"The Joker Goes to School", a first-season episode of the ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' television series, first aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

March 2, 1966 as its 15th episode, with an encore telecast later occurring on August 10. It guest starred

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...

. Lorenzo Semple Jr. gives a subtle backstory for the Joker: when Batman shows the Joker's mugshot to the kids, the Joker is wearing a normal suit, and there is a reference to him being a "master of disguise", leading one to believe this version wears clown makeup (not unlike

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

's version in ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second insta ...

''), instead of having his skin discolored by chemicals (as was the original comics character and the

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

version in

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

's 1989 film). In November 1965, Semple concocted a new villain named The One-Armed Bandit, "whose peculiar kick is gimmicked coin machines of all sorts". The idea ultimately wound up in these episodes with Joker in charge of The One Armed Bandit Novelty Company and vending machines that churned out silver dollars, quarters, answer sheets to exams, and knockout gas.

originally was scheduled to be the first villain to appear, but a scheduling conflict prevented

from appearing on the debut episode.

Plot synopsis

, attempts to undermine student morale at Woodrow

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

High School in order to recruit high school dropouts for his gang of "Bad Pennies" by rigging the school vending machines to give out silver dollars and negotiable

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

s and bonds instead of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

. Alerted by

Commissioner James Gordon James W. "Jim" Gordon, Sr. is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the ...

, Batman races out to the school; an immediate assembly is made by the school's student leaders, including Richard "Dick" Grayson, Pete, and Susie, the school's head cheerleader. Batman shows up to show slides of mug shots of

, when suddenly, out of the blue, he pops up right in full view of everyone. Batman attempts to arrest him for loitering on school grounds, but the Joker manages to get off on a mere technicality. Meanwhile, across Gotham City, a bar is held up by a

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

ed jukebox which when activated spouts a double-barrel shotgun; then two stocking-masked hoodlums, actually two of Joker's henchmen, Nick and Two-Bits (both high school dropouts), rush in to rob the bar's receipts from the register. The Joker reconvenes with Nick and Two-Bits at their hideout, the "One-Armed Bandit Novelty Company"; unbeknownst to everyone else, Susie is also the Joker's henchwoman. She arranges to swipe some important exam papers so The Joker can use them in a blackmail scheme, and also leads Batman and Robin into a trap set by the Joker. He and his henchmen snag Batman and Robin with one of the rigged vending machines which, instead of giving out silver dollars, locks them in shackles and emits sleeping gas.

and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

are transferred to the inside of a moving van, where they are strapped to

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

s; on the wall is a

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

, which when activated will win them their freedom and $50,000 cash with 3

liberty bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

s; just their freedom with 3

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

, and instant and inescapable 50,000 lethal volts of electricity with 3

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

s, automatically on the last lemon. As bad luck would have it, 2 lemons have turned up already...

Cliffhanger text

::HORRORS!! ONE LEMON!! ::DOUBLE HORRORS!! DOUBLE HORRORS!! TWO LEMONS!! ::AND IF IT'S A THIRD...INSTANT AND INESCAPABLE 50,000 VOLTS!! ::CLOSE YOUR EYES! WHO DARES TO SEE IT?? TRY US TOMORROW! SAME BAT-TIME!! SAME BAT-CHANNEL!!

Notes

* According to the Joker's police photo, his height is just over . In reality, actor Cesar Romero was .Batman at 45: A Milestone Tribute to Pow, Bam and Zap! (2011) Gould, Chris https://www.amazon.com/Batman-45-Milestone-Tribute-ebook/dp/B005YNPHCO * This episode is the origin of the names of "Harmless Junk, Inc." and "Citywide Hoop Champs, Inc.", respectively the companies under which

The Brothers Chaps Matthew "Matt" Alan Chapman (born November 1, 1976) and Michael "Mike" Raymond Chapman (born September 20, 1973), known collectively as The Brothers Chaps, are American writers, voice actors, directors, animators, producers and composers. They ar ...

produce

Homestar Runner ''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...

and

Two More Eggs ''Two More Eggs'' is an American animated sketch comedy web series produced by The Brothers Chaps for Disney XD's YouTube channel and Disney XD. The Brothers Chaps previously produced the web series ''Homestar Runner''. ''Two More Eggs'' is Dis ...

. It is also the origin of the "No Loafing" sign that can be seen in various Homestar Runner shorts, as well as the inspiration for

Strong Bad Strong Bad is a fictional character from ''Homestar Runner'', a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game ''Tag Team Wrestling''. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-creat ...

's costume in "Halloween Fairstival", the

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

special of 2004. * “Nick”, one of The Joker’s henchmen, is plagued by

Kip King Kip King (born Jerome Charles Kattan; August 11, 1937 – July 15, 2010) was an American film, television and voice actor. He was the father of American television sketch comedian Chris Kattan. Life and career King was born Jerome Charles Ka ...

(Née Jerome Charles Kattan), who is the father of turn of the century

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

star Chris Katan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joker Goes To School, The Batman (TV series) episodes 1966 American television episodes Joker (character) in other media