Batman The Animated Series - Television Tropes & Idioms

alt title(s): The New Batman Adventures

"I am vengeance. I am the night. I... am... BATMAN!"

Format(s):	Dramatic Half Hour,
Genre(s):	Animated Series

This series, debuting in 1992 in the Fox children's block, restored the original vision for the character. It drew heavily from Frank Miller's 1986 graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns and the live-action films directed by Tim Burton (although some of the latter's baggage, such as the mutated version of the Penguin, caused them some problems). The somewhat minimalist look of the show was largely influenced by the 1940s Superman Cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios, with character designs resembling those of Jack Kirby and Alex Toth. The resulting product, revolutionary for its time, was dubbed "dark deco", and came from co-producer Eric Radomski's standing order to the animators that all backgrounds be drawn with light colors on black paper(instead of dark colors on white paper, as is the industry standard) to ensure that the artwork stayed as dark as possible.

BTAS 's brief venture into primetime showed off its well-known edgier themes, pushing the limits of what had been acceptable in Western animation (notably, sparse application of The Hit Flash, and overt use of realistic—if unlikely—guns, rather than dubious stand-ins).

Most of the episodes took place entirely in Gotham City, although Batman and Robin occasionally ventured to other cities and even other countries. Besides the familiar villains, this series introduced the likes of Harley Quinn and Ra's al-Ghul to the television audience. (The former was created whole-cloth for the show, but proved to be so popular she made her way to the comics.) The series also marked the first major exposure of major Bat-Villain Two-Face outside the comics, while its revised origin for Mr. Freeze became the definitive version of that story and was also worked into the comics.

The original show aired from 1992 to 1995 on FOX. It was later ReTooled for The WB into The New Batman Adventures (also known as Batman: Gotham Knights) in 1997. They streamlined the character designs to better match the Superman The Animated Series designs that were produced in between, which allowed for the inevitable Crossovers between DC's two most famous superheroes. Notably, the new designs restored the Penguin to the comics version and made Scarecrow scary. However, other designs, like Two-Face, the Joker, the Mad Hatter, and especially the Riddler, were less effective. (Tellingly, the Joker's design was actually changed again in later series, to one closer to his old look.) The WB's broadcast standards were more relaxed than FOX's, which allowed for more action and violence than before, but most consider the stories to have slipped in return. The status quo was very close to the comics of the time, with Batman partnered by a younger Robin named Tim Drake (although his origin was taken from a different source) with original Robin Dick Grayson carrying on as the grown-up hero Nightwing due to a falling out ocurring during the interim between the two series and was later explained in a flashback episode.

Head producer Bruce Timm — who also took on other roles — carried his design style over into other shows, to make up a complete canon known as the DCAU. Sometimes it is referred to as the "Timmverse" or the easier-to-say "Diniverse", after the main writer Paul Dini. Batman Beyond was a distant future sequel series, while there were some crossover episodes with Superman The Animated Series later in its run (made possible by the character redesigns). Justice League ended up concluding the DCAU, with Batman as a major character throughout. Despite this decade-plus legacy, however, BTAS is often cited as the best of the lot.

It has been said that Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman, could also have played the hero convincingly in live action. Conroy has played Batman longer than any other actor, with hundreds of episodes under his belt in this continuity as well as other animated incarnations of the character (and in many fans own heads as they read comics). As well, Mark Hamill brought a fiendish glee to The Joker's voice acting, which has proved influential on every rendition of him since.

To many people this is considered the definitive version of the Dark Knight and one which to compare to all future adaptations, having set the bar so high.

This show now has a Best Episode Crowner

This series provides examples of:

Action Series
Adam Westing - The star of the '60s series appears as a washed-up actor who played "The Gray Ghost", a fictional superhero whom Bruce Wayne idolized as a child. Appropriately enough for this series, the dramatic variant of the usual Adam-West-as-himself gag just works, though this rendition is a more sincere experience for West and fans.
Adaptation Distillation - The episodic nature replicated the feel of the comics, and the various characters were streamlined into their most efficient archetype.
All Just A Dream - "Perchance to Dream", "Over The Edge"
All There In The Manual - In the redrawing of character designs during the revamp between Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Commissioner Gordon received a newer, much thinner appearance. Fans complained heavily about the new look, saying it made Gordon look sick, and DVD commentary from the producers reveals that this is what they thought as well. The theory they had was that, some time between the two series, Gordon had some debilitating disease (Pancreatic cancer was named as one potential candidate) that resulted in his current, gaunt look.
Ancient Grome: At the end of the episode "Fire from Olympus", Maxie Zeus identifies Two-Face as Janus, a Roman god, despite imagining himself to be a modern incarnation of a Greek god.
Animated Adaptation
Animation Bump - "Robins Reckoning" is cited as having the best animation of any episode, "Cat Scratch Fever" ended with its animation company being fired. Most episodes with Clayface are also high-end quality.
Animesque - Japanese Animation is cited as one of the stylistic inspirations of this series, and point in fact it is animated by Sunrise Studio of the Gundam franchise fame.
Anti Villain - Mr Freeze. His re-imagining from a one-note gimmick villain was so acclaimed that his new, tragic backstory was incorporated into the DCU canon—as well as a live-action film ...
- The Mad Hatter. He starts off sympathetic when he's introduced, but as the episode goes on he gets increasingly creepy until he reaches the Moral Event Horizon. He's just a common criminal in his future appearances.
