Gotta be an android or robot of some sort. Maybe a Superman robot? He's probably got a couple to spare from the Fortress of Solitude. Anyone biological could be infected.
The easy answer would be Swamp Thing as he's plants based wouldn't pose a chance of infection an would probably be able to sense a pending attack an set up the best defense through his power set creating a wall of thorns or something of the like
This is a great episode, and I'm glad it used Hugo Strange instead of Scarecrow. If it was Scarecrow, you'd immediately expect everything to be a fear toxin induced hallucination - with Strange, it being an actual zombie virus seems entirely plausible and your mind doesn't immediately go to "I bet that gas they dosed Batman and Robin with is making them hallucinate".
I am starting to like the old embargos with this multiverse bs. sad to see Superman and Lois go. That show was really well done on a tv budget. loved it. this is going to be embarrassing if WB screws it up again. Not James Gunn, WB executives are the problem. Somehow superman is embargoed, but Batman isn't
I feel like this honestly works better as a Hugo Strange plot. If it’s Scarecrow, odds are everyone who knows the character would immediately figure out the twist, that Batman got dosed with some sort of Fear Toxin. Whereas it being Hugo Strange, a guy who would absolutely make some sort of zombie virus to make others under his control, that twist of him dosing Batman and Robin instead of the whole city works a lot better. And he also would want to trick everyone in the city into thinking there was a zombie apocalypse just to study how they react and their behaviours. So it works on both accounts as a plot for his character and the twist doesn’t become immediately obvious to knowledgable viewers.
And it is a decent escalation of Strange's activities. He had already featured a number of times in the show. Previously a shadowy figure, a doctor at the asylum who seemed more interested in experimenting on the patients than actually curing them, he’s already been causing problems for Batman from the shadows, up until the season 3 finale where his schemes are revealed. So this is his first episode as an outed villain, thus it’s a more overt scheme, but also plays with the same formula from the previous episodes of manipulation from the shadows. Everyone is still dancing to his tune.
To me Strange's power, is to subtly manipulate good people through words and tools without them realising it. Scarecrow isn't subtle at all with his methods, Batman and Robin would have instantly realised that antidote was actually a hallucinogen. And by playing up his mad-scientist-who-has-already-won-before-the-game-even-started image, Strange is able to trick Batman into doing his dirty work and the audience only expects a bigger sense of catharsis at the end.
It's ironic that despite the Scarecrow being the intended villain, Hugo Strange fits just fine especially when you know his earliest History in the comics.
@@erikbihari3625 I mean, back in the Golden Age, he was one of many mad scientist villains who had no other gimmicks, and was the first to use fear toxin.
Imo, this series has the best adaptation of Hugo Strange. He's smart and manipulative. And while is still obsessed with Batman, he doesn't allow it to get in his way. I also love his design. Really emphasis the fact that unlike others, the threat he poses to Batman isn't really physical, but rather mind games that come from his understanding of Batman's phycology. And this is the series where Penguin and Riddler were competent fighters.
I disagree but that’s simply because Wagner’s Batman vs the monster men left such a strong impression on me. Both are great adaptations of Hugo Strange.
As the plot is, Hugo Strange is certainly the better choice. The twist would practically be staring you in the face if it was Scarecrow. It would be absurd that Batman wouldn't consider fear toxin as an element if it were Scarecrow.
If it was the first episode featuring him it could get around that but otherwise yeah scarecrow wouldn't work if it being fear toxin is supposed to be a secret
Honestly, Batman the brave and the bold is better. So many characters I know from there,iconic story lines, and one creative Michael Jelenic did super mushrooms! ;)
I loved this episode because even I was fooled by Hugo Strange. When Batman hesitated and told himself what if he didn't have the cure, I was thinking "How can Batman win, then?"
I feel like Hugo worked best here. Scarecrow would've made the reveal too obvious. OF COURSE it'd be a hallucination. That's his whole thing. Using Hugo worked out for the mystery element
The last case of the Bat-Embargo taking place in animation was around Beware the Batman’s production, where the crew was originally working on a Batman/Superman show that was canned because WB didn’t want brand confusion with the then-planned Batman v. Superman.
@@nellewoodruff6337 I have mixed feelings on it. It sounds cool to have a World's Finest show, but apparently they described it as "Batman: Gossip Girl" and were going to have Wonder Woman to create a love triangle. I was more interested in their No Man's Land pitch.
@GamerSlyRatchet1 that stillsounds more interesting than Batman v Superman tbh.that movie was such a let down. Should've just made a World's Finest movie.
Hugo Strange was really well handled in the show. I loved Frank Gorshin 's performance and it was unfortunate that he passed when the show was still and it was said that he passed away before the show ended. I enjoyed Richard Green's performance as the character when he replaced Frank Gorshin but I did enjoy Frank's performance more.
The idea of Zombies being in this universe may or may not be a stretch, but since the Batman has fought Dracula by this point, zombies are pretty likely.
I mean, this is still a Superhero genre show. The Superhero genre basically encompasses a lot of things, there's really no limitation. While The Batman started as Batman-centric show, like BTAS before it, it also eventually expanded into a larger but unexplored DC Universe when other heroes started guest starring. Again, like DCAU before it.
@@personaldove We know. I'm just pointing out that this version of Batman fought the king of the vampires and would later go on to work with at least two aliens. Zombies would not be a stretch for this universe if he wasn't hallucinating.
I love this episode! It's a really clever take on the classic Hugo Strange story Night of the Monster Men. It's a bummer that they weren't allowed to use Scarecrow in this show, but at least we got this episode and the Spellbinder episode.
It might have been better for its use of Strange. Not 1 to 1, but the zombies are in the same mad science subcategory as the Monster Men and as stated the twist also tracks with his character history. If it was Scarecrow, the twist might have been too obvious. Did he really make a toxin that turned everyone in Gotham into horrific ghouls or did he just makes a toxin that makes you hallucinate that every person you see in a horrific ghoul? Everyone's first bet is gonna be the latter.
