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Be a Clown is the ninth episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series.
Mayor Hill's son feels overlooked and unloved at his own birthday party that is more a political media event than a real celebration. Meanwhile, the Joker infiltrates the party dressed as a clown in order to plant a bomb. The Mayor's son, a budding magician, becomes so enamored of the clown's tricks that he steals away in the clown's truck when the Joker leaves. When Batman tracks down the Joker to a closed amusement park, the wily villain plays on the kid's naiveté and uses him to gas the Batman. After Hill's son, Justin, realizes his mistake, he attemtps to free Batman, and partially suceeds, but is stopped by the Joker and runs off. With the Joker distracted, Batman is able to completely free himself from the tank (after being knocked unconscious, he was put in a straight jacket and placed in a locked tank upside down and the tank was filled with water). After retrieving his utility belt, Batman is able to stop the Joker and save Justin after a wild ride on a roller coaster. The Mayor and his son make up and Batman hides in the shadows smiling.
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[edit] Trivia
- First animated episode where Batman is knocked unconscious by Knockout gas.
- Frank Paur, the director, was having difficulties with the storyboarding crew, and when a freelancer quit, Bruce Timm storyboarded the entire second act. [1]
- Bruce Timm claims that he had the idea for the episode when he had the image in his mind of Batman trying to save a child, but the child's too scared because of Batman's intimidating look. [2]
- The trap Joker attempts to kill Batman with is the famous water torture trap which Harry Houdini escaped out of in approximately two minutes.
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