- Two-Face. Harvey Dent is sterling D.A. with the best of intentions to clean up Gotham, but struggles with disassociative identity disorder. A brutal combination of stress, mob blackmail, industrial accident and betrayal by his well-meaning fiancée turn him into a monster, but he's never seen to pass the Moral Event Horizon and repeated attempts are made to rehabilitate him. Two-Face does somewhat cross the Horizon in a DCAU tie-in comic book storyline (Batman and Robin Adventures #1-2, to be exact), where he permanently drives away his fiancée when he suspects her of cheating on him with Bruce Wayne. Of course, it was The Joker who had convinced Harvey of this in the first place For The Evulz.
- Poison Ivy. Seeing as how all legitimate attempts to save the environment on her part failed, she turns to a life a crime. Although she is genocidal, in her mind she is doing the right thing.
- Then we have little Mary Dahl, a 30-something actress who is trapped in the body of a 5-year-old due to a rare genetic defect. After failing to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress as Mac Beth's wife in the stage play, she reverts to her TV persona, going so far as to kidnap her old cast mates to recreate a birthday party episode "ruined" by Cousin Oliver (according to script, of course). Seems standard fare... but then they hit the hall of mirrors when she tries to escape from Batman. A bit of mind breakage is kind of expected, in a situation like that.
- Catwoman
- Clayface
Anvilicious - In the "Feat Of Clay" two-parter, Hagen's dependency on the RenuYu cream is a very obvious metaphor for a drug addiction.
- Was it even a metaphor? I mean, Renu-Yu was clearly a drug, and several characters explicitly stated that it was addictive, so...
- Your Mileage May Vary, as the episode isn't as heavy handed about it as most Anvilicious examples.
- Yeah, one can easily take Hagen's position as being a vain man being in a desperate situation (disfigured actor who needs to look good so he can still act).
Art Evolution - The change was a double-edged sword, being easier to animate on the one hand but with some character designs noticeably suffering on the other. Almost universally agreed is that the Scarecrow's original design was kind of generic but the redesigned version was straight out Nightmare Fuel.
Artistic License - The world of Batman is, as admitted by the creators, illogical and contradictory; technology from different eras (And many technologies that never existed at all) exist side-by-side and without comment. The creators admit in DVD commentaries and interviews that the contradictions were deliberate in order to create a specific and unique atmosphere for the series, even if practical considerations would normally make them ridiculous (Police blimps were specifically mentioned in the audio commentary for On Leather Wings, the first episode of the series).
Ascended Meme - The Joker sings the "Jingle Bells/Batman smells" song in the Christmas Episode.
A Team Firing - While guns are frequently used by standard mobsters and criminals, they rarely (If ever) even wound characters. Especially egregious in P.O.V. which is otherwise one of the best episodes of the series, where a henchman of the unnamed crime boss fires a Thompson sub-machine gun at Batman and Renee Montoya. He does not just miss, he tracks the bullets towards them in a straight line and then actually swings the gun upwards before he hits them, so he winds up firing over their heads.
- Truthin Television as submachine guns are notorious for jerking up and to one side or the other due to recoil while firing sustained bursts.
Auction
Auction Of Evil - Twice. In "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" (for Batman's secret identity) and "Harlequinade" (for an atomic bomb).
Author Appeal: The Harley/Ivy Ho Yay. Even That Other Wiki notes it. The Powers That Be also claim Paul Dini had a crush on Zatanna.
- Had a crush on Zatanna? Have you seen Dini's wife, magician Misty Lee? For all purposes he MARRIED Zatanna!
Awesomeness By Analysis
Badass Longcoat
Bad Future - In Over the Edge we see just how far Commissioner Gordon would go for revenge if Barbara was ever killed in the line of Bat-duty. It is not pretty.
Bad Guy Bar
Bandaged Face: Harvey Dent's is probably the best-known, but the villain of "Mean Seasons" had one as well
Batman In My Basement - Trope Namer
Battle Butler - both Alfred and Harley Quinn
Bechdel Test
Nostalgia Chick: In all of Super Herodom, there aren't a lot of franchises with more than one, if any, interesting and complex female characters. Batman is one of these series.
Between My Legs - in "Mad Love"
Bound And Gagged - A fair number of episodes had this happening to one character or another. Besides the below-mentioned Catwoman in "Almost Got 'Im", there are the three fashion executives in "Mean Seasons", Leslie Tompkins in "Appointment in Crime Alley", Mayor Hill in "The Clock King", Batman himself in multiple episodes (Including twice in "Almost Got 'Im")...
Brainwashed - Several villains use this trope on the heroes but the most noticeable villain to use it would be The Mad Hatter.
Brainwashed And Crazy - Most of the Mad Hatter's brainwashed victims end up becoming this.
Break The Cutie - A small example. In Harley's Holiday, Harley ends up going batshit after trying to give up her life of crime.
- Even before that, her backstory has her as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, assigned to help the Joker become sane. He ends up making her fall in love with him and become as insane as he is.
- And don't forget the Joker's reaction when he finds out that she captured Batman instead of him: he punches her and throws her out of a third story window. Awful enough - and then the prone, injured Harley whispers:
  "My fault ... I didn't get the joke ..."
- In "Growing Pains," happens to Tim Drake after Clayface absorbs Annie, causing Tim to brutally attack Clayface.
Bunny Ears Lawyer - This Batman partially avoids the traditional Rich Idiot With No Day Job portrayal by acting like one of these. He's the head of the Wayne Enterprises and a very shrewd tycoon... with quite the social life.
- He still leaves the day-to-day running of the company to others, however, but you get the sense that this Bruce Wayne at least knows where his office *is*, even if he's wearing a horribly ugly brown suit while he's in it most of the time.
  - And he's involved enough to order an operation that would result in logging part of the rainforest be shut down, no matter the cost.
- And it was shown that nearly all business dealings he gets involved with have some sort of philanthropical purpose behind it. Even once as Batman he accepted the offer to pick up a charity check from a famous athlete, although notably curt about it.
- Interestingly, Batman's other identity of Bruce Wayne is rarely showcased. When Bruce Wayne features extensively in an episode, you can be pretty sure it's some sort of All A Dream episode.
Canon Foreigner - Summer Gleeson, Roland Daggett, Red Claw, Calendar Girl, Baby Doll, H.A.R.D.A.C.
Canon Immigrant - Many, many characters and origins:
- Harley Quinn is the most popular of the immigrants (Check out the Canon Immigrant article, she is literally the poster girl) and has starred in her own comic series and guest-starred in several currently-ongoing series, serving as the Joker's henchwoman and as a villain (And sometimes hero) in her own right. The partnership/friendship/something more relationship between her and Poison Ivy has likewise been adapted into the comics, and as of December, 2009 the two are co-starring (Along with Catwoman) in Gotham City Sirens.
- Detective Renee Montoya is an interesting conundrum; though created for the show, because it took so long to produce the episodes she actually appeared in the comics first. She guest-starred in numerous Bat-Family titles until the launch of Gotham Central, in which she was one of the primary characters. During the events of Fifty Two she apprenticed with The Question, and took the title herself after his death.
- Lock-Up and Roxy Rocket are more minor immigrants. Lock-Up has a similar origin and motive, but appears infrequently, and Roxy Rocket has only had one or two appearances since her first adventure.
- Mr. Freeze was already a character in The DCU, and had already been adapted into other media (Notably the 1960's Adam West live-action Batman series), but lacked any motive or rationale for his cold-themed villainy; he was simply a villain with a gimmick. The creation of his tragic history, medical condition and villainous motives in this series was adapted into the comics continuity as his origin.
- The current version of the Clock King.
Catapult Nightmare - multiple episodes, but notably in both parts of the two-parter "Two-Face"
Cat Scare - "The Forgotten"
Cement Shoes - "Two-Face": a mobster being bothered by crusading DA Harvey Dent considers "fitting him for a cement overcoat"
Chronic Villainy - The Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face and Baby Doll. They all make an honest effort to go straight, they all try, but because of circumstances beyond their control, or their own innate flaws, it just never sticks. No matter how often they decide that this time they are really going to stay out of Arkham, they can just never catch a break.
Classy Catburglar: Who else but the real deal?
Clingy Jealous Girl - Baby Doll, for Killer Croc.
- Also Harley, eventually. If anyone interests Joker more than she does, she gets homicidal tendencies.
Clock King - Didn't invent the trope, but certainly named it.
Coat Hat Mask - the Gray Ghost
Code Red: In Harley's Holiday.
Complete Monster - The Joker is easily the biggest one here.
- Ferris Boyle
- The Sewer King
Composite Character - Clayface is a combo of the first three people to assume the name. He's an actor like the original Basil Karlo version, has the name and powers of Matt Hagen, and was disfigured like Preston Payne.
Conveyor Belt O Doom - "Almost Got 'Im", which includes a wonderful variety of Doomy Dooms Of Doom
Cool Car - The Batmobile
Cool Bike - Robin used one of these from time to time
Cool Garage - The Batcave
Corrupt Corporate Executive - While not nearly as diabolical as Lex Luthor or Derek Powers in later series: Roland Daggett, Mr. Boyle from "Heart of Ice" and Dan Mockridge from "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" still fit the character type. Plus, "Deep Freeze" features Walt Disney's... eccentricities... taken to their fearful logical conclusions.
Crashing Dreams - "Two-Face"
Creepy Monotone - both Batman and Mr. Freeze put this to good use.
Crowning Moment Of Awesome - In Two-Face, Pt. 1, Harvey is being blackmailed by Rupert Thorne, who's enjoying every second of watching the DA that's gunning for him squirm. A close-up of his face shows Harvey near a psychotic break, then... he calmly gets up, entering this exchange.
Harvey: There's just one problem.
Rupert: Oh yea? What's that?
Big Bad Harv: You're talking to the wrong Harvey. *Cue tossed mob boss*
Crowning Music Of Awesome - In many, many ways. The show introduction is famous for the music as much as for its almost-a-storyboard art style. The second intro is less well-known, but also features some epic music. And most villains have their own (often awesome) leitmotifs.
- BTAS had a unique soundtrack for every episode, a feature that might never happen again.
- To this day, most people will cite a remix of the theme showing up in other works as Crowning Music Of Awesome. The show did this itself a few times, with the most memorable probably being the organ version of it from The Man Who Killed Batman.
Cue Cullen - Both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill became so well-known for their roles as Batman and the Joker that any future Batman-based adaptation using their talents are applauded at least for that decision; Kevin Conroy in Batman: Gotham Knights and both of them in Batman Arkham Asylum. In fact, when the latter was being developed, years after BTAS and the DCAU had been finished, Hamill was still the first choice to voice the Joker by the developers. He said he was delighted to reprise the role.
