Is This Really the DCAU's Worst Episode? | The Terrible Trio | Batman The Animated Series
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2024
- This episode has the dubious honour of being labelled THE WORST EPISODE in the entire DC Animated Universe by series creator Bruce Timm. In this video I make a counter argument as to why it's not the absolute worst (although it is pretty poor!)
#batmantheanimatedseries #btas #batman #dcau #TheTerribleTrio
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:51 Their Comic Book Origins
2:24 The BTAS version
3:30 The Subtext
4:41 Comparisons to Batman
5:46 Where They Went Wrong
6:47 Poor Animation
7:30 Conclusion - Фільми й анімація
Honestly I find this idea of the Terrible Trio as a very interesting foil to Batman. Like him, they're rich as hell guys from Gotham's oldest and wealthiest families who decided to go out at night in animal themed disguises. But they are Batman's opposites in every other way. Bored rich assholes who do this for the thrills and because they think themselves untouchable vs. Batman's selfless crusade to help people. They could have done more with this.
With some reworks here and there (or not?), they could fit in Battinson's universe.
@@uncannydcmarvelous5732 Yeah I could see that.
EVERY VERSION OF THEM TO EVER EXIST IN EVERY FORM OF COMICS AND MEDIA HAD THEM DO MORE THAN THIS! Even versions that had them be spoiled brats had them be COMPETENT spoiled brats!
I'd like to see a different version of this episode where the Terrible Trio are Vigilantees for Sport, a kind of warped mirror of Batman, where they take no account for civilian casualties having no care for the common person
Add to the idea that they have absolutely no restraint towards their targets, to reinforce that Batman seeks justice, not hateful revenge. Maybe he takes the trio down specifically because they brutally attacked a desperate criminal.
Basically the Fans from Hotline Miami 2.
@@mattdamutt5681 Yeah, a very appropriate representation of what right wingers believe justice is. A different approach to the episode Lock-Up, where instead of abusing the mental patients the "new heroes in town" institute capital punishment on everything from jaywalking on up.
I think the terrible trio have great potential for a modern update. With the trend of “bank robbers w recognizable masks” I think they would be perfect for a opening movie action set piece where batman takes down the world famous bank robbers Mr. Fox Hawk and GW (great white). You could even have a scene transition to a tacky news headline that says “terrible trio trapped!”
Idk i think they have potential
It’s funny you say that, since publishing this video the Trio have featured in two separate storylines. They’re fairly prominent in the current Batman & Robin series, and we’re just in the first issue of Batman City of Madness.
It’d be better than what “the Batman” carton did with them: making them misfit college kids and making them interested in the occult
I also think they would work as a darker take maybe a group of rich guys who just love violence hotline Miami style. Maybe with their animal masks they all met at the court of owls
@@charlesman8722they weren’t interested in the occult in The Batman. They were misfits who used the mutagen serum developed by Dr. Kurt Langstrum a.k.a Man-Bat. They turned into the actual animals the trio usually are dressed as becoming actual animal hybrids and they used it against people they felt deserved it. With the Vulture member being a girl in that version.
@@charlesman8722 That incarnation of the Trio belongs in TMNT.
I actually like this episode. It’s opposite of other villains like the joke. It’s not a bad day its a boring day
"all it takes is a lifetime of boring days, Batman..."
the joke
One of the easy pitfalls of Batman is the potential glorification of the rich, which is why eps. like this are good. Bruce is the exemption not the rule.
I think this concept could work in live action, but it definitely needs some expansion I think this episode is middle-of-the-road, so I don't hate it as much as Bruce Timm does.
I can see James Gunn introducing these guys into his new DC Universe. He loves the obscure characters. The weirder, the better with that guy
They could be just three annoyances the Batman just goes through quickly enough. They shouldn't be major or intimidating threats, just a minor diversion.
Probably egotistical influencers working for a Livewire type character as minions deluded into thinking they're her partners.
I could see these guys as early year batman villains, existing just before the long halloween and the rise of crazy criminals, basically a forewarning of whats to come for gotham.
This is actually one of my favorite episodes just from the villains alone, not so much the villains themselves but the fact that they’re just a bunch of bored rich dbags. If this series was made today they’d be influencers based on the Paul brothers. Hell Warren kinda looks like one of them!
Edited to ad these guys’ concept was so interesting I tend to follow the same principle of land, sea, and air whenever I make DnD villains. Either that or go full Ginyu Force but that’s another story.
Or they'd be the kids of Donald Trump, Dick Cheney, and someone else the left hates.
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Exactly! I’ve seen people say, “Robbing people because you’re bored is a stupid motive!” but that was the point! Not everyone has some engaging backstory or lofty motive; some people are just selfish a-holes. Sadly there are cases like this in real life. Several years ago there was the “affluenza” case, in which a rich teenager hurt or killed someone while drunk-driving and his lawyer actually claimed, “My client should not be held responsible for his actions because he was too rich and spoiled to realize the consequences.” About a century ago, there was an infamous case (I think it was the Leopold and Loeb case, but I could be wrong) in which two privileged college students killed someone because they felt they were so smart and superior they could get away with murder (Spoiler alert: They did not in fact get away with murder).
@@karaoconnoraliasraidra
I guess the motivation is just too mundane for people.
Which I understand if you got this dude doing all kinds of horrible stuff.
Just to figure out the motivation is to get money. It feels like a bit of a letdown.
@@thereseemstobeenanerror1219 When you put it that way, I can see it from that perspective too. Sometimes motivations/backstories can leave you thinking, “That…That’s it?!”
The most unrealistic thing about this episode was seeing rich people in jail.
I at least liked the idea of Bruce tackling the rest of Gotham's rich and powerful. Shows why he's different from them. Even down to the fact that they have their riches given to them, like Bruce. Animation wise, I can see why though, it wasn't the strongest in the series, compared to Bane, On Leather Wings, Two-Face, His Silicon Soul or Feat of Clay. I would say that I've got Batman in my Basement is still worse.
yeah, BTAS is very critical of the rich industrialists of Gotham City - they're either crooks like Daggett and the Terrible Trio, or liars that ruin people's lives like Ferris Boyle and Daniel Mockridge.
@@SerumLakeI think Mockridge gets a bit of a bad rap. Yes he’s a greedy bastard, but Nygma should have known better than to attempt a lawsuit when went against the contract he knowingly signed
Seeing Fox saying...
I'll get justice!
The best money can buy!
Then seeing him sentenced, and going to a cell with cockroaches, not to mention a big, MEAN guy who is his cellmate, made this a favorite of mine.
Seeing Fox go from a spoiled, overprivileged rich jerk, to a terrified jailbird, is satisfying to me!
I really hate the line in the episode "Scoundrels like these are worse than the Joker. At least, he's got madness as an excuse". It makes it seem like three boring rich guys are worse than one of the biggest mass murderers in the history of the world.
He's talking about their reasons for doing what they do. If the Joker is truly criminally insane, he is dangerous and must be stopped, but he didn't choose to be that way (we can argue about whether or not he's actually legitimately insane all day, but it's not important for this. We can just take the story at its word for now) The Terrible Trio know full well, that what they are doing is illegal and wrong, but do it anyway because they are bored and feel they are clever enough to get away with it.
Yeah that's trying to overhype them too much.
What do you mean?
@@sporf_sporf There is a limit to that and Joker more than exceeds. It doesn't matter how insane or not Joker is or that the Trio are sane and choose to commit crimes anyway, what Joker has done and continues to do far removes him from a statement like that. Joker is an actual monster and the Terrible Trio in this episode are a lazy metaphor for the wealthy elite.
I suppose the line would be improved with a qualifier of "In some ways..." or something like that.
Ironically this one of my favorite episodes of the series. The villains feel very real verses the usual extremes we see in the rogues gallery. What holds this episode back is that the crimes the Trio commit aren't grand enough. I feel like Batman only gets involved because they effect Bruce Waynes' inner circle.
yeah, epecially comapred to the comics version which all had a theme to their crimes as well as a fun way to do the crime
I really like this episode exactly because of what you said about the theming of the episode, with these spoiled, insecure rich guys, and how they compare to Batman, based on how they choose to use their wealth
They're bored, rich punks who suffer from toxic masculinity, always trying to prove they are superior men, unable to escape their father's shadow. Bruce is held as a counterpoint, as he has no need to prove himself: his sacrifice and dedication would do his father proud.
I should mention The Batman (2004)'s version of them: jocks at Gotham University who steal Dr. Langstrom's animal formula and use it to enhance their abilities, providing a physical threat for Batman and Batgirl. They even turn half-animal when they overdose during the finale.
Batman: Brave and the Bold ties them to Bruce even further, portraying them as cocky martial artists who trained with Bruce, stole a forbidden artifact and betrayed his sensei to summon an army of shadows to invade Gotham.
toxic mascuilinity aint a thing
They must have taken Andrew Tate's Classes. Oh god......they took Andrew Tate's Classes(insert mentions of human trafficking).
I never understood why Timm and others considers this the worst episode. I always found it a pretty solid episode.
Totally agree with you about the animation but as far as the story, people just have to realizethe creators were trying to use different stories so that it didn't feel like a bad guy of the week type show. The irony being that the villians were so simplistic it had the opposite affect. I think its sad that even a sub par btsa episode is better than the best episodes of most other animated shows
Very true! Compare this with an episode of, say, He-Man, and it's like night and day.
@@SerumLake which He-Man? Because there's something like 5 different versions.
@nicholasfarrell5981 I would guess the original series. As much as I loved it as a child, it's not a series that holds up as well in rewatching as an adult, though I would bet young kids would still get a kick out of it.
I never took heed on the animation, what with the plot, the voice acting, and the music nicely eclipsing their weak points.
@@nicholasfarrell5981 let’s say the original Masters of the Universe, or The New Adventures of He-Man.
