The Batman (2004–2008): Season 4, Episode 12 - The Joining: Part 1 - full transcript
Gotham City's newest detective, John Jones, hints that he may know Batman's true identity. The Batman must uncover this mysterious figure's secrets and determine whether he is a friend or a foe. The answers are as shocking as they are unexpected--and lead to even bigger developments. Part one of two.
Hey, Chris, you get a haircut?
Yeah. I figured it's the only thing
he'll see from up there.
Oh, yeah, the big boss is visiting today.
You have a great view
from your office, Mr. Fox.
Call me Lucius. And I agree.
I never get tired of watching the process.
Everyone working together like that,
all those people.
It's like a giant machine.
More like an efficient team.
One Bruce hardly needs to worry about.
It's what makes the other part
of his life possible.
You mean the other part of his life...
in which he appears
at museum dedications and fashion shows.
I mean fighting crime.
You mean fighting crimes of fashion?
Dick. He knows I'm the Batman.
I was a close friend of Bruce's father.
After the tragedy, I was happy to offer
what little help I could.
It was more than a little.
Lucius helped construct the Batcave.
And on the rare occasions he lets me...
I get to lend a hand
with some of the Bat gadgets.
I do love tinkering
with the Bat's Shadow Tech.
Oh. Well, then. Yay.
So we're just throwing around words
that start with bat, now.
That's fine.
Lucius, you clearly have the factory
running as smoothly as ever.
I don't know why
I even bother with these visits.
Maybe you just come by
to see an old friend.
Hmm, doesn't sound like me.
So, who else knows?
ls there a list or something?
Lucius Fox is the only one
you didn't already know about.
And he'll be the last.
I try not to make a habit
of having to rely on other people...
especially to keep my secrets.
What? Who are you?
Wait!
Can't ID them from here.
ID them? I can do that.
Bad guys. And pretty ordinary ones too.
We can handle this.
Ah, didn't we just get
in trouble last week for freelancing?
The boss was very clear.
He said to wait
while he scoped out the situation.
Okay.
We waited.
Hey...!
Well, I'm already bored.
Any way to make this more interesting?
We could take them down
while reciting the alphabet backwards...
Ah! Ugh!
Ugh!
Gotcha, bird-brains!
Ah!
Guess they weren't so ordinary after all.
Maybe they were
those super-strong zombie thugs.
We would have had them if you waited.
I know being a costumed crime-fighter
means never having to say, "I'm sorry."
But, yeah. We're sorry.
No. It's my fault.
Maybe I've been relying
on you two more than I should.
This never happened
when I worked alone.
Detective John Jones.
I'm new to the force.
I've heard about you
and your mission to protect Gotham.
Admirable.
Did you see
what these guys were stealing?
The shipment belonged to your company.
My company?
Wayne Industries has had
an unusually high volume of shipments...
going in and out of the city this week.
It's no surprise that someone
with sticky fingers finally took notice.
Mind if I inspect this property
back at my headquarters?
Fine by me, but you'll need
Bruce Wayne's permission.
I can secure it.
I'll bet you can.
It's a new project.
Wayne Tech research
really paid off this time.
We've developed whole new metals.
Hybrids, it's pretty exciting,
if you're into metallurgy.
That's the reason for the extra shipping.
I thought that project
was still at the development stage.
It is.
But the development
is requiring some supplies.
Really, there's nothing you need
to worry about.
You should have those crates
sent back here unopened.
Send them back unopened.
I see. Well, thank you.
Keep working.
Commissioner Gordon vouched
for Detective Jones.
And his records from Denver check out.
Whoa!
But there's nothing before Denver.
Like he didn't exist.
Hey! Ah...!
Okay. it is so my turn.
This is so cool.
I didn't know Wayne Industries
made anything like this.
We don't.
And if Detective Jones is right...
my company has been shipping things
like this all over the world.
Clearly, this is part of some alien
conspiracy to mass produce these babies.
Ship them all over the world...
where they await their signal
to take over the human race!
Whoa! Uh! Ah!
Ah! Uh! Ugh!
New project, huh?
What's it for?
We'll keep an eye on Lucius.
But I wanna find out if Jones
knows more than he's letting on...
about whatever's going on
at Wayne Industries.
Then let's pay the detective a visit.
I'll pay him a visit. Alone.
- Uh, Batman.
- Don't bother.
I know you're not human.
- I suppose this changes things.
- Not really.
You're coming with me.
I have some questions for you, detective.
Humans.
You act like you've never seen
a shape-shifter before.
Tell that to Clayface.
He flies too. Great.
Huh? Let's see if you can keep up.
Ugh!
I can dance all night.
So can I.
So it would seem.
But why waste time?
