Beware the Gray Ghost (Season 1, Episode 18) is one of this blogger's favorite episodes of the popular 90s American cartoon series Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) based on the popular DC Comics superhero series.
The episode first aired on the Fox Broadcasting network's Fox Kids television program block on Wednesday, November 4, 1992. The episode was directed by series regular Boyd Kirkland with the story written by Tom Ruegger and Dennis O'Flaherty. Ruegger also helped write the teleplay for the episode alongside writer Garin Wolf.
This fan-favorite episode is probably best known for its featured guest voice-acting star, the late Adam West (1928-2017), who is widely popular among the Batman and DC Comics fandom for his often times stiff and campy portrayal of the famous caped-and-cowled superhero in the classic live-action 1960s Batman television series (1966-1968) produced by the late William Dozier.
In the episode West plays an actor known for his role as the Gray Ghost, a character that resembles the popular radio play character The Shadow which heavily inspired Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
Interesting fact: Beware the Gray Ghost was actually not Adam West's first time nostalgically relieving his experience as Batman on television.
Two years before in the 1990s Family Channel series Zorro (1990-1993) episode The Wizard (Season 2, Episode 1) West plays an eccentric inventor, Dr. Henry Wayne (a wonderful nod to Bruce Wayne), who was tasked by the villainous Alcalde of Los Angeles to help capture the masked hero. Zorro later captures him and takes him to his own Batcave-type secret lair -- which he remarks on impressed. Zorro convinces Wayne of the good he could do and to put his own inventions to nobler uses.
Like The Shadow, Zorro was also an inspiration for the creators of the DC Comic superhero.
In fact, the parallels between the characters of Batman and Zorro -- both of them men with seemingly mild alter-egos to their more heroic masked personas -- have always found themselves in the Batman franchise in one form or another. An excellent example are the depictions where the Wayne family are leaving the movie theater featuring a Zorro film the night when Bruce Wayne watched his parents get murdered in the alley. In addition, the character Zorro was implied to also be an inspiration for Bruce to become the Dark Knight of Gotham City.
Beware the Gray Ghost would be Adam West's first serious animated return to the franchise that made him famous, though it certainly would not be his last.
The episode first aired on the Fox Broadcasting network's Fox Kids television program block on Wednesday, November 4, 1992. The episode was directed by series regular Boyd Kirkland with the story written by Tom Ruegger and Dennis O'Flaherty. Ruegger also helped write the teleplay for the episode alongside writer Garin Wolf.
This fan-favorite episode is probably best known for its featured guest voice-acting star, the late Adam West (1928-2017), who is widely popular among the Batman and DC Comics fandom for his often times stiff and campy portrayal of the famous caped-and-cowled superhero in the classic live-action 1960s Batman television series (1966-1968) produced by the late William Dozier.
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| The popular radio play The Shadow heavily inspired the original Batman comics, and would in turn serve as a nostalgic nod to Batman's origins as the basis for the Grey Ghost character. |
Interesting fact: Beware the Gray Ghost was actually not Adam West's first time nostalgically relieving his experience as Batman on television.
Two years before in the 1990s Family Channel series Zorro (1990-1993) episode The Wizard (Season 2, Episode 1) West plays an eccentric inventor, Dr. Henry Wayne (a wonderful nod to Bruce Wayne), who was tasked by the villainous Alcalde of Los Angeles to help capture the masked hero. Zorro later captures him and takes him to his own Batcave-type secret lair -- which he remarks on impressed. Zorro convinces Wayne of the good he could do and to put his own inventions to nobler uses.
Like The Shadow, Zorro was also an inspiration for the creators of the DC Comic superhero.
In fact, the parallels between the characters of Batman and Zorro -- both of them men with seemingly mild alter-egos to their more heroic masked personas -- have always found themselves in the Batman franchise in one form or another. An excellent example are the depictions where the Wayne family are leaving the movie theater featuring a Zorro film the night when Bruce Wayne watched his parents get murdered in the alley. In addition, the character Zorro was implied to also be an inspiration for Bruce to become the Dark Knight of Gotham City.
Beware the Gray Ghost would be Adam West's first serious animated return to the franchise that made him famous, though it certainly would not be his last.
Mr. West would later go on to nostalgically poke fun of his previously typecasted Batman role in other animated shows. He would find animation and self-parody of his iconic
role as a means of revitalizing his career.
