Rating the Bat-Traps

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Riddler Fan
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Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Riddler Fan »

Let's discuss our favorite death traps that any Villain(ess) ever put Batman and/or Robin into.......

Which death trap was the most clever?

Which death trap was the most evil?

Which death trap was the most lame?

Which death trap do you think was the most realistic?
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njboywonder
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by njboywonder »

Interesting series of qualifiers--beyond the usual 'favorite' question.

I've noted here before that the drive shafts were the most realistic, and thus a favorite, as was the scene in which they appeared. Little that was comic book about it.

Brett
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Ricky
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Ricky »

Which death trap was the most clever?
Catwoman's "bat on a hot tin roof" bat-trap.

Which death trap was the most evil?
The giant clam

Which death trap was the most lame?
Being tied down to railway tracks by False Face was very boring, generic cleshae (spelling) trap.

Which death trap do you think was the most realistic?
The realistic traps are usually just one's with no imagination for example Bruce Wayne coming close to the furnace or Robin coming up close to the chainsaw in the Riddlers False Notion.
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Progress Pigment
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Progress Pigment »

Great topic RF! The Joker's 'chimney of gas' was the most clever. Catwoman's, 'deafen Batman into a mindless zombie', Pengy's, 'burn Bruce Wayne' to death' and tut's 'drown Batman in a sarcophagus' were, in that order, the most evil. Chandel's, 'player piano rolls' was the most lame, but there are too many others in that category to list them all. The Penguin's 'human teabags' and the Joker's 'human surf boards' deserve an honorable mention. The Riddler's, 'drive shafts of death', the Joker's 'chimney of gas', and 'Shame's cattle stampede' were the most realistic. It wasn't on the list, but The Clock King's, 'sands of time hourglass', and Zelda's, 'inescapable death-trap' were the most faithful to the comics.
Next week, the Dynamic Duo meets the Clock King!
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dell
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by dell »

It has been so long since I have seen some of the episodes that I don't remember many of the traps. I agree with Progress Pigment that the player piano roll trap was one of the lamest. I don't remember the human teabags or the human surfboards, but they just sound lame.
dell
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clavierankh
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by clavierankh »

Good choices. If you want to add worst explanation for an escape I nominate the car crusher from the Penguin March trilogy. Batman says he used air pressure to counter the crushers pressure.As the crusher pressure increase the the air pressure increased to counter it leaving an air pocket. Unless I'm mistaken he air pressure in the pocket would be the same as the crusher pressure and they would still be crushed.
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Mr. Deathtrap
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Mr. Deathtrap »

Citizens,

Here are my picks:

Clever Penguin arranging to have Gordon and O'Hara shoot our heroes while they're strung up behind the shooting gallery.

Evil Catwoman grilling our heroes while roasting them beneath gigantic magnifying glasses. This setup shows the contempt Catwoman had for Batman and Robin and the power she felt she had over them. She is killing them in the same manner a child would employ to incinerate a helpless insect.

Lame The human surfboards, partially because Joker describes how the surfboard is made rather than how being entombed inside will kill our heroes.

Realistic Shame arranging for our heroes to be stomped to death by a stampede.

Mr. Deathtrap
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Riddler Fan wrote:Let's discuss our favorite death traps that any Villain(ess) ever put Batman and/or Robin into.......

Which death trap was the most clever?
The Clock King's giant hourglass. Not only was it visually striking, but played up the cliffhanger as well as the best of any serial and comic book.

The Catowman's deathtraps from "The Purrfect Crime." and "Better Luck Next Time," where we were treated to two! Both classic, cliffhanger-styled traps that posed a believable danger to the Dynamic Duo, with the benefit of being dramatic set pieces many death traps lacked in one way or another.
Which death trap was the most evil?
See my first reply. Death by asphyxiation, or death by being eaten alive by a real world threat (as opposed to a giant, man-eating clam) come from minds fueled wholly by malevolent emotions. No "wink-wink, nudge" there at all.
Which death trap was the most lame?
Human Siamese knot. Absolutely pointless. Supremely lazy writing.
Which death trap do you think was the most realistic?
See the first repsonse; if the Bat-crew can construct a giant hourglass for a TV series, it could be in reality. Tigers used as death-dealers is an ancient punishment, with the means (trap doors, etc.) also having a real world point of origin.

