Ha, ha, ha, ha! The circus is in town.
- Hey, you! - Stop!
Punch. Judy.
Ha, ha!
Ah!
Ha, ha, ha, ha!
I call it Joker-putty.
And I can turn anything into it.
Thud.
Ta-ta! Farewell! Mwahh! Mwahh!
'Hold it, Joker.'
Lower your weapon.
You the man.
He, ha, ha, ha!
Click.
Go!
Thud Ha ha ha ha!
Boing boing thud thud thud.
♪ The Batman ♪
'He made you look like clowns.'
thud Six months ago
Gotham had the lowest crime rate in the nation.
Yesterday we were declared the world's scariest city.
And that was before Joker's latest escapade.
But chief, most of the guys on that board
are in prison now or Arkham.
And who received credit for those busts?
You? Or you, Yin?
I know it wasn't you, Bennett.
So tell me, who?
Well, you know... Batman, I guess..
That's right. The Batman.
Well, I'm tired of clowns and vigilantes
turning my department into a laughing stock.
So say hello to my new zero-tolerance policy
against all these freaks.
No exceptions!
And for starters, I want Gotham's finest
to take down Joker, before The Batman does.
Capisce?
Chief Rojas, I'm going out on a limb here
but I've been thinking.
Maybe we'd have more success
if we tried working with Bats.
Working with The Batman?
Maybe you could wear spandex and be the Bat's sidekick.
You'd better figure out where your loyalties lie, detective
and fast!
If Gotham belongs to Joker
the dull face of tragedy
must become the rubber face of comedy.
Joker putty, work your magic!
Hee hee hee hee!
Joker!
The Batman!
'Punch and Judy, my marionettes.'
Keep the Bat busy.
The artist must not be disturbed.
Clank
thud
pow pow pow thud
pow
thud
clank.
They're up there.
You take Joker. The Batman's mine.
Bennett, what're you trying to prove?
Bennett!
Pow pow.
Hold it, Bats.
Detective, we're on the same side.
Tell it to the chief.
'Hold the mayo!'
I'm the vandal here.
You mean to tell me the chief of police
considers this vigilante a greater menace
than the clown prince of crime?
Why, that's an outrage! An insult!
In fact, detective, I resemble that remark.
Alley-oop!
They never give you enough rope.
Bon voyage!
Hee hee hee hee!
- Joker's getting away. - At least I got you.
Ah!
Take my hand.
- You alright, partner? - Yeah, yeah. Thanks.
The Batman!
Rojas is gonna eat me alive.
City champions that year, I believe.
I suppose in a way you both still are.
Alfred, how would you feel
about bringing Ethan into the fold?
Allow someone besides myself to know the Batman's identity?
I'm certain Detective Bennett can be trusted.
Trust isn't the issue.
Ethan needs to know the truth.
Before circumstances force one of us to harm the other.
Joker remakes the largest monument in Gotham
in his own image, in effect telling us he owns this city!
And you let him and The Batman get away?
Chief Rojas, Bennett nearly had The Bat
but the scaffolding gave way and...
Yin, it's alright.
No, Bennett. I don't think it is alright.
One more blunder like tonight
and you can kiss your badge good-bye.
You gotta be under a lot of pressure to catch Joker.
Yeah, among others.
Well, Ethan, you're not the only crime fighter in Gotham.
I mean, uh, w-what about your partner?
Well, Yin? She's cool.
I mean, she's on top of things, good cop
my closest friend, probably, I mean
ha, besides you, of course.
I mean, we should all have coffee sometime.
Yeah, I'm not sure I'm Ellen's cup of tea.
Hey, don't let Yin scare you off.
She only has it out for The Batman.
Listen, Ethan, I..
- Just a second. - Uh, yeah. Me too.
- Bennett. - 'It's Yin.'
'We have a Joker sighting.'
The gallery theatricum on 23rd.
I'm across town, but on my way.
Hey, Bruce, gotta jet.
Hey, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?
It'll keep.
It'll have to keep.
Ha ha hee ha!
Hmm. Ha Ha.