I agree using Strange was the right call. So that's 3 Good things caused by the Bat Embargo 1. Ethan Bennett created in place of Harvey Dent. 2. Batgirl debuting before Robin. 3. Hugo Strange used instead of Scarecrow for the Zombie Episode.
Sasha you and the Watchtower DataBase should collab again to do a deep dive into the Bat Embargo, the history, backlash, legacy and possibly even do a speculation on how things could have played out in both JLU and the Batman if it never existed.
While we are on the subject of zombies - here's an interesting fact I learned not too long ago. Back during the 70's - when the Comics Code Authority began to ever so slightly loosen its bans against horror elements in comics - they still had a ban against zombies. To get around this Marvel instead used the term "zuvembie." Which they took from Robert E. Howard's classic horror story, "Pigeons from Hell." "Zombie" vs "zuvembie" - obviously two completely different things!
That triggered some old memories of mine. Had to look it up, and yes, they used zuvembie in the Avengers comic with previously dead Wonder Man being a zombie. 😮
Poor alfred? Imagine all the "told you so!"'s he must have had to endure after calling in the Bat, only to have him and his child soldier coming down in full on Zur-en-arrh mode and going snyderverse on their collective posteriors
The only character the Bat Embargo made any actual sense for was Robin, because The Batman's Robin looks like a younger version of Teen Titan's Robin. Where as the versions of the other embargoed characters look completely different from each other, the two Robins genuinely look like there from the same universe and possibly are. I could see some genuine confusion regarding his use.
Another theory ive heard been floating around was that Ra's Al Ghul's intended design for The Batman was reused for Dracula in the Batman vs Dracula movie
Im glad the batman has been getting more attention lately. In my opinion while its best stories aren’t as good as btas’ best stories, the batman is the most fun batman series along with brave and the bold
FYI...the first ever recurring super villain was Dr. Rodil Mocquino, AKA the Voodoo Master from the Shadow # 97 in 1936, where the Shadow battles Zombies.
I listened to about the first 40 episodes of the shadow radio drama a couple months the ago while working (I drive for a living) man I love the shadow! Such great stories. And wonderful adds for that blue coal that heats your home for a fraction of.the cost!
I think it's great to showcase how these paragon characters work when they believe they are doing the right thing, (because drugs, manipulation, bias etc) they are unstoppable.
Maybe if Scarecrow had been used the twist wouldn't have been as effective? I mean Scarecrow is known more for mind-affecting gimmicks than mutating his victims. The same could be said for Hugo, but to a lesser extent...especially if (like me) you didn't know he originated the fear powder/fear dust. I remember loving this episode and I'm glad it got the Casually Comics analytical treatment
As much as I love the first two seasons of The Batman for how much they stand out from other Batman shows, season 4 might honestly be my favorite season. This one, A Matter of Family, Clayfaces, The Everywhere Man, Riddler's Revenge, Seconds, Artifacts, etc. So many excellent episodes. Just a really great season overall.
Fun fact sasha, Rino Romano, the guy who played batman in this show, was recently movie mario and luigi's Uncle Tony! Even more funnily enough, terrible trio's episode had Chris Pratt as that bully!
Love the design of this show's Hugo Strange. It totally made me fear a guy who literally seems to spend his entire life eating Pringles in his mother's basement.
I remember watching this as a kid (Like 3-4 years old), it being terrifying, and then thinking I'd imagined the whole thing years later or confused it with the Dracula movie. Now I know I wasn't insane.
1:33 The fact that things like the Bat Embargo are still happening 19 years later is so stupid and condescending especially now that the Multiverse is ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist. And alternate versions of different characters outside of comics have been easily distinguishable for decades.
They never connected their cartoons with their movies anyway, so anybody interested in the cartoons would never confuse them with the movie versions. It was always just stupid.
The fear toxin works with Strange, but also the "human monster" concept of the Zombie plague as Hugo 😅created monstrosities in his earliest adventures.
This legit is one of my favourite episode of that show. The twist was brillant yet it's a case where they organically implanted the seeds early on so when you find out about it, it makes *sense* . Clearly a lot of effort went into crafting this plot.
I believe on one of the DVD cases it actually says that this is set in the Dark Knight universe, so technically a version what happened in the films did happen in this world.
@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp I feel that was more to get people to buy the DVDs since the Nolanverse was popular back then. This cartoon is in no way connected to the Nolanverse, especially since its Joker actually acts like Joker and not Anarky.
@Ability-King-KK Well yeah, but the reason Scarecrow and Ra's didn't appear was because they were appearing in the movies. It kind of lines up. Joker was always going to appear because he's Batman's greatest foe. He's different because the show has it's own style.
@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp The Bat-Embargo also effected the Justice League cartoon, which is why they had to use Batman villains like Copperhead, Blockbuster, and KGBeast. They got lucky into being able to use Joker for a few episodes as Joker's inclusion in JL is similar to Robin's inclusion in The Batman (2004). At the end of the day, though, The Batman (2004) has absolutely no connection to the Nolanverse.
The fact that Superman and Lois is ending because of Superman Legacy gives a tad bit of resentment at the movie, I hope it's worth ending a great show.
14:54 I think that if it was scarecrow the episode would have fallen apart instantly because the audience knows from the meta level what scarecrows gimmick is so would have been looking for that twist from the begining
Arms! Glorious arms! They're back! The framing you used looks perfect, and the mic doesn't obtrude or distract. I haven't seen this series, but I'm here for Dick as Robin (set in an earlier time so he can still grow into Nightwing). Also love the Alfred moment. Joy!
Never watched this show but your reviews of it have intrigued me. I did start to suspect the twist when you described Alfred as being infected in the Batcave and was confident about my suspicions when Barbera and Dick recoiled from the ‘cure’
I honestly preferred it with Hugo Strange. It goes a long way to establishing him as the big bad of the series, one of the many things that make The Batman feel unique and different from Batman: TAS. I always wish they would've done a follow-up to this episode showing things from Batgirl's POV. How she figured out what was going on, coordinating with the Police and other emergency services, game planning how to stop Batman, etc. It would've been a good character growing piece for her.
