NOTE: This article obviously contains SPOILERS. Proceed at your own risk!
Official Summary
In the aftermath of a botched assassination attempt on Commissioner Gordon’s life, Montoya vows to do everything in her power to protect Gordon. Batman’s investigation into who was behind the hit leads him down a rabbit hole with only one clear answer: trust no one.
My Summary
In the aftermath of a botched assassination attempt, Detective Montoya vows to protect Commissioner James Gordon at all costs. However, as Batman investigates the hit on Gordon, he discovers that the commissioner may not actually be the intended target.
Voice Cast
Hamish Linklater as Batman / Bruce Wayne
Reid Scott as Onomatopoeia
Michelle C. Bonilla as Detective Renee Montoya
Krystal Joy Brown as Barbara Gordon
John DiMaggio as Detective Harvey Bullock
Eric Morgan Stuart as Commissioner James Gordon, Guard 2
Jason Watkins as Alfred Pennyworth, Guard 1
Gary Anthony Williams as Detective Arnold Flass
Peter Jessop as Muller, Henchman 1
Roger Craig Smith as Detective Jim Corrigan, Floyd Lawton, Henchman 2
James Arnold Taylor as Marcus Driver, Client
Commentary
Among Caped Crusader’s non-costumed supporting cast, the most fascinating character so far has to be Barbara Gordon. While the odds of her donning a costume and fighting crime like her DCAU counterpart are slim to none, our resident public defender can certainly hold her own, either with a .32 pistol or a classic Louisville Slugger. Previous episodes have dealt with her complicated relationships with both Gotham City and her father, Commissioner James Gordon, and this installment provides further opportunity to season her character and, along the way, introduce us to one of this Batman’s most unusual foes.
“Moving Targets” is opened by a frank discussion of crime and punishment vocalized by two people coming at the law from two very different positions—a police officer and an attorney—after the commissioner watches his daughter finish business with a recently-exonerated client:
JAMES GORDON: Another day, another criminal let off on a technicality.
BARBARA GORDON: We’re doing this again?
JAMES GORDON: He did the crime, Barb.
BARBARA GORDON: Jesus, Dad, you’re acting like you’ve never heard of “mitigating circumstances!” Actions aren’t the only thing—
JAMES GORDON: Actions are everything!
BARBARA GORDON: —to consider. And prison can’t always be the default! Maybe if the cops had done their job instead of trying to pin on my client with such flimsy evidence!
JAMES GORDON: Watch it, Barbara. They’re good cops. I know these two. Sure, maybe they made some mistakes—
BARBARA GORDON: Oh, so cops can make mistakes, but citizens can’t.
JAMES GORDON: You’re being naïve.
BARBARA GORDON: And you’re a cynic.
JAMES GORDON: Look, inside here, people know the difference between right and wrong—they just do! So, when they choose wrong, they should answer for it!
BARBARA GORDON: You know it’s not that simple, Dad.
JAMES GORDON: Well, it should be.
As they spar over the minutiae of law-craft, one gets the sense that this apparently long-standing disagreement between them is as much a generational divide as it is a legal one. As a cop with (as we learn in this episode) thirty years of experience on the force, Jim Gordon is bound to take the long view when it comes to the law in Gotham, having both literally and figuratively seen it all. He comes off as cynical, but he is also an optimist—after all, would a cynic bother to try and reform the GCPD? On the other hand, the more youthful Barbara—who, according to her character description, went into law after growing “disillusioned with the corruption in the police force” (Vejvoda)—presents herself as an idealist who sees the best in her clients despite their actions. Even with the uphill battle against the district attorney’s office, she is willing to fight for what she perceives as justice, even if her father sees her as lacking in worldly wisdom.
