I wish Batman was depicted like this more often. Many of his villains are mentally ill and victims of tragic circumstances, it would be nice to see him try to help them as much as he helps the people they put in danger because of their problems.
I agree. I mean I love the dark and gritty Batman world, sure, but I really love the Batman: Animated Series world. I liked the idea that not all of the bad guys were these terrible, unredeemable folks. I liked that, at some points in the series, they really just.. wanted to be normal. And I liked the times when Batman understood that, like here. "I had a bad day once, too.“ I like that the bad guys in this series felt so… human. Not completely bad, but not completely good. Some were terrible, some were just going about things wrong. This was the first series I watched as a kid where good and bad wasn’t this clear cut definition.
Sometimes, Batman had to be the hero and stop the Penguin.
Sometimes, the Penguin just… wanted the girl to like him
Sometimes, Batman was right about everything.
Other times, he felt guilty about the things he did: Two-Face, for example, was a good person before. Which yes, the Nolan movies captured, but in the animated series him and Bruce were friends, for a while! (there were episodes he showed up in BEFORE the Two-Face episode, there was a friendship between them, and it killed Bruce to see that happen to him).
But the best part about the moments where Batman felt guilty about the villains? He actually… cared about some of them. He cared about Robin and Batgirl, sure, but… having nightmares about Two Face. Feeling bad for Mr. Freeze and his wife. Just… episodes where the good guys learn the back story of the bad guys and just had this moment of, ”… wow. Shit.“ Because then, as a kid (and adult), you’re watching like, "Wow… so you’re not flat out bad.” Because some of us have, as Batman says here, “A bad day.”
It also answers the question that I had as a kid of, you know, why doesn’t the hero just get rid of the bad guy? You keep locking him or her away, they get out, and do it all over again. But this series, this CARTOON, shows that hey, the bad guys are people too.
Harley just… wanted a dress.