I honestly forgot about this episode, and it honestly fits Hugo Strange, because he tries to break Batman mentally all the time, and even if fits Scarecrow, but allows it to be not obvious... Oh yeah, if this was like The Batman Vs Dracula movie's tone... SO MANY deaths would be on Batman's hands
Whoo! More "The Batman" videos! Also I was wondering if a video about new 52 Superman would be interesting to you Sasha? Whether it's about his missed potential, his possible evolution into a more classic superman, or his relationship with wonder woman is up to you.
I have to say, I love seeing you cover The Batman episodes, it is such an underrated gem! They really made bold choices, and probably gave us one of the best modern Riddler depictions, at least in my opinion. Would love to see you cover the episode where Joker, Penquin, and Riddler all compete on who is Batman's greatest enemy. Joker: "Are you stealing my schtick?" Riddles: "I use riddles. I 'don't' tell jokes."
I loved the batwave. I even had it as my text tone for years lol I also really love this episode. I totally didn't see the big twist coming. At least not until the roof top fight. I was genuinely le gasped lol
Thank you for recommending The Batman. I've been watching it since your first video, and I've been really impressed. The tone shift from Season 2 to Season 3 was quite a big one though! I'm glad that the more serious stories continue, because the first two episodes were giving me major Adam West Batman tones, which is just a very different (often fun) vibe.
It's more like a bridge between the arkham games and b.t.a.s., for true adam west like Batman experience, check brave and the bold. Silly villains and sarcasm galore!
I think this is really cool as a concept, I love a character having to readjust their perspective to see clearly and it’s really fun to see it happen to Bruce. Most of the time he’s presented like the most objective guy in the room and his perfection can push him into being less relatable in some things but when you can show his him slipping up (in a non d-bag way) it’s refreshing
I feel if they did have Scarecrow instead of Hugo Strange, viewers probably would have caught on that Batman was infected and it was just a hallucination. Because it wasn’t a villain know for using hallucinations against Batman, I didn’t think Batman was being tricked but, I did think that he didn’t really think Hugo have him the antidote either.
Yay! Thanks for looking into this episode Sasha, it's definitely my favorite story from The Batman tv show. As someone who only discovered this series in the last couple of months I agree that it is largely underrated in the fandom.
Do you know what gave me PTSD one of the episodes of Young Justice felt like Blackhawk down spec ops the line miss martian, back in season, one using her powers and basically gave them all Vietnam flashbacks.
My favorite geek girl strikes again. Your willingness to dive into obscure lore with enthusiasm and without sarcasm makes everything fun again. Thank you. ❤️
1:58 And the moment he saw that he was wrong, he should have lifted it ASAP. Well he should have realized his rationale held no weight beforehand but still
I love seeing you talk about this series, it is so underrated and is my personal second favorite batman series (we all know what number one is). When I decide that I want to watch The Batman, this is the episode that always drives me to rewatch it, it is my favorite episode from the entire series. Also, Scarecrow is my favorite Batman villain and I would have absolutely LOVED to see him in replace of Strange. I feel like Scarecrow is just absolutely underutilized and is never used to his fullest potential, I would have loved it if they could have used him in this episode, such missed potential, but I love it just the same.
This is one of my favorite Batman stories ever. It's legitimately scary but still kid friendly enough that it would traumatize kids, it has a great overall narrative, and the twist is fucking superb. This and Arkham City have made Hugo Strange one of my favorite Batman villains and I wish he'd be used in a movie.
I'm honestly curious on your thoughts on "Artifacts" since it gives a look at the future of The Batman and since nothing contradicts it it seems to imply that it is the canon future of the series.
just discovered this channel!! its nice to see more people talk in depth about shows like the batman, and why certain characters didn't appear till MUCH MUCH later on see i didn't know about all the rules related batman and his rogues gallery, so i'm learniing new stuff!!
For Batman and Superman vids I feel like a olde timey styled mic is appropriate to be in the shot, like when they would show radio announcers in movies taking place in the past (like in Dick Tracy), but then that's adding even more audio setting and that would be a tedious nightmare that I wouldn't wish upon anyone
@CasuallyComics Thanks for recommending this series! I didn’t watch it when it aired. But your praise of The Batman in other vids inspired me to watch the whole show. Solid pull!
I love this episode. It's a wonderfully done twist and very dark, especially for this series. I also think Professor Strange works even better than the Scarecrow, because poisoning the city wasn't the goal-for Strange, it was always about messing with Batman's head to see how he ticks. Winning, losing, Strange didn't care about ANY of that: he wanted knowledge. Why even give Batman a chance to stop his supposed evil zombie plot at all? Because Strange wasn't after defeating Batman, but testing him.
9 месяцев назад
It's such a good episode and one of the highlights of the show. Even on rewatch is great how you can see everything making sense, which is a pretty common issue with this kinds of episodes, but not here.
The whole Embargo thing confuses me. Did they really think viewers were _that_ stupid? Well F*** you too, DC. Still, at least The Batman made it work...
I love this episode - it's one of my favorites in the series. I still vividly remember watching this episode when it first aired, and realizing what was happening basically at the exact same time Batman did.
This is a very interesting take on the zombie plot. It's not entirely original but you can see how the framing device allows for some really good character exploration.
Only just finished this show recently and.:that in particular was an enjoyable episode. I didn’t see the twist coming myself without the familiarity to old Strange, but it worked so well. Sidebar on the Batwave vs Signal..idk if it’s just how my brain processed it, but once the signal got introduced, it felt like the batwave was more the “alert: crime in progress!” And the signal was “Batman, it’s Gordon. We need to talk.”
