What did everyone think of The Mechanic? Watch the NC review of Blade 3 here - th-cam.com/video/EFPddS0KPx4/w-d-xo.html Watch more Bat-May here - bit.ly/BatMay Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter
Well it was good, it’s a shame that they never Earl again and this episode also shows that Penguin can be a great threat if they kept going with it. Also Penguin took Martha and that should have been very personal for Batman 😂
I wish they’d have given The Mechanic the his comic origin. Not paying tribute to Harold Allnut is a missed opportunity to promote equal opportunities for everyone (specifically the mentally-abled community).
Didn't like it. The idea of a separate mechanic seemed to contrived. Batman was an idiot to forget his car had brakes until the last second (which resulted in his car getting damaged). The Penguin waited like four seconds, apparently forgetting he was going to shoot the girl.
I always wondered who did the repairs, who custom made the batmobile, bat shaped plane and batrangs ( Bruce might have gone overboard with the bat gimmick 😂). You can say lucious fox all you want but......he's just ONE guy, I always suspected he had workers associated with the bat family.
Reminds me of the Shadow and his network of Cabdrivers and other informants that he can activate when a case requires their specialised assistance or in general just some aid (or a rideshare ;)) Also flashbacks of the Bakerstreet Irregulars from Sherlock Holmes, after all Batman IS designed based on the general "Great Detective" Concept.
@@Ugly_German_Truths Exactly. That's immediately what I thought of too. That like the Shadow, Batman has a network of contacts, informants, and other allies that aid him. Not only Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent before he became Two-Face, but lots of others. That's something I wish got more focus. I love the reference to the Baker Street Irregulars.
I always had the idea, it was one of his prototypes. If Bruce was a fan of his design, may keep an eye on him before got fired. At least that was my explonation.
I vague remember this episode. I’m shocked we didn’t bring up the fun “twist” of how the mechanic tells Batman about “fixing the air conditioner,” (or something like that) in order to hint to Batman that if he turns it on, he can regain control of the batmobile. Goes to show just how loyal the mechanic is to someone who he has no idea who he is under the mask.
I'd like to think that somehow Earl knows that Batman = Bruce Wayne, but never lets on to Batman/Bruce that he knows. A sort of mutual respect from Earl.
I like how the Batmobile origin in Mask of the Phantasm could be seen as a nod to the Adam West Batmobile considering how it started as a Lincoln concept car.
Nope not Lincoln it was a Ford A Ford Futura, the futura never was considered to go into production and sat in fords backlot for a few years until Barris was looking for a platform for the brand new tv show. And bought the Futura from ford for only 1 dollar. The batmobile created was given a facelift, and a jet thruster on its rear made out of a 5 gallon paint can and I’m not even kidding
@@lemmythebulldog8812 It was a concept car for Ford's Lincoln brand. So it wasn't branded a "Ford Futura". It was branded a Lincoln Futura. So while you're technically right I'm also still right. Seriously, google "Lincoln Futura". You would''ve saved yourself some time.
Maybe Global Motors was hired by the Gotham World Fair to design their car of the future, and Earl was assigned to that project. Instead of it being a contradiction, it would just mean that Earl finally got his chance to make his futuristic car design into a reality, and that really fits well with how Bruce Wayne tended to help people.
Huh... I remember this one from my childhood... I always thought Earl was Lucius Fox. Also, you gotta love how the penguin blows up the wall, which he(or his goons rather) then has to painstakingly repair so batman doesn't get suspicious, instead of just like, waiting for them to go home and jumping them on the street XD
This is no question one of my most favourite iterations of the Batmobile. I love that sleek, long atomic age look that it has with the giant hood and the high grill. It reminds me of a car from Fallout.
The one part that really bugs me about this one is the Penguin kills a guy who freely brought him information, for literally no reason. It seems like much more of a Joker move than the guy we're supposed to believe could freely want to reform himself in Birds of a Feather.
then again its a good way of ensuring noone else other than him uses this information, and this WAS after his reform failed so it could be seen as him doubling down and sinking lower into the darkness after seeing himself fail to escape it. That or continuity wasn't always great.
I love these episodes where the Bat Family isn't the focus of the story: "almost got him," the one where a bunch of kids have to care for an injured batman and the one where Bullock and Montoya recount an event for GPD IA. It really fleshes out the world of TAS. In this episode, I love how it shows how Bruce will help out people he's run into as Batman by hiring them into his company/service.
I had those too!! My parents actually sneakily changed them out for me one Christmas Eve (I was 5, I think?) and one of my earliest memories was the happy surprise of waking up in them.
Rundel: “Excuuuse meeee! Where is this thing taking meee? Penguin: “On a sea cruise” Yup it was strange, and I remember wondering what became of him...but yeah no surviving that..
Kind of funny when you consider the Penguin's previous episode tried to convince us he wasn't such a bad guy. Guess he just decide to give up and dive into totally to being a villain
The Batmobile Episode! I find this another great episode of the showcasing the lives inside of Gotham getting heavily involved those of the Dark Knight.