This is most notably shown with West voicing a fictionalized version of himself on the animated sitcom Family Guy as the mayor of the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island. West also portrayed a somewhat eccentric version of the elder Bruce Wayne character parodied from Batman Beyond in at least one really brilliant episode of Disney Channel's Kim Possible (The Fearless Ferret, Season 2, Episode 10) -- another personal favorite episode of mine from that series which I plan to review in the future.
Beware the Gray Ghost is ranted among fans (myself included) as one of the top ten best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Although the episode has a great deal of action -- as well as lots and LOTS of explosions (an even 20 explosions to be exact, not counting the one from the opening credits!) -- there's no denying that its most important aspect for hardcore Batman fans is seeing and hearing two outstanding and legendary Batman actors voicing characters in the same episode.
The late Kevin Conroy (1955-2022), as always, does outstanding work as the voice of the 90s animated version of the iconic superhero character. To hear his version of Batman talking with Adam West's character, and how the older actor inspired him, is the most beautiful form of nostalgia working its way into the more modern story. As always, the writers for BTAS did not disappoint and brought us classic storytelling.
Now having gone on and on about just how much I've fan-boyed over this episode -- and there will be more as this review goes forward -- its time to get to the story.
The rest of this article contains massive spoilers, so if you want to watch this great episode before you read the rest, I'd advise doing so. You've been warned!
The Story
The episode opens with a flashback of a young Bruce Wayne watching the black-and-white The Gray Ghost television show with his father, Thomas Wayne. The episode then wonderfully cuts between the flashback and present-day events that appear to mirror the episode: a whirring sound being heard, a building exploding, the Gray Ghost and Batman going into action (both even leaping from the nearby building rooftop in the same exact manner!), and the police receiving a ransom letter from someone identifying themselves as "The Mad Bomber".
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| Young Bruce enjoying his favorite television show. |
In the present day, Bruce (Kevin Conroy) wakes up from a dream making the connection between The Mad Bomber's modus operandi and the episode of the television show, but cannot remember the full story since his younger self fell asleep while watching it. Bruce then makes efforts to try and locate a copy of the episode, but learns that seemingly no copies of the series exist with all production copies of the films allegedly being lost in a studio vault fire.
To find out what happened in the episode, Bruce must track down Simon Trent, the actor who portrayed the Gray Ghost in the television series.
Trent (Adam West) resides in Gotham City and is now an unemployed actor who suffers from being typecast as his Gray Ghost character. He is very short on money and is forced to sell his Gray Ghost costume and much of his remaining memorabilia to toy collector Ted Dymer (voiced by BTAS co-creator Bruce Timm) the owner of a vintage toy store called Yestertoys, just to have rent for one more month.
Here I've got to point out that the collectables in Yestertoys include some really awesome real life memorabilia, not the least of which are: a model of Robby The Robot from the classic 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden Planet, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, the Gill-man from the Creature from the Black Lagoon classic monster film trilogy, a big-eyed alien, and that vintage creepy-ass cymbal-banging grinning monkey toy that always looks like it can stare right into your soul (shudders).
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| Humm....for a toy shop, Yestertoys gives off some serious villain lair vibes with that dark lighting. |
The
next morning, Trent is surprised to find that someone has broken into his apartment and
returned his Gray Ghost costume and memorabilia, along with a letter
telling him to meet "a friend" near the Gotham Art School. There he
finds Batman, who makes his
appearance out of the smoke and says that he needs Trent's help. A
terrified Trent runs away and Batman follows him.
Batman catches up to him, and gets Trent to listen. Batman explains that the recent bombings are similar to what happened on one of The Gray Ghost episodes. Even with this information, Trent just demands to be left alone. Just then a strange whirring sound is heard, causing Trent to stop. A few moments later, the Gotham Art School explodes, the Mad Bomber having struck again.
Trent takes the chance to run, and gets back to his apartment -- only to find the Batman waiting for him. Batman noticed how Trent recognized the whirring sound, and reveals that at the Art School destruction scene he found another note from The Mad Bomber claiming the Gotham Library is the next target.
Trent finally relents and goes to his closet, which contain his personal film copies of The Gray Ghost episodes -- the last ones in existence. Pulling out a film canister labeled The Mad Bomber, he hands it to the Batman and angrily tells him to go away not wanting any more part in the whole affair.
