to danger at the club. Then, after Joker paralyzes everyone in the Peregrinator Club, including Charlie himself, he takes it even further: when Batman enters, he ''immediately'' shouts "The commissioner's medal--it's a bomb!", allowing the Dark Knight to take care of the threat. Thanks to Charlie, dozens of innocent people live.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Joker's whole plan to blow up everyone at the dinner honoring Commissioner Gordon is based on this. The Clown Prince of Crime feels that ''he'' has created the most work for Gordon and the Gotham P.D., and therefore deserves the award, or at least an invitation...never mind that the "work" Joker is talking about includes mass chaos and murder.

''[slugs Joker in the face, knocking him to the ground]''\\

The episode begins with {{Everyman}} Charlie Collins driving home from his work and missing out on listening to a baseball game on the radio because of [[{{Foreshadowing}} criminal activity.]] The called-off game is just the latest of a day full of indignities, prompting Charlie and to complain about his very normal, everyday problems--[[AdultFear busted after asking for a raise]], [[ParentsAsPeople his kid needs braces]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his wife Bonnie is making meatloaf for dinner]]... As if that weren't bad enough, some speeding police cars and the Batmobile chasing someone cut him off. Angered and frustrated when ''yet another'' motorist cuts him off, Charlie loses his temper and decides to pursue the other car to give the driver a piece of his mind. The resulting rant, however, is the worst thing yet--it turns out this second car is being driven by ComicBook/TheJoker, [[MuggingTheMonster who does not appreciate people yelling at him.]] Charlie desperately tries to drive away, but the Joker cuts him off at every turn and corners Charlie when he gets out of his car to run away.

The episode begins with {{Everyman}} Charlie Collins driving home from a rained-out baseball game and complaining about his very normal, everyday problems--[[AdultFear busted after asking for a raise]], [[ParentsAsPeople his kid needs braces]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his wife Bonnie is making meatloaf for dinner]]... As if that weren't bad enough, some speeding police cars and the Batmobile chasing someone cut him off. Angered and frustrated when ''yet another'' motorist cuts him off, Charlie loses his temper. The resulting rant, however, is the worst thing yet--it turns out this second car is being driven by ComicBook/TheJoker, [[MuggingTheMonster who does not appreciate people yelling at him.]] Charlie desperately tries to drive away, but the Joker cuts him off at every turn and corners Charlie when he gets out of his car to run away.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The Joker gets away with basically psychologically torturing Charlie for two years, [[TheWoobie scaring him enough he has to move and change his name.]] As if this weren't cruel enough, he basically just [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness leaves him to die]] after getting his favor. Eventually, Charlie corners the Joker with one of his own bombs, and implying he's [[TakingYouWithMe fine with blowing himself up as long as the Joker dies to]]. The Joker [[VillainousBreakdown completely loses it and calls out for Batman to save him]]. We then find out the bomb was a fake and the Joker is hauled off by Batman, which he probably finds especially humiliating this time as a normal person defeated a big scary villain like him.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** Joker saying that Charlie is "ffff...ked."
** Harley posing as a police stripper.

** "Home... I never thought that would sound so good. I wonder what Bonnie's making for dinner? Right now anything that tastes great. [[BookEnds Even meat loaf.]]