Who are you?
My name is J'onn J'onzz.
I'm a detective.
Just like you, Bruce.
I'm one of the good guys.
Thanks.
So, alien.
All my life.
Telekinesis. Neat party trick.
How heavy can the object be?
I could lift you and your best friend.
That is, if you have one.
You miss being back home on Mars?
I never said I was Martian.
Never had to. Martians hate fire.
How do you know
anything about Martians?
I've dedicated my life to studying
all fields of knowledge...
no matter how obscure,
including thousands of years...
of recorded human encounters
with extraterrestrials.
The Mayans, ancient Egyptians,
crop circles.
I could teach
a college course on Martians.
Except I always filed them away
under urban legends.
Like alligators in the sewers.
I've fought them too. Why'd you run?
You might have exposed me,
turned me over to the authorities.
I can't allow that. Not now.
Guess we both guard
our secrets fiercely.
- Coffee?
- We're fine, thanks.
So how'd you figure out Batman
was Bruce Wayne?
Read your mind.
- Hmm...
- Something wrong?
No, it's just... That's cheating.
- Read my mind now.
- What?
You heard me.
You're thinking of a dog
you owned as a boy.
Location of the Batcave.
I distinctly saw...
A mental image I conjured up
to block my real thoughts.
Trick I picked up
from some Tibetan monks.
Anyone ever tell you
you're a little paranoid?
My partners. All the time.
I'm stunned. You have partners?
I do.
Though sometimes I wonder
if things might be easier without them.
You may need all the help you can get
with what's coming.
And I've done my homework, Bruce.
It is coming.
Make no mistake.
- What is?
- Something big.
Maybe too big for the Batman
to handle alone.
Why don't you tell me what you know and
let me decide what the Batman can handle?
I'm not the only thing
from outer space that's come to Gotham.
But right now I'm the only thing
that can stop it.
Stop what?
Invasion. Alien invasion.
The end of your world.
Can I get you anything else?
Hmm...
They're called The Joining.
A synthetic alien race
that's ravaged over half the galaxy...
like some plague of locusts
devouring and incorporating...
the technologies of every world
they encounter.
And they leave nothing
in their wake but empty husks of planets.
Synthetic race. The Joining are robots.
Mm-hm. Built by a long-forgotten race
who became their first victims.
And they feed off technology.
Anything industrial, mechanical,
they simply take it and use it.
It becomes a part of them.
It's how they evolve.
That's why they were targeting
Wayne Industries.
You're responsible for developing...
some of the most advanced
technologies on this world.
By the way, nice car.
Rang it with my mind.
Batman. What...?
Is something wrong?
I need to ask you some questions
about those shipments.
- Who's this?
- This is Detective Jones.
- He's here to...
- Ha!
I knew it was a replicant,
because I didn't get a reading off him.
- No emotions.
- So you kicked his head off.
Yes.
Perhaps I should've mentioned
I was going to do that.
Perhaps?
This is part of the standard MO
of The Joining.
- Seems pretty complicated.
- Not for them.
They're a linked system. A network.
Parts of one big machine, really.
Like one huge robot as big as a city.
You know, Batman, most humans
would be pretty thrown by this.
I'm not most humans.
If there's any chance that Lucius
is still alive, we have to find him.
Then let's ask someone who knows.
Great danger.
- I can't believe this.
- Really?
Because robot heads...
Oh, that's totally
what I'm expecting on a Wednesday.
And this guy, just some guy,
waltzing into the Batcave.
Didn't have a blindfold on or anything.
Robin, I think we should be focused
on the robot head.
Lucius is still alive. You're certain?
If you're trying to nod, you need a neck.
He's alive.
The real Lucius is being held
at the Wayne Industries factory.
We are using him for information,
but soon he will no longer be helpful.
Ready?
Find Lucius,
stop alien invasion, save world.
Sounds easy enough.
Lucius.
Follow me.
How about first one to Lucius wins?
Fine time for him
to leave us out of things.
Robots. This is like the biggest case
we've ever faced.
Good robots too.
That thing looks just like a real person.
I know.
Anyone we know could be a robot.
Oh, it wouldn't fool us
if we knew the person, would it?
Maybe not.
They'd probably be a little robot-y.
Detached, unemotional, mechanical.
- Kick his head off.
- You kick his head off.
Attempt to do any such thing,
and I assure you.
There will be no hot-buttered raisin scones
for either of you for a year.
Only Alfred sounds that much like Alfred.
Yup.
It knows we're here.
Let's call it a tie.
Lucius.
I knew you'd come. What?
He's with me, Lucius.
We're getting you out of here.
No, forget me. I'm not important.
You don't have much time, they...
We're too late.
Told you I could float you
and your best friend.
