Changes: Beware the Creeper

Revision as of 01:21, 13 December 2009

"Beware the Creeper" is the tenth episode of the second season of The New Batman Adventures. It marks the transformation of Jack Ryder into The Creeper.

Plot

Jack Ryder, anchoring a live TV special on the career of the Joker from the very factory where the Joker had his life-changing encounter with a vat of chemicals, is interrupted by the Clown Prince of Crime himself, who doesn't appreciate the attention. The Joker doses Ryder with his trademark lethal laughing gas and then, to distract the newly arrived Batman and Robin, pushes him into the same vat of chemicals. The gas and the chemicals react strangely; Ryder survives, but is transformed into an extraordinarily strong and agile maniac with yellow skin, green hair, and a rictus grin, who helps Batman and Robin apprehend the Joker and his gang, both in revenge for what happened, and also because he develops an intense attraction to Harley Quinn. Although his mania is benign, his methods are so extremely wild and frantic that even The Joker begs to be arrested to escape them, saying, about the Creeper: "He's a lunatic!"

At the end of the episode, Ryder is returned to his normal self by a treatment that counteracts the chemicals, in the form of a skin patch; but it is suggested that the treatment is only temporary, and that if Ryder takes the patch off he will soon become the Creeper again. In the final seconds he stares at the patch, saying "A little piece of cotton — hard to believe." The view then changes to outside his apartment with a silhouette of him at the window. There is the sound of paper being torn, followed by the silhouette of Ryder laughing in the manner of the Creeper.

Continuity

In the documentary, it shows that The Joker worked for the Valestra mob as seen in "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm".

Background Information

Trivia

The thrift store is called Ditko's Vintage Clothing, and a mannequin of The Question, another of Steve Ditko's characters is seen in the background as a mannequin.
The title of this episode comes from the Creeper's original solo series from the 1960s, Beware the Creeper.
The dramatized Batman in Ryder's documentary look similar to Batman in his very first appearance in Detecive Comics #27.
Joker's gang in this episode - Moe, Lar, and Cur - very closely resemble Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Jerry "Curly" Howard - The Three Stooges. Previous gang members also resembled the Stooges, but only vaguely.
Harley Quinn's anniversary song to Joker is an homage to Marilyn Monroe's famous rendition of "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy.
The beginning of Jack Ryder's special on the Joker states that his former identity was unknown and that he operated under a variety of aliases. In two previous instances, before the revamp, Joker was given the supposed 'real name' of Jack Napier; the same name he was given for the 1989 Tim Burton movie. This episode makes it clear that Jack Napier is not his real name and was merely an alias that Joker used at one time. This means that his true identity is left a mystery, much like his comic-book version.
It is explicitly mentioned numerous times that the episode takes place on the exact same night where Joker fell into the chemical vat 7 years previously. Given that The New Batman Adventures takes place around 3 years after Batman: The Animated Series, this means that Joker had presumably already been an enemy of Batman for around 4 years previously during the latter mentioned series.

Cast

Actor	Role
Kevin Conroy	Batman/Bruce Wayne
Mathew Valencia	Robin/Tim Drake
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	Alfred Pennyworth
Jeff Bennett	The Creeper / Jack Ryder
Mark Hamill	The Joker
Arleen Sorkin	Harley Quinn
E.G. Daily	Thrift Store Manager
Billy West	Mo, Lar and Cur

Quotes

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@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 * Harley Quinn's anniversary song to Joker is an homage to Marilyn Monroe's famous rendition of "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy.
 * The beginning of Jack Ryder's special on the Joker states that his former identity was unknown and that he operated under a variety of aliases. In two previous instances, before the [[revamp]], Joker was given the supposed 'real name' of Jack Napier; the same name he was given for the 1989 Tim Burton movie. This episode makes it clear that Jack Napier is not his real name and was merely an alias that Joker used at one time. This means that his true identity is left a mystery, much like his comic-book version.
+* It is explicitly mentioned numerous times that the episode takes place on the exact same night where Joker fell into the chemical vat 7 years previously. Given that {{tnba}} takes place around 3 years after {{btas}}, this means that Joker had presumably already been an enemy of Batman for around 4 years previously during the latter mentioned series.
 ==Cast==