#lockup

Lock-Up is one of the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. (And, yet, not even in my Top 3, which shows you how amazing this show was.) It opens up with Batman and Robin taking an escaped Scarecrow back to Arkham Asylum. Scarecrow is (ironically) terrified. He shouts that he wanted to escape him. A guard gets aggressive, something that Batman picks up on, because BTAS-Batman is the Best-Batman:

(Source: @kane52630​)

So, Bruce Wayne calls for a hearing to investigate the guard. Give the whole scene a watch. It’s Saturday ‘morning’, after all!

Everything about the scene is gold, from the scarily realistic manipulation tactics, to the inmates protecting each other, to Bruce knowing how to play the room, to Bruce standing still while everyone else backs away, before kicking over the chair to stop the villain...

And, of course, in the end, you get the villain blaming the “liberal media”. He later goes on to say that they need to Make Gotham City Safe Again. Also, you get this hilarious line:

(Source: @kane52630​)

The guard becomes a supervillain (Lock-Up) and Saturday Morning Cartoon shenanigans ensue. All of which ends with Batman fighting him, creating one of the greatest dialogues:

(Source: @pterodactyl-bro​ (I had to spell that name many times!)).

Because BTAS-Batman is the Best-Batman!

This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you to go watch this full episode, and by all means, if you can find it, watch it! Yet, suspiciously, it’s missing from the Amazon Prime lineup, the only episode that’s not featured. Now isn’t that interesting? Regardless, there are plenty of other ways you can watch it, if you know where to look.

Oh, and if you’re rolling your eyes at the whole “liberal media” and “Make Gotham City Safe Again” comments, thinking that this is just another hastily-written parody of Trump’s America, might I remind you that this particular episode came out 26 years ago:

B®️anding™️

—

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #15 - "Happy Thanksquinning" (2020)