Over the Edge (The New Batman Adventures)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Over the Edge”
The New Batman Adventures episode
Episode no.	Season 04 Episode 12
Written by	Paul Dini and Bruce Timm
Directed by	Yuichiro Yano
Original airdate	May 23, 1998
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"The Ultimate Thrill"	"Mean Seasons"
List of Batman: The Animated Series episodes

Over the Edge is the title of an episode from The New Batman Adventures.

[edit] Plot

Barbara Gordon's worst nightmare becomes reality when - after being doused with fear gas during a confrontation with the Scarecrow - she dreams that Batgirl's death at the hands of the Scarecrow and the immediate discovery of her identity by her father, Police Commissioner James Gordon, unleashes a no-holds-barred hunt for Batman and his allies. As Gotham's knights fall one by one, Gordon's obsession brings him to recruit one of the greatest menaces the city has ever faced, Bane, to hunt down and subdue Batman - but Bane ultimately proves more than either one can handle...

The tragic end of the adventure forces Barbara to reconsider if her secret from the person who loves her the most is worth the risks it entails.

[edit] Trivia

• Paul Dini says he got the inspiration for the episode's structure from watching The Simpsons (ironic, considering the dark plot of the story). Dini points to the rat-a-tat pace and ability to shift focus onto multiple characters all across the plot as being very Simpsons. [1]

• The 2nd episode to poke fun at the O.J. Simpson murder case and Johnnie Cochran following Joker's Millions.

• Bane's prisoner number at Arkham Asylum, 80987, is the book number of the Lovecraft book "Crypt of Cthulu", which is the very series Arkham Asylum originates from.

• At the end of the episode it is implied that Commissioner Gordon already knew his daughter's secret.

• This episode marks the last appearance of the redesigned Batboat.

• In the DVD commentary track, Dini states that, despite fan speculation, he had intended the "dream sequence" ending to be part of the episode from the beginning, and that he included various items (such as Batgirl's killer being the Scarecrow) intended to subtly plant the seeds that would let such an ending make sense.

[edit] Cast

• Kevin Conroy — Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Mathew Valencia — Robin/Tim Drake
• Loren Lester — Nightwing/Dick Grayson
• Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. — Alfred Pennyworth/Reporter
• Tara Charendoff — Batgirl/Barbara Gordon
• Robert Costanzo — Detective Harvey Bullock
• Bob Hastings — Commissioner Gordon
• Liane Schirmer — Officer Renee Montoya
• Jeff Bennett — Jack Ryder
• Lloyd Bochner — Mayor Hamilton Hill
• Roddy McDowall — Mad Hatter
• John Garry — Lawyer
• Arleen Sorkin — Harley Quinn
• Henry Silva — Bane