Some cool references I missed pointed out by commentors! Firefly did use a rainbow belt in Outsiders #16. That turns that double rainbow reference into a triple rainbow lol For Joker's first Batman 66 appearance they adapted The Joker's Utility Belt story, but featured a henchwench named Queenie! Keep em coming down below seeing the ever evolving interconnected tapestry of these characters is part of why I love them, that and now we're ready for that super niche trivia night.
The first season of ‘66 adapts several Silver age Batman stories to varying degrees. DC even put out a trade paper back collecting some of those stories around the 2010’s, if memory serves.
Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't done a review of the episode with superdickery Superman yet. Complete with a reference to Lois' many marriage schemes.
Trvia night! Trivia night! Honestly you should do a trvia live stream. It would be so fun. Your old videos are like my comfort show. I just went through your cheetah/Wonder Woman playlist. I am prepared! I have Doll Man facts!
Not a Batman reference, but it was a nice touch giving the Harold Lloyd henchman a robot hand since in real life, Lloyd got some fingers blown off by a prop bomb. Chaplin using the Tramp cane during the dance is a great detail, and that Buster Keaton face is marvelous. The fourth henchman looks like Fatty Arbuckle.
"The Joker has made an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine - that's probably an oxymoron". Quite the opposite. It's a tautology. An oxymoron would be "a simple Rube Goldberg machine". Oxymoron implies contradiction, while tautology implies redundancy. This comment was brought to you by Sleep. Sleep: I should get some. Ask my doctor if Sleep is right for me. Sleep. Now with two-day shipping.
@@uckbritley1305 You're not being pedantic. You're being redundant. A tautology is a form of redundancy. In fact, you could say "a redundant tautology" is a tautology.
Absolutely one of my favorites as a kid. Brave and the Bold used the Joker pretty sparingly, so when ever he showed up it was usually in one of the bigger episodes. I think Brave and the Bold introduced a lot of us to the wider, older DC universe as kids. I don't think I'd be a fan of blue beetle without it.
It also leaned into elements of silver age Joker, so when he DID showed up it was arguably LESS predictable if he'd just do something wacky (which i missed) or really fucked up versus always being a threat on sight.
_Batman: The Brave and the Bold_ is a love letter to the Silver Age era of comic books while still retaining the dark undertone of the Batman mythos. It goes to show that Batman have a sense of humor whatever he wants to be outside of being a brooding vigilante.
silver age and bronze age, the brave and the bold comic by the same name with the team ups with batman and other heroes throughout the dc universe concept was from the bronze age
No you aren't living in a simulation or having a stroke I had to re-upload this video lol. RUclips did not care for my last thumb, which pains me, I may still try to sneak it back on at some point. For now here's a new question! What's your favourite Bat-Mite story?
@@CasuallyComics You need to stop focusing so much on the adult only content, have you thought about checking if your videos adhere to a set of child friendly rules? I've had some here... Oh, yeah. Comics Code Authority... No inapropriate content can hide from this!
I seem to remember enjoying Bat-Mite in that "The New Adventures of Batman" cartoon. Never read a Bat-Mite story in the comics that I found interesting.
I love Flapper Harley. But I still feel it's a shame Harley Quinn didn't exist as a character in the 60's, because Goldie Hawn portraying her on the Adam West show would have been so good
Now that I think about it I really like the idea that the Joker’s greatest fear is to be ordinary because it gels perfectly The killing joke. Joker’s whole thing there is the idea that anyone can snap and become like him with just one bad day, which is disproven by the end. The joker wasn’t created because of trauma that’s the lie he tells himself, the joker was created because Jack Napier wanted to become a great comedian that people would respect, the acid just gave him an excuse to twist that desire into its horrible extreme. All the other philosophies he spews are just excuses he tells himself to blame others. In that case his greatest fear is being someone mediocre and weak again. Or at least that’s one way to read it.
I agree. The horrible truth is, the nameless protagonist of *_The Killing Joke_* could have become a success if he had put in the work, but he never did. He became the Joker and cut loose, using the creativity he should have exercised productively, but only to destroy.
Sometimes I think Brave and the Bold was darker than the DCAU. How often can a kids show get away with one character OPENLY DYING all episode long? Or, in later episodes, make us care about the death of B'wana Beast?
@@Linkonpark100 Yeah, Superman's first death was in the Silver Age (albeit only in an imaginary story), and it's a _horribly_ depressing comic. Like, there's no grand final battle there; he just dies horribly from Kryptonite poisoning in one of Luthor's traps while Luthor gloats over his body. And then the last third or so of the comic is just his funeral as every single character of the Silver Age weeps over him. It makes the "canon" Death of Superman story look like the Care Bears, and that story came out in the 1990s.
I wish the TV show went on for just a few more seasons. As a adult I enjoyed the love they gave the silver age comics. They could never recreate a show like this.
They had ideas to make a Clayface episode and they wanted to use Dial H for Hero. We needed at least another half season. At least we got thar Scooby doo movie.
@@guillermobiasini3755They were gonna do Dial H for Hero? Damn it, I wanna see that! Not to mention Clayface, they could've adapted Payne, maybe his relationship with Fuller, hell maybe even done all of the Clayfaces at the time.
I regret not watching Batman: The Brave & the Bold or Justice League Action at the time due to not being a fan of comedic takes on superheroes, but there's clearly a lot of love and care put into these shows. At the time and a yearning for another gritty Batman show or another Justice League series in the spirit of the DCAU. We seem to be getting that with Batman: Caped Crusader which is an adult animated series that's tonally very similar to Batman: TAS.
I take it from the clip there is no Shark Repellent Bat Spray in Emperor Joker's universe? I don't want to live in a universe with no Shark Repellent Bat Spray!
There’s a song in the Music Meister special called “Drives Us Bats” where Black Manta mentions the shark repellant. I think it also gets a call out in the series finale while the show is (quite literally) jumping the shark.