Batman does as requested, but before he leaves, he turns back to Trent and says, "I used to admire what The Gray Ghost stood for."
"I’m not The Gray Ghost," Trent responds, with a mixture of annoyance and pain.
"I can see that now," says Batman, before going out a nearby window. In that moment you can feel the hurt in Batman's voice, and Trent responds to it thoughtfully.
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| Simon Trent despondently stares at his memorabilia. |
Returning to Wayne Manor, Alfred runs the film through a projector, and Bruce sits down with a bowl of popcorn to watch it with a nostalgic smile on his face. This in spite of meeting his childhood hero and finding a broken down, bitter old man. When Bruce had originally seen the episode as a boy, he'd fallen asleep before it ended. Now, he gets to see the rest of the story.
As Bruce watches the same whirring sound can be heard. On-screen, he sees that it is coming from a small, remote-controlled toy car that drives toward a building and then explodes in a giant fireball, revealing how The Mad Bomber committed his attacks.
After reporting his findings to Commissioner Gordon, the Gotham Police Department set up positions around the Gotham Library and three toy cars similar to the one in The Gray Ghost episode appear, streaking through the police barricades and surprising the police. One swat team member manages to detonate one of the toy cars and Batman takes out another before it can damage the library.
The third car takes off, but does not get far as it overturns in a nearby alley. Opening it, Batman finds no explosives inside....a decoy. As he discovers this, two more toy cars suddenly appear from the dark alley coming right at him!
A moment later, a rope is lowered down from the building behind him. Batman grabs it and climbs just moments before the toy cars hit the nearby wall and explode. When he gets to the top of the building, Batman discovers, to his surprise, that his rescuer is none other than Simon Trent clad in his Gray Ghost costume and standing in the gothic moonlight in a scene right out of his favorite television series.
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| Fear not, citizen, the Gray Ghost has arrived. |
Batman thanks Trent/The Gray Ghost for his assistance.
"Hey, I owed you," say Trent, "you got me my outfit back."
As Batman looks over the toy car he obtained, he offers Trent the chance to come along with him to check it for fingerprints, which he happily accepts.
Trent is in awe as he gets into the Batmobile when about a dozen more remote-controlled cars give chase. The duo managed to evade the toy car bombs -- but not before collaterally destroying what looks to be an entire Gotham City street and numerous parked cars in the process.
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| Just how many of these things does the Mad Bomber have to spare?! |
Fun fact: the use of toy cars carrying explosives as a means of assassination and terror was originally used in the Clint Eastwood action-thriller film The Dead Pool (1988), with the miniature cars themselves modeled closely after the murderous possessed vehicle in the supernatural-horror film The Car (1977).
The two soon arrive at the Batcave with Trent having been blindfolded before they entered. Looking around, the former TV star is surprised at how much Batman's hideaway looks like almost an exact replica of the Grey Ghost's lair.
Batman then shows Trent one room complete with a small shrine with Grey Ghost memorabilia, which includes the hat and cape that young Bruce wore as a boy when watching the show.
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| "Holy Helga Pataki, Batman!" |
"As a kid, I used to watch you with my father," he explains to Trent. "The Gray Ghost was my hero."
"So
it wasn't all for nothing," Trent mutters, amazed to learn that his
show and character -- the one that typecasted his career and that he seemingly resented --
actually inspired one of Gotham City's greatest superheroes.
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| Trent: Holy cats! The guy even still has the Grey Ghost pillowcases! |
Batman runs a diagnostic on the car to learn that the only set of fingerprints on the car match Trent. Shocked by this, Trent pleads with Batman that he isn't behind the bombings. Batman notes how Trent had the only existing copies of the show, and that the Mad Bomber followed the plot of the episode.
Trent claims it couldn't have been him since he sold off all the remaining remote controlled cars from the show that he owned. Its here that a revelation comes to Trent about who the mysterious Mad Bomber is.
In the next scene, in his secret villain lair at Yestertoys -- which is complete with a control room, monitors, and control panels surrounded by those creepy-faced toys in the dark shadows; Dymer is arguing with himself over his failure to kill Batman while smashing a small Batman toy in frustration.
