“For the second week in a row I’ve asked Film Channel editor William Bibbiani to write a Best Episode Ever for me. This week he chose ‘Batman: The Animated Series,’ and he’s got me convinced. Spoiler alert, but you must have figured out that when we pick our best episodes ever, we kind of have to explain all the reasons that make it the best.” – Fred Topel
“Batman: The Animated Series” raised a lot of standards, and probably deserves to be credited as one of the finest television series ever produced, especially for children. Created in the wake of Tim Burton’s runaway success 1989 Batman movie (although it didn’t air until 1992), the series presented audiences young and old with a stylish, fluidly animated superhero series that took all of its characters seriously – even formerly unknown b-grade villains like Mr. Freeze – and thrust them into sharply written, ardently dramatic, action-packed and often very funny storylines that helped define who the character of Batman could be for an entire generation, myself included. The Tim Burton movies were wonderful, Christopher Nolan may be a genius, and there’s no shortage of classic comic book adventures, but for many of us… this is “the” Batman.
With countless young people growing up with “Batman: The Animated Series” in the 1990s, whether they discovered it as children or teenagers, picking the Best Episode Ever is a hardship. For many, “Heart of Ice” – the origin episode for Mr. Freeze – came to define the way any character could be elevated to greatness with the proper respect for their potential, in any medium. “Joker’s Favor” beautifully illustrates the impact that Gotham’s criminal element can have on the normal citizens who don’t possess superpowers or billion dollar gadgets to defend themselves. “Almost Got ‘Im” humanized Batman’s rogue gallery in a way rarely before attempted, and “The Man Who Killed Batman” did the same for all the faceless thugs who work for Gotham’s costumed criminals and never get their own day in the spotlight.
Hell, if you want to make an argument for “Harlequinade” being the Best Episode Ever just for Harley Quinn’s impromptu musical number, I’m not going to argue much. There are almost too many classics to choose from in this installment of Best Episode Ever. Almost. Because the best episode of “Batman: The Animated Series” is “Over the Edge.”
You can stop throwing things at me now.
There are some who argue that “Over the Edge” is one of the worst episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series,” or at least one of the most disappointing. Certainly it’s a controversial topic to fans of the series. The episode opens with Commissioner Gordon (Bob Hastings) leading a S.W.A.T. team into the Batcave, yelling, “Bruce Wayne! Stop where you are!” His team then opens fire on Batman (Kevin Conroy) and even throws a live grenade at Robin (Matthew Valencia), a child. Gordon never tells them to stop. He even yells “Fire!” before they blow up the Batmobile.
As en medias res openings go (a story that begins in the middle of the action, not at the beginning of the story), “Over the Edge” has one of the best. If you were in America on the morning of May 23, 1998, and you heard a faint popping sound followed by an immediate splash, that was the sound of children all across the country, their heads exploding. At long last Commissioner Gordon had discovered Batman’s identity, and he was out for blood. The unthinkable had happened. But how did it come to pass?
The incident – so traumatic that Batman says “I can see it as clearly as my parents’ murder” – began when The Scarecrow took City Hall hostage, and flung Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon’s daughter (Tara Strong), off the roof of the building. She falls at least ten stories onto Gordon’s car and then dies in his arms. If you’re paying attention, you can probably already see where this is going, and why so many people were pissed. And how is Batman recalling events that he wasn’t even there to see?
Detective Harvey Bullock (Robert Costanzo) tries to arrest Batman, but he escapes with Robin. Soon after, Bruce Wayne gets a phone call from Gordon, who outlines Batman’s betrayal, and his own failure to stop Batman’s “private crusade,” calling him “a psychotic misfit playing hero.”
“You know how I lost my parents,” Wayne says, sympathetic. “The only way I could hold on to my sanity was to take matters into my own hands.”
“That makes us even,” replies Gordon, as he storms Wayne Manor.
The story then picks up after the assault on the Batcave. Det. Renee Montoya (Liane Schirmer) corners Nightwing. “You have the right to remain silent,” she says. “Waived,” Nightwing retorts as he attacks the Gotham City P.D. and gets arrested. Batman sends Robin away to turn himself in and blame Bruce Wayne for his criminal actions. “It’s over, Tim. Gordon feels betrayed, and maybe he was.” The villains of Gotham, now aware that Batman was a billionaire, file a lawsuit against Wayne and go on TV to earn public sympathy. “We were helpless, lost souls crying out for understanding,” claims The Mad Hatter (Roddy McDowall). “What we got was a beating from a self-righteous madman.”
Batgirl’s death isn’t just the end of Batman, and his legacy and his positive influence, but of Commissioner Gordon himself. Mayor Hamilton Hill (Lloyd Bochner) orders Gordon to step down to avoid further scandal, and Gordon decides to enlist the aid of Bane (Henry Silva) to bring Batman down once and for all, turning his daughter’s own funeral into a firefight culminating on the roof of the Gotham City Police Department, where Batman, Bane and Commissioner Gordon fight to their deaths. They all die.