Never seen this episode, but it sounds fun. Zombies are always a fun scenario, and the twist makes it even better. It shows Batman is not always in the right. He does not always know EVERYTHING right away. I like Sasha's cam view. The mic in the shot works for me. The wider view brings me more into the conversation. Like i am across the table with Sasha.
I’m glad people are taking another look at this Batman cartoon :) I always liked The Batman 2004 cartoon. Batman the animated series will always be the GOAT of Batman cartoons. Of all time, and still is to this present day. But you can’t help but like what they did with The Batman 2004 cartoon where it’s about a young Bruce Wayne on his third year as the Batman. There are even some episodes showing how he’s been struggling with balancing his life of crime fighting and trying to keep up public appearances and charity work as Bruce Wayne.
This episode was one of my favorite episodes cause it seemed like no matter what Batman did, he kept failing and nobody knew that Batman failing was the only thing keeping Gotham from being destroyed. That was such a great twist
I didn't grow up watching the animated batman series, but I did watch The Batman I really enjoyed this show a lot as a kid gotta you do more The Batman videos I enjoy your videos CC
I like the mic in the shot I wouldn't have even seen / noticed it until you talked about it... but leave it it the frame. It's what all the kids are doing...lol
You know what could be a cool way to adapt this in future stuff? Have Crane/Scarecrow be an assistant or student to Strange and it being that he gets inspiration from Strange's plan. Sort of like my "Joe Penny to Two-Face torch passing" comment. Makes me wonder if that was the route they were going to go for in the show had they been allowed to use Scarecrow. Which by the way, stupid reason for excluding characters, if anything the idea is more profitable if you have characters appear in stuff around the same time, free marketing and general hype (I would figure brand synergy would be ideal). ESPECIALLY with the case of Scarecrow in the Nolan Movies, the first time is fine because yeah, he's a major character there. But "Scarecrow not allowed because of his 2 minute cameo that's played by a different actor in the sequel"? Absolutely stupid, that is absolutely a case of someone in management not asking for details when asking who's going to be in the next movie. The follow-up question absolutely should have been "how important to the plot are they going to be?" Because yeah, you are NOT going to avoid people getting confused, it's just going to happen. And no amount of character exclusivity is going to change that, and the amount you would have to do to ACTUALLY manage that and have it be a clear sign of "ah ok, THAT character, I don't have to worry about confusion"? That is a ridiculous amount of paperwork, contract checking, and plot interference that I wouldn't wish on ANYONE. Like that sounds like a logistical (and brand management) NIGHTMARE.
I loved this episode and Hugo Strange being the villain didn't seem out of place. The series always built Hugo to challenge Batman mentally, and as it was (at that time) it featured the lesser rogues in a more prominent light than BTAS, and Hugo was the biggest one.
Just checked out some of those unused/prototype designs -- Seeing Riddler explains how Cluemaster came about. I can see that episode being written for Riddler and being changed for the embargo... Only for Riddler to appear in Season 2! Penguin is a VERY different look, and I wish they'd gone with that.
Loved this episode. Easily in my top 5 for The Batman. The zombie scenario and strange mind games were refreshing twists. This show does the Batman legacy proud... At least until the 5th season lol
Which superhero would you want with you during the zombie apocalypse?
Wolverine or Superman.
Gotta be an android or robot of some sort. Maybe a Superman robot? He's probably got a couple to spare from the Fortress of Solitude. Anyone biological could be infected.
Superman!
Depends on what kind of zombies you mean.
The easy answer would be Swamp Thing as he's plants based wouldn't pose a chance of infection an would probably be able to sense a pending attack an set up the best defense through his power set creating a wall of thorns or something of the like
This is a great episode, and I'm glad it used Hugo Strange instead of Scarecrow. If it was Scarecrow, you'd immediately expect everything to be a fear toxin induced hallucination - with Strange, it being an actual zombie virus seems entirely plausible and your mind doesn't immediately go to "I bet that gas they dosed Batman and Robin with is making them hallucinate".
Loveee the episode
TRUE
I am starting to like the old embargos with this multiverse bs.
sad to see Superman and Lois go. That show was really well done on a tv budget. loved it.
this is going to be embarrassing if WB screws it up again. Not James Gunn, WB executives are the problem. Somehow superman is embargoed, but Batman isn't
Well said.
Yes,a nice twist and not predictable. If Scarecrow was mentioned it would have been to obvious.
I feel like this honestly works better as a Hugo Strange plot. If it’s Scarecrow, odds are everyone who knows the character would immediately figure out the twist, that Batman got dosed with some sort of Fear Toxin. Whereas it being Hugo Strange, a guy who would absolutely make some sort of zombie virus to make others under his control, that twist of him dosing Batman and Robin instead of the whole city works a lot better. And he also would want to trick everyone in the city into thinking there was a zombie apocalypse just to study how they react and their behaviours. So it works on both accounts as a plot for his character and the twist doesn’t become immediately obvious to knowledgable viewers.
You said it better than I could have, thanks ^^
And it is a decent escalation of Strange's activities. He had already featured a number of times in the show. Previously a shadowy figure, a doctor at the asylum who seemed more interested in experimenting on the patients than actually curing them, he’s already been causing problems for Batman from the shadows, up until the season 3 finale where his schemes are revealed. So this is his first episode as an outed villain, thus it’s a more overt scheme, but also plays with the same formula from the previous episodes of manipulation from the shadows. Everyone is still dancing to his tune.
You know what, you got a point. Scarecrow would have made the twist too obvious.
To me Strange's power, is to subtly manipulate good people through words and tools without them realising it. Scarecrow isn't subtle at all with his methods, Batman and Robin would have instantly realised that antidote was actually a hallucinogen. And by playing up his mad-scientist-who-has-already-won-before-the-game-even-started image, Strange is able to trick Batman into doing his dirty work and the audience only expects a bigger sense of catharsis at the end.
Then the virus that infected batman and robin was a zombie virus or a mental virus (making see hallucinations a batman)??
It's ironic that despite the Scarecrow being the intended villain, Hugo Strange fits just fine especially when you know his earliest History in the comics.
