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Worm Dealer

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Jan 21 • 152 tweets • 60 min read

Batman asks Harley what this “sick infatuation with Joker is”, which is hilarious and ironic. Pot calling the kettle.

I do have so many questions about the premise of this episode: where did dude get an abomb? Why was it stored in a warehouse with no safety measures? Where is the federal government? None of these are answered, but Gotham’s most toxic couple have been reunited.

This is a safe space to discuss luchador Bane. #batman

I’m a white person. I don’t know a lot about Lucha, to be completely upfront. I do know it’s not from Cuba, which is Bane’s origin in this iteration. He also has a thick “South American” (described by Killer Croc) accent created by white Spanish/Sicilian actor Henry Silva.

The use of Lucha by white people to “spice up” storylines has always bothered me, so I honestly usually avoid it. It’s kind of cool to see a different fight scene in Batman, but this was just a weird, EXTREMELY 90s take on an appropriated fad that carried into the 2000s.

I think this character and interpretation could have been cool as hell if written and portrayed by a Mexican writing/voice acting team, but that’s not what we got here. At least, I don’t see it.

Everyone does get dressed up for this episode, which is nice.

Candace (Rupert Thorn’s right hand/“secretary”) returns to make out in her boss’ office and beat the shit out of Robin in this one. She’s a star.

Which brings us to Robin: the series has a brief rebrand starting with this episode as “the Adventures of Batman & Robin”. TAS specifically has Batman as a lone wolf and the production team doesn’t change a ton. It’s clear they’re not really sure what to do with boy wonder.

He’s relegated to getting captured in this one, and trussed up shirtless. For PLOT REASONS.

Batman is OUT OF CONTROL in this episode. He physically tortures Killer Croc, who is recovering from injuries, and breaks a window im Candace’s apartment after letting himself in. A monster.

Candace’s apartment is iconic. Her taste rivals Rupert Thorne, with a blue velvet barrel couch (w contrasting maroon pillows), geometric deco lamps, and a replica of Rene Lalique’s iconic “Victoire” sculpture.

Second chance offers the mystery of Dr. Leslie Thompkin’s medical specialty and a Harvey Dent vs Two Face plot.

Seriously: what. Is. Dr Thompkin’s specialty? She does heart surgery, plastic surgery in this one, occasional psychiatry, AND acts as a general practitioner.

Let’s talk Batman’s psychology: The pitch bible for the first season says he and Bruce are fully formed, separate identities. Bruce “hides” a lot of his charity work and is supposed to have a superficial, playboy persona. I don’t think they achieve that, but it is the intention.

Batman is a hardline, Justice fanatic. According to the bible, Bruce doesn’t HAVE ongoing trauma (lol k), he has filtered the needs of his youth as an orphan out by becoming Batman and striking back at the darkness.

Batman doesn’t care about the women Bruce dates, and Bruce publicly has just the popular opinions about the weirdo villains running around Gotham. He reads the paper, but this billionaire has a company to run and money to squander!
That falls apart when it comes to Harvey Dent.

There’s some crossover when it comes to Selina Kyle/Catwoman, too, but moving on-

Dent is ready to reform in Second Chance. He’s ready to “kill” two face, and Bruce Wayne has paid for the final stage: plastic surgery to “repair” his face. Dent is the one villain Batman AND Bruce have never given up on.

While Batman is responsible for Dent’s accident, once he’s become a criminal, he shouldn’t be batting this hard for him. But Bruce and his relationships are bleeding into his crime fighting life.
Dent & Bruce used to philander together, fundraiser together, etc.

He’s not the kind of dude Batman would care about. But while he harasses other ex-cons, he begs Harvey to choose himself and kill Two Face.

This episode features another villain Batman can’t let go of: the Penguin. After continuous, unwarranted harassment, he’s had enough and sics his pigeons on the caped crusader.

This episode features the Half Moon Club. It’s a night club Dent & Bruce used to hang out in. Now being torn down, this penthouse combines Two Face & Batman’s schticks (Half+Moon) while referencing their alter egos’ friendship and it’s current state (torn down).

I really think this is one of the better episodes between these two. Once again, Robin is pushed to the side, which illustrated B trying to separate his two lives: as a crime fighter, he’s a solo act, and so he pushes away the person most important to him (besides Alfred).

