BTAS = Batman: The Animated Series (85 Episodes)
BARA = Batman & Robin Adventures (28 issues)
TBA = The Batman Adventures (comics)
1992:
039 TBA Vol. 1 #16 It Takes a Cat
Catwoman is still trying to be good (she says she’s retired), placing this before “Catwalk”, and probably before “Tyger Tyger”. She does get some cat themed treasure by not so nice means, but she also works with the police and with Batman. Thomas Blake / Catman is featured here. A few years from now, Selina will meet another cat obsessed Thomas Blake.
040 BTAS 27 S01E24 Mad as a Hatter
The Mad Hatter is introduced here and is captured.
041 BTAS 07 S01E13 P.O.V.
“P.O.V.” (and the upcoming “Prophecy of Doom”) are episodes of Batman: The Animated Series that can take place just about anywhere; I had a list of about 12 such episodes, which came in quite handy; here these 2 episodes help extend the year’s adventures without introducing or featuring any characters that weren’t, for story purposes, available yet, and also breakup the flurry of Catwoman episodes that were required to facilitate a late breaking Catwoman story featuring a pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent.
BTAS 42 S01E30 Tyger, Tyger
Selina Kyle returns though her persona as Catwoman does not (though per the episode she becomes an actual cat woman and there’s a vague reference implying that her Catwoman persona is merely caged). This makes sense given her storyline in previous episodes.
The episode introduces both Emile Dorian and Tygrus while featuring a cameo appearance by Dr. Kirk Langstrom (from “On Leather Wings”); all three characters (along with Batman and Catwoman) will return in the comic sequel, “House of Dorian”.
The Batman Adventures Vol.1 #11 The Beast Within (08-01-93)
Man-Bat. Set before “White Christmas” (1992) / “Terror in the Sky” (1993) as everyone assumes the Man-Bat must be Kirk Langstrom. Placing it just after “Tyger Tyger” seems appropriate; that episode features a cameo by Kirk Langstrom, who helps to restore Selina Kyle to her human appearance, making this feel like a more natural progression of that story, and also suggesting to the audience that Kirk might have been tempted by his experience there, to resume his experiments as well.
043 BTAS 19 S01E22 Prophecy of Doom
“Prophecy of Doom” (and the recent “P.O.V.”) are episodes of Batman: The Animated Series that can take place just about anywhere; I had a list of about 12 such episodes, which came in quite handy; here these 2 episodes help extend the year’s adventures without introducing or featuring any characters that weren’t, for story purposes, available yet, and also breakup the flurry of Catwoman episodes that were required to facilitate a late breaking Catwoman story featuring a pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent.
044 BTAS 44 S04E03 Catwalk
The next installment for Selina Kyle, this episode also brings back Arnold Wesker / The Ventriloquist / Scarface, Rhino, Mugsy, Hamilton Hill, Harvey Bullock, Isis, Jim Gordon and Renee Montoya. By episode’s end Selina has finally embraced being Catwoman and is free.
Ventriloquist makes a call to Penguin in this episode, suggesting that Penguin is free, setting up the next comic story.
045 TBA Vol. 1 #01 Penguin’s Big Score [Part I]
046 TBA Vol. 1 #02 Catwoman’s Killer Caper [Part II]
047 TBA Vol. 1 #03 Joker’s Late Night Lunacy [Part III]
Joker, who hasn’t been seen or heard from since Christmas of 1991 is free and he escapes justice in the finale. Penguin was implied to be free in the previous episode, and is confirmed as such here, though he is captured by the end of issue #01. Catwoman is still at large but is clearly into pissing off Batman at this point, which the Joker uses to goad her into joining his plot; as is often the case, Catwoman, as an anti-hero, escapes. The final issue features a heroic turn by Harvey Dent; the character takes center stage in the next episode and he will never be the same again.
048 BTAS 10 S01E17 Two-Face, Part I (May 1992)
We know this episode is set in May because in Part II it’s revealed that it’s 6 months later and that the month is November. We know that it’s not 1991 because Harvey Dent, before his conversation into Two-Face, appears in a July set episode (“On Leather Wings“) so this had to be at least 10 months after that story. It couldn’t be in 1994 or 1995 because it soon became apparent that Batman: The Animated Series (and the 2 films it spawned) were set over the course of about 4.5 years…and therefore the character of Two-Face, who appears frequently, had to be introduced as soon as possible. And obviously, all appearances of Harvey Dent before his time as Two-Face had to be placed before this episode.
This story introduces Harvey’s girlfriend, Grace Lamont, along with henchwoman Candice; both return in further stories; both in episodes of the series and in the tie-in comics.
BTAS 53 S02E05 Paging the Crime Doctor
Leslie Thompkins and Rupert Thorne return.
BARA Vol. 1 #07 His Master’s Voice
The Riddler has recovered (after “What is Reality?”) and is attempting to escape Arkham when Ventriloquist and Scarface take advantage of the situation and leave Riddler in the lurch while they actually escape. All are back in Arkham by the story’s end.
I thought it was a good idea to feature a comic story here to help extend the gap between “Two-Face, Part I” (set in mid-May) and “Heart of Ice” (set in August, 1993); touching base with a few villains who hadn’t been seen in awhile felt like the right choice.
BTAS 14 S01E03 Heart of Ice (August, 1992)
We know that this episode is set in August via a weather report. We know the year is 1992 because of a reference from Batman Beyond episode “Meltdown“; that episode is set in 2040. How do we know that?
Well…that’s complicated. In the Batman Beyond episode “Zeta“, from the following season, the future Batman encounters an infiltration unit named Zeta:
“Zeta was on a long term assignment, infiltrating a terrorist group; six days ago it went renegade.” – Agent Bennet to Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon.
Zeta later had his own series. In The Zeta Project episode “Quality Time“: “NSA File Review. Subject: Renegade Infiltration Unit Zeta. Unit Zeta went renegade August 5th, 2041, during the infiltration of suspected terrorist group Brother’s Day.”
Six Days after August 5, 2041 is August 11, 2041. This information is what grounded Batman Beyond in the 2040’s.
Still with me? So in the late 2040 set Batman Beyond episode “Meltdown“, Victor Fries, who’s nearly immortal, says “I’ve been like this for nearly 50 years, and I haven’t aged a single day.”. 2040 minus 49 = 1991. In “Heart of Ice” we learn that Victor Fries became Mr. Freeze one year before, in 1991. So this episode is set in August, 1992. It all fits together beautifully!
Additionally, when Bruce is looking through 1991 newspaper clippings there are references to the events of both “Nothing to Fear” and “Pretty Poison”, which helped to ground those stories in 1991 as well.
026 BTAS 18 S01E32 Beware the Gray Ghost [October 19, 1992]
This is the episode that confirms that at least some of the series is set in 1992.
The above photo sets the end of the episode at October 19, 1992 and also features a reference to “Matt Hagen: The Man of a Million Faces”, aka Clayface. It’s possible the story is about his life and eventual “death”. The young Bruce Wayne is seen in flashbacks with his father Thomas Wayne, continuing to give the series more history. The Gray Ghost (voiced by 60’s Batman actor Adam West) serves as an inspiration to young Bruce Wayne and is later referenced in Batman Beyond (“Black Out“) and Justice League Unlimited (“Epilogue“).
BTAS 11 S01E18 Two-Face, Part II (November, 1992)
Harvey Dent / Two-Face finally returns here and we learn that he’s been committing crimes for 6 months but that Bruce has been hesitant to hunt him down due to their former friendship and the guilt he feels at not being able to save him. Looking at a list of Two-Face’s crimes we see that his most recent attack is in November, placing Part I of this story in May, 1992.
Two-Face is captured and placed in Arkham Asylum where he remains for the rest of 1992.
BARA Vol. 1 #04 Birdcage
A Penguin story after a long stretch without him in which he’s been free (and on a crime spree) for 3 weeks using tech given to him by the Mad Hatter. Penguin is captured in the end and his sentence seems dire, as if he may never be released again…which will cause some amount of devastation in the upcoming entry, “I Am the Night”.
BTAS 49 S01E34 I Am the Night (November)
It’s the anniversary of the death of Bruce’s parents again, placing this in November just like “Appointment in Crime Alley”; like that previous story, Leslie Thompkins turns up again here. Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson also appear and Judge Vargas is introduced. Joker and the recently incarcerated Two-Face are mentioned.
In the story, Batman is disheartened when Penguin’s conviction is overturned due to a technicality.
During this episode there are scenes set in Stonegate Penitentiary that feature a man whose backstory will be explained in the next episode.
BTAS 23 S01E21 Vendetta
After his Stonegate Penitentiary cameo in “I Am the Night”, Spider Conway is given a bit more backstory here as Killer Croc is introduced. All villains are captured by the episode’s end.
BTAS 24 S01E19 Fear of Victory
Scarecrow returns and is captured. The episode is set during football season.
Joker, Two-Face and Ivy are all still incarcerated at Arkham Asylum, which will be important in the next two episodes.
BTAS 63 S01E60 Fire from Olympus
Maxie Zeus is captured and incarcerated in Arkham Asylum where we see that Joker, Two-Face & Ivy still reside.
BTAS 28 S01E31 Dreams in Darkness
Scarecrow, this episode’s villain, is believed to be in Arkham, which makes sense given his recent appearance in “Fear of Victory“; having “Fire from Olympus” set between that episode and this allows time for Scarecrow to escape and set his new plan in motion. Scarecrow actually has a penchant for escaping in episodes that are in close proximity to each other.
After Batman deduces that Scarecrow is involved he is faced with a vision of Robin. Batman may have connected the two in his mind as Robin featured in Scarecrow’s last appearance.
As in the previous two episodes, Jack Napier / Joker, Harvey Dent / Two-Face & Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy are all said to be incarcerated in Arkham Asylum; all three appear as hallucinations here, along with Penguin and a possible allusion to Clayface.
TBA Vol. 1 Holiday Special #1: White Christmas
The thing about this Holiday Special is that it actually features 6 holiday stories but 5 of them were later adapted into The New Batman Adventures episode “Holiday Knights”, all but this one. Those other 5 stories were updated with the new character designs in the latter series, making the original versions of those stories seem outdated and antiquated, if no less impressive, yet this story, “White Christmas” remains and it’s now the only one which makes any sense to be included here. And I do mean here, specifically. In this triumphant second appearance by Victor Fries we see his escape from Arkham on Christmas Eve to honor his deceased wife, Nora. But story developments which begin with his next episode would preclude this story from making any sense…so this story belongs here. The others can wait until their adaptation arrives.
Also, in this story it is revealed that Gotham is not expecting snow before January, which resonates in the following episode.