Batman: The Animated Series: 10 Most Disturbing Episodes

This episode sees Batman investigating a string of disappearances in the homeless community that have gone all but unnoticed by the police. Going undercover as a vagrant himself, Bruce is kidnapped and winds up in a desert work camp with no memory of who he is. Here, Bruce and his fellow inmates are forced to toil in horrific conditions, under the watch of the gluttonous Boss Biggis, who uses the men to work his mines.

Watching our hero endure this torment is positively harrowing. We're used to seeing him get out of life-or-death situations all the time, but here we are forced to see him at his most helpless.

Even harder though is to consider the social commentary being offered about the real world, which is brought into sharp focus in a haunting dream sequence in which Bruce tries to offer money to a series of homeless people, only to be quickly overcome by their sheer numbers. It's a poignant statement on the complex nature of poverty, an issue that can't be fixed by a single person.

That's why, despite the episode ending on a happy note for our hero and his new friends, the viewer is still left feeling unsettled and disturbed. The episode forces the viewer to reflect upon the very real-world issues of poverty and social injustice, which we know will continue to plague the world long after Batman has moved on to his next adventure. And that is far more disturbing than any super-villain.