Welcome to Adventure(s) Time's sixty-fifth  installment, a look at animated heroes of the past. This week, we're covering one of the more controversial episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Then, an issue of the tie-in comic with a familiar concept.

So, a few weeks back, we reviewed "I've Got Batman in my Basement." Many view this as the weakest episode of Batman. And series co-creator Bruce Timm doesn't disagree; he's stated his dislike of the episode publicly. There was some reaction against this, with fans citing another episode as far worse. It debuted on October 21, 1992, with Tom Ruegger, Jules Dennis & Richard Mueller receiving story credit. And, hey, it's all about Batman and the kids, too.

"The Underdwellers," featuring direction from Frank Paur, is one of the earliest episodes of the series. (Although it seems as if FOX delayed its debut by several weeks.) Sean Catherine Derek has a story editor credit, which means it's a script written in the very beginning, during an internal struggle over the direction of the series. Derek and others viewed Batman as fairly standard children's entertainment. Positive messages for kids, no real danger for anyone involved. Bruce Timm was pushing for a more faithful translation of what the comics had become. The "darker" Knight, with deeper stories not specifically tailored for children.

So, what do we make of an episode that opens with the public, including Batman, entertaining thoughts of a "leprechaun" stealing purses in Gotham? Actually, before we even get there, there's an opening that has Batman saving two delinquent kids from playing chicken atop a train. He gives them a brief scolding before slipping away. It's the first of three Bat-lectures this episode.

Now, for anyone old enough to remember the days of the actual G. I. Joe PSAs, this feels familiar. Not nearly as cheesy, but the intent is clearly the same. Batman's the adult, so you kids better listen to him. So, no cheating death with above ground trains in motion, because that's what all the kids were into in 1992.

There is some story justification for this opening sequence, as we'll soon learn. And the animation, from Japan's Studio Junio, has a stylish anime flair to it. (They clearly had fun playing around with the lighting effects here.) The next sequence has Batman swooping in too late to stop a child in a green cloak from stealing a woman's purse. She's convinced it's a "leprechaun," and while Batman thinks this is crazy, he doesn't totally discount the idea. His conversation with Alfred, who dryly plays along (and suggests Batman take a vacation), is perhaps the best moment from the episode.

Actually, Alfred probably has the best showing of anyone. Batman investigates further, discovering this "leprechaun" is a thief living in the sewers. The kid, named "Frog" by his captor, is taken to the Batcave and entrusted in Alfred's care. And it would seem as if this kid was abducted when still a toddler, given his inability to ever stop stealing. An exasperated Alfred attempting to socialize the little monster is silly, but also funny. The animation is fluid enough to aid the comedic timing, rather than hinder it.

The sequence also brings us our second Bat-lecture, when Frog comes across Bruce Wayne's antique gun collection. Now, given just how virulently anti-gun Batman's been portrayed since the 1970s, it's highly debatable if he'd ever maintain even an antique collection of rifles. Even if he did, stopping the story just to remind kids they shouldn't play with guns doesn't do the narrative any favors.

Between Frog's hijinxs, Batman is continuing his investigation of The Underdwellers. He stumbles across their leader, the Sewer King, a refugee from another time period, it seems.  Or another reality.

He speaks like a Victorian-era villain, leading this underground kingdom of pickpocket children. They act as his slaves, sewing clothes, mining coal, and harvesting crops. (And they're doing this in the sewers, mind you.) Where he does he find these children? What is he doing with the money?  Charitably, he can be viewed as an homage to Oliver Twist’s Fagin. In the context of this world, though, he feels far too ridiculous.

Batman fights off Sewer King's alligator guards, then pursues him into the subway. He has an opportunity to allow the train to run over the King, but opts to save his life. And, in Bat-lecture #3, explains that the courts must mete out justice. But he was sorely tempted to let that train kill this creep. The dialogue is overwritten, but serves as a dramatic way to close out such a goofy episode. Kevin Conroy deserves credit, as always, for delivering this material so well.

A decent number of the early Batman episodes went out of their way to work kids into the story. Not so much in the tie-ins. Yet, there is September 2002's Gotham Adventures #52.

NEXT PAGE: How The Comics Made Batman: The Animated Series' Bane Super-Creepy

We're several years ahead in the timeline, now. Dick Grayson is Nightwing, and a kid named Tim Drake has taken over the Robin role. Some schemes never go out of style, though. As the cover reveals, the mastermind exploiting children this time is anything but a quirky one-time loser.

