Mysterious kidnappings start happening across Gotham. Bruce happens to witness one of them while at a concert and seeks to find the link. He realizes it's linked to an old game show, and to a bitter former Child Prodigy.
Tropes for this episode include:
- 13 Is Unlucky: Cluemaster lost on his thirteenth game of the show, and he was wrong about the year the thirteenth moon of Jupiter was discovered.
- Actor Allusion: Cluemaster looks somewhat similar to Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Cluemaster’s voice actor, Glenn Shadix, co-starred in that movie as The Mayor.
- Adaptational Ugliness: Arthur Brown in the comics was a normal if photogenic Gotham resident who would wear a bandanna to cover his face. Here he is a balding Fat Bastard that dresses in a sock.
- Adaptational Intelligence: A sore point with Cluemaster; in the comics he was compelled to leave clues at crime sites and wasn't good for more than that. Here he was a Child Prodigy that bears a vast amount of knowledge, an incredible memory, and good strategic skills as an adult.
- Anticlimactic Unmasking: Cluemaster takes off his hood when he confronts his three prisoners. They stare at him blankly, until he reveals that he's Arthur Brown aka. "Little Artie".
- Badass Boast: Batman's question: "Name the true identity of the Batman."
- Basement-Dweller: Cluemaster's secret lair is the basement of his mother's house.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Cluemaster uses Ross's "Hey-oh!" a couple of times during their rematch.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Ross, Bert, and Yelena understandably don't recognize Arthur until he tells them who he is, and they seem confused as to why he kidnapped them.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Batman calls out Cluemaster for wasting his entire life on a childish revenge scheme, saying that with his keen memory and intelligence he could have done more with his life, the way Yelena did.
- Depraved Dwarf: Cluemaster's henchmen are little people, who played in a little person's football league with Cluemaster as their coach.
- Disappointed by the Motive: Batman doesn't hide how utterly pathetic he finds Cluemaster’s reason for his descent to villainy, wasting his intellect and throwing away a good future over a gameshow he refused to believe he lost fairly.
- Dodgy Toupee: Ross Darren's toupee is briefly knocked off after being sent flying into a dumpster by Cluemaster's henchmen.
- Evil Is Petty: Cluemaster not only has Yelena, Ross, and Bert abducted and tries to kill them out of revenge just for a loss at a children’s gameshow, with him having given a genuine wrong answer, but he also has their abductions done in a humiliating fashion by his henchmen, to have his victims laughed at by a big crowd.
- Exact Words: When given an opportunity to ask Cluemaster a question and free the three hostages peacefully, Batman grills Cluemaster on if he can ask about music, biology, or current events, and Cluemaster says "Anything!". Then, he asks, "Name the true identity of the Batman" something that Cluemaster doesn’t know. Cluemaster then demands that Batman ask him a different question, and Batman says “You said I could ask anything.”.
- Fat Bastard: Cluemaster plans to murder three people over him losing a game show nobody even remembers from decades ago, and due to eating nothing but Kremelo candies for said decades (which aren't even fresh anymore, by the way), is basically a giant blob of a human.
- Fatal Flaw: Cluemaster’s obsession with winning that particular game show. It ends up undoing him.
- Flipping the Table: Cluemaster flipped over his podium after he lost a game of Think, Thank, Thunk to Yelena as a child. As an adult, he tries to drop Yelena, Ross, and Bert in his acid pit after Batman manages to stump him.
- Foil:
- Cluemaster to Yelena. Both competed on the show; Cluemaster was a US citizen, while Yelena was a refugee from the Soviet Union. Yelena is skinny while Cluemaster was chubby as a boy, and morbidly obese as an adult. While Cluemaster loudly lost, Yelena quietly won. Batman also points out that she did something worthwhile with her life, becoming a famous chess player, while Cluemaster stayed bitter over losing on a stupid game show and became the Psychopathic Manchild he is today, wasting 30 years of his life on a petty revenge plan.
- Alfred lampshades that compared to Cluemaster, who was obsessed with a game show as a kid, Bruce was always a hardworking child who never played. Arthur is obese and bald, while Bruce is muscular and has a full head of hair. Both of them possess a gifted intellect, and Arthur was a child of a single mother, who indulged him, while Bruce was a pampered child thanks to having Good Parents who unfortunately died abruptly.
