Ally Langford, one of Virgil's classmates, has been acting weird; as Static he chases her down to Gotham City when she runs away from home. He then learns that Ally is a "bang-baby" with metal powers, who wants a cure. The problem? The people who claim to have the cure are Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, two of Gotham's most dangerous criminals.
Tropes for this episode
- An Aesop: The internet can easily be exploited to prey on the naïve and vulnerable. Delivered directly by Virgil.Richie: Sounds bad...
Virgil: Someone asking a kid to meet 'em over the internet is bad. - Armor-Piercing Question: When Ally tries to get revenge on Ivy and Harley for nearly drowning her and saying they need to pay for it, Virgil stops her by saying: "And Then What? Spend the rest of your life running from guys like [Batman]? ...And me?"
- Art Evolution: Starting with this episode, characters are shaded with more detail, an art style that would continue with the rest of the show's run.
- Bad Liar: Alfred after Static wakes up in the Bat Cave.Static: Who are you?
Alfred: Batman.
Static: (smirks) I don't think so!
Alfred: Just once, I'd like someone to believe that. - Bait-and-Switch: After Batman rescues him and takes him to his hideout, he calls Static "Virgil" when the latter awakens. Static compliments him on truly being the World's Greatest Detective, only for Batman to reveal that Virgil's school ID fell out of his uniform. He then advises that he not keep it on him while in uniform.
- Batman Grabs a Gun: Not actually Batman in this case, oddly enough. Static non-lethally shocks Ally to keep her from killing Harley and Ivy. As he holds her back, he begins shouting that if she does it then she'll be on the run for the rest of her life, and he'll chase her down like a common criminal as well. Eventually, she backs down.
- Blessed with Suck: Ally's metal powers. They turn her normally beige skin into a visible steely grey, which makes it prominent, and turns her into heavy metal... literally. She can cut heavy objects with her sharp nails and has high durability. However, her unusual skin and weight make it less cool as she notably stands out and very nearly drowns due to the metal making her instantly sink.
- The Cake Is a Lie: Harley and Ivy don't have a Bang Baby cure; they made it up to coerce Ally into stealing gold for them. When she catches on, Harley knocks her into the river, where she sinks to the bottom quickly due to her metal body.
- Call-Back: As Alfred is giving Static first aid, Static asks who he is, to which he replies "Batman." Static doesn't buy it, causing Alfred to say, "Just once, I would like someone to believe that," referring to when he did this with Barbara Gordon.
- Continuity Nod:
- Batman and Static recognize each other from ''The Big Leagues''. Static notes the absence of Robin, who was still with Batman in that episode.
- While trying to convince Ally to help them with their gold robbery, Ivy brings up how she and Harley were both doctors before going into super-villainy.
- Crossover: With The New Batman Adventures.
- Deal with the Devil: Ally agrees to help Harley and Ivy steal a few gold bars if they give her the cure. She soon finds they aren't honorable about deals.
- Deducing the Secret Identity: Parodied in "Hard as Nails", after Batman calls Static "Virgil".
- Static: You know? I guess you really are the world's greatest detective!
Batman: [hands Static his student ID card] It fell out of your pocket. You probably shouldn't carry that while you're in uniform.
Static: [embarrassed] Uh, right.
- At the end of the episode, when Virgil meets up with Bruce Wayne, he remembers seeing Alfred in the Batcave, though Bruce suggests he meant this to be a hint.
- Don't Explain the Joke: A rule that Harley violates constantly, much to Ivy's annoyance.
- Failed a Spot Check: Bullock mistakes Static as Robin with different hair, even though Static is wearing a yellow and blue outfit, is black while Robin is Caucasian, and has a different voice.
- Foreshadowing: In-Universe, when Virgil has a flashback to how he came to chase Ally to Gotham, he looks back on how the writing was on the wall she was a bang baby. She was dressed up despite the warm weather, she was uninjured by a basket ball hoop falling on her, and when all the school lockers were shredded for money, Ally's was the only one untouched.
- The Ghost: Batman mentions the Teen Titans. The only things known are Robin and, later in "Romeo in the Mix", Beast Boy are members.
- A Hero to His Hometown: Played in both directions. Batman has trouble trusting Static because he thinks Static's out of his league dealing with Gotham's supervillains. In turn, Static is frustrated by Batman treating a mixed up girl from his hometown like just another one of his Rogues Gallery. It's ultimately subverted: Batman agrees to let Static take the lead and is suitably impressed. Moreover, his newfound understanding of Dakota's Bang Baby problem leads him to fund research and treatment for kids like Ally.
