1992:
Why date the D.C. Animated universe at all? Shouldn't it be timeless? Why 3 years? Why 1992? Why 29 episodes? Why these episodes? Why this order? These are some of the questions I'd like to answer here.
Firstly, I know there are a significant number of fans who feel that the collective series of the DCAU should remain timeless; that no year or date of any kind should be ascribed to them as they should always be viewed as taking place in the near or far future, so as to keep them relevant to the time we live in now. I'd be fine with that, except the shows themselves often give clear dates as to when certain events happen, and to ignore that seems silly. It makes more sense to me to fit those dates together in a logical way, and just accept that the D.C. Animated Universe is not the universe that you and I live in. We don't have and never will have these superheroes. And for me, laying down the order and times at which I think things happened (based on the episodes) does nothing to ruin the idea that these things will one day happen. They won't happen. It's as simple as that.
Why 3 Years? I didn't start out with any idea of how many years Batman: The Animated Series / The Adventures of Batman & Robin (which feel like 1 continuous series to me) should span; it could have all taken place in a single year for all I knew. But as I laid down how I felt the series played out it became clear to me that the series was spread out over 3 years.
Why 1992? Well, because the series started in 1992. But more importantly there's also evidence that some of the series takes place in 1992.
What evidence? Well, for example, in the episode "Beware the Gray Ghost" there's a People magazine seen at the end with a date:
That seems pretty self evident to me.
Why 29 episodes? When I realized the series played out over 3 years, I added up the installments, including "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" & "Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero" as single installments, which came to 87 episodes. 87 divided by 3 is 29. I split them into three 29 episode sections and began the work of figuring out how they all fit together.
Why these episodes? Why this order? I'll answer those episode by episode, but I'm warning you it's a long story and I tend to ramble on...
001 2x04 Robin's Reckoning, Part I
002 2x05 Robin's Reckoning, Part II
*Harvey Bullock introduced. (unspeaking cameo - Part I)
*Summer Gleeson introduced.
*Commissioner James Gordon introduced.
*Dick Grayson / Robin introduced.
*Arnold Stromwell introduced. (Part I)
*Bruce Wayne / Batman introduced.
*Flashbacks to 1983 (9 years before the episodes).
The reasons I have come to believe that "Robin's Reckoning" is the proper beginning to the DCAU are as follows. For one thing, there's my belief that the first episode in a chronology should serve as some kind of springboard for the rest of the series. In this case, I wanted an episode that explained some of the back story of who Batman is. My first impulse was to begin with "Batman: Mask of The Phantasm" as that film clearly explains how Batman came to be, but the film also features the Bat-Signal being used, and in dialogue reveals that it's been in use for some time. The Bat-Signal is introduced in "The Cape & Cowl Conspiracy", so the use of the Bat-Signal killed that idea; which bummed me out, as the film would have served as an epic beginning to what is to come. "Robin's Reckoning" on the other hand insinuates Batman's origins, while giving Robin a history, and letting the audience know that he's attending college, so we understand why he isn't in every episode.
On a side note, in the JLU episode "Epilogue", which was produced with the belief that it would be the final DCAU installment, the ending of the episode mirrors the opening scene of the first DCAU episode produced, "On Leather Wings", which gives the ending of that JLU episode special meaning, so I briefly considered "On Leather Wings" for the opening episode here, but it doesn't really make sense to me. Besides, knowing that "Epilogue" mirror's the first episode produced is enough, and seeing the episodes in a different order takes nothing away from that inside knowledge. When I had considered "Mask of the Phantasm" as the opening, that seemed perfect, because the Phantasm is also featured in "Epilogue" and therefore the intended final episode would mirror both the first produced, and first chronological episode, but it just wasn't meant to be. Beyond that, "Epilogue" was not the last DCAU episode produced, and there are some (including myself) who don't view it as the final chronological episode either.
Robin is 9 years old in the flashbacks (per the end credits of Part II), which makes him 18 years old in the present (he said he'd waited half his life for revenge). This also makes sense, as he's now in college, and most people seem to graduate high school at age 17 or 18. In the flashbacks, Commissioner Gordon is a Lieutenant who refers to Batman as "this Batman" as if he doesn't know him yet, which makes this a good intro to the character. The flashbacks also feature a rookie cop with the look of Bullock, and include the Batwing, but not the Batmobile, which means the flashbacks from "The Mechanic" may take place after the flashbacks here. The Batcave is also bereft of Two-Face's coin, the Ventriloquist's Dummy, the Freeze Gun - and no Bat-Signal is used in the episode - which permits the episode to be placed before those objects were introduced.
