Off Balance, The Man Who Killed Batman, Mudslide, Paging the Crime Doctor, and Zatanna

You're listening to Legends of the Dark Knight

only on the Geekcast Radio Network. This is Batgirl

and this episode of Legends of the Dark Knight

features Stephen C. Phillips and Mike Blanchard.

and welcome to Legends of the Dark Knight. I'm

your host, Steve Megatron Phillips. Joining me

in this adventure into Gotham City is... TFJone

Mike, hello. Hello. Oh boy, I have the headache

from hell. I've had a headache all day and it

will not go away. Within a 14 hour span, I've

taken eight ibuprofen. Four at like seven o 'clock

this morning and then another four around seven

o 'clock this evening. And it just won't fucking

go away. I'm pretty sure that that's not healthy.

For taking that many. And I have a slight head

cold, so. Yay. Yes. So what else have you been

up to? Not really all that much. Well, I got

to play the beta copy of Diablo 3 over the weekend,

which is no longer available, sadly. It was available

Friday to this morning. Yeah So, um, yeah, I

played it for like a whole two hours on Saturday.

When's the game supposed to come out? May 15th.

Oh That's close enough. I Know I pre -ordered

it as far as I go. I've just been podcasting

as always This week is gonna be a little bit

lighter. Thank God because last week I don't

it's not that I don't have the time to do it

all it's just fact that I'm pre recording all

this stuff so we have a buffer and we can you

know keep up a schedule and everything else and

it's like oh my god I I swear to god by by Sunday

night I recorded 20 podcasts last week nice yeah

so but that's that's pretty much it for me as

far as what I've been doing yes and for those

wondering Tara is having family stuff come up

so she'll be back in probably the next episode

so yep so with that uh we'll get into the first

episode of the night I don't know what Niko wanted

to meet here for, anyway. He didn't, Twitch.

I did. You... You tricked me. What do you want?

Information. On the Society of Shadows. Word

is, they've started operating here. Tell me all

about them. Hey, there ain't that much to tell.

I mean, I only worked for them, okay? Not with

them. It'll have to do. Now talk. Okay, okay.

They're supposed to have their claws in every

dirty deal in Gotham. In fact, word on the street

is they got something major going down tonight.

Gonna boost some kind of new ultrasound gizmo

or something. Who runs the show? Strange dude.

The strangest thing about these guys, come to

think of it, goes by the code name Vertigo. They

say he's... First up is Off Balance Batman meets

one of his underworld informants, Twitch, atop

Gotham's Statue of Liberty. Twitch says he's

been running errands for a mysterious organization,

the Society of Shadows. He mentions that they

are planning a heist of a high -tech weapon,

and their leader goes by the name Vertigo. Just

then, two agents of the Society appear in attack.

In the fight, Twitch is thrown off the statue's

head into the sea, though he appears to survive.

Batman overcomes the two agents, but before he

can interrogate them, they release gas canisters

in their masks, sending them both into catastonic

states. Have you ever seen the Steven Seagal

Ja Rule movie Half Past Dead? No, if a rapper

is in a movie, I tend to shy away from it. Okay.

Well, long story short, there's a character in

there called Twitch. And when I saw this, that

was the first thing I thought of. I was like,

oh god. It's so funny. No, this is a good episode.

This is a good episode simply for the fact the

League of Shadows and the introduction of Taliyah

Al Ghul. And just so everyone's clear, when we

get to it, even though he's not in this, he doesn't

debut in this episode, when we get to the Demon's

Quest, it is Raish Al Ghul. It's not Raz. As

a lot of people like to say, it's Raish. It even

says it in, he even corrects people, Raish even

corrects people in the episode when he appears.

But, no, this one was really, really good. This

was kind of setting up the whole League of Shadows,

the whole Raish Al Ghul thing. Vertigo has some

interesting powers, but to me, he's essentially

a villain of the week. I know he's probably done

other stuff in Batman lore at some point, but

Talia was where it was at this week for me, but

with this episode. Yeah, as far as Vertigo's

concerned, he was only in one episode of the

DCAU, so ultimately he doesn't matter all that

much. He did kind of his appearance and the way

he handled himself was above a typical villain

of the week. Right. But I definitely have to

agree with you. I'm more so looking forward to

the League of Assassins and Tali Al Ghul and

Raysh. I think it's funny that Tali unmasks Bruce

in this. Which, you know, this leads to their...

