Just gonna say it, a good Baby Doll follow up would've involved it being revealed Baby Doll could've been treated for her condition, but her parents and agent never told her about it and she goes out for revenge after learning the truth. That keeps her sympathetic and her motives understandable while continuing her character's theme in regards to the dark, twisted sides of show business.
Maybe could end with Bruce paying for the procedure to help her grow (if we get future one it could show if her villainy was just aspect of her anger at the world and she legit sorry or she truly was bad person and just blame it on her disease)
I know it's become a joke by now, but what's more likely to kill Batman? A labyrinth full of traps potentially giving him tools to use against you, a highly specific death trap that gives away your operating style at a glance? Or dropping something very heavy on his head when he's not looking? Croc may not be smart, but he keeps it simple.
What bothers me about Baby Doll is that she (apparently) wants to be treated like the adult she is, but simultaneously continues the infantile voice and persona she used on her TV show. This made sense when she was trying to 'make believe' she could bring back the good old days in her original appearance, and it could make sense when she's trying to trick people into thinking she actually is a small child, but it makes no sense whatsoever when she's alone with Croc.
I think she was backsliding. Her time on the show was some of her happiest moments, so when she's happy, she can't help herself, but act that way. She wants to be treated like an adult, but she's been acting like a child for so long she's comfortable in that mindset in spite of it being counterintuitive to her desires. It's a compulsion that she can't help, but divulge in. Working at the motel she was acting like an adult, but she was miserable. Partly because that guy and probably others recognized her, but adulthood sucks you have bills to pay and you have to work a job you might hate just to make money. Childhood is much easier and happier so I think Baby Doll was pretending to be a child around Croc because she was actually happy and lost herself in the bit. Keep in mind she's not a mentally stable person. This is a woman who was rightly sent to Arkham and as anyone with mental issues will tell you, sometimes you backslide into old habits all you can do is try what you know gets you back on the right track. Croc was an enabler for Baby Doll even if he wasn't consciously trying to be.
i think thats the point, she wanted a fantasy life with croc that was never going to be real, and she could never be her real self because they never connected, they just had a bit in common but no real relationship
Like others said, it's part of her emotional problems. Her insanity or mania. It didn't make any sense when she first did it. It was a persona she retreated to. Her crime was always crazy.
@@DracoMagnius It would have been nice to have the episode meaningfully acknowledge that. As I recall, once Killer Croc and Baby Doll are together, it pretty much forgets that she wants to be seen as anything more than her former TV character.
On one hand the Chemistry of Babydoll & Killer Croc is alot like Bonnie & Clyde minus what happens to Bonnie & Clyde in real life & the other hand you gotta feel sorry for Babydoll she want someone to understood her bein different due to her appearance just don't ask what Killer Croc & Babydoll do on date even I don't wanna talk bout it
I feel like a huge missed opportunity for the show was not pairing up Baby Doll and the Mad Hatter, because I feel like they would have worked well in maintaining eachother's fantasies. Baby Doll gets to live in a fantasy world, while Hatter gets to have an Alice to work off of. Then again, with Hatter's redesign, it would have seemed a but uncomfortable to watch.
I think another interesting duo would likely have been Baby Doll and Clayface, since they were both actors whose careers were ruined - one because his appearance was disfigured, and the other because her appearance never changed. Would have to do a bit more brainstorming to find out exactly how they would work together, but the basic premise seems good on paper at the very least.
3:22 I don't know what is more cursed, the relationship between Croc and Baby Doll or the fact that it is still more morally acceptable than Bruce and Barbara's.
I feel like because baby doll is adult in child body and I think same age has croc so it look weird because the size differences but it is basically to adult in same age range while Bruce and Barbara are further in age and Bruce mostly act has father/big brother figure to her so it makes it weirder)
Yea, because despite her looks, it’s clear Baby Doll is still a grown woman. Barbara is literally half Bruce’s age, not to mention he basically saw her grow up, so he’s more of an uncle figure if anything. The relationship between the two is just too close for comfort.
I still can't believe Batgirl would joke about Baby Doll and Killer Croc " Dating!" That bit with Batman saying " I don't wanna think about it!" still had me in stitches!❤😂
I'm not even sure Baby Doll is physically capable of the sort of relationship implied here. The disease essentially keeps her physically a child due to a lack of hormones. Maybe that's why she's so tragic, she literally is physically incapable of having a truly adult relationship and as much as she wants to be treated as an adult, she literally is only capable of having a child's idea of a romantic relationship.
In a way, Baby Doll's actions are similar to how a woman would fall for a criminal. She thinks the two will get along, sympathizes with him, tries to change him or at least be his partner, but everything doesn't turn out to be roses and daisies. Granted Baby Doll did relate to Croc, but the similarities to how some gals fall for a criminal is present.
It's a shame that this is the last appearance of Baby Doll, who in the entire DCAU only had a couple of episodes. I think we can all agree that she was a great villain who deserved many more appearances. The most attractive thing about the character is her enormous contrast with Batman, since, while Bruce was forced to leave his childhood early, Baby Doll was forced to never be able to put it aside, causing her to not progress in life and remain mentally stuck in her past, even if her first years of popularity were not so perfect. In fact, this famous quote by Sally Jupiter (who is also a former star who takes refuge in her nostalgic memories because it is her only consolation method) represents Baby Doll's thoughts: "Every day, the future looks a little bit darker. But the past... even the grimy parts of it... keep on getting brighter."
You kidding? She is LITERALLY my favorite Batman villain. Even though I've had one or two people say she doesn't count because of her limited non-comic appearance. I frequently wonder why she never got upgraded like Harley Quinn did. Honestly I think the biggest hurdle would be keeping her sympathetic despite the multiple appearances. But TAS found a way to achieve that with Freeze so I don't think it's un-doable.
@@soul6733 Another perfectly valid reason. Truth is there are multiple valid reasons. Still sucks she isn't an actual stay in the Batman's Rogue Gallery
The most fascinating thing about Killer Croc is that, unlike other villains with a tragic past due to a physical dysphoria, Croc's philosophy is not "I only do what the world has forced me to do to survive", but "Meh, I just love being an *sshole", not to mention that he does not hesitate to victimize himself and say society is the only one reponsible for his crimes everytime he gets caught. Not all tragic villains deserve sympathy.
It's kind of why I prefer the Arkham universe Killer Croc. He's so disfigured by his deformities and the abuse he's taken over the years that his croc persona won over making him relish murder and cannibalizing on his victims.
I absolutely loved baby doll. I think she has great potential as a sympathetic character or woman driven insane by her condition. I think they should have shown her really trying to slide back into society. A montage of all her failing attempts. Like dating online only for the guy to write a dear Jane letter after their first real-life meeting. He explains that he can't deal with her childlike appearance and the looks others are giving him. Not allowed into a club, pulled over while driving. Etc. I thought a better team up would have been Clayface. A backstory that they knew each other before their tragedies since both are actors. That that they are the same age. He was the first one she told about her condition. We watch him age while she remains the same. We see he was the producer on her Shakespeare play. He was always a fan and one cheering her on. But after the clayface incident, they lost touch when went into hiding. Without him, she spiraled. Their renewed relationship has a romantic spark as clayface is able to appear young. But maintaining that form proves difficult. He wants to be their for her, but it's impossible to stay small. Another thing I would change is Mary doesn't return to crime. Clayface wants a score to leave this all behind just the two of them. Mary plans it against her better judgment. The ending Batman and Batgirl catch them but Clayface creates a baby doll clay minion that melts. He says that Mary was never involved. He made her to throw them off his tracks. In the end we see Mary alone.
@thegamingcyberman149 doesn't have to be since it was never established in the series. However I could work with that. Just make a friendly date between friends. He wants to show her a good normal time. Clayface as a young boy takes he to an amusement park, a movie and ends off with them sitting on a bench in the park. The looks from on lookers is one of approval and how adorable seeing young love. Something Baby never gets on regular dates. We can even have Clayface excuse himself the run off and revert to normal size with sweat showing how hard it is too maintain this child form.
@thegamingcyberman149 and to cement his preference. Have Mary say it was the best date ever. Clayface: uh Mary you know I'm.... Mary: shh Matt I couldn't ask for a better friend. Clayface: Yeah friends.
@@RegBeta yeah because maybe it would been better if Croc was with someone like the Cheetah because if he was in the injustice league I could see him Force kissed Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl just for fun
Love is a Croc is one of my favorite episodes. Killer Croc is my favorite dc villain and Mary Dahl is such a good character with so much potential. She should’ve had more appearances and focus. Also, I think they could’ve worked as a couple if Mary didn’t act too much like a child around him. They understood each other when it came to being treated different because of prejudice. He was more interested when she acted like a natural adult, but because she feels the most happy in that role it wasn’t gonna happen. If they communicated about it surely it would’ve ended better and I wish it did because Mary deserves to be happy.
