Top Ten Batman Beyond Episodes

Well I noticed recently that while there are tons of top ten Batman: TAS lists all over the internet I could not find a single Batman Beyond top ten. So seeing that I've seen every episode at least once and I've seen certain ones (like the ones on this list) several times, I might as well make a top ten to christen my blog with its first post.  So without further ado, here's my ten favorite episodes of Batman Beyond:

10. Rebirth

 What better way to start out a top ten list than with the debut episode?  Although Rebirth is comprised of two different parts, I figured it would be way too annoying to try and rate two-parters on the list as separate episodes.  Timm, Dini, Burnett, and crew created an entirely new Gotham and it looks great, although a it is a bit weird that Terry was already an amazing martial artist pre-Wayne training, this episode is a terrific intro and really sets up the series and lays everything out fairly nicely.

9. Countdown
 

Now we're jumping from the first episode ever produced to the last (Unmasked was aired later but was produced/created earlier) this episode has an entirely different tone from Rebirth, as it is anything but serious as it is an entirely comedic episode.  It's damn funny and makes perfect use of both Mad Stan and Zeta's personalities, not a moment is wasted.

8. Black Out
 

One of the many great episodes of BB season one, this episode introduces one of Batman II greatest adversaries: Inque.  As shown in the picture above, Inque is not to be taken lightly and although some people compare her to Clayface, she's more than strong enough a character to stand on her own.  The whole episode was very tense, and the animation for Inque (and everything else) was terrific and really drove home how dangerous Inque was.  Not to mention there was a Grey Ghost reference in this episode as well, I mean what more could you want?

7. Spellbound
 

Well you could want this I suppose, but there really is very little (if anything at all) separating "Spellbound" from "Black Out" in terms of quality.  Both episodes are a lot of fun to watch with both having interesting villains. Of the two I prefer "Spellbound"  because Spellbinder's costume is awesome, but moreso because I love how seamlessly and convincingly reality and dreams are mixed.


6. Heroes
 

An episode that, strangely enough, is considered by many people to be one of the worst (if not the worst) of Batman Beyond, even though it's amazing. This link will tell you why it's one of the best BB episodes ever: http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/bb/heroes.html If you're too lazy to click on the link and read the review, the main point to come away with is even though people prefer "The Dark Knight" version of him, Batman still is a very romantic character, and this episode shows that by contrasting him with "heroes" who are trapped in genuine darkness.

5. The Call
 

So what it's not exactly "deep?" In fact, it's basically the epitome of lightweight entertainment, but hey it's got Superman and has the first appearance of The Justice League in the DCAU so who cares? The story of "The Call" makes no sense, there's action upon action upon action just for the sake of action, there are too many plot twists to count, people are killed and return to life, and key motivations seem to change every few minutes; but who cares? Justice League!

4. The Eggbaby
 

It's incredibly hard for me to put into words why I love this episode so much, it's very funny and just really enjoyable.  This is my top ten after all.

3. King's Ransom
 

All of the episodes with The Royal Flush Gang are good, and this episode is much, much, better if you've seen the two previous episodes with them in it.  In fact, this episode is so damn good that it makes the other two that much better because you realize how they helped set up this episode, which illustrates the fall of The Royal Flush Gang perfectly. There really is no distinction made at all between hero and villain in this episode, as Batman's cold-hearted rejection of Melanie is one of the saddest moments of the series, and when it all comes to an end with King telling Batman "You don't know what it's like to live in someone else's shadow" you find yourself questioning just how different Batman is from his villains.  To me this episode is the "Heart of Ice" of Batman Beyond, in that it shows a hero (Batman) and a villain (King) who are essentially two sides of the same coin, and you can't help but feel for both.

2. Meltdown
 

The saga of Mr. Freeze comes full circle as he reclaims his humanity and the viewer's sympathy.  This episode just had everything, it has great pacing, voice acting, character development, pretty good animation, and to top it all off had the first real appearance of Derek Powers as Blight, aka Batman II's ultimate nemesis. Add all that to how cool Mr. Freeze's new costume is and his straight up murdering of Dr. Lake (prefaced by one of the most badass lines in DCAU history) and you've got the second best episode of Batman Beyond.


1. Out of the Past
 

This episode is my favorite of Batman Beyond for a multitude of reasons,  not least of which was how happy I was to see Bruce return to fighting form again.  There are so many great things about this episode; besides the aforementioned return to ass-kicking mode by Bruce, there was the thrill of seeing the two Batmen fighting side by side, the addressing of what happened to the one other immortal in Batman's rogue gallery (Ra's al Ghul), and The Batman Musical (in all its hilarity).  This episode begins with one of the funniest sequences in any DCAU Batman show, being the first to openly mock Batman, and follows that up by promptly diving into the darkest episode to ever appear in the DCAU.  This episode is the second greatest character study in the history of the DCAU (the greatest being "Perchance to Dream"), as it shows that Bruce may have spent his entire life unwittingly turning himself into one of his greatest foes, and that the resemblance is now so strong that Ra's can make Bruce into a new comfortable home.  It isn't so much that Ra's is stealing Bruce's identity as it is a merging of both of theirs.  The fact that Bruce decides to fight back, destroy the Lazarus pit, and grow old shows that he isn't Ra's, and is one of the most important moments of character development in all of the DCAU (of which Bruce appears in over 100 episodes more than any other character).  All that in only 22 minutes!

(I don't know how to site things on this blog but a lot of the points I made in my reviews for Meltdown, Out of the Past, and quite possibly others, were either taken directly or indirectly (I've read all the reviews from that site so I'm sure something probably slipped in somewhere in paraphrased form) from this website: http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/index.html)