Attraction. Yes, and then you do see Raish at

one point. Albeit very quickly. Right, but it

doesn't actually... You do see him, but he's

more so in the shadows to, you know, go for the

punny there. Yeah, and he is voiced by David

Warner. Yes. For the first time. Well, yeah,

but I mean, this is the first time that Ra's

al Ghul has really appeared in other media outside

of the comics so True. I mean they're written,

you know, thank God there was no Ra's in the

66 Batman. Oh my god Can you imagine that? Batman

would be dead Yes, Adam West would be a bloody

mess on the floor Robin did you bring my League

of Assassins death spray? But no, this Off Balance

does a very nice job of setting up the League

of Shadows and setting up the, you know, fatal

attraction between Bruce and Talia. So yeah,

that's why I liked it as far as that goes. Yeah,

I kind of have to agree with you on that. Other

than just that aspect of the episode, it kind

of was like, meh, but it was a nice setup. As

far as the continuity bit, Batman's brief encounter

with Talia seems to have tremendously impressed

both her and Raish by the time of their next

appearance, which is the Demon's Quest. Raish

has set in motion an elaborate scheme to test

Batman's worthiness as heir to his empire and

the husband to his daughter. Well at least she's

still female here. I was going to say, this whole

Raish Talia thing throughout... They have an

infatuation with Bruce. Yeah, and it's very,

very unhealthy. Whereas Talia has an infatuation

with his body, Raish has an infatuation with

his mind. And his body to some degree. Oh, God.

Brown chicken. No, anyways... Oh, my gosh. I'm

not going there. Well, we will later, but as

for trivia yes Although he is named in the credits

Rae Shalgo does not formally make his name known

until the Demon's Quest You know which we knew

Vertigo's fall from the tower Especially the

camera shot from inside the tower of him falling

past an opening appears to be a direct reference

to the 1958 Hitchcock film Vertigo That's kind

of cool I love when they do little nods like

that as far as different camera angles and stuff

like that. That's always cool. This episode is

of Raish, which obviously we knew that. It's

Batman's deadliest, one of his deadliest enemies

from the comics. And like you said, he's never

before appeared on a Batman film or TV show.

Yeah, until DCAU and then of course when... That

begins. Yeah, Qui -Gon Jinn. Yes. I gotta say

he did pull it off very well. He did, but it

was so weird. Yes, I have to agree. I was like,

where's the Lazarus pit? I was like, wait a second,

where the fuck is his lightsaber? I need his

Lazarus pit. But yeah, then the... Vertigo. Vertigo's

comics. counterpart is known as Count Vertigo,

an old green arrow villain. Yes. Yeah, that's...