It also features style tsar Rupert Thorn again, this time in a black on white smoking jacket, with a pink pocket square, polka dot ascot, and pink pyjama pants. Perfect for standing in front of his cast iron + inlay Deco fireplace.

We’ve been doing Batman: the Animated Series double features. I thought I’d have more to say about Riddler’s Reform, but instead the second one grabbed me. So, briefly:

First of all, an antique dealer who’s robbed says he lost a “Ming dynasty vase from the 3rd century.” The Ming period was 14th-17th century. 3rd would be Han or 3 Kingdoms. Don’t buy from this looter. (Han vs Ming vases picture- these varied, but)

Now it’s time for our first-ever #Batman Fan Theory. You read?

Riddle me this: last time we saw Edward Nygma, he was inseparable from a computer he had programmed himself into, so how did he escape? My theory: he didn’t.
This episode takes place in the program. Maybe an evolved version of it, but it’s definitely all him.

Things are going well for Nygma: he’s been let out of Stonegate for “good. behavior, and this random investor wants to license his puzzle technology for his toy company. This guy is TOTALLY a video game character. Check out his digs:

But we know from the Riddler’s origin that he didn’t have rights to his tech. That’s no problem for the world he’s created. Additionally, Batman is threatened with a harassment suit and a news broadcast says him manning Penguin didn’t provide enough evidence for a jury to convict

We know that Gotham is Batman’s world, everyone else lives in it. He’s NEVER threatened for harassing people or illegally entrapping and assaulting them. Riddler’a world features some form of Justice, it seems.

But Riddler’s still human, even though he has everything (including sexy women!), he can’t help himself: he’s got to do that human self-sabotage. So he pursues crime, anyway, and tries to kill Batman. He’s then trapped again in his own version of the asylum.

Maybe he believes he belongs there? Maybe he feels guilty? I’ll let the psychologists handle that. One more detail: Bruce’s sexy turtle neck is gone in this one, which makes sense because Riddler’s never seen it.

Instead he wears a black button down… the same one Nygma has on under his costume. Seeing himself on Batman?

But all of that begs the question, did Nygma and his program figure out the identity of Batman & Robin?

That’s just batty.

Up next we have what I consider far and away the most disturbing episode. But after a break: sitcom mama needs to finish her workout.

This episode introduces an extremely powerful… agent? Body guard? Assistant? Named Mariam who kicks the shit out of Batman & Robin, but it never explained or seen again.

Uh huh. Ok, Batman animation team.

This episode introduces the original character Baby Doll (Mary Dahl), an actress with hypopolasia attempting to relive her days of success.

To continue, let’s discuss Baby Doll’s outfit: she’s wearing a romper + dress (or “bloomers” in some regions), which were popular girls’ fashion at the end of the 19th c, with shorter skirts being the fashion for young girls/toddlers in the 40s- early 60s.

I’ve heard a lot of commentary on this outfit, but a couple of things: these were meant for girls to be able crawl around and play, and are intended only for toddlers. That gets complicated here, but overall we have a problem sexualizing children and need to process that.

Mary Dahl is around 30 in this episode and was 20 when she was filming the Tv show in question. She was portraying a toddler, but when she starts kidnapping people she’s a failed adult actress trying to return to a more youthful, successful role.

While her body isn’t discussed in the episode, there is a repeated motif of what we might call the “female” anatomy. There’s cleavage, well-defined breasts, and even teets on a dog. Mary only briefly refers to wishing for an “adult” body, but visually it’s a focal point.

This is an interesting example of the show showing us more than it’s telling, and while disturbing, they’ve really created a beautiful episode. Batman displays true compassion at the end. It’s mature and moving.

My partner pointed out that the goons in the one look like Gilligan and the Skipper. I didn’t catch any other sitcom references, but I’m sure they’re there!

The animators go wild with synthetic era-mixing in this one and it’s a delight. A carnival combines 90s fashion with 40s church clothes + everything in between. We even get a Jughead type character. Clearly delineated teen vs childrens’ fashion, too!

