 The New Batman Adventures |
| Never Fear | |
|---|---|
| Episode 4 | |
| |
| Air date | November 1, 1997 |
| Directed by | Kenji Hachizaki |
| Written by | Stan Berkowitz |
| Music by | Shirley Walker |
| Airdate Sequence | |
| Previous Cold Comfort |
Next You Scratch My Back |
| Production Sequence | |
| Previous You Scratch My Back |
Next Joker's Millions |
- "Fear is the glue that holds society together. It's what makes people suppress their worst impulses. Fear is power."
- - Scarecrow
Never Fear is an episode of The New Batman Adventures. It is notable for introducing Scarecrow to the new series, featuring a new character design created in order to give the character a more sinister look than his previous incarnation in Batman: The Animated Series.
"Never Fear" is the fourth episode aired and the sixth produced episode of "TNBA".
Plot[]
A mysterious enemy
Batman and Robin spot a man swinging recklessly across the city until he causes a serious accident. The heroes prevent any other citizen to be harmed, but they can't reason with the man who caused the incident, as he has no sense of fear and is willing to risk his and other people's lives for the thrill of it all, which is why they capture the man and take him to the authorities. As the crowd cheers, a man in a white suit, not looking so satisfied, leaves. He then confers in an auditorium with a shadowy figure, who berates him for not keeping a watch on the lunatic, who turns out to be a test subject.
The next day, Bruce Wayne arrives at Wayne Enterprises and meets with Tim, who is on summer vacation. Bruce tells Tim that the police have uncovered that the man from the previous night has fear of heights, which is hard to believe considering his actions. At that moment, a disgruntled employee of Wayne Ent. bursts into Bruce's office angry at Bruce for not being able to share his ideas for the company with his boss. Fearless of the consequences, the man quits his job and as he leaves, he forces a kiss on Bruce's secretary before he is taken by security. After the events, Bruce notices the man's wallet on the floor, and upon closer inspection, he finds a card with a number and the words: "Never Fear".
Bruce undercover
That night, a disguised Bruce attends "Never Fear", a self-help seminar by Scarecrow's henchman, only known as Guru, who promises his audience to get rid of the fear that prevents them from enjoying life to the fullest. In the middle of the seminar, Bruce sneaks away into the private offices of the building, where he finds canisters of gas, but Scarecrow attacks Bruce from behind, knocking him unconscious. When Bruce awakes, he finds himself somewhere outdoors, surrounded by a fenced pool with crocodiles. Scarecrow shows up to interrogate Bruce, who pretends to be a common thief. Scarecrow uses his gas on Bruce and watches as he walks into the crocodile pool and is not seen again after he starts struggling with the animals. However, Bruce comes out of the water having killed the crocodiles and walks away, clearly affected by the gas.
At Wayne Manor, Tim wonders where could Bruce be, when the man walks inside the place and tells Tim to suit-up and get on the plane. Minutes later, Batman pilots the Batwing as he explains to Robin what he discovered about Scarecrow and his gas that removes people's fear. However, Batman's piloting is totally reckless and Robin learns that Batman inhaled some of the gas, but that he "can handle it", despite all evidence pointing to the opposite.
After a frightening flight, Batman and Robin arrive at Scarecrow's headquarters, but find that they have moved all the gas out of the place. After taking out all of the henchmen, Batman confronts Guru and interrogates him about the gas. The man refuses to talk and Batman threatens to cut the rope from which Guru is hanging through the window. Out of fear, Guru reveals that Scarecrow moved the gas to the subway, as he intends to fill the tunnels and affect the entire city. With the information he wanted, Batman leaves the man hanging as the rope slowly breaks until it's completely cut and Robin has to save the thug from certain death.
Batman tied
Moments later, Batman approaches the Batwing on the rooftop of the building, but he is soon trapped with one of his Batropes. Much to Batman's shock, it was Robin who had tied him. The boy explains that Batman is out of control as a result of the gas, which has removed his fears and made him dangerous. After removing the Utility Belt from Batman, Robin intends to go on his own to stop Scarecrow. Batman tries to convince Robin that he is right about the gas affecting him, but that he needs his help to take down Scarecrow. Robin approaches Batman, apparently convinced, but the boy turns back and a furious Batman reveals his true intentions.
By the time Robin arrives to the subway tunnels, Batman manages to break the batrope and has to catch up with the boy. Meanwhile, Robin sneaks inside the train that Scarecrow is planning to use in order to spread the gas. Inside the train, Robin finds Scarecrow recording a message for the mayor, telling him about his gas and how much the antidote is going to cost the city. At the sight of the antidote, Robin jumps towards Scarecrow and manages to subdue the criminal. Unfortunately, he is attacked by one of Scarecrow's thugs from behind and knocked unconscious. Scarecrow realizes that if Robin has located him, his partner cannot be far away and decides to set his plan in motion at once.
Batman vs Scarecrow
True enough, Batman arrives to the location just as the train starts moving and he barely manages to get inside. Batman takes down Scarecrow's henchmen without much consideration for their safety and makes his way to the main wagon, where he walks past Robin, ignoring the boy, towards Scarecrow. Batman and Scarecrow struggle for a few moments, damaging the train's controls, but a few seconds later, Batman gets the upper hand of the fight and starts strangling Scarecrow. Robin breaks the handcuffs with his own hands and grabs the antidote to cure Batman from the effects of the fear-removing gas. Batman stops strangling Scarecrow and the villain falls unconscious. However, the train is headed towards a dead end at full speed and without the controls, it cannot be stopped. Batman and Robin jump out of the train before it crashes, taking Scarecrow with them. The Dynamic Duo get back to Gotham at the break of dawn, carrying the unconscious Scarecrow with them. Robin reveals that he was afraid of restraining Batman when he did, but the Dark Knight replies that a little fear is good, reassuring Robin that he is no longer under the effects of the gas.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
| Mathew Valencia | Robin/Tim Drake |
| Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. | Alfred Pennyworth Acrophobic Man (uncredited) |
| Jeffrey Combs | Scarecrow |
| Charles Rocket | Guru |
| Ken Berry | Seymour Grey |
| Pamela Segall | Mother Sarah (uncredited) |
Notes and trivia[]
- Although the plot about the fear gas bombs in the subway is used on the videogame Batman: Gotham City Racer, there are no clips from the episode used as cutscenes. There are only a couple of shots of the new Scarecrow used as in-game descriptions for the level.
- The episode has been released as part of the following Home video sets:
- Batman: The Animated Series, Volume Four
- Batman: The Complete Animated Series
Gallery[]