He was in The Batman, which, you know, nobody

cares, but... And in a note to later on, Kirare

appears to use the same mind -erasing substance

in Batman Beyond episode final cut. So here's

a early nod to Batman Beyond here. But as for

as for quotes for this episode, I think the most

memorable one here happens to be With race saying

as you said detective this is not over Yes, because

you have like I said it before David Warner doing

the voice. Yeah, so that makes it all the more

worth it And the funny thing is, going back and

watching these episodes now, I mean, I knew it

was David Owen or Israel, I've always known that,

but since I've seen him in other stuff since

originally watching this cartoon series, before,

you know, obviously going back and watching it

for this podcast, you know, he was... There's

a turtle secret to the use. Yeah, no, that's

not where I was going. That's where I've seen

him first. I know, but that's not where I was

trying to go the more serious route. Edward,

what's his name? Yeah, Salinger. From Tron. Oh,

yes. So he was in that He was in Star Trek 5

as a diplomat and Star Trek 6 as a Klingon commander

Yeah, or ambassador, but you know he's David

Warner has been all over the place Absolutely

love him as far as the voice for race and as

far as you know his portrayal of the villain

in Tron and you know The funny thing is I saw

TMNT 2 secret of the use in theaters and back

then when that came out I knew because I had

seen like one and a half episodes of BTIS as

a kid as far as like when I was living with my

dad my stepmom and then she's like oh this is

too violent you can't watch this blah blah blah

I had seen him on screen and then I kind of forgot

about it and then I heard his voice as race as

a kid and I'm like why does that voice sound

so familiar and then It's always weird to me

seeing David Warner and then hearing his voice

because I always think of Ra's al Ghul. Something

I did not know originally, I've known it since

then, but Supergirl is in this episode. Or a

version of Supergirl is in this episode because

Helen Slater, who played the live -action Supergirl,

is the voice of Talia. Yeah, Helen Slater is

hot I'll take your word for it I'll show you

a picture later But off balance as I said very

very well done introduction to the League of

Shadows and sets up all of the other All of the

other race Batman adventures later on Yes, so

Anything else? Nope, that's it. With that, we'll

be moving on. A Sydney debris to see you, sir.

Send him in. Mr. Thorne, I'm so grateful you're

willing to see me on such short... Nonsense,

Sydney. Come in. Join me for a demetase? No,

thank you, sir. Oh. Sorry about the leather.

I hear you've made quite a name for yourself

on the streets, Sydney. What is it they're calling

you? Oh, yes, the man who killed Batman. Yes,

no, that is, I didn't. Oh, Mr. Thorne, I'm in

big trouble. Now, now, just relax, man, and tell

me what's on your mind. Next up is The Man Who

Killed Batman. As rain pours down on Gotham City,

a man hurriedly runs through the streets. As

he runs, a newspaper flies by with the headline,

Batman Slain? Mysterious crime fighter missing.

The man finally arrives at Rupert Thorne's house.

He gets inside and introduces himself, but Thorne

already knows who he is. Sydney Debris. The man

who killed Bat - Sydney, however, doesn't appreciate

the fame because now everyone wants to kill or

fight him, so Sydney tells his story. He's a

big wuss. That's basically the gist of the episode.

Okay, let's move on to the next. No. I know,

I know, I know. This was a comedy episode, honestly.

And the best part was you had you had you had

Thorne in there you had this guy you had You

had the Joker you had Harley Who bailed him out

of jail? You know and then Bullock is like haven't

we met before and she says I May have you know,

what was it subpoenaed you before? And then she

says but for you it was a small subpoena. Oh

boy I caught that. I was like, wow. She just

talked about, yeah. Yeah, that's not cool at

all. It took me a second. I caught that though,

and I was like, that is just wrong. Two very

interesting voice cast in this. Mr. Maurice Lamache

as Murphy and Robert Ricardo as Eddie G. Yeah,

I thought that those those voices sounded familiar

and then Sydney was Matt Fruer Matt Fruer. I'm

trying to think what else he's been in Yeah,

that's that's who I thought he was he's gargoyles

well, no, it wasn't even just gargoyles He was

max headroom and oh, yeah He did Damn, what is

it? He was on honey? I shrunk the kids. Oh Yeah,

that's right and Because I knew he sounded familiar

from something and then he's he's been in a lot

of different stuff He's been shit dude. He's

been in a lot of stuff though. We just finished

talking about how Helen Slater is still hot He

was Eddie in Supergirl 1984 with Helen Slater

Nice This guy's been in a lot of stuff. I mean

besides just Batman the animated series I knew

his voice sounded familiar while I was listening

to him as Sid the squid and he plays that kind

of character very well He yeah, he's been in

a lot of different stuff Yes, he has a lot of

animation too, but yeah anyways back to the episode

Just a little bit of a Nerd thing going on there

figuring out where he came from but uh No, I

thought it was kind of funny how one circumstance

of him accidentally tripping and yanking the

cowl off Batman Yeah leads to him meeting with

the Joker or actually having his own gang getting

in a bar fight getting locked up in jail getting

sprung by Harley Getting to meet the Joker the

Joker doing a funeral For Batman who he exclaimed

without Batman Joker there is no Joker. There

is there is no, you know crime, you know, he

says without Batman crime has no punchline and

then After he locks Sydney in the casket with

the batcowl he says well that was fun who's the

Chinese It's like wow he just without skipping

a beat just jumps over who's hungry you know

I could go for some sweet and sour chicken and

then Sydney thinks he's dying and then all of

a sudden You know You come to find out later

that Batman actually saved him Yeah, toxic waste

and he lands on the shoreline Although it doesn't

explain how Batman got him out of there. No doesn't

at all and Because it's acid so go figure but

And then how Batman beats Thorne You know, I

mean it's just the whole episode was just one

trip after another I Mean essentially this is

Rupert Thorne in the Joker's role When Joker

went up against Charlie Collins. Oh, yeah, I

mean this is essentially a reset not saying that

this is a bad episode I don't I don't mean that

but essentially this is a recycled plot line

where Charlie Collins pissed the Joker off in,

what was it, Joker's favor? Yeah, Joker's favor.

