REVIEW
“Sudden Fear” is a horror/detective story thriller that weaves together Gotham’s rising panic with the ongoing thread from last season of Harleen Quinzel, who Montoya, we discover, has been secretly hiding in her apartment since Harleen’s “death.”
When a string of college students turn up literally scared to death, a stir‑crazy Harleen throws on her old costume and ends up forming an uneasy alliance with The Batman to track down the source of the fear toxin.
Fear toxin you say? That must mean that The Scarecrow is in Gotham! Yes, it does…but with a twist. I’ll leave that for y’all to discover on your own, but it involves who we THINK is behind both the murders and who is the actual killer. Nonetheless, I will say that The Scarecrow, who sports a very different sort of mask than that of THE WIZARD OF OZ variety, is very much still “The Scarecrow.”
Back to the Batman/Harley Quinn team-up, which actually works quite well, The Caped Crusader leans on Harleen’s expertise — which not only helps them locate The Scarecrow but also helps discover a way to blunt the toxin’s effects. When Batman finally confronts The Scarecrow in a haze of fear‑induced hallucinations, the moment plays out in a very cool way that’s clearly a nod to BATMAN BEGINS; complete with The Scarecrow getting a taste of his own medicine.
Will we see more of The Batman/Harley duo in the future? We’ll need a third season for that, but here’s hoping. I find it a cool reversal when it comes to HQ’s traditional partner. Bill “Jett” Ramey
GRADE: A-
PODCAST
On the 80th episode of Batman-On-Film.com’s BATMANIMATION podcast, BOF Senior Contributors Javi Trujillo and Ryan Lower review and discuss “Sudden Fear” from Season 2 Episode 6 of BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER.
