Batman, Superman, and Beyond Top Ten

[Condiment King]

If you could choose, what would be your top ten out of all the episodes of Batman, Superman, and Batman Beyond?

Here's mine:

10. "Knight Time" (Superman)

-Superman and Robin's interaction is awesome in this episode. I think this is really Tim's highlight episode. Superman learns to respect Tim. Also, The Riddler, Bane, and the Mad Hatter are among my favorite villians.

9. "In Brightest Day" (Superman)

-Obviously, I am a big Green Lantern fan. That is basically the only reason why I picked it. :p

8. "Day of the Samurai" (Batman)

-Kyodai Ken proved to be a very worthy adversary to Batman throughout. I thought it more interesting that this was one of the only episodes that showed Batman as the underdog.

7. "Night of the Ninja" (Batman)

-See above. I gave this the nudge over "Day of the Samurai" because this was their very first encounter.

6. "Meltdown" (Batman Beyond)

-My all time favorite BB episode. It is a nice, tidy rap up to Mr. Freeze. It also shows how cold Batman has grown over the years.

5. "Riddler's Reform" (Batman)

-I thought it was a fun protrayal on The Riddler's character and the best part to me was Batman and Robin's struggle to solve the Riddler's puzzles to get to the right meeting place with the Riddler.

4. "What is Reality?" (Batman)

-Robin (Dick Grayson), I thought to be the stand-out in this episode. He actually proved to be wittier and smarter at the Riddler's riddles.

3. "Over the Edge" (Batman)

-This was a great elseworlds! It is especially fantastic if you had never heard anything about the episode before you watch it, as I was.

2. "Two-Face" Part 2 (Batman)

-This was a nice rap up to "Two-Face" Part 1. It proved to be almost as good as Part 1 which is rare. The ending is a very touching.

1. "Two-Face" Part 1 (Batman)

-My all-time favorite Batman episode and Bruce Timm's 7th. It showed the transformation of Harvey Dent to Two-Face very dramatically and the true emotion behind Bruce Wayne. It can be argued that Bruce never showed as much hope for a villian as he did Two-Face.

I guess you can see how much I love Batman. :D

[Dan Slott]

10. Shriek (Cool sound effect gags. Is Bruce crazy? And best end lines outta Bruce and Terry)
9. Mxyzpixilated (Funniest darn Adventure toon ever!)
8. The Demon Within (Etrigan the Demon. 'Nuff Said! Showdown w/ Jonah Hex came darn close though...)
7. Apokolips Now 2-parter (Whoa! Animated New Gods! Most powerful ending of ALL the Adventure toons).
6. World's Finest 3-parter (When Batman FLIPPED Superman-- Damn!)
5. Knight Time (Robin teamed up with Superman in Batman's suit... Awesome!)
4. Over The Edge (If ONLY the Joker was in this too... would'a placed higher. But STILL one of the BEST!)
3. Speed Demons (An ANIMATED Superman/Flash Race! That alone put it in the top 3!)
2. Heart of Ice (Perfect done-in-one story! No fat! All character! Redefines a classic Bat-villain for a new age.)
1. Almost Got 'Im (Don't mean to sound like the Simpson's comic shop guy but... BEST EPISODE EVER!)

[Barb Gordon]

Ouch, it's so hard to choose my favorites! Anyhoo, it's pretty easy to guess that most of mine will be from Batman. In no particular order:

1. Old Wounds
2. Robin's Reckoning 1 & 2
3. Night of the Ninja
4. Fear of Victory
5. Heart of Ice
6. Rebirth
7. In Brightest Day
8. Over the Edge
9. Speed Demons
10. Shadow of the Bat 1 & 2

~Barb

[Dark_Batman89]

Most Batman, some Superman.

10. Meltdown: Beyond
9. Over the Edge: Batman
8. Legends of the Dark Knight: Batman (you can't forget this episode!)
7. A Fish Story: Superman
6. In Brightest Day: Superman
5. Speed Demons: Superman
4. Almost Got 'Im!: Batman
3. Old Wounds: Batman
2. Heart of Ice: Batman
1. The Laughing Fish: Batman

[TimTwoFace]

If we're counting two-parters as one-parters, my top ten favourites are:

1) TWO-FACE (Pts 1, 2)
Animated beautifully and a great fall-from grace (ha! Pun!) story. This was the first non-60's villain that I'd encountered on BTAS that really "clicked" with me, and was an instant fave, hence my TZ handle. :) In fact, to this day I think it's one of the most mature stories to come from BTAS, and for that reason I put it as my favourite.

2) JOKER'S FAVOR
Yeah, it's not the best of the bunch, but this will always provide me with great nostalgia. THis was the first Joker appearance I'd seen outside of a Nicholson or Romero portrayal, Harley's first appearance ever, clever Hitchcock-esque writing, a great little theme song, and the best thing about it was Charlie Collins.

