 The New Batman Adventures |
| Sins of the Father | |
|---|---|
| Episode 2 | |
| |
| Air date | September 20, 1997 |
| Directed by | Curt Geda |
| Written by | Rich Fogel |
| Music by | Shirley Walker |
| Airdate Sequence | |
| Previous Holiday Knights |
Next Cold Comfort |
| Production Sequence | |
| Previous Holiday Knights |
Next Cold Comfort |
- "Hey, no one can be a Boy Wonder forever."
- - Dick Grayson
Sins of the Father is the second episode of The New Batman Adventures. It is notable for officially introducing Tim Drake to the series, providing his origin story as the new Robin. It also marks the first appearances of Two-Face and Alfred in the new series.
"Sins of the Father" is the second produced and aired episode of "TNBA".
Plot[]
An elder police officer chases a street kid across the narrow alleys of Gotham City after the kid stole the officer's box of donuts. The kid attemps to get away through a fire escape, but finds himself trapped. Using a Batarang, the kid manages to trap the officer before he could capture him and leaves the place with the donuts.
Moments later, a couple of thugs break into and apartment looking for a man called "Drake", but they find the place in shambles. The street kid then breaks into the apartment through the window and the thugs grab him, asking about his father. The kid tosses the donuts at them and runs away to the building's entrance, but his getaway is stopped by Two-Face, who is the criminal looking for his father.
Two-Face interrogates Tim
Two-Face and his thugs take the street kid, whose name is Tim, to the docks in order to interrogate him about the whereabouts of his father and the location of a stolen property, which belongs to Two-Face. Tim knows nothing about it, but upon searching him, the thugs find a farewell letter from his father, with a key inside. Two-Face takes the key and after tossing his coin, he tells his henchmen to kill Tim. Batman shows up and disarms the thugs with a couple of batarangs, giving Tim a chance to free himself, while he deals with the criminals. Two-Face attacks Batman by surprise and in doing so, he starts a fire due to the explosive materials at the docks. Batman and Tim jump to the water, searching for safety, while Two-Face and his thugs keep looking for them. Batman is badly injured and using a remote control, he summons the Batboat. Batman and Tim get inside and the auto-pilot is activated, taking them back to the Batcave.
The Batboat enters the cave and Alfred is shocked to see an unknown kid alongside a wounded Batman. Alfred gives Batman medical attention, while Tim is amazed by the Batcave and its contents. However, when Alfred is not paying attention, Tim sneaks away from the cave and into Wayne Manor. Tim wanders around the place until he finds Bruce Wayne's private study and learns Batman's secret identity. However, at that moment he is spotted by Batgirl, who takes him back to the Batcave.
Batgirl finds the letter
Alfred had called Batgirl as soon as Batman returned and she is just as shocked about the new kid as Alfred. Batman decides to ignore the fact that Tim had stolen items from his study and asks him about his father's connection with Two-Face. Tim explains his father used to work for the criminal, but he knows nothing else. Batgirl finds the farewell letter and notices the mark left by the key, which Batman immediately recognizes as a key belonging to the Gotham Airport.
Indeed, Two-Face is using the key to open a private locker at the airport which contains a couple of chemicals he needs for his next big hit. Batman arrives too late to stop Two-Face and in the ensuing chase, Batman fails to capture the criminal, as he ends up trapped in the middle of the runway while an airplane heads towards him. Using the Batrope, Batman saves himself, but in the meantime, Two-Face escapes.
Later, Tim has troubling dreams about his father and awakes in one of Wayne Manor's rooms. He descends to the Batcave, where Batman has managed to find information about Tim's father. Steven "Shifty" Drake was a street kid, much like Tim and as an adult, he gained a bad reputation thanks to his endless criminal record. Batman has also learned that an unknown body has been found in Metropolis and the fingerprints match those of Drake. Tim hears this and realizes that his father is dead. Batman confirms this and asks Tim what was his father hiding from Two-Face, but again, Tim doesn't know about it. At that moment, Alfred tells Bruce to turn on the TV and listen to Two-Face's message. Two-Face has created a machine and using the chemicals he recovered, he threatens to poison the entire city unless they give him 22 million dollars by 2am. After Two-Face's message, Tim tells Batman that the criminal might be at the abandoned Janus theater, as that was his father's usual meeting place. Batman and Batgirl decide to go to the place, but they leave Tim behind, much to the boy's frustration.
The New Dynamic Duo
Near the appointed hour, Two-Face hasn't received what he demanded and he gets ready to unleash the gas, but Batgirl and Batman arrive to stop him. The heroes fight Two-Face's henchmen and unknown to them, Tim has taken the Robin suit and is on his way to the abandoned theater. When Two-Face's thugs have been dealt with, Two-Face grabs a machine gun and prevents the heroes from reaching the gas machine. Batman and Batgirl are helpless and it is Robin who takes Two-Face by surprise, but only a few seconds later, the boy is grabbed and used as a hostage by Two-Face. Robin takes out his Batarang and uses it to cut the ropes of a metallic structure above them, which falls directly on Two-Face and his thugs. Batgirl then hurries and deactivates the machine with only few seconds left before it unleashes the deadly gas. Robin is happy to have captured the criminals, but Batman doesn't show the same enthusiasm.
Later, Bruce trains Tim in Wayne Manor and teaches him the most valuable lessons in crime fighting. During the lesson, Dick Grayson shows up unannounced and everyone is thrilled to see him back, to which he simply acknowledges that he couldn't have been Robin forever.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
| Mathew Valencia | Robin/Tim Drake |
| Tara Charendoff | Batgirl |
| Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | Alfred Pennyworth |
| Richard Moll | Two-Face |
| Peter Jason | Manny |
| Loren Lester | Dick Grayson Mo (uncredited) |
Notes & Trivia[]
- This episode tells the story of Batman and Tim Drake's first meeting despite being aired after Holiday Knights, in which Tim is already Robin.
- The origin story given to Tim Drake is much similar to the second comic book origin story of Jason Todd, the second Robin in the comic books continuity. Just like Tim, Jason was a street kid, whose father was killed at the hands of Two-Face.
- Various scenes from this episode are used as cutscenes in the videogame Batman: Gotham City Racer
- 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[]
Production Art[]