003 1x12 It's Never Too Late
*Harvey Bullock introduced. (1st speaking role)
*Rupert Thorne introduced.
The character of Arnold Stromwell, seen in the flashbacks of "Robin's Reckoning, Part I", is featured and find's closure in "It's Never Too Late" - there is no way to know which episode should be viewed first, but after I chose to begin with "Robin's Reckoning", the other appearance of the character seemed like a perfect coda to the 2-parter, and thusly "It's Never Too Late" fell into place as episode 003 of the DCAU.
004 1x27 Mad as a Hatter
*Jervis Tetch / Mad Hatter introduced.
"Mad as a Hatter" was chosen as episode 004 because I needed the Mad Hatter to be introduced early in the year. Why? Because I knew I'd be placing the episode "Cat Scratch Fever" near the very end of the year, (based on it's snow fall); a Catwoman outing that takes place after "Perchance to Dream", a Mad Hatter episode, which is something of a payoff for his earlier appearances. I've never really thought much of the Mad Hatter, but after I saw his excellent speech to Batman in the closing moments of that later appearance I started wondering if there might be a way to use him in some kind of story arc that (for me) made him more interesting. I wanted to do that because that makes all his appearances seem more cool to me, but also because I had a limited number of early villains to choose from. Two-Face for example isn't introduced until late 1993, so he was unusable. Harley Quinn had a similar story, which I'll cover later. In the end, no matter my reasons, I think this order works beautifully.
005 1x25 The Clock King
*Temple Fugate / The Clock King introduced.
*Mayor Hamilton Hill introduced.
*Flashback to 1985 (7 years before the episode).
Clock King was another villain I hadn't really thought much about, but when I started considering having arcs for lesser known villains he seemed like a perfect choice. For one thing, he only appears in 2 installments of the Batman series (though he later pops up in the "Task Force X" episode of JLU) which meant I could wrap up the majority of his story in this first year and make room for other better known villains. For another, this episode features more flashbacks (to 1985 - 7 years before this episode), which gives Gotham and the series a sense of history, which appeals to me. And lastly, the episode serves as a fantastic introduction to Mayor Hamilton Hill, who is a recurring character throughout the Batman stories, and who's name is a continuity point in later adventures: the teenage characters of Batman Beyond go to Hamilton Hill High School.
006 1x09 Be A Clown
*First DCAU appearance of the Joker.
This episode expands even further on the character of Mayor Hamilton Hill, which connects this episode on some level to the previous installment, providing a sense of continuity between stories that probably wasn't intended but is nonetheless effective.
This episode also met several criteria to be the first DCAU appearance of the Joker. While Joker appears in more Batman episodes than any other Batman villain (not to mention his appearances in Justice League, Static Shock & Batman Beyond), he has no true origin episode; there's no installment that begins with him as Jack Napier and then ends with him as the Joker. So deciding what episode he should first appear in was difficult. With the sheer number of Joker episodes it made sense to spread them out throughout the series run. I found that even though his henchwoman Harley Quinn originated in the first year of the series (at least 3 months after "Pretty Poison" - per "Mad Love"), that her first appearance was best served IMO by an episode that had to take place in late 1993 at the earliest ("Joker's Favor"), so she was deemed forbidden. I started looking at episodes featuring just the Joker, and split them up into:
Episodes where Joker is free and escapes at the end.
Episodes where Joker is free and captured at the end.
Episodes where Joker escapes from custody and remains free at the end.
Episodes where Joker escapes from custody and is captured again.
Episodes where Joker cameos.
After all that I decided to start with one where he's free, and then escapes at episode's end, so I could pair it with a 2nd appearance in which he's captured, both to give Joker more exposure and also to quickly burn two Joker episodes. When the Hamilton Hill story in this clicked with "The Clock King" I knew I had found my first Joker episode.
