Huber Syndrome - Episode 18: Batman The Animated Series

Grew up on this show. I wish they'd release it on Blu Ray already.

I really enjoyed this episode it has to be one of my favourites so far

Huber, you are giving "Heart of Ice" short shrift here. That episode is a crowning achievement not only in comic-to-television adaptation but also in licensed character rehabilitation. Prior to BTAS, Mr. Freeze was a bog-standard super-villain of the silver age. An invention of his own design, the "ice-gun", malfunctions. Doused in cryogenic chemicals, he becomes Mr. Zero. There is hubris in this origin, but no real stakes. No gravitas. Paul Dini's reinvention of Mr. Freeze takes him from the concept of simplistic "mad scientist" and molds him into a true tragic figure. Here are a few of my faves: "The Forgotten" - while working undercover on a case Bruce is kidnapped. Suffering from amnesia, he is forced to work a chain gang. This episode is notable in that the cape and cowl barely have a cameo. "Beware the Gray Ghost" - an homage to the creation of Batman and his fictional forebears. A love letter not just to the Golden Age, but to Adam West. "Perchance to Dream" - Bruce wakes up to a world where his parents never died, and he never became Batman. This episode is a spiritual successor to Moore's "For the Man Who Has Everything". Bring a handkerchief. Finally, a few episodes back, you recommended Loeb & Sale's "Batman: The Long Halloween". As a fellow life-long Batman fan I can NOT co-sign this recommendation. Sale's artwork is a delight, as usual. Loeb's scripting and plotting however, are problematic. The book does not work as a murder mystery. The reveal at the end is not supported by the dozen issues that preceded it. I seem to remember reading an article theorizing that a fan had correctly guessed the identity of the Holiday killer, and that Loeb inserted the last issue swerve in response. Aside from that, Loeb's writing regularly flies in the face in continuity! If you are looking for a run of Batman that embraces continuity, I IMPLORE YOU to try out Grant Morrison's tenure. Morrison's seven years (!) on the character are astonishing. Reaching back into 70+ years of continuity Morrison re-contextualizes some of the most unpopular characters in the mythos, and shines a light on widely-ignored stories that had been dropped from canon. An absolute achievement. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Great episode but I feel you should of mentioned Robin's Reckoning Part 1 and 2. Fantastic episodes and easily my favorites.

Spawn Hype!

Everett Coe

HUEVOS!!

Oriol Siurana

Great episode Huber! This is also one of my all time favorite shows and I watched it all the time when I was a kid. It is the reason I love Batman as much as I do. I would love to see a reboot of the series as much as you would, but even if it doesn't happen, check out Justice League Action when it comes out. It is an upcoming reboot of the Justice League show from the same time as the Batman Animated Series, and will feature Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.

One of your best episodes to date. Could feel the pure passion and hype you have for this. My only suggestion is in the future for episodes with spoilers in them include some audible version of "This episode contains spoilers." to go along with the visual warning in case the viewer isn't actually looking. That mighty seem nitpicky, but between gaming while watching videos and playlists, I think that spoiler warning being missed is very possible.

MBUN

I was never a fan of that show. Saw a few episodes here and there. The style was a big miss for me. I remember me and my brother saying that it looked like it was done with the SFX chip (everything looked so poligonal). Still, it's impossible to not get hyped with Huber. And that end bit... are you picking up on the Huber Hype Lore?

César Villa

Awesome! I don't remember too many specifics about that show, but I remember watching it when I was younger and really enjoying it. It's definitely one that I need to check out again. Also oooooh man one of my younger brothers is OBSESSED with all things Batman, he'll love this video!

Great episode Huber & Don!

Ian Patterson esquire.

best episode! making my way through the series now, about 30 episodes in

confusedhulk

Best ones are : Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1&2, Batman: Under the red Hood, Batman: Year One.

Stepan Hakobyan

Love batman animated movies.

Stepan Hakobyan

Great show. Anyone that loved Batman should watch the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Such great shows. On Netflix in the US at the moment.

I spy a Blu-Ray! The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of the most underrated films of recent times. The train robbery scene may be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!

Tyler Travis

Loved Batman the animated series. Grew up watching them. Loved how everyone in the universe was characterized and special mention to the voice talent of the whole show especially Mark Hamill. A reccomendation Huber if you havent seen it. Nostalgia critics top 11 batman the animated series special. It is a must watch for us fans. Love and Respect man!!<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTRQxrYGKs" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTRQxrYGKs</a>

LiquidEnder

'Mudslide" is another great Clayface episode. I remember as a kid watching it while eating my cereal before school. I watched it all the way to the tragic ending where batman and Hagen are both hanging off a cliff in the rain, Hagen turning wet is unable to hang on while his lover is pleading for batman to save him. At this point I realized that Hagen is no entirely evil, he is just understandably finding it hard to cope with who has become, much like Mr Freeze. They're not entirely evil they're just tortured souls. Any way He falls and evaporates in the water but not before seeing his almost human silhouette disappearing. His lover still sobbing atop the cliff with only batman to comfort her. Mournful music then plays us out to the credits. Needles to say my eight year old self was not ready that that level of emotion that early in the morning before school.

