Plot summary: Joker celebrates April Fool’s Day by unleashing a psychotropic laughing gas on the city. Batman struggles to tell a joke.

(Originally published on The Reel World, July 19th, 2020)

Notes

Original Air Date: September 22^nd, 1992

Directed: Kevin Altieri (2)

Written: Carl Swenson (1)

Animation: Akom Production Co. (2)

Music: Shirley Walker (4)

This is Efrem Zimbalist Jr.’s first outing of Alfred, a role he would play for over a decade.

This is another episode where large parts of the script were ignored in an attempt to improve the action. Sean Catherine Derek doesn’t have a writing credit this time, but given her role was Story Editor, it seems likely this led to another of her arguments with Bruce Timm. (I shudder to think how the action was BEFORE they tried to punch it up.)

Standards and practices have never batted an eyelid at hyperviolence directed towards robots, hence Batman caving in Captain Clown’s skull, but no blood could be shown when Bruce cut himself shaving. This is also why Sentinels were used so much in X-Men: The Animated Series.

Recap

A trash barge floats down Gotham river, giving off green fumes that don’t just stink, they drive those that get a whiff of them into hysteria. And on April Fool’s Day no less!

Speaking of April Fool’s, Alfred gets into the swing of it, offering to draw Bruce a bath, only to draw a picture of one. Bruce is not amused, probably because he just cut himself shaving (but without bleeding of course, because no blood allowed!) Hearing about the chaos on the radio, Bruce suspects The Joker.

Speaking of the Clown Prince of Crime, his men take to shore with shopping carts and gas masks, smashing windows and filling up with loot while civilians and police can do nothing but laugh themselves stupid.

Likewise, Batman finds Alfred smashing the house up, having fallen victim to the gas pouring in through the windows. Luckily, Bruce has a gas mask to protect himself.

Racing to the source of the gas aboard the Batboat, Batman easily defeats Joker’s henchmen… the human ones, that is, as the robotic Captain Clown kicks his ass and locks him in a trash can. Joker stabs some holes in the can and Cap tosses it overboard. I am shocked Joker’s stabby antics are cool with censors but Bruce isn’t allowed to cut himself shaving.

Joker is thrilled, quoting Casablanca to his stoic automaton, who understands the importance of playing it cool after winning a fight. Thug Life.gif.

Batman escapes his watery grave by remote controlling the Batboat, following Joker’s barge to Ace Chemicals, where he easily beats up the human duo AGAIN, this time removing their masks so they fall victim to the gas.

The rematch of the century goes a different way as Batman savagely bashes Captain Clown’s head in with a steel pipe. Literally. He smashes its face off and then chucks it into a car crusher. And I thought Batman never killed.

A wacky chase through Ace Chemicals ensues… or maybe it’s just a nearby waste disposal facility as the sense of geography in this episode is pretty screwy. There’s even a Looney Toons-esque soundtrack, with Batman nearly falling into an incinerator but grapple hooking his way to safety. Joker tosses some steel playing cards, one of which Batman catches in mid-air.

Having apparently exhausted his options, Joker runs away, tripping on Bats’ wire and nearly falling to his death, having to beg Batman to pull him back up, which he does. Could have just pretended that wire broke and there was nothing you could do, Bruce…

Alfred laments the property damage he caused to his billionaire boss’ house, who responds by threatening to dock his pay for two years. He calls it an April Fool’s joke, but I’m inclined to agree with Alfred’s assertion he doesn’t have a funny bone in his body.

Also, aren’t you supposed to stop doing April Fool’s pranks after midday? Then again, to be fair, it’s permanently night time in Gotham.

Best Performance

Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are both decent enough, but it’s neither of their best work. There actually aren’t all that many voices in this one, so I feel this nod has to go to Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in his debut as Alfred.

I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say he’s my mental image of Alfred, because I really like Michael Gough’s live action work, but he’s certainly right up there. It’s always fun when Alfred gives Bruce a bit of sass, and he got to mix the voice up a bit under the effects of the Joker gas.

Ranking

This is another one Bruce Timm doesn’t really love, feeling The Joker’s motivations are somewhat lacking. I don’t know how true that is, given the general mayhem, but it’s certainly not a good episode.

From the painfully unfunny jokes, to the repetitive nature of the action, to the slightly confusing series of events that occur at the end, to the off-kilter soundtrack, it’s just a big old mess. When the highlight of the episode is the hero mercilessly beating a robot to death, it’s not a great sign. Also two episodes in a row with a gas-themed plot isn’t ideal.

You know what? Forget ‘Not Good’, I think this episode is Actually Bad. I can’t decide whether I like that the current ranking is identical to the production order or not. ‘Pretty Poison’ will have to work pretty hard to keep that trend going though.

1. On Leather Wings
2. Christmas with the Joker
3. Nothing to Fear
4. The Last Laugh (NEW ENTRY)

Rogues Roundup

The Joker (Mark Hamill) (second appearance)

While I generally prefer the intended order to the broadcast one, getting two Joker appearances in the first four episodes strikes me as a misstep, and this one doesn’t have a patch on ‘Christmas with the Joker’.

That’s not to say it’s bad, and unleashing laughing gas on the city just so he can indiscriminately loot is certainly right up the character’s alley, but there’s just less range on display. He’s also defeated by tripping on some rope and has to beg Batman to pull him up. None of this is enough to lower Joker’s ranking, and even if it did, he’s obviously going to end up back on top in the end.

Shout out to Captain Clown, though. You handed Batman his biggest L and also took his most brutal beating. Rest in power, sweet prince.

1. The Joker
2. Scarecrow
3. Man-Bat