However, while unencumbered by her father’s years of precedent, we have seen a growing sense of weariness and disillusionment in Barbara … one that has, no doubt, been fed by the toxic environment of Gotham City. Initially eschewing the police force due to its corruption, she’s come to find that the legal system of Gotham is just as complicit. If her clients in “In Treacherous Waters” and “Moving Targets” are any indication, it appears that much of her work revolves around defending low-level criminals who were used by Thorne’s mob as patsies. In fact, the practice is so institutionalized by crime families that they often refer to these people as “bts”:
A ”bt” is a mob hanger-on who is given practically nothing to do and let in on no crime family secrets. However, finally he is given something to do in a mob operation, but unfortunately for him he is caught in the activity. He is unaware that he was set up by the mob to toss an arrest to cooperative police officers to enhance their record. It provides good will for the officer, and from that officer to the mob. It is hardly a loss to the mob. “Bt” stands for “bird turd.” (Sifakis 23)
While we may only speculate on the circumstances of the clients Barbara defended in both episodes, we can absolutely say that Aaron Cobblepot—whom Thorne used for information about his mother, the Penguin, while falsely promising him a place in his organization—qualifies as a “bt.” At any rate, she routinely has to defend these men against the “tough on crime” Harvey Dent, who seeks to pad his own record with convictions to gain support among voters for his mayoral campaign. This consistent narrative—defending little fish from draconian punishment while the big fish swim free—is taking its toll on the overburdened public defender. In “The Stress of Her Regard,” she confided in her friend Harleen that “[s]ometimes I just feel so hopeless about this city. Like it’s past the point of saving.” And this was before she found out that Dr. Quinzel herself was also part of the problem.
Which leads us to the plot of this episode. One of Barbara Gordon’s previous clients—a convict only known by his surname, Muller—is angry that he was put in prison and arranged for an “open hit” to be placed on her as payback. In the book Mobspeak: The Dictionary of Crime Terms, an “open hit” is defined thusly:
A not uncommon contract in the mob is an “open hit.” Instead of certain mobsters being assigned to do the jobs, the word is passed to many individuals that the would-be victim’s death is “open,” meaning that if one bumps into him they can shoot him on the spur of the moment. The idea is to keep the victim in the dark about a contract out on him. […] The target might also be hard to get at, but almost no one can stay alert to every possibility and might be popped off by an unsuspected source. (Sifakis 154)
Because of a communication mix-up, the police believed that Commissioner Gordon was the target, leading to a majority of the episode featuring a small group of cops (and Barbara) attempting to get the commissioner to safety. Unfortunately for them, in the detail was Detective Jim Corrigan, a character who—while historically known as the superhero known as The Spectre—was also the name of a crooked detective in Ed Brubaker’s Gotham Central series, and he intended to cash in on the bounty.
(After rewatching the episode several times, I can’t help but wonder if Detective Corrigan was responsible for the mix-up. All we know is that, the night before, the word went out about the contract and, that morning, the police learned of the hit from a snitch. What if Corrigan was the one whom the snitch contacted, and he filtered the information to the others about a hit on “Gordon” rather than “Barbara Gordon?” He may have even set up Lawton to make a showy assassination attempt on the courthouse steps to ensure that police security would be heightened, thus getting rid of any competition and allowing him to take out Barbara Gordon himself when the opportunity arose.)
Unfortunately for him, however, the aforementioned bounty also attracted interest from out of town, which was manifested by Onomatopoeia and his Greek chorus of all black-wearing henchmen (another theater kid?). More a plot device than a fully developed character, the villain was nonetheless a welcome deep cut from DC Comics’ history and a worthy opponent for the Caped Crusader.
Speaking of which, Batman successfully has the “open hit” cancelled by tracking its origins to Blackgate Prison and “having a word” with Muller in solitary confinement. Later, at the end of the episode, Barbara goes to Blackgate herself to have her own exchange with her former client:
BARBARA GORDON: I did my job for you. I got you the best deal possible, and you tried to have me killed.
MULLER: This was the best deal? This place? You know what it’s like in here? I may have done some bad stuff, but I’m not like them! I just made some mistakes! You … you coulda done better for me. I don’t deserve to be here!
BARBARA GORDON: Actually, I think you do.
Serving as a bookend to the earlier argument with her father, this scene emphasizes the tragedy of Gotham City, as well as Barbara possibly shedding some of the idealism that Jim Gordon passes off as naiveté. And let’s not forget that, on some level, Muller is right. Considering what we learn about Blackgate Prison from Batman’s visit, I can confidently say that he doesn’t deserve it. No prisoner deserves to be brutalized or exploited by the prison guards paid to oversee them, but that doesn’t give Muller the right to attempt to murder his attorney—the character that the series has set up as one of the few honest people in Gotham.