Despite all the murder and mind games, the most horrifying part of all that was Batman tricking Ten Eyed Man into catching a cactus. _Ouch!_ Apparently that also happened in the comics at one point, but that still has to be one of the most painful ways to dispatch a villain. At that point, it would probably be a greater mercy for Batman to put aside his no killing policy.
I was under the impression that in the comic Batman's trauma was transplanted into the Joker and the burden the Spectre and Superman spoke of was of the knowledge they choose to that to salvage Batman, and Batman would have never allowed it.
Yeah I was about to comment that, they made it look like Superman was going to shoulder the Bat trauma, then showed that he really put it on the Joker as a plot twist.
BTBATB is a GREAT Batman show. It is abundantly clear that the show’s creatives have great love for silver age stuff. The Bat-Mite episode at the end of the series featuring alternate Batman deep cuts (like the Bat-Manga and the Mad Magazine Bat-boy & Rubin) ;is a particular favourite ; Also the Owlman 2-parter. big love for this show 🦉
One of the things I really loved about this series was that it operated in such a way that they could in fact pull off an actual teamup between Batman and Joker it completely worked.
I had a copy of “Brave and the Bold” #191 as a kid. The panel with the Joker saying, “I was fond of the little fowl” has lived rent free in my head ever since!
I loved Brave and the Bold. It had such a love for not just the dark and gritty batman but batman stories of all sorts. When so many adaptions feel like they NEED to be dark, it was a breath of fresh air.
I absolutely LOVE the "What's the fun in that?" song. Not just as a song from this series, not just a TV song, I just love the song in general. It's just an all-around fun song in general.
What always stuck out to me about this episode is this is about the one and only time they took such a wide swing with the Harley Quinn character. I mean, Brave and the Bold was an homage mostly to the Silver Age, which didn't have a Haley counterpart what with her being created for BTAS (sure, there 'was' another character named Harlequinn, Duela Dent who I believe was the daughter of Two-Face from Earth-2 or something). Now I wouldn't say monochrome flapper Harley was a homerun, but I applaud them for having the guts to make such a bold choice and not just use the two versions of Harley that were around at the time, that being BTAS Harley (like The Batman used), or sl*tty Harley which was being used a lot in the comics.
Yeah, that’s one of the other things I love about this episode - a DIFFERENT interpretation of Harley. Batman and the Joker have had a ton of different styles, but Harley has either been classic jester or… uh, the other one. It’s very weird seeing a toned down version of that costume in DC Super Hero Girls - check that show out if you haven’t, Supergirl is a metalhead who goes to a nightclub called the Lazarus Pit.
It's pretty disturbing that Batman got so traumatized with Emperor Joker that Superman literaly had to erase his memory. That said, I exoected Coark to use the super-trick he applied to Lois at the end of Superman II
I think the Emperor Joker arc works as both a Batman & Superman story. [This is why multiverses exist.] It works as a Batman story because it is contained & straight to the point between the 2 characters. & it works as a Superman story because this gives superman a real challenge, plus it creates that DC charm of "How did that happen?" situation. & while Joker is a Batman villain, he also has the powers of a superman villain making it relevant to the man of steel. All & all great exploration on both versions.
I don't think the Joker would become sane if Batman died, I think he'd become bored. He'd mope around for a bit complaining about how nothing is fun anymore before suddenly latching onto someone else to be a new target of his obsession (and woe to whoever that poor soul is) while constantly talking about how they don't measure up to Batman
Interesting coincidence, I just rewatched this episode the other day and I feel like it holds up pretty well. It's interesting how often this show would just bust out a musical number and the voice actor for Joker does an amazing job.
One of my favorite lines in the original "Emperor Joker" comic was when the Joker breaks the 4th wall and addresses the artist. I believe it was something like, "Hey, Kano! (the artist's name) What part of "no habla Batman" do you NOT UNDERSTAND!"
I’ve always loved Superman/Joker stories because I feel that they’re such great foils for one another. The Sound of One Hand Clapping from Action Comics #40 and 41 is a perfect example of that. Seeing Superman fight Joker in a way that goes completely against Batman’s MO is so satisfying to see. Especially when you take into account how effective it is.
8:10 I remember watching years ago some of the unfinished pages that showed Jason surviving, made in case the voting results stated he had to live. That thing literaly made me feel like I was looking at a window that showed an alternative universe
12:39 - More of a redundancy. An oxymoron is a word or phrase made of two opposites. A Rube Goldberg machine is elaborate by nature, so it's more unessisary specification of the already implied. An extra adjective. Honestly, it fits, though, since Joker's plans are typically over-elaborate anyway. It's just further feeding into the spirit of it. Triply recognize how over the top his plan was, just as he would! Spectacular! Phenomenal! Deeeevine! HahahahHAHAH!
@josiahslack8720 Even sounds like something the Joker would take intense overindulgant pleasure in! That dirty hedonist is pleonasming every chance he can get! HAHAHAHA!😆🤣💛
Firefly uses the rainbow belt in an issue of The Outsiders(or is it batman and the outsiders, I forget which one and which issue), the original run. He is beaten by Halo who has similar powers
@@CasuallyComics The Pre-Crisis Garfield Lynns was a stage lighting technician not the more famous pyrotechnician introduced in Knightfall. In between are Ted Carson & the pyromanic Firebug.
I actually collected the Emperor Joker storyline as it came out. I wasn't really a big Supes fan at the time I was more a Young Justice and Superboy guy but when I saw the covers and flipped through one of the books I was hooked by what was happening so made sure to grab the books. So I kind of have a preference for the comics, but I understand why it would make sense to adapt to a more Batman-centric storyline. It was a pretty good year for crossover events, one of my other favorites Sins of Youth the Young Justice Crossover where all the heroes were turned into kids and vice versa also happened that year. I'd love to see you look at that one sometime.
I miss Batman the Brave and the Bold, it wasn't afraid to be _fun_ , something I feel DC kinda lacks nowadays. Personally, if _I_ had 1% of Mxy's powers, I could have quite a lot of fun messing with people...