Faster. We don't know how much longer
these things are just gonna sit here.
It's begun.
- Where are they going?
- Anywhere.
Everywhere that's vulnerable.
Everywhere on Earth.
Yeah. I figured it's the only thing
he'll see from up there.
Oh, yeah, the big boss is visiting today.
You have a great view
from your office, Mr. Fox.
Call me Lucius. And I agree.
I never get tired of watching the process.
Everyone working together like that,
all those people.
It's like a giant machine.
More like an efficient team.
One Bruce hardly needs to worry about.
It's what makes the other part
of his life possible.
You mean the other part of his life...
in which he appears
at museum dedications and fashion shows.
I mean fighting crime.
You mean fighting crimes of fashion?
Dick. He knows I'm the Batman.
I was a close friend of Bruce's father.
After the tragedy, I was happy to offer
what little help I could.
It was more than a little.
Lucius helped construct the Batcave.
And on the rare occasions he lets me...
I get to lend a hand
with some of the Bat gadgets.
I do love tinkering
with the Bat's Shadow Tech.
Oh. Well, then. Yay.
So we're just throwing around words
that start with bat, now.
That's fine.
Lucius, you clearly have the factory
running as smoothly as ever.
I don't know why
I even bother with these visits.
Maybe you just come by
to see an old friend.
Hmm, doesn't sound like me.
So, who else knows?
ls there a list or something?
Lucius Fox is the only one
you didn't already know about.
And he'll be the last.
I try not to make a habit
of having to rely on other people...
especially to keep my secrets.
What? Who are you?
Wait!
Can't ID them from here.
ID them? I can do that.
Bad guys. And pretty ordinary ones too.
We can handle this.
Ah, didn't we just get
in trouble last week for freelancing?
The boss was very clear.
He said to wait
while he scoped out the situation.
Okay.
We waited.
Hey...!
Well, I'm already bored.
Any way to make this more interesting?
We could take them down
while reciting the alphabet backwards...
Ah! Ugh!
Ugh!
Gotcha, bird-brains!
Ah!
Guess they weren't so ordinary after all.
Maybe they were
those super-strong zombie thugs.
We would have had them if you waited.
I know being a costumed crime-fighter
means never having to say, "I'm sorry."
But, yeah. We're sorry.
No. It's my fault.
Maybe I've been relying
on you two more than I should.
This never happened
when I worked alone.
Detective John Jones.
I'm new to the force.
I've heard about you
and your mission to protect Gotham.
Admirable.
Did you see
what these guys were stealing?
The shipment belonged to your company.
My company?
Wayne Industries has had
an unusually high volume of shipments...
going in and out of the city this week.
It's no surprise that someone
with sticky fingers finally took notice.
Mind if I inspect this property
back at my headquarters?
Fine by me, but you'll need
Bruce Wayne's permission.
I can secure it.
I'll bet you can.
It's a new project.
Wayne Tech research
really paid off this time.
We've developed whole new metals.
Hybrids, it's pretty exciting,
if you're into metallurgy.
That's the reason for the extra shipping.
I thought that project
was still at the development stage.
It is.
But the development
is requiring some supplies.
Really, there's nothing you need
to worry about.
You should have those crates
sent back here unopened.
Send them back unopened.
I see. Well, thank you.
Keep working.
Commissioner Gordon vouched
for Detective Jones.
And his records from Denver check out.
Whoa!
But there's nothing before Denver.
Like he didn't exist.
Hey! Ah...!
Okay. it is so my turn.
This is so cool.
I didn't know Wayne Industries
made anything like this.
We don't.
And if Detective Jones is right...
my company has been shipping things
like this all over the world.
Clearly, this is part of some alien
conspiracy to mass produce these babies.
Ship them all over the world...
where they await their signal
to take over the human race!
Whoa! Uh! Ah!
Ah! Uh! Ugh!
New project, huh?
What's it for?
We'll keep an eye on Lucius.
But I wanna find out if Jones
knows more than he's letting on...
about whatever's going on
at Wayne Industries.
Then let's pay the detective a visit.
I'll pay him a visit. Alone.
- Uh, Batman.
- Don't bother.
I know you're not human.
- I suppose this changes things.
- Not really.
You're coming with me.
I have some questions for you, detective.
Humans.
You act like you've never seen
a shape-shifter before.
Tell that to Clayface.
He flies too. Great.
Huh? Let's see if you can keep up.
Ugh!
I can dance all night.
So can I.
So it would seem.
But why waste time?
Who are you?
My name is J'onn J'onzz.
I'm a detective.
Just like you, Bruce.
I'm one of the good guys.
Thanks.
So, alien.
All my life.
Telekinesis. Neat party trick.
