Welcome to Adventure(s) Time's latest installment, a look at classic animated heroes of the past. This week is our fiftieth entry, and to celebrate I'm debuting a new element of the feature. We've examined dozens of tie-in comics with links to the source animated material. (And we'll continue to do that in the future.) But, beginning this week, we're also looking back on the original comics that inspired episodes of the cartoon.

The first episode we're reviewing has its roots in two separate comics storylines. "The Laughing Fish" draws inspiration from "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" (Batman #251) by the legendary team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, and "The Laughing Fish!" and "Sign of the Joker!" (Detective Comics #475-476) from another beloved team, Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers.

The Englehart/Rogers team created in 1977 what many considered the definitive take on Batman. Some even say the concept of "definitive runs" began with the Englehart/Rogers Detective Comics run. As the Batman film went through various stages of development from the late 1970s to its debut in 1989, these issues of Detective were often treated as the template of what a Batman movie should be. These issues do read as a film, with interlocking subplots, an examination of Bruce Wayne's personal life, and a building narrative that requires an epic finale.

When adapting Englehart/Rogers’ famous Joker story, however, the producers had to trim much of the material. There's an ongoing subplot about city leader/mob boss Rupert Thorne's haunting by the ghost of Hugo Strange, for one. Plus, the status quo at this time has the city council turning on Batman, forcing him to operate with official police assistance. (Gordon acknowledges he'll catch heat from the city for calling Batman in an early scene.) Finally, there's the ongoing Silver St. Cloud romance, which had Bruce Wayne falling madly in love with a woman who soon discovers his secret identity. After various rewrites, this plot found its way into the Batman film as the Bruce/Vicki Vale romance. In the animated "Laughing Fish," however, there's no time for Bruce's love life.

So, having cut to the core of the story, we have the major beats of the first two acts of the episode. Fish are appearing in Gotham Docks with Joker smiles, shocking the populace. Joker wastes little time visiting the office of the city Copyright Commission with his henchmen. He demands the copyright to these fish, and royalties for all sales. Fish are a natural resource, he learns, and can't be copyrighted. Joker, logically, declares war (via television) on the city's bureaucrats.

His first victim is G. Carl Francis, who's murdered when the second portion of a binary compound floods his home through the heating ducts. (Poor Carl didn't realize the Joker sprayed him with the first portion when he invaded his office earlier that day.) The Joker's second target, Thomas Jackson, meets his end after his cat ingests one of the Jokerized fish. Driven insane, the kitty leaps on his master and infects him with the toxin. Only a loyal pet could've seen through Thomas' disguise, as he and Batman switched outfits earlier. (This bit likely there to justify that memorable, but still gimmicky, cover for issue #476.)

The Joker's next attempt on a bureaucrat is his most direct. Disguised as a member of the police brigade sent to the next target's home, the Joker simply appears, squirts acid at Batman from his prop flower, and a chase ensues. (Can we guess the Joker's already given up on this copyright scam and gone straight to "Kill Batman" again?) The conclusion has the Joker facing Batman at a construction site, the victim of a lightning strike that sends him into the waters below, likely dead.

The Englehart/Rogers run was one of the very first comic stories to employ meta-references, with street names taken from previous creators and intentional nods towards landmark issues. The premise of the Joker announcing these murders on television is a reference to the Joker's debut in Batman #1, where he announced future victims over the radio. The concept of the Joker still managing to kill an innocent man under heavy police protection is another element of Batman #1. Even the title "Sign of the Joker!" is an homage to Batman #1, a line Batman speaks after Joker's first apparent death. Practically every issue of this run acknowledges the lengthy history of Batman, granting a value to the character's past that comics publishers rarely recognized in this era. The concept of a fanbase so devoted it would pick up on these references was still a new idea at DC in these days.

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Now, with so much of the episode's plot already covered in these two issues, what's left for "Joker's Five-Way Revenge" to contribute? An unforgettable ending, actually. Continuing in the tradition of Englehart/Rogers' nods to the past, writer Paul Dini is inspired to incorporate another "fish" tale from a classic Batman story.

It's not hyperbolic to call 1973's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" one of the most important Batman stories ever. Starting with that cover, one of the most merchandised Batman images for a good twenty years, a drawing every Generation X kid saw at some point in their childhoods. In addition to the cover, there's the Neal Adams image of a moonlit Batman dramatically leaning forward while pursuing the villain. (Often redrawn in the merchandise to add his utility belt, stolen by the Joker earlier in the issue.)

The story’s real significance, though, is remaking Joker from the Comics Code Approved prankster of the Silver Age into the murderous fiend known today. Joker's sadistic motivations from his earliest appearance have returned, in addition to the story's acknowledgment of the villain's mental instability. Referring to the Joker's escape from a "Mental Hospital for the Criminally Insane" actually foreshadows the coming debut of Arkham Asylum, and the standard treatment of Batman's rogues as mentally unstable.