Cut Lex Luthor A Check: Discussed by the creators during the DVD commentary of Critters. The episode does explain why Farmer Brown can not make money with his actual discoveries (Court orders and lawsuits shut him down), but he has obviously found some way of getting rich given the technology and equipment he employs. The weapons and tools he uses during the episode must have cost millions, and the producers themselves did not understand why Farmer Brown would be demanding payment from the city, since he obviously already has cash. Revenge makes perfect sense, but extortion does not, and they offered no explanation.
Dating Catwoman - Obviously.
Deadline News - A non-lethal example, involving the Joker and laughing gas
Deadpan Snarker - Sometimes Batman and Robin took turns in this role, but usually Alfred had at least one sarcastic remark per episode.
Demoted To Extra - The Riddler, sadly.
Destined Bystander - Harvey Dent appears twice as a heroic character before becoming Two Face.
Disnot: Grant Walker. A pioneer on animatronics and amusement parks owner, his design of an underwater utopia with no crime is loosely based on the original concept for Epcot Center. He also wants to be frozen like Mr. Freeze, a clear gag on the urban legend that Walt Disney is in cryogenic storage.
- An underwater utopia, you say?
Doesnt Like Guns - Is a plot point in several episodes.
The Dragon: As usual, the only way some of Batman's enemies can hope to fight him is by keeping one around. Specific examples include Ubu to Ra's al Ghul, Madam to Baby Dahl, and Rhino to the Ventriloquist/Scarface
Dungeon Bypass - The Riddler's maze in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"
Easy Amnesia - "The Forgotten"
Episode Title Card - Every episode save two in the first three seasons: "The Laughing Fish" and "The Demon's Quest," plus one from The New Batman Adventures, "Joker's Millions." Even more impressive than the title cards, every episode has its own theme song, save The Laughing Fish.
Exact Words - In "Harley and Ivy" Ivy announces "no man will take us prisoner", enter stage right Renee Montoya.
Executive Meddling - It has the normal amount, but one episode was actually improved because of it. Dick Grayson's parents falling from the trapeze showed his parents swinging off screen, with a frayed rope swinging back in and everyone gasping in shock. If they showed any more it would not have been as effective.
- Ironically Robin (Dick Grayson) is also the cause of another more prominent executive meddling case. It was the executives that wanted Robin to appear more in the series hence why he is in virtually every episode of the second season.
  - This isn't exactly a bad thing either as he fills the role of Deadpan Snarker quite nicely and hangs lampshades on Batman's increasingly obsessive behavior, which is part of the reason why he leaves and becomes Nightwing in The New Batman Adventures.
Expressive Hair - Harley's "hat"
Expressive Mask
Evil Is Stylish - The Joker, the Riddler, and most of his Rogues Gallery
Evil Laugh - Mark Hamill as The Joker pretty much refined this into an art.
- They talked about the art in an interview for the DVD.
Fainting - in "Two-Face", Harvey Dent's fiancée faints when she sees Two-Face's face for the first time
- in "Feat of Clay", a baddie faints while being questioned by Batman. Considering Batman's terrifying interrogation technique, it's not surprising.
Falling Chandelier Of Doom - in "Two-Face", stray machine-gun fire during the show-down between Two-Face and mob boss Rupert Thorne severs the rope of a chandelier, and it falls on Thorne. Sadly, it's quite a small chandelier, and he survives.
Family Unfriendly Violence - The makers have stated that since they couldn't show a character getting killed, they took revenge by demolishing The Ventriloquist's puppet, Scarface, in ever-more-gruesome ways, ultimately having him be ground up in a ceiling fan.
Fashion Show
Femme Fatale
Fiction 500
Film Noir - To date, possibly the best example in Western animation. Or animation period, really.
Flashback
Foe Yay - Let's just say Harley has good reason to blame Batman for stealing all her Pudd'n's attention.
Form Fitting Wardrobe - Not really the costumes, save for Ivy's and Harley's. Plus the shirts they wear when not in costume.
Freak Lab Accident - The Joker, Two-Face and Mr. Freeze all feature this in their origin.
Freeze Ray - Mr. Freeze
Fridge Brilliance - The "Sewer King" episode fits a whole lot more considering Batman's backstory (tragedy as a kid, kids being used as slaves etc.).
- In the episode "Two-Face" it's revealed that Harvey Dent has Dissociative Identity Disorder. The personality 'Big Bad Harve' was created because of all the anger Harvey bottled up inside as a kid, starting when he unintentionally put another boy in the hospital. A person develops DID when they are severely abused as a child, which is the canon explanation in the comics, but would explain a lot here, too.
- As mentioned earlier, Adam West's performance as the Gray Ghost, due to a line where Batman reveals his Batcave is based off of the old Gray Ghost TV show, basically stating that, without that old TV show, this Batman would not exist.
Genki Girl - Harley Quinn
Getting Crap Past The Radar - The Joker on Harley and Ivy teaming up: "You're busy little ~~beavers~~ bees, aren't you?"
- Not to mention Harley's anniversary present in "Beware The Creeper" (Starts at 2:14, mildly NSFW).
  - Especially considering it hints at bestiality not once but twice.
  - What was more surprising was one of the hidden bits of innuendo - namely, Harley kicking the cherry on the pie to the Joker, effectively giving him her cherry.
- Harley does this a lot. In "The Man Who Killed Batman," she says to Detective Bullock that she once served him a subpoena. Then, after a pause, she turns and says, "It was a small subpoena."
- Near the end of her debut episode, Roxy Rocket seems rather...pleased to be riding a rocket.
- The episode mentioned in the trope right under this features Supergirl, who flies around in a miniskirt. The inherent problem with such an act can be viewed in this scene.◊
Girl's Night Out Episode: Trope Namer, featuring Batgirl and Supergirl going up against Livewire, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.
