Batman - The Animated Series, Vol. 3

More classic, wonderful episodes (29 episodes, 1992-1995). Generally excellent overall except there were a few stinkers that were disappointing. I did not like The Terrible Trio, Harley's Holiday, Make "Em Laugh, and a few others were mediocre. Favorites include:Shadow of the Bat (two parts) James Gordon is arrested for corruption. Batgirl's first episode, though Barbara Gordon had been shown in Volume Two occasionally. Barbara goes through two costume changes.The Demon's Quest (2 parts). Robin is kidnapped and Batman joins forces with Ras al-Ghul. Talia is in love with Batman. al-Ghul tests Batman's worthiness to be her husband. Later Batman stops al-Ghul's attempts to destroy the Earth.His Silicon Soul--sequel to Heart of Steel. Bruce Wayne's robot replca wanders about Gotham, believing itself to be the real Batman.Fire from Olympus. An energy weapon developed by the Army has diappeared and Batman discoveres that a mad shipping magnate, who fancies himself to be Zeus, will use it to devastate Gotham.Sideshow. Killer Croc escapes a prison train and finds refuge with a group of circus freaks living in the mountains, who take pity on him. However, he turns on them and tries to steal all their money.A Bullock for Bullock. Detective Bullock reluctantly asks for Batman's help when he is convinced someone is trying to kill him, namely his landlord.Trial. D.A. Janet Van Dorn, who loathes Batman, is forced to defend him in a twisted parody of a trial run by the inmates of Arkham Asylum.Avatar. Batman travels to Egypt and joins with Talia to hunt down Ras al-Ghul who is searching for an ancient source of ultimate power. He searches for Thoth Khepera, an immortal queen, who turns out to be a vampire.Harlequinade. When Joker steals a nuclear weapon, Batman arranges for Harley Quinn's release from Arkham, so she can help him track the Joker down. Batman & Harley become partners. She leads him to places the Joker used to go to, but she deceives Batman. She sings, she steals Batman's equipment and gets weapons from the Batmobile. Great episode.Time Out of Joint. Batman & Robin battle the Clock King again. The Clock King has a time accelerator so he can move fast. Batman & Robin eventually use the time accelerator themselves to catch the Clock King.Catwalk. Catwoman is crecruited by The Ventriloquist to be a jewel thief. However, he double croses her. Much time spent on the Batman/Bruce and Catwoman/Selina relationship.The Lion and the Unicorn. Return of Red Claw. She kidnaps an old colleague of Alfred's who used to be in the Secret Service. She later kidnaps and drugs Alfred as well to gain access to a missile silo.Showdown. Has Jonah Hex. Steampunk western. Includes an airship and another plot by Ras al-Ghul to destroy the world.Batgirl Returns. Batgirl, Catwoman, and Robin teams up to investigate the theft of a cat statuette. Catwoman investigates the crime scene, Batgirl confronts her, but believes Catwoman did not steal the statuette. Great fight scene in a bar. Catwoman is willing to kill Daggett in the end, but Batgirl stops her.Other episodes have The Penguin, Mr Freeze, Baby Doll, Two Face, Lock Up, Bane, Poison Ivy, The riddler, and too many Joker episodes.One great extra feature: Gotham's New Knight: Batgirl, Batman's Newest Ally.On the whole an excellent collection.

This set contains the final 29 (one more than the package lists!) episodes of the original "Batman: The Animated Series." After these adventures fans would have to wait a whole three years for new capers set in the animated Gotham, and as the reviews for Volume 4 point out some found those episodes lacking.But we're talking about the episodes on this set, and there is some strong material here. This set introduces several characters that would go on to play huge roles in the animated Batman mythos. We get the two part introduction of Batgirl (which is made all the more effective by the fact that her alter ego Barbara Gordon has already been introduced). We get another two parter that introduces Ras al Ghul, who makes several more appearances on this volume. And we get the introduction of Scarface, who would go on to be featured in many more episodes and is every bit as interesting as Joker, Two-Face, or Catwoman.This volume also features some of the most emotionally complex storytelling in the series to date, as well as some genuinely dark and disturbing material. The episode "Read My Lips," which introduces the schizophrenic Scarface, climaxes in a twisted scenario that has a character threatening suicide. Poison Ivy's warped idea of a happy little home in "House and Garden" is chilling. And the episode "Baby Doll" introduces one of the creepiest ideas for a villain yet in a child who literally cannot grow up, and the emotional impact of that is played up to its fullest. Yet these episodes are still entirely appropriate for children, because the truly twisted elements are downplayed and will only be fully understood by adults.There is also a string of stories involving the supposed reforms of various villains. This allows for further exploration of their motives and desires, and continues the series' hallmarks of treating the "bad guys" with as much care and respect as the heroes.Unfortunately, the set falls just shy of the dizzying heights achieved by Volume Two. Although the episodes here are still better than some of the early clunkers, there a few that fall short of expectations. "A Bullet For Bullock" spends too much time away from our hero, and "The Terrible Trio" is one of the worst episodes of the series. Luckily, these epsidoes are balanced by absolute joys such as "Harlequinade" (featuring the always entertaining Harley Quinn) and "Trial," in which the villains of Arkham Asylum put Batman on trial for "creating" them.This set is a must for anyone who enjoyed the previous two volumes. The art style is breathtaking, the voice cast is fantastic, and the storytelling is infinitely more mature than your typical "cartoon show."