I want to bring to attention the actress who played Marva. Candy Brown, a dancer who worked a lot with Bob Fosse in Pippin and Liza with a Z. She also was one of the people responsible for A Chorus line, the character Rich's story is based off of her own life. But she chose not to be in chorus line in favor of working with Fosse again in Chicago (she was the original June "squish" in Cell Block Tango). She also took lots of footage of her productions including to a cut finale of Chicago that would otgerwise be lost. Didn't want to tangent, but it is cool to see her here, I am a big fan.
My favorite part was the warnings Earl tried to give Batman and Robin when handing over the car after it had been rigged. The sad look in his eyes was more than enough to let you know something was very wrong.
One of my favorite non-joker episodes. I didn't know Paul Winfield voiced Earl Cooper. Man they went all out on the casting. I'm also now curious about the new Batman 89 comic
Honestly I really like this episode it may not be one of my top favorites, but I do like it a lot, mainly for three reasons 1: I feel like it’s a smart idea for somebody else besides the dark knight to be the repair man of the Batmobile, 2: to me, it shows that penguin can be a dangerous threat, besides blind as a bat that is, I just feel like it does it a lot better than that episode, and 3: this episode feels like it was some thing out of a 70s batman comic which I think is a nice touch since I do view some of the more underrated episodes as something out of the 70s comic run.
The Gotham City: The Dark Deco State. At least they own it. I think Penguin keeps being handed this plot due to being one of the most clever of the rogues with the largest stable of employees. It makes sense that his network would be the one most likely to catch some tidbit of information pointing to the Batmobile's creation and follow up on it, just like he's the only rogue with the clout/lack of obvious madness to run for mayor.
You need to have guts and creativity and be allowed to take risks. Even then there were people saying this show is too scary and adult for the kiddos, don't make it. There was a lot of censorship and active witch-hunting. In those days, for instance, Tipper Gore went after the likes of Eminem because of his music in a typical "Won't somebody think of the children?!" fashion. But the higher-ups at Warner Brothers ignored it and we are left with this gem of a show that can be discussed 30 years down the line. When my nephew turned on the current 2020 version of Cartoon Network, I wept because it was so terrible.
Earl was a very interesting character I really wish he was kept around in the comics as someone who handles all of the Batman’s vehicles while Lucius handled the tech
I remember that at the same time this episode aired, the Batmobile also had a mechanic in the comics: a deaf-mute hunchback named Harold, who coincidentally(?) had also been forced to work for the Penguin, although, unlike here, he was a blond white man. Aside from Alfred, Harold was the only person employed at Wayne Manor that I can recall. One thing that has always bothered me about BATMAN RETURNS is how exactly the Penguin was able to sabotage the Batmobile. An earlier draft of the script had offered an explanation (not a good explanation, but an explanation nonetheless) as to where the Red Triangle Gang had obtained the blueprints, but I prefer movie adaptation novelist Craig Shaw Gardner's theory that an ex-employee at Wayne Enterprises stole the blueprints before approaching the gang. Even then, the idea that any of those carnies would be able to hotwire a futuristic machine that only one man in the entire world knew how to operate is pretty far-fetched to me. You could argue that the Penguin himself, with his brilliant intellect, was able to figure out the details for them, but...COME ON! Danny DeVito's Penguin was a mutated homeless man who had never been to school and had spent his whole life kidnapping children and possibly doing other disgusting things. Yet one more regret I have about the Burton sequel: great to look at, but lousy script.
Why does penguin like the batmobile so much? In the the 60's batman he steals it at least twice and then there are these two examples. Joker had his own mobile sometimes just buy one dude.
i beleive it ties into his aristocratic leanings, as a fancy car is one of the big ways someone shows off their wealth, so having him attack the batmobile could be seen as a nod to that, with him trying to claim the most expsensive, unique car in the world. That or its just a huge coincidence XP
To be fair lots of the episodes lifted Concepts from movies, comics and various other sources. but what made the show great was they weren't afraid to put their own spin on it when needed. so I'm fine with them taking a concept from a movie and doing this universe's version of that story.
Gosh... this show was the highlight of my childhood. Being born in 92 meant I had great 80s reruns and fantastic 90s shows to watch. From Tmnt, thundercats, masters of the universe and transformers to batman, superman, power rangers, Dexter's lab, cow and chicken (love the red devil guy), freakizoid, xmen (the good series. Not the one where they had wolverine with an aussie accent), grim and evil, digimon, pokemon, donkey kong country (weird cgi show I still loved), the sonic the hedgehog show where they had instruments and sonic had a green brother and pink sister, batman beyond, and so on. Shout out to the roughnecks: starship troopers chronicles (a surprisingly good starship troopers CGI show. Had many elements from the movie, like the love triangle and dizzy being female... but also had bits of the novel, like the campaign on other planets and most importantly, the Skinnies, an alien race from the novels) When I finished transformers, I got to watch the wonderful continuation that was "beast wars" and it's interesting but less good sequel series, beast machines.) Love it. To this day, I still love it all. Great anime back then, like trigun, cowboy bebop, db and dbz, outlaw star, yu yu hakasho, etc. Just a bunch of great shows with actual depth, story arcs, and sometimes permanent death of good characters (like in roughnecks.) Not like many shows today, which often dont have ongoing story arcs. There ARE good shows today. Not saying there isnt. Only saying that i had access to a plethora of iconic shows as I watched during the end of the 90s and the early millennium.
