An ex-con, Lloyd Ventrix (
Michael Gross), gets his hands on a suit that
turns him invisible. He uses it for some petty jewel thievery, as most two-bit thugs in Gotham would, but what he really wants is to be with his daughter again, and he now has the perfect way to bypass the restraining order against him by his ex-wife.
And he can now outwit Batman along the way.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Affectionate Nickname: Helen's daughter's real name is Kimberly, but she's also called "Kimmy" by her parents.
- All for Nothing: Once Lloyd reveals he's her father, Kimmy loses all trust in him and runs away as her mother warned her to stay away from him.
- Badass Bystander: Batman is (if only temporarily) subdued by a warehouse worker he startles. Upon seeing he just knocked around the Dark Knight, the guy is understandably terrified. Fortunately, Batman holds no grudge.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: It's only a tranquilizer gun, but you know he's serious when he pulls it out. Ventris is not going to have an easy night...
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Lloyd says this word for word when Helen angrily tells him that she wishes he could just "disappear", which he would later use his invisibility suit to kidnap Kimmy.
- Bond One-Liner: Batman after defeating Ventrix.
Batman: Get ready for your biggest disappearing act, Ventrix, the one where no one sees you for ten to twenty!
- Butt-Monkey: One of the security guards who was trying to get into the locked bathroom (occupied by Lloyd and later Bruce). He waited by the door, until Batman came out and knocked him out.
- Clothes Make the Maniac: Justified. Lloyd was already slightly unbalanced, but because of the plastic properties of the invisibility suit, it became toxic when it was activated, making it a Flawed Prototype. Constant exposure drove him completely over the edge into madness.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When Ventrix is invisible, he's able to inflict this upon Batman who can't see him. However, once Batman is able to expose the outlines of his body, Batman completely turns it around and really lets Ventrix have it.
- Determinator: Lloyd. What more can you say about a guy who's willing to pose as his daughter's imaginary friend while stealing gifts for her, just so he can be close to her and earn her trust?
- Disappeared Dad: Justified with Lloyd, due to being a convicted felon. His crimes and arrest got him slapped with a restraining order from his ex-wife, who wanted him away from their daughter. Also, he's literally a disappeared dad, what with the invisibility suit.
- The Door Slams You: The luckless security guard trying to enter the bathroom that first Lloyd and then Wayne use to change outfits.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Lloyd thinks the money he stole with the suit will let him get back together with his ex-wife Helen. He never understands that she divorced him and is keeping their daughter away from him because he's an unrepentant criminal.
- Dramatic Drop: When Kimmy tells Lloyd they're moving, he drops her doll in shock.
- Empathy Doll Shot: We get this as a hysterical Helen races into Kimmy's empty room.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Deconstructed. In his own way, Lloyd loves his daughter and wants to give her the finest life has to offer but his selfishness and criminal activities end up driving her away after he reveals his identity to her.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Ventrix approaches his ex-wife and thinks he can woo her back with his new (stolen) wealth and is confused why Helen won't take him back.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: As Batman explains the situation to Helen, she realizes who "Mojo" really is and quickly runs back into her house to check on Kimmy. Her worst fears are realized when she finds that Kimmy is no longer in her room, and she repeatedly calls her daughter's name before breaking down in tears.
- Flawed Prototype: The invisibility plastic bends light instead of reflecting it when an electric current is run through it, turning it and everything it covers invisible. In the process however, the plastic it's bonded with becomes toxic and thus too dangerous to use. It's never explained why the material was abandoned rather than being used for objects, like the car Ventrix uses, though it's likely even that could still be risky.
- Friend to All Children: At the end of the episode, Batman stops by Kimmy's house to make sure she'll be safe. It's also clear that he's beyond ticked at this guy for trying to kidnap a little girl, even if she was his daughter.
- Here We Go Again!: Subverted. Helen hears Kimmy talking to someone that's not there and fears it's happening all over again, but then she learns it's just Batman and is relieved.
- Invisible Jerkass: The villain of this episode, Lloyd Ventrix, is an ex-conman out to retrieve his young daughter at all costs, even resorting to kidnapping.
- Invisibility: Lloyd Ventrix steals an experimental suit that renders him invisible, but in the process poisons his mind.
- Invisible Means Undodgeable: Ventrix is able to pummel Batman at will until Batman finds a way to counter his invisibility.
- Invisibility Cloak: Lloyd stole a supply of a plastic that could bend light around it, and made for himself an invisibility suit (and similarly outfitted his car). He also used the plastic to repeatedly break into his ex-wife's house and eventually kidnap his young daughter.
