• Airdate: September 16, 1992
• Director: Frank Paur
• Writers: Ted Pedersen & Steve Hayes

     Giving a speech at a construction site where new apartments are being built, Mayor Hill is interrupted when a car of thugs drives through and open fire with the following police, prompting Batman to arrive and save the day. Angry, Hill compares Batman to The Joker and other criminals. The Joker just so happens to be watching this speech on TV and is offended at the mayor’s comparison, deciding to deal with the man.
        It just so happens to be Mayor Hill’s son’s, Jordan, birthday that weekend. The party turns out to be less for Jordan and more-so a way for his father to talk politics with guests he himself invited. Depressed at his father’s lack of attention to what he wants, Jordan immediately is brightened by the arrival of Jekko the Clown. Jekko entices Jordan with magic, which he loves, before Jekko eventually leaves a cake behind and leaves. Mayor Hill argues with Jordan, who runs off, just as Bruce Wayne realizes Jekko was the Joker in disguise. He acts like he trips into the cake, knocking it into the pool as it explodes. Everything seems to be fine until it is realized that Jordan has disappeared.
        Bruce is able to deduce where Joker would be hiding based on something he said and heads out. Meanwhile, Jordan is shown to have followed the clown back to his hideout, an amusement park, where he annoys the Clown Prince of Crime. An alarm gives away Batman;s arrival and Joker decides to use Joker to lure Batsy into his trap.
        Batman is kidnapped and tied upside-down in a tank filling with water. When Jordan realizes this isn’t part of a show, he attempts to save the crime fighter but Joker intercepts, finally revealing himself to the boy. Jordan is able to distract him long enough to run off, with Joker giving chase. Bataman escapes and follows, leading to a battle atop a moving rollercoaster between the two with a hiding Jordan in tow. Joker is knocked off into water and Batman saves Jordan before the coaster goes off the broken tracks. He returns the boy home, Hill having realized how he had been wrong in the way he treated his son. As they hug, Jordan sees Batman give him a thumbs up and Jordan gives one back.

        Already hitting the third episode to feature The Joker in just the first nine produced, Be A Clown is still a ways from hitting the good/great episodes of the character. Unfortunately, this may be the lesser of the three that we have seen so far, and the lesser of all Joker episodes, the reason being the odd choice of having Joker’s interactions with the child in the last half, which don’t really lead anywhere worthwhile besides getting him to do small things to lure in Batman.
        One of the most terrifying aspects of The Joker is his full-fledged dedication towards working at the destruction of someone’s life, constantly hanging around like an animal waiting to strike, building tension since we know that it’s always coming. The Animated Series covers this perfectly with the upcoming episode in Joker’s Favor, and we’ve seen his ‘poisoning’ of individuals with one Harley Quinn and his constant terrorizing of James Gordon in the comics, effectively destroying his personal life through the death and harm of those he loves.
        Here, he does have a subject of disdain in Mayor Hill, and also has a perfect way to get back at him through the corruption of his son. It’s an intriguing idea and story, but one that isn’t touched upon at all. The Joker could have easily enticed Jordan into some form of rebellion or had used him as a pawn in a bigger plan (again, Joker’s Favor is a great upcoming example), but that’s not what happens. This is a case of Jordan running away from a father who doesn’t respect him or treat him properly and tagging along with what he believes to be nothing more than a birthday clown who happens to be good at magic, which he himself loves. Even being paired up with Joker, we never feel any sort of tension in the story in regards to the boy’s safety. Not only does Joker treat Jordan as nothing but a nuisance, we also don’t feel any attachment to him. Yes, his problems of being ignored and forced into things his father likes instead of him is, again, a serious enough problem or topic, but it just doesn’t work here.

        What makes the entire episode feel even more like a complete miss is the set-up. Though the fact that it’s Mayor Hill comparing Joker to Batman that gets the Clown Prince of Crime to act is kind of an odd choice, we do actually get a good set-up for an episode from it. The fact that Mayor Hill is showcased as being vulnerable to attacks in the beginning is perfect for the introduction of being Joker’s target on a more personal scale, but all we get is an attempted bombing at the birthday party. If the episode had stayed its course in giving us a more scaled down and serious Joker trying to make an example out of Hill, it may have worked. It would have at least given us a more sinister and memorable Joker than one simply annoyed at a random kid following him back home, which, to be honest, is pretty relatable.
        Bruce Timm had said the story came from the idea that Batman would have to save a child that is deathly afraid of him. This makes the episode feel even more of a disappointment than it already is, as it’s a fantastic idea that I wish was implemented in a better story, one that focused entirely on it and not diverted mostly to focus on Mayor Hill’s dilemma and anything involving them together.

        I feel like, even just a handful of write-ups into this series, you readers are probably pretty used to me saying this, but there are still a few things that are good in the episode.
        - The fight on top of the rollercoaster is a fun one; well animated and paced that works as yet another example of the writers, animators and directors being great at using their locations.
        - Bruce recognizing that the birthday party clown is actually Joker in disguise from his laugh is a great touch.
        - The episode has a couple of great lines in it, mostly coming from The Joker, who also has a wonderful moment of almost immediately leaping into a fistfight with Batman. Gutsy.
        - And, once again, this is an episode that gave us a great screenshot that has seen life all over the internet.

Great Lines and Moments
Mayor Hill: “You know kids.”
Bruce: “Not really.”
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* The picture Mayor Hill has of his son is Jordan, smiling and staring off towards nothing, while holding a mask. It’s… unnerving. *
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Joker: “Hey, if it wasn’t risky, I wouldn’t enjoy it.”
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Jordan: “My dad says Batman’s no good.”
Joker: “Well then I guess your dad isn’t a complete idiot.”
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*I like that Joker still has his razor sharp cards.*
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Joker: “They don’t make straitjackets like they used to… I should know.”