I would expect the Joker's car to fart, but the Penguin's? Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHEN did DC announce BATMAN 89? A new comic series spinning off from the movie?!
Earl's character reminds me of a another character from the comics named Harold Allnut. Pre-Flashpoint, he was the one who built some of Batman's gadgets and fixed up the Batmobile. A redesign for the character was made for a fan project called Earth 27. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
Earl is still my favorite. Forced by Batman's enemies to try to kill Batman through the Batmobile, but right underneath their eyes fixes the Batmobile to save them. That's thinking and creativity worthy of someone to take care of the Batmobile and keep Batman's secrets.
The penguin and his goons may have been watching him like a hawk but they probably don't have a clue what he was doing with this technological showpiece l, he could easily have wired the ejector seats to the A,C without them being any the wiser
It's been awhile, but I feel like Earl showed up again or was referenced in Bane's debut after he crumpled the front end of the Batmobile with his bare hands.
Anybody else fell in love with the first screen shown bat mobile, this version of the bat mobile,the tumbler of the Batman dark trilogy, and the bat mobile version used by terry in the animated Batman beyond show/movie
The mechanic actually was written, and I think premiered before Batman Returns, so the idea of penguin taking control of the bat mobile wasn’t necessarily repeated, it was just a coincidence
To a detail that surprised me in this chapter (I never knew what it was called until now): I think it is possibly the first moment in animation that we see that a superhero's vehicle is a vehicle, that is, it breaks down, requires repairs and requires specialized manpower in the field, it is not a perfect vehicle because there is no such.
I actually thought Lucius Fox WAS the same character. I’ve never really read the comics, but I definitely remembered this episode (just not well enough to remember Cooper’s name).
I remember in Batman Beyond the car Bruce drives looks like an upside down version of the Batmobile and in the episode where Terry meets the future Justice League,when he`s talking to Bruce on the phone,we see Bruce working on the BTAS Batmobile in the garage
Bat may is going to be hard for me to get over. It's wonderful and you never overstay your welcome. It's been so much fun and I will miss it. 2022 is a long way away.
Wayons as Robin would have been interesting to see. Definitely would've been less whiny than the alternative they ended up casting and funnier for sure since those were his best years imo.
My favorite scene is when the guy who gave Penguin the parts bought list is on the duck cause the way Penguin answers his question on where it’s taking him is hilarious to me.
I find it fitting that Gotham’s motto, seen at 6:18 is “the dark deco state”, obviously intended as a play as the Art Deco state, which makes perfect sense; and is a really bit of a clever sight gag.
This might be my favorite episode in the Batman animated series mainly because it’s nostalgia for me when I first found out about this show I was instantly obsess with it when I was little and I didn’t watch it regularly for some reason but whenever I saw an episode of it on a random network I was excited and this was like the only full episode I watched from the series and like I said when I first found out about this I was really interested and wanted more and since this was the only full episode I watched back then that’s what makes it my favorite
Personally, I like any Batmobile that's not shaped and fitted like a tank. I always felt that Batman's rides should be slick, lightweight, and somewhat friendly looking. Batman's not the Punisher and I hate that The Dark Knight Returns sparked another negative trend where he's obsessed with military grade vehicles and weapons.
what I think the ebst part of this version of the batmobile is how it's the most subtle of them, as far as I am aware. it doesn't even look directly bat themed asie from the wings at the very back (hell it even lacks a bat symbol!), and the long limousine-ish look makes it look really fast, sleek and cool. A very "less is more" design.
There's another nod to Batman Returns that i think you missed- in the novelization of the film, they tried to explain how Penguin got ahold of the Batmobile's plans by claiming that a disgruntled engineer helped design it before Penguin got ahold of them via Max Shreck. Maybe they reverse-engineereed the episode's premise from that, kinda like Real Ghostbusters did with the movie novel?
I'd like to think that somehow Earl knows that Batman = Bruce Wayne, but never lets on to Batman/Bruce that he knows. A sort of mutual respect from Earl.
A wonderful episode but it would have been good to point out that Earl is actually the one to save Batman and Robin by ;fixing the air conditioner' in case things got 'too hot'.
I think it would be great for (The Mechanic) character to make a brief appearance in (THE BATMAN) movie. If the character of (The Mechanic) might have a chance at appearing in (THE BATMAN) movie; Than I wonder who might get picked to play the character role in it?
This always reminds me of Alfred's line from Batman Returns "Let's not forget about repairing the Batmobile, there's security to consider, it's not as if we can take it to any old "Joe's body shop" is it sir?"
Why are we interested in how Batman makes repairs to his car? Oh, that's right - we ain´t! The Mechanic is "that kind" of episode, like "I've got Batman in my Basement", where it gets a bit 60s campy and where Penguin is not a complex character, but chosen as a villain because he is an established character (and since he did some manipulation of the batmobile in Batman Returns). Speaking of Batman Returns - this is one of the few times that the Penguin reminds me of Danny Devito's role - but strangely, he isn't particularly interesting here. He is just acting like a stock villain who kills in a creative way with the familiar rubber duck (are we supposed to believe that this is the same character from Birds of a Feather? Because it doesn´t seem to be). And again, I would argue that the Penguin works best as a corrupt businessman or a mob moss with refined manners - not as a character who tries to take Batman on in a fist or cane fight. Back to the Batmobile - like many others I just assumed that Batman and Alfred were capable of fixing the car themselves (with some help from Lucius Fox - a far, far better character for its purpose) but here we have a completely forgettable character in the form of Earl Cooper, who almost comes off as a black folksy stereotype. The Penguin´s plan is also weird - why not simply plant a bomb and blow it up so they die, instead of letting Batman and Robin do a remote car ride (which we know they will survive and it is the same idea as in Batman Returns. Couldn´t they have done at least some variation?). Not that the heroes are any smarter - Earl's warning couldn´t be clearer ("world's greatest detective" my ass!), but no one picks up on it and then we have Batman explaining it, but everyone in the audience has already understood the hint. The episode tries to take inspiration from both Batman Returns and the 60s show, but falls flat completely. We have already seen this before and I don't think this 20 mins episode really improves the scene from the movie. Also, the animation is clearly not at its best here - even if the flashback scene is interesting. In short, the episode doesn't do anything wrong really, but it certainly doesn't do anything right either and the change of pace is a change backwards. My grade here is honestly quite generous. Verdict: 2 out of 5 bats (very close to 1 bat).
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
What did everyone think of The Mechanic?
Watch the NC review of Blade 3 here - th-cam.com/video/EFPddS0KPx4/w-d-xo.html
Watch more Bat-May here - bit.ly/BatMay
Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter
Well it was good, it’s a shame that they never Earl again and this episode also shows that Penguin can be a great threat if they kept going with it. Also Penguin took Martha and that should have been very personal for Batman 😂
I wish they’d have given The Mechanic the his comic origin. Not paying tribute to Harold Allnut is a missed opportunity to promote equal opportunities for everyone (specifically the mentally-abled community).
Didn't like it.
The idea of a separate mechanic seemed to contrived. Batman was an idiot to forget his car had brakes until the last second (which resulted in his car getting damaged). The Penguin waited like four seconds, apparently forgetting he was going to shoot the girl.
I watched when it aired originally when it aired, and I enjoyed then, and now👍🏻👍🏻👌🏻👌🏻👊🏻👊🏻👏🏻💯.!
Do a video on the batmobile in the series.
I love the idea of some normal guy being closely involved with Batman
I always wondered who did the repairs, who custom made the batmobile, bat shaped plane and batrangs ( Bruce might have gone overboard with the bat gimmick 😂). You can say lucious fox all you want but......he's just ONE guy, I always suspected he had workers associated with the bat family.
@@sebastiengendron6427 Good points 👍
Yeah it’s too bad that he was never used again
Reminds me of the Shadow and his network of Cabdrivers and other informants that he can activate when a case requires their specialised assistance or in general just some aid (or a rideshare ;))
Also flashbacks of the Bakerstreet Irregulars from Sherlock Holmes, after all Batman IS designed based on the general "Great Detective" Concept.
@@Ugly_German_Truths Exactly. That's immediately what I thought of too. That like the Shadow, Batman has a network of contacts, informants, and other allies that aid him. Not only Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Harvey Dent before he became Two-Face, but lots of others. That's something I wish got more focus. I love the reference to the Baker Street Irregulars.
Fun fact: you can find a sign that labels Earl Cooper's Auto Repair in the video game Batman: Arkham Knight.
That’s awesome.
~_~
Neat
I am playing it right now! Know of where I need to go?
Ah, nice. 😊
The way Penguin gets control of the batmobile in this episode makes more sense than in the movie.
Returns is still an AMAZING film
Sure...carnival clowns know how to do vehicular remote computer reprogramming.
It's a core class in clown school😏😏😏
@@Kentrc11 THANK YOU!
@@crakatoot5480 Never said it wasn't. Just that one part always bothered me.
@@Zacman1123 No disrespect to carnival clowns, though. Doing what they do I could never
Perhaps Earl also attended the World's Fair and saw the car.
I always had the idea, it was one of his prototypes. If Bruce was a fan of his design, may keep an eye on him before got fired. At least that was my explonation.
perhaps Earl designed the World's Fair car
Or Batman provided him with the design and Earl provided the materials and assembled it.
@@bencebotye3904 right he looks old enough that it could be his.
It’s also possible Bruce just had some design input. The look of the car isn’t necessarily hugely important to its function.
Anyone notice how that 1Bat 4U license plate also said “The Dark Deco State?”
Yes, what a strangely badass motto for a state.
It's what Bruce tim calls the aesthetic of the show. It's an in joke from the production teams
Yeah whenever they use area codes or states for Gotham it’s usually just Manhattans area code and New York
I vague remember this episode. I’m shocked we didn’t bring up the fun “twist” of how the mechanic tells Batman about “fixing the air conditioner,” (or something like that) in order to hint to Batman that if he turns it on, he can regain control of the batmobile. Goes to show just how loyal the mechanic is to someone who he has no idea who he is under the mask.
I'd like to think that somehow Earl knows that Batman = Bruce Wayne, but never lets on to Batman/Bruce that he knows. A sort of mutual respect from Earl.
He know, just likes the idea of being batmans mechanic over Bruce's.
