Moon of the Wolf

File:Moon of the Wolf.png

"Moon of the Wolf" is the thirty sixth episode of Batman: The Animated Series. It depicts the return of Professor Milo and the introduction of Anthony Romulus.

Plot

It's a peaceful night in Gotham Park and a man, John Hamner, quietly walks his dog. The dog, however, starts to get agitated and growls at an unseen creature. The man dismisses the dog's fears but he is soon confronted by a hulking Man-Wolf. The werewolf prepares to kill the man but Batman arrives and saves him. The werewolf however, manages to escape.

Batman goes to see Commissioner Gordon and tells him about a "mugger in a werewolf mask." Gordon performs a query on the police database, which comes up empty. The closest match in the query search was the disappearance of two Alaska timberwolves from the Gotham Zoo. Remembering that the victim was a guard from the Zoo and finding some fur on his gloves, Batman realizes that it's possible that the mugger wasn't in costume but really was a werewolf.

The werewolf heads out and smashes his way into Dr. Milo's cabin. Dr. Milo is unconcerned however, and waits for the werewolf to revert to his human form. He assures the man that everything will be over soon now that the guard has been killed but the man tells him that he failed due to Batman's interference. Dr. Milo is outraged and decides that the werewolf has a new target.

Later, a radio announcement states that the Olympic champion, Anthony Romulus will be making a donation to a charity and will double it if Batman himself arrives to receive the check. Talking to Romulus, Bruce asks about the interest in Batman and Romulus claims he wants to meet "Gotham's second best athlete."Batman arrives to meet Romulus who seems friendly enough but Batman discovers that the room is filled with a knockout gas. He tries to put on his gas mask but it's too late and he passes out. Dr. Milo then arrives and puts the second part of his plan into motion.

While the two men wait for Batman to awaken, Romulus angrily waits for the unpleasant task of killing Batman. He confronts Milo over the evil he's made him do but Milo reminds him that he's the only one with the cure to Romulus' condition. Romulus reminisces on how he trained to become a champion but he wasn't satisfied. Wanting to make sure he'd win, he went to Milo for a performance enhancer. Milo showed him a serum derived from steroids and wolf estrogen. Desperate for the guaranteed win, Anthony snatched the vile and gulped the serum down. The serum proved to be a success and Anthony won at every event he competed in. With the fame, he amassed a fortune but he turned back on Milo's deal and refused to share the profits. This proved to be a mistake however, as the serum infected him with Lycanthrophy. Romulus went to Milo to seek out help but Milo tricked him into drinking a formula that completely turned him into a werewolf. The price for the cure: complete loyalty and obedience.Meanwhile at the Gotham Zoo, Hamner is confronted by Harvey Bullock. Bullock discovered that Hamner was paid a few thousand dollars for leaving the wolves' cage unlocked. Unfortunately, he doesn't know who hired him.

Back at Milo's cabin, Romulus' condition takes hold and he transforms. However, instead of killing Batman like he was supposed to, he goes after Milo. In fear, Milo drops the antidote and makes the werewolf really angry. In his rampage the werewolf smashes the cabin and causes Milo to fall into a ditch. With Milo out of the way, the werewolf attacks Batman who manages to get free of his chains. However, Batman is no match for the creature. Looking to even the odds Batman climbs up to the top of the stadium where he was chained. Bullock and other officers arrive. Knowing that Batman is up there, Bullock orders the officers to hold their fire and watches as Batman uses the heavy hook on a crane to stop the werewolf. The werewolf manages to grab hold of the crane but lightning strikes it and the shocked werewolf falls into the river. Dr. Milo is taken into custody but the werewolf disappeared. After the police cant find Romulus, Bullock remarks that at the next full moon they'll know if the werewolf survived or not.

Later, Romulus has disappeared and his house is sold to pay off his creditors. The buyers ask the Realtor where he went but she says that he just disappeared. The buyers wonder why he left, "Guy's got just about everything and he gives it up?" Elsewhere, the werewolf howls at the full moon

Cast

• Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne
• Bob Hastings as Commissioner Gordon
• Robert Costanzo as Detective Bullock
• Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Alfred
• Harry Hamlin as Anthony Romulus
• Janet May as Andrea
• Peter Scolari as Hamner
• Frank Welker as Werewolf FX
• Treat Williams as Milo

Credits

• Written by Len Wein
• Directed by Dick Sebast
• Music composed by Richard Bronskill
• Animation Services by Akom Production Co.

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