- Food as Bribe: Cluemaster was given a lifetime supply of Kremelos as a consolation prize. Although he's binged on them, he says it's not enough to satisfy his wounded pride.
- Hammer and Sickle Removed for Your Protection: Averted, it is explicitly stated that Yelena and her family defected from the Soviet Union during the '70s.
- I Lied: Cluemaster promises to let his hostages go if anyone, including Batman, can stump him with a question. Batman actually manages to do it; in response, Cluemaster throws a tantrum and tries to kill his hostages, anyway. Fortunately, Batman anticipates this and is able to save them.
- Ironic Echo: The Character Catchphrase associated with the "Think, Thank, Thunk" game show is "put on your thinking caps". It sounds a lot less cheery when said by Cluemaster as he forces his kidnapping victims to participate in a life-threatening version of the aforementioned show.
- It's All About Me: Cluemaster. Not only does he allow revenge for a single loss as a child to drive his entire adult life, but he honestly expects the three people he kidnaps to immediately recognize his middle-aged face despite not having interacted with them since he was a child.
- Loophole Abuse: Batman exploits this when Cluemaster says he can ask a question about anything. Cluemaster was apparently expecting Batman to ask a trivia question, instead he asks him to name the true identity of The Batman. Cluemaster claims it's a trick question and tells him to ask another question, only for Batman to remind him he said he could ask him anything.
- Mythology Gag: Cluemaster in the comics (depending on the continuity) is a failed game show presenter.
- Mooks: We don't get all the details, but Cluemaster apparently devised strategies for a dwarf football team when he was a child. Those same players are not only his friends, but the goons who carry out his schemes.
- Never My Fault: Cluemaster never considers that it was his mistake on the question that cost him the win, and it was legitimate. He and his mother sued the show; when that didn't work, he decided to get his revenge later.
- Not So Above It All: Alfred (somewhat sheepishly) admits to watching television when he does chores (at least when it comes to dusting). He seems to be especially fond of gameshows, including Think! Thank! Thunk!note . In fact, Alfred's the one who informs Bruce of the show having been involved in some big scandal.
- Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: Despite not having any apparent job and spending a large amount of money on the lawsuit against the gameshow, Cluemaster somehow acquired enough money to not only set up an impromptu TV studio in his basement, but also a pit filled with acid and all the various props he used to humiliate his targets.
- Older Than They Look: Approximately 30 years have passed between Cluemaster's loss on the game show and the start of his revenge plot. While he, Ross, and Bert have all aged appropriately (although maybe not in Artie's case considering his obesity), Yelena could easily pass for still being in her 20s (despite being at least 40).
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: While playing chess, Yelena's bishop (a person hiding in it) kidnaps her. Batman confronts the piece and utters, "Knight takes bishop."
- Psychopathic Manchild: Cluemaster is a murderous lunatic who throws temper tantrums and eats a lot of candy bars.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Mrs. Brown has completely checked out in her old age. She spends most of her time staring at TV static, and when she sees Batman she assumes he's one of "Artie's friends." When she hears Batman fighting Cluemaster's Mooks, she chides them for "roughhousing." Once Batman's defeated Cluemaster, she comes downstairs to offer "the kids" some milk and Kremelo chocolate bars, oblivious to everything that's happened.
- Smart People Play Chess: Yelena has a genius-level IQ and has ultimately become a Chess Grandmaster as an adult.
- Sore Loser: Cluemaster really doesn't know how to lose. As a child, he did Flipping the Table after failing at a hard question, and spends the next 30 years plotting to murder everyone he blames for his loss on the loss. When Batman manages to stump him, he attempts to kill his three hostages and take down Batman in a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Spoiled Brat: Cluemaster was obviously indulged endlessly by his mother, to the point that she sued Ross and Bert for supposedly rigging the game against her son instead of admitting that he lost fairly, and that she continues to host and feed him to this day. As a child, he was rude and obnoxious, sticking his tongue out at Yelena, and throwing a tantrum when he lost.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Batman encounters Cluemaster's mother, who asks if he's one of Cluemaster’s friends. After some hesitation, Batman says yes, and she tells him Cluemaster is in the basement. She later brings down some milk and Kremelos after Batman has defeated Cluemaster.
- Villainous Glutton: Cluemaster has spent the 30 years since he lost the game show doing nothing but eat his consolatory chocolate and plan his revenge, becoming obese as a result.