I like how the Batmobile origin in Mask of the Phantasm could be seen as a nod to the Adam West Batmobile considering how it started as a Lincoln concept car.
Nope not Lincoln it was a Ford
A Ford Futura, the futura never was considered to go into production and sat in fords backlot for a few years until Barris was looking for a platform for the brand new tv show. And bought the Futura from ford for only 1 dollar. The batmobile created was given a facelift, and a jet thruster on its rear made out of a 5 gallon paint can and I’m not even kidding
@@lemmythebulldog8812 It was a concept car for Ford's Lincoln brand. So it wasn't branded a "Ford Futura". It was branded a Lincoln Futura. So while you're technically right I'm also still right.
Seriously, google "Lincoln Futura". You would''ve saved yourself some time.
Penguin: (Gasp) 1BAT4U !?!? (Growls angrily as he breaks the license plate in half)
Makes you wonder/wish that Batman actually slipped that plate in there just to rub Penguin's nose about it.
Thanks! I don't even have to bother watching the video! Can you describe the rest?
Maybe Global Motors was hired by the Gotham World Fair to design their car of the future, and Earl was assigned to that project. Instead of it being a contradiction, it would just mean that Earl finally got his chance to make his futuristic car design into a reality, and that really fits well with how Bruce Wayne tended to help people.
Huh... I remember this one from my childhood... I always thought Earl was Lucius Fox.
Also, you gotta love how the penguin blows up the wall, which he(or his goons rather) then has to painstakingly repair so batman doesn't get suspicious, instead of just like, waiting for them to go home and jumping them on the street XD
The Burton Batmobile is my favorite as well! It’s always has been since I was a kid
This is no question one of my most favourite iterations of the Batmobile. I love that sleek, long atomic age look that it has with the giant hood and the high grill. It reminds me of a car from Fallout.
And this episode explains how Batman and Robin has the Bat-Mobile, and it's awesome.
People never think about who builds his wonderful toys.
They are the heroes with mo cape
Except the Jack Nicholson Joker. 🃏
3:17 That "uh..." frame needs to be a meme. It's so funny.
The one part that really bugs me about this one is the Penguin kills a guy who freely brought him information, for literally no reason. It seems like much more of a Joker move than the guy we're supposed to believe could freely want to reform himself in Birds of a Feather.
then again its a good way of ensuring noone else other than him uses this information, and this WAS after his reform failed so it could be seen as him doubling down and sinking lower into the darkness after seeing himself fail to escape it. That or continuity wasn't always great.
That guy also referenced Falcone
I am glad that again another idea from the animated series is shown to have made it in the films.
I love these episodes where the Bat Family isn't the focus of the story: "almost got him," the one where a bunch of kids have to care for an injured batman and the one where Bullock and Montoya recount an event for GPD IA. It really fleshes out the world of TAS.
In this episode, I love how it shows how Bruce will help out people he's run into as Batman by hiring them into his company/service.
The best bed sheets I ever slept in as a child had the Animated Batman vehicles blueprints.
I had those too!! My parents actually sneakily changed them out for me one Christmas Eve (I was 5, I think?) and one of my earliest memories was the happy surprise of waking up in them.
Arnold Rundle’s demise is practically the only thing I recall from this episode: “EEEEEEEEX-CUUUUUUUSE MEEEEEEE...!”
He should have talked about Rundle's "fun" death seen, that the show got away with the censer.
Rundel: “Excuuuse meeee! Where is this thing taking meee?
Penguin: “On a sea cruise”
Yup it was strange, and I remember wondering what became of him...but yeah no surviving that..
Kind of funny when you consider the Penguin's previous episode tried to convince us he wasn't such a bad guy. Guess he just decide to give up and dive into totally to being a villain
@@Kiku91 Even if he did survive by some miracle, it won't be unscathed.
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 Rundle would be crumpled
The Batmobile Episode! I find this another great episode of the showcasing the lives inside of Gotham getting heavily involved those of the Dark Knight.
That was a great plan to track down Batman by using his mechanic
Actual detective work by the villains.
I want to bring to attention the actress who played Marva. Candy Brown, a dancer who worked a lot with Bob Fosse in Pippin and Liza with a Z. She also was one of the people responsible for A Chorus line, the character Rich's story is based off of her own life. But she chose not to be in chorus line in favor of working with Fosse again in Chicago (she was the original June "squish" in Cell Block Tango). She also took lots of footage of her productions including to a cut finale of Chicago that would otgerwise be lost. Didn't want to tangent, but it is cool to see her here, I am a big fan.
My favorite part was the warnings Earl tried to give Batman and Robin when handing over the car after it had been rigged. The sad look in his eyes was more than enough to let you know something was very wrong.
One of my favorite non-joker episodes. I didn't know Paul Winfield voiced Earl Cooper. Man they went all out on the casting. I'm also now curious about the new Batman 89 comic
Honestly I really like this episode it may not be one of my top favorites, but I do like it a lot, mainly for three reasons 1: I feel like it’s a smart idea for somebody else besides the dark knight to be the repair man of the Batmobile, 2: to me, it shows that penguin can be a dangerous threat, besides blind as a bat that is, I just feel like it does it a lot better than that episode, and 3: this episode feels like it was some thing out of a 70s batman comic which I think is a nice touch since I do view some of the more underrated episodes as something out of the 70s comic run.