I agree about current DC. Everything is either made for pre-schoolers or dark and edgy PG-13 or higher. Even that Super Sons CGI movie had a bunch of random swearing in it for no good reason.
it'd be soooo cool if you talked about the owlman two-parter (deep cover for batman! and game over for owlman!) from brave and the bold as i think they're two of the best written episodes in all of batman's tv shows, and also showcases interesting stuff like what if the joker did fall into a vat of chemicals but didn't turn evil and was a hero like batman, as well as what if batman and joker had to team up together and it turns out they work really well together, you could bring up comics like devil's advocate or europa that play with that idea. And, of course, you could talk about owlman and his place in the batman mythos. They're just really, really good episodes that I'd love to hear you talk about! and thank you so much for covering this episode, it's also one of my favorites!
I like the animated story as it gives an insight into Batman's never give up attitude and his use of his intelligence to find a unique solution. I love the rose dress.
Thank you, I can't believe I've finally got to understand and see the end of that episode. This shit traumatized me when I was a kid. Back some 15 or 12 years (god, I can't remember really, I'm getting old...) I saw this on TV and I was devastated to see batman die so much like that, so I turned the tv off a couple scenes past the iron maiden one. I had this big obsession with batman and to see him die over and over really was really fucked for my younger self. But I spent years regretting the decision to turn the TV off because I never got to see if he managed to survive in the end. I forgot about all of this and just remembered literally now by watching this video, it was a big deal when I was a kid. Makes me question how many repressed memories I have from fucked up things I saw as a child.
gotta love how this episode with multiple Batman deaths aired without issue, but the one where the Birds of Prey sang about Aquaman's "little fish" caused controversy
You briefly brought up Cesar Romero and I thought you might mention that his first appearance on the ‘66 show was an adaptation of the silver age story, “The Joker’s Utility Belt” and his moll on that episode was named … you guessed it…”Queenie”!
I'm curious about the episode with Joker teaming up with the Weeper - mainly the origins of the Weeper. He stands out as a villain I never heard of, or I’ll run into in comics (I still recently got into comics) - plus it's kinda funny to see how the show makes Batman the semi-villain of the episode
That episode is really good. I like that they made the Weeper both a silly villain and a legit threat. Just as the old time Golden Age JSA were still ass-kickers so too was the obscure Golden Age villain.
If I could recommend a DC cartoon episode to look at, I'd recommend the Legion of Super-Heroes episode, Substitutes. It brings in the fairly obscure Legion of Substitute Heroes and the very obscure villain, Star Finger.
To explain the decision to have Firefly as the pre-intro villain. Firefly’s original Earth-Two depiction was actually a light-themed villain, and was not a pyromaniac. So this decision makes more sense than you think. Rainbow Raider would have still been a better choice though.
I think it would be cool/funny if “Batgod” was explained to be Bat-mite’s doing. Also why did you stop doing the She-hulk videos? Were they not performing well? I just binged through them on marvel unlimited recently making me remember those videos.
This episode, and it might be from the comic but I don't read comics, produces my favorite line from the joker in any medium. When joker defeats batman and he's lying on the ground prone Harley comes up and asks "ain't ya gonna take his mask off and show everyone who he is?" And joker responds a bit ticked off as if she would have the nerve to even suggest that and he says "and reduce my primal enemy to a mere man? Where's the fun in that?" Which always resonated with me. Joker liked the game of playing with batman, he likes the endless cat and mouse as a more sinister megamind if you will. Without a bull to fight he has no purpose.
It's rather telling that even with Godly abilities, Joker still has the fear that crime would become so normal in his world that he'd become ordinary. If he was thinking rationally, he'd be the greatest criminal with the greatest authority, but the thing that scares him is the normalcy of it all. That he'd be "normal" despite being a God. Also shout outs to BTBATB Batman for his ability, even if temporary, to resist Emperor Joker's abilities with his insanely strong mental fortitude.
Batman: Brave and the Bold and The Batman, using Harley Quinn in a unique manner, and for only really appearing in one episode of that entire series run.
Having this as a Batman story makes more sense to me than as a Superman story. Although I don't mind having villains make appearances in other heroes' stories.
I viscerally remember this episode from my childhood, but could never find it when I tried to look it up online. For years I’d convinced myself that I’d just made it up and it didn’t actually exist. It’s been bugging me for ages! Genuinely thank you so much!
Thanks so much for covering Emperor Joker (both of them!), AND for going into detail about a ton of the references in the episode. Loved this video and looking forward to checking out more of your channel. Thanks for letting me know about the trade version of Emperor Joker, too - I only have it on Comixology, and every issue is scattered all over the place (if it even works anymore!). I think my favourite part of the episode is Bat-Mite’s hilariously menacing “Guess how I voted” when talking about the Jason Todd poll. Can’t wait to see what you make next, and keep up the great work!
A version of Batmite for Robin was part of Teen Titans. Same basic idea. There's also the nightmare comics where Joker ended up in one of the issues getting a regular job when "Batman" died during one of their fights.
20:00 - You know it's strange to me that you didn't look into The Batman vs. Dracula film yet, despite allready having several videos about the 00's animated series! I would really like to hear your thoughts about one of the best movies about Dark Knight and the possible comic book inspirations (c'mon, its crossover between two most famous bat-related characters, THE CONCEPT IS LITERALLY ON THE NOSE!)
As far as issue/episode suggestions, not really DC/Marvel related, but the Gargoyles comic is nearly done wrapping up its story arc where Goliath goes to court (specifically issues 9-10). This story was suggested by Greg Weisman before he left and was made into a season 3 episode. It would be cool to compare/contrast the approaches to the story.
