Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995): Season 1, Episode 45 - What Is Reality? - full transcript

When the Riddler traps Commission Gordon's consciousness in a virtual reality device, Batman must enter the villain's construct to save him.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

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(PANTING)

(ATM BEEPS)

Huh?
"Where does a 500-pound gorilla sleep?"

What is this, some kind of joke?

(BEEPING)

Listen, you stupid machine,
I want my money.

(BEEPING RAPIDLY)

Hey! Stupid machine,
give me back my money.

Hey! Who's in there? Anybody in there?



(WHIRRING)

MAN 1: Sell any market.
MAN 2: Fill or kill.

MAN 1: Bid me 20,000.
WOMAN 1: The market's on fire.

MAN 1: We're taking a bath on that one.

(BELL DINGING)

What's with the bell?
The market doesn't close

for another 15 minutes.

"What's worse than a millipede
with flat feet?"

Good Lord, we've got a computer vandal
on our hands.

DICK: Stop whining, Alfred.

If you think the ticket's a mistake,
you'll get a chance tell the whole story

to the clerk when we get up there.

If I live that long.

CLERK: I'm sorry, folks,



you'll just have to be patient.

The computers are still down.

"How do you get five elephants
into a compact car?"

REPORTER 1: There he is.
REPORTER 2: Commissioner, look here.

Is it true about the clue?
What about the riddles?

REPORTER 1: Have any new proof?
REPORTER 2: Any truth to the riddles?

Commissioner, can you give me
just one answer?

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

So, what's the story on this?

We're doing everything we can.
No more questions.

I'm sorry.

BATMAN: Looks like Edward Nygma's
making a comeback.

(SIGHS)

Yeah, Nygma.

He's deleting all his files from
every police database we can access.

Look, he's left no trace

of any driver's license
or social security number.

No bank accounts, credit cards,
not even a birth certificate.

As if he never existed.

But what about the hard copies of--

(PHONE RINGING)

Gordon here.

What? Someone just delivered
a crate downstairs

with question marks painted on it.

And it's ticking.

Move it, people. Gordon's orders.
We need this area cleared now.

(BOTH GASP)

ROBIN: Gently, gently.

We'll never get it open this way.

What we've got here is a variation
on the ancient Chinese puzzle box.

- Can you solve it?
- You kidding?

You're looking at the guy who solved
the Baxter's box puzzle in 37 seconds.

Of course, this time
I don't have a sledgehammer.

(BOX TICKING)

A-ha!

(ALARM BEEPS)

(ALL GASP)

(ALARM STOPS)

- Some kind of threat?
- More like an invitation.

Careful, vigilante.
You know what they say,

curiosity killed the Bat.

THUG: These the papers you wanted,
Mr. Nygma?

Of course, they are.

Did you make certain
these are the only existing copies?

They'd better be.

Any idea what these are?

That's what we were hoping
you could tell us.

I've got other leads to follow.

Meantime, I want you to search
every inch of that mainframe.

And if you find anything unusual,
inform me immediately.

BATMAN:
"Where does a 500-pound gorilla sleep?"

"What's worse than a millipede
with flat feet?"

And, "How do you get five elephants
into a compact car?"

Anywhere it wants,
a giraffe with a sore throat,

and two in the front seat, two in back,
and one in the trunk.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I know.

Any schoolboy knows those.
But brainteasers are the Riddler's M.0.,

not corny old jokes like these.

Perhaps the questions are the clues,
not the answers.

For example, they all seem
to involve animals.

Also numbers.

A 500-pound gorilla.

A millipede, meaning 1,000 legs.

And five elephants.

Now, let's convert them
to Roman numerals.

- Look.
- ALFRED:D-M-V.

BOTH: Department of Motor Vehicles.

But I recall you mentioning

he'd already
obliterated his records there,

so why return?

BATMAN: For the hard copy.

-(BATARANG WHIZZES)
-(EXC LAIMS)

(THUG GROANS)

(GRUNTING)

(BATMAN GROANS)

THUG: Come on, we're out of here.

(ENGINE REVVING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

RIDDLERz Now, well, I never was any good
at parallel parking.

And I'm not too clear on the laws
about pedestrian right-of-way either.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

(GROANS)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

RIDDLER: Now, while you're disabling
my van, you might wish to consider

the effect of the imminent collision
on the nitroglycerin inside.

(GASPS)

(GRUNTS)

(EXPLOSION)

Your message sounded urgent.
Found something?

You bet your... I mean, yes, sir.

It's a virtual-reality program.

Instead of using a keyboard or joystick,
you put this puppy on

and enter a whole
computer-generated world

and interact with everything in it,
as if it actually existed.

What do you mean?

Just watch the screen.

A pixel is worth 1,000 words.

Care to try it, Commissioner?

(BEEPING)

Sort of like playing a computer game
from the inside, isn't it?

Amazing, it even feels real.

The military's been experimenting
with virtual reality

for combat simulation.

GORDON: And what's Nygma doing with it?
ROBIN: Nothing now.

He can't access this computer,
it's not hooked up to a phone line.

- Why'd he want us to find it?
- Good question.

But there's no way to know
till I go through all the files.

Guess I should get back to work
after I grab a snack.

- You hungry?
- No, thanks.

(BEEPING)

Batman's young friend is fairly clever,
but he doesn't have all the answers.

