Mudslide

"Mudslide" was the 52nd produced episode of Batman: The Animated Series, but it was pushed back to be the 63rd aired episode on Sept. 15, 1993, technically making it part of season 2.

This is the second appearance of Clayface, and he's slowly dying. He can barely hold himself together and is becoming significantly weaker. However, he has also become smarter with his powers, as we saw him very quickly switch to a bunch of different people at opportune times. I really liked this element, so I'll add a point for it.

I'll then raise the score to a 7 for some classic Alfred lines. First, Batman says Clayface is losing his integrity, and Alfred says, "I wasn't aware he had any to begin with." Then Batman wonders why that woman doctor is helping Clayface, and Alfred says, "Perhaps she enjoys mud baths." Wonderful, classic Alfred.

There is one part in this episode that has always bugged me and probably always will. Batman offers to help Clayface turn human again, but Clayface refuses. He instead steals a secret isotope from WayneTech that actually works and helps him start to turn into a human, but then Batman interrupts the process. Why stop it Batman? You said you wanted to help! I guess Batman sees the world in complete black and white and can't overlook someone breaking the law, even this one time. It still bugs me, though, so I have to take a point off.

But despite my one quandary there, I do have to praise this episode for its overall excellence. The animation was great — you could really see Clayface struggling to hold himself together. The episode was very dark in tone, with Batman suffocating and Clayface's apparent death, but I kind of liked that darkness. Yes, this is a kids show, but it's OK to get a little rough like that. So I'll bring the score back up to a 7.

Final score: 7