Something shady going on at a carnival? Color me shocked.
Last time on Batman: Caped
Crusader, a hit was put out on Gordon. After a failed assassination attempt
by local hitman Floyd Lawton (aka Deadshot), Jim Gordon is convinced by
Barbara, Montoya, and Corrigan to go into protective custody for a bit. Batman
does some investigating and learns the hit came out of Black Gate Prison. He lets
Barbara know where the hit is coming from and that it’s an open contract,
meaning that anyone can claim the money if they can prove they did the deed. He
heads into the prison to learn who did it, and after interrogating the middleman
learns it came from a fella named Muller. He also learned from the middleman
that Muller upped the bounty, and we learn a professional assassin crew led by Onomatopoeia
have arrived to do the deed. Batman ‘convinces’ Muller to retract the hit but
needs to stop Onomatopoeia and his gang. The Gordons and their escort are attacked
by one of the gang members and nearly driven off the road. They escape, though their
Driver, Marcus Driver, is injured in the firefight. They head into a Wayne Industries
suburb development and hide in its prefab model home. Batman finds them just as
Onomatopoeia and crew do. The two face off and while Onomatopoeia is a skilled fighter,
Batman takes him out with a literal Pow to the face. He tells Jim that the hit
has been retracted, but it was never on Jim Gordon, but Barbara. Detective
Corrigan makes an attempt on Barbara’s life as the money is too insane to pass
up, but she holds his off long enough for her dad to shoot the gun out of his
hand. In the final minutes, Barbara visits Muller in prison and learns that he
wanted her killed because he thinks she didn’t do a good enough job defending
him. He insists he doesn’t belong in prison, but Barbara disagrees as she
leaves him. Enough recap. Let’s get to it.
Ep 8: Nocturne
We open on a pair of suspiciously
familiar looking orphan boys sneaking out of their orphanage to check out a carnival.
“Dickie” (Carter Rockwood) insists on having a look around while “Jace” (Henry
Witchter) is a bit of a worrywart about it. They meet a pale girl (McKenna
Grace) that eggs Dickie on to have a closer look and lures him to a wagon
deeper into the carnival. She pulls him inside and the screen fades to black.
Nothing eerie about that.
We cut to the following evening
where the Carnival is now in full swing. Bruce is there on a date with a woman
named Julie/as part of a fundraiser for Harvey Dent. He intentionally fails to ring
the bell on one of those hammer games (no way Bruce Wayne actually fails at ringing
the bell) but is a good sport about it. Lois Lane… I’m sorry, a reporter that
looks suspiciously like the Fleisher era Lois Lane asks if he really thinks
Dent can win as he’s down in the polls still, but Bruce has confidence in him. A
bus full of orphans arrive and Bruce calls out to their guardian, a woman named
Dr. Leslie Thompkins (Donna Lynne Champlin). He tells the reporters they should
write a piece on her as she’s a big part of the childhood welfare scene in
Gotham. She whispers her thanks to Bruce for helping her out, and says she knows
that he hates all this attention (indicating she probably knows him better than
most) but Bruce says it’s a necessary evil. Harvey joins them and he and
Thompkins shake hands, her thanking him for inviting the children to his event.
Harvey is surprised to learn that Bruce and Thompkins know each other.
Thompkins says that Bruce is the orphanage’s most generous donor. Bruce tries
to play it off as it’s for the tax write-off but he’s not fooling Thompkins. He
also says that she worked with his father, which makes sense. Harvey gets a quick
photo with the kids and then sends them off, telling them to tell everyone to vote
for Dent. Bruce and Julie got to check out the carnival.
They head into a show by “Dr. Anton
Night,” (Haley Joel Osment) a mad scientist looking fella that says he and his
traveling lab have been trying for years to tap into the potential of humankind.
He asks for a volunteer from the audience and chooses a big man in the front
row. He has the man try to life a heavy weight, but he’s unable to lift it more
than a few inches off the ground. He then calls on another volunteer, the pale
girl from earlier. She’s introduced as Natalia. He asks her to just try to lift
the weight, and obviously a child less than a third the big man’s size can’t
lift it either. He then has her enter his machine and then he flips a switch.