Girlish Pigtails: A villainous example in Harley Quinn.
Grappling Hook Pistol
Growing The Beard - While it started off very high quality, early episodes were more action-adventure oriented then the plot oriented nature the series became famous for. "Heart of Ice" was the first dynamite episode and you can see how popular it is on this very page.
- "Two-Face," parts I and II, before "Heart of Ice" in production order, also has a profoundly grown beard.
Grudging Thank You
Heel Face Turn - Usually when a villain does this it is either temporary or a fake. However, Catwoman's is particularly notable in that happens in her second appearance and she remains genuinely reformed for a majority of the first series until she reverts to thievery in her last two appearances in the original series. The comics based on the series also particularly have the Riddler.
Hey Its That Voice - Mark Hamill played a one-shot Corrupt Corporate Executive "Mr. Boyle" in the episode "Heart of Ice" before being cast in his now-famous role as the Joker.
- Michael Ironside, now better known as Sam Fisher, and who would later appear in the DCAU as Darkseid, made a one-shot appearance as Frank Miller's Batman of "The Dark Knight Returns" in the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight". In that same episode, Mithos Yggdrasill voices Robin in the Adam West style subplot from that same episode, which becomes Hilarious In Hindsight when Scott "Lloyd Irving" Menville would come to voice Robin on Teen Titans.
- Richard Moll, more well-known as Bull from Night Court, provided both the normal and gravelly voices for Harvey Dent/Two-Face.
- George Dzundza, known to Law And Order fans as Max Greevey, voiced Scarface and in the Sub Zero movie, Gregory Belson. He also voiced the Ventriloquist (Scarface's main personality) and in the episode The Laughing Fish, G. Carl Francis. And these weren't his only roles in the DCAU as Perry White proves.
- Ron Perlman is Clayface.
Hollywood Homely: Page Monroe, a former supermodel-turned villain who was fired for being this trope. When unmasked she's still actually quite attractive though she considers herself ugly, which Batman states is because she can only see her imperfections.
- This is also a case of Actor Allusion as Page Monroe was voiced by Sela Ward, who was famous for having been dumped as a model in favor of younger women.
Homage - In "Mudslide," Clayface's accomplice's first name is revealed when he shouts... "STELLAAAAAAA!"
- Bonus points for Clayface being a former actor.
  - Fictional example, Batman based the layout of the Batcave on his superhero idol "The Gray Ghost".
The Hyena - The Joker, as brilliantly played by Mark Hamill
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy
Impossibly Cool Clothes
Incredibly Obvious Bug - Batman's standard tracking device, seen in multiple episodes, beeps and flashes. And it's shaped like a bat.
Informed Ability: Apparently, Lock-Up is such a horrific guard that he has driven even the already-insane inmates of Arkham insane, paralyzing the Scarecrow, "The God of Fear," with fear. His listed offenses, so horrible that they had to practically be pulled out of his victims were...restraining them and locking their doors? Seriously, that is the best we can do? Perhaps because they can not actually say anything worse, the supposedly extreme methods used by Lock-Up are actually standard operating procedure at most (if not all) mental institutions in real life, and have been seen in use in Arkham itself in other episodes.
- Well he did mentally abuse The Ventriloquist by hanging his puppet over a glass of termites. This may not seem like a big deal until you realize the puppet is his other personality.
Ink Suit Actor: Harley Quinn, the Joker's lovable henchwoman, was based on her voice-actress, Arleen Sorkin. The producers are apparently amazed that she still talks to them.
- Perhaps because the fans love Harley.
Ironic Echo: From the episode "Baby Doll". Baby's catch-phrase on the show (after causing some mayhem) was "I didn't mean to!", a la Bart's "I didn't do it." At the end, she's hugging Batman's leg and crying, saying simply "I didn't mean to..."
The Jailer - Lock-Up
Joker Jury - The Trope Inspirer "Trial"
Just Like Robin Hood - Catwoman, who funds animal reserves and the like.
Karma Houdini - The Riddler gets away scot-free at the end of If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
- Well the supposed "victim" was the guy who took Nigma's game designs, claimed it was his own, fired Nigma, and was basically responsible for creating Riddler in the first place. Really more of a case of Just Desserts than anything.
Knight Templar- Ra's al-Ghul lies between this and Well Intentioned Extremist
Large Ham: The Joker. so much.
"You're going to be cooked like a griiilled cheeeeese sandwich!"
- Also Firefly: "Gotham will burn tonight - but first I'll snuff you out like a candle!"
Lawful Good - Pick a not corrupt cop. Okay, so it just leaves us pretty much with Montoya, Bullock, and Gordon, but still...
- Your Mileage May Vary on Harvey Bullock; he's certainly not as Lawful Good as he wants to make himself out to be, considering in the comic we find out at first he's The Mole.
Legal Jailbait: Played for tragedy in Baby-Doll's story.
Leitmotif: Most of the villains have their own theme tune and many of the heroes as well including Batman and Batgirl.
Les Yay: Word Of God confirmed it during "Harley & Ivy".
Little Black Dress: Loads of the socialites wore them.
Love Makes You Evil: Prominent in the series, with both Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze.
Made Of Iron - the WB network's relative leniency regarding violence led to much more over-the-top action sequences in which the characters take impossible amounts of punishment.
- In "The Man Who Killed Batman", a guy was puched across the room, and his his head on the front of a desk. The desk didn't even have a dent, and the guy didn't even have a concussion.