Would you like to elaborate on this?
@@erikbihari3625hugo made the fear toxin before scarecrow was created
@@mcpics4448. Seriously? Kind of random for him.
@@erikbihari3625 I mean, back in the Golden Age, he was one of many mad scientist villains who had no other gimmicks, and was the first to use fear toxin.
@@High-LordHarza. What does he have nowdays?
Zombie Alfred’s hair was so unkempt. That should have been Bruce’s first clue.
"operating on high adrenaline, drugs, and no sleep". That sounds like me in my early 20s.
🎶 "No! Sleep! Til! Gotham!" 🎶
...so did most of the people around you seem like zombies? because now that you mention it, thinking back to my own early 20s...
Imo, this series has the best adaptation of Hugo Strange. He's smart and manipulative. And while is still obsessed with Batman, he doesn't allow it to get in his way. I also love his design. Really emphasis the fact that unlike others, the threat he poses to Batman isn't really physical, but rather mind games that come from his understanding of Batman's phycology. And this is the series where Penguin and Riddler were competent fighters.
I disagree but that’s simply because Wagner’s Batman vs the monster men left such a strong impression on me.
Both are great adaptations of Hugo Strange.
Also I love that in his first appearance he was voiced by Frank Gorshin, my mind was blown when I read the credits!!!!
As the plot is, Hugo Strange is certainly the better choice. The twist would practically be staring you in the face if it was Scarecrow. It would be absurd that Batman wouldn't consider fear toxin as an element if it were Scarecrow.
If it was the first episode featuring him it could get around that but otherwise yeah scarecrow wouldn't work if it being fear toxin is supposed to be a secret
Yeah it would be arkham knight all over again.
I think The Batman deserves more credit than it gets. If anything it's one of the few Batman adaptations to make a recurring use of Hugo Strange.
The only other ones I can recall that did it are the Arkhamverse and Gotham
Honestly, Batman the brave and the bold is better. So many characters I know from there,iconic story lines, and one creative Michael Jelenic did super mushrooms! ;)
Although Scarecrow’s design was pretty cool, I’m glad this show used Hugo Strange. He needed the spotlight more and the twist works much better.
Especially if you've read his earliest golden age stories
I loved this episode because even I was fooled by Hugo Strange.
When Batman hesitated and told himself what if he didn't have the cure, I was thinking "How can Batman win, then?"
I feel like Hugo worked best here. Scarecrow would've made the reveal too obvious. OF COURSE it'd be a hallucination. That's his whole thing. Using Hugo worked out for the mystery element
The last case of the Bat-Embargo taking place in animation was around Beware the Batman’s production, where the crew was originally working on a Batman/Superman show that was canned because WB didn’t want brand confusion with the then-planned Batman v. Superman.
That's tragic. I would've loved to see whatever show was being cooked up instead of what we got
@@nellewoodruff6337 I have mixed feelings on it. It sounds cool to have a World's Finest show, but apparently they described it as "Batman: Gossip Girl" and were going to have Wonder Woman to create a love triangle. I was more interested in their No Man's Land pitch.
@GamerSlyRatchet1 that stillsounds more interesting than Batman v Superman tbh.that movie was such a let down. Should've just made a World's Finest movie.
God, I hate IP embargoes the more and more I hear on them.
Hugo Strange was really well handled in the show. I loved Frank Gorshin 's performance and it was unfortunate that he passed when the show was still and it was said that he passed away before the show ended. I enjoyed Richard Green's performance as the character when he replaced Frank Gorshin but I did enjoy Frank's performance more.
This is my favorite version of Dr. Hugo Strange, I love how subtle and manipulative in earlier seasons he is
Agreed, this and the one in Gotham are amazing
The idea of Zombies being in this universe may or may not be a stretch, but since the Batman has fought Dracula by this point, zombies are pretty likely.
I mean, this is still a Superhero genre show. The Superhero genre basically encompasses a lot of things, there's really no limitation.
While The Batman started as Batman-centric show, like BTAS before it, it also eventually expanded into a larger but unexplored DC Universe when other heroes started guest starring. Again, like DCAU before it.
FTR, there were no zombies in the first place.
He was hallucinating.
@@personaldove We know. I'm just pointing out that this version of Batman fought the king of the vampires and would later go on to work with at least two aliens. Zombies would not be a stretch for this universe if he wasn't hallucinating.
I love this episode! It's a really clever take on the classic Hugo Strange story Night of the Monster Men. It's a bummer that they weren't allowed to use Scarecrow in this show, but at least we got this episode and the Spellbinder episode.
It might have been better for its use of Strange.
Not 1 to 1, but the zombies are in the same mad science subcategory as the Monster Men and as stated the twist also tracks with his character history.
If it was Scarecrow, the twist might have been too obvious. Did he really make a toxin that turned everyone in Gotham into horrific ghouls or did he just makes a toxin that makes you hallucinate that every person you see in a horrific ghoul?
Everyone's first bet is gonna be the latter.
I agree using Strange was the right call. So that's 3 Good things caused by the Bat Embargo
1. Ethan Bennett created in place of Harvey Dent.
2. Batgirl debuting before Robin.
3. Hugo Strange used instead of Scarecrow for the Zombie Episode.
Sasha you and the Watchtower DataBase should collab again to do a deep dive into the Bat Embargo, the history, backlash, legacy and possibly even do a speculation on how things could have played out in both JLU and the Batman if it never existed.
The Bat Embargo seems to create more character confusion than it's intended to prevent.
My favorite The Batman epiosde. If the villain was Scarecrow I probably would have called the twist right away instead of when robin got "infected."
Yeah and maybe Spellbinder is a stand in for Scarecrow
@@srstriker6420Maybe that'd be a good question to ask.
While we are on the subject of zombies - here's an interesting fact I learned not too long ago. Back during the 70's - when the Comics Code Authority began to ever so slightly loosen its bans against horror elements in comics - they still had a ban against zombies. To get around this Marvel instead used the term "zuvembie." Which they took from Robert E. Howard's classic horror story, "Pigeons from Hell."