I mean essentially this is putting Rupert Thorn

in the Joker's position and making the Joker

a background character in this episode, which

I don't mind. I mean, I liked this episode. I

thought it was great. I thought it was hilarious.

I mean just the whole coincidence of everything.

It was just great. Yeah and this was kind of

funny just all the way around. All the different

angles that were played all the different villains

that you encounter. It was just really well done

Even though some characters were more in the

background than others. Yeah But it's kind of

funny because some of this stuff Comes back to

play in other areas of Batman lore even the video

games But go figure is written by Paul Dini Hey,

yeah, so yeah, and and I like the nod with the

ace chemical plant The Joker holding the baton

to General there because that's where he was

made. It was an overall good episode having a

nice comedy twist to it. As far as continuity,

Harvey Bullock probably recognizes Harley without

her Harley Quinn makeup because she posed as

a police officer at Commissioner Gordon's testimonial

dinner in Joker's favor. Hmm. Yeah, that's that's

one way but he should have recognized her as

a psychiatrist to mark him That's true, too.

So that's something they don't list And the other

Here's production inconsistencies hardly uses

her real name when posing as a lawyer Despite

having been arrested already with that name But

they they say that there's that hole there because

her name wasn't fully confirmed yet at being

harleen quinzel. Yeah But um, oh And then of

course the joker pinching harley's cheek at the

funeral scene and her normally blue eyes turn

black then revert back to blue Yeah, let's go

which you know, that's that's typical this this

episode in places didn't have the best animation

anyhow No Especially during the Joker scenes.

They were really bad at points and then really

good and when they got closer and then they got

really bad so You can definitely see the the

quality difference between episodes yeah, yeah

and the Hardly playing the kazoo while the coffin

rolls down into the acid is a parody of the funeral

for mr. Spock in Star Trek 2 the wrath of Khan

Which, I did not catch that while watching it.

And then of course, the scene that ends up replaying

in Batman the Dark Knight, in the Dark Knight

Returns, well that's the comic, but then it was

in the Dark Knight movie. The idea that the Joker

does not want Batman dead and enjoys fighting

him time and time again. And they say that it's

reminiscent of those two areas, which that's

very true. It's like yin and yang, you need both

of them. Although Batman could do without the

Joker. I like some of these trivia bits. Bruce

Tim stated that the idea for the episode came

when he and Dini debated on what it would be

like if Batman was not present for the majority

of the episode. Indeed, it is one of the most

acclaimed episodes of the series. Paul Dini was

actually worried that people would think Harley

playing Amazing Grace on the kazoo as the coffin

containing Sydney is lowered into the waste is

sacrilegious, but nothing ever came out of it.

Nice. Oh, God. That's awesome. Her playing Amazing

Grace on the kazoo, that was just so awesome.

Oh boy. Yeah, a lot of good quotes, a lot of

good funny moments through this episode. Very

good voicing. All the way around. Dear friends,

today is the day the clown cried. Yes. I just

love that opening line. It's just so awesome

from that quote from Joker. Well, then I love

how he continues it, too. Yeah. Yeah. And he

cries not for the passing of one man, but for

the death of a dream. Yes. Oh, God. You'll have

to put that. Oh, I'm going to take that clip.

Yeah, you'll have to put that audio in this episode.

I can't do it justice. I'm not even going to

try. Oh, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah. You'll have

to grab that clip for the episode. god um overall

this is a really great you know it was a depressing

episode as far as the context and the content

of it but just the circumstances just make it

so funny oh yeah oh god yeah i love it that's

all i got it was a great episode yes i have to

agree so with that we'll be moving on I'm gonna

check the parking lot, Billy. Try to stay awake,

huh? Hey, it's not past my bedtime, old man.

