Dr. K's Waiting Room

Air Date: 11 September 1992
Director: Boyd Kirkland
Original Network: Fox Kids
Stars: Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, Ed Begley Jr., and Kevin Conroy 

The Background:
Gotham’s caped crusader is no stranger to adaptation. Around three years after his debut appearance, Bruce Wayne/Batman was brought to life in an oft-forgotten fifteen-chapter cinema serial and made his first appearance in animation in The Batman/Superman Hour (1968 to 1969), courtesy of Filmation. After the critical and commercial success of Tim Burton’s Batman movies, Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), Batman shed the remnants of the camp trappings that had been associated with him since the sixties and was popularised as a dark, brooding vigilante once more. Perhaps no piece of ancillary media was more influential in this, however, than Bruce Timm and Paul Dini’s Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1999), which placed the Dark Knight into a distinctly art deco world and pushed the boundaries of what cartoons could get away with. Eventually expanding into an extremely popular animated DC universe, Batman: The Animated Series not only came to influence subsequent Batman media but also introduced new characters to the Bat-world, with none more prominent than Doctor Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn. Created by Dini and Timm for this very episode, Harley was initially planned to simply be a one-off character but Dini decided to make her a recurring antagonist, an abused henchwoman whom the Joker (Mark Hamill) could play off. Initially portrayed by the late Arleen Sorkin, Harley quickly became a popular breakout character and was officially woven into the mainstream DC Comics in 1999. She has seen significant growth since then, transitioning from the Joker’s mistreated plaything to a strong, independent – if maniacal – anti-hero and even joining the Bat-Family in later years. Harley Quinn has become so popular that she made the transition to live-action with a pitch-perfect performance by Margot Robbie and a tone deaf outing from Lady Gaga, got her own hilarious animated series, and has consistently cropped up in videogames and animated ventures, to the point where she’s now considered to be as important to DC Comics as heavy-hitters like Batman and the Justice League! 

The Plot:
Mild-mannered accountant Charlie Collins (Begley Jr.) insults the Joker (Hamill), who spares his life in return for aiding him and right-hand woman, Harley Quinn (Sorkin), in their latest plot.

The Review:
This is my first time reviewing an episode of Batman: The Animated Series on my website beyond the feature-length productions, and it’ll come as no surprise how much I love this series. I didn’t watch every single episode as a kid (though I have since) but I really enjoyed the entire DC Animated Universe. It was fun seeing these characters and their stories adapted and tweaked and presented in an engaging and serious way, no more so than Batman, whose mainstream popularity was arguably bolstered by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini’s animated series. The show makes an impact right from the start with its stark, gritty opening sequence that’s completely devoid of any titles or text. It screams “Batman” and really sets the tone for what’s to come. That and the stellar voice cast; it’s impressive how many character, veteran, and big-name actors featured on the show, with Mark Hamill’s turn as the Joker widely regarded as one of the best interpretations of the character, to say nothing of Kevin Conroy’s enduring and timeless take on the Batman himself. All this is to say that Batman: The Animated Series rarely missed; it changed superhero cartoons and adaptations for the better and its impact on the source material is just as significant, with Harley Quinn being just one piece of that puzzle. With the obligatory gushing out of the way, let’s get to the episode, which opens to find Charlie Collins stuck in Gotham City traffic on perhaps the worst day of his life: he’s been turned down for a raise, his kid needs braces, the ball game has been delayed, and his wife Bonnie is making meatloaf! Charlie hits his breaking point when a fellow driver rudely cuts him off; sick of being treated like a punching bag, he barges into the car and hurls insults at the driver, only to find the Joker behind the wheel!

Despite Charlie’s best efforts to drive along amiably and lose the Joker, his car eventually breaks down, allowing the Clown Prince of Crime to confront him in the woods. Amusingly, the Joker is offended by Charlie’s rude behaviour and chastises him for being so impolite, though his teacherly demeanour quickly turns to a sinister anger, reducing Charlie to begging for mercy. Intrigued by Charlie’s desperation to save his hide, the Joker gleefully agrees to spare him on the proviso that Charlie promises to do him a favour at some point, with even the Joker unsure as to what that favour may be. Charlie readily agrees, relieved to be in one piece, and the episode jumps ahead two years and to the office of police commissioner James “Jim” Gordon (Bob Hastings), who’s due to be honoured for his work, something he finds to be a waste of time. The Batman (Conroy) echoes the sentiments of Detective Harvy Bullock (Robert Costanzo) and many others by stating that Jim deserves credit for keeping Gotham safe around the clock, and Jim begrudgingly agrees to attend the function. Unbeknownst to him, the Joker has also set his sights on gatecrashing the event; as he relates to his enthusiastic cheerleader, Harley Quinn, the Joker insists demands the chance to honour Gordon and picks Charlie’s driving license out of his little black book to call in that favour. Despite changing his name to Don Wallace and moving himself and his family to Ohio, Charlie is terrified when the Joker calls him, having kept tabs on him the entire time, and demands that he return to Gotham in return for keeping his family safe. With no other choice, Charlie makes the flight and is picked up by Harley before he can alert the police. The Joker expertly feigns pleasure at seeing his “old pal” once again and promises to send him home once he’s fulfilled his obligation, asking simply that Charlie opens a door for Harley when she delivers a massive celebration cake to Gordon’s gala under the clever guise of Crazy Clown Catering.

