http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E11TheDemonReborn
In the third and final
crossover with
Batman: The Animated Series, the Dark Knight returns to Metropolis when Ra's al Ghul seeks to use a Native American artifact, the Shaman's Staff, to drain Superman's strength in order to revitalize his own dying body.
Tropes:
- Art Evolution: Ra's, Talia, and Ubu's BTAS character models are all redesigned to match Bruce Timm's STAS-era design revamp.
- Bait-and-Switch: When Lois is in her apartment, Talia uses some Knockout Gas on her, wishing her sweet dreams. The very next scene shows a woman who appears to be Lois hanging from a clocktower, implying that Lois was kidnapped (again). When Superman saves her though, "Lois" is revealed to actually be Talia, who simply stole some of Lois' clothes to disguise herself as her and lure Superman into a trap.
- Back from the Dead: Ra's has done this plenty of times before, but this time without the help of the Lazarus Pits. While on their way to the machine to give Ra's Superman's powers, Ra's dies shortly after Superman's failed escape attempt. However, Talia decides not to give up and proceeds with the plan, reasoning that as long as her father's body is still warm they still have a chance. She is proven correct, and as Superman has his powers drained and transferred to Ra's, Ra's is revived as his body is healed and restored.
- Batman Gambit:
- Talia al Ghul dresses up as Lois Lane and fakes being in danger in order to lure Superman out.
- Superman exploits how Even Evil Has Loved Ones to distract Ra's. Batman admits that was rather clever.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- As the train is about to go off the bridge, Batman drives in to help reroute it to the neighboring track and give Superman more time to stop it.
- Batman shuts off the machine before Superman is fully drained.
- Just before Ra's can finish off Batman, Superman shows he has the staff and then breaks it. As everything collapses, Superman tells him to either get revenge or save Talia knowing full well what he'll do.
- Big "WHAT?!": Ra's when Batman shuts off the machine.
- Bridal Carry: Superman does this upon catching a woman he believes is Lois when she falls from the clocktower. To his shock though it is actually Talia, and she further messes with him by cuddling up to him as he carries her, resting her head against him and giving him a seductive look and apologizing for tricking him.
- Call-Back: The BTAS episode "Showdown" established that the Lazarus Pits have limits; in that episode, they couldn't be used to restore Arkady Duvall's vigor or health because he was too aged and broken-down from fifty years of hard labor. This episode, in turn, shows that those limits are in place even for Ra's al Ghul himself, as overuse is causing them to have less and less effect.
- Came Back Wrong: Seems to be the driving force of the plot. The Lazarus Pits seem to be becoming increasingly transient for Ra's (he's a withered old man in a wheelchair now), so he resorts to using Superman's strength to ensure his immortality.
- Casting Gag: Averted, on account of Supergirl (1984)'s lead female Helen Slater being
replaced as Talia. - Catch a Falling Star: Superman catches who he believes is Lois when she falls from a clocktower. It turns out to actually be Talia, who disguised herself as Lois and put herself in danger, knowing Superman would come and save her.
- Dating Catwoman: Batman notes his history with Talia is in line with his other relationships.
- Decoy Damsel: Talia disguises herself as Lois, and traps Superman when he goes to rescue her.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even in his crazed state Ra's still tried to save his daughter Talia from going over a cliff.
- Eviler than Thou: Batman describes Ra's as more dangerous than the Joker and Luthor put together.
- Foe Romance Subtext: Talia has a little of this with Superman, despite being well-known to actually be in love with Batman.
- Before making her escape in their first encounter, Talia blows him a goodbye kiss while telling him they will meet again.
- While disguised as Lois Lane, Superman's love interest, Talia puts herself in danger for Superman to rescue her. Once he saves her and is carrying her in his arms, she reveals herself to him and cuddles up to him, leaning her head against his while apologizing for the theatrics, all while giving him a seductive look.
- Foreshadowing: "Y'know, there might be something to this partnership business after all."
- Leitmotif: The New Batman/Superman Adventures theme plays at the end of the episode as the two heroes fly away from Ra's' hideout.
- Liquid Assets: The shaman staff that's the MacGuffin of the episode was used to transfer vitality from a donor to help someone ill recover. Ra's plans to use it to leech the strength of Superman entirely to restore himself.
- Mugged for Disguise: Talia ambushes Lois in her apartment and knocks her out, just so she can steal some of Lois' clothes and disguise herself as her to lure Superman into a trap.
- Never Found the Body: Ra's and Talia go over the cliff into a river and the entire cave comes down soon afterwards. With his X-Ray Vision, Superman can see the river but no trace of them alive or dead. No one actually acts as if they died, though.
- Pet the Dog: Talia stops her father from killing an incapacitated Batman.
- Recycled Animation: The explosion of the bomb that Talia detonates from afar features a full-screen frame of a fire explosion, which is reused footage from "Where There's Smoke" when Volcana blasted Superman with a fireball in the parking lot.
- Sadistic Choice: Talia blows up part of the train tracks and disables the breaks to the train. Superman can stop her and let the train crash killing innocents, or stop the train and let her get away. He chooses the second option.
- Spanner in the Works: Ra's would've beaten Batman to death if Talia hadn't interfered. Her interference is what allowed Superman to grab the staff and further distract him.
- "Take That!" Kiss: While Superman is trying to hold the train back, Talia flies next to him on her vehicle just outside of his reach and tells him "Till we meet again." and blows him a kiss before escaping.
- That Wasn't a Request: After Talia tricks Superman into saving her, she tells him that her father Ra's Al Ghul wants to meet him. When Superman asks "And if I refuse?", Talia simply says "Then I'll have to insist." and pulls out the staff before using it on Superman.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Talia hid the staff in her clothes, pulling it out and using it on Superman after he saved her.
- We Will Meet Again: As Superman struggles to stop the train from running off the tracks, Talia flies next to him on her vehicle and tells him they will meet again, blowing him a goodbye kiss before escaping.
- Wham Shot:
- As the train is preparing to arrive at the station, a group of ninjas with Spider-Man-esque masks attack. As they search the train, one of them takes off her mask — and it's Talia al Ghul.
- Minutes later, Superman gets one of his own he didn't expect coming. As he's trying to stop the train from driving off the bridge, he's running out of track when a car drives up on the parallel line. It's the Batmobile.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Unsurprisingly, once Ra's has a taste of Superman's powers he goes insane, demanding they drain all he has. When Batman arrives, Ra's proceeds to nearly beat him to death, causing the cave they are in to collapse and ignoring his daughter's pleas to stop. Though he regains control of himself when he sees Talia in danger.
- "You!" Exclamation: Superman gives a surprised "You!" when he sees he didn't actually save Lois, but Talia, the same criminal that escaped him earlier.