"Zombie" vs "zuvembie" - obviously two completely different things!
That triggered some old memories of mine. Had to look it up, and yes, they used zuvembie in the Avengers comic with previously dead Wonder Man being a zombie. 😮
Poor alfred?
Imagine all the "told you so!"'s he must have had to endure after calling in the Bat, only to have him and his child soldier coming down in full on Zur-en-arrh mode and going snyderverse on their collective posteriors
The only character the Bat Embargo made any actual sense for was Robin, because The Batman's Robin looks like a younger version of Teen Titan's Robin. Where as the versions of the other embargoed characters look completely different from each other, the two Robins genuinely look like there from the same universe and possibly are. I could see some genuine confusion regarding his use.
Exactly. It feels to me like The Batman could work in the same continuity as Teen Titans.
Another theory ive heard been floating around was that Ra's Al Ghul's intended design for The Batman was reused for Dracula in the Batman vs Dracula movie
Im glad the batman has been getting more attention lately. In my opinion while its best stories aren’t as good as btas’ best stories, the batman is the most fun batman series along with brave and the bold
FYI...the first ever recurring super villain was Dr. Rodil Mocquino, AKA the Voodoo Master from the Shadow # 97 in 1936, where the Shadow battles Zombies.
I listened to about the first 40 episodes of the shadow radio drama a couple months the ago while working (I drive for a living) man I love the shadow! Such great stories. And wonderful adds for that blue coal that heats your home for a fraction of.the cost!
I think it's great to showcase how these paragon characters work when they believe they are doing the right thing, (because drugs, manipulation, bias etc) they are unstoppable.
Maybe if Scarecrow had been used the twist wouldn't have been as effective? I mean Scarecrow is known more for mind-affecting gimmicks than mutating his victims. The same could be said for Hugo, but to a lesser extent...especially if (like me) you didn't know he originated the fear powder/fear dust.
I remember loving this episode and I'm glad it got the Casually Comics analytical treatment
Scarecrow is the 1st Culprit when there are Fear context
This just reminds me of the Batman vs Dracula special features where Batman talks to you about rabies. Good stuff honestly.
As much as I love the first two seasons of The Batman for how much they stand out from other Batman shows, season 4 might honestly be my favorite season. This one, A Matter of Family, Clayfaces, The Everywhere Man, Riddler's Revenge, Seconds, Artifacts, etc. So many excellent episodes. Just a really great season overall.
True, Season 4 had so many great episodes!
Fun fact sasha, Rino Romano, the guy who played batman in this show, was recently movie mario and luigi's Uncle Tony! Even more funnily enough, terrible trio's episode had Chris Pratt as that bully!
He was also the og dub Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon. This show's casting was packing a lot of fire
@@nellewoodruff6337. Didn't know that, but makes sense. Isn't he important still? And thanks for this!
Love the design of this show's Hugo Strange. It totally made me fear a guy who literally seems to spend his entire life eating Pringles in his mother's basement.
I think that fits Cluemaster more lol.
The show's Hugo Strange is a giant.
Jeff Matsuda's art style seems to place a lot of emphasis on realism but in more caricatured capacity!
I remember watching this as a kid (Like 3-4 years old), it being terrifying, and then thinking I'd imagined the whole thing years later or confused it with the Dracula movie.
Now I know I wasn't insane.
Nah, you're still insane lol
Love watching this episode around Halloween, such a creepy episode with a brilliant twist!
1:33 The fact that things like the Bat Embargo are still happening 19 years later is so stupid and condescending especially now that the Multiverse is ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist. And alternate versions of different characters outside of comics have been easily distinguishable for decades.
They never connected their cartoons with their movies anyway, so anybody interested in the cartoons would never confuse them with the movie versions. It was always just stupid.
The fear toxin works with Strange, but also the "human monster" concept of the Zombie plague as Hugo 😅created monstrosities in his earliest adventures.
Genuinely love this episode, solid pacing, great horror and that twist is still pretty smart.
This legit is one of my favourite episode of that show. The twist was brillant yet it's a case where they organically implanted the seeds early on so when you find out about it, it makes *sense* . Clearly a lot of effort went into crafting this plot.
While using Hugo Strange was the right call. It is a shame the Scarecrow never appeared not even in the Batman Strikes tie in comics.
I believe on one of the DVD cases it actually says that this is set in the Dark Knight universe, so technically a version what happened in the films did happen in this world.
@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp I feel that was more to get people to buy the DVDs since the Nolanverse was popular back then. This cartoon is in no way connected to the Nolanverse, especially since its Joker actually acts like Joker and not Anarky.
@Ability-King-KK Well yeah, but the reason Scarecrow and Ra's didn't appear was because they were appearing in the movies. It kind of lines up. Joker was always going to appear because he's Batman's greatest foe. He's different because the show has it's own style.
@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp The Bat-Embargo also effected the Justice League cartoon, which is why they had to use Batman villains like Copperhead, Blockbuster, and KGBeast. They got lucky into being able to use Joker for a few episodes as Joker's inclusion in JL is similar to Robin's inclusion in The Batman (2004). At the end of the day, though, The Batman (2004) has absolutely no connection to the Nolanverse.
@@Ability-King-KKIs like the Animated Movie which had Deadshot
The fact that Superman and Lois is ending because of Superman Legacy gives a tad bit of resentment at the movie, I hope it's worth ending a great show.
S&L had a great run, though
14:54 I think that if it was scarecrow the episode would have fallen apart instantly because the audience knows from the meta level what scarecrows gimmick is so would have been looking for that twist from the begining
This and the Spellbinder of this series will be the closest thing to Scarecrow
I wouldn't say so, more like an extremely different but still loyal take(beyond).
Arms! Glorious arms! They're back! The framing you used looks perfect, and the mic doesn't obtrude or distract. I haven't seen this series, but I'm here for Dick as Robin (set in an earlier time so he can still grow into Nightwing). Also love the Alfred moment. Joy!