Steve Gerber is a true underrated gem. I loved his Elseworld duology "Superman: Last Son of Earth" and "Last Stand on Krypton", which tell the story of a human Superman from Earth who was sent and raised on Krypton. A truly creative and bizarre Superman story
@@Davidsworldtravels I've read it. From memory he's crippled there. Becomes a GL for a bit. Then ends up back on earth with "super powers" anyway. The story isn't bad. But it doesn't really work. Like, why, it doesn't really say anything about the character and it's happenstance. I mean the GL part is cool. It's not like anything is bad about it.
Even though the episode was clearly not to your liking still thanks for brining your A-game when it came to the review, that's why you're all the best!
4:33 That's one of the things I recalled about this episode when it came on. They confirmed that he definitely killed somebody. We all know that Gotham criminals kill it's citizens, but it was only eluded to in the original series.
This episode shows too well how New Batman Adventures flanderized many characters from both main roster and one-shot characters not only by weird design choices but also how they written. I liked "Baby-Doll" episode of BTAS but this one ruins magic of well written character that was Baby Doll. And what a shame to what happened to Killer Croc...
My problem with Baby Doll’s new design comes down to what the simplicity of it takes away from the original. Whilst she did look like a Tiny Toons character, it was an impactful juxtaposition when Dahl would showcase her anger and sadness. You really felt for her in those moments. And a small yet big factor of this is because we could see her eyebrows. Whilst eyes are the most expressive part of the face, eyebrows further broaden the expressions and allow a variety of different ways of the same emotion to be showcased just by altering the shape and position of them. Her new solid fringe now largely obstructs this important feature and now she constantly looks to be in perma-frown even when she is supposed to be happy. This change hides so much that it limits and hinders her performance.
I still say the 2004 The Batman Killer Croc redesign might be my personal favorite of all the Killer Croc looks AND voiced by Ron Perlman is a big win too
@@srstriker6420 but him literally being a lizard is ok? It's a real thing that happens. It just got exaggerated. It's like Danny devito's penguin isn't a real penguin.
I personally like to forget about this episode and have the original episode of BabyDoll be her first and last appearance. Gives me hope that she got the help she truly needed and has moved on with her life.
Baby-Doll: "I heard what you said to the judge. I want you to know that I understand about being different. You've never let the way you look undermine your self-confidence. I admire that. I feel somehow that we're kindred spirits"
Personally, I would've teamed baby doll with the ventriloquist. Scarface becomes infatuated with this woman who's his size/looks like a doll or puppet. On her end, Mary is creeped out by the dummy, but falls in love with the shy, gentle wesker, who shares those feelings but is terrified of stealing "his boss's moll". A possible story that would look bizarre and comical on the surface, with a sympathic human core. Another possibility would be doll forming an odd friendship with clayface, both being former actors whose careers are long behind them, and villain identities informed by strange physical conditions
One thing I found particularly disappointing was the recasting of both Killer Croc and Baby Doll. Laraine Newman is fine in the role, she does a serviceable job on her own merits, but she pales in comparison to Alison La Placa, who offered a much more impactful and nuanced performance, particularly thanks to the sharp contrast between the jaded, depressed middle-aged Mary Dahl when she’s lucid and her cloyingly cutesy Baby Doll persona when she relapses into her make-believe world, while Newman’s take lacks that dichotomy and is more like a discount Harley Quin (generic perky, childish female character). And while Killer Croc was hardly the best villain in the original series, he was fun as a boorish oaf of a bruiser that was still competent enough to be a threat to Batman and Aron Kincaid really nailed the character they were going for, while here (besides looking like a wholly different character, but I’m beating a dead horse XD), Crocs is reduced to just a generic brutish thug, lacking those oafish qualities that made him fun, and fittingly enough, Brooks Gardner offers a pretty generic performance. Also, while they artificially lowered his voice in this episode (which adds to his blandness), in “Judgement Day”, it sounds like Gardner’s performance went unedited (but remains equally bland).
another case where they opted for the lazy character progression of "Im an asshole now" with Croc and Baby Doll got utterly flanderized after only one appearance which really sucks
You know what I just realized? That the episode would've worked better with Baby Doll's original VA. She knew how to make her sound like a grown woman who likes to play pretend. Meanwhile, this version sounds too much like a child in both in her "normal" voice and her sitcom voice.
For some reason, Baby Dahl stretching to reach the keys in the opening scenes of the episode strike me as the most tragic. It's a show of how people with deformities struggle in what a normal person would think nothing of. And it subconsciously just made me so sad, I think, when I was a kid. It sticks with me for so many years.
This wasn't really an episode I ever really thought about past a first viewing. It's just not as strong as other BtAS episodes. But you're right, it could have been something. Even something as small as Baby Doll acting normal in their hideout would have probably elevated it a bit. Instead, it just comes off as forgettable and makes her a gimmick character. Which is weird considering at the start of the episode, she seems to be acting like an adult and gets annoyed at being reminded of her past. Really sad as her first appearance is so memorable. She doesn't have near as many appearances as other villains. Many of whom have strong and weak episodes but can be remembered fondly. Croc is probably the only villain in BtAS that doesn't have a strong memorable episode to his name. And this could have been a great turn around in that department. Some may argue that he is bringing down a more interesting and sympathetic villain (Croc isn't exactly either in his previous appearances), but it didn't have to be that way. At the end of the day, maybe it's all for the best. I don't exactly want to imagine what sex between the two of them would be like. For a lot of reasons.
If they’d brought back Baby Doll in the Justice League cartoon it might have been nice to see her team up with Toy Man. The idea that they’d see a crime spree as a kind of “play date” could have worked.
I remember watching this as a young lad when my mom caught the scene where Croc hits Baby and forbid us from watching the series. I didn't watch it again till way later.
Killer Croc here is the Hulk where he was originally grey before turning green like in the previous series he was grey and when he is wearing a hat and coat he looks like the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers
I feel sorry for Baby Doll, She was a tragic character. Always stuck in a child like body, never being able to become a full sized and normal person, and always getting disrespected by others due to her illness. That would be hell, and I can say the same for crock. Must be bad getting treat different due to looking like a monster. But we have to remember, these two are killers and thieves to. They can't use there deformities as an excuse to do what they did, they could have used them for good but being mistreat like the way they where, no wonder they both went down the wrong path. But that's the thing with great bad-guys, you feel bad for them and hate them the same time.
With that being said, I'm with Walter on not being a fan of either Croc's redesign or his rewritten personality. In BTAS, he had that distinctive gargoyle-ish look with grey skin, spiky bumps, pointed ears, and a contorted face. So why turn him into a generic crocodile person a middle schooler could've drawn? And while he was far from genuis level, he definitely wasn't a dumb brute who only rammed into things in a fight. Hell, his voice used to be distinctively gravelly.
Has Baby Doll ever been in anything ever again? Cause ive never seen her in any other animated series or game. And i used to think the Mad Hatter was under-utilized!
Brooks Gardner Was My Drama Teacher In High School, He Told Us All He Did Alot Of Voiceovers But When I Confronted Him On Voicing Killer Croc After Watching The DVD Of The New Batman Adventures, He Denied Voicing Him, Even Though His Voice Sounds Exactly Like Killer Croc's In TNBA
@@MrBird2007 I Don't Know, I've Always Wondered Why, I Even Told Him I Wasn't After His Autograph Or Anything But He Could Tell Me And He Still Denied It
@@srstriker6420 I'd Say Neither, For The Definitive Voice Of Killer Croc, I'd Pick Ron Pearlman In The Batman Or Whoever Voiced Him In The Arkham Games
I've always hated how pretty much every non-comic interpretation of Killer Croc (even BTAS) completely misunderstands his whole character and ruins him.
I was never happy to see Baby Doll return. She distinctively felt like a character who should have been a one and done given her story was so effectively singular. Having her come back to be another generic rouges gallery addition is something I will always be down about.
1:08 Ohhh, cut the crap Croc. The circus people in Sideshow all related to how different he was and were nothing but nice to him. He CHOSE to become what he is.
I thought this was a great episode. I felt so bad for Baby Doll. She wants to be treated like an adult, but it's so hard for her because of her condition and she's working a job she doesn't seem to like. It was so much easier for her to fall into old habits. So much easier for her to be used by Croc. Poor woman wants to be treated like an adult, but can't escape her former self. I took her acting like a child even in private as her backsliding into her old persona even if he wasn't trying to Croc was enabling her to fall back into her toxic nostalgia. She's not mentally stable and sometimes people fall back into their bad habits.
One other thing that I think they messed up with Baby Doll in this iteration is that they seem to not have been able to decide about her mouth/lips. She doesn't have the black lips in the fragment of her TV show, but keeps them when she is in her kid persona. When she was pretending to be an adult, wearing "obvious" makeup made sense, she was trying to look like an adult. But when she is trying to pretend to be a kid, it actually gets a little creepy, like she is trying to (pun intended) "doll" herself up for Croc. The episode already has some inevitable pedophilia tones as is, keeping those lips just makes them a little stronger.
It would be different in this way: Baby Doll did try and have Killer Croc turns from his life of crime. It's a bit like from the episode with the circus freaks but he was actually working thanks to Baby Doll trying to treat Croc as a human and not a monster. But in a twisted story, Croc and Baby Doll were accused of things they haven't done anything and so Batman confront them. This leads to Croc abandoning the normal life Baby Doll provide him and make him return to his life of crime. Batman defeated Croc but found out that hi wasn't part of the late crime. Baby Doll cries for Croc for now being able to help more. After Croc was still taken in, Croc tells that he can't change to what Baby Doll wants because even though he would do something nice, the world would still see him as the monster. Batman tries to apologize to Baby Doll for his misdirection but Baby Doll is still angry for Batman blaming Croc and not believing that he would change. Telling him that he's no better than the rest of the world. This would end in a sad way but i think it would be fitting for a tragic story for Baby Doll again. Because she couldn't get passed for her appearance and past. What's more, Croc was the only person that she can relate to and tries to help him out, to change him into a nice guy but the world still being unfair to them. And that is what i thought the story would be in my mind.
I got a personal sense of amusement that Baby Dahl turned out to be the more dangerous of the two villains. Killer Croc may be a murderer, but Baby was prepared to kill an entire CITY because she was cheated on. Also there is a legit disturbing implication in how Baby seems to have fetishized looking like a 5 year old, we know she's in her early 30's really, but given how she looks any previous lovers she may have had must have had...certain proclivities, so she may have come to associate her childish act with her romantic life, which is why she stays in character even when she's alone with Croc.
@@wakeangel2001 Yeah, sorry, I just got home from work, I saw your reply at the end of my lunch break But yeah, I love the Bruce Timm DCAU, Harley Quinn (original DCAU version) is my all time favorite fictional character
Oh, damn. 😨 See, this is why I love reading the comments on subpar media-they can take some aspect in it that seemingly doesn't work, and make it work remarkably (or, in this case, disturbingly) well.
Croc in btas seemed like he'd awkwardly try to hit on a girl knowing he's a freak and wouldn't get anywhere. That version of him should've been paired with Baby Dahl.
Yea this episode disservices both Croc and Baby Doll. In my opinion how it should have gone is that Baby Doll is a therapist within Arkham. Knowing how a single kind gesture can set you straight. Let alone working anywhere else feels off to her. Cause some recongise her and she is trying to avoid being seen as BABY DOLL the charater or crazy killer. Whenever we see her deal with things in real life... it becomes taxing with her. Till one day she is allowed to deal with Croc who has the same mentality as her. Being a freak left out to dry and commited crimes cause it was ment to survive. At 1st Babydoll would try to get Croc to see the light, but as fate strikes... Babydoll loses everything in real life when her appartment burns down and the landlord and insurance doesn't pay her out. When she tries to find a place to sleep at work... who else but the ramblings of many villians just make her feel like she's in the dumps like them again. She talks with Croc again who gives her Sympathy though mentions he will transfer soon to another location to recieve a different treatment... Now faced with the fact she might lose the only person who's showing her sympathy and she can relate with.. she busts em out and pretty much gets Croc who is sorta willing to go straight and narrow...to go back into crime. Now this version of the episode will have Baby Doll be the brains and Croc the brawn. They aren't romantically involved... more kindred spirits that want to cling on together as they both give out their best traits, but with the one in the deep end and the other unsure of his future... they start becoming a dangerous duo. And yes.. Babydoll will not revert to her "baby persona" when in the hideout. The two are hitting it off well together as a duo. Wich makes the bat family annoyed... as if any of them loses sight of the other... they will come and strike you down. With both now being crime boss superstars... It is croc of all people who finds this new fame and acceptance as the big villian getting to his head. Unlike Baby Doll who is used to it and knows how it ends... is the wedge that comes between them. Killer Croc was never seen as someone on level of The Joker or The Penguin. Rich, famous and powerful, despite the looks he has! People accept him for his wealth and fame.. and babydoll keeps reminding him that they are a duo. Then eventually Croc gets a request from a high crime boss to go with BabyDoll one last heist to hit the big leagues. The hit? A powerful "insert science term here" bomb able to destroy cities. The crime boss wants to sell it off shore to a foreign warlord for millions. If croc does this.. The crime boss will retire and hand the gang to Croc and giving him a small share of a million. When it's revealed Babydoll is about to lose croc and double crossed.. she decides to arm the bomb and reaching into the insane climax. Croc ain't trying to kill her at 1st but reason with her... but when Batman shows up.. It's babydoll that actually mind controls croc to do her bidding as she stole such a device from the Mad Hatter. Eventually defeated.. Croc and Babydoll are going back to Arkham, but insted of Croc wanting to kill her... he apoligses to her and thanking her to give him a goal to strife for. Babydoll on the other hand says: "And you pushed me to something big too, maybe in the future.. we might work together again.. but for now.. let us part ways." Implying that both villians found their "True villianry" and "might return"
I can only hope one day somebody will use this character to spin gold, but I won't get my hopes up. Nowadays, writing a story about a person like Baby Doll would so easily get you cancelled.
Honestly, while I haven't seen the episode myself, just the premise alone for this honestly could have made for a pretty good combination if done better, and potentially could have led to another decent villain pairing that would keep showing up. It'd just have taken a few changes, such as not having Baby Doll and Croc turn against each other, and maybe even build up them actually starting to care about each other. There could still be conflict, such as them wanting to handle things differently, and end up fighting, but maybe give a moment of tragedy where Croc has to get hurt trying to protect her, (possibly from something he accidentally caused), which is when Batman manages to arrest them. End the episode with them being in separate jail cells or even different locations, and one of them getting a letter from the other, (or maybe even one of them breaking the other out), showing that it wasn't just a one off thing.
I'm not sure whether I watched all episodes back when this show was on TV in my country let alone whether we even received all episodes but watching those Bat-May videos every year makes me think of just how cool The Animated Series must have been as a whole.
Man! This episode hae some good ideas,but poor execution! Babydoll is so cute and sad,and green Crock is ok,but you knew their relationship wasn't going to last. It's sad that this was her last time on the show,but at least she has fan art!
I feel a bit bad for Baby Doll in this episode. The man in the motel lobby was harassing her and even assaulted her by pulling on her hair pretty hard even when she made it clear that she wanted to be left alone and just do her job as the desk clerk. And then she genuinely starts to care about Killer Croc and not care a bit about his physical appearance which should have been a very nice thing for him to feel loved and not judged and ridiculed for how he looks and he just takes advantage of her kindness and uses her as an excuse to pull off crimes. So you can’t really blame Baby Doll really going off the deep end and trying to kill everyone in the city including herself because she snapped mentally again and this time it was caused by someone she genuinely cared about and who she had thought cared about her. She was trying so hard to fit into normal society but all she kept getting was rejection and ridicule.
On one hand, I can understand the pressure of trying to live up to Babydolls first episode. Its an eerie and sad masterpiece. But on the other hand, its still a shame that they didn't do more with this premise and Babydoll in general. It would have been cool to give her a sendoff not unlike the ventriloquist rather than the missed potential here.
I feel like this pairing could work with the right story. I like the idea of Killer Croc developing a connection with someone who is also mistreated via the way they look. But contrasted with how Baby Doll rejects what Croc embraces. There is chemistry there that could make for some great tales.
I wish at least one of the voice actors were the same. With both of them being new, there just isn't a connection for the viewer, and that's why the pairing isn't as exciting as it could be. Villain team-ups work like mini-crossovers: The whole point of their appeal is being familiar with them from before. Also, Baby Doll doing petty crimes isn't as interesting as the personal motivations she pursued in her first outing. The personal stuff here (her imfatuation with Croc) should have been more of a focus, to make the episode- and the leap she makes towards the climax, more powerful. She literally chose the nuclear option
I know that technically Baby Doll is a grown woman... mentally anyway. But writing a romance story for any adult character that looks like a child and you know is stuck like that permanently has got to be hard to write in a way that doesn't come off as... pedophilic.
I remember being very confused seeing parts of this one on CN when I came home from middle school as, not knowing that Baby Doll was actually an adult woman with a physical illness, I thought that there was some sort of weird romantic/abusive relationship going on between Killer Croc and an actual child. Especially because I had only seen the part where she wanted revenge after catching him cheating on her.
Well I'd argue the story mostly focused on their conidition rather her being looking like a child being the appeal. So for this its similar if she'd have a different bodydisrder. THe tragedy is that she meet a terrible person with a tragic condition, who didn't choose to grow from it. I'd it doesn't really even lean there at all since well her being explecility focused on wanting to be taken seriously and loved but sadly because she's merely doesn't look the part she can't be. So saying this would be ingoring that main fact. I do see your concern as with terrible execution what the horse drinks from may look really bad despite it not actually being so, since again she's both tenachly physically 40 and mentally, just her body is just different.
I feel like it *could* have worked if more of the episode focused on how she was a grown woman and was infantilized by society because of the way she looks, but the fact that they went in the *opposite* direction and made her act like a child in private with croc was... a choice.
I find the pairing of Killer Croc and Baby Doll to be quite fascinating. It'd be hard to make it right, but man would I love to see someone do it well.
I honestly think Baby Doll’s introductory episode should have been her only episode. I think the ending of that one would have been even more powerful if we never found out what happened to her afterwards, and allowed the viewers to come up with their own conclusions.
Indeed, kind of like what happened with Mr Freeze, how he was happy to know that Nora was cured but then we see him wanting to destroy Gotham because Nora left him after he lost his body
Yeah they should've made the private stuff between Baby Doll and Croc more obvious that "By the way, don't forget, this character is a grown woman tragically stuck like this. Look at them related" without crossing that "Oh you say she's an adult but looks like a kid, so still gross" line. Could still have Batman's "I don't wanna think about" exchange with Batgirl. But I feel like leaving her acting like a child [which to a degree could still work to show how childish her love for him is, but still] adds a little bit of an extra creepy tone, though does make Croc "cheating" make more sense as clearly he's into adult women not a child, but ... I don't know, even though both are villains there is something slightly off putting about their dynamic when it's not being used as the gimmick. Also, not just the creepy tone, but it would show she's starting to move past the "I can relive the good old days and make it work" schtick from her original episode, and that she really IS trying to prove that she deserves to be treated properly. Proves she's an adult. Then again, it's also super weird how some people recognize her, but she doesn't really make herself look like a totally different little kid [just in case] when she's the distraction pretending to be a little girl. It'd have been interesting to play up her acting chops a bit and maybe have her be a little boy, a little girl, different dresses, different hairstyles and wigs. So she's still playing a little kid, but in a way that believable no one would get wise to or worse, no one would recognize her. Sure, that second one could still be a decent distraction, but isn't how it's played up.
To be honest, I find Killer Croc's redesign almost as disappointing as Joker's. While the original was really badass especially because of that reptilian mouth, the TNBA one feels pretty meh. In fact, am I the only one who finds Croc's new face eerily similar to the damn Yee meme?
This is a bit of an uncomfortable episode. I think it would've been better if it wasn't a romantic relationship. I think the episode should've gone like the two deciding on an acquaintanceship to commit crimes and them bonding over certain thing and have it end with them becoming friends (JUST FRIENDS) and hinting at the possibility of future team ups.
To be clear, it's never really specified, I think baby doll was emotionally dependant on him, (also, she asks what they do on a date, not what they do alone at home)
Pretty sure the pairing being uncomfortable (for a variety of reasons) is the whole point of it, even Batman doesn't want to think about the implications.
@@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat I always got the sense that Croc just tolerated her presence and that's that. This was basically like Joker and Harley, where the woman is madly in love with the man but the man barely tolerates her and hardly gives her any romantic attention.
Baby Doll would be good in a new Robert Pattinson batman movie with a twist of events. Think of it as batman still in his early years. If that happened it would be phenomenal.
Gotta be honest, I hate this episode. Baby Doll was such an amazing episode and that ending is one of those solemn moments where you question how something this serious made it into a kids' show. I appreciate the fact that she was able to move on with her life, but her return to villainy was so poorly handled. And while I know Croc's schtick is that he would have been just as much an asshole even without his condition, but it would have been nice if he had shown some positive reaction to Doll's affections. It also would have been better if she acted like an adult when they were in private, her behavior feels less like the delusions of her first appearance and more like she...Just enjoys it. Yeesh. I think it would have been better if she spent most of her time acting like an adult, only breaking into character to punctuate whatever villainous thing she's doing at the moment. More sliding back and forth between personas.
Those two as a love couple...? I would feel sorry for Baby Doll if she didn't go back to crime. Still, I almost feel sorry for her since Killer Croc doesn't care about her but the robbery and chaos. Yeah, ew.
Just gonna say it, a good Baby Doll follow up would've involved it being revealed Baby Doll could've been treated for her condition, but her parents and agent never told her about it and she goes out for revenge after learning the truth. That keeps her sympathetic and her motives understandable while continuing her character's theme in regards to the dark, twisted sides of show business.
Ooh, that sounds perfect for this iteration of Batman. 👏👏
That sounds great!
Maybe could end with Bruce paying for the procedure to help her grow (if we get future one it could show if her villainy was just aspect of her anger at the world and she legit sorry or she truly was bad person and just blame it on her disease)
Well I would have her still going after Cousin Spunky and discovers that she had fans, but maybe she should have teamed up with Penguin or Clayface
Damn, pitch it for fanscription! I'd watch that episode
I know it's become a joke by now, but what's more likely to kill Batman? A labyrinth full of traps potentially giving him tools to use against you, a highly specific death trap that gives away your operating style at a glance? Or dropping something very heavy on his head when he's not looking? Croc may not be smart, but he keeps it simple.
He was actually pretty clever in his first appearance.
What bothers me about Baby Doll is that she (apparently) wants to be treated like the adult she is, but simultaneously continues the infantile voice and persona she used on her TV show. This made sense when she was trying to 'make believe' she could bring back the good old days in her original appearance, and it could make sense when she's trying to trick people into thinking she actually is a small child, but it makes no sense whatsoever when she's alone with Croc.
I think she was backsliding. Her time on the show was some of her happiest moments, so when she's happy, she can't help herself, but act that way. She wants to be treated like an adult, but she's been acting like a child for so long she's comfortable in that mindset in spite of it being counterintuitive to her desires. It's a compulsion that she can't help, but divulge in. Working at the motel she was acting like an adult, but she was miserable. Partly because that guy and probably others recognized her, but adulthood sucks you have bills to pay and you have to work a job you might hate just to make money. Childhood is much easier and happier so I think Baby Doll was pretending to be a child around Croc because she was actually happy and lost herself in the bit. Keep in mind she's not a mentally stable person. This is a woman who was rightly sent to Arkham and as anyone with mental issues will tell you, sometimes you backslide into old habits all you can do is try what you know gets you back on the right track. Croc was an enabler for Baby Doll even if he wasn't consciously trying to be.
It was her way of manipulating people, pulling on their heartstrings. Didn’t work on croc because he doesn’t have much of a heart to tug at.
i think thats the point, she wanted a fantasy life with croc that was never going to be real, and she could never be her real self because they never connected, they just had a bit in common but no real relationship
Like others said, it's part of her emotional problems. Her insanity or mania.
It didn't make any sense when she first did it. It was a persona she retreated to. Her crime was always crazy.
@@DracoMagnius It would have been nice to have the episode meaningfully acknowledge that. As I recall, once Killer Croc and Baby Doll are together, it pretty much forgets that she wants to be seen as anything more than her former TV character.
The teaming of Babydoll and Killer Croc was a lot of fun in my opinion. Their chemistry makes up for the goofy story.
I wonder what it would be like if she teamed up with Clayface or Penguin?
I could imagine Killer Croc teaming up with the Sewer King.
On one hand the Chemistry of Babydoll & Killer Croc is alot like Bonnie & Clyde minus what happens to Bonnie & Clyde in real life & the other hand you gotta feel sorry for Babydoll she want someone to understood her bein different due to her appearance just don't ask what Killer Croc & Babydoll do on date even I don't wanna talk bout it
Honestly, I still ship these two. If Croc could have just tried to see things her way and Dahl had dropped the "baby" persona
I feel like a huge missed opportunity for the show was not pairing up Baby Doll and the Mad Hatter, because I feel like they would have worked well in maintaining eachother's fantasies. Baby Doll gets to live in a fantasy world, while Hatter gets to have an Alice to work off of.
Then again, with Hatter's redesign, it would have seemed a but uncomfortable to watch.
I think another interesting duo would likely have been Baby Doll and Clayface, since they were both actors whose careers were ruined - one because his appearance was disfigured, and the other because her appearance never changed. Would have to do a bit more brainstorming to find out exactly how they would work together, but the basic premise seems good on paper at the very least.
Mad Hatter kills his Alices so no
3:22 I don't know what is more cursed, the relationship between Croc and Baby Doll or the fact that it is still more morally acceptable than Bruce and Barbara's.
Can't it be both? 😆
I feel like because baby doll is adult in child body and I think same age has croc so it look weird because the size differences but it is basically to adult in same age range while Bruce and Barbara are further in age and Bruce mostly act has father/big brother figure to her so it makes it weirder)
Man I love your comment ❤. I mean look who is talking Bruce.
@@chimera9818 and maybe the same for Cheetah and Maxwell Lord from Wonder Woman 1984
Yea, because despite her looks, it’s clear Baby Doll is still a grown woman. Barbara is literally half Bruce’s age, not to mention he basically saw her grow up, so he’s more of an uncle figure if anything. The relationship between the two is just too close for comfort.
I still can't believe Batgirl would joke about Baby Doll and Killer Croc " Dating!" That bit with Batman saying " I don't wanna think about it!" still had me in stitches!❤😂
Me too.
Kind of ironic, considering many would say the same about Batman and Batgirl's relationship later
Batman predicted Rule 34
I'm not even sure Baby Doll is physically capable of the sort of relationship implied here. The disease essentially keeps her physically a child due to a lack of hormones. Maybe that's why she's so tragic, she literally is physically incapable of having a truly adult relationship and as much as she wants to be treated as an adult, she literally is only capable of having a child's idea of a romantic relationship.
Mega fat CEO baby can date babydoll
In a way, Baby Doll's actions are similar to how a woman would fall for a criminal. She thinks the two will get along, sympathizes with him, tries to change him or at least be his partner, but everything doesn't turn out to be roses and daisies. Granted Baby Doll did relate to Croc, but the similarities to how some gals fall for a criminal is present.
It's a shame that this is the last appearance of Baby Doll, who in the entire DCAU only had a couple of episodes. I think we can all agree that she was a great villain who deserved many more appearances. The most attractive thing about the character is her enormous contrast with Batman, since, while Bruce was forced to leave his childhood early, Baby Doll was forced to never be able to put it aside, causing her to not progress in life and remain mentally stuck in her past, even if her first years of popularity were not so perfect. In fact, this famous quote by Sally Jupiter (who is also a former star who takes refuge in her nostalgic memories because it is her only consolation method) represents Baby Doll's thoughts: "Every day, the future looks a little bit darker. But the past... even the grimy parts of it... keep on getting brighter."
Actually she reappeared in Batman: White Knight.
Aannnnnnd she has rule 34.
But she's adult so unless it was
Darla from cats don't dance who
Also has some by the way.
You kidding? She is LITERALLY my favorite Batman villain. Even though I've had one or two people say she doesn't count because of her limited non-comic appearance. I frequently wonder why she never got upgraded like Harley Quinn did. Honestly I think the biggest hurdle would be keeping her sympathetic despite the multiple appearances. But TAS found a way to achieve that with Freeze so I don't think it's un-doable.
@@SuperSwordman1 Maybe the idea of Batman fighting a little girl didn't feel "right"?
@@soul6733 Another perfectly valid reason. Truth is there are multiple valid reasons. Still sucks she isn't an actual stay in the Batman's Rogue Gallery
The most fascinating thing about Killer Croc is that, unlike other villains with a tragic past due to a physical dysphoria, Croc's philosophy is not "I only do what the world has forced me to do to survive", but "Meh, I just love being an *sshole", not to mention that he does not hesitate to victimize himself and say society is the only one reponsible for his crimes everytime he gets caught. Not all tragic villains deserve sympathy.
That last sentence is gold.
Yeah, he's an asshole, and plays victim as soon as he gets caught. Atleadt this version.
Right
It's kind of why I prefer the Arkham universe Killer Croc. He's so disfigured by his deformities and the abuse he's taken over the years that his croc persona won over making him relish murder and cannibalizing on his victims.
Croc had a chance to start a new life with other sideshow performers and chose to try to rob them instead
I absolutely loved baby doll. I think she has great potential as a sympathetic character or woman driven insane by her condition.
I think they should have shown her really trying to slide back into society. A montage of all her failing attempts. Like
dating online only for the guy to write a dear Jane letter after their first real-life meeting. He explains that he can't deal with her childlike appearance and the looks others are giving him.
Not allowed into a club, pulled over while driving. Etc.
I thought a better team up would have been Clayface. A backstory that they knew each other before their tragedies since both are actors. That that they are the same age. He was the first one she told about her condition. We watch him age while she remains the same. We see he was the producer on her Shakespeare play. He was always a fan and one cheering her on. But after the clayface incident, they lost touch when went into hiding. Without him, she spiraled.
Their renewed relationship has a romantic spark as clayface is able to appear young. But maintaining that form proves difficult. He wants to be their for her, but it's impossible to stay small. Another thing I would change is Mary doesn't return to crime. Clayface wants a score to leave this all behind just the two of them. Mary plans it against her better judgment. The ending Batman and Batgirl catch them but Clayface creates a baby doll clay minion that melts. He says that Mary was never involved. He made her to throw them off his tracks. In the end we see Mary alone.
Clayface is canonically gay tho...
@thegamingcyberman149 doesn't have to be since it was never established in the series.
However I could work with that. Just make a friendly date between friends. He wants to show her a good normal time. Clayface as a young boy takes he to an amusement park, a movie and ends off with them sitting on a bench in the park. The looks from on lookers is one of approval and how adorable seeing young love. Something Baby never gets on regular dates. We can even have Clayface excuse himself the run off and revert to normal size with sweat showing how hard it is too maintain this child form.
@thegamingcyberman149 and to cement his preference. Have Mary say it was the best date ever.
Clayface: uh Mary you know I'm....
Mary: shh Matt I couldn't ask for a better friend.
Clayface: Yeah friends.
The ending feels similar to House And Garden.
@@thegamingcyberman149 which Clayface?
Cause the one in the series is a weird mixup between Karlo and Hagen, keeping the name of the latter.
Batgirl: "What do you suppose they do on a date?"
Batman: "I don't wanna think about it"
Batman I don't blame y'ah😔😮💨🤢
@@RegBeta yeah because maybe it would been better if Croc was with someone like the Cheetah because if he was in the injustice league I could see him Force kissed Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl just for fun
AAAAAAYOOOOO BATMAN THAT'S THE COMMISSIONERS DAUGHTER 😮🤢🤮
Save that shit for dick (lol yes ik what I mean and said)
Mega fat CEO baby can date babydoll
Love is a Croc is one of my favorite episodes. Killer Croc is my favorite dc villain and Mary Dahl is such a good character with so much potential. She should’ve had more appearances and focus. Also, I think they could’ve worked as a couple if Mary didn’t act too much like a child around him. They understood each other when it came to being treated different because of prejudice. He was more interested when she acted like a natural adult, but because she feels the most happy in that role it wasn’t gonna happen. If they communicated about it surely it would’ve ended better and I wish it did because Mary deserves to be happy.
I liked it more than the First Baby Doll Episode. Ate leats no Tricicle
Steve Gerber is a true underrated gem. I loved his Elseworld duology "Superman: Last Son of Earth" and "Last Stand on Krypton", which tell the story of a human Superman from Earth who was sent and raised on Krypton. A truly creative and bizarre Superman story
That’s definitely a strange take. What the hell is a human going to do on Krypton? Nobody would have any powers. I’ll have to look it up.
@@Davidsworldtravels I've read it. From memory he's crippled there. Becomes a GL for a bit. Then ends up back on earth with "super powers" anyway.
The story isn't bad. But it doesn't really work. Like, why, it doesn't really say anything about the character and it's happenstance.
I mean the GL part is cool. It's not like anything is bad about it.
Even though the episode was clearly not to your liking still thanks for brining your A-game when it came to the review, that's why you're all the best!
Babydoll deserves more then just 2 episodes!!! SHOW LOVE TO YOUR SHORTSTACK VILLAINS!!!
4:33 That's one of the things I recalled about this episode when it came on. They confirmed that he definitely killed somebody. We all know that Gotham criminals kill it's citizens, but it was only eluded to in the original series.
If I may ask, once Bat-May has finally concluded, can we hope for a Super-May in the future or a Bat-May Beyond?
We'll all find out at the end of the month
I would love a Just-May Unlimited
Maybe a Spider-May?
@@bluethunder250
That would be incest.😂
I wouldn't be opposed to a "June-stice League" and "June-stice League: Unlimited"
This episode shows too well how New Batman Adventures flanderized many characters from both main roster and one-shot characters not only by weird design choices but also how they written. I liked "Baby-Doll" episode of BTAS but this one ruins magic of well written character that was Baby Doll. And what a shame to what happened to Killer Croc...
@ 1:01 that bear doll on her left wearing a hat & tie? That's Yogi Bear!!
My problem with Baby Doll’s new design comes down to what the simplicity of it takes away from the original. Whilst she did look like a Tiny Toons character, it was an impactful juxtaposition when Dahl would showcase her anger and sadness. You really felt for her in those moments. And a small yet big factor of this is because we could see her eyebrows. Whilst eyes are the most expressive part of the face, eyebrows further broaden the expressions and allow a variety of different ways of the same emotion to be showcased just by altering the shape and position of them. Her new solid fringe now largely obstructs this important feature and now she constantly looks to be in perma-frown even when she is supposed to be happy. This change hides so much that it limits and hinders her performance.
I still say the 2004 The Batman Killer Croc redesign might be my personal favorite of all the Killer Croc looks AND voiced by Ron Perlman is a big win too
Yeah because I never got why having a skin condition would make him look like a reptile and I always like lizard tails
@@srstriker6420 but him literally being a lizard is ok?
It's a real thing that happens. It just got exaggerated. It's like Danny devito's penguin isn't a real penguin.
Yeah, i like Green Croc more than Grey, but they are both solid
I personally like to forget about this episode and have the original episode of BabyDoll be her first and last appearance. Gives me hope that she got the help she truly needed and has moved on with her life.
Baby-Doll: "I heard what you said to the judge. I want you to know that I understand about being different. You've never let the way you look undermine your self-confidence. I admire that. I feel somehow that we're kindred spirits"
Personally, I would've teamed baby doll with the ventriloquist. Scarface becomes infatuated with this woman who's his size/looks like a doll or puppet. On her end, Mary is creeped out by the dummy, but falls in love with the shy, gentle wesker, who shares those feelings but is terrified of stealing "his boss's moll". A possible story that would look bizarre and comical on the surface, with a sympathic human core.
Another possibility would be doll forming an odd friendship with clayface, both being former actors whose careers are long behind them, and villain identities informed by strange physical conditions
i could see that work
I had an idea for a similar plot, but with Harley Quinn. Taking some cues from 1978's Magic.
Ashame Baby doll wasn’t ever used again.
One thing I found particularly disappointing was the recasting of both Killer Croc and Baby Doll. Laraine Newman is fine in the role, she does a serviceable job on her own merits, but she pales in comparison to Alison La Placa, who offered a much more impactful and nuanced performance, particularly thanks to the sharp contrast between the jaded, depressed middle-aged Mary Dahl when she’s lucid and her cloyingly cutesy Baby Doll persona when she relapses into her make-believe world, while Newman’s take lacks that dichotomy and is more like a discount Harley Quin (generic perky, childish female character). And while Killer Croc was hardly the best villain in the original series, he was fun as a boorish oaf of a bruiser that was still competent enough to be a threat to Batman and Aron Kincaid really nailed the character they were going for, while here (besides looking like a wholly different character, but I’m beating a dead horse XD), Crocs is reduced to just a generic brutish thug, lacking those oafish qualities that made him fun, and fittingly enough, Brooks Gardner offers a pretty generic performance. Also, while they artificially lowered his voice in this episode (which adds to his blandness), in “Judgement Day”, it sounds like Gardner’s performance went unedited (but remains equally bland).
another case where they opted for the lazy character progression of "Im an asshole now" with Croc and Baby Doll got utterly flanderized after only one appearance which really sucks
You know what I just realized? That the episode would've worked better with Baby Doll's original VA. She knew how to make her sound like a grown woman who likes to play pretend. Meanwhile, this version sounds too much like a child in both in her "normal" voice and her sitcom voice.
For some reason, Baby Dahl stretching to reach the keys in the opening scenes of the episode strike me as the most tragic. It's a show of how people with deformities struggle in what a normal person would think nothing of. And it subconsciously just made me so sad, I think, when I was a kid. It sticks with me for so many years.
This wasn't really an episode I ever really thought about past a first viewing. It's just not as strong as other BtAS episodes. But you're right, it could have been something. Even something as small as Baby Doll acting normal in their hideout would have probably elevated it a bit. Instead, it just comes off as forgettable and makes her a gimmick character. Which is weird considering at the start of the episode, she seems to be acting like an adult and gets annoyed at being reminded of her past.
Really sad as her first appearance is so memorable. She doesn't have near as many appearances as other villains. Many of whom have strong and weak episodes but can be remembered fondly. Croc is probably the only villain in BtAS that doesn't have a strong memorable episode to his name. And this could have been a great turn around in that department. Some may argue that he is bringing down a more interesting and sympathetic villain (Croc isn't exactly either in his previous appearances), but it didn't have to be that way.
At the end of the day, maybe it's all for the best. I don't exactly want to imagine what sex between the two of them would be like. For a lot of reasons.
I prefer her debut episode Baby Doll
If they’d brought back Baby Doll in the Justice League cartoon it might have been nice to see her team up with Toy Man. The idea that they’d see a crime spree as a kind of “play date” could have worked.
Oh man, that would be a nice Idea indeed
The hotel lobby scene shows one of the reasons why it sucks to be a celebrity
"I'm not a children. I'm all growed up."
I remember watching this as a young lad when my mom caught the scene where Croc hits Baby and forbid us from watching the series. I didn't watch it again till way later.
Killer Croc here is the Hulk where he was originally grey before turning green like in the previous series he was grey and when he is wearing a hat and coat he looks like the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers
I feel sorry for Baby Doll, She was a tragic character. Always stuck in a child like body, never being able to become a full sized and normal person, and always getting disrespected by others due to her illness. That would be hell, and I can say the same for crock. Must be bad getting treat different due to looking like a monster. But we have to remember, these two are killers and thieves to. They can't use there deformities as an excuse to do what they did, they could have used them for good but being mistreat like the way they where, no wonder they both went down the wrong path. But that's the thing with great bad-guys, you feel bad for them and hate them the same time.
With that being said, I'm with Walter on not being a fan of either Croc's redesign or his rewritten personality. In BTAS, he had that distinctive gargoyle-ish look with grey skin, spiky bumps, pointed ears, and a contorted face. So why turn him into a generic crocodile person a middle schooler could've drawn? And while he was far from genuis level, he definitely wasn't a dumb brute who only rammed into things in a fight. Hell, his voice used to be distinctively gravelly.
Maybe they should’ve had Baby Doll as just a one time villain.
Has Baby Doll ever been in anything ever again? Cause ive never seen her in any other animated series or game. And i used to think the Mad Hatter was under-utilized!
Spot on, Croc got buried by Batman in this episode. Dahl and Croc were some of the redesigns I didn't like.
Brooks Gardner Was My Drama Teacher In High School, He Told Us All He Did Alot Of Voiceovers But When I Confronted Him On Voicing Killer Croc After Watching The DVD Of The New Batman Adventures, He Denied Voicing Him, Even Though His Voice Sounds Exactly Like Killer Croc's In TNBA
I wonder why he would deny that
@@MrBird2007 I Don't Know, I've Always Wondered Why, I Even Told Him I Wasn't After His Autograph Or Anything But He Could Tell Me And He Still Denied It
@@Franandlar interesting history but I don’t know who the better voice of Killer Croc in the DCAU
@@srstriker6420 I'd Say Neither, For The Definitive Voice Of Killer Croc, I'd Pick Ron Pearlman In The Batman Or Whoever Voiced Him In The Arkham Games
I've always hated how pretty much every non-comic interpretation of Killer Croc (even BTAS) completely misunderstands his whole character and ruins him.
I was never happy to see Baby Doll return. She distinctively felt like a character who should have been a one and done given her story was so effectively singular. Having her come back to be another generic rouges gallery addition is something I will always be down about.
I agree because she was a bizarre concept
jeah... i can'T get behind a Shirley Temple Villain (Except Cat's dont dance)
1:08 Ohhh, cut the crap Croc. The circus people in Sideshow all related to how different he was and were nothing but nice to him. He CHOSE to become what he is.
That's why it was oddly satisfying to watch Bane mop the floor with him.
Honestly, I liked Croc's colouration before the revamp more.
0:01 okay I'm just realizing the intro has logos on the tower
6:54 did they take a full on photo op during the heist? Where was batman? LOL
I personally really love this episode, maybe because I grew up with it!
I really like the Baby Doll episodes. Their fascinating
I thought this was a great episode. I felt so bad for Baby Doll. She wants to be treated like an adult, but it's so hard for her because of her condition and she's working a job she doesn't seem to like. It was so much easier for her to fall into old habits. So much easier for her to be used by Croc. Poor woman wants to be treated like an adult, but can't escape her former self. I took her acting like a child even in private as her backsliding into her old persona even if he wasn't trying to Croc was enabling her to fall back into her toxic nostalgia. She's not mentally stable and sometimes people fall back into their bad habits.
I really liked the idea of Baby Dahl.
It's a shame they ruined her
Not quite ruined, just a badly-executed second outing.
They did Baby Doll's return kinda dirty, honestly. I'd have rather seen a redemption story with the character..
One other thing that I think they messed up with Baby Doll in this iteration is that they seem to not have been able to decide about her mouth/lips. She doesn't have the black lips in the fragment of her TV show, but keeps them when she is in her kid persona. When she was pretending to be an adult, wearing "obvious" makeup made sense, she was trying to look like an adult. But when she is trying to pretend to be a kid, it actually gets a little creepy, like she is trying to (pun intended) "doll" herself up for Croc. The episode already has some inevitable pedophilia tones as is, keeping those lips just makes them a little stronger.
Croc: DUDE! BABY DOLL IS TRYING TO KILL US?! WHY WONT YOU LISTEN?!
Batman just wants to punch out Croc to prove himself.
It would be different in this way: Baby Doll did try and have Killer Croc turns from his life of crime. It's a bit like from the episode with the circus freaks but he was actually working thanks to Baby Doll trying to treat Croc as a human and not a monster. But in a twisted story, Croc and Baby Doll were accused of things they haven't done anything and so Batman confront them. This leads to Croc abandoning the normal life Baby Doll provide him and make him return to his life of crime. Batman defeated Croc but found out that hi wasn't part of the late crime. Baby Doll cries for Croc for now being able to help more. After Croc was still taken in, Croc tells that he can't change to what Baby Doll wants because even though he would do something nice, the world would still see him as the monster. Batman tries to apologize to Baby Doll for his misdirection but Baby Doll is still angry for Batman blaming Croc and not believing that he would change. Telling him that he's no better than the rest of the world.
This would end in a sad way but i think it would be fitting for a tragic story for Baby Doll again. Because she couldn't get passed for her appearance and past. What's more, Croc was the only person that she can relate to and tries to help him out, to change him into a nice guy but the world still being unfair to them. And that is what i thought the story would be in my mind.
I got a personal sense of amusement that Baby Dahl turned out to be the more dangerous of the two villains. Killer Croc may be a murderer, but Baby was prepared to kill an entire CITY because she was cheated on. Also there is a legit disturbing implication in how Baby seems to have fetishized looking like a 5 year old, we know she's in her early 30's really, but given how she looks any previous lovers she may have had must have had...certain proclivities, so she may have come to associate her childish act with her romantic life, which is why she stays in character even when she's alone with Croc.
Hey, Wakeangel
@@FanaticMitchell1 lol, funny meeting you here
@@wakeangel2001 Yeah, sorry, I just got home from work, I saw your reply at the end of my lunch break
But yeah, I love the Bruce Timm DCAU, Harley Quinn (original DCAU version) is my all time favorite fictional character
Oh, damn. 😨
See, this is why I love reading the comments on subpar media-they can take some aspect in it that seemingly doesn't work, and make it work remarkably (or, in this case, disturbingly) well.
Croc in btas seemed like he'd awkwardly try to hit on a girl knowing he's a freak and wouldn't get anywhere. That version of him should've been paired with Baby Dahl.
Every time I see Croc, i'm always reminded of "The time I almost got the bat", where his big moment was "I threw a rock at him!"
Which actually came closer than anything the others did. Would’ve worked if the tranquilizers hadn’t kicked in
It *was* a big rock
This is one of my personal favorite episodes.
gotta love how babydoll and croc seem to pose for every newspaper shot lol.
I think Gotams Underworld is used to
Yea this episode disservices both Croc and Baby Doll.
In my opinion how it should have gone is that Baby Doll is a therapist within Arkham. Knowing how a single kind gesture can set you straight.
Let alone working anywhere else feels off to her.
Cause some recongise her and she is trying to avoid being seen as BABY DOLL the charater or crazy killer. Whenever we see her deal with things in real life... it becomes taxing with her.
Till one day she is allowed to deal with Croc who has the same mentality as her. Being a freak left out to dry and commited crimes cause it was ment to survive. At 1st Babydoll would try to get Croc to see the light, but as fate strikes... Babydoll loses everything in real life when her appartment burns down and the landlord and insurance doesn't pay her out.
When she tries to find a place to sleep at work... who else but the ramblings of many villians just make her feel like she's in the dumps like them again.
She talks with Croc again who gives her Sympathy though mentions he will transfer soon to another location to recieve a different treatment...
Now faced with the fact she might lose the only person who's showing her sympathy and she can relate with.. she busts em out and pretty much gets Croc who is sorta willing to go straight and narrow...to go back into crime.
Now this version of the episode will have Baby Doll be the brains and Croc the brawn. They aren't romantically involved... more kindred spirits that want to cling on together as they both give out their best traits, but with the one in the deep end and the other unsure of his future... they start becoming a dangerous duo.
And yes.. Babydoll will not revert to her "baby persona" when in the hideout. The two are hitting it off well together as a duo. Wich makes the bat family annoyed... as if any of them loses sight of the other... they will come and strike you down.
With both now being crime boss superstars... It is croc of all people who finds this new fame and acceptance as the big villian getting to his head. Unlike Baby Doll who is used to it and knows how it ends... is the wedge that comes between them. Killer Croc was never seen as someone on level of The Joker or The Penguin. Rich, famous and powerful, despite the looks he has! People accept him for his wealth and fame.. and babydoll keeps reminding him that they are a duo.
Then eventually Croc gets a request from a high crime boss to go with BabyDoll one last heist to hit the big leagues.
The hit? A powerful "insert science term here" bomb able to destroy cities. The crime boss wants to sell it off shore to a foreign warlord for millions.
If croc does this.. The crime boss will retire and hand the gang to Croc and giving him a small share of a million.
When it's revealed Babydoll is about to lose croc and double crossed.. she decides to arm the bomb and reaching into the insane climax. Croc ain't trying to kill her at 1st but reason with her... but when Batman shows up.. It's babydoll that actually mind controls croc to do her bidding as she stole such a device from the Mad Hatter.
Eventually defeated.. Croc and Babydoll are going back to Arkham, but insted of Croc wanting to kill her... he apoligses to her and thanking her to give him a goal to strife for.
Babydoll on the other hand says: "And you pushed me to something big too, maybe in the future.. we might work together again.. but for now.. let us part ways."
Implying that both villians found their "True villianry" and "might return"
Baby Doll has the unique position of only having two episodes, one is my all time favorite and one an all time least favorite
Crocs design suffers from the same problem with Catwomans redesign: it’s just flat
I can only hope one day somebody will use this character to spin gold, but I won't get my hopes up. Nowadays, writing a story about a person like Baby Doll would so easily get you cancelled.
Croc and Baby Doll as a couple sounds wrong.
Honestly, while I haven't seen the episode myself, just the premise alone for this honestly could have made for a pretty good combination if done better, and potentially could have led to another decent villain pairing that would keep showing up. It'd just have taken a few changes, such as not having Baby Doll and Croc turn against each other, and maybe even build up them actually starting to care about each other. There could still be conflict, such as them wanting to handle things differently, and end up fighting, but maybe give a moment of tragedy where Croc has to get hurt trying to protect her, (possibly from something he accidentally caused), which is when Batman manages to arrest them. End the episode with them being in separate jail cells or even different locations, and one of them getting a letter from the other, (or maybe even one of them breaking the other out), showing that it wasn't just a one off thing.
I enjoy these two redesigns greatly and I enjoy their dynamic but yeah this holds no candle up to the original episode with Babydoll.
I'm not sure whether I watched all episodes back when this show was on TV in my country let alone whether we even received all episodes but watching those Bat-May videos every year makes me think of just how cool The Animated Series must have been as a whole.
I like to imagine baby doll didn’t go to jail because everyone thought she was too young 😂
You often see that pairing in the background in many current comics.
