10 Best Batman: The Animated Series Episodes
8. The Clock King
The Clock King has an interesting DC history. Prior to his appearance in B:TAS, The Clock King was of course otherwise known as William Tockman, but he was reborn here as the jarringly-named Temple Fugate.
In both incarnations – and, really, who could forget the sublime interpretation offered up in the '60s TV series by Walter Slezak – The Clock King is definitely one of DC’s stranger villains. Sporting no superpowers or special abilities, his real villainy lies in an obsessive desire for time-keeping. Be afraid; be very afraid.
So why is this episode featured here? Well, for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a fine example of the series reaching out to the very corners of Batman’s villains vault.
Secondly, it’s just a really great episode in its own right. Temple Fugate feels hard-done by a would-be mayor of Gotham whose intervention leads to Fugate turning up late for a court meeting which ultimately sends him down a path to self-destruction. Reinventing himself as The Clock King, Fugate sets out for revenge, only to bump into The Dark Knight.
A great example of how many of the best Batman villains – even minor ones – are products of a society that betrayed them.