In an August 9th post on Anime Superhero, message board moderator (and creator of the excellent DCAU Resource website) Yojimbo observed that “Barbara from Episode 1 is shown she can’t trust Harvey or the DA’s office. In Episode 5, she can’t trust a friend. In Episode 7, she can’t even trust the cop fighting side by side with her. Feels like she’s got an arc going this season to me” (Yojimbo). Considering her storylines in Season One, I can’t help but wonder if Barbara will find a way to maintain the positivity she brings to the courtroom in the upcoming Season Two (as well as, hopefully, future seasons), or whether she will succumb to the growing pessimism that threatens to overwhelm her hope.
Stray Observations
According to an August 10th post on Anime Superhero, Bruce Timm revealed how “[t]he basic set-up of having a small band of good guys holed up in a remote location, surrounded on all sides by a larger team of heavily armed bad guys, [in ’Moving Target’] is somewhat like John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 or Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (take your pick)” (b.t.).
The initial assassin targeting Barbara Gordon is Floyd Lawton, known in the mainstream DC Universe as the assassin Deadshot. A mainstay of the Suicide Squad franchise, few people realize that he first appeared in Batman #59 (June 1950). In addition, he was a regular supporting character in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
It is also worth mentioning that Lawton’s appearance on Caped Crusader is similar to his initial appearance in the Justice League episode “The Enemy Below,” as a secondary villain slipped into the story with no advanced notice by the creative team.
Floyd Lawton was described by Detective Jim Corrigan as a “local torpedo; works contract jobs.” In mob lingo, a “torpedo” is another term for a mercenary or a hit man.
The police response to the hit on “Gordon” is interesting, as both Detectives Flass and Bullock both want to use the task force—one that was specifically put together to take on Batman—to drag in the whole East End for questioning. This reminds me of the alleged abuses of the Patriot Act, a law intended to be used to protect the United States from terrorism but has since been used for other, more questionable uses.
Detective Flass is particularly adamant about protecting Commissioner Gordon, despite the fact that he most likely hates him personally. To him, an attack on a cop—any cop—by a civilian is an attack on all of them (“We’re the damn police—we can’t have folks out there thinking it’s okay to shoot at us!”). This ideology is mirrored by organizations such as Blue Lives Matter.
As with previous incarnations of the character, Barbara Gordon is revealed to be a graduate of Gotham State University (does GSU have a law school, or was this just her receiving her bachelor’s degree?). Considering the minimal age difference in the photo, I’d wager that not much time has passed between higher education and the public defender’s office.
First appearing in Detective Comics #629 (May 1991), Blackgate Prison (or Blackgate Penitentiary) is the Alcatraz-like supermax located on an island in Gotham Bay. It is traditionally where Batman’s non-criminally insane foes are imprisoned, though it was named “Stonegate” in Batman: The Animated Series.
Apparently the two guards that Batman takes out are running a protection racket where they force prisoners to pay them protection money to avoid beatings. Suddenly, Muller’s venom against Barbara Gordon losing his case makes sense.
Interesting how Batman taking out two guards didn’t arouse any responses from the cells they were walking past. Was everyone asleep? Did Batman knock them out with some kind of gas?
Originally appearing in Green Arrow #12 (March 2002) as an adversary for both Oliver Queen and Conner Hawke, Onomatopoeia later served as an antagonist for Batman in Batman: Cacophony (2008-2009) and Batman: The Widening Gyre (2009-2010), both penned by co-creator Kevin Smith. Introduced as a serial killer who specializes in non-superpowered heroes, the villain is reimagined here as a hit man. Though Smith initially expressed concern that the character would not translate well to television or film (Mayo), he later expressed his delight that Onomatopoeia was adapted for Caped Crusader (Flook).
Like several villains this season, Onomatopoeia is never mentioned by name in the episode, but he is wearing a mask with a giant “O” on it, so it’s most likely his name.