(GORDON GROANS)

-(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)
-(GROANING)

(ROBIN SCREAMS)

(PHONE RINGING)

RIDDLER: Ask me no questions,
I'll tell you no tales.

Another riddle, Nygma?

RIDDLER:
It all makes sense when you add it up.

ALFRED'. Four quarters and a penny, sir?

Penny, penny. Cent, red cent.

Copper, it's made of copper.

And "copper" is another word
for "policeman."

And "no tails" would be heads.

Police, head, quarters.

ALFRED: Police headquarters.

Bravo, sir.

It does make sense when you add it up.

And four quarters and one penny
make 101 cents.

So...

Police headquarters, room 101.

(GROANING)

The commissioner.

(BEEPING)

Virtual reality?

RIDDLER: Quite so, Batman.

And everything your commissioner
is experiencing in here

seems so real to him,
it might as well be real.

I'd give his heart
another 15 minutes, at most.

He can't be online.

(BEEPING)

I searched through every file.

You searched the software.

Had you bothered
to examine the hardware,

you would have discovered
a cordless modem line.

I wouldn't do that, Batman.

Disconnecting Gordon would be fatal.

The sudden stop would be like
slamming into a brick wall at 400 mph.

No, if you wish to get
Gordon out alive, Batman,

you'll have to come in here and get him.

Forget it.
The Riddler controls that world.

You wouldn't last a minute.

We'll use these.

They'll let me keep one ear in reality,

so stay in touch.

(BEEPING)

One door leads to a plane
where kings and queens contend.

- Can you find it?
-(THUNDER RUMBLES)

- Suggestions, partner?
- I'm working on it.

(GUNSHOTS)

(BATMAN GRUNTS)

RIDDLER: A pity you can't earn
extra lives in this game.

Quite an experience, being riddled
with questions, isn't it, Batman?

ROBIN: Batman, don't open that door.

"Crazy intent" means...

"Loco motive."

(TRAIN HORN BLARING)

I suppose you expect me to believe
you planned that.

But you still haven't found
the right door.

ROBIN:
Batman, I think I figured out the clue.

The plane where kings and queens contend
could mean a chessboard.

Is there a door marked
"checkmate" or "black and white"?

"4096."

Wait a minute.

There are 64 squares
on a chessboard, right?

ROBIN: Yeah. So?

So, 4096 is 64 squared.

Only you can put the king
in check, vigilante.

Move according to the rules,
or it's the end of the day.

(BATMAN GRUNTS)

Wrong move, Batman.

I've got it.
They call you the Dark Knight, right?

Then you have to move like a knight.

That's it. Two up, one across,

'cause a wrong move means
"the end of the day," or...

"Knight fall," of course.

Nygma, what are you up to now?

And why this?

That is for me to know
and you to deduce, Dark Knight.

BATMAN: If this is a clue,

could it have something
to do with the Pegasus?

Don't look at me.
I flunked Greek mythology, remember?

His clues always have a double meaning.

So, if Pegasus is also
the name of a constellation--

Now, astronomy I do know.

You're in Orion now.

(ARROW WHIZZES)

ROBIN:
So you wanna keep going past Taurus,

then hang a sharp right at Andromeda.

And that should put you
right in the constellation Pegasus.

(SCREAMS)

(GLASS BREAKS)

(SCREAMING)

Welcome to Riddlerville, Batman.

Things are a little mixed-up here,
but I'm sure you can fix that.

Your commissioner is contained
within this cube.

Solve the puzzle, and you gain access.

No problemo, Batman.

That's a Baxter's box.
I can guide you through it--

-(BEEPING)
-(SCREAMS)

No coaching from the peanut gallery.

You have one minute, Batman.
Then the clock strikes two.

-(CLOCK TICKING)
-if you can do it, so can I.

-(GRUNTS)
- I should've known you'd cheat.

(GROANING)

Nice try, Batman, but in my world,
you play by my rules.

You may control this world, Nygma,

but I still control myself.

The name is Riddler.
Edward Nygma no longer exists.

You might recall that he was once fired
by an ungrateful employer.

That was a private matter,
and should've remained one.

Attempted homicide is never
a private matter, Nygma.

But it would've been
if you hadn't interfered

and turned Nygma into a fugitive.

So I deleted Nygma,

just like I'm about to delete you,
Batman.

(TICKING)

RIDDLER:
We can keep this up as long as you can.

Any number you can think of,
we can double.

Tell me, Riddler, how can you split
your focus in 32 directions

and sustain the concentration it takes
to keep your world together?

- You can't.
-(SCREAMS) No!

No!

(RINGING)

(GRUNTS)

Huh? What happened?

I can escape that easily, too.

But then, if the planet were equitable,
I'd still have my old job.

No, no, not yet. No!

(RIDDLER SCREAMING)

(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)

Looked like he suffered
some kind of attack.

Like a sensory overload or something.

But we'll never know for sure
because we'll never find him.

Oh, no? Come on.
I think he left us a clue.

"If the planet were equitable,
I'd still have my old job. "

ROBIN: Of course. "if the world's fair,
I'd still have my ex-position. "

Oh. Give me a break.

(GROANING)

BATMAN: Looks like he didn't escape
his virtual reality in time.

You mean he's been trapped
inside his own program?

Could be. And how to get him out
may be a riddle no one can solve.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

English - SDH