Mad Love - Trope Namers, Harley and the Joker; briefly, Baby Doll and Killer Croc...
Meaningful Name - But then, all Batman media have meaningful villain names, even for the original ones (Harley Quinn anyone?).
Mecha Mooks - Robotic minions were thrown into the mix every once in a while, and the producers exploited this as far they could. Since the censors did not object when they destroyed robots, they would make their destruction as violent as possible.
Memetic Mutation
I am vengeance. I am the night! I! Am! BATMAN!
- Kevin Conroy tells a nice story about how he worked in a restaurant helping to feed the 9/11 cleanup volunteers. On the final night one of the other kitchen workers finally recognized his voice and started telling everyone that Batman was working in the kitchen. No one believed them until Conroy said this line through the open door, the reaction? "HOLY CRAP, IT IS BATMAN!"
Meta Casting - See Adam Westing.
Mind Control - See Brainwashed
Mind Control Device - The Mad Hatter uses various devices to control the minds of his victims.
Minion Shipping - "Harley and Ivy"
Misaimed Fandom - Though an excellent version, fans who claim that this series is the "definitive" or "true" version of Batman are misaimed, as the orginal Word Of God himself, Bob Kane, once stated that a key to Batman's success is that there is no definitive version and that he can be adapted and reinterpreted over time. Also, those who credit Bruce Timm and Paul Dini as the "heads" of the series. It was actually Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski as co-producers starting out, but Radomski became more involved with the art direction than the story writing. Alan Burnett quickly became part of the plotting team, and while later credited as a producer, Paul Dini was mainly a writer at the time.
Mooks
Monster Clown - The Joker.
Moral Dissonance: Just try not to yell at Batman in "Mudslide", when he basically kills Clayface. Okay, Clayface survives, but still, not cool, Batman. The big problem was that Clayface was commiting theft but was otherwise not hurting anyone with what he was trying to do.
- That's not strictly true. Given what Clayface had done to him in his first appearance in "Feat of Clay" and more importantly having almost suffocated him to death in "Mudslide" this troper thinks Batman is actually very lenient as he still does try to save Clayface.
Most Common Card Game
The Movie - There were several DTV films, but general consensus agrees that the theatrical film "Mask of the Phantasm" is the best—some fans considering it the best Batman film until Batman Begins came out.
Multicolored Hair - Two-Face.
Never Found The Body: Joker pulled this off often during the series.
Never Say Die - Averted, mostly. There's still the odd instance like the Riddler threatening to "destroy" someone by stabbing him through the chest with a ten-foot sword.
Nice Job Guiding Us Hero
Nightmare Fuel - Oh yeah. This is a pretty dark series. Interestingly, the Nightmare Fuel episodes also tend to be Tear Jerker episodes.
- One example: The episode "Baby Doll" revolves around a washed-up actor with a medical condition that caused her to stop growing as a young child taking revenge on her former castmates. She continually switches off between the child voice she did on the show, and her real, "adult" voice. This continues to be creepy throughout the entire show, until the climax in a hall of mirrors at a carnival, where she sees herself in a funhouse mirror, showing what she probably would have looked like without the condition as an adult. She then rages at the Dark Knight for foiling her plan, shouting "Why couldn't you just let me make-believe!?" before breaking down and crying. It perhaps goes without saying that this was a Paul Dini written episode.
- The Joker is creepy enough in the series itself, but in Mask of the Phantasm he really skips over into this. When he is captured by the Phantasm and realises she is going to kill him, Mark Hamill laughs so hard he turns the Nightmare Fuel Unleaded Up To Eleven.
- The Poison Ivy/pod babies episode. Seriously. This troper prides himself of a high tolerance to nightmare fuel, and that episode made his jaw drop.
- This troper grew up with the series. She would have been about eleven years old when the episode with the Scarecrow aired. She recently watched that episode along with a few others, and instantly remembered a scene where a man under the influence of the fear toxin looks down at his hands to see completely bare bone as a scene that had terrified and haunted her as a child.
Ninja - Kyodai Ken
Not Allowed To Grow Up - within-the-show example: Baby Doll
Not My Driver
Not So Stoic - the writers will occasionally allow Batman's grim facade to break, with great effect. Notable examples:
- Two-Face, Part 1: Upon seeing the effects of the chemical explosion on his childhood friend Harvey Dent, Batman's anguish is palpable.
- Mad Love: Batman's reaction to Harley's idea of settling down with the Joker is to start laughing. Harley rightly points out how creepy it is to hear the Batman laugh. (And it's a nice twist that it's Harley, not the Joker, who manages to wring a laugh out of Batman.)
Offhand Backhand - To the point that a mook's chances of hitting Batman actually decrease if he attacks from behind.
- Also played hilariously with the Creeper, who uses it on Joker's mooks and Batman himself.
Oh Crap - The Joker had a few moments like this, and they were especially satisfying.
One Winged Angel - The very first episode centered around the terrible transformation of Man-Bat; from there, the series never looked back.
The Other Darrin - Alfred was voiced by Clive Revill for a handful of episodes, then by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. when Revill left to fulfill a theater committment. A number of villains also were recast for the New Batman Adventures series including Scarecrow, Baby Doll, and Killer Croc. Penguin and Bane were recast in the Mystery of Batwoman film.
- Excluding Batman Beyond, Batgirl went through three actors during the course of the series—Melissa Gilbert in the early episodes, Mary Kay Bergman for her later appearances, and Tara Strong for the revamped episodes in The New Batman Adventures.