Never watched this show but your reviews of it have intrigued me. I did start to suspect the twist when you described Alfred as being infected in the Batcave and was confident about my suspicions when Barbera and Dick recoiled from the ‘cure’
Watch it, it's great. Especially the animated movie
Great episode, it’s stuck with me since I first saw it. Thanks for continuing to cover this underrated show Sasha!
I honestly preferred it with Hugo Strange. It goes a long way to establishing him as the big bad of the series, one of the many things that make The Batman feel unique and different from Batman: TAS.
I always wish they would've done a follow-up to this episode showing things from Batgirl's POV. How she figured out what was going on, coordinating with the Police and other emergency services, game planning how to stop Batman, etc. It would've been a good character growing piece for her.
I honestly forgot about this episode, and it honestly fits Hugo Strange, because he tries to break Batman mentally all the time, and even if fits Scarecrow, but allows it to be not obvious... Oh yeah, if this was like The Batman Vs Dracula movie's tone... SO MANY deaths would be on Batman's hands
Whoo! More "The Batman" videos! Also I was wondering if a video about new 52 Superman would be interesting to you Sasha? Whether it's about his missed potential, his possible evolution into a more classic superman, or his relationship with wonder woman is up to you.
I have to say, I love seeing you cover The Batman episodes, it is such an underrated gem! They really made bold choices, and probably gave us one of the best modern Riddler depictions, at least in my opinion.
Would love to see you cover the episode where Joker, Penquin, and Riddler all compete on who is Batman's greatest enemy.
Joker: "Are you stealing my schtick?"
Riddles: "I use riddles. I 'don't' tell jokes."
Im so happy you're giving The Batman the attention it deserves, and I hope you cover Gothams Ultimate Criminal Mastermind soon
"He's got Bat Stubble, you know its serious"
I loved the batwave. I even had it as my text tone for years lol I also really love this episode. I totally didn't see the big twist coming. At least not until the roof top fight. I was genuinely le gasped lol
I think getting a notification on your phone is a lot more realistic than a spotlight.
I totally agree with you.
The Batman was a great series and that episode was always one of my favorites.
It's sad mad hatter never appeared he's one of my favorites
I agree. This definitely was one of the best looking back. Also who knew Joker was a great writer?
Thank you for recommending The Batman. I've been watching it since your first video, and I've been really impressed. The tone shift from Season 2 to Season 3 was quite a big one though! I'm glad that the more serious stories continue, because the first two episodes were giving me major Adam West Batman tones, which is just a very different (often fun) vibe.
It's more like a bridge between the arkham games and b.t.a.s., for true adam west like Batman experience, check brave and the bold. Silly villains and sarcasm galore!
I think this is really cool as a concept, I love a character having to readjust their perspective to see clearly and it’s really fun to see it happen to Bruce. Most of the time he’s presented like the most objective guy in the room and his perfection can push him into being less relatable in some things but when you can show his him slipping up (in a non d-bag way) it’s refreshing
One of the coolest plot twists. I love this episode!
They had to change Batman's chin because he kept accidentally killing anyone who headbutted him in the jaw.
I feel if they did have Scarecrow instead of Hugo Strange, viewers probably would have caught on that Batman was infected and it was just a hallucination. Because it wasn’t a villain know for using hallucinations against Batman, I didn’t think Batman was being tricked but, I did think that he didn’t really think Hugo have him the antidote either.
Yay! Thanks for looking into this episode Sasha, it's definitely my favorite story from The Batman tv show. As someone who only discovered this series in the last couple of months I agree that it is largely underrated in the fandom.
This episode SCARRED me. I was so confused and traumatized but it was fuckin awesome
Do you know what gave me PTSD one of the episodes of Young Justice felt like Blackhawk down spec ops the line miss martian, back in season, one using her powers and basically gave them all Vietnam flashbacks.
My favorite geek girl strikes again. Your willingness to dive into obscure lore with enthusiasm and without sarcasm makes everything fun again. Thank you. ❤️
Frank Gorshin also played the villain of the week in an episode of Wonder Woman called The Deadly Toys.
I didn't know that. You learn something new every day.
Even as a kid, I thought this role would’ve made more sense for scarecrow. So it’s nice to know my suspicions were justified.
1:58 And the moment he saw that he was wrong, he should have lifted it ASAP. Well he should have realized his rationale held no weight beforehand but still
I love seeing you talk about this series, it is so underrated and is my personal second favorite batman series (we all know what number one is). When I decide that I want to watch The Batman, this is the episode that always drives me to rewatch it, it is my favorite episode from the entire series. Also, Scarecrow is my favorite Batman villain and I would have absolutely LOVED to see him in replace of Strange. I feel like Scarecrow is just absolutely underutilized and is never used to his fullest potential, I would have loved it if they could have used him in this episode, such missed potential, but I love it just the same.
This is one of my favorite Batman stories ever. It's legitimately scary but still kid friendly enough that it would traumatize kids, it has a great overall narrative, and the twist is fucking superb. This and Arkham City have made Hugo Strange one of my favorite Batman villains and I wish he'd be used in a movie.
I'm honestly curious on your thoughts on "Artifacts" since it gives a look at the future of The Batman and since nothing contradicts it it seems to imply that it is the canon future of the series.
I love that you are covering this series. It is such a great series! Great episode!
Awesomeness!!! Absolutely love your The Batman deep dives!!!
Yayyyy!!!!🤩🤩🤩
Same here. 😊
just discovered this channel!! its nice to see more people talk in depth about shows like the batman, and why certain characters didn't appear till MUCH MUCH later on
see i didn't know about all the rules related batman and his rogues gallery, so i'm learniing new stuff!!