I also wanted to include this cute lil horror movie shot from the original sitcom. Nice foreshadowing (note the cleaver on the wall)

Honestly, I was ready to be too disturbed by this one to enjoy it (I had a thing about dolls as a kid and still find them unreasonably creepy). but I think it might be one of my favorite episodes.

I have almost nothing to say about Time out of Joint. Except that Clock King is still the supreme Batman villain, because he has a singular purpose and doesn’t really care about Batman.

This one features the voice talent of Roscoe Lee Browne and a technology that would basically destroy the world were it real.

Ugh, that was a slog. Time for a break! In Harley’s Holiday, she’s determined sane by the doctors at Arkham only to find the pressures of society too much for her.

This episode is delightful. Harley interrupts Bruce Wayne’s date, kidnaps his girlfriend, and goes on a wild run about town. This triggers a 4 way chase and face off between Gotham PD, local vigilantes, a crime boss, and the military.

It also has the team up you didn’t know you needed: Ronnie Vreeland and Harley Quinn! We even have a little Tarantino moment.

There’s a LOT going on in this episode, but I just needed to share this gif before continuing.

Batman: The Animated Series predicted misuse of military resources in a big way.

Harley’s own morals shine in this one. She’s really trying to reform, but even when she’s in bad mode, she protects people she thinks deserve it. When her ally Boxy’s men threaten Veronica, she takes the dame and runs again.

We get more NYC references in this one, too, with a full neon Times Square.

I hated this episode, and it’s 100% because I have no sense of humor. I also don’t really discuss the Joker, but a couple of things:

1) The Joker movie stole its premise from this episode.

2) it’s bogus as hell they made the only female comic featured, a presumably single, childless woman into “mighty mom” and had her hold a broom. Maybe that speaks to Joker’s view of women but I also don’t care?

There’s some cool buildings and interiors in this one. You can look em up. 😉

I do want to clarify something: when I discuss the criminals in Gotham, I’m not dismissing their methods or goals as worthy. Ex-cons have a right to not be harassed and our society (and the mirror of its morals in Batman) absolutely creates “criminals” of marginalized identities.

But I don’t view Joker or Penguin as sad stories of created monsters. Dudes are dangerous narcissists, but ones who can possibly reform (in Penguin’s case).

Without further ado: Batgirl returns! This is a rare one without Batman. He’s busy in Paris, so we get plenty of Bat-nter… bat-banter… banter between Babs and Dick, and a Catwoman/Batgirl team up.

Batgirl & Catwoman throw down in a fantastic biker bar off the highway. It’s noir trope I don’t see used enough, and they do a great job incorporating it into this episode.

It’s fantastic to see two female heroes take on a pack of male aggressors without fear.

Dick/Robin is constantly treating Batgirl like a kid with a lot to learn, but her separation from Batman and gender gives her access to Catwoman and her lessons in a way he could never achieve.

While Robin is relegated to sidekick status for the majority of the storyline due to his single stream of education, Barbara gets to grow and make her own deals with temporary allies without looking to Batman for approval.

The “Han Dynasty” sculpture in this one is a HUGE jade statuette. Let’s discuss. First of all, this would be a wildly rare piece coming from that period due to its size alone.

It looks like a zhenmushou (tomb guardian) in shape to me: generally, cats don’t look like that during this period or later. Tomb figures were made of terracotta, not jade. As a cat-form there generally should be more focus on movement and musculature. (Pic MKE Art Museum)

It looks Egyptian-inspired to me. Here’s a comparison: a jade dragon from the Han Dynasty period in China and a Ptolemaic era cat sculpture. The dragon is tiny (3+ inches) and the cat would have a mummified cat inside.

🎵let’s talk prison reform and abolition in Batman (the animated series)🎵

We’re going to frame this around 3 episodes. Before we do, some groundwork: Stonegate + Arkham are both effectively prisons. Arkham is modeled after older asylums, which served the same purpose as early prisons: to separate undesirables from the rest of society.

Later episodes show methods of reform and release (in Harley’s Holiday a psychiatrist is working with Harleen and approves her release), but as a place usually portrayed as a series of cells, “reform” remains opaque.

This matches the popular view of prisons for over a century in the US: you go in, serve your sentence, learn your lesson and are released. In real life, inmates can pursue degrees, participate in religious studies, and we use prisoners to perform labor-

But we rarely discuss life inside prisons and HOW “criminals” are reformed unless it’s meant as a threat in popular media. Batman’s no different.

