Now take a seat, Pumpkin Pants
Barbara feels her father has been smothering her lately, so she convinces him to get a hobby. Unfortunately for her, he becomes the substitute science teacher.Tropes:
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: The episode begins with Gordon intruding on Babs's slumber party, turning off the movie when he finds out it's too scary. He embarrasses her even more as substitute teacher, calling her Pumpkin Pants in front of her classmates and causing a mess conducting an experiment with her.
- Chekhov's News: Just before Gordon turns off the TV, the channel changes to a report on Bane escaping from prison.
- Chekhov's Skill: The lessons learned in the school lab incident earlier are used by Gordon and Babs to subdue Bane.
- Cool Teacher: The new art teacher, who, unfortunately, turns out to be Bane.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Her dad calls her “Pumpkin Pants” in front of her chemistry class, and pretty soon the whole school (including the secretary) is calling Barbara this nickname.
- Embarrassing Old Photo: While his laptop is hooked up to a projector, Gordon accidentally shows a picture of Babs as a baby. What’s worse is that when she tries to delete it, Barbara accidentally starts playing a video of her as a baby in which her dad points out that she has a poopy diaper.
- Embarrassing Relative Teacher: Gordon, again. As embarrassing as he was during Babs's sleepover, it's ten times worse with him at school.
- Extremely Protective Child: Barbara may have spent the whole episode annoyed with her dad, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to let him get pummeled by Bane. She knows he can’t take him by himself, so she arrives as Batgirl to help him take down the villain.
- Growing Muscles Sequence: Happens twice with Bane - once when he changes from his art teacher alter ego into his true villainous self, and once again when he pumps even more venom into himself to make him stronger.
- Humiliation Conga: Barbara endures an entire week of her dad embarrassing her in front of her classmates.
- Improvised Lockpick: Bane uses a paintbrush to pick the lock on his handcuffs.
- The Infiltration: Gordon didn’t become a substitute teacher as a new hobby, but rather as a way to be the “inside man” for Batman to help catch Bane who was posing as the school’s art teacher.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Right after Babs tells Jessica that she thinks her father’s finally going to give her some space, she walks into the classroom to find him as the substitute teacher.
- Lazy Alias: Whenever Gordon reads out attendance, it seems he's being slipped fake lists on which nearly every name sounds like a gag name. Subverted when the one name Babs chooses to single out happens to be a real person.
- My Beloved Smother: A genderbent example. After he retires, Gordon lacks direction and focuses all his attention on his daughter. He spends all his time with her, butting into her activities with friends and never giving her any space.
- Partially-Concealed-Label Gag: Barbara thinks she is spraying “Bat Tarantula Repellent” on herself, but her hand was covering part of the label and it actually said “Bat Tarantula Anti Repellent.”Barbara: Anti Repellent? Why would I ever think I’d need this?
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:Gordon: Okay big fella, school’s in session.
- Retired Badass: Well, formerly retired. Commissioner Gordon held his own pretty well with Bane and even got some solid punches in.
- Skewed Priorities: Mr. Chapin is more concerned about losing an art teacher than the fact that a super villain had infiltrated his school.
- Slasher Movie: The girls watch a parody of one, due to it being Kara’s pick for movie night, which features a killer with a bag for a mask and a stop sign for a weapon.
- Tempting Fate: Babs remarks that the situation couldn’t get anymore embarrassing right before her dad sets off a series of experiments that spray her with purple liquid, blow up in her face, and set off the sprinkler system right above her.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Gordon tells the class that in the classroom he’s no longer the tough Commissioner Gordon...he’s Mr. Commissioner Gordon.
- Twitchy Eye: Babs gets one when she realizes the hobby her dad took up is substitute teaching at her school.
- Unfortunate Names: Ira Lee Stinkman. She was beginning her first day at school when Babs called her name the worst.
- Violence Discretion Shot: We don't see what The Stop Sign Butcher does to his victims, but given Diana Prince, Barbara Gordon and Commissioner Gordon are all disturbed, it is likely on the graphic side.
- Whoopee Cushion: Barbara saves her dad from being pranked with one, but when she puts it in her backpack and leans back in her seat, she ends up pranking herself with it.