There’s a dazzling light show as electricity sparks from the device. After, she’s
able to lift the weight over her head. She then drops it, and it causes the
ground to tremble a bit, suggesting it is actually, factually heavy. Both Bruce
and the orphan Jace seem suspicious of this feat.
After the show, Jace chases Natalia
down and asks her where Dickie is. He says that he waited for them last night,
but Dickie never came back, and he missed school that day, so Jace is getting
worried. She tells him that she just saw Dickie sneaking into a trailer and
offers to show him which one.
We cut over to Harvey who is doing
a dunk tank bit. He’s dunked by a child and then Julie. He’s a bit distracted,
though, when he sees Rupert Thorne and his goon watching.
Natalia shows Jace in the trailer
and it looks spooky inside. He asks if she thinks if this is the mad scientist
trailer and she says it could be. She tells him to check the backroom. He does
and finds Dickie passed out and weak on the floor. He asks Natalia what’s wrong
with Dickie, but she grabs him by the throat, lifts him up and sucks energy out
of his open mouth. Anton arrives and stops her, saying that she swore Dickie
would be ‘the only one’ tonight. She says the show took a lot out of her, so
she needed another. Anton tells her that half of Gotham is here tonight, so
they need to lay low. She says she can’t throw him back now after draining him,
whatever she did clearly exhausts her victim. Anton says he’s worried Natalia
is coming undone and revealing that she’s his little sister. She says he
worries too much. He insists that this be the last one and storms off. A weakened
Jace asks her not to leave him and she menaces over to him.
Dr. Thompkins, looking anxious,
sees Harvey Dent and calls over to him. She says one of her kids, Stephie
(Amari McCoy) is missing. Harvey, clearly distracted and anxious himself, blows
her off by saying that kids run around at Carnivals and he’s sure she’ll turn up.
Bruce comes over and asks what’s happening. Thompkins tells him Stephie Brown is
missing and gives her a description. Bruce has Julie stay with Dr. Thompkins
and goes to find her. Harvey runs into Thorne and says that he thought they agreed
to keep a low profile. Thorne says that everyone loves a Carnival and that this
makes an excellent place to give him another campaign contribution. He can just
mix it in with the legit funds he raised. When Harvey isn’t confident in the
plan, Thorne’s goon Tony suggests maybe Harvey is stupid enough to think he can
win on his own. Thorne disagrees and tells Harvey to meet him in the parking
lot when he’s done shaking hands and kissing babies to get the money.
Bruce sees Natalia with Stephie.
Obviously, the pale girl isn’t sticking to her promise to her brother. She
leads Stephie into the hall of mirrors and Bruce chases after them. He calls
out to Stephie but can’t find them in the maze of mirrors. He hears her scream and
kicks through a mirror and wall to get out. The Carnival’s side show performs see
him do this and get the wrong idea when he says he’s looking for two little
girls. The performers, including Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc, kick his ass and
throw him into a ditch. An over reaction indeed, but I can’t necessarily blame them.
Bruce wakes up sometime later when
he hears the Carnival’s closing alert on the PA. He dusts himself off and heads
for his car. Alfred is inside and reading “Alias The Grey Ghost” by Max
Grantwell but is very concerned when he sees Bruce all beaten up. He says not
to worry, though, as he gets his suit out. Alfred tells him he sent Julie home
in a taxi about an hour ago and wonders if Thorne is behind why Bruce is beaten
up. Bruce says Rupert Thorne is the least of his worries tonight.
Anton returns to his trailer and
catches Natalia draining Stephie. He’s freaking out at this point as people are
looking for Stephie and they’re saying they might not let the carnival leave
until she’s found. And he’s worried that when they wake up, they’ll tell
everyone what happened, and they’ll be done for. Natalia rather coldly says
they’ll just have to stop them from waking up. Anton says he won’t do it. Natalia
says that he just wants her to suffer, he tells her to grow up and she throws
him across the room and into a cabinet that falls onto him. He says he can’t
feel his legs, and when he asks her to go for help, she asks him who’s being a
baby now.