Pretty much agree with the sum up of this episode: It's weak but it's by no means the worst. They make the Terrible Trio a foil or evil counterpart to what Batman could have been if he'd gone another route. Like Bruce Wayne, The Trio are from elite families , however while Bruce became a better - albeit flawed man who honed his skills , used his resources to protect the innocent and fight crime, the Trio on the other hand are a bunch of apathetic rich thugs , who use their skills to rob and terrorise the elite of Gotham simply just for kicks . As pointed out in the video The Terrible Trio would have likely bought their way out of jail time - if their victims hadn't been Gotham's elite families . Even if you hate the episode, seeing the leader Fox/ Warren Lawford really get his comeuppance in prison with the added implication that Warren's cellmate is going to make his life a living hell or even worse make him a prison wife is very satisfying. It also reiterates the Trio were never really men to be feared or repected outside of their wealth . When they're met with an actual physical threat they're actually quite pathetic .
Honestly, every time someone talks about what they think is the worst episode, I end up just being really indecisive about what I think is the worst episode, because even the episodes in this series that aren't the best are still pretty good.
And I definitely wouldn't put this on either the best or worst list.
I've always found this episode incredibly satisfying, mainly because there are SO many rich people in real life who I wish would end up like them.
And their is so much adventures and luxuries that cater to the bored rich person that can do harm to the poor.
Sort of reminds me of rhe Steely Dan song Show Business Kids.
Honestly, it was nice to see an episode with more realistic villains for a change. This would have been a good chance to have Batman address white collar crime, but yeah, superheroes will never do that cuz the status quo must be maintained at all costs.
This was always one of the most iconic ones to me, growing up with it on VHS. Still love the animal masks and how they reflect Batman himself. Love the crime-noir setting. The chloroform being used on the love interest felt especially appropriate to the noir setting and pretty scary to witness as a kid.
On a side note, here in Sweden we have a TV tradition where every single December a brand new 24 part show is aired, starting December 1 and concluding December 24. This yearly Christmas calendar show (we call it Julkalendern) is usually Christmas themed or at the very least winter themed, and normally there's a new filmmaker at the helm each year, telling a brand new story.
The 2022 calendar, titled "The Crown Prince Who Disappeared", told an unusually dark tale which involved a masked man using chloroform to kidnap the queen... in the very first episode. This led to countless articles and comments on social media declaring the show way too dark and inappropriate for kids. Meanwhile I thought back on the BTAS days and just loving these slightly scary, yet highly intriguing elements of a more adult oriented story.
I'd say one appeal to the characters is that you can do a lot with their theme in different ways. In The Batman they were college kids who stole Kirk Langstrom's mutation formula and became mutates themselves to get petty revenge on their classmates while in Brave and the Bold they were fellow students with Bruce under one of his many masters (along with Bronze Tiger) and their masks were more like totems that all the students wore. Three guesses what Bruce's was.
When I was a kid this was my least favorite BTAS episode--but when I rewatched it recently it was OKAY, but I got why I didn't like it as a kid. It went in rather heavy on the psychological profile of three guys that boils down to "they're just assholes". So, for kid me, there wasn't a lot of spectacle here--just some assholes being assholes for several minutes.
Not gonna lie, that shot of Batman looming in the darkness while a grown man - wearing a Fox Mask, the symbol of a Predator - runs away scared by Batman reminds me of the scene from JJK where Itadori Yuji chases down Mahito in the mental snowy forest.
Did Gege take homage from Btas? Not sure, but that's a fun idea to think about.
It's honestly not hard to see why a lot of people including Bruce Timm consider this the worst episode in the DCAU. Any interesting characterization for any character is completely absent in this episode. The titular Terrible Trio simply have next to no value. They're not amusing, they're not sympathetic nor are they interesting. There's noting of real intrigue or clear goal we want Batman to succeed in instead of a completely monotonous "get the bad guy" element. The very concept of The Terrible Trio is just dull and predictable. The main idea of a small group of non-threatening rich guys robbing other rich people just because is not compelling in the slightest. Maybe it could have come across more interesting if a better script was provided but the final product doesn't reflect that. That's not to discredit the writing of Alan Burnett and Michael Reaves or the directing of Frank Paur but their skills do little to improve an alread flat story. One of the biggest problems with this episode, though not as big as its dull premise, is the poor and utterly inconsistent animation. Aside from a few impressive shots with the Batmobile, every established character looks a different off-model way from shot to shot and the movements are just beyond awkward and move at a very distracting pace. I don't know if I'd say it's the worst animated episode of the show but it's certainly down there. While everything I said stands true, the most inexcusable sin of this episode is that it's just plain boring which is really the worst thing a show or film can be and on a rewatch was the only episode that I genuinely nodded off whie watching. Although my personal least favourite episode of the DCAU is Cat Scratch Fever, The Terrible Trio is my second least favourite and I wouldn't even consider questioning anyone who has it at the bottom because quite frankly it deserves it but if anyone actually likes it I have no issue with that. For me, at the end of the day, The Terrible Trio lives up to its name.
