Welcome to Adventure(s) Time's 114th installment, a look at animated heroes of the past. In recent weeks, I've been revisiting the second volume of the comic tie-in Batman Adventures, pairing each issue with an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. I solicited suggestions for pairing this issue, so thanks to those who helped. (Especially the folks at Watchtower Database, who made a very logical connection. The one I'm using, in fact.) And if you have any suggestions for the future, just contact me on Twitter.

Debuting on Feb. 21, 1998, "Joker's Millions" is perhaps Batman's silliest episode, airing during the show's revamp as The New Batman Adventures. Although the episode is from established writer Paul Dini and director Dan Riba, it doesn't play like any previous installment.

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One reason the episode's tone seems off is because it's borrowing from an era of Batman's comics history usually ignored by the show. This is a direct adaptation of the comic book story "Joker's Millions," published in Detective Comics #180, cover-dated February 1952.

An opening action sequence establishes Joker and Harley Quinn are now broke, demeaning themselves by robbing a pedestrian electronics convention, then running out of gas during their getaway. Harley's captured, though it's apparent Joker doesn't care that much.

Back at his squalid apartment, he discovers deceased mobster "King" Barlowe has left his $250 million fortune to his sworn enemy, the Joker. Now insanely wealthy, Joker bribes officials to erase his criminal record, enters Gotham's high society, and auditions replacements for Harley. He settles on "Fake Harley," who appeals to Joker's more prurient interests... even though she's a ditz with an obnoxious accent.

The real Harley, meanwhile, is incensed Joker has left her behind in Arkham. (Having come to this conclusion with Poison Ivy's help.) She escapes through the Arkham laundry chute, a method the guards believe even she's too crazy to try.

Eventually, Joker discovers the government's inheritance tax. And that the money and jewels left by Barlowe are fake. A prerecorded video establishes Barlowe did this as a final revenge. Joker's either stuck with the IRS on his case, or he must publicly admit Barlowe got the better of him.

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(Why did Joker realize the money is counterfeit so late? Because $10 million was legit. Just enough for Joker to get himself into trouble, per Barlowe.)

Joker has to take up crime once again to pay off the IRS, plotting an everyday robbery to deflect suspicion of Barlowe's prank. One of his goons impersonates the Joker at the Penguin's trendy Iceberg Lounge, while the real Joker robs the Gotham Mint. Bruce Wayne runs into the fake Joker, susses out he's a phony, and eventually halts the crime as Batman, joined by Batgirl and Nightwing.

The final indignity occurs as the Joker is hauled away by the police. The guard left inside the van with Joker is none other than Harley in disguise. She closes out the episode by beating Joker mercilessly with a nightstick. (We only hear this happen from the outside, though, so that makes it cute and not disturbing.)

So, is there another Joker and Harley tale that involves the complexities of inheritance, legal chicanery, outright fraud, and Ivy's jealous protection of Harley? Why, it just so happens to be the next issue of Batman Adventures in our retrospective.

Batman Adventures #16 (September 2004), from writer Ty Templeton and penciler Rick Burchett, has a hook that seems inevitable -- the marriage of Joker and Harley.

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The story has Joker freeing Harley (and, consequently, Poison Ivy) from their temporary cell in Blackgate Prison. While Batman and Batgirl investigate why Joker would choose now to free Harley when he traditionally leaves her behind, the Joker is careful to ensure his upcoming nuptials are perfectly legal.

Even when Joker's informed none of what he's doing will hold up in court, he's sure he'll have enough money to throw around to take care of this. (A lesson "Joker's Millions" seemingly taught him.) Joker and Harley hold City Hall hostage for the sake of their ceremony, attracting the attention of Ivy.

Soon, there's a confrontation between the heroes and villains, and secrets are brought into light. The legal document claiming Harley's now a millionaire thanks to her inheritance is a phony. (Batman points out the postage stamp on its envelope was never cancelled.) Harley knew the Joker would hear about the fake inheritance and arrange a marriage. She'd tell him on their wedding night, convinced he'd no longer have a reason to murder her. It was all a scheme to force Joker to finally make their relationship legit. Is Joker furious with Harley for manipulating him?

But there is one relationship spoiled by the fiasco. Harley's furious at Ivy for ruining her wedding. Harley declares she'll find Ivy and kill her if it's the last thing she does. A bold twist in their relationship that, sadly, goes nowhere, as this is the books' next-to-last issue.

