10 Times We Saw Behind Batman's Mask In The DCAU
6. The Gray Ghost
'Beware The Gray Ghost' gives DCAU fans perhaps the best look ever into what Bruce was like as a kid - completely normal, loving junk food and plunking down in front of the TV. His favourite show was an old pulp-style program about a hero called The Gray Ghost, who is strikingly similar to the very heroes who inspired Batman's own origin.
During the course of the episode, Bruce becomes involved in a series of bombings across Gotham that he quickly realizes are identical to incidents from episodes of The Gray Ghost. While investigating, he encounters Simon Trent, who portrayed the Gray Ghost. At first, Bruce is thrilled at meeting his childhood idol, who partly inspired him to become a hero, but grows disillusioned when he discovers that Trent resents his time as the Ghost as it typecast him and ruined his career.
Ultimately, Bruce and Simon, both in costume, team up to take down the Mad Bomber. In the process, Bruce helps his hero rediscover who he is and revitalize his career. Seeing Bruce as a fanboy, idolizing a man who helped send him down the road to his own heroics, is a welcome look at the Bruce that may have been.
To add another layer, Simon Trent is voiced by Adam West, a great touch that makes the episode one of the most meta of the DCAU.