We see that Dr. Thompkins and the
children are looking for all three of the missing kids now. Batman watches them
from above when a little girl reveals another kid, Carrie (Juliet Donenfield),
has gone missing too. Batman heads out to investigate. He finds Waylon Jones
first and grabs him by the throat, he asks where the plant from Dr. Night’s act
is. Waylon tries to play dumb out of loyalty to the carnival, but Batman tells
him “try again” and it’s implied he kicked his ass.
Meanwhile, Harvey meets with Thorne
and gets a briefcase full of money. Thorne tells Harvey that this money and
some bad press he’s planting about Mayor Jessop should push him over the top.
As Harvey goes to leave, Rupert stops him and tells him that he’s going to drop
the charges on a case he has tomorrow against Matt Milligan, an associate of Thorne’s.
Harvey says he can’t do that. Thorne tells him to just say the cops lost evidence
as that’ll be true soon enough. Harvey is adamant that he won’t as Milligan duped
thousands of Gothamites out of their life savings. Rupert isn’t budging. Harvey
says he wants to be mayor to reform the city, but Rupert tells him that if he
wants to do that he needs to play ball now. And insists that this is a good
deal for him. Harvey hands the money to his aide and then notices the bus full
of kids still waiting. Inside, Thompkins is looking after the children she has.
Harvey asks what’s going on and a very stressed-out Thompkins says she’s got
kids missing and it seems like his aides won’t call the cops for fear of a
scandal. Harvey apologizes for blowing her off earlier and says he’ll call the
cops himself. She says to also look out for Bruce Wayne as he’s missing too.
Batman finds the trailer and the
three kids passed out inside. All three look pale as sheets. He then finds
Anton, who is still pinned under the chest. He tells Batman that Natalia did
it, but the kids will recover with time. She’s got a ‘rare condition’ of some
kind but he found a treatment for her that involves draining the vitality out
of others. He says that it makes her stronger, too, but she’s lost control. He
asks Batman to forgive her as she’s just a child, he tells her to get her
inside before sunrise or she’ll die before he dies himself.
We cut to the forest outside the
carnival. Carrie is shooting cans with a slingshot. Natalia arrives and asks
why she’s by herself. Carrie says that she’s waiting for the kidnapper, to use
herself as bait and then hit them with her slingshot. Natalia asks to try it
but says she can’t see the cans so well and maybe they can try shooting at the gallery.
Carrie says the Carnival is closed but Natalia insists it isn’t for her. Carrie
hears Dr. Thompkins calling out for her and wants to go back but Natalia won’t
let her go. Carrie grabs her sling shot and Natalia grabs her and starts draining.
Carrie punches her in the stomach and runs. In frustration, Natalia knocks over
a tree and draws Batman’s attention.
Carrie runs deep into the woods and
hides behind a log. Natalia chases her and lifts the log to freak her out.
Batman arrives and stops her, pulling her away from Carrie. Natalia plays up
being a child to draw Batman in and throws him.
She notes that he has so much energy with a hungry look in her eyes. Batman
says he doesn’t want to hurt her, and she says he won’t. Natalia is stronger
and faster than Batman right now, slamming him into a tree and beating him
senseless. He says that he wants to save her as he promised Anton. Natalia says
that Anton will forgive her, he always does. She starts to drain Batman, but
Carrie hits her in the mouth with her slingshot. While distracted Batman tells
her that Anton is dead. She starts crying as she realized she murdered her
brother. The sun comes up and it causes Natalia’s skin to burn. Batman tries to
shield her but she pushes him away and says to leave her. Batman says he can’t
but Carrie points out they could. When he gives her a flat look, she points out
that Natalia is a monster. Batman covers Natalia in his cape and he and the two
girls head for the carnival, Carrie grabbing Batman’s cape as they go.
Later at the hospital, Carrie describes
her exploits to Dickie, Jace, and Stephie. When she describes hitting Natalia
in the face with a slingshot shot, Jace doesn’t believe it, but Dr. Thompkins
confirms it. Bruce who’d been standing with her marvels at the resilience of
children. He asks how Natalia is doing, and Thompkins says she’s in the secure
wing and they’re studying her condition. Thompkins thanks him for his help but
Bruce insists he’d just been beaten up by the bearded lady.