How heavy can the object be?
I could lift you and your best friend.
That is, if you have one.
You miss being back home on Mars?
I never said I was Martian.
Never had to. Martians hate fire.
How do you know
anything about Martians?
I've dedicated my life to studying
all fields of knowledge...
no matter how obscure,
including thousands of years...
of recorded human encounters
with extraterrestrials.
The Mayans, ancient Egyptians,
crop circles.
I could teach
a college course on Martians.
Except I always filed them away
under urban legends.
Like alligators in the sewers.
I've fought them too. Why'd you run?
You might have exposed me,
turned me over to the authorities.
I can't allow that. Not now.
Guess we both guard
our secrets fiercely.
- Coffee?
- We're fine, thanks.
So how'd you figure out Batman
was Bruce Wayne?
Read your mind.
- Hmm...
- Something wrong?
No, it's just... That's cheating.
- Read my mind now.
- What?
You heard me.
You're thinking of a dog
you owned as a boy.
Location of the Batcave.
I distinctly saw...
A mental image I conjured up
to block my real thoughts.
Trick I picked up
from some Tibetan monks.
Anyone ever tell you
you're a little paranoid?
My partners. All the time.
I'm stunned. You have partners?
I do.
Though sometimes I wonder
if things might be easier without them.
You may need all the help you can get
with what's coming.
And I've done my homework, Bruce.
It is coming.
Make no mistake.
- What is?
- Something big.
Maybe too big for the Batman
to handle alone.
Why don't you tell me what you know and
let me decide what the Batman can handle?
I'm not the only thing
from outer space that's come to Gotham.
But right now I'm the only thing
that can stop it.
Stop what?
Invasion. Alien invasion.
The end of your world.
Can I get you anything else?
Hmm...
They're called The Joining.
A synthetic alien race
that's ravaged over half the galaxy...
like some plague of locusts
devouring and incorporating...
the technologies of every world
they encounter.
And they leave nothing
in their wake but empty husks of planets.
Synthetic race. The Joining are robots.
Mm-hm. Built by a long-forgotten race
who became their first victims.
And they feed off technology.
Anything industrial, mechanical,
they simply take it and use it.
It becomes a part of them.
It's how they evolve.
That's why they were targeting
Wayne Industries.
You're responsible for developing...
some of the most advanced
technologies on this world.
By the way, nice car.
Rang it with my mind.
Batman. What...?
Is something wrong?
I need to ask you some questions
about those shipments.
- Who's this?
- This is Detective Jones.
- He's here to...
- Ha!
I knew it was a replicant,
because I didn't get a reading off him.
- No emotions.
- So you kicked his head off.
Yes.
Perhaps I should've mentioned
I was going to do that.
Perhaps?
This is part of the standard MO
of The Joining.
- Seems pretty complicated.
- Not for them.
They're a linked system. A network.
Parts of one big machine, really.
Like one huge robot as big as a city.
You know, Batman, most humans
would be pretty thrown by this.
I'm not most humans.
If there's any chance that Lucius
is still alive, we have to find him.
Then let's ask someone who knows.
Great danger.
- I can't believe this.
- Really?
Because robot heads...
Oh, that's totally
what I'm expecting on a Wednesday.
And this guy, just some guy,
waltzing into the Batcave.
Didn't have a blindfold on or anything.
Robin, I think we should be focused
on the robot head.
Lucius is still alive. You're certain?
If you're trying to nod, you need a neck.
He's alive.
The real Lucius is being held
at the Wayne Industries factory.
We are using him for information,
but soon he will no longer be helpful.
Ready?
Find Lucius,
stop alien invasion, save world.
Sounds easy enough.
Lucius.
Follow me.
How about first one to Lucius wins?
Fine time for him
to leave us out of things.
Robots. This is like the biggest case
we've ever faced.
Good robots too.
That thing looks just like a real person.
I know.
Anyone we know could be a robot.
Oh, it wouldn't fool us
if we knew the person, would it?
Maybe not.
They'd probably be a little robot-y.
Detached, unemotional, mechanical.
- Kick his head off.
- You kick his head off.
Attempt to do any such thing,
and I assure you.
There will be no hot-buttered raisin scones
for either of you for a year.
Only Alfred sounds that much like Alfred.
Yup.
It knows we're here.
Let's call it a tie.
Lucius.
I knew you'd come. What?
He's with me, Lucius.
We're getting you out of here.
No, forget me. I'm not important.
You don't have much time, they...
We're too late.
Told you I could float you
and your best friend.
Faster. We don't know how much longer
these things are just gonna sit here.
It's begun.
- Where are they going?
- Anywhere.
Everywhere that's vulnerable.
Everywhere on Earth.