Written by Rich Fogel
Teleplay by Hilary J. Bader
Directed by Butch Lukic
Animation by Dong Yang, Koko
Original Air Date: January 22, 2000
Rating: **** of 5



Description: Batman goes on the run from the law after Commisioner Gordon witnesses him killing a criminal. But a frame-up is discovered and it becomes race against time to clear the hero's name.
Highs: Some good characterization, creepy mystery feel, good story.
Lows: Some poor characterization, "bright" appearance, some inconsistencies.
Overall: An important and excellent BB episode.

After the comical "Terry's Friend Dates A Robot", I was expecting something a true BB episode. ankfully, "Eyewitness" makes a grand return to the dark style Batman is known for.

It's a rainy Gotham night as Terry perches on a building wall staring down. (It's a well executed visual sequence by the way, with lightning flashes, and rain dripping down a statue-still face, reminiscent of BTAS.) An arms deal is about to go off below, and Terry jumps into the fray, but it turns out he just screwed up a police sting operation that took a year to carry out. Commisioner Gordon isn't happy and delivers a stern warning to Bruce about the young Batman.

Not long afterwards, Barb is at a banquet for her husband Sam Young when the party is attacked by anarchist Mad Stan. Batman breaks in just in time and pursues Stan to a parking garage, with Barbara right behind them. Batman defeats Stan, but the criminal mocks his captor, saying he'll be out soon. Terry solemnly agrees, and proceeds to grab a heavy barrel. Barb arrives just in time to see Batman smash Stan's head in. The commisioner then vows to put an end to Batman. Terry swears he's innocent and it's up to him and Bruce to solve this mystery.

Sound like a good plot? Yes indeed. This is the "Over the Edge" of Batman Beyond, echoing the Bats vs. Authority so often displayed throughout the history of Batman in general. Combined with a fast pace with many dramatic and exciting scenes, I really enjoyed this one.

I was definitely shocked to see Terry bludgeon his foe to death. He's confident and impulsive, which is exactly why Barb is sure Terry's did it. We also learn he's spent time in juvenile hall, but not why. Terry's not the only character who's well done. Bruce once again displays intelligence in solving the mystery at hand. He's definitely still essential to the series. Also, Barb Gordon is portrayed as still distrustful of vigilantism and quick to take action.

Plus there are some creepy and mysterious scenes in this episode, like Terry's visit to the city morgue to look for Stan's body, and Bruce's discovery of a shadowy figure present at the murder.

There's just a couple of bad points about this episode:
While the good guys were well characterized, the villains didn't receive the same treatment. Mad Stan is still a relatively shallow character with an equally shallow mentality, "Blow it all up!". And the real mastermind Spellbinder, only got a couple seconds of dialogue at the end...they simply couldn't fit it in.

Also, I wonder how Spellbinder faked Mad Stan's corpse if it "was never there to begin with". When reality became fantasy, how did SB mimic the feel of a dead man with nothing there?

Thirdly, the colors took on a brighter look in several parts of the episode, like the inside building at the start and then the Mad Stan chase scene. It's not just because these were indoor locales, the colors were unnaturally weird.

This was a pivotal episode in the BB chronology, where Terry swears that he wouldn't kill. In earlier episodes Terry has seemingly knocked off bad guys without any hesitation. My theory is that the writers didn't think about having Terry follow the old "no-kill" rule at first but decided to change that with "Eyewitness". Anyhow this is a great episode, well worth watching.

-By The Overseer
overseer@writemail.com

Screengrabs: