What Goes Up...

**"What Goes Up..."** is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of *The Batman* and the sixty-third episode overall.

## Synopsis

When Black Mask hires Hawkman's foe the Shadow Thief to break him out of Arkham and assist in the theft of a meteorite, Batman must team up with Hawkman to defeat the villains.

## Plot

Black Mask is imprisoned at Arkham Asylum and the doctors are trying to remove his mask to see what lies beneath. Black Mask boasts that he will escape and a shadowy figure appears out of the darkness and knocks out the guards and doctors. Black Mask slips out through the window and into the river, where he swims to where his men are waiting for him. His rescuer, the Shadow Thief, is also waiting for him.

Batman and Robin examine the Arkham security tapes and identify the Shadow Thief, and Batman figures that the two villains have something big planned. The Shadow Thief breaks into the Gotham Museum and tries to steal a meteorite from the home planet of Justice League member Hawkman. He inadvertently sets off an alarm and Black Mask arrives to chastise him for screwing up. The police respond to the alarm but Black Mask's henchman Number One and his minions hold them off. Batman and Robin also respond to the alarm and battle Black Mask's thugs, but are powerless against the Shadow Thief, who can touch them but can't be touched. Hawkman arrives and manages to score a hit on the Shadow Thief, but Black Mask and the others make their escape. Shadow Thief notices them leaving so he hops in. Batman and Robin go after them in the Batmobile while Hawkman pursues from the air. Black Mask's men snare Hawkman with a net and the Shadow Thief leaps onto the Batmobile,with his shadow body blocking the windshield. Batman misses the next turn and goes off a cliff, but Hawkman frees himself and catches them just in time.

The heroes go back to the Batcave and Hawkman reveals that the Shadow Thief is Carl Sands, who uses a dimensiometer strapped to his wrist to go from shadow to solid and back at will. He also identifies the meteorite as containing Nth metal, the same substance Hawkman uses to negate gravity and fly. At his headquarters, Black Mask is extracting the Nth metal from the meteorite and merges it with a chemical substance, allowing him to spray it on anything and cause it to float into the air. When Number One questions him, Black Mask treats him to a demonstration and boasts of how he plans to rob the Gotham Gem Depository. He then lets Number One float off into the sky and appoints the next ranking henchman, a woman, as his new Number One. The Shadow Thief is irritated that he wasn't chosen but then boasts that he has plans for the heroes.

Batman gets an anonymous tip that the Shadow Thief has been spotted. The heroes go to investigate and find the villain spraying the railroad tracks with the Nth metal compound. The train hits the tracks and its wheels are covered with the substance. It floats up into the air then Shadow Thief leaves while the heroes deal with it before it floats into orbit. The Thief meets with Black Mask and his agents, who spray the base of the gem depository with the Nth metal. It breaks away from its foundation and floats up into the air, and Black Mask follows it in a helicopter, then "boards" it and captures the guards.

Hawkman manages to slow the train's ascent long enough for Batman to hook it with a line from the Batmobile and pull it down to Earth. Hawkman breaks the wheels and puts the train down safely. They realize that they've been distracted and Hawkman lifts them up to the gem depository. Hawkman takes on the helicopter while Batman and Robin go after Black Mask and the Shadow Thief. The Thief sprays Robin with the Nth metal and he floats up into the sky, where Hawkman catches him and returns him to the depository. Batman nails the Shadow Thief's dimensiometer with a Batarang, destroying it and shifting him into solid form where he's helpless. Hawkman then takes out the helicopter, which slams into the building and knocks the Nth metal off the foundation. The building starts to plummet to earth, while Robin helps take out Black Mask and the others by fighting upside down from the ceiling. Hawkman grabs a cable and pulls it enough so that it misses the city and lands in the bay. The heroes take their respective villains into custody and Gotham now has a new water attraction. Next morning,the duo are wathcing the news,then Dick heads out to go swim at the new attraction.

## Cast/Characters

* Rino Romano as Bruce Wayne/The Batman
* Evan Sabara as Dick Grayson/Robin
* Robert Patrick as Hawkman
* James Remar as Black Mask
* Diedrich Bader as Carl Sands/Shadow Thief
* John Mariano as Number One
* Robert Clotworthy as Warden
* Peter Jessop as Curator
* Lex Lang as Tech 2
* Alfred Pennyworth (cameo)
* Barbara Gordon (cameo)
* James Gordon (cameo)

## Events

- Character debuts:

* Shadow Thief

- Number One is replaced by another henchman,who eventually dies and is then replaced by a female Number One.

- Batman teams up with Hawkman.

- The Batcave is repaired after the events of *The End of the Batman*.

## Trivia

* This is the last episode in *The Batman* where Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Barbara Gordon appear as civilians.
* This is also the last episode in *The Batman* where Alfred and Comissioner Gordon appear.
* When watching the show on HBO Max, this episode mistakenly plays the opening sequence twice in a row, and only the second one has the 'skip intro' button. It is unclear if this mistake exists anywhere else.
* Hawkman is redesigned to have a smaller beak and a grey instead of red mace.
* Thanagar is mentioned but does not really appear. Same thing with Midway City.
* The last Number One's voice is uncredited.
* This is one of the few times in the series where guns are fired.
* This is one of the few times in the series where Batman is not refered to as *The* Batman.

## Errors

* When the Dynamic Duo confronts Black Mask,Robin's mouth is missing.
* As Batman and Robin chase Black Mask,Robin's arm and cape overlap Batman's arm.
* Number One states that nobody was ever able to break into the Gotham Gem Depository even though Joker 2.0 did it. Mouth error.Layering error.