In animation, Onomatopoeia’s gimmick of vocally imitating noises either around him or caused by him serves as an audible reference to the visual BIFF-BAM-POW! fight sequences of the 1960s Batman series.
In a video posted by YouTube channel Serum Lake, they speculate that Onomatopoeia “gives off some strong neurodivergent vibes,” which I generally agree with (“Not”). However, it begs the question: could this version of Batman be considered neurodivergent as well?
According to the closing credits, the cop in Gordon’s detail that got shot (the one initially driving the car) was literally named “Marcus Driver.” Seriously? Also, based on the credits, is it possible that Mayor Jessop was named after voice actor Peter Jessop, who is voice of Muller in this episode?
The location that Gordon’s detail hides out, Wayne Gardens, was initially mentioned in “Night Ride” by Lucius Fox as a property Bruce Wayne was invested in. Originally considered for Heritage Hill, Wayne wanted something closer to the city. It looks like it will be a suburban community.
As Batman monitors the police radio, they mention a domestic disturbance on “Wheeler and Nicholson.” This is a reference to Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the entrepreneur that pioneered the concept of the modern comic book. He was also the founder of National Allied Publications in 1935, the publisher that would later become DC Comics.
The conversation between Renee Montoya and Barbara Gordon about Ellsworth Hills, the suburb where Barbara grew up, is typical of the “city vs. county” rivalry that exists in some communities. To Montoya, it’s not the “real Gotham” (despite sharing a similar geographical location), but a place where people with money run to avoid the perceived dangers of the city.
The way that Onomatopoeia hangs back to oversee his crew’s assault on the model home is reminiscent of the Yakuza Boss in The Simpsons’ Season Eight episode, “The Twisted World of Marge Simpson.” Noticing how he hangs back, Homer Simpson observers how “that little guy hasn’t done anything yet. Look at him. He’s gonna do something, and you know it’s gonna be good,” which is what happens in “Moving Targets” when Onomatopoeia eventually faces off against Batman.
Works Cited
b.t. Comment on “’Batman: Caped Crusader’ Season One Talkback (Spoilers).” Anime Superhero. XenForo Ltd. 10 Aug. 2024. <https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/batman-caped-crusader-season-one-talkback-spoilers.5799833/post-87962637>. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.
Flook, Ray. “Batman: Caped Crusader Including Onomatopoeia ‘Crazy’; Kevin Smith.” Bleeding Cool. Bleeding Cool. 26 Jun. 2024. Web. 27 Jun. 2024. <https://bleedingcool.com/tv/batman-caped-crusader-including-onomatopoeia-crazy-kevin-smith/>.
Mayo, Tom. “Interview with Kevin Smith aka Silent Bob.” The Internet Archive. The Internet Archive. 16 Nov. 2007. Web. 4 Jul. 2024. <https://web.archive.org/web/20071116015644/http://azhrialilu.com/article/25/interview-with-kevin-smith-aka-silent-bob>.
“Not All Villains Wear Costumes | Onomatopoeia, Deadshot, and More | Batman Caped Crusader.” YouTube. Uploaded by Serum Lake. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoYUURLz0o0>. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
Sifakis, Carl. “Bt.” Mobspeak: The Dictionary of Crime Terms. New York: Checkmark Books, 2003. Print.
---. “Open Hit.” Mobspeak: The Dictionary of Crime Terms. New York: Checkmark Books, 2003. Print.
Vejvoda, Jim. “Batman : Caped Crusader: Here’s Who is Voicing Allies Like Gordon and Alfred.” IGN. IGN. 2 Jul. 2024. Web. 3 Jul. 2024. <https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-caped-crusader-voice-cast-allies-gordon-alfred-lucius-montoya>.
Yojimbo. Comment on “’Batman: Caped Crusader’ Season One Talkback (Spoilers).” Anime Superhero. XenForo Ltd. 9 Aug. 2024. <https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/batman-caped-crusader-season-one-talkback-spoilers.5799833/page-8#post-87962350>. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.
Images courtesy of Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and DC Comics. YouTube video courtesy of the Sassy Wizard channel.
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