Joker's Favor

In honor of the latest and greatest Batman movie, I've decided to get back to reviewing some classic Batman episodes. Today is "Joker's Favor," the 22nd-produced episode of Batman: The Animated Series, but it was the 7th one aired on Sept. 11, 1992, which made this the first aired episode with the Joker. Personally, I would've chosen "The Last Laugh," but this wasn't a bad choice to introduce the world to Mark Hamill's Joker.

One thing I really like about this episode is it shows what it's like to be an ordinary citizen in Gotham. You're driving home from work, they announce on the radio that some freak's escaped the insane asylum, and you have to pull over to let the Batmobile speed past you. And if someone cuts you off, look at who it is before you start yelling at them, or you might end up like poor Charlie, "I cussed out the Joker!" I'll add a point for that.

The score will rise to a 7 for another classic Joker performance. In this episode, he delivers one of my favorite Joker lines of all time: "We can't have people cursing at each other on the highway — it's simply not polite!"

This episode is also significant for being the first appearance of Harley Quinn — not just in this show, but the entire DC Universe, as well. She was great in this episode and has become a very important character. She adds a fun level of depth to the Joker and can even be interesting on her own in small doses. The creation of this character also demonstrates how big of an impact this show had on the comic book world. Not only did the comics start adjusting origin stories of some characters like Mr. Freeze, but they also started incorporating completely new characters created by this show. Creating something with such a lasting impact definitely deserves a point.

As much as I liked Harley, I didn't care too much for the Joker's other goons, Rocko and Henshaw. They're not bad in other episodes, but this one had a really annoying scene where Joker insisted on having them applaud him for no reason. It just lasted way too long and wasn't funny at all. I have to take a point off.

But I will raise the score back to an 8 for the Joker's fun, elaborate plan. He hid in a giant birthday cake while Harley used a whistle to set off special candles that released a paralyzing gas. He also gave Charlie a seemingly simple task — open a door — but he glued him to the handle and left him to die in the explosion. This is the kind of Joker plot I love to see!

Sadly, I have to take one point off for what really felt like filler toward the end of the episode. After Batman beat Joker's goons, he chased the Joker into an exact replica of an ancient Egyptian temple, complete with poison-tipped darts. What kind of a museum would re-create a temple with active booby traps and real poison? I want to see this evil museum curator who insisted on using real poison. Anyway, it was a really random, over-the-top moment that the episode could have done without.

Final score: 7