I know this is early, but REALLY?! This is what he considers the worst episode? I mean it's not great, but it's not the worst. The villains are lame, but I love seeing obnoxious rich people get sent to prison, no matter how unrealistic it may be.
Have you read my script?!?!?! 😂
@@SerumLake I haven't, but I wish I could say I did! If I could see your script to read it from a distance, that would be insane! I'd using that kind of ability to see which game used game stores have the things I want most, and grab them before someone else does! 😁
Even considering that this episode is rather not all that great... it's still good. If this is the low bar, then MAN is that a good series.
The most annoying part is that it's a jab at the selfish spoiled rich people, which is low hanging fruit.
It's just... a decent episode among a great series.
Personally, I liked this episode. Unlike villains like the Joker, Two Face, or the Penguin, these three genuinely feel realistic. Three bored, entitled rich kids decide to commit crimes just to feel something. But more importantly, like many of the other villains, these three embody an aspect of Batman's persona. In this case, the billionaire playboy mask that Batman wears. It basically asks, what if that persona was the real Batman, and he never had that one incident that defined his life.
I feel like that's something that we don't often look at when it comes to Batman. The villains, even the bad ones, reflect some part of Batman. I mean, in The Batman, we have Cluemaster, a morbidly obese loser who wants revenge because he lost a quiz show once as a child. Like Batman, he's someone whose entire life revolves around a single defining incident from his childhood and cannot grow past it, and now lives in his parent's basement and strikes out at what he perceives as an injustice committed against him. While definitely more pathetic than Batman is, it is impossible to ignore the parallels between that iteration of the Cluemaster and Batman once they're pointed out.
The karmic ending alone makes watching this worth it. Not one of the show's best, but still deserves more love. I'd say it's somewhere in the middle of the ranking chart.
I enjoy Jokers Wild. It has a lot of funny scenes and the Joker gets a handful of menacing scenes
Shame the animation is so bad!
The setup for Joker's Wild is simply glorious.
@@Chadius Mark Hamill gives perfect delivery as always and I love his fight with Ivy. It’s also good set up for Harley and Ivy on why she hates him from the beginning
I was baffled by the hate of this episode. I always thought it was okay. If anything, it has aged well.
I liked it. It had a Leopold and Loeb kind of feel
i feel the core issue of the trio is how 1) they're so far less capable comapred to batman an 2) the focus is given to one rather than giving all three some strength, in comparison to the cmics where each memebr of the trio had some specialisation and all three were geniuses who created gadgets and gizmos to do crimes with. Rather than have all three be equals the majority of focus is on the fox as the leader (while weirdly i always saw the shark as the boss since he's also in the middle usually) and leaving the other two just also be there.
I'd say a better avenue is to have the vulture be a optortunistic coward (maybe have him be the gagdet/money man to represent an evil take on batman's resources, supplying the trio with everything they need for their crimes), fox as the strategist who always had a clever plan and the shark as the powerful brute (but not stupid, none of the trio should be stupid).
I do like the idea of making them a critique on the idle rich and as dark inversions of bruce wayne. I just think focusing on making them weak cowards lessens their impact especially since this was the msot mainstream appearance of the most forgotten batman villains ever.
I actually like the episode. The animation might be off at times, but I never had much of an eye for that (the terribly recycled animation in the old He-Man cartoons slipped right past me for years as well. It wasn't until I bought the box set that I realized that Beastman was being thrown into the same puddle of mud every episode, even when there should not have been any mud there at all.)
I liked the villains simply being straight forward rich contemptuous assholes that deserve the beating they get. There are better examples in the series though. Dagget and the mob bosses are much better social commentary than these three chuckleheads, and Roxy Rocket has largely the same base motivation as they do and doesn't get the same contempt from Batman. (Actually she might have been a fun way to use them again) The episode is certainly flawed, but I still enjoy it and am far more likely to watch it over "I've got Batman in my Basement." I actually don't mind "Superman's Pal" that much either.
Superman's Pal is not only a fine episode, but the supersonic watch pays off in the Aquaman episode.
To your credit, you make the episode sound more interesting than it actually is ;)
Personally I think the worst DCAU episode was Prophecy of Doom, which centers around a fake cult leader making rich, gullible people believe he's a psychic by making his titular prophecies come true...with the help of his partner and a lot of explosives
It's just a bit dull despite the campiness possible with the subject and the multiple explosions
The Terrible Trio, however, do feel right at home in Gotham. A group of spoilt rich kids using in-universe lazy disguises to vent their spleens taking what they want or getting revenge for slights thay they're 100% in the wrong for.
Although I do feel the version from The Batman (2004) cartoon has the best version of them, aging them down to high schoolers who were inspired both by Langstrom and his Man-Bat formila and Batman, who they just see as someone who does what he wants. It kinda has hints of Batman Beyond's splicers, with the trio litterally becoming the animal their old versions wore.
...which also reminds me of the Batman Brave and the Bold versions which while also making them turn into animal people have little else to do with their old incarnations, being villains for a tiger man to fight and learn humility or something I'm kinda just going off vague recolections here.