Rather than have the Joker track down a series of innocents, this story depicts him turning on his own gang. Furious that someone has ratted him out, the Joker has selected five former henchmen for revenge. Batman fails in stopping four of the murders. The fifth target, a weak old man named Hooley, is located at the Joker's secret hideout, a closed aquarium on a beach contaminated by an oil spill. Batman volunteers to take Hooley's place inside the Joker's shark tank deathtrap, only to have Joker kick Hooley into the tank anyway.

Batman uses his ingenuity to escape the fish, rescue Hooley, and pursue Joker along the oil-stained beach. Along the way, we have that classic Batman-in-pursuit splash page from Adams.

 

The Joker slips on the polluted sand, losing all advantage over Batman. The story ends with the hero declaring that, this once, he's grateful for pollution.

So, all of these elements together brought us to the January 10th, 1993 episode (one of those prime time debuts) of Batman: The Animated Series. The creative team of writer Paul Dini and director Bruce Timm knew they had a special episode, a showcase of the Joker’s sadistic pleasure in torturing the little guy, with a closing set piece worthy of a feature film.

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The plot follows the path of the Detective two-parter, giving Joker the same scheme and a lucky streak eliminating his targets right under Batman’s nose. From the opening, it’s clear this isn’t a typical episode. The rare instance of the title card actually moving. A horror movie score, inspired by Alien, building in the background. Rainy Gotham streets, nearly every scene set at night. Bruce Timm seemed to recognize the potential for this to be their best Joker episode. Not only did Timm direct, but he personally storyboarded the final act.

The script takes advantage of the lore’s evolution over the two decades, incorporating two later additions to the canon. Detective Harvey Bullock is around, vocalizing frustrations over Batman’s inability to stop these attacks, before taking Hooley’s spot in the finale. This turns out to be one of Bullock’s greatest showings. Not only does he shoot some stinging barbs at Batman, but he actually discerns the location of Joker’s lair first. (As he informs Batman, he didn’t need no fancy Batcomputer to do it, either.)

Harley Quinn is also there, making her second appearance in the show. For the initial run of episodes, this turns out to be one of her highlights as well. She doesn’t change the direction of the story, but some of Dini’s best gags for Harley are here. Harley’s reluctant role in the Joker’s parody fish ads is genuinely funny, as is her turn as a “reverse mermaid.” There’s nothing so dark or disturbing about their relationship here. She’s the Joker’s best hench(wo)man, a cheerleader and genuine fan of his humor. (And an unfortunate participant in a job that involves fish, of which she appears to be allergic.)

The swerve to adapting a different story’s conclusion is unnoticeable, unless you’re intimately familiar with the source material. The original finale had the Joker dropping his scheme and leading Batman on a rooftop chase. Dini’s script stays true to the Joker’s gimmick-of-the-week, with Batman picking up the clues and tracking him to the aquarium. (Although, again, Bullock got there first.) The climax now features Bullock in danger, Harley as a comedic foil, and Batman facing the danger of a shark enticed with raw meat.

Neal Adams drew a fantastic shark in "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge," but the animal didn’t play much of a role in the story. A missed opportunity, rectified in the adaptation. Not only do Joker and Batman have an intense physical confrontation, but the shark reappears at just the right moment. It’s the first time the animated series has gone the “vague Joker death” route, and it might be the greatest of its run.

“Come on, he was a demented, abusive, psychotic maniac,” Bullock tells Harley. “Yeah…I'm really going to miss him!” she tearfully responds.

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The Wrap-Up

Design-y

Several “Batman in shadow” shots this episode, in addition to this amazing painting.

Um, Actually…

The introduction Englehart had the Joker use for himself in the Copyright Office is given to Harley, almost verbatim, in the adaptation. (And it's Harley who sprays Francis with with the binary compound here.) Also, it’s Batman, not the Joker, who enters a home in disguise as a police officer in the episode.

Approved By Broadcast Standards & Practices

Although no one dies, the Joker's animated victims do suffer from his laughing gas. Censors mandated they be put into comas, instead. Bruce Timm has commented that they would probably be better off dead.

Battle of the Bronze Age Classics

All of the comics adapted for this episode are legitimate masterworks. When analyzing the context of their release, and their impact on subsequent years of the canon, it’s clear these are inescapable stories. A case can easily be made that these are the most important Batman comics of the 1970s. And, by practically any standard, the adaptation outshines them.

Every opportunity that could’ve been used to improve the originals is exploited.  Why have gas released through the heating ducts when a flying swordfish could deliver the poison? (Animated directly from the swordfish’s point of view!) Why have Batman rescue a faceless flunky in the finale, when a belligerent Harvey Bullock could fill the role? Why settle for a Joker monologue when he could trade one-liners with Harley Quinn? And if Joker is in the fish game, shouldn’t he have a television ad worthy of his greatness?

It’s a perfect exercise in adaptation. Everything that worked is there. No changes are made capriciously, or to pump up any creator’s ego. No attempt to make it “mine,” just an honest effort at telling a great story. The source material is treated respectfully, with some artistic license taken to incorporate concepts created after those original runs. And it all works perfectly. Not only as a treat for existing fans, but independently as one of the finest episodes of a deservedly legendary series.

That’s all for now. If you have any suggestions for future installments, just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.