007 1x04 The Last Laugh (April 1)
"The Last Laugh" was chosen for this slot because it featured the Joker already free, which tied into the ending of "Be a Clown", and also because in this episode we have our first date in the series, per this continuity:
April Fools' Day is celebrated on April first. Knowing the date for this episode allowed me to set it before other episodes which take place in later months, and early enough in the year to accommodate the April setting.
008 2x26 Zatanna
*Zatanna introduced.
*Flashbacks to 1980 (12 years before the episode).
This episode introduces an early love of Bruce's named Zatanna, who will go on to become a much more powerful character in later appearances. I've always felt this episode should be viewed early in the series run to allow for Zatanna's growth from an illusionist to a full blown sorceress (as seen in Gotham Girls & JLU). Many fans have voiced the opinion that there is something of a continuity problem between her portrayal here and her other DCAU appearances, but I would point out that her true magical powers are insinuated in the flashback featuring a young Zatanna and Bruce:
Zatanna: "Here, pick a card. I'll tell your future." (Bruce takes a card). "I see emotion, intensity...two of hearts."
Zatanna foretold the coming of the Joker into Batman's life a little over a decade before this episode. Given that example, it's not much of a stretch to imagine her eventually growing beyond the slight of hand tricks she learned from her father, Zatara. I also thought placing this episode just after two of the Joker's appearances would help strengthen this insinuation - providing still more strands of connective continuity.
The flashbacks also flesh out Bruce's training as an escape artist (which resonates with some of the imagery in "Be a Clown"), while simultaneously setting up another later episode ("Night of the Ninja") with Bruce's line about heading for Japan next.
009 3x08 Read My Lips
*Arnold Wesker / Ventriloquist / Scarface introduced.
*Charles "Rhino" Daily introduced.
*first appearance of Mugsy.
*first appearance of Arkham Asylum.
I placed this episode here because of it's reference to the magician Zatara, Zatanna's father, who trained Bruce Wayne in the art of escape, as seen in the flashback sequence in the previous episode, "Zatanna". I liked the way that this reference tied these episodes together, giving more weight to that nod to continuity for anyone viewing the episodes in this order, and perhaps giving Bruce more cause to mention his teacher to Alfred here, as we know that Zatara and his daughter have both been on Bruce's mind recently. And given that Alfred knew of their existence as well, it makes sense that Bruce would speak of them to him.
010 1x15 The Cat and the Claw, Part I
011 1x16 The Cat and the Claw, Part II
*Selina Kyle / Catwoman introduced.
*Maven introduced.
*Red Claw introduced.
One very cool thing about Catwoman is that most of her episodes have a very clear arc, and can only really make sense in a certain order. This story is her introduction. Placing the introduction of Catwoman at this point serves multiple purposes. For one thing, I wanted a few more episodes between "The Last Laugh" which is set in early April, and "Night of the Ninja" which is set in June. For another thing, Batman's shock at encountering a female antagonist in this installment paves the way for future female villains like Poison Ivy who is introduced only a few episodes later. I also needed to introduce Catwoman early in the year so I could make use of the next 2 installments that feature Catwoman, "Perchance to Dream" (as a dream image) and "Cat Scratch Fever" (the sequel to this episode). The latter episode features snow falling in Gotham as a precursor to "Christmas With the Joker", so it was important to set up that installment by featuring these episodes earlier in the year.
012 2x07 Night of the Ninja (June)
*Kyodai Ken introduced.
*Yoru Sensei introduced.
*Flashbacks to 1980-1981.
This episode is a perfect follow-up to "Zatanna" in that the flashbacks from that episode talk about an 18 year old Bruce saying goodbye to Zatanna and Zatara to travel to Japan; the flashbacks from this episode demonstrate what Bruce was doing there, while setting up another sequel, "Day of the Samurai".
Why do I believe this episode is set in June?
Seems pretty clear to me.
013 1x05 Pretty Poison
*Harvey Dent (the future Two-Face) introduced.
*Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy introduced.
*1st appearance of Stonegate Penitentiary.