Entering the gala, Charlie desperately tries to alert the authorities – and the Batman – to the Joker’s plot by swinging around a convenient bat-shaped model, catching the attention of Bruce Wayne as he’s leaving to search for the Joker. As Gordon delivers his speech, Charlie opens the doors to the function room and Harley wheels in his cake (much to Bullock’s lustful delight), but finds himself glued to the door by a particularly strong adhesive. Harley delivers a rhyming threat and promptly gases the attendees, paralysing them and leaving them powerless to avoid the bundle of dynamite the Joker delivers as a gift to the long-serving commissioner. Charlie is incensed that the Joker welched on his word, but the Batman makes a timely arrival to toss the dynamite out of the building, destroying the Joker’s getaway van. After freeing Charlie and learning of his plight, the Batman easily subdues Harley and the Joker’s goons, but the Joker covers his escape with a series of boobytraps and an explosion. However, while he’s racing away outside, the Joker is confronted by an angered Charlie, who’s ready to blow them both up with one of the Joker’s own bombs, apparently having lost his mind. Terrified, the Joker screams for the Batman’s intervention and willingly hands over all the documentation he has on Charlie and his family, completely falling for the disgruntled civilian’s bluff. Charlie gratefully leaves, happy to taste his wife’s meatloaf, now that the Joker is in Batman’s custody and his family is safe.

The Summary:
This was a fun little side story in the grand tapestry that was Batman: The Animated Series. As ever, the episode is dark and gritty, sporting a neo-noir styling and expertly using shadows and atmosphere to give its simplistic character designs a surprising amount of nuance and paint the Batman as a terrifying, ethereal figure. The Batman himself features only briefly in this episode, primarily appearing in the last five minutes or so to foil the Joker’s plot, but makes an impression when he’s onscreen thanks to Conroy’s distinctive Bat-voice and the effortless way he deals with the Joker’s minions and traps. Indeed, the wider Batman cast takes a backseat in “Joker’s Favor” so the episode can focus more on the Joker and his recent “hobby”, poor, unlucky Charlie Collins, a balding, middle-aged, underappreciated husband and father who’s frequently horrified and dumbstruck by the duality of the Joker’s insanity and menace. Charlie is an incredibly amusing and sympathetic figure; despite his loving wife and child, he’s beset by bad luck almost to the point of parody and completely helpless to avoid the Joker’s reach. Even changing his name and uprooting his family doesn’t help, and his desire to keep them safe is what drives him to both agree to paying the Joker back and going along with his latest madcap scheme. Even the Joker sees Charlie as worthless and impotent, never once believing he would have the guts to raise the alarm or fight back, which allows Charlie to scupper the Joker’s plan with his makeshift Bat-Signal and even bring the Clown Prince of Crime to the verge of tears by threatening his life. This final showdown between them is especially potent given the Joker’s familiarity with how important “one bad day” can be. He pushed Charlie to the edge, terrorising, manipulating, and threatening him, and can see that the man is ready to have his revenge even if it means his own death. However, in an ironic twist, Charlie actually picked up a few of the Joker’s habits, mainly toying with his victims, and pulled a cruel prank on his tormentor, tricking him into giving up the hold he had over the accountant to save his own hide.

Of course, “Joker’s Favor” is best known for including the first appearance of Harley Quinn. Harley actually briefly appears early in the episode, walking through the police department in her civilian disguise, though this isn’t expanded upon in the episode and is more of an Easter Egg for eagle-eyed viewers. Harley is depicted as a joyful, enthusiastic, devoted follower of the Joker. I described her as his cheerleader earlier and that’s incredibly apt as she claps, celebrates, and encourages every idea, action, and word her “Mistah J” says, no matter how bonkers his scheme may be. Although she only appears in her trademark harlequin outfit once in this episode, Harley is seen to be a master of disguise. She dresses as a chauffeur to pick up Charlie and masquerades as a police officer when infiltrating Gordon’s gala, raising no suspicion either time despite her loud and overly cheerful demeanour. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Harley in action here; she doesn’t bust out any gymnastics or her signature giant mallet. She does try to distract the Batman with her woe-is-me façade and surprise him with a knife attack, but is handcuffed with little effort from the Dark Knight. Similarly, we know nothing of her backstory, and she primarily exists as a more colourful henchwoman for the Joker, one he both openly confides in for his need for an appreciative audience and demeans with menial tasks like cutting his hair. Still, Harley excels in this role; you can tell that there’s more to her than the dumb, brutish thugs the Joker employs, and she steals every scene with her joyful and bombastic personality. Overall, this was an enjoyable episode for its main plot, but fans of Harley would be better served watching “Mad Love” (Lukic, 1993) or reading the original comic book of the same name (Dini, Timm, et al, 1993) for a more in-depth exploration of Harley Quinn, her relationship with the Joker, and her tragic origin story.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to “Joker’s Favor”? Did you enjoy the Joker’s tormenting of hapless Charlie Collins or did the lack of Batman action put you off? What did you think to Harley Quinn at the time, or how do you feel about this being her first appearance? Did she make much of an impression on you at the time and are you a fan of how widespread her popularity has become? What are some of your favourite Harley Quinn stories and moments, or episodes of Batman and the DCAU? There’s a comments section down below, feel free to use it to share your opinions, and be sure to check out my other Batman content across the site.