The Gotham City: The Dark Deco State. At least they own it.
I think Penguin keeps being handed this plot due to being one of the most clever of the rogues with the largest stable of employees. It makes sense that his network would be the one most likely to catch some tidbit of information pointing to the Batmobile's creation and follow up on it, just like he's the only rogue with the clout/lack of obvious madness to run for mayor.
Yeah he could have been done better
Still makes me wonder where exactly Gotham is located in. Like, I know it's a bridge away from Metropolis, but in what state? New York? New Jersey?
@@jlev1028 yeah especially in the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie Gotham appears to be in New York
It is amazing just how many quality episodes this series had.
You need to have guts and creativity and be allowed to take risks. Even then there were people saying this show is too scary and adult for the kiddos, don't make it. There was a lot of censorship and active witch-hunting. In those days, for instance, Tipper Gore went after the likes of Eminem because of his music in a typical "Won't somebody think of the children?!" fashion. But the higher-ups at Warner Brothers ignored it and we are left with this gem of a show that can be discussed 30 years down the line. When my nephew turned on the current 2020 version of Cartoon Network, I wept because it was so terrible.
I gotta say, the extra research this year is really pay off. Some good stuff here
Earl was a very interesting character I really wish he was kept around in the comics as someone who handles all of the Batman’s vehicles while Lucius handled the tech
Earl was a great character. I still remember him vividly. Wish he was featured more.
I remember that at the same time this episode aired, the Batmobile also had a mechanic in the comics: a deaf-mute hunchback named Harold, who coincidentally(?) had also been forced to work for the Penguin, although, unlike here, he was a blond white man. Aside from Alfred, Harold was the only person employed at Wayne Manor that I can recall.
One thing that has always bothered me about BATMAN RETURNS is how exactly the Penguin was able to sabotage the Batmobile. An earlier draft of the script had offered an explanation (not a good explanation, but an explanation nonetheless) as to where the Red Triangle Gang had obtained the blueprints, but I prefer movie adaptation novelist Craig Shaw Gardner's theory that an ex-employee at Wayne Enterprises stole the blueprints before approaching the gang. Even then, the idea that any of those carnies would be able to hotwire a futuristic machine that only one man in the entire world knew how to operate is pretty far-fetched to me. You could argue that the Penguin himself, with his brilliant intellect, was able to figure out the details for them, but...COME ON! Danny DeVito's Penguin was a mutated homeless man who had never been to school and had spent his whole life kidnapping children and possibly doing other disgusting things. Yet one more regret I have about the Burton sequel: great to look at, but lousy script.
Why does penguin like the batmobile so much? In the the 60's batman he steals it at least twice and then there are these two examples. Joker had his own mobile sometimes just buy one dude.
i beleive it ties into his aristocratic leanings, as a fancy car is one of the big ways someone shows off their wealth, so having him attack the batmobile could be seen as a nod to that, with him trying to claim the most expsensive, unique car in the world.
That or its just a huge coincidence XP
Chicks dig the Car.
@@anthonycastillo7356 How else is a guy who looks and acts like Penguin going to have a chance at getting laid.
@@cainster Its easy! penguin is an aristocrat which is he is rich, it happened in real life, rich ugly people get laid everytime.
@@anthonycastillo7356 Yea. By paying by the hour.
I always thought there should be a Wayne Motors (similar to Ford) in the DCEU, to explain the batmobile.
To be fair lots of the episodes lifted Concepts from movies, comics and various other sources. but what made the show great was they weren't afraid to put their own spin on it when needed. so I'm fine with them taking a concept from a movie and doing this universe's version of that story.
Gosh... this show was the highlight of my childhood.
Being born in 92 meant I had great 80s reruns and fantastic 90s shows to watch.
From Tmnt, thundercats, masters of the universe and transformers to batman, superman, power rangers, Dexter's lab, cow and chicken (love the red devil guy), freakizoid, xmen (the good series. Not the one where they had wolverine with an aussie accent), grim and evil, digimon, pokemon, donkey kong country (weird cgi show I still loved), the sonic the hedgehog show where they had instruments and sonic had a green brother and pink sister, batman beyond, and so on.
Shout out to the roughnecks: starship troopers chronicles (a surprisingly good starship troopers CGI show. Had many elements from the movie, like the love triangle and dizzy being female... but also had bits of the novel, like the campaign on other planets and most importantly, the Skinnies, an alien race from the novels)
When I finished transformers, I got to watch the wonderful continuation that was "beast wars" and it's interesting but less good sequel series, beast machines.)
Love it.
To this day, I still love it all.
Great anime back then, like trigun, cowboy bebop, db and dbz, outlaw star, yu yu hakasho, etc.
Just a bunch of great shows with actual depth, story arcs, and sometimes permanent death of good characters (like in roughnecks.)
Not like many shows today, which often dont have ongoing story arcs.
There ARE good shows today. Not saying there isnt. Only saying that i had access to a plethora of iconic shows as I watched during the end of the 90s and the early millennium.
The 3 best Batmobiles were the '66 vehicle, the '89 vehicle, and this one.