*Flashbacks to 1987 (5 years before the episode)
This episode is the big introduction to Poison Ivy but it also serves as an excellent introduction to Harvey Dent, who will become the villain known as Two-Face less than a year after this introduction. The flashback to 5 years ago gives both Pam & Harvey a sense of history, while simultaneously continuing the historical tales of Mayor Hamilton Hill & Bruce Wayne. Though Poison Ivy is locked away in Stonegate Penitentiary at the close of the episode, she later appears in Arkham Asylum; safe to assume she was found insane and transferred.
014 1x01 On Leather Wings (July 13)
*Dr. Francine Langstrom introduced.
*Dr. Kirk Langstrom introduced.
*Dr. March introduced.
The first produced episode of the DCAU serves as a second outing for Harvey Dent, linking it to the previous installment.
There's also the confirmation that this story begins on July 13 (so after "Night of the Ninja") per the Bat Computer, which also reveals some of the robberies that have been going on in Gotham over the last few weeks.
015 2x16 Day of the Samurai
*introduces Kairi Tanaga [she returns in Batman Beyond's "Curse of the Kobra"].
*final appearances of Kyodai Ken and Yoru Sensei.
*Flashbacks to 1492 (500 years before the episode).
The story begun in "Night of the Ninja" comes to a resolution here.
016 2x27 The Mechanic
*first appearance of the Penguin in the DCAU.
*Eagleton introduced.
*Falcone introduced.
Like the Joker, there is no origin episode for the Penguin. He simply exists within the series, so placing his appearances in any kind of context is fairly difficult. I chose this episode for his first installment based on what is apparently the first appearance of his henchman Falcone (who returns in "Blind as a Bat"), whom Batman suggests might be new in town. It was also another episode with flashbacks that helped to keep the past narrative going.
In the flashbacks we see the previous Batmobile.
It's also said that Batman's mechanic designed the current Batmobile, though in "Mask of the Phantasm" Bruce spies a nearly identical design back in 1982 before these flashbacks take place (we know this because it's before Bruce starts dressing as Batman).
Perhaps Bruce told his mechanic what he wanted and he worked from that concept.
017 1x14 Heart of Ice (August)
*Nora Fries introduced.
*Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze introduced.
*video footage from a year ago (1991) explaining Mr. Freeze's origin.
We know the episode is set in August because of dialogue:
There are 3 appearances of Mr. Freeze in the first 4 years of the DCAU (1992-1995). He only appears 5 times in the DCAU, though there are references to him elsewhere - and his episodes can only make sense in a certain order. This is his introduction episode. Why did I place his introduction in 1992? That's a complicated answer.
Mr. Freeze's final appearance is during the first year of Batman Beyond, in the episode "Meltdown". The first year of Batman Beyond is set in 2040.
How do you know it's set in 2040?
Because in the second year of Terry McGinnis's reign as Batman he meets the infiltration unit Zeta:
Batman Beyond episode "Zeta": "Zeta was on a long term assignment, infiltrating a terrorist group; six days ago it went renegade." - Agent Bennet to Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon.
Zeta later had his own series:
The Zeta Project episode "Quality Time": "Zeta went renegade August 5th, 2041, during the infiltration of suspected terrorist group Brother's Day."
Six Days after August 5, 2041 is August 11, 2041. This information is what grounded Batman Beyond in the 2040's.
2041 (Year 2 of Batman Beyond) minus 1 = 2040 (Year 1 of Batman Beyond).
Ok. What does "Meltdown" taking place in 2040 have to do with placing "Heart of Ice" in 1992?
Video footage and dialogue reveal that the terrible accident that befell Victor Fries took place the year before the the main events of "Heart of Ice".
Batman Beyond episode "Meltdown": "I've been like this for nearly 50 years, and I haven't aged a single day." - Victor Fries to Dr. Lake.
2040 minus 49 (nearly 50 years) = 1991. 1991 + 1 (year after the accident) = 1992. "Heart of Ice" is set in August of 1992.
Harvey Dent cameos in an old newspaper headline:
018 1x03 Nothing to Fear
*Jonathan Crane / the Scarecrow introduced.
I knew I wanted to use "Joker's Wild" as my next Joker episode, but that episode features Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow in a scene set in Arkham Asylum. I thought it important to introduce that character before that scene for continuity's sake, and introducing the character shortly before that episode would give that group Arkham scene even more resonance.
019 3x09 The Worry Men
*Veronica Vreeland introduced.
