7 Most Underrated Episodes of Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series delivered some amazing Batman episodes. Ones like “The Man Who Killed Batman”, “Perchance to Dream”, and “Beware the Gray Ghost”, often top most best-of lists, and for good reason: They’re great. But TAS has 85 episodes, and some of them don’t get the attention they deserve. These stories include some of Batman’s most famous enemies, some characters that don’t often get enough attention, and even some new faces.

These episodes may not be the first ones you run to when you rewatch the series, but they’re solid picks that are all well worth a watch.

7) “The Mechanic”

This episode answers a question Batman: The Animated Series fans didn’t realize they had: Who repairs the Batmobile when its owner inevitably trashes it? We just assumed it was Bruce or even Alfred, but it’s actually Earl Cooper (Paul Winfield), the automotive engineer who designed the coolest car in Gotham.

By focusing on a previously unseen character, “The Mechanic” expands The Animated Series‘ lore and tells a decent story while it’s at it: Penguin discovers Earl’s shop and uses him to sabotage the Batmobile, Batman Returns-style. Only the Dark Knight’s knowledge of obscure racing terminology stops him and Robin from perishing in a fiery crash.

“The Mechanic” shows something surprising: Batman being a bad driver, when he haplessly gets the front end of the Batmobile crushed under a vertical-lift bridge. It also has a fun Easter egg when we see that Batman’s previous car looks like the bat-faced Silver-Age model.

6) “The Joker’s Wild”

“The Joker’s Wild” is pretty similar to the more popular “The Laughing Fish” in that it’s all about someone affronting the Clown Prince of Crime. In this case, it’s billionaire Cameron Kaiser (Harry Hamlin), who’s opening a new casino. It turns out he’s themed it directly on Joker, complete with female attendees dressed like Harley Quinn. Joker immediately breaks out of Arkham to deal with the insult.

It turns out Kaiser has spent everything he has building the casino, and he’s chosen the theme intentionally in the hope that an aggrieved Joker will show up and destroy the place, giving him a huge insurance payout.

This episode, while not as good as “The Laughing Fish,” is still full of classic Joker antics, including a scene in which he ties Batman to a giant roulette wheel and then releases the “ball”: a live hand grenade.

5) “It’s Never Too Late”

“It’s Never Too Late” is a nonstandard episode in that it has no supervillains, and the main conflict resolves through emotion and forgiveness instead of Batman punching everyone.

Arnold Stromwell (Eugene Roche) is the boss currently in charge of Gotham’s underworld, but Rupert Thorne (John Vernon) is looking to take over. Batman hopes to convince Stromwell to retire before an all-out mob war breaks out.

We won’t spoil the end, but Stromwell’s story ultimately involves recognizing how his criminal exploits have hurt those closest to him, and the episode casts Batman as an agent of conscience more than one of vengeance. It’s a nice change and showcases a more patient, compassionate side of the Dark Knight.

4) “Pretty Poison”

Poison Ivy makes her Animated Series debut in this episode, in which she (as her alter ego, Pamela Isley), poisons a pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent after a dinner date. Things get complicated when Batman discovers that the source of the toxin and its antidote comes from the wild thorny rose, a flower that went extinct when the city bulldozed its last specimens to build a prison.

‘”Pretty Poison” culminates in a classic battle at a greenhouse full of mutated plants, including a huge flytrap with a maw full of teeth. It’s also the first of many appearances of Ivy’s improbable but badass wrist-mounted crossbow. As first appearances go, Ivy’s is top-notch.

This story gets a nod at the poker table in the more popular episode “Almost Got ‘Im,” when Two-Face declares that both sides of him want to kill Ivy.

“We used to date,” Ivy explains.

3) “Deep Freeze”

The first story with Mr. Freeze, “Heart of Ice,” regularly appears on lists of The Animated Series‘ best episodes because it takes a Batman villain almost nobody liked and reimagines him into a fan favorite.

The key to Freeze’s comeback is his tragic backstory; he studied cryogenics in an attempt to buy his terminally ill wife, Nora, enough time for medical science to find her a cure. Nora is also central to his second appearance, which has billionaire Grant Walker (Dan O’Herlihy) using her as leverage to convince the scientist to re-create the experiment that gave him effective immortality.

Our favorite part of this episode is the third-act turn that has Freeze teaming up with Batman and Robin to defeat Walker. It’s another reminder that the character’s villainy is mostly a matter of circumstance, and he’s fundamentally a good man.

2) “Bane”

The man who broke Batman is the villain of this episode, voiced by stalwart character actor Henry Silva. He makes his entrance by putting Killer Croc in the hospital and punching the Batmobile into scrap with his bare hands.

“He trashed my car, Alfred,” Batman says. “Between a couple of guys, that’s real personal.”

As kids familiar with the “Knightfall” storyline from the comics, we were really nervous watching this episode. Was The Animated Series really going to break Batman’s back? Of course it wasn’t, but the tension was very real.

TAS‘ Bane is both brilliant and scary, just like the original. Along with Croc, he easily defeats Robin, all to pull Batman into their climactic showdown. We couldn’t wait to see how the show was going to handle one of the most famous moments in Batman history, and the payoff is worth the watch.

1) “The Forgotten”

We always love it when Batman goes undercover on The Animated Series; it shows an aspect of the character that’s integral to his comic persona, but it hasn’t made it to the movies. In “The Forgotten”, Bruce Wayne disguises himself as a homeless man to figure out who’s snatching the destitute off the street and why.

Unfortunately, he does too good a job getting kidnapped, and loses his memory, but he does manage to solve the mystery. Boss Biggis (George Murdock) has been bringing in purloined homeless men to work in his gold mine. While Alfred tries to locate Master Wayne (in the Batwing, comically), Bruce tries to free himself and his new friends without exposing that he’s Batman, even though it would immediately make him unstoppable.

“The Forgotten” is a departure for the series, but it’s a good one. And its harmonica-heavy score is both unique and fun.

Batman: The Animated Series is now streaming on HBO Max.