For Batman and Superman vids I feel like a olde timey styled mic is appropriate to be in the shot, like when they would show radio announcers in movies taking place in the past (like in Dick Tracy), but then that's adding even more audio setting and that would be a tedious nightmare that I wouldn't wish upon anyone
@CasuallyComics Thanks for recommending this series! I didn’t watch it when it aired. But your praise of The Batman in other vids inspired me to watch the whole show. Solid pull!
I love this episode. It's a wonderfully done twist and very dark, especially for this series. I also think Professor Strange works even better than the Scarecrow, because poisoning the city wasn't the goal-for Strange, it was always about messing with Batman's head to see how he ticks. Winning, losing, Strange didn't care about ANY of that: he wanted knowledge. Why even give Batman a chance to stop his supposed evil zombie plot at all? Because Strange wasn't after defeating Batman, but testing him.
It's such a good episode and one of the highlights of the show. Even on rewatch is great how you can see everything making sense, which is a pretty common issue with this kinds of episodes, but not here.
This will always be my intro series to animated Batman and holds a special place in my heart shame to see it end so soon
I love this episode, it was well directed and it was like a gotcha twist. Next to BTAS , I love The Batman series too.
The whole Embargo thing confuses me. Did they really think viewers were _that_ stupid?
Well F*** you too, DC.
Still, at least The Batman made it work...
Yes and they still do, that or there'd scared of a little friendly competition.
@@jturner2577 the whole "we're cancelling Superman and Lois to avoid any confusion with James Gunn's Superman movie" thing?
@@uncannydcmarvelous5732That's a perfect example. Honestly I think this decision will turn more people against the movie.
...Once again, f*** you, DC.
Great episode I didn’t know I needed to know this. Thanks.
I love this episode - it's one of my favorites in the series. I still vividly remember watching this episode when it first aired, and realizing what was happening basically at the exact same time Batman did.
This is a very interesting take on the zombie plot. It's not entirely original but you can see how the framing device allows for some really good character exploration.
Totally forgot about this episode.
Keep those gestures. They're integral to the charm and entertainment value of your videos.
Don't get the protein pancakes at IHOP. I shit my pants on the drive home.
Thank you for these!! You’re terrific!!
Only just finished this show recently and.:that in particular was an enjoyable episode. I didn’t see the twist coming myself without the familiarity to old Strange, but it worked so well.
Sidebar on the Batwave vs Signal..idk if it’s just how my brain processed it, but once the signal got introduced, it felt like the batwave was more the “alert: crime in progress!” And the signal was “Batman, it’s Gordon. We need to talk.”
This really was an underrated show.
Never seen this episode, but it sounds fun. Zombies are always a fun scenario, and the twist makes it even better. It shows Batman is not always in the right. He does not always know EVERYTHING right away.
I like Sasha's cam view. The mic in the shot works for me. The wider view brings me more into the conversation. Like i am across the table with Sasha.
I’m glad people are taking another look at this Batman cartoon :) I always liked The Batman 2004 cartoon. Batman the animated series will always be the GOAT of Batman cartoons. Of all time, and still is to this present day. But you can’t help but like what they did with The Batman 2004 cartoon where it’s about a young Bruce Wayne on his third year as the Batman. There are even some episodes showing how he’s been struggling with balancing his life of crime fighting and trying to keep up public appearances and charity work as Bruce Wayne.
Yeah, this series and Beware the Batman do that well. Caped Crusader seems to be doing similar concepts too.
This episode was one of my favorite episodes cause it seemed like no matter what Batman did, he kept failing and nobody knew that Batman failing was the only thing keeping Gotham from being destroyed. That was such a great twist
I didn't grow up watching the animated batman series, but I did watch The Batman I really enjoyed this show a lot as a kid gotta you do more The Batman videos I enjoy your videos CC
I like the mic in the shot I wouldn't have even seen / noticed it until you talked about it... but leave it it the frame.
It's what all the kids are doing...lol
this is such a good episode i realy think the batman might be one of if not the best batman show. thanks for doing great videos on it
You know what could be a cool way to adapt this in future stuff? Have Crane/Scarecrow be an assistant or student to Strange and it being that he gets inspiration from Strange's plan. Sort of like my "Joe Penny to Two-Face torch passing" comment. Makes me wonder if that was the route they were going to go for in the show had they been allowed to use Scarecrow.
Which by the way, stupid reason for excluding characters, if anything the idea is more profitable if you have characters appear in stuff around the same time, free marketing and general hype (I would figure brand synergy would be ideal). ESPECIALLY with the case of Scarecrow in the Nolan Movies, the first time is fine because yeah, he's a major character there. But "Scarecrow not allowed because of his 2 minute cameo that's played by a different actor in the sequel"? Absolutely stupid, that is absolutely a case of someone in management not asking for details when asking who's going to be in the next movie. The follow-up question absolutely should have been "how important to the plot are they going to be?"
Because yeah, you are NOT going to avoid people getting confused, it's just going to happen. And no amount of character exclusivity is going to change that, and the amount you would have to do to ACTUALLY manage that and have it be a clear sign of "ah ok, THAT character, I don't have to worry about confusion"? That is a ridiculous amount of paperwork, contract checking, and plot interference that I wouldn't wish on ANYONE. Like that sounds like a logistical (and brand management) NIGHTMARE.
I actually think if it had been Scarecrow, batman would've figured it out immediately.
I loved this episode and Hugo Strange being the villain didn't seem out of place. The series always built Hugo to challenge Batman mentally, and as it was (at that time) it featured the lesser rogues in a more prominent light than BTAS, and Hugo was the biggest one.
Just checked out some of those unused/prototype designs -- Seeing Riddler explains how Cluemaster came about. I can see that episode being written for Riddler and being changed for the embargo... Only for Riddler to appear in Season 2!
Penguin is a VERY different look, and I wish they'd gone with that.
Hugo Strange was originally going to be the one who interrogates Question but he was never used
Because of the Bat Embargo.
Loved this episode. Easily in my top 5 for The Batman. The zombie scenario and strange mind games were refreshing twists. This show does the Batman legacy proud... At least until the 5th season lol