Whoa! I didn't hear you come back. Sorry, I forgot

to check Mr. Townhauer's office. I better do

that now. What in the name of... Looks like a

slow night, Alfred. When I finish patrolling

this area, I'm heading home. Excellent timing,

Master Bruce. I've just taken dinner out of the

oven. Looks like trouble at Tarn Hour Financial,

Alfred. I won't be home early after all. Please

don't take this the wrong way, sir, but your

goose is cooked. Next up is... Mudslide. Clayface's

return to Gotham is up to his old tricks again,

albeit with a small problem. His clay body is

finally giving up and falling apart. Fortunately

though, an old friend and co -star of his, Dr.

Stella Bates, knows a way to keep him together.

Although to acquire the necessary funding, Clayface

is forced to commit robberies, one of which at

Tarnower Financial brings him into a conflict

with Batman. Who offers to help him the legal

way? Clayface angrily refuses knowing that Batman

will most likely send him to Arkham Asylum and

tries to run away But his body starts giving

in and Batman catches up Clayface collapses into

a bin when Stella arrives and rescues him in

time What a dumbass Obviously Batman cares enough

to not let him turn to mush Yes. And he would

have saved him. But he did not let him. Yeah.

So, what a retard. I... I liked Clayface's premiere

in Feed of Clay two -parter. I don't like this

Clayface episode, as you just said. He's a fucking

dumbass. I prefer it when he comes back in growing

pains. Oh. Oops, spoiler for some people. Because

Growing Pains is very much so a character development

episode for Tim Drake when we get there. Yeah,

that's way later. Yeah, it's way, way later.

But I don't know, I wasn't feeling this episode

at all. I mean, you know, we've had two really,

you know, off balance was great because of what

it did, the man who killed Batman was great for

what it did, and then this. It's like, ugh. Yeah,

this, if you could have had Batman's help to

regain his human side, right, why wouldn't he?

That's just, that's just stupid because that's

ultimately what he wants anyway. Mm -hmm, and

the Stella chick has to resort to stealing this

isotope called mp40 which or she has to have

clay face steal it of course and she puts him

in this plastic suit it looks like and To hold

his form and of course, you know, he shatters

it being a dumbass He started turning human and

the Batman's like no you wouldn't do it the legal

way. I'm shutting off the machine You could have

just let him you know do it and then arrested

him afterward. Yeah. Because he would have been

human. Yeah. Again, kind of. Yeah. But yeah,

so instead, Clayface, being a dumbass, decides

to fight Batman in the rain, which breaks his

molecular structure and he falls to the abyss

into the water below. Yes. What a moron. No,

that's all that's all I'm gonna say really it's

Stella Bates herself is a complete movie reference

Not the character but her name funny, yeah I

don't know Yeah, I just didn't care for this

one at all Just didn't do anything for me. As

far as production notes, according to Bruce Tim,

the reason they did not use Clayface much is

because he was too expensive to animate, as well

as too difficult to come up with a good story

for. Mm -hmm. Eric Radomski came up with the

idea due to the fans demanding another Clayface

episode after the success of Feet of Clay. So,

Eric Radomski is to blame for this shit pile.

Well, Alan Burnett wrote it. Well, true, but

it was Eric Radomski's idea. True, true. Another

prediction in consistency after Clayface dissolves

into the ocean, a brief outline of his remains

rises to the surface, and it seems to have stopped

raining. However, in the next shot, it hasn't

stopped yet. Yeah. that there's always inconsistencies

in cartoons. Trivia, Clayface refuses Batman's

help to become normal again, yet by stealing

the MP40 canister from Wayne Biomedical, he unknowingly

accepts it. And then of course there's several

references for the moviemaking industry because

Clayface's former background as an actor. Which,

I kinda already mentioned some of them, but if

you want to take those, it's fine. Well, the

other one that's of substance, the movie Stella

Watches, has the Warner Brothers sign in the

background of the end. Well yeah, but I mean,

when he yells her name, he's referencing Marlon

Brando's Streetcar Named Desire. Yeah. Which,

everybody knows that line. Yeah. And her last

name, obviously, is because of Norman Bates.

Now, one funny thing, Yeah. From Psycho. And

it caught me this time, over all the other times

I watched it. When he's placed in the support

suit molding, Clayface looks similar to an Oscar

statue. Yes, he does. Which I didn't catch until

this time of watching it. I was like, wow, that's

definitely an Oscar. Yeah. So that was very strange

to me. Yes. There were some good lines here out

through the episode. My favorite has to be the

ironic Alfred as always. Don't take this the

wrong way sir, but your goose is cooked. And

of course, Alfred turns to a roast goose fresh

out of the oven. I know, that was great. I did

like that. That's one of the nice things about

this Alfred. He does get a lot of funny lines.

Yeah, he's got some of the old, you know robin

lines that would have been in the show Yeah,

but they're way more intelligent other than you

know, holy backflaps, you know, you know stupid

stuff like that It's he actually gets ironic

funny Jokes, you know, but yeah overall the episode

was wasn't bad It was one of the better out of

the five but I'd put it in the middle Yeah so

far So anything else? That's it With that we'll

be moving on. Pull over and let him by. That's

it. We're outta here. Hey, man, did I call it

or what? Only two guards, no cops for miles.

It was like no sweat, right? He's history. Gotta

be. Nobody could take that fall and live. Next

up is Paging the Crime Doctor. A lone armored

truck drives the night streets of Gotham. An

ambulance drives up behind it and the drivers

pull over. However, the ambulance drivers pull

out a gun and blow out the truck's tires. They

then hurl a gas bomb into the truck causing the

drivers to pass out and crash. A trio of criminals

crawls out of the ambulance and steals its cargo.

They muse over how easily the job was, but Batman

comes to disillusion them of the notion. The

crooks put up a fight, but Batman manages to

force them to crash and proceeds to apprehend

them. However, one of the criminals takes hold

of the stolen cargo, a surgical laser, and fires

it at Batman. Batman's cowl is grazed, and though

the laser malfunctions, Batman is thrown off

balance just long enough for the crooks to throw

him from the bridge. They believe Batman is dead,

but he luckily manages to climb... or land on

a cable car and escapes. I did not like this

episode. This episode is a villain of the week,

villain of the week being Rupert Thorne. This

episode really sucks. It's stupid. It doesn't

even have that... I know I've said this before

and I know it's because it's what Bruce Timm

and his team said that they wanted the feel for

this series to be. This didn't even feel like

a mini movie of the week. This just felt like

a throwaway throw. Yeah complete garbage and

it was not the story and the directed by were

of people that I Don't think it's managed to

do anything decent No, I'm not wrong Yeah, they've...

Well, now Frank Carr has done a number of other

good... He has done a lot of good other episodes.

Right. And Laren Bright has done some other ones

too, like there's, you know, POV, the Cat in

the Claw, The Mechanic, Perchance to Dream. So,

I guess it's just the one guy. Yeah. That's not

worth a damn. That's why he only did one. Anyways,

um... Yeah, I on the one hand it was all right

but You know Leslie Tompkins was in it so that

that was about the only upside to this episode

and then you had Matt Thorne The the brother

of Rupert Thorne. Yeah, it's closing to help

his brother and then basically the best part

of the episode is at the very end where Bruce

is talking to Matthew in jail And Bruce offers

to help with legal costs as long as Matt did

something for him. Matt's like, I'm not doing

anything for you. And Bruce just tells him he

wants to talk about his father. So they both

sit down, and that's pretty much the best part

of the episode. Yep. But yes. The little bit

of trivia here. While at Leslie Tompkins home,

Bruce Wayne picked up the... I can't even pronounce

that word. The Caduceus? Yeah, the Caduceus.

A book that contains the photographs and names

of all the medical graduates from Thomas Wayne's

Leslie's and Matthew Thorn's year. I guess it's

a year book or something. I assume. Yeah, it

sounds to me like it's a... The orderly who Batman

struggles to fight slightly resembles Lucas from

Prophecy of Doom. Yeah, other than that this

episode really sucks. Yeah, I'm sorry for the

the short one here, but there's really nothing

here There there's absolutely I mean there's

nothing even here to to remotely point out As

far as it being so wrong and so bad. It's just

fucking bad Yeah, I fast -forwarded through most

of this one honestly just because it bored me

so bad So with that we'll be moving on to the

final episode of the night Ladies and gentlemen,

it's time for magic. Good evening, Gotham. I'm

Zatanna. Tonight, I can promise you a few surprises.