At the courthouse, the judge asks Harvey
if he wishes to drop the charges against Milligan. Harvey, looking concerned, says
that no, he will not, and that he wants the defendant held without bail.
Milligan is taken away, shouting that Dent is going to pay for this. As Harvey
heads to the men’s room, reporters follow him and asks if he really thinks he
can pull a head with just one day to go. Harvey insists it’s still anyone’s
race. He washes his hands in the bathroom before being attacked by Thorne’s man
Tony, who throws acid in his face saying this is what happens to double
crossers.
Imagine the bad luck of being a
kidnapper in Gotham that grabs not one, not two, not three, but four Robins. Okay,
so they’re more than likely just homages but yeah, all four of Natalia’s victims
are nods to four Robins. Dickie is obviously Richard “Dick” Grayson, the OG
Robin; Jace is Jason Todd, the Second Robin and current Red Hood; Stephie is Stephanie
Brown, the fourth Robin and third Batgirl; and Carrie is Carrie Kelley, the
future Robin from Frank Millers award wining Dark Knight Returns graphic
novels. If you’re wondering why they skipped over the third Robin, Tim Drake, as
far as I’m aware they used the excuse that he’s actually the only Robin that isn’t
an orphan. From what I’ve read, show runner Bruce Timm isn’t interested in bringing
any Robin into the story anytime soon (which is so odd when Robin was working
with Batman during the entire Golden Age of Comics where this series draws
inspiration), so I don’t expect to see any of them again anytime soon. Still,
it was nice to see the nod. And it’s funny to me to think that if this episode
is any indicator, the Robin they’d go with based on their action here is
Carrie. She’s the only one of Natalia’s victims to put up a fight and she
directly saved Batman here. Like… I don’t think it’s wrong to give one of the
lesser adapted Robins a chance to shine… but Richard Grayson is right there and
he is THE Robin. It was also nice to see the show draw attention to Bruce’s
philanthropy in Gotham and how funding the orphanage is one of the more
important causes to him. Natalia was an interesting villain choice. From what I’ve
read, Bruce Timm has wanted to do a story centered on her since the original Batman:
The Animated Series back in 1993 but Fox vetoed any attempt at using the
character. Timm had wanted to do a version of her that is more or less a
vampire and Fox was extremely against it. Which is so odd considering their
attempt at censoring Spider-Man’s vampire Michael Morbius was honestly more
horrifying than just letting him suck blood with his fangs. If you know, you
know. I liked this version of her though. Does she come across as an emotionless
monster for most of it? yes. But at the end of the day she’s really just a
bratty child, high on her power and not thinking about the consequences of her
actions. And it seems she does legit need to take in the vitality of others to
survive, it’s just she’s overindulging to get her strength up. Her breaking
down and sobbing when she realizes she killed her brother was a nice touch, it
humanized someone they’d made quite monstrous at this point. Sad that her brother
died, but it’s good she’s getting treated. I was not expecting them to start
the Two-Face story here. I was sure Harvey would get disfigured in the finale
and Harvey Two-Face would be a major villain for season two. That said, I did
like that, while this version of Harvey is less of a white knight than in other
versions, that even he still has limits as to what can slide. Would he take a
criminal’s money to get elected? Yes. But he wouldn’t let a truly awful man like
Milligan get away with his crimes to do it. Shame about his face though. Oh and
Croc’s cameo and the Gray Ghost nod was nice too. For those that don’t
recognize the name, the Gray Ghost is an in-universe fictional superhero that young
Bruce is a fan of. He’s also a nod to the Shadow, one of the original
superheroes of our world and an inspiration for Batman. No joke, Batman creators
Bob Kane and Bill Finger said as much, Finger going on to say that the original
Batman story “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” was based on a Shadow story “Partners
in Peril.” Next time, we see the fallout from the acid spray. See you then.
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Twitter; @BasicsSuperhero
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