Animal Act is an episode of season 2 of New Batman Adventures. It premiered on September 26, 1998.
Synopsis for "Animal Act"
While on patrol, Batman, Robin and Nightwing spot a strange man stealing a piece of technology from a rooftop. When they try to stop him, the heroes learn that the thief is actually a gorilla and Nightwing recognizes the animal before it escapes.
Later, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake visit Haly's Circus, where Dick meets the people and performers he knew as a kid. Although Dick recognizes most of them from his days at the circus, there is one particular clown who Dick is not familiar with, but who seems to be another harmless clown of the circus. Dick finally finds Peaches, the gorilla they confronted last night and he is reunited with Miranda Kane, the daughter of the beast master of the circus, who has taken the job of her father after his retirement. Dick and Tim inquire as of her training of the animals, informing her about their latest encounter with the gorilla, which she denies as she keeps the animals in their cages at all times.
That night, Dick takes a look at his old pictures when he notices that Batman has broken into his apartment. Batman informs Dick that there have been mysterious robberies of electronics at every place where Haly's Circus has toured. Dick refuses to believe that his old friend had anything to do with it, but Batman is not so sure. Robin contacts Batman through their radios and informs him about a robbery in process, not far from Dick's apartment. Batman prepares to leave, but he awaits until Dick changes into Nightwing.
Batman and Nightwing arrive at the crime scene, where someone has clearly broken inside the building using the access codes. Once inside, Batman locate the responsible and much to their surprise, they realize it's a couple of bears, creating havoc and searching among the pieces of hardware and technology. Batman and Nightwing have a hard time fighting the animals, but they eventually manage to incapacitate and stop the bears.
The bears are returned to the Circus, where Miranda takes them back to their cages, but she is warned by Harvey Bullock to prevent further "incidents" with her animals or else she would be in trouble. As he is leaving the circus, Bullock has an unpleasant encounter with the trickster clown. Meanwhile, Miranda and Dick discuss the possibility of her leaving the cages unlocked accidentally, but Miranda is sure that there is someone else involved. Moments later, Dick is back at his apartment and Batman breaks in once again to show him the security tapes of the night the bears attacked. Batman and Dick watch how the bears broke into the buildng and dialed the security code to open the doors inside, making them realize there is someone else involved. At that moment, the mysterious clown removes a technologically advanced collar from the bears, as they have fulfilled their mission, but he is confronted by Miranda. It is then that the clown decides to reveal himself as The Mad Hatter.
Batman and Nightwing make it to Haley Circus, in time to save Miranda and take her out of the lions' cage, where she was placed by the twisted criminal, with help from his mind-controlling device placed on the circus' animals. Batman, Nightwing and Miranda track the Mad Hatter to the big top, where the Hatter is awaiting for them. He has placed mind-controlling devices on all the circus crew and turns them against Nightwing and Batman. The heroes struggle against the mind controlled circus performers, but they eventually get the upper hand when the Mad Hatter's hat is damaged and he loses control over his minions.
The Mad Hatter then tries to escape and use the circus' gorilla against the heroes, but he is stopped by them and his hat is destroyed. The Hatter had already opened the gorilla's cage and he gets crushed by the animal, who recognizes the Hatter is evil. The threat of the Mad Hatter is under control and in the aftermath, Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne enjoy a nice day at the circus, while Tim has to clean the animal cages as part of his wish to live the circus life for a week.
Appearing in "Animal Act"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Miranda Kane
- Detective Harvey Bullock
Antagonists:
- The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch)
- Peaches the gorilla
- Circus Bears
- Miranda's Snake
- Jamba & Lioness
Other Characters:
- Bruno
- Connie
- Pete
- Various other circus performers
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- No notes.
Trivia
- No trivia.
See Also
- 3 Images from New Batman Adventures (TV Series) Episode: Animal Act
- Episodes of New Batman Adventures (TV Series)
- Images from New Batman Adventures (TV Series)
- Gallery for the New Batman Adventures (TV Series) series
Recommended Media
- None.
Links and References
Footnotes