A thrill or two along the way. And with love,

a happy ending. How long has it been? Ten years?

Twelve? All that and another lifetime. She and

her father were very fond of you. I was a different

person then. Yes, intense, driven, moody. She'd

never recognize you now. Now open your heart

to magic and become a child again. Wrapping it

up this week we finish out with Zatanna. Bruce

Wayne and Alfred are in the audience for a show

put on by the magician Zatanna. She dazzles the

audience with a few simple tricks, but Bruce's

real focus is on Zatanna herself. Alfred reminds

Bruce of his past acquaintance with Zatanna and

her father, and Bruce begins to reminisce about

his training days. Again, a episode that is throwing

back to Bruce's training, which is very, very

awesome and interesting. Oh yeah, I love any

time they go back. I love any time they go back

and touch on some of his past. This also helps

understand how he gets out of the randomized

chains that the Joker pretty commonly throws

him in. Yes. It's like the Joker's like, eh,

let's put him in some chains. He can't get out

of those and then he gets out of them. And you

get to see him firsthand do it here in a straight

jacket. The same way the Joker does it to him.

Yep. So, yeah, I thought that was kind of cool.

And then, of course, they know him as John Smith.

Yes. Which I thought was kind of interesting.

So they still don't know it's Bruce. Yeah. They

know he's not fully truthful on his name, but

they just take him at his word. But yeah, I thought

it was kind of funny how Zatanna makes the mint

disappear and then not really. And then someone

beat her to the punch and then kind of thing

and then made 10 million disappear. Yep. But

I liked the episode overall. It was pretty good.

Yeah, it was very good. I think where Zatanna

gets her, you know, a very well -done episode

is in Justice League with Cersei. Oh, you know

the episode I'm talking about, this little piggy,

when Cersei turns Wonder Woman into a pig. Oh,

geez. No, but it's a good episode because it

really shows off... Zatanna's powers and everything

else so because it because once once we get the

Justice League she actually has magical powers

But no, I mean this little piggy was a very funny

episode in Justice League Yeah, and she's had

numerous visits in the DCAU. She's been in this

episode. She's in one like a cameo in the new

adventures She was in Gotham girls for two episodes

and then a cameo in the third Justice League

Unlimited she was in six well mentioned in one

cameo in three actually in two And then a cameo

in one episode of Batman Beyond so I mean she's

had an influence throughout the DCAU and most

her major appearances have been written by Paul

Dini that's because Paul Dini loves the character

yes he secretly in love with Zatanna he actually

married his own version of Zatanna nice yes a

magician yeah way to go hey that's not the only

thing she can make disappear oh god That's so

wrong, dude. Oh, wow. Oh, god. But no, overall,

this is a great episode. It was a great plot.

Again, it was great to see the backstory of Bruce,

and that's what I like seeing in this series,

you know, as far as overall character development

for Bruce, more so than Batman. So, yeah. Great

episode. Yeah. So, yeah, it's... It's a very

good episode. I liked how they had to work together

throughout it How you know he got them out of

some of the tricks that she didn't think they

were gonna get out of and vice versa and Then

of course the the final knot at the end when

she disappears as quick as Batman would and leaves

A goodbye note. Yeah, I wanted her posters. That

was just that was cool But this is also foreshadowing

this episode. Before he had to leave for Japan

to do his training with Yoro Sensei and Kayode

Ken in Night of the Ninja. So yeah, that was

kind of cool. Of course, she appears as a guest

at Bruce's wedding later on. So yeah, she connects

John Smith with Bruce Wayne there. So but yeah,

so this this episode was overall really good

Oh, yeah being the first appearance of Zatanna.

Yeah, and It's it's it's one of those characters

I don't mind seeing on the screen. Yeah Interesting

trivia note Vincent Chevelli who voices the Tara

her father Is one of only five actors from Batman

the Intermediate Series who also appeared in

one of the live -action Batman movies in his

case Batman Returns So that's kind of interesting.

Who was he in that? I don't know. I'll have to

look it up. You wanna hit up some trivia bits?

