EPISODE NUMBER: 12, Production Code 112

PLOT SUMMARY:

As a giant statue of Nemesis is constructed, a van pulls up to a bank and ... the Joker and his two goons Punch and Judy make their entrance. They use "Joker putty," which transforms anything it touches into putty, to get into the vault. They leave but the police are waiting. The Joker sprays the van and his henchman with bouncing fluid to make their escape.

Chief Rojas isn't happy with the effect all the criminals are having on Gotham and the fact it's the Batman who is bringing them in rather than the police. He declares open season on all criminals, including vigilantes, and Bennett suggests they should work with the Batman - Rojas rejects that suggestion. At the statue of Nemesis, the Joker sprays his putty on the statue's face and his goons redesign it to the "mask of comedy." The Batman arrives and takes on the goons while the Joker finishes his redesign. Bennett & Yin arrive while the Batman knocks out Punch & Judy and Bennett draws down on Batman. The Joker finishes his work and is disappointed that the police consider Batman a greater threat.

Yin's arrival allows the Joker and his goons to escape and Bennett grabs Batman. Bruce throws Bennett free and is forced to help him rather than let the Joker escape. Yin knocks Bennett back onto the catwalks while the Batman escapes. Back at the manor, Bruce considers sharing his secret with Bennett, while Rojas expresses his displeasure with the detectives and threatens to fire Bennett if he screws up again. Bruce meets with Bennett, but they're interrupted by a Joker sighting. The Joker is stealing golden masks of tragedy and comedy and Bennett interrupts, but is taken captive. Yin and Batman separately find the Joker's lair where the Joker uses a hypnosis wheel on Bennett to play up his fears of Batman and his boss. Yin gets the drop on Joker but he threatens to use his putty-chemical on Bennett. Batman disarms the Joker, but Bennett inhales a dose of the gas.

Batman pursues the Joker into a mirror maze and manages to knock him out. However, Yin holds Batman at gunpoint but decides to let him go in return for saving Bennett ... but she warns him that next time she'll capture him. As the Joker is hauled away, Bennett starts to freak out, snapping at Rojas. Rojas suspends Bennett, who goes home still feeling the effects. Bruce calls him at home and they agree to meet the next day where Bruce will tell him the "big news," but as Bennett looks in the mirror, he sees his face begin to melt ...

WRITTEN BY: Greg Weisman

DIRECTED BY: Sam Liu

CAST:
Rino Romano (Bruce Wayne / Batman)
Alastair Duncan (Alfred Pennyworth)
Ming-Na (Detective Ellen Yin)
Steve Harris (Detective Ethan Bennett)
Kevin Michael Richardson (the Joker)
Jesse Corti (Chief Angel Rojas)

QUOTES:
As Ellen Yin holds the Joker at gunpoint)
Joker: (points putty gun at Ethan) Drop it, Detective. You don't know what this stuff does to humans. (Ellen lowers her gun) Come to think of it, neither do I. Let's find out! (fires)

Joker: A very thin line separates normality from insanity!

INTERESTING NOTES:
- This episode is loosely based around Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke," written in 1988. The story, originally intended to be a one-shot out of continuity story, details parts of the Joker's origin and is most famous for the scenes where Joker shoots Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) and kidnaps her father. Many parallels can be drawn between the two, including Joker's attempt to drive his hostage insane, parts of his origin, and a showdown in the hall of mirrors.

SCREEN GRABS: