Plot synopsis
In the previous episode, Batman and Joker's former henchwoman Venus are chained in a water pit where a giant clam has (almost) already swallowed Robin. Using every ounce of his strength, Batman bursts free of his chains, rushes over to the clam and pries it open long enough to rescue Robin from the maw of the mollusk. Freeing Venus, the trio make their escape, while the Joker, needing more assistance with his remaining two Zodiac crimes, has his henchmen Uranus and Mars smuggle the Penguin out of prison in a prison laundry truck by way of "Operation: Laundry Bag". Serious dissension soon builds between the two.
Using a mixture of his own insidious creation, "Jokerjelly" (concentrated strawberry gelatin which resembles strawberry jelly, but tastes like strawberry axle grease), Joker and crew go to the Gotham City Reservoir, where he infuses the entire Gotham City water supply (Aquarius), and then demands $10 million to ransom it back. Meanwhile, the Penguin, claiming he has reformed, tries to win over Venus (who's staying at Bruce Wayne's midtown apartment) into asking Batman to let her visit the Batcave, so she can remove Penguin's criminal record from the Batcomputer for him.
Batman and Robin fly out to the Jokerjelly-infested Gotham City Reservoir by Batcopter and restore the water supply with the trusty aid of a "Special Exploding Batarang" and the "Portable Batlab". Returning to the city, Batman and Robin pay a visit to Venus, who, falling for Penguin's fib about going straight, she convinces Batman into taking her to the Batcave. What the Dynamic Duo doesn't realize: Joker and Penguin are hoping to make Batman the goat (Capricorn).
Batman and Robin return to the Batcave with Venus (having doused her with Batgas, naturally), and after a small tour, they get a surprise when the Penguin, Joker, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus pop right out of the Batmobile's trunk, ready to assassinate them, and convert the Batcave into the headquarters of Gotham City's criminals. But Batman stops them by activating his newly designed "Batspectrograph Criminal Analyzer", which recorded Joker and Penguin's bone structure, metabolism rate, molecular blood structure, retina patterns, and other invaluable scientific data (he knew they were hiding in the trunk all along, and so he brought them both to the Batcave in order to utilize the analyzer which only works at close range and is too large to move). Penguin tries to kill Batman and Robin with his umbrella gun, but the "Batprobe Negative Ion Attractor", which Batman strategically installed in the Batmobile's trunk, depleted its power source during the time they were inside. After a fierce fight, the whole gang is captured and ready to be delivered to prison. Furthermore, when the Joker and Penguin threaten to reveal the location of the Batcave, which obviously would betray the Batman and Robin's secret identities, Batman reminds them to their profound chagrin that they've seen only the cave's interior and not its exterior so they have no idea of its location. While the Joker and Penguin accuse each other for forgetting to look out of the trunk during the trip, Batman reveals to Robin and Venus that he locked the trunk hatch while they were inside so they never would have been able to open it in transit anyway. He then calms down the Penguin and Joker by putting them under with a whiff of Batgas.
Later at Wayne Manor, Dick Grayson cringes as he learns from Alfred that the main course for dinner is clam chowder, but Bruce Wayne assures him it's his chance to get even.
Batman is a 1966 American superhero film directed by Leslie H. Martinson. Based on the television series, and the first full-length theatrical adaptation of the DC Comics character of the same name, the film stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The film hit theaters two months after the last episode of the first season of the television series. The film includes most members of the original TV cast, with the exception of Julie Newmar as Catwoman, who, in the movie, was replaced by Lee Meriwether.
The Dark Knight Returns is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and published by DC Comics. It tells an alternative story of Bruce Wayne, who at 55 years old returns from retirement to fight crime while facing opposition from the Gotham City police force and the United States government. The story also features the return of classic foes Two-Face and the Joker, and culminates with a confrontation with Superman, who is now a pawn of the government.
The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in stories featuring the superhero Batman. It first appeared in Batman #258, written by Dennis O'Neil with art by Irv Novick. The asylum serves as a (forensic) psychiatric hospital for the Gotham City area, housing patients who are criminally insane, as well as select prisoners with unusual medical requirements that are beyond a conventional prison's ability to accommodate. Its high-profile patients are often members of Batman's rogues gallery.
Batman is an American live-action television series based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin—two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City from a variety of archvillains. It is known for its camp style and upbeat theme music, as well as its intentionally humorous, simplistic morality aimed at its preteen audience, which included championing the importance of wearing seat belts, doing homework, eating vegetables, and drinking milk. It was described by executive producer William Dozier at the time as "the only situation comedy on the air without a laugh track". The 120 episodes aired on the ABC network for three seasons from January 12, 1966, to March 14, 1968, twice weekly during the first two seasons, and weekly for the third. In 2016, television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked Batman as the 82nd greatest American television series of all time. A companion feature film was released in 1966 between the first and second seasons of the TV show.
