This episode immediately starts playing the right notes at a conceptual level. The idea of one man tormenting another and reducing that person to the level of being a hobby is so very
Joker. The execution makes it even better with an excitingly creepy chase scene as Joker tracks down Collins to make the overweight, middle-aged man pay for his road rage. The seemingly meaningless “favor” that The Joker finally calls upon Collins for (after tracking him for two years) is even better. Mark Hamill’s voice work, which continues to live on with the character to this day, provides the perfect energy for this story, capturing The Joker’s hollow feelings and constantly shifting the perception of the character from funny, to frightening, and all things in between.
Batman essentially plays a supporting role in this episode, but with it being The Joker’s on-air debut for the series, it’s difficult to argue with that strategy. Batman’s battle with The Joker’s henchmen, as well as his stalking of the Clown Prince of Crime near the end of the episode make the most out of The Dark Knight’s limited screen time.
The conclusion of “Joker’s Favor” certainly leaves something to be desired. Some take issue with The Joker’s apparent fear of death when Charlie Collins threatens him with a bomb. Of course, death doesn’t seem to be The Joker’s main fear, but rather his death being brought about by a “nobody” like Charlie Collins, which fits the profile of The Joker in any medium. The real issues with the ending are simpler than that.
Charlie Collins threatens to kill The Joker with one of the villain’s trademark bombs, but really, the bomb is a fake. How is Charlie Collins able to tell the difference between a real Joker bomb and a fake better than the man who actually makes and stamps his face on those bombs? Even if The Joker doesn’t know his own bombs better than Collins, it’s not like the relatively slim Joker was incapable of simply running away from the portly “nobody.” I mean, this is the same Joker who just evaded Batman. It made sense for Charlie Collins to get some measure of revenge on his tormentor, but this could have been executed better.
Even with a shaky ending, any review of this episode would be incomplete without mentioning that “Joker’s Favor” was the world debut of the Harley Quinn character in any medium. Beloved Batman writer Paul Dini revealed at San Diego Comic Con 2009 that Harley Quinn was never meant to live on past one episode. She was all set to be a one-time “hench wench,” as Dini called her, yet the response that the character generated was powerful enough for DC Comics to incorporate her into the main DCU continuity, where she remains today, 17 years after her debut. Harley Quinn is a contribution to the Batman mythos made in this episode, which cannot be overlooked.
Launching a character in an animated series who would later breach the walls of DCU continuity is an impressive enough feat to make “Joker’s Favor” a classic. On top of that, it features a plot that fits The Joker like a glove and allows the character to feel just as imposing as he had felt in the comics, even if B:TAS couldn’t depict the character killing anyone in a program with an afterschool time slot. It is a tribute to how great story-telling can affect the audience’s perception of a character and easily compensate for any “lack” of violence. “Joker’s Favor” was about as good of a debut as one would demand for an incarnation of The Joker that would shape the general impression of the character for an entire generation of fans.
GRADE: A+
Senior BOF contributor Sean Gerber is a life-long Batman fan from Orange County, California.
