The 7 Worst Episodes | Batman The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series is one of the greatest cartoons of all time, but even legendary shows have their weak spots. In this video, we’re counting down the seven worst episodes of BTAS—ranking the ones that fell short of the show’s usual excellence. From clunky animation to forgettable villains, these episodes stand out for all the wrong reasons. Do you agree with the list? Let me know in the comments!

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:04 Number 7
2:20 Number 6
3:45 Number 5
4:48 Number 4
6:24 Number 3
7:18 Number 2
8:56 Number 1
10:31 Outro

[oscarangel]

I love how the "worst" episodes are Okay-ish. This series is amazing.

[jeremyseaton]

I have to say, I will always love that line, "You killed Captain Clown! You KILLED Captain Clown! Just for that....!" I thought it really captured a certain part of Joker's wacked out personality.

[cheezemonkeyeater]

You know what would have been a better ending to "Christmas with the Joker"?
After the pie gets thrown in Batman's face, he very deliberately wipes the pie off, walks up to the Joker and says, "Are we done now?"
And Joker's like "Yeah, we're done. Merry Christmas, Batman."
"Merry Christmas, Joker."
And then Joker willingly goes back to Arkham.
While that sounds like it's trying to be heartwarming, it adds to that sense of absolute chaotic insanity to the joker. One day, it's a relatively straightforward plot to maim some fish as an excuse to murder some bureaucrats for a laugh, and other times it's an elaborate kidnapping and terrorist plot that has no purpose beyond getting to throw a pie in Batman's face. You never know which it's going to be until it happens.
But Batman's got a sense for who the Joker is and can kinda feel out what mood he's in sometimes, so he knew that if he just let Joker have his pie in the face moment, he'd be satisfied and that was better than risking the fight going on longer.

[androidmk]

I will say the Sewer King ending with Batman deadass saying he was really tempted to fucking kill him is cool.

[cheezemonkeyeater]

"Daggit hires the worst people."
He's all about minimizing the expenses and maximizing the profits. Like a lot of people who have that attitude, they tend to be good at the former, bad at the latter.

[TheStubbzy]

The Last Laugh is one of my favorites because of its silliness. Joker has got a few "so bad they're good" jokes in it.
"The only things gaining now are the laughing stocks."

[ianswinford]

The thing I love about the “Underdwellers” episode is that this is the closest I’ve ever seen BTAS Batman come to killing a villain. He even outright says that he’s “sorely tempted to do the job [himself]”. Batman of all people can really relate to these orphan kids and seeing them abused the way they were nearly tipped Batman over the edge.

[theyakkoman]

I actually kind of like The Forgotten. Yeah, it's very on the nose, but it has some good parts too.
I like Batman taking an interest in the loss of homeless people. People most Gothamites wouldn't care about and the police more than likely wouldn't have the resources to search for when Gotham is, well, Gotham. But to Batman, those people matter, and he can make a difference so he does.
I also love the blues inspired score and I really like Alfred in this episode. It is cool to see him do some detective work and being good at it.
While he isn't the best flyer when using the Bat-plane, those scenes are quite funny as well.
"Land you bucket of bolts!"

And while the villain isn't that threatening, he is memorable at least. Mor than you can say for The Prophecy guy.

I also have some soft-spots for Last Laugh, The Underdwellers and Cat Scratch Fever as well. While not great episodes by any means, they have their fun bits. And the fact that they are episodes I remember seing on the Telly as a child helps.

But yeah, Prophecy was boring and Basement is just... No. Doesn't work in that world. Bad characters and characterisation. Along with Critters it's my least favourite episode.
It even fails in atmosphere, which, thanks to the art-style and background, almost every other episode has. Even the bad ones. But Basement just fails.

[GravesRWFiA]

I think you missed the point of "I've got batman in my basement" with so many adventures following the caped crusader this was a completely different POV, it's how he's seen by the civilians he protects. I'd guess a big part of the writers dislike was that it was a penguin story and you've already said how WB studio requirements on him made him not very popular

[barneynedward]

Joker stealing things for no reason makes a certain amount of sense within his character. he’s insane. He doesn’t really have to have a coherent motive.

[MILDMONSTER]

When the worst episodes are still better then most television

[Brasswatchman]

7:40 We might not. But did the children originally watching the show? Sometimes simple morality tales are necessary, if only to give kids some sense of what kind of evils might be out there beyond their sheltered existences. No matter how unsubtle and overdone it might seem to us as adults.

[bravealpha]

You panned Captain Clown!
YOU PANNED CAPTAIN CLOWN!!!

[Chadius]

As an American, I'll say "The Lion and the Unicorn" was a slow, boring episode that at least allowed a glimpse into Alfred's backstory. Too bad we have to deal with... sigh... Red Claw.

[cameronvanhook]

Number 5, the forgotten, is actually one of my favorites. Although the amnesia trope is tired, I always felt this ep stood out as one of the most unique stories in btas.

[Psycopathicus]

I think 'The Forgotten' and 'Last Laugh' are reasonably decent, myself. Personally, I don't insist on my Joker episodes being super deep, and I like Captain Clown and the general set-up - when the Joker's having fun, it generally means we are, too.

[cheezemonkeyeater]

Gonna hard disagree about The Forgotten. I think it's often overlooked because the villain is just some nobody, but it really is an episode that strongly builds on Bruce's character. It shows that he cares more about helping people than just the thrill of beating up bad guys (an accusation many people make about Batman). It show him going out of his way to help people. He gets involved because he cares about the homeless in a way others in the city just don't. And the part of the dream where Bruce keeps trying to give money, but more and more people keep coming until he breaks down is a perfect way to show how it really hurts Bruce that he can't help everybody, no matter how hard he tries. The amnesia plot is a gimme, that's true. If he had his memories, he' trash his way through Boss Fat-Man's operation in a second and it wouldn't be able to fill the run-time. Moreover, we wouldn't get to spend time with the people in camp, which elevates them to more than props for the story. So, it's not the best plot device ever, but it works for what it's trying to accomplish. And at least they don't have him recover his memory by being hit on the head a second time. There might have been better ways to do that, but in the framework of a 24 minute episode that has to keep action going for the kids? I'm not so sure.
I wouldn't put it in the top ten, and maybe not even the top 20 episodes (I forget how many episodes are in the series overall, so I can't guess at where it would fall in the ranking), as it does have a number of failings, but it has some very important and very powerful scenes that make it worth watching.

[yamasultani]

I actually think the episode where bruce loses his memory while investigating the disappearing homeless, is one of the best in the show! The scene where he remembers who he is and breaks out is awesome.

[louthegiantcookie]

I think Prophecy of Doom had potential if they had modeled the villain on Deacon Blackfire from The Cult and went in a slightly darker direction. The premise of the episode is actually okay, and would have allowed them to adapt that story for an all-ages show like TAS.

[paulo]

One thing I like about the idea of Sewer King is how over the top Dickensian he is. The sort of villain that is easy to root against.