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal residence, Wayne Manor.
The Penguin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #58 and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The Penguin is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.
The New Adventures of Batman is an animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics production in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Cataclysm is an 18-chapter DC Comics crossover story arc that ran through the various Batman family comics from March to May 1998. The plot of the storyline centers on Gotham City being hit by a massive earthquake, the epicenter of which is less than a mile from Wayne Manor. In the wake of the destruction, Batman and his allies join the frantic rescue efforts around the devastated city, which soon spirals into chaos. This story arc would act as a catalyst for the Batman comics and its spin-off titles, signaling the beginning of nearly two years of storylines that would spring forth in the earthquake's aftermath, culminating in the year-long Batman: No Man's Land saga. Cataclysm itself takes place a short time after the events of Batman: Contagion and Batman: Legacy, two previous crises which also nearly resulted in Gotham City's destruction.
The Batplane, Batwing, Batjet or Batgyro is the fictional aircraft for the DC Comics superhero Batman. The vehicle was introduced in "Batman Versus The Vampire, I", published in Detective Comics #31 in 1939, a story which saw Batman travel to continental Europe. In this issue it was referred to as the "Batgyro", and according to Les Daniels was "apparently inspired by Igor Sikorsky's first successful helicopter flight" of the same year. Initially based upon either an autogyro or helicopter, with a rotor, the Batgyro featured a bat motif at the front. The writers gave the Batgyro the ability to be "parked" in the air by Batman, hovering in such a way as to maintain its position and allow Batman to return.
"Smack in the Middle" is a first-season episode of Batman. It first aired on ABC TV Thursday January 13, 1966. It is the conclusion of the two-part series pilot, the first being titled "Hi Diddle Riddle", which aired on the previous Wednesday night January 12.
The Untold Legend of the Batman is a three-issue Batman comic book miniseries published by DC Comics in 1980. It was written by Len Wein. The first issue was penciled by John Byrne and inked by Jim Aparo. The second and third issues were drawn entirely by Aparo. José Luis García-López drew the covers for the entire series. The primary plot elements of the story are retellings of the origins of several Batman characters. It is the second miniseries published by DC Comics as well as the first starring Batman.
"The Zodiac Crimes" is the 71st episode of the Batman television series. It first aired on ABC January 11, 1967 in its second season and repeated on June 14 the same year. The first of a three-part story, it was dubbed a "Batman special", simultaneously celebrating the show's first anniversary and helping to open ABC's "second season". It featured both Cesar Romero as The Joker and Burgess Meredith as The Penguin.
"The Joker's Hard Times" is the 72nd episode of the Batman television series in its second season. Part 2 of a three-part story, it first aired on ABC January 12, 1967 and repeated on June 15 the same year. It guest-starred Cesar Romero as The Joker. Its ending cliffhanger was the first for the series that would not be resolved until the following week.
The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, under the label of Fisher-Price.
Batman Beyond is a comic book series featuring the fictional character Terry McGinnis as Batman and based on the animated television series of the same name. It has appeared in various DC Comics publications, including a six-issue miniseries from 1999, a 24-issue series running from 1999 to 2001, the "Hush" arc by DC Comics in 2010, and an eight-issue miniseries in 2011. A short-running series titled Batman Beyond Unlimited was later released, followed by Batman Beyond 2.0 in 2013.
Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants is an American animated superhero film and the third and final entry in the Batman Unlimited series. It premiered on July 24, 2016, at San Diego Comic-Con International, to be followed by a digital release on August 30 and a DVD release on September 13.
Batman: White Knight is an American comic book published by DC Comics. The eight-issue limited series, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, began monthly publication in October 2017 and concluded in May 2018. In the series, the Joker is seemingly cured of his madness and sets out to become a politician under his real name of Jack Napier, seeking to change his public image as a "villain" and save Gotham City from Batman, whom he views as the real enemy of the city.
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated superhero film directed by Jake Castorena and written by Marly Halpern-Graser. Based on the comic book miniseries Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II, the story focuses on Batman, Robin, and Batgirl teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in order to save Gotham City from chaos at the hands of both Shredder and Ra's al Ghul. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation in association with DC Entertainment and Nickelodeon, the film features the voices of Troy Baker, Eric Bauza, Darren Criss, Kyle Mooney, and Baron Vaughn.
Bruce Wayne, better known by his vigilante superhero alias Batman, is a fictional character who is featured as the main protagonist in Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series (1989–1997), and later as a supporting character in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film The Flash (2023). Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, he was portrayed by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), before being recast with Val Kilmer and George Clooney in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) respectively.
The Jokermobile is a specially designed automobile used by DC Comics supervillain Joker. The Jokermobile debuted in Batman #37, and was created by Jerry Robinson.