😷Sometimes we notice that "not very exciting" to some people often gets conflated with "bad". Like you said, with here The Terrible Trio is attempting to actually say something with it's story. It's a statement on the nature of wealth and morality and the abuses of power that comes with it. It's just not terribly exciting either.
You know, at our job we've talked about BTAS with a coworker and they've told us multiple times that their favorite Batman episode was, and we're genuinely serious here, the Batman in the Basement episode. It's true! At the time she watched it as a kid she was obsessed with it! Had no idea how everyone seemed to loathe it entirely.
And it makes us wonder about how we're adults, sitting here talking about episodes to a show primarily aired on children's networks. Sometimes we wonder if the reason some episodes are considered bad is this element of "yeah, I get it." that we adults have the benefit of already knowing. To a kid? Well, this might be their very first time dealing with these kinds of topics. So who knows?
Regarding the 'not very exciting=bad' mentality, I have an older coworker like that and the other day we were talking about Ted Lasso. He said it was bad show because of how Ted Lasso is and the location it was shot in was boring. For the record he used to work in the film industry. Used to being the keywords here. I pointed out that that's the point, its small town in the UK he's working in, Its a cultural shock thing. And he still didn't get it and went a rant about how people want exciting locations when I pointed out sometimes setting the scene in a boring location maybe what the story teller wants in their project. The man understands subtilty about as much as a brick to the face is subtly. Needless to say, I figured out a long time ago that there's a reason why he stopped working in Hollywood, and its not because he's a Republican.
Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest this comment seemed like an appropriate outlet.
🎹Th-thank you for sharing! It's a problem where something needs to be *happening* at every second all the time. A-As a writer ourselves, it's important to have the quiet, the s-slow paced! @@ryanbauer3680
Even the Court of Owls would have considered these guys annoying rich dumbasses.
It would have been funny if these guys had showed up on Batman Beyond after serving decades in prison and trying to get revenge on rich Gothamites.
Arguably a critique of the “billionaire thief” trope.
The first time a seen the Terrible trio was in batman brave andthe bold and they were alright it was the same episode it had Bronze tiger. Also they Straight up killed there mentor like straight on murder.
I had forgotten all about that episode, thanks for reminding me.
They were also in The Batman, where they were college kids that had managed to MacGyver up a version of Langstrom's serum to turn themselves into anthropomorphic animals.
@nicholasfarrell5981 Oh yeah, I remember them in that a little. It's little weird that brave andthe bold and The Batman mead them turn into animal hybrids at the head. No Offense to the Table trio but you do have to spice them up somehow 😅
Am always surprised on how death is a notable factor in The Brave and the Bold. Those moments sure is a perfect example on why the show shouldn't be judged as a dated Silver Age artifact just by looking at it.
@michaelandreipalon359 Yeah, looking back on it, it had a lot of death. Probably the most notable is the death of the Doom Patrol and b'wana beast
I would not be able to restrain myself from adding a Hotline Miami reference; all the same, great work as always
The sad part is we critique btas but this somewhat lesser episode is still better quality than 75% of all other television shows. Let alone animated children shows
Truth!
That, my friend, is Sturgeon's Law
I dunno… I think good kids shows are still getting made, it’s just that we’re older so that they’re not really surfaced to us as much.
The new She-Ra, Gravity Falls, Flapjack, the Voltron remake, Kid Cosmic and The Owl House all have solid writing and animation, and those are only the ones I can remember - and I’m not really the target audience anymore, so I’m sure there’s plenty more out there :-)
@@thatcopkranskyPity Voltron jumped the shark later on.
@@thatcopkranskyShe ra sucked. The writing was sloppy, animation and character designs were bland, and the message about redemption is undermined by poor execution. Even Owl house had better writing than she ra!
Funny thing is these three would be perfect candidates for an organization that was created (in real time, not 'Comic Time') years later: The Court of Owls 🙂
That’s a great suggestion
I have two criteria for judging how good something was, 'do I remember it?' And 'would I rewatch it?'.
For example, I don't remember "I have Batman in my basement", and I wouldn't rewatch it, so it is bad.
This episode, I remember it, but I'm not likely to go rewatch it, so it's middle of the road.
I find myself liking it more as I get older and more fed up with the rich man-babies that rule our world.
I actually liked this episode a lot.
Many of Batman's Rogues Gallery in the cartoons are clearly meant to be his foils in a variety of ways, like Dr. Langstrom becoming Man-Bat as "the next step of human evolution" but being dominated by his inner animal, or the Clock King's obsession with control (via time schedules), Baby Doll's being stuck in her childhood whereas Batman lost his completely, Roxy Rockett's self-destructive thrill seeking, Andrea Beaumont/Phantasm's seeking revenge by killing the mobsters, the Sewer King's enslaving children or Joker's entire existence.
