"Trial" is the third episode of the second season of Batman: The Animated Series, and the sixty-eighth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Fox Kids in the United States on May 16, 1994.
Synopsis[]
At her latest trial, Pamela Isley is sentenced to be returned to Arkham Asylum yet again. Gotham City's newest District Attorney, Janet Van Dorn, presses for life imprisonment, but the court's hands are tied by the fact that Poison Ivy was apprehended by Batman instead of a regular police officer.
When Ivy is returned to Arkham, Harley Quinn greets her enthusiastically, confiding that the inmates will be throwing a party soon, courtesy of the Mad Hatter, who has planted his mind control chips on the guards.
Janet's quoted on television as saying that Batman's a disgrace, claiming that he's the one who essentially created all of Gotham City's "super-criminals." She feels that Batman has made the city dependent on his myth, instead of facing the reality of what needs to be done to suppress crime.
That night, Janet and Bruce Wayne have a dinner date, but she's called away by a phone call. A short time later, the Bat-signal appears, and Batman receives a note from Commissioner Gordon informing him that Janet has been kidnapped. He goes to the rendezvous but is ambushed and knocked out.
Batman awakens in a straitjacket in a cell in Arkham, where Janet has also been taken. Two-Face welcomes her and informs her that, true to her words on television, Batman is going to be put on trial...by them. She will be his attorney. If she succeeds in defending him, they both go free. Failure will result in both their deaths.
An impromptu courtroom is set up in the operating theater:
- The Accused: Batman
- Bailiff: Ventriloquist & Scarface
- Prosecutor: Two-Face
- Defense Attorney: Janet Van Dorn
- Jury: The Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, the Scarecrow, the Riddler, and Harley Quinn
- Judge: The Joker
Batman stands before the court accused of "creating" each and every one of them: driving them to become criminals, freaks, and monsters. But Janet has studied the histories of the rogues thoroughly, and her defense is brilliant.
The Mad Hatter claims he was a harmless scientist but admits that he was driven mad with love for his young assistant Alice, putting him on the path of crime. Harley thanks Batman for creating her loyal "puddin'", which Janet undermines by revealing that the last time she escaped from Arkham, the Joker ratted her out in hopes of reducing his own sentence. Ivy says it is Batman's fault she is a criminal since her only crime would have been trying to kill the previous D.A. Harvey Dent, now Two-Face. However, Janet goads her into admitting the depth and violence of her botanophilia sentiments.
Batman urges her to keep the farce going, while elsewhere the police follow the clues he has left. After fixing a tracer Batman dropped, Gordon finally gets a fix on his location.
In her closing argument, Janet realizes that she was wrong about Batman "creating" the criminals: even without him, the rogues would've most likely turned out the same way. While Batman may have inspired some of their costumes and dramatic poses, they made their own choice to become criminals. In reality, the criminals created Batman. To her own astonishment, the jury finds Batman not guilty. The Joker congratulates Janet on a job well done, but then merrily declares that they're going to execute them both anyway, which was probably planned from the very beginning.
Batman is dragged into one of the treatment rooms and strapped to the electroshock couch. Before the switch is thrown, the Joker, who has swapped his judge's robes for a priest's cassock, begins to unmask Batman. Just then, Janet remembers a batarang Batman left on a criminal hidden in her pocket, and throws it at the ceiling light, shattering it and plunging the room into darkness. The moment's confusion is all Batman needs to break them out, tying up Harley in the process. Killer Croc then guards the door before Batman takes him out and the Joker fires a machine gun, nearly hitting Harley and damaging a generator, which shocks Croc.
Batman & Janet escape, but the Scarecrow blocks their way with a scythe. On their other side, the Ventriloquist, Poison Ivy, and the Mad Hatter follow up with them. Batman pulls Janet out of the way of Scarecrow's scythe, which decapitates Scarface and lodges itself in the wall. As Scarecrow struggles with the scythe, Batman throws him into the other three rogues and runs off with Janet. They are then confronted by Arkham inmates led by Two-Face, with the previous rogues coming up behind them. Batman throws an inmate into the crowd and escapes with the D.A. through the roof.
As they make their way to the exit, Gordon and the police storm in and hold the mob at gunpoint. The Joker pursues Batman and Janet outside, tying up him with a rope and swinging a heavy gavel. He is subdued after a brief fight in which Batman kicks him hard in the face. As the new day dawns, Janet makes her peace with Batman, as they agree that what they both want most is a city that doesn't always need him.
Cast[]
- Kevin Conroy as Batman
- Bob Hastings as Commissioner Gordon
- Mark Hamill as The Joker
- Stephanie Zimbalist as Janet Van Dorn
- George Dzundza as Ventriloquist / Scarface
- Aron Kincaid as Killer Croc
- Roddy McDowall as Mad Hatter
- Richard Moll as Two-Face
- Diane Pershing as Poison Ivy
- Liane Schirmer as Officer Renee Montoya
- Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn
Trivia[]
- The final level of The Adventures of Batman & Robin: The Video Game for the SNES is based loosely on this episode, with Joker organizing several of Batman's foes to confront him. The difference is Riddler, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Ventriloquist / Scarface and Two-Face are replaced by Penguin, Clayface, Man-Bat, and Catwoman.
- The Mad Hatter appearing as a witness is a possible reference to Alice in Wonderland, in which the character he is based off appears at the trial of the knave of hearts.
Gallery[]
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