 The New Batman Adventures |
| Old Wounds | |
|---|---|
| Episode 18 | |
| |
| Air date | October 3, 1998 |
| Directed by | Curt Geda |
| Written by | Rich Fogel |
| Music by | Shirley Walker |
| Airdate Sequence | |
| Previous Animal Act |
Next Legends of the Dark Knight |
| Production Sequence | |
| Previous Animal Act |
Next The Demon Within |
- "Ms. Gordon, I, uh, see you've discovered our little secret. Yes, I admit it, I am Batman."
- - Alfred
Old Wounds is an episode of The New Batman Adventures. It is notable for showcasing the last adventure of Dick Grayson as Robin, explaining much of the unsaid past and the gap between his departure and his transformation into Nightwing. The episode features Dick's only appearance as Robin in the show and one of the few shows of the series to feature all members of the Bat Family.
"Old Wounds" is the 17th produced episode and the 18th episode aired of "TNBA".
Plot
Robin confronts a couple of muggers, but one of them escapes and is captured by Nightwing, who projects a rough attitude towards Robin. The youngster then remarks how similar Nightwing and Batman are, which offends Nightwing for unknown reasons. When Robin inquires what happened between him and Batman, Nightwing tries to avoid the conversation by answering "things change", until Robin tells him that's exactly the same thing that Batman said when asked about it. Nightwing finally decides it's time to tell Robin the story of what happened with the Dynamic Duo.
Young Love
It was Dick's graduation day. One of the most important days of his life and Bruce missed it as he was fighting crime as Batman. That night, Dick went on a date with Barbara Gordon and they were starting to get romantic, but Dick was rudely interruped when summoned by Batman, who showed no concern for Dick's life. Dick had to come up with a lame excuse and ended his date with Barbaba, who was left rather confused.
Batman was watching criminal activity on a rooftop and noticed that the Joker was the mastermind behind it all. Robin joined Batman shortly afterwards, but Batman was not pleased by Dick's unpunctuality. Both of them broke into the warehouse, where Joker and his men were attempting to steal mmlitary equipment. Although they fought bravely, Joker got the upper hand and managed to escape with the stolen equipment. Robin was able to track down the man who was paid by Joker to give him his truck and allow them to flee from the crime scene. Unfortunately, Robin tracked the man into his low-rent apartment, where his wife and little son were waiting for him. Robin was taken by surprise, but Batman soon broke into the apartment with utmost violence and interrogated the man in front of his family. Robin tried to get Batman to tone down the violence, but he didn't listen and Robin left the place instead.
Worried Lovers
Later, at 3 am in the morning, Dick Grayson visited Barbara. Dick was distraught and he told her he needed to get out, but he couldn't explain what he was talking about. Dick left her apartment and she was now more concerned than before. The next day, she went to Wayne Manor to try to talk with Bruce and understand what was wrong with Dick. It was then that Bruce revealed his secret to Barbara by taking her into the Batcave. At that precise moment, the Joker made a city-wide broadcast, where he threatened to activate the military weapon he stole, which would cause all flying vehicles to lose control and crash, causing massive death and destruction. Joker demanded forty million dollars to stop his mad scheme and Bruce hurried out to stop Joker with help from Batgirl, as Dick was out of reach at the moment. However, only a few minutes later, Dick arrived at Wayne Manor and learned what happened.
Batman and Batgirl arrived at the highest building in Gotham, where the Joker had setup the weapon. Batman tried to stop them with his Jet-Wing, but he failed and Batgirl joined the fight. Joker was shocked, excited and amused by Batman's new partner, but that didn't stop him from pushing her off the ledge of the rooftop to her certain death. Batgirl would've crashed against the street if Robin hadn't arrived in time to save her and join Batman against Joker. Thanks to Batgirl, the military weapon was destroyed and the Joker was defeated.
Robin quits
However, things between Batman and Robin weren't good. Robin was frustrated with Batman, for keeping secrets from him, like knowing Batgirl's secret identity and not telling him. He was also fed up with his obsession for fighting crime, which drove him to manipulate, lie and cheat to the people close to him. Having had enough, Dick decided to quit and when Batman tried to stop him, the Teen Wonder punched Batman in the face before taking off his mask and cape and throwing it towards his mentor. Dick jumped off the building and he never used the Robin outfit again.
Robin asks Nightwing if he could ever forgive Batman, but there is little chance of that happening for Nightwing. After explaining his past, Nightwing and Robin find the wallet of the man that the muggers tried to steal from and shockingly, Nightwing recognizes the man. Moments later, the man enters the Wayne Enterprises building into the security office and when he turns on the light, he is startled by Nightwing and Robin's presence. The man is the truck owner that Batman interrogated years ago and he explains how that encounter changed his life. Ever since then, he got a job as a security guard at Wayne Enterprises and he also acknowledges that it has all been good for him thanks to Bruce Wayne, who would always stop by and ask him about his family to make sure everything is good.
Nightwing forgives
After giving back his wallet, Nightwing has to recognize that Bruce Wayne is a good man.
Nightwing and Robin go outside and they spot the Bat-Signal in the sky. Robin gets ready to leave towards the GCPD and he asks Nightwing if he is coming along, to which Nightwing replies that it is about time it happened and the two of them swing into the night towards the bat-shaped light.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
| Tara Charendoff | Batgirl/Barbara Gordon |
| Loren Lester | Nightwing/Dick Grayson |
| Mathew Valencia | Robin/Tim Drake |
| Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. | Alfred Pennyworth |
| Mark Hamill | The Joker |
| Townsend Coleman | Rocco |
| Neil Ross | Henshaw |
| Ian Buchanan | Connor |
| Pamela Hayden | Geena |
Notes & Trivia
- A couple of scenes from this episode were used as cutscenes for the videogame Batman: Gotham City Racer. They were:
- The Joker stealing the radar disruptor and the final confrontation, where the radar is destroyed and Joker is defeated.
- Interestingly, the scenes were edited to erase Robin from those scenes, as Dick Grayson's presence as Robin in the gane would've been unexplained.
- The episode has been released as part of the following Home video sets:
- Batman: The Animated Series, Volume Four
- Batman: The Complete Animated Series
- Best of Batman
- Batman vs. Robin (Blu-ray)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (Blu-ray)
Gallery