3) THE LAUGHING FISH
The best purely Joker episode. That's about it. It was so creepy, so sinister, and so...weird that I was sucked right in. The music was great - if only more Joker episodes were as cold and calculating as this one.

4) HEART OF ICE
Obviously, HEART OF ICE cracks the top ten. This is simply the saddest romance story on the series, and instantly makes Mr. Freeze a wonderfully recrafted character. I didn't see this episode on its first showing (either that, or I forgot until I saw it again in '96) and man, it rocked. If the ending doesn't bring you close to tears, I don't know what will.

5) OVER THE EDGE
Ya know, aside from that stupid talkshow sequence, this episode was pure gold. Even if you know it's all just a dream, it's a great ride. I love "finale" episodes and this one was no exception - you never knew what could happen. The Batcave battle, the Scarecrow battle, Nightwing saving the day, the finale with Batman, Gordon, and Bane - wow, who ever thought Batgirl's mind was so active?

(No, that's not a ditz remark.)

6) ROBIN'S RECKONING (Pt 1, 2)
The only other two-parter in my top ten. Finally we get to see some REAL depth to the partnership between Batman and Robin. I'd never known where Robin came from until this episode debuted, and it was instantly my favourite. I can tell that a lot of extra work went into making sure this episode was one of the best. I don't know which is more heart-wrenching - the death of the Graysons or when he is taken away from the circus.

7) ALMOST GOT 'IM
This is a BTAS "fun" episode at its best. Not only that, nearly all of the best villains were on the show, and their ingenious (and gargantuan) traps were a great throwback to the comics and the 60's series.

8) MUDSLIDE
I really like this one, too. I didn't like FEAT OF CLAY all too much, but this was a really sad Clayface episode - especially when he was originally supposed to be dead at the end. It ends on such a down note, it's so...so..so...Batman. I love stories that are a non-stop spiral into a pit of despair, and that is what this was.

9) SECOND CHANCE
Another great Two-Face episode. In fact, all of the "villain redemption" episodes on the series were quite well done, but this is my favourite. If only the stories nowadays focused a bit more on the Bruce and Harvey relationship. Annnnnd Robin actually served a thematic purpose in this story.

10) HARLEY & IVY
The only, repeat, ONLY team-up of these two that deserves any praise at all is this one. It was pure genius, and the Bazooka gag gets me every time. On a deeper level, it proved to reveal some insight into the relationship between Harley and the Joker, and just how twisted and abusive their relationship is.

-Tim

[Squall]

In Batman, Superman, and Batman Beyond, there are so many good episodes to choose from, and I could spend forever trying to figure out which order to put them all in! So, all I can do is list the first 10 great ones that come to mind, as they come to mind... perhaps subconsciously these ARE my Top 10? Who knows?

(1) S: Legacy (Parts I & II)
(2) S: Apokolips... Now! (Parts I & II)
(3) B: Over The Edge
(4) B: Old Wounds
(5) B/S: World's Finest (Parts I, II, & III)
(6) BB: The Call (Parts I & II)
(7) B: Beware The Creeper
(8) B: The Laughing Fish
(9) S: In Brightest Day
(10) S: A Fish Story

How's that? They're in no particular order, of course. :)

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

10. Apokolips... Now! Parts 1 and 2 (Superman)
By far one of the most powerful ending ever in any episode of Superman I've ever seen. It's just so touching.

9. Meltdown (Batman Beyond)
This is one of my favorite episodes of Beyond. The music is great, Freeze's suit is cool and his death is very touching.

8. Two-Face Parts 1 and 2 (Batman)
Great animation very powerful dialogue. Great ending. Great Beginning. Oh you can't beat episodes like these.

7. Legacy Parts 1 and 2 (Superman)
This is THE Superman episode! The best final battle ever.

6. Out of the Past (Batman Beyond)
Very shocking and very dramatic. Espeically the last line.

5. The Demon's Quest (Batman)
This is argueably one of the best Ra's Al Ghul episodes if not THE best!

4. Heart of Ice (Batman)
Michael Ansara and Kevin Conroy absolutely shine in this episode. OMG, it's just so powerful and touching.

3. Growing Pains (Batman)
This is quite the emotional rollercoaster ride. The ending is up there on par with Apokolips Now... Part 2.

2. Over The Edge (Batman)
Dramatic, Shocking, Breathtaking. I couldn't have said it better myself Bruce.

1. I Am The Night (Batman)
This is THE Batman episode. Every voice-actor performed the best of their ability especially Kevin Conroy. The story, animation. Overall this episode can't be beat.