I loved this episode so much back in the day! It reminded me of a particular crossover comic that I had that featured Batman and Hulk of all people! They get involved fighting against the Joker who ends up gaining infinite power from a being called The Shaper and then proceeds to do Emperor Joker-like stuff for a bit, it was quite fun
This was the first episode of Brave and the Bold i watched, at the time i just dismissed it as "baby show I'm too teenagery to watch" but what a mistake that was missing out on nothing but a massive peak love letter to the dc universe as a whole, such a great show, easily one of the best massively underrated
This one was one of the first comics I bought when I wasn´t reading regularly since I didn´t know how to start until The New 52. Not so long ago I re-read Emperor Joker and I still have the same feelings as the prior times I read it. It starts very nice but as the story goes on it becomes tiresome. And both the climax and the ending feel too abrupt. Like they ran out of pages to tell the story and had to finish it somehow. PS Than you Sasha, as always, for making these videos as they make my day. So glad you decided to create this channel and lucky me to have had found it.
I'm honestly more interested in the idea of Batman vs Superman's villains. While Emperor Joker being made into a Batman story is interesting, it's worth noting that this basically amounts to Batman facing the kind of threat Superman would usually deal with instead, and yet still finding a way to triumph. This begs the question of just how effective Batman would be at handling Superman's villains. No unusually specific and convenient gadgets, no unreasonable prep time, no special plot armor, no superhuman strength or intelligence that contradicts Batman not having powers, just Batman having to improvise.
Wow, i had heard of the Emperor Joker story, but i never knew it was a whole arc. Everytime I'd heard of it, it was summed up as Joker gets 5th dimensional powers, eats china, torments Batman, it never felt like more than a one-off. How did they stretch that into an arc?
I wish Emperor Joker were a live action movie with a good actor for Joker. I'd also like to see the Owlman episodes and the Batman/Joker team up as a movie.
What's hard about following the triangle era? They're literally numbered right on the cover. Darn it; she reminded me of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse...just when I'd almost managed to forget it.
Lol never forget! Think abut it from the perspective of a complete newb who doesn't know there are multiple Superman comics at the same time yet, and just picks up a comic and see a random triangle on it. You figure it out, but at first it's a little jarring. Especially if you don't have other comic fans around or aren't on forums etc... Everyone is coming to things from different vantage points, as I always say mileage varies.
I love watching these videos because, honestly, I would never have wanted to read most of these stories, but I'm very entertained by your presentation of them. All the bizarre, convoluted continuity (with so many writers trying to 'leave their mark' on characters and screwing things up) made me get out of comics as a teenager, so it's fun to check in on these characters without the 'comics collector continuity compulsion' I used to feel.
I knew bits of the emperor Joker storyline but I didn't know it was a Superman story and Batman the Brave and the Bold was great at adapting comics stories
Giving me a new appreciation for Brave and the Bold. Incidentally if you're ever looking for another cursed panel topic might I suggest Superman Man of Steel 29. I haven't read the issue, but I came across the character Bloodthirst after rereading Death of Superman where he got a mention and looked him up and the cover, if nothing else is unique.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Some cool references I missed pointed out by commentors!
Firefly did use a rainbow belt in Outsiders #16. That turns that double rainbow reference into a triple rainbow lol
For Joker's first Batman 66 appearance they adapted The Joker's Utility Belt story, but featured a henchwench named Queenie!
Keep em coming down below seeing the ever evolving interconnected tapestry of these characters is part of why I love them, that and now we're ready for that super niche trivia night.
The first season of ‘66 adapts several Silver age Batman stories to varying degrees. DC even put out a trade paper back collecting some of those stories around the 2010’s, if memory serves.
Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't done a review of the episode with superdickery Superman yet. Complete with a reference to Lois' many marriage schemes.
Trvia night! Trivia night! Honestly you should do a trvia live stream. It would be so fun. Your old videos are like my comfort show. I just went through your cheetah/Wonder Woman playlist. I am prepared! I have Doll Man facts!
Not a Batman reference, but it was a nice touch giving the Harold Lloyd henchman a robot hand since in real life, Lloyd got some fingers blown off by a prop bomb. Chaplin using the Tramp cane during the dance is a great detail, and that Buster Keaton face is marvelous. The fourth henchman looks like Fatty Arbuckle.
Can't remember what series it was from, but didn't the Joker and the Trickster team up once to kidnap Mark Hamill??? LOL
"The Joker has made an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine - that's probably an oxymoron".
Quite the opposite. It's a tautology. An oxymoron would be "a simple Rube Goldberg machine". Oxymoron implies contradiction, while tautology implies redundancy.
This comment was brought to you by Sleep. Sleep: I should get some. Ask my doctor if Sleep is right for me. Sleep. Now with two-day shipping.
Ayyyy thanks for teaching me a new word
I would've gone with 'redundancy' but that's just me being cromulent. Or pedantic. One of the two.
@@uckbritley1305 You're not being pedantic. You're being redundant. A tautology is a form of redundancy. In fact, you could say "a redundant tautology" is a tautology.
The henchmen were based off of the three most popular Silent Era comedians: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd.
Absolutely one of my favorites as a kid. Brave and the Bold used the Joker pretty sparingly, so when ever he showed up it was usually in one of the bigger episodes. I think Brave and the Bold introduced a lot of us to the wider, older DC universe as kids. I don't think I'd be a fan of blue beetle without it.
yeah, used a wide-breadth of characters.
fir me, B&B Blue Beetle is still my personal favorite version of the character
It also leaned into elements of silver age Joker, so when he DID showed up it was arguably LESS predictable if he'd just do something wacky (which i missed) or really fucked up versus always being a threat on sight.
_Batman: The Brave and the Bold_ is a love letter to the Silver Age era of comic books while still retaining the dark undertone of the Batman mythos. It goes to show that Batman have a sense of humor whatever he wants to be outside of being a brooding vigilante.
silver age and bronze age, the brave and the bold comic by the same name with the team ups with batman and other heroes throughout the dc universe concept was from the bronze age
FACTS
Im not deep in the hobby, but I LOVED brave and the bold even as an adult. Quality writing
The Joker's utility belt would make for some popular kid's merch. You're sitting on a goldmine, DC.
Lol or an angry letter campaign when some child inevitably misuses it.
@@CasuallyComics Yes! Set aside some lawsuit money, lol!
With real nitrus oxide!
Rest in Peace Paul Rubens, he was absolutely perfect as Bat-Mite
The way this show ends is perfect.
