Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series) The Man Who Killed Batman (1993) User Reviews

Four Reasons This Was A Fantastic Episode

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 26 May 2009]

This episode was very entertaining, thanks to four things: (1) The Joker; (2) Harley; (3) Sidney; (4) the artwork.

As I've mentioned several times, you can't beat fantastic artwork in this animated series and this episode is a good example. This is film noir with color, a look and atmosphere right out of the mid-to-late 1940s or early 1950s, with the automobiles, clothing and language. It looks like it comes right off the ages of a pulp fiction novel.

None of the episodes, by and large, are more entertaining than when The Joker is involved. Mark Hamill does a super job doing his voice and the writers even a better job with the Joker's dialog, which always is funny. To a lesser degree, the same can be said for The Joker's girl "Harley Quinn" who, with her bimbo NYC accent, also has some fabulous lines in this episode.

The co-star of the story, though, is a mousy little guy called "Sidney," a gangster-wannabe. who appears to have accidentally killed Batman. That makes him a hero in the Gotham underworld, led in sorts by Rupert Thorne. The Joker enters the story about halfway through and really livens things up, big-time.

How meek-but-misguided little "Sid The Squid" (voiced beautifully by Matt Frewer) deals with Thorne, The Joker and Batman all makes for a memorable and extremely-entertaining episode.

A big shot at last

[Mr-Fusion · 9/10 · 9 January 2017]

Despite bring a story about a clueless bottom-feeding gangster (not to mention one that barely even includes the Dark Knight), 'The Man Who Killed Batman' is one that really shows off the earnest intent and terrific writing of the series. Matt Frewer feels perfect as Sid the Squid and really brings out his weasel-like nature.

The beauty of this is that you really don't know where it's going, but it's tremendous fun getting there. And once the Joker shows up, it is absolutely absurd. The gags are somehow both asinine and extremely funny; and as usual, his sadism is skillfully mined for comedic effect.

This is a real treat.

9/10

A Clever Character Study Of A Batman Foil

[stp43 · 8/10 · 16 June 2007]

The Man Who Killed Batman is an episode that revolves not around Batman but around one of the people who gets involved with him, in this case a small-time stumble-bum hood named Sidney Debris who dreams of becoming a big shot in the underworld. He runs to mob boss Rupert Thorne when Batman disappears in a gas-tank explosion. With his fellow mobsters believing he killed Batman, he is hailed as "Sid The Squid," and now other punks want his hide, leading to a bar brawl and being bailed out of jail by a lawyer named Harleen Quinzel - who turns out to be The Joker's hench-woman Harley Quinn, as The Joker, supremely jealous that someone else succeeded where he hadn't yet made a full effort, wants bona-fide proof that Batman is gone - and seems to get it in a jewelry store holdup where no resistance worthy of the name is offered and Batman never appears.

Sidney Debris quickly establishes himself as a sympathetic character, and as incidents explode all around him through no action of his own, he becomes someone to actually root for, and when Rupert Thorne suddenly becomes suspicious his luck holds out yet again - and even holds out when he winds up in jail at the end, as the varied incarcerated hoods treat him with the respect he's always craved, since he succeeded in his encounters with Batman, Thorne, and The Joker.

Matt Frewer is perfectly cast as Sid.

"I think I served you a subpoena once - it was a small subpoena"

[thomasgouldsbrough · 9/10 · 11 February 2022]

This is one of the strongest episodes of the Batman animated series. Any episode of Batman is exciting with the Joker and Harley, and even though they're only in the episode briefly, they are exceptional. The episode also feels very original - it doesn't just follow a generic superhero plot, and instead reimagines the genre, and just focuses on Sid the Squid. And the ending just fits the story incredibly well, that it becomes satisfying.

Well that was fun......

[goreilly40 · 9/10 · 10 September 2017]

This episode has everything that was good about the series, humour, a darker tone and a compelling story line, although Batman wasn't in it for very long. In this episode we saw all elements of the Jokers personality, his warped and sadistic sense of humour, his ego, his temper and his ruthless streak displayed when he gives a eulogy at the chemical factory, and we get a sense that the Joker needs Batman to have a reason for existing, Mark Hamil was on top form as usual by the way. Also we actually feel sorry for the episode's main character Sidney as he seems to be a victim of extreme circumstance who manages to anger just about everyone he comes across through no fault of his own. A memorable episode which ticks most of the boxes for a superb animated series.

Clever premise

[Fluke_Skywalker · 7/10 · 26 January 2024]

One of the trademarks of "Batman: The Animated Series" is that it's not simply just episode after episode of Batman suiting up and chasing the villain of the day/week to stop some nefarious plan. Don't get me wrong, that's cool, but more than perhaps any animated "kids" series up to that point, it was always story driven with character beats and world building to boot.

So that brings me to "The Man who killed Batman". The basic premise here, of a low rung Mob toadie who accidentally "kills" the Caped Crusader and thus experiences the consequences--good and bad, is fun. Matt Frewer's Sid the Squid is perhaps a little over the top and on the nose (and just a *wee* bit annoying), but the episode really hits its stride when Mark Hamill's Joker comes onto the stage.

"The Man who killed Batman" doesn't quite fire on all cylinders for me, as I think it had the potential to be much more, but it's still a reasonably fun and unique episode.

This episode is garbage, pure and simple.

[nikaalexandrov · 1/10 · 27 November 2019]

Ext: Text: This episode was not one of my favorites. Sidney is an awful character, he's particularly stupid and not even worth the time, nor is the motivation of any of the others to be honest. He isn't likable at all. The only saving grace is Joker to be honest, because the idea of a bumbling idiot who thinks he's done in Batman is very appalling.

They take a comic book character such as the Squid and rewrite him completely to fit a bumbling idiot. For whatever reason, we get a guy who accidentally is used to set up Rupert Thorn's drug cartel by Batman who uses an idiot for his own ends.

Again the only saving grace was Mark Hamill as the Joker's voice talents. Unfortunately we get Harley Quinn shoved down our throat's yet again which always annoyed me as she was a doormat for the Joker and his abusive shtick. Same with everything else.

She's never been appealing to me, and how anyone could even think the abusive appeal between Joker and Harley was ever anything like love was beyond me. She let him walk all over her him.

That was sick, he's more concerned that the Batman is gone and gets upset over the possibility that some idiot accidentally kills him and insists on tossing him into a coffin to be eaten alive in harsh chemicals than anything else.

As said above, this could have introduced Lawrence Loman the Chinese Spymaster but with a much better name, if they'd wanted to go that route with the Squid, using someone hellbent on claiming the criminal underworld for himself.

If you want to be entertained by something better, I recommend reading the comic series where the Squid comes back for revenge after Batman ruins his spy network, you not only get the Squid who out tricks Batman and prepares to kill him by feeding him to a giant squid named Gertrude after his men overpower him and toss him into the tank.

Batman disguised himself as a crime lord named Falco only to be found out because unlike Falco who had bad breath, Batman is fastidious to a fault), he later escapes them with a new up and coming mystery mobster by the name of Croc showing up. There was so much wasted potential here it was not even funny.

Speaking of Croc by the way's not afraid to stand up to the Joker either i.e choke him or later on hit him, nor is the idiot he's later on portrayed. Which was an interesting thing altogether, as he himself shows potential smarts portraying himself at being capable of taking the underworld for himself.