These 3 episodes discuss abuse of power within prisons, a lack of caretaking for people within their care, and classism. Not well, and I don’t like the conclusions, but the conversation’s there.

First, Lock-Up introduces abusive Arkham asylum guard Lyle Bolton. Batman’s rogues gallery is terrified of him, and detail his abuses through the episode.

Bolton is an extremist when it comes to punishment: Scarecrow and Harley Quinn explain that he takes away their privileges, and he threatens to beat them “within an inch of their lives”. It’s a particularly brutal depiction.

Bolton is removed from his position, but faces no other consequences for his human rights’ abuses. 6 months later he becomes the vigilante Lock-Up, claiming “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem”. You might recognize this phrasing…

Those contemporary parallels don’t stop there. A lot of liberal thought today leads us to believe extremist conservative viewpoints came out of nowhere, but they’re seeking to conserve a norm established before the 90s. Lyle even blames the “permissive liberal media”. It’s 1994.

He’s confused Batman doesn’t agree with him- after all, he beats, tortures, and violently apprehends criminals, too. But Batman exists within a thin veil of preserving the public good and conserving our systems of Justice, even when they continuously fail.

Further frustrated, Lock-Up turns his ire on every city leader and symbol of the Criminal Justice system, locking them up in a prison of his own making. He also uses the methods of the state to criticize it: handcuffs, car boot, etc.

Once Batman prevails, Lyle is brought to Arkham. He admits he doesn’t mind- Lyle can now keep an eye on the inmates. But this isn’t a satisfactory solution: Arkham failed these inmates the first time, and now their tormenter has been placed on the same level as them.

It’s important to note that Lyle Bolton was an original character to the series. He is a direct representation of the series’ shallow criticism of methods of criminal reform. Those criticisms exist, but they don’t hold up under scrutiny.

There is a LOT going on in Deep Freeze, but we’re going to focus on the criminal Justice aspects. A crazed billionaire seeks to preserve a (white) utopia while killing everyone else on the earth. He needs Victor Fries’ technology to do so.

It’s unclear where Mr. Freeze is currently being kept. It’s definitely not Arkham, possible Stonegate or the prison occasionally mentioned “upstate” (this is what I believe). The episode begins with a robot breaking in.

Freeze cannot live outside a specific temperature range, so his cell is refrigerated and sealed. He does have the ability to communicate with guards via a video phone, however, and desperately calls for help while the robot kidnaps him by shoving him inside its chest.

(I guess the wiki says he is at Arkham, but I really think it looks like… not Arkham. Whatever.)

It’s believed that Freeze broke out, despite him calling for help from guards who never showed up. Batman chases a lead to Rossum, the creator of super computer HARDAC, and we get this charming Blade Runner reference.

Which brings up more questions: Rossum initially started a robotic farm after getting off for the murders and imprisonments his computer child performed. He’s now free to start yet another robotic haven.

Freeze is a scientist who was guilty of stealing materials and money to complete his experiments. His crimes include attempted murder, but only in revenge- similar to Batman’s own motives. Rossum is a character whose technology went out of control and did irreparable harm-

There’s a larger conversation here about who is locked up and who deserves to be locked up. Batman and Mr. Freeze both lost family and tried to take vengeance. Generally speaking, we don’t hold inventors accountable for the harm their inventions do (see: Alfred Nobel).. and on.

But anyway, this episode has a LOT of other themes. The takeaway here is that Freeze was quite content to stay imprisoned as society deemed fit (indeed, he chooses imprisonment at the end of the episode), but the prison failed to protect him while within it.

Batman still fails to recognize his own position within these narratives as a man both EXTREMELY outside the law, generally forcibly getting results while opposing law enforcement, and coming from immense material privilege. The law does not apply to him, even if he respected it.

Describing our evil billionaire Disney stand-in, he says “Men like Walker are obsessed with getting their way, and they don’t let something like the law stop them”. Kk B-man.

Speaking of rich douches, the Terrible Trio as characters and an episode represents the problem with wealth and divide between the classes in Gotham.

