Recap / Batman The Brave And The Bold S 3 E 13 Mitefall

• All for Nothing: Ambush Bug manages to get Batman's attention about the changes Bat-Mite was doing and together fight back. Despite successfully returning the plot to normal, the show's executives decide it was time to end it.
• Armor-Piercing Question: "How am I gonna convince you of what's real or not when you don't even know you'd never use a gun?"
• Batman Grabs a Gun: Or rather Bat-Mite gives him two. Ambush Bug enters the show to tell him something was off, and Batman realizes he would never resort to firearms.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Bat-Mite is the biggest threat in the episode, but Batman and Aquaman are also trying to stop Gorilla Grodd (who is pretty much the only element of the episode Bat-Mite doesn't interfere with, funnily enough).
• Big Damn Reunion: The show's closing party which consists of heroes and villains alike such as Plastic Man, Booster Gold, Joker, the list goes on.
• Breakout Character: Bat-Mite describes Aquaman as such and reasons that recasting such a beloved character is sure to hurt it.
• The Cameo: The final scene is a wrap party in the Bat Cave attended by the various heroes and villains that appeared during the show's run.
• Cancellation: In-Universe. The plot involves Bat-Mite wanting to cancel The Brave and the Bold to make room for a new Batman show, and does everything to make it happen. He succeeds in the end, but at the cost of his very existence.
• Common Knowledge: In-Universe, Ted McGinley notes that despite his association with Jumping the Shark, Married... with Children was on the air for seven years after he joined.
• Cousin Oliver: Parodied. One of the first changes is Batman being a father to an overly cute daughter named Kiki. Later, he gives Ace a nephew based on Scrappy-Doo (who was in himself a genuine example of this trope).
• Darker and Edgier: Bat-Mite longs for a more serious Batman show, leading to the episode's plot. While the new show centers around Batgirl, Batman will still be involved and the atmosphere matches the mood he hoped for.
• Deadpan Snarker: After hearing Aquaman say his signature catchphrase "Outrageous!", Bat-Mite says it as well, but in a sarcastic, less enthusiastic way.
• Didn't Think This Through: After all the work Bat-Mite does to get the show cancelled, Ambush Bug reminds him that he's one of the show's fictional characters and would have no place in a Darker and Edgier production.
  Ambush Bug: You didn't just end The Brave and the Bold; you ended yourself, too. Adios, partner.
• "Everyone Comes Back" Fantasy Party Ending: The series ends with a final scene of various characters attending a wrap party as the elements of the Batcave set are packed up and hauled away.
• Graceful Loser: By helping to cancel the show, Bat-Mite learns too late that he can no longer exist, especially in the new Batman show. Despite this, he soon accepts his fate as his body slowly starts to disappear.
• Grand Finale: The final episode of the series, enforced by Bat-Mite deliberately trying to get the show cancelled.
• I Warned You: Ambush Bug tells Bat-Mite to stop interfering with the show and warns him that he is messing with forces beyond his comprehension. After the plug is pulled on The Brave and the Bold and a new, darker show is previewed, Ambush Bug appears to remind Bat-Mite that he's also a character in the show he just got cancelled and thus gonna fade away, too.
• Jumping the Shark: Bat-Mite feels that the episode "Chill of the Night" was the height of the series before going back to his campiness. He decides to weaponize this trope by introducing other tropes to drive the show to cancellation. Fittingly, Henry Winkler, who played Arthur "The Fonz/Fonzie" Fonzarelli and thus was involved in the very scene that spawned the term, appeared as Ambush Bug.
• Lampshade Hanging:
  • Bat-Mite remarks that Ambush Bug is an obscure character even for this show.
  • Ambush Bug points out Ace may be ridiculous, but he's still an accepted part of the mythos.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The entire episode revolves around Bat-Mite and Ambush Bug fighting for the show's existence, with Bat-Mite twisting the show's plot.
• Lighter and Softer: Bat-Mite notes how fans initially panicked over the show being "a lighter incarnation" before seeing that it was "a love letter to Silver Age comics." While he feels this worked for a time, he wants to get the show cancelled so that a darker Batman show will be made.
• Merchandise-Driven: Parodied. One of the ways that Bat-Mite irritates the fans is by having Batman engage in product placement ordered by toy companies' meddling. Cue Neon-talking Super-Street Bat Luge.
• Mythology Gag: Aquaman tells Batman to make use of his shark repellent.
• Non-Action Big Bad: Bat-Mite is the true villain of the episode, but he doesn't do any fighting and does his damage from behind the scenes. Instead, Gorilla Grodd and his minions provide source for the action.
• The Other Darrin: Invoked. After Batmite grows tired of hearing John DiMaggio as the voice of Aquaman, he has Ted McGinley voice Aquaman (albeit briefly)
• Puff of Logic: All of Bat-Mite's changes are undone when Batman discovers he's in a TV show and Ambush Bug reassures him that he matter to the viewers.
  • Bat-Mite learns from Ambush Bug that the new Batman show promoted will be too serious for him to exist and with The Brave and the Bold ending, he would soon cease to exist.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Lampshaded in-universe by Bat-Mite. One of the ways he commends the show is for making Aquaman cool again.
• Ret-Gone: Bat-Mite takes the role of antagonist and successfully cancels The Brave and the Bold. However, as a result, he can no longer exist.
• Self-Deprecation:
  • Ted McGinley (once dubbed as "the patron saint of Jumping the Shark") and Henry Winkler (who, as noted above, was in the very scene that gave us the term) takes part in being one of the causes of a show's downfall.
  • After Bat-Mite makes various changes, the episode cuts to a father and son watching the show. The father (voiced by series star Diedrich Bader) remarks the show has taken a nosedive this season.
• Signing-Off Catchphrase: Batman gets one last one in at the end of the episode.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Unlike the real Abraham Lincoln who did not survive, the Abraham Lincoln here survives thanks to Batman's timely arrival during John Wilkes Booth's attempt on Abraham's life.
• Special Guest: Ted McGinley As Himself playing Aquaman and Henry Winkler as Ambush Bug. Bat-Mite also notes the show has had an array of notable guest stars, such as Adam West, Neil Patrick Harris, and (really upping the fourth wall breaking) Paul Reubens.
• Studio Audience: When Batman is given a wife and daughter, we suddenly hear these reactions.
• Take That!: Ace's nephew, Punchy-Cheeks, is an obvious riff on Scrappy-Doo.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Batman questions the point of his actions since he's not actually real.
  Ambush Bug: Here's the thing, Batman: there's a lot of people out there, people who believe in you. Real or not, what you do in here matters.