- If You Kill Them, You Will Be Just Like Them: Static says this to Ally when she tries to kill Ivy and Harley for using and disposing of her.
- Lampshade Hanging: When Ivy makes a pun about leaving the heroes encased in trees, Harley interjects that she's the one who's supposed to make bad jokes. She proceeds to make one herself and acknowledges how it was supposed to be bad.
- Lampshaded the Obscure Reference: As Ivy points out to Ally, the internet names she and Harley provided her refer to Ceres, the "Greek" (actually Roman) goddess of the harvest and Thalia, Greek Muse of comedy.
- Logical Weakness: Lightning and electricity don't affect plants, thus Poison Ivy can overpower Static easily. However, plants are weak against cutlery, thus Nails can overpower Ivy easily.Ivy: (traps Static with constricting tree roots) You just don't get it, do you, kid? You're pretty much powerless against wood.Ally: But I'm not! (Ivy gasps and sees Ally slice up the roots, freeing Static)
- Ally's metal skin, which causes her to sink like a stone in water.
- Mickey Mousing: Everytime Harley turns her head, the same ringing bells that served as her Puddin's Leitmotif in "The Big Leagues" can be heard in the soundtrack.
- Oh, Crap!:
- After Ivy and Harley get incapacitated, they get terrified when faced with a very angry Ally whom they had tried to off moments before.
- Virgil upon recognizing Alfred and realizing Bruce's secret.
- Power of Trust: At the end of the episode, Bruce talks to Virgil about how Ally's actions certainly earned her trust. He also says the same of Virgil when letting him on his secret.
- Pun: Harley tells Ally that the cure is really "Nail Polish." Ha ha.
- Put on a Bus: Robin's with the Titans, according to Batman.
- Recognition Failure: Detective Bullock gets confused by Static.Bullock: The heck did Robin do to his hair?
- Save the Villain:
- Static goes after Ally because he knows that she's struggling with her unwanted powers, and thus is lashing out of fear and anger.
- Batman's grappling hook saves Ally from drowning when Harley kicks her into the river.
- When Ally shoots Ivy's blimp out of the sky, Batman swings in to make sure she doesn't fall to her death.
- Static later keeps Ally from killing Ivy and Harley after they're incapacitated.
- Secret-Keeper: Batman learns Virgil's secret identity due to the latter forgetting to take his school ID out of his costume. He returns the favor by obliquely revealing his identity to Virgil as a show of having earned his trust and respect.
- Spot the Thread: Virgil is suspicious when Ally starts acting snappy at school, especially after a basketball board falls on her but ends up shattering.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Static pulls one on Ally, impressing her, Ivy and Harley. It also gets a compliment from Batman, himself a master of this trope.Batman: The kid's got style.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Since Ally left with Ivy and Harley while the heroes were in dire straits, Batman treats her as no different than them, but Static insists she be treated like the confused kid she is. Batman's willing to try it his way, but he makes it known he'll play hardball if it comes to that, much to Static's annoyance.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Bruce Wayne starts a program to help at-risk metahumans (likely due to Virgil telling him how scary it is becoming a Bang Baby with no control over your transformation and having no resources for help). The program allows Ally to gain control of her powers so that she can ultimately get her normal life back.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Ally initially refuses Static's offered help, even though he's trying to convince her to come home and not using any force. Also, the whole "running away to meet strangers online" doesn't work out well for her.
- Bruce chides Virgil for keeping his student ID tucked into his costume since anyone could find it. Like he did.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Batman, who normally has some sympathies with criminals, especially younger ones, plans to take down Ally after she doesn't lift a finger to help him or Static. He gets better by the end of the episode, though: as mentioned above, he sponsors, as Bruce, a program to help metahumans, starting with Ally. He also hints his secret identity to Static.
- Unwanted Rescue: Ally rebuffed Virgil and Richie's concern, and later refused Static's help. In the end, she realized she should have accepted their offer instead of trusting complete strangers.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- A gentle one: Batman advises Virgil not to keep his school ID tucked into his uniform, since anyone could find it.
- Static then calls out Batman for treating Ally like a common criminal. He says that Ally is scared and confused, and a kid; Static convinces Batman that they'll focus on taking down Ivy and Quinn first.
- Would Hurt a Child: Poison Ivy smothers Static by trapping him in a tree. Harley also kicks Ally into the Gotham River when she realizes they're not going to honor the deal. Let's not forget that they are both high school kids.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Ivy and Harley managed to steal enough gold bars with Ally's help, they try to kill her off once they're done.