The Terrible Trio feel less like a foil to Batman's persona, and more a foil to Bruce's as well. Entitled spoiled assholes who never had any hardship in life and yet become monstrous criminals for cheap sick thrills and pretend they're badasses versus Bruce, whose wealth eclipses them by far yet can never buy his parents' lives back and thus compensates by helping OTHER people.
Ironically, even their darkest interpretations are polar opposites: The Terrible Trio keep committing petty crimes because they deep down know they're privileged trust fund spoiled weaklings who never earned anything in life, whereas Batman keeps his endless crusade even at Gotham's expense because deep down he knows he can never truly his tragedy (or anyone else's) go away.
Actually the idea of Warren being the Anti-Bruce coulda been a interesting take
I take umbrage with the idea that Batman remembering humanity makes him better when crime out of boredom and and inheriting luxury are human sins, not the domain of other animals.
Otherwise, thank you for reminding me of an episode I otherwise forgot existed. This one is definitely better than Critters to me even though I know that one's a favorite of the BtaS crew.
The Trio have to be the most forgettable villains in the Batman franchise
Killer Moth is more memorable. Why on earth wasn't Killer Moth included in TAS?
I do not think the episode is the worse, but it is one of the weakest episodes.
Absolutely, there's a good reason why they didn't come back.
I heard a story that Paul Dini originally discussed using Killer Moth in Make 'Em Laugh, but decided to go with an original character, The Condiment King, instead.
@@SerumLakegod a love kill mouth but a can't leave in a world with out Continent king so he mead the right choice. Just wise he would have mead killer mouth later down the line maybe work with firefly or something.
I haven't seen this episode in a long long time, but I remember it was one I enjoyed. I liked the plot of spoiled rich punks out trying to get a thrill, to attempted murder and seemed ok with it. At least 2 of the 3 were struggling with the though of murder, but were the fan boys of Fox and complied with him.
Dangit Man, I'm this close to going and dusting off the BTAS DVD Sets and start rewatching them again. I tried a few years ago, and it was just so aged I found it difficult to watch. I had just watched through Batman Beyond, so it probably was not a good idea to jump right back to early 90's Animation right after that. Gotta say, out of all of the DCAU, Batman Beyond easily has the best animation in my opinion. After going from Batman Beyond to Justice League, I couldn't help but see a noticeable drop in quality.
2:31 Hey, it's Steve Korte! He's the DC licensing editor who hired me to pencil a BTAS coloring book in 1998. Nice to see him pop up in this video!
If you were gonna have Christian Bale in a Batman movie doing something besides being Batman, Warren would be the character he would play though. Imagine it. Batman versus Bateman.
At least it's better than the one about kids keeping Batman in their basement
Testify! 🙌
The vulture being part of the group is werid. Vultured are scvangers not predators. A hawk, eagle or owl would be a better preadator of the sky.
I think it works since Vulture here is the follower of the group.
I actually liked this episode.
However, I understand why it's B. Tim's least favorite episode.
The bad guys are essentially generic jock bad guys, and with all of the characters, they changed with having a better motivation, he probably wishes they were better than a generic jock.
That being said, the ending of the episode is kind of what redeems it. You strip away the money, prestige, and bravado, and he has to face the realization that he is now a roommate with a criminal.
I'd like to think that Bruce, not Batman, was move involved this time in getting Justice for the Terrible Trio.
There's a shot in this episode of Warren lying down after his beat down that always cracks me up. I was watching with a friend and she asked, "Why is he a painting?" Not only is he still as a Whitesnake night, the shadows make him look just like a painted portrait. xD
This television show is amazing i wished it could come back on cartoon Network back then 2000
One of the main criticisms I always hear of this episode is that the Terrible Trio are awful, unsympathetic and irredeemable, unlike some of the other bat-villains. Which is true, but I think that actually works.
The villain doesn't always need to be sympathetic, and the fact that these guys are cruel, pathetic, entitled assholes makes their final defeat all the more satisfying. Especially Warren's final scenes with Batman and when he's in prison. This is one of my more repeat-watch episodes.
I didn't hate this episode and i don't think it even makes my top ten worst DCAU episodes (the Underdwellers and Doomsday Prophecy are probably up there with I've Got Batman in my Basement).
I think it was a good foil to show that Batman/ Bruce Wayne isn't like the terrible trio. He doesn't do what he does out of boredom it's out of duty.
Animation flubs aside its an okay episode.
And league's better than some of the worst episodes.
honestly the Terrible Trio is among my favorite Top 20 episodes of the series (maybe edging out at 11) because I actually do find their dynamic of the wealthy elite seeing crime with no care for the gain as a thrilling sport to be an interesting character trait for them since this and the later "The Batman" series portrays the Terrible Trio as a band of self imposed misfits that make themselves stand out on some kind of principle, for here is elitisms and the other is social outcasting.
I mean it's not particularly good but I wouldn't call it the worst. Like that ending with Fox getting shoved into his cell and the look on his face as he looks around and it sinks in how screwed his is was very satisfying. Like on that note sometimes its just kinda cathartic when villains have absolutely zero sympathetic qualities and you can just really enjoy Batman beating the crap out of them.