The irony of this episode to question the weird pairing of Croc and Baby Doll when this animated universe paired up Batman and Batgirl.
Man!
This episode hae some good ideas,but poor execution!
Babydoll is so cute and sad,and green Crock is ok,but you knew their relationship wasn't going to last.
It's sad that this was her last time on the show,but at least she has fan art!
Croc almost got the batman. He came real close to taking out the batman with a big rock. Almost got him.
Babby is so oddly relatable
3:30 Episode was worth just for that gag.
I feel a bit bad for Baby Doll in this episode. The man in the motel lobby was harassing her and even assaulted her by pulling on her hair pretty hard even when she made it clear that she wanted to be left alone and just do her job as the desk clerk. And then she genuinely starts to care about Killer Croc and not care a bit about his physical appearance which should have been a very nice thing for him to feel loved and not judged and ridiculed for how he looks and he just takes advantage of her kindness and uses her as an excuse to pull off crimes. So you can’t really blame Baby Doll really going off the deep end and trying to kill everyone in the city including herself because she snapped mentally again and this time it was caused by someone she genuinely cared about and who she had thought cared about her. She was trying so hard to fit into normal society but all she kept getting was rejection and ridicule.
Crock would never even respect her look at what he did to the circus folks who were nothing but kind to him but he still betrayed them.
On one hand, I can understand the pressure of trying to live up to Babydolls first episode. Its an eerie and sad masterpiece.
But on the other hand, its still a shame that they didn't do more with this premise and Babydoll in general. It would have been cool to give her a sendoff not unlike the ventriloquist rather than the missed potential here.
I must Admit: Baby Doll as a Concept dosent work for me. I can get the Tragic and The Attitude, but i cant get a Doll-Gun and a Tricicle...
Baby Doll is one of Batman's most underrated villains!!!
1:17 Luckly, Batman was posing as a gargoyle on the steps of court house 😂
I feel like this pairing could work with the right story.
I like the idea of Killer Croc developing a connection with someone who is also mistreated via the way they look.
But contrasted with how Baby Doll rejects what Croc embraces. There is chemistry there that could make for some great tales.
R.i.p. crocs gray design 😢
To me the best part was batgirls line when disarming the nuclear plant about how if he can that batman will find out or won't care
"Look at me! Nobody understands how rough my life's been. Just 'cause I'm... different." Okay, be honest: how many of us have all relate to that line?
I think in the context of the character it is just his excuse to be asshole
@@chimera9818 oh, right.
Every Anime Fan ;-)
I wish at least one of the voice actors were the same. With both of them being new, there just isn't a connection for the viewer, and that's why the pairing isn't as exciting as it could be. Villain team-ups work like mini-crossovers: The whole point of their appeal is being familiar with them from before.
Also, Baby Doll doing petty crimes isn't as interesting as the personal motivations she pursued in her first outing. The personal stuff here (her imfatuation with Croc) should have been more of a focus, to make the episode- and the leap she makes towards the climax, more powerful. She literally chose the nuclear option
I know that technically Baby Doll is a grown woman... mentally anyway.
But writing a romance story for any adult character that looks like a child and you know is stuck like that permanently has got to be hard to write in a way that doesn't come off as... pedophilic.
I remember being very confused seeing parts of this one on CN when I came home from middle school as, not knowing that Baby Doll was actually an adult woman with a physical illness, I thought that there was some sort of weird romantic/abusive relationship going on between Killer Croc and an actual child. Especially because I had only seen the part where she wanted revenge after catching him cheating on her.
Well I'd argue the story mostly focused on their conidition rather her being looking like a child being the appeal.
So for this its similar if she'd have a different bodydisrder.
THe tragedy is that she meet a terrible person with a tragic condition, who didn't choose to grow from it.
I'd it doesn't really even lean there at all since well her being explecility focused on wanting to be taken seriously and loved but sadly because she's merely doesn't look the part she can't be.
So saying this would be ingoring that main fact.
I do see your concern as with terrible execution what the horse drinks from may look really bad despite it not actually being so, since again she's both tenachly physically 40 and mentally, just her body is just different.
To be fair. This design of her is slightly mature. Short skirt, lipstick and eye makeup. But yea they didn’t need to make the two romantic
I feel like it *could* have worked if more of the episode focused on how she was a grown woman and was infantilized by society because of the way she looks, but the fact that they went in the *opposite* direction and made her act like a child in private with croc was... a choice.
Glad they brought back Baby Doll for another story.
I find the pairing of Killer Croc and Baby Doll to be quite fascinating. It'd be hard to make it right, but man would I love to see someone do it well.
I honestly think Baby Doll’s introductory episode should have been her only episode. I think the ending of that one would have been even more powerful if we never found out what happened to her afterwards, and allowed the viewers to come up with their own conclusions.
Indeed, kind of like what happened with Mr Freeze, how he was happy to know that Nora was cured but then we see him wanting to destroy Gotham because Nora left him after he lost his body
Yeah they should've made the private stuff between Baby Doll and Croc more obvious that "By the way, don't forget, this character is a grown woman tragically stuck like this. Look at them related" without crossing that "Oh you say she's an adult but looks like a kid, so still gross" line. Could still have Batman's "I don't wanna think about" exchange with Batgirl. But I feel like leaving her acting like a child [which to a degree could still work to show how childish her love for him is, but still] adds a little bit of an extra creepy tone, though does make Croc "cheating" make more sense as clearly he's into adult women not a child, but ... I don't know, even though both are villains there is something slightly off putting about their dynamic when it's not being used as the gimmick. Also, not just the creepy tone, but it would show she's starting to move past the "I can relive the good old days and make it work" schtick from her original episode, and that she really IS trying to prove that she deserves to be treated properly. Proves she's an adult.
Then again, it's also super weird how some people recognize her, but she doesn't really make herself look like a totally different little kid [just in case] when she's the distraction pretending to be a little girl. It'd have been interesting to play up her acting chops a bit and maybe have her be a little boy, a little girl, different dresses, different hairstyles and wigs. So she's still playing a little kid, but in a way that believable no one would get wise to or worse, no one would recognize her. Sure, that second one could still be a decent distraction, but isn't how it's played up.
To be honest, I find Killer Croc's redesign almost as disappointing as Joker's. While the original was really badass especially because of that reptilian mouth, the TNBA one feels pretty meh. In fact, am I the only one who finds Croc's new face eerily similar to the damn Yee meme?
Oh my God I just noticed that.
Yeah, I would love to see this revisited and revised
Yet another day and and another episode of this amazing series! Thanks channel awesome!
Baby Doll did cameo in an episode of Superman. I’d love to see the Bat May formula applied to that series.
This is a bit of an uncomfortable episode. I think it would've been better if it wasn't a romantic relationship. I think the episode should've gone like the two deciding on an acquaintanceship to commit crimes and them bonding over certain thing and have it end with them becoming friends (JUST FRIENDS) and hinting at the possibility of future team ups.
If hardly call it romantic
To be clear, it's never really specified, I think baby doll was emotionally dependant on him, (also, she asks what they do on a date, not what they do alone at home)
Pretty sure the pairing being uncomfortable (for a variety of reasons) is the whole point of it, even Batman doesn't want to think about the implications.
@@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat I always got the sense that Croc just tolerated her presence and that's that. This was basically like Joker and Harley, where the woman is madly in love with the man but the man barely tolerates her and hardly gives her any romantic attention.
idk, i think maybe its a "every shape and every size has a right of intimacy" underline Message? They are both adults in fact.
Baby Doll would be good in a new Robert Pattinson batman movie with a twist of events. Think of it as batman still in his early years. If that happened it would be phenomenal.
Gotta be honest, I hate this episode. Baby Doll was such an amazing episode and that ending is one of those solemn moments where you question how something this serious made it into a kids' show. I appreciate the fact that she was able to move on with her life, but her return to villainy was so poorly handled. And while I know Croc's schtick is that he would have been just as much an asshole even without his condition, but it would have been nice if he had shown some positive reaction to Doll's affections. It also would have been better if she acted like an adult when they were in private, her behavior feels less like the delusions of her first appearance and more like she...Just enjoys it. Yeesh. I think it would have been better if she spent most of her time acting like an adult, only breaking into character to punctuate whatever villainous thing she's doing at the moment. More sliding back and forth between personas.
Bruce Timm bringing you an extremely weird ship, yet again.
Those two as a love couple...? I would feel sorry for Baby Doll if she didn't go back to crime. Still, I almost feel sorry for her since Killer Croc doesn't care about her but the robbery and chaos. Yeah, ew.