Batman arrives and tells Dymer (aka The Mad Bomber) that he's finished. Dymer of course is prepared for such a confrontation and activates a dozen more of his remaining toy car bombs -- seriously, just how many of them did he have?!
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| Ted Dymer (aka The Mad Bomber) who was modeled after his voice actor, Bruce Timm -- one of the co-creators of Batman: The Animated Series. |
The cars surround Batman keeping him at bay while Dymer starts his villain monologue about how much he loves toys, but in order to satisfy his insatiable collecting habit he needs money. Lots of money. So he remembered the Mad Bomber episode of The Gray Ghost (meaning that he's about as old as Bruce) and it gave him the idea.
"And then I remembered what else a toy can do," Dymer exclaims. "It can carry a bomb. It can hold a city for ransom. Oh, the power of the toy. It can earn millions…millions for the little ol’ toy collector: me!"
In typical bad guy fashion, the Mad Bomber is so caught up in his monologue that he is surprised when none other than the Gray Ghost bursts in through the nearby window, knocking Dymer into some shelves that wreck his control panel, which in turn quickly catches fire. The toy car bombs, now out of control, start to spin all around the toy shop.
In the confusion that follows Batman quickly scoops up Dymer and the trio rush from the building just in time before it explodes, destroying Yestertoys and Dymer's entire expensive collection of toys and memorabilia, thus ending the career of the Mad Bomber.
Following the events, Ted Dymer is locked up and Simon Trent is recognized as a real-life hero for helping Batman to capture the Mad Bomber. That, along with Trent allowing his surviving copies of The Gray Ghost series to be released on home video -- prompts a resurgence in the popularity of his character. This provides Trent with fresh income from its distribution and ultimately revitalizing his career.
The final scene of the episode takes place at an autograph session at a video store, with long lines greeting him eager to meet the Gray Ghost himself in costume, Trent is visited by Bruce Wayne. As Trent signs his copy of the Grey Ghost video boxset.
"You know, as a kid I used to watch you with my father," says Bruce, repeating what Batman told Trent in the Batcave. "The Gray Ghost was my hero."
"Really?" says Trent, recognizing the wording.
"And he still is," Bruce adds smiling before walking away, leaving Trent/Gray Ghost smiling in recognition. The scene then pans upward to show a poster cover of People Magazine with the return of The Gray Ghost featured on the cover.
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| You totally know that autograph is going in my shrine, right? |
Conclusion
I've been a fan of Batman for as long as I can remember.
From watching him in the Super Friends (1973-1985) animated series in the lineup of Saturday Morning cartoons as a boy, as well as the guest appearances of Batman and Robin in a couple episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972-1973) animated series; then later in my pre-teen and early teenage years watching the famous 1966 Batman television series and the Tim Burton film Batman (1989) when the Dark Knight sudden became more gothic and less campy.
I also have a personal collection of the best Batman graphic novels and comics in my home library, and a model of the original 1966 Batmobile complete with miniature Batman and Robin on my office shelf right next to the model of the Robot from the Lost In Space (1965-1968) science fiction series.
I was 15 when Batman: The Animated Series premiered and absolutely enjoyed it. I was totally hooked on the series and anticipated each new episode when it came out. I would rate BTAS as one of my top five favorite animated shows of the 1990s.
So being a fan of both the original Batman television series and BTAS, when the episode Beware The Gray Ghost premiered and I first heard Adam West voicing the character who inspired Batman....well you better believe I was grinning ear-to-ear just enjoying the whole experience. It was pretty cool then.
Today as a currently 48 year-old pseudo-adult and having done the research for this article, I can much better appreciate the work and the love for the dedication to the genre, and the respect for the fandom at large that the voice actors and the people who worked on BTAS put into making this outstanding episode. It was truly a great tribute to the franchise.
Sadly both Adam West and Kevin Conroy have since passed away; but their legacy lives on in the hearts and memories of the true fans of this amazing superhero franchise.
It was also my honor, as a life-long fan, to begin my list of Southern Fried Nostalgia & Fandom posts featuring favorite episodes of this series with this great episode -- and rest assured there will be further episodes in future blog posts.
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| Two iconic generations of Batman coming together -- Adam West and Kevin Conroy (RIP) preparing to provide their voices for the Gray Ghost and Batman in 1992. |