Out Of Character Moment
Papa Wolf - Batman's one principle is to never take a life. But if you dare to enslave innocent children to steal for you like The Sewer King did, you better damn well pray that he does hold onto it...
Perky Female Minion - Of course, Harley Quinn.
Pet The Dog - Catwoman is an animal rights supporter. It doesn't really make her any more sympathetic than she already was, but does fit in with the motif.
Phlebotinum Overdose - When Batman first defeated Bane, he broke the Venom pump, giving Bane a massive dose. Bane's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head before Bats managed to pull the line out.
Pragmatic Adaptation - Most famously with Mr. Freeze, who was merely a minor villain with a cold motif in the comics. This version made him into one of the most tragic villains of Western Animation.
Pretty In Mink - Quite a few of the society ladies in the background wear fur wraps.
Product Placement: Why has nobody mentioned the Warner Bros. logo on the miniature skyscraper near the end of Mask of the Phantasm?
- Not to mention the numerous episodes in which either the Joker or one of his henchman can be seen reading Tiny Toons Adventures comic books.
Promoted Fanboy: Mark Hamill was cast as his favorite character. By sheer enthusiasm. Bonus points for becoming likely the most famous portrayal of said character.
Prophetic Names - A cartoon about Batman, produced by a guy named... Bruce Timm. It's just too bad his middle name isn't Dick or Alfred.
Punch Punch Punch Uh Oh - Batman vs. Rhino (no, not that one). Also, vs. Bane.
Punny Name - Temple Fugate, the DCAU's version of Clock King is a pun on the latin phrase Tempus Fugit (Time Flies). Given his personality, it may also be a Shout Out to Temple Grandin, a famous autistic.
Put The Laughter In Slaughter - with Joker, when he is torturing, maiming, or driving someone insane. Also the Penguin's goons, after the Batmobile explodes in "The Mechanic": "B-b-b-b-bat's all, folks!"
Rare Guns - Thompsons and M1 "Grease gun" SM Gs seem to be the order of the day. 40's stasis?
Ret Canon - Again, prior to the Animated Series, Mister Freeze was a thug in a powered suit with an ice gun and actually was dead in the comics when the show first aired. The show gave Freeze a massive Tear Jerker of a tragic past which DC promptly incorporated into the comics with the result of completely revitalizing the character. Likewise, the original Clock King was simply a clock-themed crook. A new version was introduced in 2008 based off of the Temple Fugate version, sharing his name, manner of dress, and Awesomeness By Analysis.
Retro Universe: The technology is effectively that of the 1990s, but the industrial design is the Art Deco of the 1930s and 40s, and people still wear hats.
- It's shown in "Cold Comfort" that that episode is set in August of 1997, so it's basically an alternate universe to our own.
Roaring Rampage Of Revenge - Of all people, it is Commissioner Gordon who loses control in his thirst for vengeance (Or does he?) When Barbara/Batgirl is murdered he loses it, and nobody is safe. No, not even Batman.
Rocket Ride - Roxy Rocket
Rogues Gallery
Rogues Gallery Showcase ("Almost Got 'im", "Trial")
Rope Bridge - "Two-Face" (during the nightmare in part 2)
Samus Is A Girl - The Phantasm
Schizo Tech: So a lot of men wear fedoras and many women wear long skirts. The weapon of choice for the criminal is the tommy gun. TV is largely in black and white, and the cars look like they come from the 1920s or 1930s. So far, so good. Now, this same setting gives us highly sophisticated computer equipment, sentient Artificial Intelligence, machines that can read peoples' minds...and that's not even counting the stuff Batman himself has. So Yeah.
Sexy Discretion Shot: Happens, rather famously, in The Movie with Bruce and Andrea. The next morning, a Sexy Shirt Switch has occurred and...oh my. Maybe Bruce isn't such a Chaste Hero...
Shape Shifter Swan Song - Clayface
Shout Out - "Legends of the Dark Knight". Four kids share their views of the Bat. One boy says he's a metahuman with wings. Another says he's a cheery guy who calls Robin "chum". The girl retells an iconic scene from The Dark Knight Returns - with Darkseid's voice. In "Nothing to Fear" the security guard in the beginning is reading a comic book called Tiny Toon Adventures. In a later episode, Bruce is discussing a ongoing case with Barbara Gordon. When he asks, "What are you doing tonight?" she replies, "The same thing we do every night, Pinky." He doesn't get the reference.
- This video pretty much sums up how awesome the shoutouts are. Notice that these two examples encompass Shout Out, Mythology Gag, Hey Its That Voice, and Actor Allusion. Given that the video is only 4 minutes long, that's a trope density of 1 per minute!
- In the episode "Mad Love", the Joker gives a one-liner of "May the floss be with you!" as he tosses a grenade at Batman while exiting a dentist's office. Standard Joker pun, right? But, keep in mind that the voice actor was also Luke Skywalker, and it becomes a Crowning Moment Of Funny.
Sleight Of Tongue
Soft Water - used and abused with surprising frequency considering the semi-dark tone of the rest of the show, until you remember they did actually show this on Saturday mornings.
Spinning Paper - Used for the crime spree early in "Harley and Ivy"
Stalker With A Crush - The Creeper, to Harley Quinn.
Start Of Darkness - Almost all of the villains' are shown. Mister Freeze and Harley Quinn's both established the canon.
Strawman Political - Lock-Up. He even disparages the "liberal media".