Writer Scott Peterson and artist Tim Levins bring us another side of Bane. The tragic figure's more than just a testosterone-addicted muscle man with a penchant for devious schemes. He's a complicated man, with a soft spot for the  children left behind by an uncaring society.

Nah.  Actually, he's a creep who's willing to use children as easy human shields against the police. Literally on the next page (the Peterson/Levins issues are pretty consistent with their breakneck pacing), a new kid enters the gang. Danny, an older kid, explains the ropes to him. Bane takes in runaways, provides them shelter, games, and food. He's the only adult who's ever cared for them.

And Bane, like Sewer King before him, is putting his charges to work. They're soon dispatched to a department store for a late night robbery. And, shocking not even the actual kids reading this, the new kid turns out to be Robin in disguise. What's he supposed to do now?

He tries to quietly stop the kids, but ends up rescuing Danny from a security guard, which actually ingratiates himself deeper into the gang.  Robin's still committed to turning Danny away from Bane, however.  After Danny shows us the literal babies Bane is grooming for his gang, Robin tries to convince him that Bane would turn on the gang in a heartbeat. He does this by...throwing a fire extinguisher at Bane's head, forcing him outside, landing at the feet of a waiting Batman.

What follows is a darn impressive rainy fight scene from Levins.

Danny runs out into the rain and nearly falls into the nearby river. Does Bane stop the fight to aid his ward? No, we can all guess where this is going. Robin saves Danny, exposing Bane's exploitation to the children. Bane could continue his fight against Batman, but he's so heartbroken to see the disappointment in his charges' eyes, he drops to his knees in shame.

That's...well, that's one way to end a story with only one page left. Bane stories are set up to make him essentially unbeatable in a physical confrontation, so going with an emotional defeat is a credible way to close up the plot. It doesn't feel truly earned, however. If you're familiar with Bane's comics origin, the story of him as an orphan raised in a heartless prison, there's a better context for understanding this. Within this comic, however, the ending comes across as more arbitrary than anything.

NEXT PAGE: Bruce Timm's Reaction to This Batman: The Animated Series Episode Was Not Good

The Wrap-Up

Design-y

I like the anime look of the episode. Others disagree. The episode is so anime, Bruce Timm had second thoughts, as he revealed to Animato magazine.

"It's Junio's weakest episode... We almost didn't use them after that. It was the first one that came back that really looked totally unlike our show. It was very Japanese. But I'm glad we did use them again, they've done great work."

Continuity Notes

Alfred's protest that he doesn't know how to deal with children ignores that he's largely responsible for raising both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in this canon.

Hey, I Know that Voice

Character actor Michael Pataki voices Sewer King. He's likely best known for playing Korax in the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles." He was also voicing George Liquor on Ren & Stimpy during this era.

"Huh?" Moment

Batman is disguising the Batmobile behind a garbage dumpster facade? What am I watching? Batman hypnotizing Frog on his way to the Batcave is nice, though.

Approved By Broadcast Standards & Practices

More from Bruce Timm in Animato magazine:

"BS&P took a lot out of this show... Originally, the kids were to be victimized by the Sewer-King, but he was not allowed to be mean or torturous to any of them. The impact is watered down. If we were doing it today, we probably would have decided not to do the show."

 Won't Someone Think of the Children?

For all the grief I've given it, I will say this in defense of "The Underdwellers." The "slave children" material is honestly disturbing. The kid who isn't even allowed to scream when he hits (cuts?) his leg with the gardening hoe. The concerned look on the child's face who covers his mouth with her hand. Frog's inability to stand any light, due to his years underground. Batman's boiling fury, and his overt desire to kill the man who's enslaved these kids. That is real drama, effectively taking the Dickens influence and eliciting genuine reactions.

You just have to forgive a lot to buy this. Sewer King is simply irredeemable as a villain. His plan makes no obvious sense, his design is absurd, and he's not presenting any kind of a challenge to Batman. Bane, however, has none of these issues. While it's a fairly ridiculous plan for the character, it's not totally out of the bounds of credibility. If the story did more to flesh out Bane's character, the plot would've been far more convincing. As it stands, "Underdwellers" suffers from its weaker villain. But it's actually a more memorable story.

Now, how do any of these stories hold up against "Basement," and all of its kid-friendly glory? I'd rank them miles ahead. "Underdwellers" has a unique look, and some disturbing moments. Bane's story feels rushed, but also looks fantastic. "Basement" is bland-looking kids' stuff. I'd take klepto Frog and his hidden spoons over that dork Sherman any day.

That’s all for now. Thanks to World's Finest for archiving the magazine quotes.  If you have any suggestions for the future, just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.