No you aren't living in a simulation or having a stroke I had to re-upload this video lol. RUclips did not care for my last thumb, which pains me, I may still try to sneak it back on at some point. For now here's a new question! What's your favourite Bat-Mite story?
And here I thought you'd found a rabbit hole so deep RUclips forced you to turn off your comment section- glad that's cleared up. :)
I've been having RUclips struggles lately, like Microwave Man getting only adult ads lol it's been a time.
RUclips must be having a series of mini strokes.
@@CasuallyComics You need to stop focusing so much on the adult only content, have you thought about checking if your videos adhere to a set of child friendly rules? I've had some here... Oh, yeah.
Comics Code Authority... No inapropriate content can hide from this!
I seem to remember enjoying Bat-Mite in that "The New Adventures of Batman" cartoon. Never read a Bat-Mite story in the comics that I found interesting.
I love Flapper Harley. But I still feel it's a shame Harley Quinn didn't exist as a character in the 60's, because Goldie Hawn portraying her on the Adam West show would have been so good
Would she have been old enough?
@GabePuratekuta Goldie Hawn was born in 1945, she was in her early 20's when the Batman show was on the air
Now that I think about it I really like the idea that the Joker’s greatest fear is to be ordinary because it gels perfectly The killing joke.
Joker’s whole thing there is the idea that anyone can snap and become like him with just one bad day, which is disproven by the end.
The joker wasn’t created because of trauma that’s the lie he tells himself, the joker was created because Jack Napier wanted to become a great comedian that people would respect, the acid just gave him an excuse to twist that desire into its horrible extreme.
All the other philosophies he spews are just excuses he tells himself to blame others.
In that case his greatest fear is being someone mediocre and weak again.
Or at least that’s one way to read it.
I agree. The horrible truth is, the nameless protagonist of *_The Killing Joke_* could have become a success if he had put in the work, but he never did. He became the Joker and cut loose, using the creativity he should have exercised productively, but only to destroy.
Sometimes I think Brave and the Bold was darker than the DCAU. How often can a kids show get away with one character OPENLY DYING all episode long? Or, in later episodes, make us care about the death of B'wana Beast?
It had a really good balance of all these elements.
Or the Ted kord episode
Or the episode where they kill off the doom patrol.
Considering the Silver Age, it's amazing how a horrifying scenario can be written as another day at the office.
@@Linkonpark100 Yeah, Superman's first death was in the Silver Age (albeit only in an imaginary story), and it's a _horribly_ depressing comic. Like, there's no grand final battle there; he just dies horribly from Kryptonite poisoning in one of Luthor's traps while Luthor gloats over his body. And then the last third or so of the comic is just his funeral as every single character of the Silver Age weeps over him. It makes the "canon" Death of Superman story look like the Care Bears, and that story came out in the 1990s.
I wish the TV show went on for just a few more seasons. As a adult I enjoyed the love they gave the silver age comics. They could never recreate a show like this.
They had ideas to make a Clayface episode and they wanted to use Dial H for Hero. We needed at least another half season. At least we got thar Scooby doo movie.
@@guillermobiasini3755They were gonna do Dial H for Hero? Damn it, I wanna see that! Not to mention Clayface, they could've adapted Payne, maybe his relationship with Fuller, hell maybe even done all of the Clayfaces at the time.
@@guillermobiasini3755aw that sounds cool
I regret not watching Batman: The Brave & the Bold or Justice League Action at the time due to not being a fan of comedic takes on superheroes, but there's clearly a lot of love and care put into these shows. At the time and a yearning for another gritty Batman show or another Justice League series in the spirit of the DCAU. We seem to be getting that with Batman: Caped Crusader which is an adult animated series that's tonally very similar to Batman: TAS.
@@Alice-me2qkisn’t it a sequel to Batman tas?
A suggestion for a video about an "out of context" moment: Lex Luthor saying "Brainiac, I'm coming" in Justice League Unlimited. It's just too funny.
Thanks to Watchtower Database that clip is forevee carved into my memory
Clancy Brown had a lot of fun on that show.
what my main memory from this episode was bat-mite talking aout death in the family and to me it always felt like he implied he wanted jason dead.
I take it from the clip there is no Shark Repellent Bat Spray in Emperor Joker's universe? I don't want to live in a universe with no Shark Repellent Bat Spray!
There’s a song in the Music Meister special called “Drives Us Bats” where Black Manta mentions the shark repellant. I think it also gets a call out in the series finale while the show is (quite literally) jumping the shark.
I'm surprised you didn't mention that The Spectre in this story was Hal Jordan. Because that was a whole thing!
What huh why?
@@kermitgotthesickkicks4265Hal was kinda dead after zero hour and so he became the spectre
@@the-quiverand man did he take that role on great cause he felt it was punishment enough for what he had done
Despite all the murder and mind games, the most horrifying part of all that was Batman tricking Ten Eyed Man into catching a cactus. _Ouch!_ Apparently that also happened in the comics at one point, but that still has to be one of the most painful ways to dispatch a villain. At that point, it would probably be a greater mercy for Batman to put aside his no killing policy.
How Batman stopped Ten-Eyed-Man is so gruesome. Imagine having your eyes stabbed with tiny cacti! And his scream! That va didn't need to go so hard
I was under the impression that in the comic Batman's trauma was transplanted into the Joker and the burden the Spectre and Superman spoke of was of the knowledge they choose to that to salvage Batman, and Batman would have never allowed it.
Yeah I was about to comment that, they made it look like Superman was going to shoulder the Bat trauma, then showed that he really put it on the Joker as a plot twist.
"So smile, darn ya, smile!
Everybody ought to laugh
And so, with glee
I do decree
Just smile, darn ya, smile!"
BTBATB is a GREAT Batman show. It is abundantly clear that the show’s creatives have great love for silver age stuff. The Bat-Mite episode at the end of the series featuring alternate Batman deep cuts (like the Bat-Manga and the Mad Magazine Bat-boy & Rubin) ;is a particular favourite ; Also the Owlman 2-parter. big love for this show 🦉
That finale episode is so good!
