Traction

**"Traction"** is the second episode of the first season of *The Batman* and the second episode overall.

## "Traction"

### Episode

2 (production order)2 (overall)
3 (airing order)

## Synopsis

Seeking revenge on Batman for ruining their criminal operations, three mob bosses meet together and hire a mysterious villain named Bane to finish him off, once and for all. Batman quickly discovers that he is no ordinary criminal, as he can become powerful enough through the use of a special venom pumped into his body by a unique infusion system, allowing him to defeat the caped crusader. With Bane free to terrorise the city, Batman, recovering from his injuries, finds himself seeking a new way to stop him.

## Plot

Two thugs converse with one another in an alley concerning their mutual Batman woes. A third man approaches them and says that he knows a mercenary who will make all of their problems disappear. He introduces them to Bane.

Back in the Batcave, Bruce Wayne experiments with some equipment left over from Wayne Industries. He operates giant servo motors that connect to a large Batbot armor device while Alfred beings him nachos.

Later, Bane attacks an armored car. He tosses the security guards about and ties them up causing fear to the police. He is hoping that the attack will bait Batman into coming after him. Bruce picks up the news report of Bane's attack on the Batwave, and quickly changes into his costume. He is not the only one to respond to the emergency however. Detectives Ethan Bennett and Ellen Yin likewise receive a call and race down to the crime scene to intercept Bane.

Batman fights with Bane, and holds his own until Bane injects himself with a super-drug called Venom. His body mass triples in size and he transforms into a humungous red-skinned brute. Bane thoroughly thrashes Batman and leaves him for dead in an alley.

When Bennett and Yin arrive, Bane is long gone. Batman regains consciousness long enough to get to cover without being seen. After the detectives leave, Alfred drives by to pick up Batman's battered body. The detectives decide to search the hospitals for Batman. Batman sends the Batmobile away from the detectives. Alfred then demands moving him to a hospital, much to Batman's dismay. However, when Alfred sees the cops on the scene,he backs away and decides to attend to Bruce by himself. Alfred tells that being summoned to pick Bruce up has never been a good omen. Bruce then gets a flashback. Young Bruce is sitting sadly and lonely after his parents died. Jim Gordon then comes to him and tells him that someone is here for him, Alfred. Alfred promises that while he never can replace them, he will never leave Bruce (end of flashback). Present day, Alfred tells him to be strong, while Bruce smiles.

Three weeks later, the detectives are investigating a scene, caused by Bane. The press then comes to ask questions. Yin assures that the scene is under control, and when asked about Batman, she states that he's probably dead. Bruce recuperates at home, while Bane continues his crime spree. Rumors begin to circulate that the Batman is dead. Bruce sees that Gotham needs Batman now, while Alfred argues that it's probably best they believe the Batman is dead, and Bruce should finally get on with his normal life. Once he is sufficiently healed however, Bruce completes construction on the Batbot. Alfred asks him what he's doing, and Bruce answers that he's doing what Alfred suggested, getting on with life. Alfred declines to help, but when he sees Bruce failing, he offers help. They construct the Batbot. The police get reports of Bane activity. Yin goes to face him on her own. Bane is seen stealing a vault, and Yin tries to stop him, but obviously fails.

Batman encounters his foe at the Gotham City bank, with his new Batbot. Bennett tries taking the elevator to get to Yin, but Bane smashed it; he goes to take the stairs. Meanwhile, the two engage in a brutal battle that carries over into the street. Ethan then arrives to Ellen, and calls for an ambulance and back-up. He then sees the two giants fighting, and cancels the back-up. Despite the added protection of the Batbot armor, Bane manages to nearly destroy Batman. Batman grabs an exposed live wire and inserts it into Bane's Venom injection port. The sudden electrical surge interacts with the Venom drug and forces Bane to revert back into his normal physical shape. Bruised and weary, Batman radios Alfred to come and pick him up. Bane is then arrested. Yin and Ethan watch the news in the hospital. Yin realises that Batman is back, while Ethan states that he seemed different. Yin tells that this doesn't change things, and Ethan says that he knows. Meanwhile at the Batcave, the Batwave goes off and Bruce suits up for action, albeit with minor pain still. He then drives away to the crime.

## Cast/Characters

* Rino Romano as Bruce Wayne/Batman
* Joaquim de Almeida as Bane
* Alastair Duncan as Alfred Pennyworth
* Steve Harris as Detective Ethan Bennett
* Ming-Na as Detective Ellen Yin
* Joe Lala as Crime Boss #1 and #3
* Michael Bell as Crime Boss #2
* Mitch Pileggi as Commissioner Gordon
* Neil Ross as Robinson Sprang
* Thomas Wayne (mentioned)
* Martha Wayne (mentioned)

## Events

- Character debuts:

* Crime bosses
* Bane
* James Gordon (flashback)
* Robinson Sprang

- Batman builds the Bat-Bot

- A portion of what happened to Bruce after his parents' death is seen

## Trivia

* In the opening scene of the episode, in which three crime bosses meet to discuss how to eliminate Batman, one of the bosses (the Asian man who apparently would be a Chinese Mafia boss) has a very similar physiognomy to Hugo Strange (with the exception of his prominent Chinese mustache, which Strange lacks).
	+ One could argue it's Strange in disguise, however he's only credited as "crime boss",has a different voice and the boss' M.O doesn't match Strange.
* Same as in the comic *Knightfall*, Batman is broken by Bane.

* The scene where Batman is hiding on the ceiling above Yin and drops a drop of sweat that alerts her is similar to a scene in *Spider-Man* (2002). However, the only difference in the movie is that the drop is blood. Additionally the scene in this episode happened also in the *Ninjago: Dragons Rising* episode *The Calm Inside*.

* Gordon's voice actor is uncredited.
	+ Adding to that,producer and art director Jeff Matsuda  would later confirm that the man in the flashback is Gordon
		- The scene being similar to the one in *Batman Begins* is coincidential.

* Det. Bennett calls for help at the intersection of "Englehart and Rogers". This is a reference to the writer/artist team of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers, who wrote and drew several Batman stories during the Seventies.
* Bane's line "so, the Batman returns" is possibly referencing the film *Batman Returns.*
* Despite being the second episode of the series, the original airdate was a week after the third episode *Call of the Cobblepot*.
* This is one of the few times in the series where guns are fired.

## Errors

* When they first fight, Bane wore long sleeves, but before he grows, his sleeves become arm bracelets.
* When Batman throws Batarangs at Bane, the blue bat emblems on them are missing. They also do not make their traditional whirring sound.
* When Bane says "you cannot beat Bane!" his mouth doesn't move.
* When Alfred is driving with Batman to safety, his hair is the same color as his skin in one scene.
* After the battle with Bane, Bruce lies in bed with a band-aid on his nose. When Alfred catches him working on the Batbot, he doesn't have the band-aid. After Alfred tells him that he may be on his own, they show Bruce with the band-aid back on his nose. Batarangs error.Hair error.

## References

1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110613190713/http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1902711&postcount=58