Batman’s Bravest and Boldest Adventures
Plastic Man: “Are you seein’ what I’m seein’? ‘Cause I’m seeing gorillas riding pterodactyls with harpoon guns stealing a boat.”
Batman: The Brave and The Bold “Terror on Dinosaur Island!” (Season 1, Episode 2)
Batman: “It’s Gorilla Grodd.”
Plastic Man: “It’s messed up is what it is!”
Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a love letter to DC’s Silver Age of Comics. Each episode featured Batman teaming up with another hero to fight crime, like a bat version of The New Scooby Doo Movies. Popular characters including Aquaman and Wonder Woman were featured, of course, but also forgotten heroes like Uncle Sam, Black Orchid, and The Creature Commandos.
The Brave and The Bold has been an invaluable resource for us, providing quotes for characters that hadn’t appeared in decades. Time to repay it by counting down its five best episodes. Which heroes made the list? Let’s find out.
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#5 Joker: The Vile and the Villainous!
Guest Stars: The Weeper, Misfit, The Fisherman, Bulletman (unnamed cameo)
The Joker: “Hold the trolly, I know those crocodile tears! You’re The Weeper! You used to be big, the greatest villain of all time!”
Batman: The Brave and The Bold “Joker: The Vile and The Villainous” Season 3, Episode 1
The Weeper: “I-I-I could have been. O-once, perhaps. But now I’m just a bum!”
The Joker: “Pshaw! You invented supervillain shtick as we know it!”
If heroes are allowed to team-up, why not the villains? Batman takes the Big Bad role as Joker forces a long-lost villain back into the spotlight.
Cold Open: In the distant future, a race of humanoid tigers worship an atomic bomb. Mutated villain Misfit tries to steal the bomb, but is confronted by the last human, Kamandi. Can The Joker help the future conqueror claim the ultimate weapon?
Main Story: Batman has created a device that constantly scans the world to detect crimes. The Joker meets his idol, The Weeper, while planning his next move. The crying criminal has lost his edge after decades in prison and can’t hurt a fly. Can The Joker inspire his inspiration and stop Batman?
Why This Episode: The Vile and the Villainous puts The Joker in the spotlight, even replacing the opening credits with a vandalized version. He’s more open around fellow villains, even showing comradery, but remains a bad guy. Joker is also much more dangerous than usual, fighting Batman on even footing and murdering Kamandi offscreen.
Tim Conway’s Weeper steals the show. The remorseful reprobate is a shell of his former self after hesitating to kill during his biggest scheme. The Weeper struggles to regain his edge until he sees how repressive Batman’s satellite is and begins fighting for all future lawbreakers.
#4 Batman: The Brave and The Bold: Mitefall!
Guest Stars: Aquaman, Bat-Mite, Ambush Bug, Abraham Lincoln
Bat-Mite: [summons a dog in a Bat-costume] “Anyone remember Cousin Oliver?“
Batman: The Brave and the Bold “Mitefall!” (Season 3, Episode 13)
Ambush Bug: “He may be goofy, but you of all people should know that Ace the Bat-Hound is an accepted part of the Batman universe, Bat-Mite!“
Bat-Mite: “I wasn’t referring to Ace, I was talking about his new nephew, Punchichi!“
Punchichi: [enters Scrappy-Doo’s stance] “Lemme at ’em! Lemee at ’em, Uncle Ace! I can take Gorilla Grodd any day!“
Ambush Bug: “You fiend!“
All good things must come to an end. Warner Bros. ended Batman: the Brave and The Bold after three seasons, but sent the show out on a high note as the characters broke all the rules to mock television tropes with help from three TV legends.
Cold Open: Death stalks Ford’s Theater as John Wilkes Booth prepares to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Batman saves the president, but is outgunned when the secessionist reveals cybernetic enhancements. It’s up to Honest Abe to save the day and his life.
Main Plot: Godlike fanboy Bat-Mite believes The Brave and The Bold has jumped the shark. He uses his powers to ruin the show so a darker version can take its place. As Batman unknowingly fights through dozens of series-ending clichés, fourth wall breaking super-loser Ambush Bug pulls a Hail Mary to save the universe.
Why This Episode? It’s Henry Winkler vs. Paul Reubens over Brave and the Bold’s cancellation and Ted McGinley’s along for the ride! Original shark jumper Winkler voices Ambush Bug while fending off toy commercials, annoying new family members, and trying to trick McGinley, the patron saint of shark-jumping, out of Aquaman’s body.
Bat-Mite’s (Reubens) plan is surprisingly dark. He’s destroying an entire universe and erasing hundreds of characters from existence because he’s bored. I doubt anyone expected the recurring comic relief to become the ultimate Big Bad. Bat-Mite’s scheme hides its horror under dozens of jokes about clichés while explaining to younger viewers why Batman: The Brave and The Bold is being canceled.
#3 Mayhem of The Music Meister!
Guest Stars: Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman
“Bullies used to pick on me because I sang in choir
Batman the Brave and The Bold “Mayhem of the Music Meister” (Season 1, Episode 25)
But something very strange occurred when I kept singing higher
The ruffians around me quickly fell into a trance
And it was then, with wicked glee,
I made those puppets DANCE!!!”