Such a winning solid gold smile, mon frere.
A shame about your ugly stepsister.
Turn that frown upside-down. Ha ha ha ha!
Whoops.
Yeah. Whoops.
I hope this means your chief finally figured out
I'm a greater menace than The Batman.
Oh, by the way, detective
have you met my colleagues Judy and Punch?
Pow.
This one's worthless now, and its partner's gone.
Not for long. I just tapped into Bennett's GPS unit.
Whoosh.
Sawdust.
'Flecked with blue?'
'All good things must come to an end.'
'Including my last batch'
of Joker putty.
'The chief has a zero-tolerance policy'
'just for creeps like you, Joker.'
He'll never pay ransom for me.
I don't need ransom, handsome.
Gotham is putty in my hands.
I take what I want when I want.
I'm simply out to prove to your beefy chiefy
once and for all that Joker is the master of menace
by breaking one of Gotham's finest.
I won't break your bones, detective.
I'm going to... snap your twig.
When Joker's through clowning with you..
You won't know where to find your mind!
'Ha ha ha ha.'
'Sir, is Detective Bennett our new ally?'
Not yet.
These blue specks..
'Traces of stale sugar on this sawdust.'
Cotton candy.
'Sir?'
A very thin line separates normality
'from insanity!'
He made you look like clowns!
Hee hee hee hee!
Detective, we're on the same side.
And you can kiss your badge good-bye.
Life brings thousands of tiny torments
in all shapes, sizes, and flavors.
Wouldn't you say, detective?
Chief..
Back off!
Bennett.
It's not my fault, chief. No..
Ah, so we have issues with the boss, eh?
Hee hee hee. Well, who doesn't?
Bosses make terrific tormentors.
Tote that barge! Lift that bale!
Rewrite that script! Sort that mail!
All it takes is one too many orders to make the cuckoo call.
All it takes is one rotten day
to transform a normal man into a monster!
Well, in my case, a rotten day and a chemical bath.
'So the giraffe turns to the police chief'
and says, "The last thing I saw"
"was that screw-loose detective
trying to pick the nuts out of the fruitcake."
Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Nuts out of the fruitcake.
Ah, detective, my therapy worked.
It seems you and I finally
share the same sense of humor.
'Don't fool yourself, Joker.'
Bennett plays for my team.
- Yin. - The Yin to his yang.
Drop it or laughing boy gets it!
You don't know what this stuff does to humans.
Clank For that matter, neither do I.
Let's find out.
No!
Now we'll never know.
Bennett, you alright?
Yeah. Go. Get Joker.
Aah!
Hee, hee, hee, hee! Ah, ha, ha, ha!
Ha, ha!
You think this is confusing?
Try living inside my head.
Through the looking glass, Batsy
where comedy is tragedy
down is up, black is white...
You're out of luck!
- Uh-oh. - Say cheese.
Thud.
The tragedy..
'Hold it.'
There's nowhere to go, Batman.
Go. You saved my partner's life.
This is the repayment of that debt. A one-time deal.
The next time we meet, Batman, the mask comes off.
Have a rotten day, detective.
Kudos to my department for capturing Joker.
Without the Batman's help, I might add.
You gotta be kidding me.
We're playing cleanup, like always.
The Batman saved my butt tonight.
Chief, did The Batman catch Joker?
There will be no further comment. No comment.
Are you out of your mind, Bennett?
I suppose you let the Bat waltz out of here too.
Chief, it wasn't Bennett's fault. I...
I don't want to hear it, Yin. I warned you, Bennett.
You're suspended!
- Chief, you got it all... - It's alright, Yin.
I'm not so sure the badge suits me anymore.
Bennett.
Ethan, it's Bruce. You sound sick.
'Yeah. Rough night, Bruce.'
I-I may be... going through some changes.
Tell you all about it tomorrow.
- 'Over coffee?' - Nah.
'Let's shoot some hoops at the old gym.'
I need to blow off some steam.
Hey, what was it you wanted to tell me today?
Tomorrow. Over hoops.
Deal.
♪ The Batman ♪