Fear of Victory

Up next in Batman: The Animated Series is perhaps one of the best Scarecrow episodes, "Fear of Victory." It was the 24th produced episode and the 19th aired on Sept. 29, 1992.

The whole episode was built around Robin being scared and trying to regain his confidence, which I liked. It's always fun to have a Robin episode, and I really enjoyed watching him freak out. It was a nice change of pace with some good psychological elements to it, which will earn the episode one point.

The score goes up to a 7 for one of the funniest moments in the entire show. After nearly falling off a building, Batman catches himself and crashes through a lady's window. At first, she's shocked: "Oh my!" But then she realizes its Batman: "Oh, MY!" Batman's small smile as he leaves wraps it up perfectly.

I'll add another point for Scarecrow's new design. It is practically perfect and a huge upgrade to his original look. Whenever I think of the Scarecrow, this is the image that comes to mind.

I also really enjoyed the Scarecrow's plot in this episode. He developed a fear chemical that's absorbed through the skin and is activated by adrenaline, which was a pretty nice strategic touch in my opinion. With the delayed effect, people wouldn't immediately realize it was the powdered telegram or whatever he used to get them. Using this powder to bet on sporting events was nothing novel, but as Batman said, it was just a ploy to get some quick cash. Besides, the Scarecrow really enjoys watching people be scared, no matter how large the scale.

The score will rise to a perfect 10 for Batman's trip to Arkham Asylum, where we learn that the Scarecrow has either bribed or intimidated a guard to help him escape. I always love when we get a glimpse into how a villain has escaped. True, we didn't get the full story here, but it was enough for me. But what really made this scene fun was seeing the Joker, Poison Ivy and Two-Face. They played a bit of Two-Face's music when Batman walked past him and the Joker even talked. It's really easy for animators to throw a bunch of villains in, but when they put forth the extra effort to bring in the voices it makes my day.

Sadly, I can't give this episode a perfect score because the ending was kind of cheesy. Batman and the Scarecrow were fighting for a vial of his concentrated fear powder above the stadium, and Batman was having too hard a time fighting off the skinny Scarecrow. But I probably would have overlooked this had they not mirrored the actions of the football game below, complete with play-by-play commentary. "Oh no! A fumble! This could spell disaster for Gotham ..." I have to take a point off for that.

Final score: 9