Absolutely man, 100% agree 👍🏻
I`d replace the `66 one with the Batman Beyond mobile
I would expect the Joker's car to fart, but the Penguin's?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHEN did DC announce BATMAN 89? A new comic series spinning off from the movie?!
They're also doing a comic series based on the Richard Donner Superman films
Earl's character reminds me of a another character from the comics named Harold Allnut. Pre-Flashpoint, he was the one who built some of Batman's gadgets and fixed up the Batmobile.
A redesign for the character was made for a fan project called Earth 27. Check it out if you haven't seen it.
Earl is still my favorite. Forced by Batman's enemies to try to kill Batman through the Batmobile, but right underneath their eyes fixes the Batmobile to save them. That's thinking and creativity worthy of someone to take care of the Batmobile and keep Batman's secrets.
The penguin and his goons may have been watching him like a hawk but they probably don't have a clue what he was doing with this technological showpiece l, he could easily have wired the ejector seats to the A,C without them being any the wiser
One line from a bane episode, “he messed with my car, it’s personal. whoever did this to the bat mobile did it with his bare hands.”
Bane to Penguin: Clearly you didn't hear what he did to me just for denting the hood.
This Batmobile design is really cool!
It's been awhile, but I feel like Earl showed up again or was referenced in Bane's debut after he crumpled the front end of the Batmobile with his bare hands.
For some reason, I always liked this episode...
Anybody else fell in love with the first screen shown bat mobile, this version of the bat mobile,the tumbler of the Batman dark trilogy, and the bat mobile version used by terry in the animated Batman beyond show/movie
The mechanic actually was written, and I think premiered before Batman Returns, so the idea of penguin taking control of the bat mobile wasn’t necessarily repeated, it was just a coincidence
Ha Lucius Fox's role wishes it was this good. Low-key the Dark knight trilogy doesn't really deserve half the praise it gets.
As I a kid, I was quite disturbed by the scene where the Penguin murders Arnold Rundle. We rarely got to see anything like it before.
To a detail that surprised me in this chapter (I never knew what it was called until now): I think it is possibly the first moment in animation that we see that a superhero's vehicle is a vehicle, that is, it breaks down, requires repairs and requires specialized manpower in the field, it is not a perfect vehicle because there is no such.
Pattinson’s batmobile has allot of potential it looks so cool
I always liked the idea of Earl being behind the batmobile
I actually thought Lucius Fox WAS the same character. I’ve never really read the comics, but I definitely remembered this episode (just not well enough to remember Cooper’s name).
I remember in Batman Beyond the car Bruce drives looks like an upside down version of the Batmobile and in the episode where Terry meets the future Justice League,when he`s talking to Bruce on the phone,we see Bruce working on the BTAS Batmobile in the garage
Speaking of, I thought of a Batman Beyond episode I call the Wrong Terry
@@srstriker6420 Reminds me of an episode of the related show The Zeta Project episode ''The Wrong Morph''
@@chrisanderson2204 I didn’t see that episode
@@srstriker6420 Willie watt hates white people
The burton version is my favorite cinematic batmobile
This batmobile is in one of my top 5 best bat mobile,s in any line of comic,s movies shows etc.
Bat may is going to be hard for me to get over. It's wonderful and you never overstay your welcome. It's been so much fun and I will miss it. 2022 is a long way away.
Wayons as Robin would have been interesting to see. Definitely would've been less whiny than the alternative they ended up casting and funnier for sure since those were his best years imo.
That would have been a breach in the Burtonesque trope of having no diversity in his films 🤷🏿
@@Kentrc11 You do realize Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent, right?
He still receives royalty checks even though he was cut
Please review all the DCAU:
Super March
Static September
June League
July League Unlimited
Beyond Bat-May
What if someone was just an admirer of nocturnal flying mammals and decided, on a whim, just to get a license plate with the phrase "1BAT4U"?
Also, there is an architect behind the bat cave. There must be, I don't think Bruce built the bat cave himself.
What a great episode to learn about while I'm working on my BRZ!
My favorite scene is when the guy who gave Penguin the parts bought list is on the duck cause the way Penguin answers his question on where it’s taking him is hilarious to me.
"On a sea cruise..."
@@JunKazamaFan - I read that in his voice. Seriously Paul Williams is the best Penguin va. He can make the most simplest lines sound amusing.
Arkham knight batmobile is my favorite. Thing was a tank like the tumbler whilst keeping the iconic elements
Isn’t Lucius Fox also responsible for the bat tech in TAS? I remember an episode a picture of him tinkering with the mobile.
I find it fitting that Gotham’s motto, seen at 6:18 is “the dark deco state”, obviously intended as a play as the Art Deco state, which makes perfect sense; and is a really bit of a clever sight gag.
This might be my favorite episode in the Batman animated series mainly because it’s nostalgia for me when I first found out about this show I was instantly obsess with it when I was little and I didn’t watch it regularly for some reason but whenever I saw an episode of it on a random network I was excited and this was like the only full episode I watched from the series and like I said when I first found out about this I was really interested and wanted more and since this was the only full episode I watched back then that’s what makes it my favorite
This is one of my favorite episodes. I love the concept.
I love this design of the bat mobile.
It might be my favorite batmobile.