One of the things I really loved about this series was that it operated in such a way that they could in fact pull off an actual teamup between Batman and Joker it completely worked.
I hold this episode in a special place. “Where’s the fun in that” is bop of a song that I mentally use as an antithesis to Joker’s edgier time.
I had a copy of “Brave and the Bold” #191 as a kid. The panel with the Joker saying, “I was fond of the little fowl” has lived rent free in my head ever since!
Having Ten Eyed man catch a cactus is pure gold!
I really loved the Silver Age version of Harley Quinn in this show. It was pretty creative part!
I loved Brave and the Bold. It had such a love for not just the dark and gritty batman but batman stories of all sorts. When so many adaptions feel like they NEED to be dark, it was a breath of fresh air.
I absolutely LOVE the "What's the fun in that?" song. Not just as a song from this series, not just a TV song, I just love the song in general. It's just an all-around fun song in general.
What always stuck out to me about this episode is this is about the one and only time they took such a wide swing with the Harley Quinn character. I mean, Brave and the Bold was an homage mostly to the Silver Age, which didn't have a Haley counterpart what with her being created for BTAS (sure, there 'was' another character named Harlequinn, Duela Dent who I believe was the daughter of Two-Face from Earth-2 or something). Now I wouldn't say monochrome flapper Harley was a homerun, but I applaud them for having the guts to make such a bold choice and not just use the two versions of Harley that were around at the time, that being BTAS Harley (like The Batman used), or sl*tty Harley which was being used a lot in the comics.
Yeah, that’s one of the other things I love about this episode - a DIFFERENT interpretation of Harley. Batman and the Joker have had a ton of different styles, but Harley has either been classic jester or… uh, the other one. It’s very weird seeing a toned down version of that costume in DC Super Hero Girls - check that show out if you haven’t, Supergirl is a metalhead who goes to a nightclub called the Lazarus Pit.
It's pretty disturbing that Batman got so traumatized with Emperor Joker that Superman literaly had to erase his memory. That said, I exoected Coark to use the super-trick he applied to Lois at the end of Superman II
You mean when he tricked her into thinking he gave up his powers just to sleep with her?
Man fans would have a field day if he kissed Bruce to erase his memories.
@@andyenglish4303absolutely 😂
@@andyenglish4303 Like what Robot Chicken did?
I think the Emperor Joker arc works as both a Batman & Superman story. [This is why multiverses exist.] It works as a Batman story because it is contained & straight to the point between the 2 characters. & it works as a Superman story because this gives superman a real challenge, plus it creates that DC charm of "How did that happen?" situation. & while Joker is a Batman villain, he also has the powers of a superman villain making it relevant to the man of steel. All & all great exploration on both versions.
Absolutely
The post-triangle Loeb/Kelly era of Superman is odd, but I have to admit that Emperor Joker was a boss level move.
I don't think the Joker would become sane if Batman died, I think he'd become bored. He'd mope around for a bit complaining about how nothing is fun anymore before suddenly latching onto someone else to be a new target of his obsession (and woe to whoever that poor soul is) while constantly talking about how they don't measure up to Batman
Interesting coincidence, I just rewatched this episode the other day and I feel like it holds up pretty well. It's interesting how often this show would just bust out a musical number and the voice actor for Joker does an amazing job.
Jeff Bennett aka Johnny Bravo he has some great pipes when he's singing.
this was my favourite episode as a kid, made me truly love the batman/joker relationship!!
One of my favorite lines in the original "Emperor Joker" comic was when the Joker breaks the 4th wall and addresses the artist. I believe it was something like, "Hey, Kano! (the artist's name) What part of "no habla Batman" do you NOT UNDERSTAND!"
I’ve always loved Superman/Joker stories because I feel that they’re such great foils for one another. The Sound of One Hand Clapping from Action Comics #40 and 41 is a perfect example of that. Seeing Superman fight Joker in a way that goes completely against Batman’s MO is so satisfying to see. Especially when you take into account how effective it is.
8:10
I remember watching years ago some of the unfinished pages that showed Jason surviving, made in case the voting results stated he had to live. That thing literaly made me feel like I was looking at a window that showed an alternative universe
12:39 - More of a redundancy. An oxymoron is a word or phrase made of two opposites. A Rube Goldberg machine is elaborate by nature, so it's more unessisary specification of the already implied. An extra adjective. Honestly, it fits, though, since Joker's plans are typically over-elaborate anyway. It's just further feeding into the spirit of it. Triply recognize how over the top his plan was, just as he would! Spectacular! Phenomenal! Deeeevine! HahahahHAHAH!
This particular kind of redundancy is called a pleonasm.
@josiahslack8720 Even sounds like something the Joker would take intense overindulgant pleasure in! That dirty hedonist is pleonasming every chance he can get! HAHAHAHA!😆🤣💛
Jeff Bennett makes an Awesome Joker! Great Video Sasha I hope you do get a wig room someday.
Don't let your dreams be dreams lol
Firefly uses the rainbow belt in an issue of The Outsiders(or is it batman and the outsiders, I forget which one and which issue), the original run. He is beaten by Halo who has similar powers
Yaas share the knowledge, more deep cuts. That's awesome. Let me know if you remember the issue #.
It was in the Outsiders 16
Awesome, I'm going to make a new pinned comment that's cool to know :)
@@CasuallyComics The Pre-Crisis Garfield Lynns was a stage lighting technician not the more famous pyrotechnician introduced in Knightfall. In between are Ted Carson & the pyromanic Firebug.
My uncle named my chihuahua Bat-mite, and now every time I think of the name my mind just goes to my dog
I actually collected the Emperor Joker storyline as it came out. I wasn't really a big Supes fan at the time I was more a Young Justice and Superboy guy but when I saw the covers and flipped through one of the books I was hooked by what was happening so made sure to grab the books.
So I kind of have a preference for the comics, but I understand why it would make sense to adapt to a more Batman-centric storyline.