- Ironic Echo:
Kimmy: I was talking to Mojo/Batman.
Helen: Oh, him again.
Kimmy: But he really was here, mommy.
Helen: I know, Kimberly. I know.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Ventrix unknowingly robbing a jewelry expo in front of Batman, who was attending as Bruce Wayne, is what caused the latter to investigate the invisible man, and stop Ventrix's plan to abduct his daughter.
- Noodle Incident: It's clear Lloyd has always been a crook, but exactly what he went to jail for in the first place is never detailed.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Kimmy's pal Mojo is actually her ex-con father in an invisibility suit. Later, she ends up talking to Batman, who leaves right before her mother walks in to ask who she's talking to.
- Oh, Crap!: Ventrix after Batman causes Water Tower Down.
- Outside Ride: Batman grabs onto the roof of Ventrix's invisible car to stop him from kidnapping his (Ventrix's) daughter. The whole thing comes crashing past through an alley, leading a witness (who only sees Batman zooming along about four feet off the ground) to remark to another, "I didn't know he could fly too..."
- Overt Operative: Despite having an invisibility cloak, Ventrix opts to walk around the fine jewelry trade show just picking up trays of gems and dumping them in his briefcase, snatching things off of people. He's incredibly obvious and it's obvious there's an invisible person running around. This may be an early sign of the plastic's toxicity and its impact on Ventrix.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Batman figures out how to reveal Lloyd's position by throwing batarangs at a water tower, disabling Lloyd's invisibility suit.
Batman: Peek-a-boo! (punches Lloyd's face in)
- Sanity Slippage: Ventrix ends up becoming more unhinged the longer he uses the suit, until he reaches the point where he doesn't care if it kills him—he just wants his daughter back.
- See the Invisible: During their first encounter, Batman throws paint onto Lloyd to make him visible, but Lloyd's suit has the ability to eliminate the paint covering him. For the final confrontation, Batman has better luck when he breaks open a nearby water tower, the resulting shower revealing Lloyd's position without any way for Lloyd to prevent it.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Batman, as usual, manages a few of these, most notably when he leaves Kimmy's bedroom to go after Ventris.
- Talking Is a Free Action: During Batman's initial encounter with Ventrix, he manages to expose him by covering with paint. Ventrix mocks Batman and activates his suit to clear the paint off, and Batman waits until after he's done this before trying to jump him, but naturally by this point he's moved out of the way and the Dark Knight simply ends up falling into wet cement.
- Too Dumb to Live: Lloyd doesn't care if the suit is poisonous, just as long as he can use it to get his daughter back. His repeated refusal to listen to Batman's warnings eventually get him knocked out and put in jail, with an implied maximum sentence of twenty years.
- Toxic Phlebotinum: The suit drives Lloyd even more off the edge then he was before.
- Tragic Dream: All Lloyd did, he did to be with his daughter... but when he reveals himself to her, she rejects him and wants to be with her mother. At the end, Kimmy told Batman she and her mommy will move and her father will never find them again. Lloyd could never be with her.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Lloyd isn't even considered attractive by the show's art style, with his noticeable pock marks, large lips and a near constant scowl. By contrast, while not to Catwoman or Poison Ivy level good looks, his ex-wife Helen is a more conventionally attractive woman who their daughter thankfully takes more from.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Batman whizzes by a pair of transients clinging to the roof of an invisible car (yes, you read that right). Their reaction?
Homeless Man: I didn't know he could fly, too.
- Villainous Breakdown: When Batman tries to warn Lloyd about the suit (and right before he gets defeated), Lloyd replies:
Lloyd Ventrix: Who cares if it is? With this suit, I can take back my daughter whenever I want! Her mother won't stop me, and neither will you!
- Water Tower Down: A variant where the water isn't used for a direct attack. Batman wins the final confrontation by tossing throwing stars into a water tower so that the spray reveals Ventrix's position. With his one big advantage negated, he's easy prey for Batman's superior fighting ability.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: The moment Kimmy sees "Mojo's" face, her father Ventrix, she is quick to not go with him any further, as she was told by her mom to stay far away from this man. She is able to resist long enough for Batman to catch up.
- Worf Had the Flu: Batman actually loses his fight against Ventrix because he's dealing with an invisible opponent.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The material being cited as having an effect on a person's sanity is likely a reference to The Invisible Man who himself went insane due to a chemical he used in his formula.
