Almost Got 'Im

"Almost Got 'Im" is the thirty-fifth episode of the Warner Bros. television program Batman: The Animated Series, which first aired on November 10, 1992, and was written by Paul Dini and directed by Eric Radomski. This episode features seven villains of Batman's rogues gallery, with five of them telling the stories of their "best" attempts at killing the Dark Knight (via a frame story), and the ending leading to a singular plot twist.

"Almost Got 'Im"
Batman: The Animated Series episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 35
Directed byEric Radomski
Written byPaul Dini
Original air dateNovember 10, 1992
Guest appearance(s)

Plot

While hiding out from the police, five of Gotham's notorious criminals - the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc - gather at the criminals-only Stacked Deck Club. While passing the time with a game of cards, their conversation focuses on their mutual foe, Batman, whom Two-Face doubts is one person. While Croc assumes him to be a robot, Penguin correctly theorizes that he suffered some crime-related trauma in the past that made him who he is. Eventually, the talk on the subject leads each to argue over who came closest killing Batman, in which each criminal details their own story about how they "almost got 'im".

Poison Ivy recounts how she had unleashed poisonous gas on Halloween, through thousands of pumpkins, only for Batman to thwart her plans by overcoming a trap she had created for him when he began investigating the sudden ill effects that Gotham's inhabitants suffered from, and capturing her. Two Face recounts how he had staged a robbery at a mint for $2 million in two dollar bills and had managed to take away Batman's utility belt and strap him onto a giant penny that he planned to catapult, only to find that he had stolen his coin and used it to break free, before apprehending him and his gang. Killer Croc attempts to detail how he nearly defeated Batman with a "big rock" during a battle in a quarry; unlike the others, none of the villains opt to listen to his story or learn how it went wrong. Pengiun recalls how he had turned a zoo aviary into a home for dangerous birds as part of a plot to kill Batman with several poison-beaked hummingbirds, only for the Dark Knight to soak them in water with the aviary's sprinkler, survive an attack by a cassowary, and inject himself with an antidote; Penguin was forced to flee as a direct result.

With his cohorts having told their stories, Joker recalls how he had been close to killing Batman the night before. After capturing the Dark Knight, Joker commandeered the set of a late-night talk show, holding the studio audience hostage. With help from his gang and Harley Quinn, Joker intended to kill his nemesis on live television through a "laugh-powered electric chair" and pumping the studio with laughing gas. Before Batman was subjected to a lethal dose of electricity, Catwoman broke into the studio, distracting Joker in the ensuing fight long enough for the Dark Knight to escape. Before she can keep Joker from fleeing the studio, Harley managed to knock Catwoman unconscious from behind, with Joker instructing that she be hidden away. With his story over, Killer Croc question Joker on what he did with Catwoman, to which he answers that she was taken to a cat food factory to be dealt with once he was finished at the club. To Joker's surprise, Croc attacks him, revealing himself to be Batman in disguise. As the other villains prepare to deal with him, Batman reveals that they were lured there as part of a sting operation organised by Gotham police, who were present in the club, in an attempt to find out Catwoman's whereabouts from Joker. While Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock arrest the group, Batman heads out to the factory.

At the cat food cannery, Batman finds Harley Quinn taunting a bound, gagged and enraged Catwoman. Catwoman is tied down to an assembly line, set to be ground up and mixed with supplies of cat food. Harley attempts to escape by turning on the conveyor belt, forcing Batman to choose between apprehending her and saving Catwoman. Harley bolts while Catwoman struggles fruitlessly against her bonds, moaning frantically into her gag. Batman, finding the machine's power switch, is able to capture Harley and rescue Catwoman. As Harley is arrested, Catwoman thanks Batman for the rescue, to which he states he owed her one for saving him from Joker's scheme. As Catwoman discusses their relationship and makes a pass on him, Batman pulls off his trademark disappearing act, leaving her to smile and mutter to herself "Hmm. Almost got 'im."

Voice cast
ActorRole
Kevin ConroyBatman
Adrienne BarbeauCatwoman
Mark HamillThe Joker
Aron KincaidKiller Croc
Richard MollTwo-Face
Diane PershingPoison Ivy
Arleen SorkinHarley Quinn
Paul WilliamsThe Penguin

Reception

Sandra Dozier calls the episode "charming" and praises it for showing "the origin story for the Bat Cave's giant penny."[1]

DVD release

The episode features a commentary on the DVD release.[2]

gollark: I already used Optifine, BetterFPS, FoamFix and... well, can't remmeber another.
gollark: I make up for the low RAM by using zswap, which holds some RAM contents... in RAM... but compressed.
gollark: It might be a combination of low RAM and bad CPU/GPU really.
gollark: ... I only have 8GB of RAM here.
gollark: ~100 mods or so, which most people should be able to handle okay.

References
  1. Sandra Dozier, "Review of Batman: The Animated Series (Volume 2) Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine," DVD Verdict (February 10, 2005).
  2. Steve Butts, "Batman: The Animated Series, Volume Two: The Dark Knight swings into action once again," IGN (February 8, 2005).
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