It was a pretty good year for crossover events, one of my other favorites Sins of Youth the Young Justice Crossover where all the heroes were turned into kids and vice versa also happened that year. I'd love to see you look at that one sometime.
I miss Batman the Brave and the Bold, it wasn't afraid to be _fun_ , something I feel DC kinda lacks nowadays.
Personally, if _I_ had 1% of Mxy's powers, I could have quite a lot of fun messing with people...
I agree about current DC. Everything is either made for pre-schoolers or dark and edgy PG-13 or higher. Even that Super Sons CGI movie had a bunch of random swearing in it for no good reason.
I have this weird memory of Batman using the rainbow suit to fight polkadot man because the colors neutralized his powers for some reason
it'd be soooo cool if you talked about the owlman two-parter (deep cover for batman! and game over for owlman!) from brave and the bold as i think they're two of the best written episodes in all of batman's tv shows, and also showcases interesting stuff like what if the joker did fall into a vat of chemicals but didn't turn evil and was a hero like batman, as well as what if batman and joker had to team up together and it turns out they work really well together, you could bring up comics like devil's advocate or europa that play with that idea. And, of course, you could talk about owlman and his place in the batman mythos. They're just really, really good episodes that I'd love to hear you talk about! and thank you so much for covering this episode, it's also one of my favorites!
I like the animated story as it gives an insight into Batman's never give up attitude and his use of his intelligence to find a unique solution.
I love the rose dress.
Gotta love how Joker’s henchmen were dancing the Time Warp at the end of the song.
Favorite Bat-Mite story…world’s shortest skyscraper…softest rock…wettest dryer
Thank you, I can't believe I've finally got to understand and see the end of that episode. This shit traumatized me when I was a kid.
Back some 15 or 12 years (god, I can't remember really, I'm getting old...) I saw this on TV and I was devastated to see batman die so much like that, so I turned the tv off a couple scenes past the iron maiden one.
I had this big obsession with batman and to see him die over and over really was really fucked for my younger self. But I spent years regretting the decision to turn the TV off because I never got to see if he managed to survive in the end.
I forgot about all of this and just remembered literally now by watching this video, it was a big deal when I was a kid.
Makes me question how many repressed memories I have from fucked up things I saw as a child.
gotta love how this episode with multiple Batman deaths aired without issue, but the one where the Birds of Prey sang about Aquaman's "little fish" caused controversy
You briefly brought up Cesar Romero and I thought you might mention that his first appearance on the ‘66 show was an adaptation of the silver age story, “The Joker’s Utility Belt” and his moll on that episode was named … you guessed it…”Queenie”!
I'm curious about the episode with Joker teaming up with the Weeper - mainly the origins of the Weeper. He stands out as a villain I never heard of, or I’ll run into in comics (I still recently got into comics) - plus it's kinda funny to see how the show makes Batman the semi-villain of the episode
That episode is really good. I like that they made the Weeper both a silly villain and a legit threat. Just as the old time Golden Age JSA were still ass-kickers so too was the obscure Golden Age villain.
@@Future_Vantas Also was fun seeing more of the obscure villains get the spotlight for once
The Weeper was originally a Bulletman foe.
Bullet man has a cameo in the episode too.
In the cartoon, Weeper was voiced by late comedian Tim Conway.
Brave and the bold is such an underrated under appreciated gem
If I could recommend a DC cartoon episode to look at, I'd recommend the Legion of Super-Heroes episode, Substitutes. It brings in the fairly obscure Legion of Substitute Heroes and the very obscure villain, Star Finger.
To explain the decision to have Firefly as the pre-intro villain. Firefly’s original Earth-Two depiction was actually a light-themed villain, and was not a pyromaniac. So this decision makes more sense than you think. Rainbow Raider would have still been a better choice though.
I think it would be cool/funny if “Batgod” was explained to be Bat-mite’s doing.
Also why did you stop doing the She-hulk videos? Were they not performing well? I just binged through them on marvel unlimited recently making me remember those videos.
7:17 you're absolutely right, this is the awesome kind of obscure shit I love and it's why I love Brave and the Bold
This episode, and it might be from the comic but I don't read comics, produces my favorite line from the joker in any medium.
When joker defeats batman and he's lying on the ground prone Harley comes up and asks "ain't ya gonna take his mask off and show everyone who he is?" And joker responds a bit ticked off as if she would have the nerve to even suggest that and he says "and reduce my primal enemy to a mere man? Where's the fun in that?"
Which always resonated with me. Joker liked the game of playing with batman, he likes the endless cat and mouse as a more sinister megamind if you will. Without a bull to fight he has no purpose.
It's rather telling that even with Godly abilities, Joker still has the fear that crime would become so normal in his world that he'd become ordinary. If he was thinking rationally, he'd be the greatest criminal with the greatest authority, but the thing that scares him is the normalcy of it all. That he'd be "normal" despite being a God. Also shout outs to BTBATB Batman for his ability, even if temporary, to resist Emperor Joker's abilities with his insanely strong mental fortitude.
Thanks!
Batman: Brave and the Bold and The Batman, using Harley Quinn in a unique manner, and for only really appearing in one episode of that entire series run.
18:00 "Speaking backwards is not my forte."
I'm not sure if I should be happy or disappointed that you'll never have Zatanna's powers then.
Great, The Joker made Sasha reupload the video.
Having this as a Batman story makes more sense to me than as a Superman story.
Although I don't mind having villains make appearances in other heroes' stories.
I viscerally remember this episode from my childhood, but could never find it when I tried to look it up online. For years I’d convinced myself that I’d just made it up and it didn’t actually exist. It’s been bugging me for ages! Genuinely thank you so much!
Thanks so much for covering Emperor Joker (both of them!), AND for going into detail about a ton of the references in the episode.
Loved this video and looking forward to checking out more of your channel. Thanks for letting me know about the trade version of Emperor Joker, too - I only have it on Comixology, and every issue is scattered all over the place (if it even works anymore!).
I think my favourite part of the episode is Bat-Mite’s hilariously menacing “Guess how I voted” when talking about the Jason Todd poll.