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is no stranger to celebrities. Jeff Ross roasted villains to help Bats escape from a deathtrap, Weird Al knocked out The Joker with an accordion, but some celebs fell to the dark side. This Emmy-nominated episode is the debut of Neil Patrick Harris’ second singing supervillain following Doctor Horrible.
Main Plot: The Music Meister interrupts a fight to mind control heroes and villains into helping him hijack a satellite. He falls in love with Black Canary after hearing her sing and tries wooing her while evading Batman. When his song enslaves the whole world, can Batman and Black Canary stop his show?
Why This Episode?: Mayhem of the Music Meister is an all-singing, all-dancing showstopper. Harris is right at home as the villainous virtuoso, freely swapping musical styles and costumes mid-fight. Special mention to “Drives Us Bats” where he rides a note-shaped vehicle along power lines to mimic the song’s sheet music in one of the episode’s many musical in-jokes.
Black Canary is in the spotlight, pining for Batman while Music Meister is over the moon for her. Grey Delisle is up to the task singing alongside NPH, belting out the love ballad “If Only” and a more fraught “Death Trap.” Green Arrow appears throughout the episode as Black Canary’s unlucky, would-be paramour, but gets his shot at love in an ending reprise of “If Only.”
#2 Batman: The Brave and The Bold: Trials of the Demon!
Guest Stars: Etrigan, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson.
Sherlock: “He is a hero. It’s obvious by the bright blue and yellow in his costume. The mask means he must be well-known, perhaps a wealthy entrepreneur with ample free time. Square jaw indicates strong lineage, perhaps a doctor’s son. And the bat motif, most surely inspired by some childhood trauma. “The Masked Bat”, perhaps?”
Batman: The Brave and The Bold “Trials of the Demon!” (Season 1, Episode 15)
Light-hearted adventures were Batman: The Brave and The Bold’s forte, but the showrunners weren’t afraid to get dark on occasion. Occultists and demons won’t be enough to solve this mystery. Batman will need help from the World’s Greatest Detective.
Cold Open: Scarecrow and the Scream Queen plan to poison trick or treaters with his Fear Gas. Batman battles the scythe-wielding mad scientist while the Flash must evade Scream Queen to disarm hundreds of poisoned pumpkins.
Main Story: A mysterious figure is stealing souls in 19th century Whitechapel. A fearful mob kidnaps occultist Jason Blood, blaming him for the crime. Sherlock Holmes completes a ritual Blood had prepared, summoning Batman from the future. The detectives must collaborate to save Blood and find the true culprit.
Why This Episode?: Trials of the Demon is a rare double team-up for Batman. His deductive reasoning grates on Sherlock’s pride, pushing the consulting detective to upstage the costumed upstart. Dr. Watson is unfortunately an afterthought treated with uncharacteristic derision by Sherlock despite being a dependable ally.
Jason Blood plays a smaller role, uncovering how the souls are being stolen and why. His transformation into the demon Etrigan provides rhymes and rumbles as Etrigan snarks through his heroics. The soul-stealer is an inspired choice who fans have seen before, but unfortunately plays second fiddle to a much less interesting devil.
#1 Chill of the Night!
Guest Stars: The Phantom Stranger, The Spectre, Thomas and Martha Wayne, Zatanna
Batman: “I’ve finally uncovered the motive for my parent’s murder.”
Batman: The Brave and The Bold “Chill of the Night! (Season 2, Episode 11)
The Spectre: “Yet, you are restless.”
Batman: “I still have to find out who pulled the trigger!””
The Spectre: “And to what end, Dark Knight? What will you do when you find out?”
Batman: “I… I don’t know.”
This was the only option for Batman: The Brave and The Bold’s best episode. Our old universe-wrecking pal Bat-Mite cited it as not only the show’s greatest, but the one that inspired his final scheme because he wanted a whole series like this. Three generations of Bat-actors join forces in a battle for Batman’s soul.
Cold Open: Futuristic would-be wizard Abra Kadabra takes a gathering of stage magicians hostage. Sorceress Zatanna and her lovely assistant Batman intervene, but can she save the day when a magical gag prevents her from speaking incantations?
Main Plot: Batman confronts a dying mobster who ordered Thomas Wayne’s death. Frustrated by an incomplete clue, he tears a swath through the criminal underworld. Two otherworldly figures, The Phantom Stranger and The Spectre, attempt to guide his path, but what will Batman choose when he confronts his parents’ murderer?
Why This Episode?: Chill of the Night is full of Bat-royalty. Adam West and Julie Newmar voice Thomas and Martha Wayne, so it seems Catwoman finally nabbed her Batman. The Animated Series’ Kevin Conroy voices The Phantom Stranger, trying to guide his successor down the right path. Who better to oppose him as The Spectre than that series’ Clown Prince of Crime Mark Hamill?
This episode is completely at odds with the rest of the series, almost resembling an episode of Conroy’s Batman series. Bruce’s rage makes him dangerous as The Spectre’s chilling manipulations and Phantom Stranger’s tough love guide him to the final decision: is Batman an agent of Vengeance or Justice?
What episode of Batman: The Brave and The Bold do you think is the best? Is there one better than these? Tell us in the comments.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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