From her first appearance, Barbara Gordon was a dynamic and exciting addition to the Batman family. Brilliant, tough and strong willed, Barbara has faced more adversity than most superheroes, dealing with trauma and coming out stronger for it. This episode, we read three stories that trace her evolution from the dominoed dare doll, Batgirl, to the seer of heroes, Oracle.

The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl (Detective Comics V.1 # 359)

The Last Batgirl Story (Batgirl Special # 1)

Oracle: Year One- Born of Hope (Batman Chronicles # 5)

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The Gotham City Police Department, or GCPD for short, has been part of Batman's world since his first appearance, which also happened to be the first appearance of Commissioner James Gordon. And while the members of the GCPD focused on in the comics have shifted over the years, the presence of it has been a constant, although Batman's good standing has been anything but. This week, we're reading three stories that focus on the three most important members of Gotham's police force: Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock, and Jim Gordon. We also wrestle with the question of how, in 2023, you can read these stories and reckon with the questions of copaganda and police protagonists. But don't worry, there's your usual quotient of funny voices, off color humor, and SHARK WATCH!

Half a Life (Gotham Central # 6-10)

A Bullet for Bullock (Detective Comics V.1 # 651)

Loyalties (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 159-161)

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There are many great supporting characters in the Batman mythos. Alfred. The myriad Robins and Batgirls. Jim Gordon. Leslie Thompkins. And then, there is Bat-Mite, the 5th Dimensional imp who claims to be Batman's biggest fan. And he is, in the same way that Annie Wilkes is to Paul Sheldon (that's a Misery reference for those who don't know their Stephen King). Dan Grote wanted us to talk about Bat-Mite, so here we go, three very different stories about a magical floating imp in a Batman costume.

Legends of the Dark-Mite/Mitefall (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight # 38/Batman: Mitefall)

Bat-Mite's New York Adventure (Detective Comics V.1 # 482)

Crisis of Infinite Scoobys! (Scooby-Doo Team-Up # 50 [Digital Chapters 99-100])

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Linewide crossovers are a big part of comics, and Batman has often been a big part of these kind of events. But our buddy Josh Weil comes back on the show to talk about three crossovers form the 90s where Batman doesn't play a big part. So we talk about Batman, sure, but also about Hal Jordan, Blue Devil, Trickster, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Will gets introduced to all sorts of madness, and Matt relives his younger days, and thus turns slightly more into dust

Zero Hour: A Crisis in Time (Zero Hour #4-0, Batman V.1 #511)

Underworld Unleashed (Underworld Unleashed #1-3, Underworld Unleashed: Devil's Asylum #1, Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear #1)

Final Night (Final Night #1-4, Parallax: Emerald Night #1)

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I have been having a hard time saying that this month marks the 40th anniversary of the first appearance of Jason Todd. It just doesn't seem like to could be that long ago, but it absolutely is. And so, to celebrate the anniversary of the angriest Robin (well, Damian does give him some competition), we're looking at three stories from Jason's long history, from his first appearance to his return from the dead.

CW: Sexual assault; self harm; suicide

Enter Jason Todd & Killer Croc (Batman V.1 #357-359/Detective Comics V.1 #524-526)

Consequences (Batman V.1 #424-425)

Daedalus & Icarus: The Return of Jason Todd (Batman V.1 Annual #25)

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It's over! We have made it through the entirety of our giant sized, three part 75th episode, which means we have reached the end of the 52 issues of Batman Eternal. We discuss the ending, which Will admits to misremembering, how the preview issue of Batman fit in, and how the series worked as a whole.

Batman Eternal # 35-52, Batman V.2 #28

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We're back with the second part pf our 75th episode and the second chapter of Batman Eternal. And this one is... not as exciting. There's a whole lot of Hush this time. Like, a whole lot. Plus the supernatural stuff takes over a lot, and most of the cool crime stuff is forgotten. As is pretty much everything else. So if you're a big fan of Hush, you might enjoy this. Or probably not, since neither Matt or Will are.

Batman Eternal # 22-34

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So, Will has been asking for it since about episode 3, and this week, it begins. For our 75th episode, we are covering the year long, weekly series Batman Eternal. But because it's so long, this isn't a normal episode. The series was collected in three trades, so we're covering it as three stories in a three part episode, mostly so the Big Board remains evenly divisible by 3. This week, Jim Gordon has a bad day, the Roman returns and Penguin wears his Batman Returns onesie to murder a bunch of dudes. Plus, more plotlines than you can shake a Batarang at.

Batman Eternal # 1-21

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So, because of a combination of vacations and heavy workload, editing a proper BatChat did not happen this week. Instead, we're taking an episode of our Patreon exclusive content from behind the pay wall. Tune in to hear a tribute to the man who defined Batman for a generation: Kevin Conroy. And if you like it, follow that Patreon link at the bottom of this post to get plenty of more of this even crazier than our normal episodes show.

Batman: The Animated Series- Perchance to Dream

The Batman- A Matter of Family

Batman: The Brave and the Bold- Chill of the Night

Justice League Unlimited- Epilogue

Justice League Action Shorts- Good Cop, Bat Cop

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Hey look, it's Valentine's week! And since Grant Morrison once called Batman a, "hairy chested love god," who are we to argue? That means it's time for three tales of the Dark Knight and romance!

Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics V.1 # 471-476)

The Return of Scarface (Batman V.1 # 475-476, Detective Comics V.1 # 642)

Perchance... (JLA # 90)

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