Personally, I like any Batmobile that's not shaped and fitted like a tank. I always felt that Batman's rides should be slick, lightweight, and somewhat friendly looking. Batman's not the Punisher and I hate that The Dark Knight Returns sparked another negative trend where he's obsessed with military grade vehicles and weapons.
I'd expect the Joker's car to make fart noises since the Penguin tends to have more sophisticated tastes.
Penguin tries to emulate certain aspects of high society, but he can’t completely hide his eccentric criminal nature.
@@Michael-590 yeah and especially to taught Batman
Batman: _"I know a guy."_
what I think the ebst part of this version of the batmobile is how it's the most subtle of them, as far as I am aware. it doesn't even look directly bat themed asie from the wings at the very back (hell it even lacks a bat symbol!), and the long limousine-ish look makes it look really fast, sleek and cool. A very "less is more" design.
i’m in love with the batmobiles design
Fascinating how just a few small ideas can have impact on future installment's of the series.
Man I loved this episode.
There's another nod to Batman Returns that i think you missed- in the novelization of the film, they tried to explain how Penguin got ahold of the Batmobile's plans by claiming that a disgruntled engineer helped design it before Penguin got ahold of them via Max Shreck.
Maybe they reverse-engineereed the episode's premise from that, kinda like Real Ghostbusters did with the movie novel?
I'd like to think that somehow Earl knows that Batman = Bruce Wayne, but never lets on to Batman/Bruce that he knows. A sort of mutual respect from Earl.
A wonderful episode but it would have been good to point out that Earl is actually the one to save Batman and Robin by ;fixing the air conditioner' in case things got 'too hot'.
I think it would be great for (The Mechanic) character to make a brief appearance in (THE BATMAN) movie.
If the character of (The Mechanic) might have a chance at appearing in (THE BATMAN) movie; Than I wonder who might get picked to play the character role in it?
The original Lucius Fox
The Adam West Batmobile, the Tim Burton Batmobile, and the Batman the animated series Batmobile are the top 3 Batmobiles in my opinion.
I`d swap the 66 one for the one in Batman Beyond
This is one of my favorite episodes that I watched when it first aired the only complaint I have about the episode is a new vehicle was never shown
The "Dark deco state" licence plate is a very nice touch.
Thank you for the episode.
Fun fact: my Brother was such a big fan of Batman he had his license plate read "1 BAT 4U", as a nod to the end of this episode.
A couple things I noticed is the costume Batman wears as well one of the Batmobile designs in the flashback are used in the New Batman Adventures.
I agree with you about the design of the car!
I loved the character of Earl
So do I
Loosely based on a character seen in Untold Legend of the Batman #3, 1980. Writer Len Wein wanted some elaboration on how Batman gets his stuff.
Another one I don't remember seeing. The show's been around long enough that I probably did, but I must've kept missing this one in reruns.
I love the wanted poster at 3:45
This always reminds me of Alfred's line from Batman Returns
"Let's not forget about repairing the Batmobile, there's security to consider, it's not as if we can take it to any old "Joe's body shop" is it sir?"
Are we not going to talk about the "in the basement" moment?
Why are we interested in how Batman makes repairs to his car? Oh, that's right - we ain´t!
The Mechanic is "that kind" of episode, like "I've got Batman in my Basement", where it gets a bit 60s campy and where Penguin is not a complex character, but chosen as a villain because he is an established character (and since he did some manipulation of the batmobile in Batman Returns). Speaking of Batman Returns - this is one of the few times that the Penguin reminds me of Danny Devito's role - but strangely, he isn't particularly interesting here. He is just acting like a stock villain who kills in a creative way with the familiar rubber duck (are we supposed to believe that this is the same character from Birds of a Feather? Because it doesn´t seem to be). And again, I would argue that the Penguin works best as a corrupt businessman or a mob moss with refined manners - not as a character who tries to take Batman on in a fist or cane fight.
Back to the Batmobile - like many others I just assumed that Batman and Alfred were capable of fixing the car themselves (with some help from Lucius Fox - a far, far better character for its purpose) but here we have a completely forgettable character in the form of Earl Cooper, who almost comes off as a black folksy stereotype. The Penguin´s plan is also weird - why not simply plant a bomb and blow it up so they die, instead of letting Batman and Robin do a remote car ride (which we know they will survive and it is the same idea as in Batman Returns. Couldn´t they have done at least some variation?). Not that the heroes are any smarter - Earl's warning couldn´t be clearer ("world's greatest detective" my ass!), but no one picks up on it and then we have Batman explaining it, but everyone in the audience has already understood the hint.
The episode tries to take inspiration from both Batman Returns and the 60s show, but falls flat completely. We have already seen this before and I don't think this 20 mins episode really improves the scene from the movie. Also, the animation is clearly not at its best here - even if the flashback scene is interesting. In short, the episode doesn't do anything wrong really, but it certainly doesn't do anything right either and the change of pace is a change backwards. My grade here is honestly quite generous.
Verdict: 2 out of 5 bats (very close to 1 bat).
The animation looks rough in this episode, but that shouldn't really spoil the fun.
3:16
It's a shame he never appered in any other media, gess, his daughter couls even become a batgirl of sorts
Wow, there's a lot of interesting history behind this episode
I still remember the toy version of this Batmobile I had as a kid.
had a little jet fighter eject from the back cockpit