It's always the extraordinarily outrageous mundane evils that can surprise one who is so familiar with the likes of supervillain rogues galleries. These three are no exception, and it's no surprise as to why they actually have other iterations and successors in certain DC works as years went on.
By the way, the worst DCAU ep may probably be the painfully too mundane "Prophecy of Doom", or perhaps the Dwayne McDuffie-hated, NBA-centered datedness of "Hoop Squad" (Warner Bros. sure has a hard-on with them, especially with the movie Steel and the Space Jam duology in mind... a pity, considering I'm not fond of the sport). Even then, however, they really shouldn't be skipped and be duly discounted via fanon discontinuity, unlike The Zeta Project.
Addendum: Am bummed that the fate of Sheldon Fallbrook is left hanging... I assume he stayed permanently comatose, but still. Also, Fox's line against Sheldon sure got nicely echoed by Darkseid against Superman later in Justice League S2E27-28 - "Twilight".
One of my favorite episodes. Shocked to learn people don't like them
I don’t why they deserve the hate because as I said they could have been like Penguin where he is what Batman would have become if he used his money for personal gain instead of helping people, but they could just be one trick ponies as they are no threat to Batman
I admit I like the Terrible Trio a bit unironically.... but I also confess that as a kid I would not have bought an action figure of any of them even on sale.
The dudes could apparently afford to put a little effort in their costumes. They just bought a mask and called it a day!
In "The Batman" they made them Teenagers with access to Langstrom's research, so the animal motif was more on the nose (they actually transformed into anthropomorphic animals), oh and Vulture was female in that one.
Then in The Brave and the Bold, they kinda returned them to rich entitled heirs who trained with the same martial arts master as Bruce (But in their case just for the Thrill of it, and were kicked out for their attitude) and then with magic device turned into anthropomorphic versions of their animals
Personally, I think this episode is fine. I've always felt that the worst episodes of the DCAU are the really dramatic ones that deal with organized crime. They always come of as so stereotyped in their characterizations and so reductive in their morals that they never land for me. At least goofy episodes like I've Got Batman In My Basement or Superman's Pal aren't trying to do something big and failing. They were intended to be goofy little stories, and they are.
I don't think it's worst. I like the ending of what happen to the trio & animation is much better than Cat Scratch Fever.
I liked this episode too!
I'd also like to see these guys in a future movie or something.
Hope BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER doesn't have bad episodes and rip Kevin Conroy
With the writing team they have, I'm sure it'll be great. Ed Brubaker is one of my favourite comic book writers, and his past Batman comics were great.
@@SerumLakeYes but JJ Abrams in involved so I am very worried.
@@zemox2534 Funnily enough, I haven't heard much about his involvement since the initial announcement. Lots of talk about Bruce Timm and James Tucker's roles, as well as Ed Brubaker, but not much about Reeves and Abrams.
It may have at least one broken base episode. It's always a given nowadays.
It's a very relevant episode today, and I wish we didn't spend two decades as a society burying the insights and truths of the 90s.
well said.
The trio is like a dark reflection of Bruce Wayne, he could have been a rich asshole like them.
Agree with you, maybe it's one of the worse episodes of Batman The Animated Series, but it's not the worst episode of the DC Animated Series.
Thank you for your hard work in making the video.
I can think of two series that feature Batman that have the terrible trial done in more interesting way the first the Batman, where they’re basically loaners who deconstruct bully hunters who don’t care what innocence people get hurt and seem to enjoy torturing their bullies the second Batman brave in the bold where their former classmates of Batman, and joined a Mystikal clan of warriors to steal a totem that can turn them into animals but fox is the only one who we know joined it just for a thrill so the comparison to Batman works even better
I think the episode is pretty good, batman faces people whomst he may have become if not for the deaths of his parents
The Terrible Trio are three forgotten Batman villains from the comics and those three appeared in only one episode of BTAS episode. But they came back in The Batman and Batman: The Brave and The Bold!
And it’s interesting how future episodes with these villains have them transforming into literal animals (Batman Brave & the Bold as well as The Batman). I wonder how they’d show up in Justice League… would they be shown as jokes or as serious threats?
"I've Got Batman In My Basement" is acceptable for the title of worst, even though there are worse over the whole animated universe. This episode is not even in the bottom 25. It's right up there with Gillian and Skipper as henchmen out to kill Cousin Oliver, Ward and June Cleaver!
No, that's actually better.😅
yeah gotta agree Batman in my Basement was ALOT worse then this one...lol
I think it's decent or at least ok from what I've seen of it
I'm sensing a reoccurring theme here with 'I've got Batman in my Basement' being called out in so many videos. It's a goofy, light hearted genre break.
I actually really liked this episode
Mainly because even though I like feeling empathy for the villains, it's good to watch an episode where you just hate them and don't feel sorry for them so it's great when Batman finally gives them what they've got coming
I always personally liked this episode, not my favorite by any means, but it was decent enough. I’d hardly call it the worst DCAU episode, that “honor” goes to I’ve Got Batman in My Basement IMO.