I think he was one of Penguin's henchmen. Probably,

yeah. He definitely looks that part, although

he has sadly passed away. Yeah But yeah, overall

there's a lot of good quotes here and I think

that's pretty much it. So with that we'll be

going to commercial break and be back with our

final rating after this. You can now hear our

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can find Tooncast Beyond in iTunes and the web

at www .geekcastradio .com. Tune in. Don't I

know you from someplace? I think I served you

a subpoena once It was a small subpoena Is he

he's never been this late before There's a certain

rhythm to these things I cause trouble he shows

up. We have some laughs and the game starts all

over again Only now thanks to you. I have this

terrible feeling he's Really not coming. Wee,

look at all the pretties. Put them back, Harley.

Oh, Mr. J, you're such a kidder. You never could...

I said put them back! Sure, boss, I can do that.

This is me putting them back. No problemo. Without

Batman, crime has no punchline. Dear friends

today is the day the clown cried And he cries

not for the passing of one man but for the death

of a dream The dream that he would someday taste

the ultimate victory over his hated enemy For

it was the Batman who made me the happy soul.

I am today How I agonized over the perfect way

to thank him for that. Perhaps with a cyanide

pie in the face. Or an exploding whoopee cushion

playfully planted in the Batmobile. But those

dreams were dashed. by the weasely little gunsel

sitting there in our midst. The cowardly, insignificant

Garnet who probably got lucky when Batman slipped

on the slime trail this loser left behind him.

This mound of diseased hyenas who's not fit to

lick the dirt from my spats! But I digress. The

time for sorrow has passed. It's time to look

ahead to a future filled with smiles. And I'll

be smiling again just as soon as we take that

man there, and slap him in that box there, and

roll it into that vat of acid there! Bruce Wayne,

Dr. Thorne. Thomas Wayne's son. Did you get my

letter? Yes. Thomas Wayne. I told you I can help

you with your legal costs. Maybe even put in

a good word with the judge. Yes, but what do

you get out of it? Well, there is something you

can do for me. I knew it. I knew there'd be a

catch. Sorry, Mr. Wayne. Matthew Thorne is no

longer for sale. I'm not looking for any illegal

favors. What then? Something you know. Something

only you can give me. Tell me about my father.

And we're back. So, final rating of the episodes

today. Umm... hmmm... Like some of them will

be tough, some of them not so much. Yeah... uh...

I would have to say Zatanna is number one for

me. Off Balance, The Man Who Killed Batman, Mudslide

and Paging the Crime Doctor. Mudslide and Paging

the Crime Doctor are easily the two worst episodes

out of today. uh... i like this is a ten o one

the most because of the background for bruce

uh... the second most being off balance because

of what it's setting up for later stories with

rechelle ghoul and talia uh... and the man who

killed batman simply because it was another you

know all day tragic comedic episode what about

you uh... for myself i'd have to say uh... i'd

probably have to say Zatanna is my number one

just because I liked the episode overall. I didn't

feel like anything was forced. It kind of flowed

better to the point that I didn't realize that

that much time had gone. So that's my number

one. My number two would be the man who killed

Batman because it was just funny. Because the

guy not only makes an ass of the Joker but of

Thorne. And surprisingly Batman wasn't in it

much which... That's not a good reason, but it

was just showing what they could do with not

having him Right that this plot still forms around

Batman no matter what all right my next one would

be mudslide because as much as I don't care for

clay face I did I I liked the episode enough

to not put it at the bottom yeah, and then of

course is my last two which Off balance, I will

put it in my number four only because it has

a brief mention of Raish and it has Talia in

it, but it's not good enough because it has vertigo.

So that's my number four, and then of course

my number five is Paging the Crime Doctor because

let's face it, there's nothing there. Nothing

there at all. No, nothing. So, anything else?

Nope. All righty, time to wrap this bitch up.

Sorry for all you people out there that I just

swore I don't care. Thank you for joining us

for Legends of the Dark Knight. If you'd like

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At TFGOMike. Join us next time when we discuss

the mechanic, Harley and Ivy. Shadow of the Bat

Part 1 and 2, and Blind as a Bat. So for now,

I'm Steve Megatron Phillips with... DFT1 Mike.

Saying in the immortal words of Batman, I am

Vengeance. I am the Knight. I am Batman. Thank

you for listening. Until next time. technical

difficulties let's move on shall we