Top 5 ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ Episodes

Feb 15

Batman: The Animated Series is singularly responsible for bringing the Dark Knight to a generation. Taking cues from the entire 40-plus-year history of the Caped Crusader, the series cemented itself as one of the best pieces of Batman media of all time. It was also a ground-breaking feat of animation and storytelling in its own right. Below are what many would consider the top five episodes of the show, although frankly, you should just watch them all.

5. “Beware The Gray Ghost”

Some of the most interesting aspects of the Batman mythos is seeing the young Bruce Wayne’s journey before he dons the cowl. And by this, I do not mean Gotham. No, no. In this episode we see a young Bruceling watching his favorite television hero the cape-wearing “Gray Ghost” fight crime in the fog-strewn streets. Meanwhile, in modern-day Gotham, someone is emulating the show’s villain. Batman has to work with the actor who was his inspiration in order to stop the dastardly bomber on the loose.

The piece de resistance is that said Gray Ghost actor Simon Trent is played by none other than Adam West. It is Meta-Batman inspiration to the max!

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4. “Two-Face”

Okay, it’s technically a two-parter. Sue me.

Harvey Dent is featured quite prominently in the series as one of the genuinely few good men in Gotham and an ally to both Batman and Bruce Wayne. The slow decline in Big Bad Harv’s sanity is genuinely affecting, and of course, the eventual snapping and disfigurement are all the more tragic as it is a constant reminder of what happens to good men in Gotham.

Extra points go to this episode for becoming one of the most defining representations of Two-Face that would go on to inspire the looks and mannerisms of many Two-Faces to come.

3. “Almost Got ‘im”

Batman villains playing poker — Image Source: IMDB

Batman has one of the strongest, and most diverse rogues galleries in all superhero-dom. “Almost Got’im” capitalizes on this by seeing the villains in their “down-time.” Penguin, Poison Ivy, Joker, Two-Face, and Killer Croc are all enjoying a casual poker game, one-upping each other with their own tales of how close they came to killing The Bat.

Not only are each of the mini-stories fantastically crafted, but the voice acting is also superb. There are some genuinely witty barbs as the villains play off one another.

One final cherry on this episode is how Batman eventually breaks up the game in order to find Catwoman, a nice nod to their tempestuous relationship.

2. “Trial”

Batman villains acting as jury — Image Source: DCAU Fandom Wiki

One of the biggest fan discussions over all supervillain vs. superhero relationships is the old argument of “are the villains a result of the hero?” “Trial” seeks to answer this age-old question by putting Batman in the dock himself and forcing Gotham’s new DA to defend him. This kangaroo court has Two-Face as the prosecutor, and the Joker as the judge. Some of Batman’s most famous villains make up the witnesses and the jury.

This episode manages to make a valiant attempt to show that Batman is not responsible for this cavalcade of cads, but still manages to be a fun children’s cartoon with the mischievous Joker deciding to carry out the sentence anyway.

1. “Heart Of Ice”

This episode is on many top 10 lists as one of the best representations of ANY on-screen villain. It would lead to the trend of comics retconning a popular character’s story and appearance to better match what was depicted on-screen. As the winner of a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program, the episode further skyrocketed the show’s popularity, elevating above a typical Saturday morning cartoon.

“Heart of Ice” tells the tragic story of Victor Fries and how he became Mr. Freeze. Even if you aren’t a Batman fan, THIS is the defining Mr. Freeze origin story.

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