These three are Leopold and Loeb types: extremely wealthy, bored elites who have everything and are all out of thrills. Believing they can get away with anything, their leader even tells Batman he’s impossible to put away due to the number judges he has “in his pocket”.

All three men are acquaintances of Bruce and Dick. They go shooting together at the country club and run shoulders at exclusive parties.

They’re supposed to represent everything Bruce despises in the wealthy, but their idle lifestyles mirror his own cover for Batman. This first point is highlighted by Batman immediately unmasking their leader, something he never does to any other villains.

It’s worth noting that Penguin (Oswalt), Poison Ivy (Isley), and Catwoman (Kyle) also move within high society, but none match Bruce’s own persona as closely as these three villains.

The end of the episode has the leader of the Trio thrown in prison, but they never address that he has judges “in his pocket”. We may assume that Bruce’s resources carry more weight than his, but that just highlights how unfair our system really is.

The beginning of the episode features the trio giving a condescending speech to a night watchman about how little he makes and offering him a taste of their spoils. The moral lower class rejects the evil, paternalistic overlord’s help, throwing the money in his face.

That money “doesn’t belong” to the watchman, even though he is paid a pittance and was beaten up defending it. He becomes a hero in the show for upholding that his well-being is below his boss’ capital.

These 3 episodes criticize our current systems& their failings, but their conclusions serve as evidence for Batman’s methods as a means to uphold the law as applicable only to those of specific classes and with intentions that don’t align with a singular set of morals.

I want to briefly talk about the fashion in “The Terrible Trio”, because it begins introducing the 90s into the show. While 90s tech shows up, I suspect it took until the later episodes (94-95) for fashions to catch up in Gotham. We have definitive 90s styles at this point.

Any time we look back on an era, we tend to focus on the most outrageous fashion, and often what teenagers and young adults were wearing. But there was a chic, sleek look that formed in the 90s for women that was both empowered and sexy. Rebecca embodies this.

90s kids may remember it as the look the stepmother archetype or ball busting boss trope wore (empowerment is threatening and bad), but it was also extremely popular in Hollywood. Here’s Winona Ryder and Halle Berry with the haircut the animators put on contemporary Rebecca.

In the synthetic style of the series, she’s hanging out with mid century bad boys. They’re dressed in double breasted coats, casual polos, and 1940s swim sets. Even Bruce takes on a modern look, though it could easily be a 1960s throwback.

A comparison of that swim set with an ad from the 40s. His is cut lower (can’t show those shapely gams), but the style is definitively midcentury.

Showdown is a Batman/Jonah Hex crossover episode that’s mostly about R’as Al Ghul supporting his shittiest son.

This happens:

The episode rewrites history, claiming that the railroad was joined in 1883. The transcontinental railroad was joined in 1869 in Promontory, Utah, definitely not Devil’s Hole, but anyway: let’s talk manifest destiny!

R’as was pissed in this case because of the US government’s “ruthless” campaign to expand West. Remember that R’as is all about preserving the wilderness. But in his discussions of the American West, he also completely erases the people who were and are already living there.

This is a myth that is still perpetuated in lessons about Manifest Destiny today: that America was expanding into empty territory with untapped resources ripe for our plucking. It’s harmful af.

But that being said, the episode shows an accurate portrayal of the workforce who built the railroad. We don’t even have this in our photographic record: Black & Chinese workers were told to stand outside pictures and forced labor was largely not discussed, much less photographed

… and then they did this. 😑

R’as’ own workforce is abused by his first in command, who’s later confirmed to be his son. Hex is after Arkady (Al Ghul) for “hurting a girl back East.” It’s contextually confirmed that girl was a sex worker. We’ll talk about that in a minute!

Arkady Duvall was sentenced to 50 years in a work camp for his crimes. This would kill most people, so R’as used he Lazarus Pits to confirm he completed his sentence. He then kidnaps the elderly man from his hiding place for more.

“Hurting a girl” in Westerns is almost always code for getting rough with a prostitute or rape, usually of a sex worker. The madam in this episode mentions Arkady was rough with a few of her girls (employees in her brothel). It’s an interesting inclusion in this show.