There will never be a more iconic Joker than Mark Hamill, when you see the Joker in your mind you hear THAT voice. Hamill, noone else.

Darren Mifsud

Great episode Huber! It's interesting that Paul Dini and crew dabbled in continuity with Batman Animated Series in a time when standalone was the standard and then years later, Paul Dini jumps into DC comics, a medium drowning in continuous storylines and decides that with Detective Comics he's going to treat us to standalone stories, just great quick hits you can read in half an hour or so. What a master! Check out Dini's run on Detective Comics if you haven't already, it starts in the early 800 issues. Darren Mifsud.

Darren Mifsud

Hey Huber! Good episode! Brought back alot of memories. But I'm glad you saved that call out for last, cause my absolute favorite favorite DC animated movie is the two part Dark Knight Returns. So perfect. But it is BECAUSE of how good this is, that I got super excited for Batman V Superman. I heard rumors that the movie was gonna be similar to DKR, and I had so much HYPE built up for it. And of course, was just let down by the film. Oh well, Batfleck was still cool, and I can still look forward to Justice League movie and the standalone Batman movie! What do you think about these films??

Andrew Left

Best intro to an episode ever!

Hey Huber! Great episode... All great episodes, especially Almost Got em. I've seen in the past you talk about my main man Kyodai, old rival of Bruce Wayne from Japan. You know what's up! But Nothing to Fear... the first appearance of the Scarecrow and his Origins. Not to mention that was the first time we got the classic line : I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman, I still get chills when I watch that episode. And who can forget Beware of the gray ghost, Adam West, Kevin Conroy, two iconic actors that played the role of Batman together in an one episode, that hit you with the feels, as well as giving you solid action... 100 years from now, that episode will be a required viewing material in Batman class for kids in high school.

Great episode. Thank youuu. One of my favorite episode is the grey ghost!!! Adam west playing himself, it's autobiographical! Loved it 10 out of 10.

Tim Bechen

Growing Pains, the last Clayface episode, is soul crushingly beautiful to me personally.

BHL

Thanks Mike for putting this out there. I am just like you... my existence, my being, my soul .... is Batman the Animated Series. This is such a well put together tribute in general as well. I still have the VHS of Mask of The Phantasm and the mini comic that came with it. Still my favorite childhood movie of all time. This show, like you said, is a masterpiece and pioneer in the animated genre. The coolest thing is that instead of coloring on a white background like every other animation, they used a black background. So epic and impactful. L&amp;R Super Maxio

YES - love the BTAS love, Huber! "Feat of Clay" is easily my favorite episode(s) from the series. However, I'm not sure if I was understanding you correctly when you mentioned that some of the animation in early episodes wasn't "up to snuff". In the animation community, "Feat of Clay part 2" (when Clayface really struts his stuff) is widely recognized as some of the greatest series animation - especially for an American show. Even still today. TMS is the Japanese animation studio that was contracted for the work on Feat of Clay part 2, specifically. TMS was also responsible for the gem that is Akira. There were a handful of animation studios that Warner Bros. would outsource the animation work to, and it's assumed that because of TMS's track record and talent, that the Batman team at Warner Bros. gave the challenging Clayface episode to TMS because they would knock it out of the park. What with all the shapeshifting and "viscous fighting". For those who may not know, Warner Bros. animation studio would do all the storyboards/planning, but it's common practice that the actual animation work is farmed out to different overseas studios. So quality can vary from episode to episode, but every now and then ya get a great one from a great studio like TMS. Just wanted to let my inner nerd out of it's cage :) It's amazing work that I still watch periodically and look on with awe. And one day we'll all look back fondly on Huber Syndrome Episode 18 in much the same way :D Love and Respect!

Animated series is the best version of Batman by far, I'd say. The short stories and 1950's feeling that the setting and art style gives you really suits Batman better than the live-action movies.

Ian Alexander

I never really thought about the cartoons that deeply since I was a kid watching a kid's show. Although I did watch Batman in the 90s, I loved Xmen and Spiderman way more because of their insane 3-5 parters they would pull off, and reoccuring story elements. Those long series are extremely memorable for me, and I feel like maybe I should look back and study them like Huber did for Batman.

I read the title as "Huber Syndrome - The Animated Series". Got me hyped for a moment there, especially with that thumbnail.

Andrew Chalmers

I was 7 or 8 when I watched this series. I remember that horrific seen. It still haunts me. Those shadow silhouettes with that sound. Chills.

cnote51

HUBER! YES! I've just started rewatching the series a couple weeks ago, and just in awe (again) of the intelligence, respect and passion put into this series.