Grundy's Night

**"Grundy's Night"** is the eleventh episode of the second season of *The Batman* and the twenty-fourth episode overall.

## Synopsis

It's Halloween night, yet there are real scares in store when Solomon Grundy, a zombie legend of Gotham, comes to life and begins going after the descendants of those who founded the city, robbing them and destroying everything they own. As Batman and Alfred try to stop him, it soon becomes clear that Grundy is not all that he appears to be.

## Plot

On Halloween night, two little boys go to a manor for trick or treat. They are welcomed by the Emmett twins, and they ask what the boys are doing here looking for trick or treat. The kids tell them it's Halloween, but they respond saying it is not just any Halloween, it's Grundy's night. They then tell the origin of Grundy. 150 years ago, a monster rose from a swamp to wreak havoc upon Gotham, but even the lives Grundy ruined weren't enough,and he vowed to ruin the lives of the descendants too,by returning on the darkest of all Hallows Eves; tonight, during a total lunar eclipse. When the boys ask them how they know all this, they tell that they are the granddaughters of Emmett Bolton, one of Grundy's victims. The boys run away in fear. The twins go inside and laugh, until Grundy appears out of Emmett's photo.

At Wayne Manor, as Alfred puts on his costume, someone knocks on the door. When he opens, he gets surprised by a man wearing a Grundy mask, with three kids wearing Joker, Catwoman and Penguin costumes. Alfred gives them candy, then shuts the door. Bruce and Alfred discuss costumes as Bruce finishes a pumpkin. Alfred admits that he did get a bit spooked by the Grundy mask, as it is Grundy's night. Bruce mocks the idea, and Alfred tells him that not all legends are legend. Just as then, the Batwave goes off. Bruce suits up. He then arrives at the ruins of the Emmett manor. The twins explain what happened, and that Grundy caused it, which Batman finds hard to believe. They point to a footprint, which somewhat convinces him, and they tell him Grundy will come for the others too,p rompting Batman to ask who are they. Batman then arrives at Winslow's manor, and finds him being attacked by Grundy. Winslow runs, and Batman fights Grundy. He tries holding him in place, but he breaks free. He then throws bombs, but even that doesn't work. Grundy counters one of Batman's punches, and throws him away. Grundy throws him across the manor, and smashes it along the way. He then leaves and demolishes the manor, falling on Batman.

As Batman gets up from the rubble, three kids in costumes approach him (one of which is dressed as Batman). Winslow mourns his lost fortune,and Batman leaves when the police arrives. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce and Alfred discuss Grundy's recent attack. Alfred then tells the legend. *Gotham's swamp was once a lake, but three businessmen, Bolton, Winslow and Parish, conspired to make the area a dumping ground for the industrial waste created by Gotham's construction, turning the lake into Gotham swamp, and rendering the area uninhabitable. Several of the laborers who lost their homes were versed in magic from their native countries. On all Hallows Eves, during a lunar eclipse they used that magic to form Solomon Grundy from the very waste of Gotham swamp. Since the laborers and their families lost everything they owned, so, too would Grundy haunt Gotham's founding fathers and their families through the years, leaving them destitute.* As Alfred finishes, he finds that Bruce had already went to the Batcave. Bruce is analysing the mud on his cape for Grundy's DNA. Bruce tells him to call him when the results are in, as Bruce heads to Grundy's last victim. At a wax museum, Batman arrives as Parish closes it. Batman spots Grundy and tries to catch him, but loses him. He then gets surprised by a costumed civilian. Alfred calls Batman, and tells that the Batwave has detected mutated human DNA, which isn't attached to follicles or skin, but in the mud itself. Grundy then appears behind Batman.

As Batman and Grundy fight, Batman reveals that Grundy was Clayface all along. Attacking the descendants was a cover so he could steal their valuables. Clayface rushes into the wax museum, and Batman follows him. As Batman ventures through the museum trying to find Clayface, he stumbles upon a Grundy statue, but it was too obvious to be Clayface. Just as then, Clayface drops his cover from another statue and attacks Batman. Batman freezes Clayface's leg, but he separates from it and runs away. Batman destroys the ice and follows the leg as it goes back to its owner. It enters Parish's office,and when Batman opens the vault, he finds it with two layers, one of which is Clayface, who catches him by surprise. Batman shocks him to break free, and Clayface throws him. Clayface hides among the wax dummies, and then catches Batman. He tries throwing him in the hot wax, but Batman grapples away, and throws a Batarang at a container filled with hot wax, falling on Clayface and freezing him in place. Later at Wayne Manor, Bruce and Alfred celebrate Halloween and ponder on the thought if Grundy is actually real. At Gotham Swamp,two boys are playing around to test if Grundy is real. When they find their efforts fruitless, they decide to leave. Just as they do, Grundy pops out of the swamp and goes after them.

## Cast/Characters

* Rino Romano as Bruce Wayne/Batman
* Alastair Duncan as Alfred Pennyworth
* Steve Harris as Clayface
* Jason Marsden as the little boys
* Kevin Grevioux as Solomon Grundy
* Billie Hayes as Virginia and Georgia
* Ming-Na as Detective Ellen Yin (deleted scene only)
* Jesse Corti as Chief Rojas (deleted scene only)
* Joker (costume)
* Penguin (costume)
* Catwoman (costume)
* Emmett Bolton (photo and flashback)
* Winslow's ancestor (flashback)
* Mr. Winslow
* Parish's ancestor (flashback)
* Mr. Parish

## Events

- Character debuts:

* Solomon Grundy
* Virginia
* Georgia
* Emmett Bolton
* Winslow's ancestor
* Mr. Winslow
* Parish's ancestor
* Mr. Parish

## Trivia

* This episode was formerly titled "*Halloween Clayfaces."*
* Batman's ears on the cowl have gotten longer in this episode.
* Batman doesn't call Clayface "Ethan" anymore, knowing that Ethan is no more.
* This is the only episode where Joker is not responsible for Ethan's crimes.
* In a deleted scene, some flashbacks of *The Rubberface of Comedy*, *The Clayface of Tragedy*, and *Meltdown* are used.
* This is the only epsiode where Ethan is a full on villain.
* The title was first spoken by one of the Emmett twins, and later by others throughout the episode.
* Winslow's voice is uncredited.
* The cat and the costumed civilian in the near end of the episode were actually Clayface.
* Despite being a disguise for Clayface, Solomon Grundy actually exists, hinted by the legends,the appearance at the end, and that Grundy appears in the show's tie-in comic series *The Batman Strikes!*.
* Much like the previous episode, this episode plays the opening sequence twice in a row in the HBO Max version.
* The door knob of the Bolton Manor looks like the demon seals in *Batman: Arkham City*.
* The twins mistakened Batman for a vampire, something that has also happened in *The Batman vs. Dracula*.
* This is one of the few times the word "die" is used in the series. In this episode, Clayface and Batman say "dead".
* For whatever reason, the season 2 DVD booklet refers to this episode simply as "Solomon Grundy". This issue is not present neither in the actual DVD menu nor in the Blu-Ray menu.