Westerns have always been an adult genre. While there was plenty of boys’ fiction in the midcentury in a Western setting, and Toy Story in 1995 would reintroduce cowboys into kid lit, the themes and motifs of a true Western centers around brutality, and often sexuality.

There’s a coded chivalry built into Western heroes that includes how they treat the omnipresent female sex workers of the genre. Women exist in a binary: good, moral Eastern transplant, and savvy sex worker. Both are vulnerable and require male protection.

https://twitter.com/JMYaLes/status/1478368306197315585

This is actually the series’ second mention of sex work, though the first one was more of a wink.

https://twitter.com/JMYaLes/status/1478368306197315585

This inclusion wasn’t necessary to have a story set in a Western setting, but this and Arkady’s crimes being tied directly to hurting working girls makes the episode a true Western. It fits with BTAS’ desire to be “as dark as we can get away with”.

We’re back, Gothamites! #batman

The team up no one asked for: Catwalk is about a reformed Catwoman falling back into her old ways with the help of Ventriloquist dummy Scarface. It’s of course a double cross.

Selina is driven by an extreme cleptomania centered on cats. She’s already wealthy and well-known, but itches to be free to roam like a cat. I always wish there was more to Selina’s drive to be Catwoman, but even after she’s unmasked her goals never change.

This episode is the return of Catwoman, but it also dives deeper into Gotham’s wealthy elites and American history.

The series continuously fails to capitalize on the tension around Bruce’s assumed persona. Bruce the billionaire is in love with Selina. It’s unrequited, but he also dated Veronica Vreeland as a cover. It appears their relationship is over, but it was implied in earlier episodes-

That Ronnie has carried a torch for Bruce for a while. Selina and Veronica have a disagreement, but it’s not over Bruce. He’s rather cold to both of them this episode. I crave more tension at this level, but oh well.

The episode is centered around an exhibit of rare stuffed (taxidermy) animals collected by Veronica’s grandfather. Selina object to it and him due to his extreme hunting. This is REALLY American money at this point. Old and new: hunting at this level is a moneyed past time.

And that past time’s tied into philanthropy + charity work, another wealthy hobby. See: where Audubon got the subjects for his paintings, Theodore Roosevelt, and on. Selina rejects that tradition, but seeks to benefit from it, later stealing a related jewel.

Also of note: the animators weren’t allowed to kill anyone, but since Scarface is technically just a doll, they do a LOT more violence to him. In this episode he’s burned to death.

Bullock’s a slob and the subject of a lot of fat shaming in Batman. He’s also a complicated character who’s not afraid to speak up when he disagrees with his bosses.

This one deals directly with the crack epidemic in the 80s and 90s. They even drop terms like “crack house” and “crack head”. It’s jarring in the otherwise high-end vision of Gotham we’ve had so far.

The crack epidemic was identified as a prime motivator for crime surges in poorer neighborhoods & resulted in tough on drugs policies in the US that increased police brutality. All this in the shadow of widespread cocaine use in the 80s, which remained acceptable for the wealthy.

The “crack epidemic” was a moral panic that empowered police to militarize against general crime and target “undesirables”. In this vein, Bullock admits he’s guilty of things he wouldn’t want internal affairs to look at too closely.

This episode features a murder plot against Bullock that Batman agrees to get to the bottom of. Bullock mentions Batman goes outside of the law to get criminals, but as usual Bats doesn’t comment on it. They figure a crackhouse raid or similar is why Bullock’s targeted.

Somewhat ironically, the real motivator has to do with affordable housing: Bullock has an incredible rent-controlled apartment he has absolutely torn apart, refusing to clean or leave it. The culprit is his irate landlord.

Just an aside: Bullock’s landlord has an FANTASTIC ensemble. Red smoking jacket, pocket square that matched his shirt, and a tie (great for lounging in?).

The Gotham police department are clearly extremely well-funded. They’ve got an 11 story building to themselves.

I was excited the subway featured trash on the tracks (not pictured).

This donut shop: it’s a whole aesthetic.

I have almost nothing to say about this episode. We get some Alfred backstory, he was basically an MI6 agent, and they represent the Brits as antiques incapable of cogent spycraft.

There is some VERY [_] subtext that is never addressed or explained. Here’s a link to Dick’s shirtless gymnastics routine. Alfred tells him to put on a shirt: