Batman: The Animated Series: 10 Worst Episodes 

1. The Terrible Trio - 1995

Batman the animated series batman in my basement
Warner Bros

Although this episode doesn't carry the lowest review score out there, Bruce Timm, one of the primary creators of B: TAS has said that he considers this the worst episode not only of Batman, but of the WHOLE DC ANIMATED UNIVERSE! For the record, the DCAU includes 8 different series. Out of literally hundreds of hours of animation, the creator of the whole thing thinks this is the worst? (https://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/most-underrated-dcau-episodes-ever.3730861/page-2#post-55451281)

We'll support that.

This episode boils down to Bruce vs 3 bored frat boys, each of whom takes on the ID of an animal that reflects how their families made their fortune - Fox, Vulture, and Shark. Because they've done everything else (mountaineering, big game hunts, etc.) they want a new challenge - crime. (The Trio actually were old foes of Batman, first appearing in 1958.)

This of course puts them in conflict with Batman, which is where the story really falls off the rails. Batman has trained with some of the best fighters on earth and has a massive arsenal of weapons. How can three spoiled frat boys possibly be a challenge to him? Even assuming they are in excellent shape, they're not fighters of his calibre. Bruce even acknowledges how boring they are by saying they're just 'scoundrels' who don't have madness as an excuse like Joker does.

This episode's story should have been wrapped up in about 10 minutes. Thankfully we never saw this version of Fox, Vulture or Shark again.

Contributor

Child of the Canadian '80s. Fan of Star Wars, Marvel (films), DC (animated films), WWE, classic cartoons. Enjoys debating with his two teenage sons about whether hand-drawn or computer animation is better but will watch it all anyways. Making ongoing efforts to catalogue and understand all WhatCulture football references.