I would add Shame's bull stampede, as that too has real world origins, and was a pretty thrilling--and for this series--unusual death trap.
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WayneGrayson
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by WayneGrayson »

[quote="Mr. Deathtrap"]Citizens,


Evil Catwoman grilling our heroes while roasting them beneath gigantic magnifying glasses. This setup shows the contempt Catwoman had for Batman and Robin and the power she felt she had over them.

Being shot with paralyzing darts and then tossed out the window, only to land on giant nets, always seemed as if it could have been a deathtrap cliffhanger of its own. Usually, when our heroes meet the villain for the first time, the villain just springs a ruse on them for a quick getaway, but Catwoman meant business from the get-go.
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Mr. Deathtrap
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Mr. Deathtrap »

Citizens,

I agree with Wayne Grayon about Catwoman tossing the paralyzed Dynamic Duo out a high window being a possible cliffhanger. It's an example of Catwoman's evil before Batman saved her life I have not used to illustrate the change in her character.

Following Batman's lifesaving actions as she tried to steal two priceless violins she begins pursuing Batman instead of trying to kill him. In her next story she tried to destroy our heroes' minds while retaining their bodies. Subsequently, she tried to use a drugged Robin to persuade Batman to join her. In the college story she only tries to kill Batman after framing him so that he would be arrested and out of the way while she committed her crime.

The traps Catwoman employs while persuing Batman are still evil, but are evil for different reasons because Catwoman's motivation is different.

Mr. Deathtrap
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Batfan 66
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Batfan 66 »

Which death trap was the most clever?

Which death trap was the most evil?

Which death trap was the most lame?

Which death trap do you think was the most realistic?
I can't really decide the very best one for each question, so I'll just list one of my favorites for that type,

I think the most realistic was at the end of The Joker is Wild where he was going to unmask them....

One of the clever ones was the Riddler strapping them to the large wheels and having them spin to their death, yikes!

A lame one would be false face tying them to the subway rails, he was such a good villain I hoped for something better than that.

A really evil one....hmmm, how about being fed to tigers!

:D
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Batman1962
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Batman1962 »

If I recall correctly, False-Face glued them to the railroad tracks with a "strong epoxy" which just looked like (and most likely were) strips of Saran Wrap. :x

The most realistic one to me was the Riddler's drive shafts; when he said goodbye to each of them it was almost in a whisper, and then when they escaped, they showed the after-effects; i.e. Batman collapsing for a few seconds following his escape, and Robin saying that he'd passed out. The fact that the figures on the shafts were clearly dummies is irrelevent. :-)
robinboyblunderer
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by robinboyblunderer »

Which death trap was the most clever?

---the Mousetrap, I think. Maybe the griddles, too. And her two traps in her first appearance. The Buzzsaw as well since it was a decoy trap.

Which death trap was the most evil?

---Catwoman's Amazing Maze, though I'm stretching it here. It's not really a death-trap per se but it is both menacing and humiliating for Robin and Policewoman Mooney. Aside from the non-lethal electricity, there's no life-threatening danger; just being Catwoman's captives forever.

Which death trap was the most lame?

Siamese Human Knot, maybe. The Penguin's shooting gallery was sort of dull, too.

Which death trap do you think was the most realistic?

No trap at all, but Joker threatening to unmask them.
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robinfan
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by robinfan »

I agree, threatening to unmask them makes a cool cliffhanger.
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Jim Akin
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Re: Rating the Bat-Traps

Post by Jim Akin »

Most clever: Not a cliffhanger, but a deathtrap nonetheless: The shrinking infrared heat zones in Mr. Freeze's refrigerated stronghold. (Also a contender for most evil trap, IMHO.)

Most evil: Riddler's hot wax dip (and that Riddler and the gang stuck around to watch -- even if it was from another room). Runner-up: Bookworm putting Robin's head on the bell clapper.

Lamest: Louie's "lethal" lilacs (SIamese human knot a very close second)

Most realistic: Archer's lance attack. (I'm talking realistic in terms of believability as a means of offing our heroes -- NOT realistic in terms of the escape method.)

Cheers,

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