AGREED!
Yeah I really liked this episode. I've always found the terrible trio to be super lame in concept alone, but the reimagining of them as spoiled rich bastards who are ultimately very weak was really interesting to me.
Honestly the REAL worst episode of BTAS is "Moon of the Wolf"
The Animation by AKOM is at it most rough
The framing device on the flashback to present day is quite confusing.
Batman is written quite strangely under the writing of Gerry Conway [of Amazing Spider-Man fame]. He's noticeably more quippier than usual [abusing his "Shaggy" line per ratio in his dialogue], and had some trouble believing the actual werewolf he faced is real and assumed it was a "man in a costume".
[So we're going to ignore episodes like "On Leather Wings" and the episode that came before it in production order "Tyger Tyger" [which is a really underrated episode] sure, ok. Bruce]. ]
Also Professor Milo was such a weak villain. His vicinity is pretty much a kiss of death for Batman episodes [looking at you "Cat Scratch Fever"] and Moe Howard called Milo, he want his look back.
In The Batman show there was a version of the terrible trio…that episode was garbage. The designs of the trio were awesome buuuuut their personalities were just evil college kids who were grouped in the big dumb stupid one,the mean girl and the mean nerd.
The Terrible Trio are animal-themed and rich like Batman but lack his martial arts, scientific detective, and hundreds of other pulp hero skills. They need battle cars, black belts, and ray guns to be on Batman's level!
Rich and inadequate... That describes basically every furry I've ever seen
You know what the problem with the comic version of The Terrible Trio was, they didn't have any one to represent fire. Maybe they should have teamed up with Firefly.
i never had a problem with his episode. i actually like it. it's a good break from another joker episode. i like the joker, but he was given a bit too many episodes. so this is a breath of fresh air along with other episodes like the forgotten, i' ve got batman in my basement, and see no evil which i love. micheal gross was amazing in that episode. the episode i found really boring was vertigo, red claw part 2, and i forget the name of the episode but it's where catwoman is poised by a stray cat. i don't know why, those episodes never caught my attention.
I always really liked the episode, but maybe that has more to do with my obsession of obscure Batman villains than the actual quality of the episode.
I feel like the Terrible Trio would work better if they were a group of spoiled bored rich kids who end up being goons for the Riddler or Joker that are in way over their heads.
I've always had a soft spot for The Terrible Trio as a villain group, even if they are almost completely changed every time they are used.
If BTAS often villafied the rich and wealthy elite, i can only image what they could of done with the Court of Owls.
I love the contents of this episode, I just wish the execution was done better. The idea of criticizing, the wealthy elite and the privilege and show how disconnected they are and how boring their lives truly are it’s always important.
I always found the Worry Men to be the worst episode of Batman: TAS. It's so forgettable. Even though it has Mad Hatter as the villain, and he's always pretty solid, he is completely unable to help the Worry Men episode.
Definitely not the worst btas episode. I actually liked it a lotbas a kid. Because it showed a different light on what could have happened to Batman
I actually like The Terrible Trio, they should be in live action if where to adapt them here's what I'd do: I'd combine all three incarnations of the Trio from the Batman Cartoons we've seen them in
But They would be gender swapped to Female and they'd be the Bastard illegitimate daughters of The Original Terrible Trio who are Wanda Lawford (Fox), Amanda Lydecker (Vulture) and Georgina Hardwick (Shark) who are young wealthy women in there early 30's with lavish cushy lifestyles who became childhood friends through their fathers who were bored who craved for more riches and more luxurious stuff in life, they become
Criminals for the Thrills), they'd go round Gotham robbing Banks, Casinos, Jewelry Stores and they'd go a step further and break into People's houses (Rich or Poor to them it doesn't matter), they also would have zero regard or empathy for Humanity, They'd also be Martial Artists apparently been Trained by Ra's Al Ghul and The League of Assassins, they also modeled themselves after watching The Witches of Eastwick
Wanda (Fox) would be a Caucasian Redhead who's the stoic leader who would be cynical of Society, she's Smart, Ruthless, Cunning, Manipulative and Sociopathic.
Georgina (Shark) would be the Closest thing to a Brute, she would be the Hotheaded of the Girls, she would be a Black Haired Brunette, she'd be Caucasian
Amanda (Vulture) would be the brainy tech savvy member but has a cowardly scavenger personality also has something of an inferior Complex, she'd be a Blonde, she'd be Caucasian
I liked the The Batman twist on these characters, where they're just some geeky college students who get picked on and take revenge by utilizing patches they were given by Manbat to turn them into Were-Three
BTAS is one of the best Batmans ever, including the live action versions. This episode stinks like a full litter box but the one with the kids is way worse. With how long the series went on there are bound to be some stinkers, that's just the bell curve of averages work. If I'm remembering right it also came out around the time of another spat of rich kids thinking they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it because mommy and daddy were rich and connected.
6:53 I appreciate the detail of the pre-RJ-11 telephone jack here.