I thought this was a good spot to touch base with The Mad Hatter again. Not only does this fit in with the character's story arc, but it sets up the group Arkham scene in the following episode.
020 2x13 Joker's Wild
Here's another Joker episode where he escapes at the beginning and is captured at the end. It features a fun scene in Arkham Asylum in which we see several villains introduced earlier in the year, including Poison Ivy, Mad Hatter & Scarecrow. Mr. Freeze isn't present as he has to be kept in a specially frozen room. Ventriloquist might be anywhere else. I like the way this moment continues the stories of these characters and lets the fans see that there's a point to all of this.
021 1x18 Beware the Gray Ghost (October 19, 1992)
*Matt Hagen referenced.
This is the episode that reveals that some of this series is set in 1992:
The episode also features Adam West (Batman from the 60's live action series) as the voice of the Gray Ghost, an inspiration to a young Bruce Wayne. That young Bruce Wayne is seen in flashbacks with his father Thomas Wayne, continuing to give more history to the series.
The Gray Ghost is later referenced in the Batman Beyond episode "Black Out" & the JLU episode "Epilogue".
Also on the cover of this People magazine there is a picture and reference to 'Matt Hagen: The man of a Million Faces'; setting up that character's introduction in the next episode.
022 1x20 Feat of Clay, Part I
023 1x21 Feat of Clay, Part II
*Roland Daggett introduced.
*Lucius Fox introduced.
*Matt Hagen / Clayface introduced.
Clayface, one of my all-time favorite villains is introduced here. The character was referenced on the magazine cover in the closing moments of the previous episode, providing a subtle link between these installments.
Roland Daggett, who is introduced here, reoccurs through several of these later 1992 episodes ("Appointment in Crime Alley", "Cat Scratch Fever") - tying these episodes together even more.
024 1x17 See No Evil
This episode was chosen for this spot based on the weather in the episode, which appears slightly cool. There were several episodes of the series that had nothing to help me place them except for the weather. I thought this was one of those episodes but later discovered that it had to happen before "Time Out of Joint" because of a reference made in that episode. I thought placing them one after the other helped reinforce that connection, and I knew I wanted to finish off the Batman / Clock King stories in this year.
025 3x17 Time Out of Joint
This episode was chosen for this spot for several reasons. One was that I wanted to close out the Clock King episodes in this first year. Another was that Veronica Vreeland is referenced here, after being introduced just 6 episodes before. But most importantly, Lloyd Ventrix, the 'invisible man' from the previous episode is referenced in dialogue, providing a nice link between these 2 installments.
026 1x26 Appointment in Crime Alley (November)
*Dr. Leslie Thomkins introduced.
This episode is set on the anniversary of the night that Bruce's parents were murdered. No date is given in the episode, but the series shares some continuity with the first two Tim Burton directed Batman movies, which were themselves inspired to some degree by the graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns". In that comic Bruce's parents were killed after seeing "The Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power which opened in November 1940. We know that the animated version also follows this continuity point to a degree thanks to a flashback in the JLU episode "For the Man Who Has Everything":
I decided to keep that homage intact, but to keep Bruce's age in check I theorized that Bruce's parents took him to see the 30th Anniversary of the film in November of 1970; that's where the November date of this episode springs from.
027 2x02 Perchance to Dream
This episode is a big pay off for the previous episodes that revealed Bruce's history, and introduced us to Selina Kyle, The Mad Hatter, Dr. Leslie Thomkins, Martha & Thomas Wayne, Alfred & Commissioner Gordon. A fantastic episode.
028 2x08 Cat Scratch Fever
*Dr. Milo introduced.
Features the true return of Catwoman, foreshadowed in the previous installment. The weather in Gotham gets cold with snow falling. Gotham winters must be pretty mild as there are so few episodes to feature snow, but the series plays out over 3 years. I tried to use the weather in episodes as a clue to where they take place. I used the snow fall in this episode to foreshadow "Christmas with the Joker".
029
1x02 Christmas with the Joker (December 24-25)
And we end 1992 with a simple Christmas story, which by necessity takes place in the closing weeks of the year. I like that the story features Robin (who appeared in the first installment of the year); I like bookends. I like how the snowfall in the previous episode leads into this story.