DESIGN-Y

Although the New Adventures episodes weren't as shadow-heavy as their predecessors, we see a few cool shadowy images here.

The episode's opening evokes the original Batman:TAS run's title cards, with the full-screen title of the episode and writer/director credits. After establishing the info, the camera pulls back to reveal we were looking at a gigantic computer monitor, as Joker is robbing an electronics convention.

And, while Batman Adventures uses the Justice League model for Batman, they're still on the New Adventures model for Joker, who'd already been redesigned again by this date. Although Burchett has given Joker more expressive eyes, which was a major issue with his New Adventures look.

CONTINUITY NOTES

The most notable difference from the 1950s "Joker's Millions" and this episode is the inclusion of Harley. (Who, of course, didn't exist then.) The ending is also slightly altered, as the comic has Joker confessing to his "straight crimes" to a crook named Duke Gorman, who's actually Batman in disguise. Still, most of the plot points remain the same.

Regarding Batman Adventures #16, it's interesting that this issue's back-up story establishes the green-tinted Ivy we've seen so far in this volume (and perhaps since the beginning of The New Batman Adventures) is actually a plant clone created by Ivy to cover her escape into a new life. A new life that involves her living with Dr. Alec Holland, not yet Swamp Thing, conducting her experiments in a swamp.

Oddly enough, the Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie, viewed by many as the first "official" return to the DC Animated Universe, has a Harley/Ivy fight, Ivy exploiting the work of Holland, and an actual appearance from Swamp Thing.

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HEY, I KNOW THAT VOICE

"Fake Harley" is voiced by Maggie Wheeler, known for her role as Chandler's girlfriend Janice on Friends. To be honest, her intentionally "bad" Harley isn't as irritating as some of the actresses in that role, post-Arleen Sorkin.

APPROVED BY BROADCAST STANDARDS & PRACTICES

Airing on the WB! network, the show experienced far fewer censorship restrictions. There are two joking lines specifically referencing people being shot, which likely wouldn't have aired on FOX. (Harley asks is she was supposed to "Fill the tank, shoot the guy, and drive off?" and later, "Drown the kids and shoot the neighbors. We've got a winner!" which is Joker's gleeful reaction to his new Harley.) There's also a sound effect of a balloon being rubbed, inserted when Joker's head is lodged into Fake Harley's chest. Likely too racy for FOX Kids.

I LOVE THE '90s

The Joker's lawyer resembles Johnnie Cochran, a prominent attorney during the OJ Simpson trial. The lawyer's proclamation, "If a man's filled with glee, that man must go free!" satirizes Cochran's statement to the jury, regarding a glove worn by the murderer (which Simpson theatrically displayed to the jury didn't fit) -- "If it does not fit, you must acquit!" The joke is recycled twice more in the DCAU. Once in the Batman episode "Over the Edge," and later in Justice League's "In Blackest Night".

"CRAZY ENOUGH TO TAKE ON BATMAN, BUT THE IRS?!"

So, who is the Joker? A mad anarchist? A serial killer? A money-hungry prankster who's fine with going straight if he has enough cash in the bank? The Joker of "Joker's Millions" is the Silver Age incarnation, the toothless version we have the early Comics Code Authority to thank. He's far more interested in pranking Batman and having fun than in hurting anyone.

Even though the DCAU Joker couldn't explicitly kill onscreen, the producers still managed to establish their Joker as someone with murderous intent. It's hard to imagine their Joker caring so much about going straight and buying his way into Gotham's elite. Or, for that matter, hiding out in a public apartment complex with no disguise outside of calling himself "Mr. Kurr." For this episode to work, you have to accept it as a lighthearted change of pace and not think too deeply. Some of the jokes are amusing, but it's likely a hard sell to most hardcore DCAU fans.

The Batman Adventures story, though, follows similar plot beats without altering the Joker of this canon. Any attempts at legal legitimacy are in the name of gaining money, and even then, the story's clear that Joker's too crazy to understand how any of this works anyway. It's also silly and perhaps too gimmicky, but the ending did set up an intriguing new dynamic in the Harley and Ivy's relationship. Too bad the rest of this story has never been told.

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NEXT: How Batman: The Animated Series Wasted a Classic Villain