Can’t wait to see what you make next, and keep up the great work!
I loved this episode so much as a kid and even now. It's just... Sometimes you want something out there but contained, and this was so it
5:04 Oh god that is brutal.
My sons’ favorite episode of Brave and the Bold. Thanks for covering!
Maybe the inspiration for the "EmperorJoker" story was the classic Captain America tale where the Red Skull gets hold of the cosmic cube?
Emperor Joker vibes like a Mad Jim Jaspers storyline out of Captain Britain.
A version of Batmite for Robin was part of Teen Titans. Same basic idea.
There's also the nightmare comics where Joker ended up in one of the issues getting a regular job when "Batman" died during one of their fights.
I could have sworn this video was posted earlier
It was. According to the description RUclips didn't like the thumbnail.
20:00 - You know it's strange to me that you didn't look into The Batman vs. Dracula film yet, despite allready having several videos about the 00's animated series! I would really like to hear your thoughts about one of the best movies about Dark Knight and the possible comic book inspirations (c'mon, its crossover between two most famous bat-related characters, THE CONCEPT IS LITERALLY ON THE NOSE!)
As far as issue/episode suggestions, not really DC/Marvel related, but the Gargoyles comic is nearly done wrapping up its story arc where Goliath goes to court (specifically issues 9-10). This story was suggested by Greg Weisman before he left and was made into a season 3 episode. It would be cool to compare/contrast the approaches to the story.
I loved this episode so much back in the day! It reminded me of a particular crossover comic that I had that featured Batman and Hulk of all people! They get involved fighting against the Joker who ends up gaining infinite power from a being called The Shaper and then proceeds to do Emperor Joker-like stuff for a bit, it was quite fun
Thanks to the reload I finally won the "What color will Sashas' hair be?" bet i have going with my dad.
14:36 Imagine if they split the trauma between several people.
Rainbow BatMan looks like he's the mascot for Fruit Stripe Gum! 😂
This was the first episode of Brave and the Bold i watched, at the time i just dismissed it as "baby show I'm too teenagery to watch" but what a mistake that was missing out on nothing but a massive peak love letter to the dc universe as a whole, such a great show, easily one of the best massively underrated
That’s one of my favorite episodes along with Batmite Presents Batman’s Strangest Cases.
Tricking Ten-eyed man into grabbing a cactus. That's dark.
This one was one of the first comics I bought when I wasn´t reading regularly since I didn´t know how to start until The New 52.
Not so long ago I re-read Emperor Joker and I still have the same feelings as the prior times I read it. It starts very nice but as the story goes on it becomes tiresome. And both the climax and the ending feel too abrupt. Like they ran out of pages to tell the story and had to finish it somehow.
PS
Than you Sasha, as always, for making these videos as they make my day. So glad you decided to create this channel and lucky me to have had found it.
I'm honestly more interested in the idea of Batman vs Superman's villains. While Emperor Joker being made into a Batman story is interesting, it's worth noting that this basically amounts to Batman facing the kind of threat Superman would usually deal with instead, and yet still finding a way to triumph. This begs the question of just how effective Batman would be at handling Superman's villains. No unusually specific and convenient gadgets, no unreasonable prep time, no special plot armor, no superhuman strength or intelligence that contradicts Batman not having powers, just Batman having to improvise.
My thoughts exactly.
Wow, i had heard of the Emperor Joker story, but i never knew it was a whole arc. Everytime I'd heard of it, it was summed up as Joker gets 5th dimensional powers, eats china, torments Batman, it never felt like more than a one-off. How did they stretch that into an arc?
That's how I always saw it. I'm curious how it got stretched out into a whole arc.
Emperor Joker is like a bat tsukuyomi.
I thing my mind filled in the master of the rainbow bear as Rainbow Quilt, definitely weird to use FireFly
Is that a fusion of Rainbow Raider and Crazy Quilt?
"Batman Infinite Fusion". Ya gotta love it. :)
I wish Emperor Joker were a live action movie with a good actor for Joker. I'd also like to see the Owlman episodes and the Batman/Joker team up as a movie.
this combined with the joe chill ep and the doom patrol episodes, while brave and the bold was often silly it could get rather serious
Batman got to experience 1% of Return by Death.
Well now that you’ve mentioned her, I’d love to learn more about the Joker’s first female partner
She's only in 1 story.
It's the Riddle of the Missing Card, Batman #4. Pretty good Joker story tbh
What's hard about following the triangle era? They're literally numbered right on the cover.
Darn it; she reminded me of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse...just when I'd almost managed to forget it.
Lol never forget! Think abut it from the perspective of a complete newb who doesn't know there are multiple Superman comics at the same time yet, and just picks up a comic and see a random triangle on it. You figure it out, but at first it's a little jarring. Especially if you don't have other comic fans around or aren't on forums etc... Everyone is coming to things from different vantage points, as I always say mileage varies.
Great investigation on the dioramas and picture references.
Superman had Zolo’s nothing happened moment. If I’m remember these stories happened around the same time.
I love watching these videos because, honestly, I would never have wanted to read most of these stories, but I'm very entertained by your presentation of them.
All the bizarre, convoluted continuity (with so many writers trying to 'leave their mark' on characters and screwing things up) made me get out of comics as a teenager, so it's fun to check in on these characters without the 'comics collector continuity compulsion' I used to feel.
The cartoon is pretty great
I knew bits of the emperor Joker storyline but I didn't know it was a Superman story and Batman the Brave and the Bold was great at adapting comics stories
A Batman episode where Sasha doesn't do the Batman voice?!...truly the darkest timeline that emperor joker created.
Brave and the bold did a lot to introduce me to the blue Beetle character. As well as other characters.
Giving me a new appreciation for Brave and the Bold. Incidentally if you're ever looking for another cursed panel topic might I suggest Superman Man of Steel 29. I haven't read the issue, but I came across the character Bloodthirst after rereading Death of Superman where he got a mention and looked him up and the cover, if nothing else is unique.
Punchline! They did her dirty, stashing her in the Royal Flush gang.