The Batman-Superman Movie - World's Finest (1997) • An Part 002

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## Plot

Three days later, things are no better between Batman and Superman. Lois and Bruce flirt with each other at the *Daily Planet*, much to Clark's chagrin. Out of her earshot they talk about Joker's location, and Clark warns Bruce not to mistreat Lois, based on his reputation as a playboy, which he dismisses. Revealing he and Lois are now in a serious relationship and points out to Clark that he missed his chance with Lois. Lois then returns and she and Bruce leave for their date, while Clark is left more annoyed and jealous.

That night over dinner at a rooftop restaurant, Bruce and Lois are getting closer, but Bruce, slightly concerned asks if there was ever anything between her and Clark. However, Lois assure him that his only competition "flew away sometime ago". Bruce and Lois are just about to share a kiss until they are interrupted by the sudden arrival of the Joker. Bruce and Lois are surrounded by Joker's thugs. Joker then leaps at Lois and shocks her with his electric buzzer, leaving her unconscious in his arms. Bruce demands he let Lois go and attempts to rescue her, but the thugs begin to shoot at him and he soon falls over the edge. However, Bruce manages to save himself, however they continue to shoot at him, until Bruce begins to fall again. Bruce then soon grabs an edge of the hotel. Joker is soon in his blimp where he rides off with a kidnapped Lois.

Later, the police and Superman have been alerted of the event and assure Bruce that Lois will be saved. Bruce and Superman share a private talk, where Bruce informs Superman to expect the unexpected from Joker, however Superman dismisses his warning and flies off. At Joker's hideout, he and Harley show a tied up and gagged Lois the Kryptonite statue, where he brags that after he kills Superman, even the tiniest piece of the statue will each be worth a fortune, breaks it in half, saving one half for later. Harley takes off Lois' gag where she expresses her disgust of the Joker's plan. Harley then gags Lois again. Joker then tells Lois that she has the story of the century in her hands: The Death of Superman.

At a LexCorp storage unit, Batman (having secretly brought the Batwing with him) flies off into the sky to rescue Lois. At Metropolis Police Department, Joker contacts Superman, inviting him to come alone to one of LexCorp's laboratories. Batman tracks Superman's location and starts to follow him.

Superman arrives at the laboratory wearing his Anti-Kryptonite suit. Joker appears confused when the Kryptonite has no effect on him, and Superman quickly gets him to lead him to where Lois is. But just as Superman is about to save Lois, Joker uses his acid flower to destroy the suit. Exposed to the radiation, Superman is quickly incapacitated by Joker, and who gleefully celebrates his victory by electrocuting Superman with his buzzer. Before he can kill Superman, however, Harley Quinn calls and warns that Batman has arrived. Joker leaves, and as soon as Batman enters the room, the doors are sealed and Joker Gas is vented in.

Batman examines the room's contents: barrels of hydrochloric acid, too weak to eat through the walls or door, but instead, Batman uses it to dissolve the Kryptonite. Recovering from its effects, Superman is just able to smash their way out of the room, taking Batman and Lois with him. They confront Joker, who distracts them with grenades made to look like marbles. They flee the laboratory, which is destroyed in an explosion.

The next morning, Luthor makes a public statement that the explosion was only a minor problem but is furious with Joker for destroying his property. Clark, among the reporters, hears Luthor mention of his deal with Joker. Later at Joker's hideout, Harley tries to cheer him up, but Joker is furious over what had occurred the previous night. Suddenly, they are attacked when gunshots start to appear out of no where, while Joker and Harley hide for cover. They soon stop and the intruders are revealed to be Luthor and Mercy, Luthor confronts Joker and is furious at him using one of his laboratories.

Joker then calls out to Harley, while Luthor calls out to Mercy and a fight soon ensues between them. As Mercy and Harley fight, Luthor and Joker talk, Luthor demands an explanation and Joker reveals to him that Batman has arrived in Metropolis. Luthor is shocked, but Joker assures him that he still has half of the Kryptonite and can finish the job. However, with Batman now involved, Joker demands more money, but Luthor refuses saying that if he can't handle Superman or Batman than their deal is off. Luthor then calls out to Mercy alerting her it's time they leave and warns Joker that he has one last chance, otherwise he will have him killed.

Later, Clark arrives at Lois' apartment, wanting to check up on her, however he is surprised to see Bruce there and attempts to leave. However, Lois stops him and asks to at least tell her why he stopped by, Clark then reveals to Lois and Bruce of how he believes that Luthor is involved with the Joker, but can't prove it yet. Bruce then offers to help stating he could "ask" Luthor.

In his apartment, Luthor is rudely awakened by Batman. Batman demands to know what deal has he made with Joker, Luthor denies anything as Mercy sneaks behind Batman and attempts to attack him, however already realizing her presence Batman knocks her unconscious. He again asks Luthor, who becomes too frightened to even form words. They are soon interrupted when they hear more of Luthor's bodyguards, as Batman leaves he warns Luthor that he'll be back. Luthor's bodyguards bust in, but find Batman gone and are about to ask what happened, but Luthor simply asks them to leave. Mercy then awakens and is told by Luthor to call Joker, who realizes that Batman is a serious enough threat and that he must be taken care of as well.

Lois tells Clark that she's planning a transfer to the Planet's Gotham City bureau, feeling that she and Bruce are serious enough that they're practically engaged. Clark is upset from the news, though Lois tries to cheer him up by saying he will no longer have a rival reporter at the Planet and will likely earn a better living. However they are soon interrupted when Perry alerts them to a distress call from a cruise ship. While Lois starts to immediately work on the story, Clark sneaks away and flies off as Superman. At his hotel, Bruce is working out until he notices a blimp sent by the Joker, inviting Batman to Hobbs Bay. Bruce is confused at to what the Joker is up to now, Alfred then appears with his uniform and the Jet-wing and Bruce as Batman soon takes off.

Superman arrives at the cruise ship and asks the captain what is the problem. However, he is confused and both him and Superman find a fake a distress signal near the ship to lure Superman away. However the distress becomes real when a bomb is detonated on the hull, causing the ship to sink. Batman arrives at the dock, where he meets the Joker, but it turns out to be a trap as Batman is attacked by a now armed Wayne/Lex T-7.

## Continuity

* Batman's and Superman's next encounters before be part of the Justice League happen subsequently in the episodes "Knight Time" and "The Demon Reborn".
* Wayne Enterprises' brief partnership with LexCorp is later found, in the episode "Knight Time", to have allowed Brainiac to infect Wayne's computers, after having done so to LexCorp's in "Stolen Memories" (see also "Ghost in the Machine").
* The long term effects of Kryptonite radiation on humans is further explored in *Justice League* episode "Injustice For All", when Luthor is diagnosed with an incurable form of blood cancer as a result of carrying Kryptonite around with him for years. Luthor also tells Joker that he wants nothing to do with him, when Joker reappears in that episode.
* It is revealed in *Justice League*, "Tabula Rasa," that Batman carries a piece of Kryptonite in his utility belt at all times, as "insurance." Since he does not contract Kryptonite poisoning, it can be presumed that, after learning about the deaths of the Laughing Dragon's previous owners, he knows enough to keep it sealed in a lead-lined container that blocks its radiation.
* Lois and Bruce have a brief reunion in "The Demon Reborn", where Lois reveals to Bruce she was having second thoughts about her relationship with him and there were several times that she had almost picked up the phone. Unfortunately, she was talking to herself, because, as usual, Batman had already disappeared.
* Superman claims he heard Batman was "crazy". In "The Last Son of Krypton", Martha Kent previously referred to Batman as "that nut in Gotham City".

## Background information

### Home video releases

* The Batman Superman Movie (VHS)
* The Batman Superman Movie (DVD)
* Superman: The Animated Series, Volume Two (DVD)
* Superman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD)
* DC Comics Super-Villains: The Joker's Last Laugh (DVD)

### Production notes

* In the audio commentary, Bruce Timm says that it was Glen Murakami's suggestion not to put red lips on the Joker. Glen justifies it on grounds of "simplification", and Bruce admits it was a mistake.
* The tune played by the Joker's balloon in Part II is first heard in the *Batman: The Animated Series* episode "Robin's Reckoning", during a fight on a carousel. It was also previously heard at the carnival in "Baby-Doll".
* In part three, when the larger Wayne/Lex T-7 hits Superman with the Gatling gun, there's an explosion that is reused footage from a scene of "My Girl", in which Mr. Eelan blows a vat of hot lead off its support.
* In part three, when Joker drops his bag of marble grenades, the rolling marbles is reused footage from the marble grenade scene in part two.
* Because the Laughing Dragon was carved (approximately) thirty years before the events of this episode, it can be deduced that Superman/Clark Kent is at least 30 and possibly older (going by Earth years, as Kryptonians physically age much more slowly than humans do, as shown in "The Call", where Superman is in his 80s but appears in his 50s).

### Production inconsistencies

* This is the first time Batman's "Jet-wing" is seen and seems to be a new sight for the Joker. Its first chronological appearance, however, is in the flashbacks of the *The New Batman Adventures* episode "Old Wounds" where Joker was the present villain.
* When Superman breaks into LexCorp's chemical plant to confront the Joker for the first time, the last ceiling he crashes through already has a hole in it before he enters.
* "Apokolips... Now!" was produced before this episode, but aired later. Dan Turpin's appearance would have been an issue when looking at the production order, but not the airing order.

### Trivia

* The Joker offers Lois a scoop he calls "The Death of Superman"; this was a major storyline in the comics about Superman's supposed death at the hands of Doomsday.
* Batman and Joker's involvement in this episode bear strong similarities to the movie *Batman: Mask of the Phantasm*: Joker is supposed to be paid to stop the show's hero (though his position on the deal is reversed), Bruce's love interest (both played by Dana Delany) is used to get to the show's hero and discovers he is Batman, and Joker is nearly killed in a giant explosion caused by what he was using to fight the hero(es) at the end.
* Batman taking out the second round of Joker's goons in the Lexcorp warehouse strongly resembles the *Batman: The Animated Series* intro in that Batman dodges the bullets the same way and disarms both goons with a single batarang.
* Batman's confrontation with Lex Luthor in *Batman* #573 strongly resembles their first face to mask meeting in Part II in that Lex wakes up frightened by the "fright mask" in front of him and realizes that Batman will have to be dealt with and tells Mercy to contact Bane, who was working for them at the time. In the comic, however, Batman renders Mercy unconscious before waking Lex and tells Luthor that she shouldn't bother attacking him from behind.
* Bruce asking Lois if there's some "special signal" to call Superman and her responding that he's not like Batman is likely a reference to the Bat-signal, which was actually imitated by Luminus in "Solar Power" to signal Superman. Superman's signature signalling device appears later in "Superman's Pal" when he gives a signal watch to Jimmy Olsen.

## Voice-Cast

* Kevin Conroy - Batman/Bruce Wayne and Cruise Ship Captain (uncredited)
* Tim Daly - Superman/Clark Joseph Kent
* Dana Delany Lois Lane
* Mark Hamill - An The Joker
* Clancy Brown - Lex L Luthor
* Arleen Sorkin - Harley Quinn
* Lisa Edelstein - Mercy Graves
* Lauren Tom - Angela Chen
* Joseph Bologna - Dan Turpin
* Efrem Zimbalist Junior - Servant Alfred Pennyworth
* Peter Penaday - Captain
* George Dzundza - Chief Perry White

## Quotes

**Dan Turpin:** Swell, now Gotham is sending *us* their wackos.

**Bruce:** She never stops, does she?

**Clark:** Not that I've noticed. Any luck finding the comedian?

**Bruce:** *(In Batman voice)* Three nights, and not so much as a green hair.

**Clark:** Of course, you have been dividing your time between work and Lois.

**Bruce:** Is that a problem?

**Clark:** Let's just say I'm concerned. Your reputation is dubious, in and out of costume.

**Bruce:** You realize she's just the bait.

**Superman:** I'll be careful.

**Bruce:** Careful won't cut it. With Joker, expect the unexpected.

**Superman:** Maybe *you* should have remembered that.

**Joker:** My, you do like to live dangerously. Don't you realize you're moving in on Superman's main squeeze?

**Joker:** You've got a front row seat for the story of the century, my dear... the death of Superman.

**Joker:** See that he's street pizza! In this town, some flying fool could've caught him!

**Joker:** *(to Superman)* More powerful than a locomotive...! And just about as subtle.

**Joker:** I know you're trying to cheer me up, Harley, but you see, any time I blow a billion dollar deal... IT REALLY KILLS MY APPETITE!!

**Joker:** Honestly, Lex, don't you think I feel bad enough already?

**Luthor:** (*Angrily grabs him*) YOU MANIAC! YOU IDIOT! HOW DARE YOU USE ONE OF MY LABORATORIES FOR YOUR...

**Mercy:** *(fighting Harley)* Here's for that punch in the face!

**Harley:** Ooh, listen to Little Miss Can't-Take-A-Joke!

**Batman:** How soon can we get to Hob's Bay?
*(Alfred opens a case with the Jet-wing.)*

**Alfred:** If I may be so bold, sir... "when in Rome"...

**Joker:** Copybat, copybat. Suffering from propulsion envy, Batboy?

**Joker:** Think of it as a welcome wagon, Bats. Welcoming you to the nearest mortuary.