Super Hero
Super Stoic Shopkeeper - when The Creeper bust into a tailor store the clerk hand-picked him a pair of undies and "complimented" his choice of boa without the slightest twitch.
Surrogate Soliloquy - The graveyard version in "Mask of the Phantasm"
Taken For Granite
Take That - In addition to its Shout Outs to the Silver Age comics and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight" is renowned for its blatant Take That against the Joel Schumacher films. A flamboyant kid named Joel, wearing a feather boa and standing in front of a Shoemaker sign, gushes over Batman's "tight rubber armor" and "flashy car" which he's heard can "drive up walls". The other kids dismiss him out of hand. It is reported, however, that Schumacher himself apparently found this scene hilarious when he saw it.
Talkative Loons - The Creeper
Team Rocket Wins
Tear Jerker - Not least because it is hard to name a character in this series who doesn't have a sad backstory. Two-Face, Clayface and in particular Mr. Freeze suffered cruel, tragic origins to name but a selected few.
- As it stands, there are perhaps 3 villains (Dr. Moreau type, Firefly - since he crossed into the Moral Event Horizon early on, and the Joker) that don't have a terribly sad backstory.
- Baby Doll: "Why couldn't you just let me make believe?"
  - The episode "Growing Pains" stands out from the New Batman Adventures.
  - Mask of the Phantasm: "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want to be alone?" "I am."
The Bad Guy Wins - Batman and Robin prevented the Riddler from killing Daniel Mockridge, but the Riddler still escaped at the end and for all intents and purposes still won when he destroyed Mockridge's peace of mind and made him live in paranoid fear of the Riddler's return.
The Stoic - The persona that Batman cultivates for himself (although see Not So Stoic, above).
Tin Man - Mr. Freeze. Despite claiming that he can no longer feel any emotion, his despair at losing his wife - and his ~~vengeful~~ cold hatred to those who took her - is demonstrable.
To The Batpole
Tough Act To Follow - The Batman endured a lot of flak in its initial seasons, largely for being (in the eyes of irate fans) the immediate cause of death—and inferior replacement—for the various DCAU Batman series. It probably didn't help that the writing early on was less-than-stellar, though it did improve over time, especially once WB just gave up and handed the reins over to Alan Burnett to reprise his BTAS showrunner role. On the other hand, Batman: The Brave and the Bold manages to largely avoid fan outrage by going in a completely different direction from BTAS.
Transformation Trauma - Clayface again, as well as a few other villains.
Tunnel Of Avoidance - Bruce pulls this on Barbara in "Mystery of The Batwoman" after she starts hinting about wanting them to go out while she is home from college.
Turn In Your Badge - "P.O.V."
Two Faced - Take a wild guess.
Unreliable Voiceover - "P.O.V." features three separate flashbacks, each narrated by a member of a sting operation that had gone horribly wrong, and each describing their experiences in the lead-up and aftermath of the sting. Officer Willkes is honest in his story, but misunderstood much of what he saw, so his description of Batman resembles a magical creature instead of a costumed crimefighter. Detective Harvey Bullock is aware of what happened, but is deliberately falsifying his statement to cover his own mistakes. Of the three, only Officer Renee Montoya tells an accurate story.
Villainous Breakdown - Riddler has one just because Batman won't tell him how he survived a seemingly perfect deathtrap.
Villain Team Up - Happens on quite a few occasions. Notable episodes include "Harley and Ivy", "Almost Got 'Im", "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne" and "The Trial"
Wall Crawl - Catwoman does it by digging in with the claws in her suit. Despite what you might think, this would actually work.
What Could Have Been - There were talks of featuring The Sandman in an episode back in '93, but the whole Vertigo/DC divide came into play and cursed it forever. Link. They also wrote a Catwoman Black Canary episode, but the network killed it because Robin wasn't prominent enough in the episode.
What Measure Is A Non Human - Ruthlessly exploited. On the commentary for Heart of Steel, Part 2 the producers explained that the censors and Bureau of Standards and Practices would not object when they harmed or destroyed robots, so not only did they use them as foes to be destroyed, but made their destruction as violent as possible.
Where Did They Get Lasers - Averted in most cases. Some supervillains, like Mr. Freeze, would carry more fantastic weaponry, but many of Batman's foes used normal firearms.
White Dwarf Starlet - Mary "Baby" Dahl. In more ways than one.
Whole Plot Reference - "Tyger, Tyger", to The Island Of Doctor Moreau. Notable for including, to much delight, Selina Kyle as a literal Catwoman◊.
Why Did It Have To Be ___? - Scarecrow is the master of using this trope.
The Woobie - Harley Quinn
- And Mr. Freeze, of course.
- And the Mad Hatter, before he crosses the Moral Event Horizon.
- Killer Croc.
- Robin managed to be this for the duration of one episode ("Fear of Victory") as he started having random, vicious panic attacks due to the Scarecrow's toxins.
  - Robin sometimes comes off worse than the most sympathetic villains, as he has the most thankless job in the universe, and eventually he gets sick of it.
- Let's not forget the Dark Knight himself.
- And then, of course, there is Barbara's teddy bear... named [[Don'tExplainTheJoke "Mr. Woobie"]]
- Baby Doll - see the Tear Jerker entry.
Zeppelins From Another World - As part and parcel of the unique society that the creators developed, the Gotham City Police Department frequently uses blimps to patrol the city and transport personnel. They were included to create an atmosphere evocative of the 1930s, even though the producers admitted that they never really existed at all, not even in the 1930s.
- An armoured example appears in Showdown. In 1883.