"Now, on Fox Kids, it's Eek! The Cat. And after that, a former child star grapples with a physical condition that keeps her from ever growing up and forces her into a state of psychosis that shatters her ability to process reality. And then, Bobby's World!"
Batman: The Animated Series is probably one of the best examples of the fact that if you don't talk down to your young audience and instead give them cool adventures and themes to chew on, they'll remember your show forever.
A few people are quoting Baby Doll's last line "I didn't mean to..." and oh man, a cartoonish gimmick tied irrevocably into a bizarre, vengeful trauma response is a great recipe for a Batman villain.
BTAS was fantastic because of how much connection Batman had to some of his rogues gallery. Pam Isely would be 90% normal until she inevitably goes killer plants in suburbia. Victor Fries was ruthless but would absolutely work with Batman if it meant help for Nora. So much humanity in each episode.
An asylum is, presumably, where the criminally insane would get therapy.
Without Batman every one of them would have been shot dead by the GCPD the first time they faced a health and welfare check.
BTAS balanced on the really fine line of treating most of its villains as villains, yes, but also as people (without absolving them), and most Batman adaptations since have not walked that line.
Mad Hatter's a bitter incel, Riddler's an abused employee, Mr. Freeze a grieving husband, Clayface an addict, etc. They're given really clear motivations for what they're doing. And whenever Batman can, he tries to reach them without his fists.
Someone once pointed out to me how Batman will refer to villains by their real human names as often as he can, which is a pretty fairly empathetic touch. Good call, show writers.
That kind of thing is also why I love this scene from Justice League Unlimited so much. This one scene made me love The Flash as a character:
youtu.be/muU6boslNcA
What does it say about me that I still distinctly remember Eek The Cat. "Kill the cat! Purple hair! He will make a lovely chair!" I also remember the Bobby's World episode where they meet some snobby kids on vacation and show them up by winning a talent contest.
...I'm just one of those people huh.
ALL of the 80s and later DC and Marvel superheroes seem to really respect the audience's intelligence.
In fact, if you watch the original cuts and full seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, instead of the Fox Kids Cuts, you will see they actually brought up for discussion a lot.
As a note, they did trim certain things from violence (for instance clipped camera to remove impact of punches.) In my opinion this only removed the shock value of the violence, making it worse.
I still tear up seeing Batman try and talk her down without hurting her. It's the same with Two-Face's origin. He's proud of Harvey for seeing a psych, and after the incident you see him studying Harvey's condition. He also doesn't hurt Harvey.
It shows far more sympathy than the films ever have.
Batman, in BTAS, is a acts as a kind of "last resort therapist", who intervenes when his "patients" have progressed to their lowest point and have been failed by all other systems meant to help them. Tries to de-escalate where he can, treats them w/ compassion, etc.
