Batman: The Animated Series
Heart of Steel
TV Flash files “Heart of Steel” as hour 39 of 85 in the TV Flash guide — Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995) on Fox Kids, season 1, episode 39, aired 1992-11-16, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E39: listed hour 39 of 85 in the Batman: The Animated Series guide, hour 39 of 60 in season 1. It aired 1992-11-16 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Christmas with the Joker” (S01E38). Next is “Heart of Steel Part II” (S01E40).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Several robberies take place at major companies, including Wayne Enterprises, and Bruce Wayne, as Batman, discovers the thief to be a mechanical briefcase. Bruce meets with his old friend, Karl Rossum, an expert in robotics who lost his daughter to a vehicle accident years ago. He also meets Rossum's assistant, Randa Duane, and Rossum's ultimate creation: a prototype A.I. known as Holographic Analytical Reciprocating Digital Computer (H.A.R.D.A.C.) Bruce invites Duane to dinner, and around the same time, certain civilians start acting strangely. Most surprising is when Duane unexpectedly leaves Wayne Manor while Bruce is on the phone, and the entire Batcave turns on Batman.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Heart of Steel sit in the Batman: The Animated Series guide?
S01E39 is listed hour 39 of 85 — hour 39 of 60 in season 1, season 1 episode 39.
When did Batman: The Animated Series S01E39 air?
Heart of Steel aired 1992-11-16 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Did this series create Harley Quinn?
Yes — Harley Quinn was created here (voiced by Arleen Sorkin) and later entered comics, films, and the wider DC brand.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Art-deco Gotham with Kevin Conroy's growl and Mark Hamill's Joker — kids' TV that adults claimed without irony. Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski built black-sky noir, jazz menace, and villains as tragic theater. Harley Quinn walks out of this show into the wider DC canon. Still the gold standard for Western superhero animation.
The first useful thing *Batman: The Animated Series* does is treat Saturday morning like prestige genre. A noir-styled Batman stalks an art-deco Gotham where villains are tragic theatrical forces. Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski built a timeless design language — black sky, sharp shadows, jazz menace — for a 1992 Fox Kids premiere. Kevin Conroy's Batman and Mark Hamill's Joker became definitive voice performances for a generation. Arleen Sorkin's Harley Quinn spun out of this series into comics and films. Kids' TV…
Filed against
- Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Kevin Conroy's Bruce Wayne / Batman gave Batman: The Animated Series its growl — art-deco Gotham, black-sky noir, jazz menace, villains as tragic theater. Kids' TV that adults claimed without irony. TV Flash files him as 1990s voice…
- Mark Hamill as The Joker
Mark Hamill laughed the city sick as the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series — art-deco Gotham, Kevin Conroy’s growl, black-sky noir, jazz menace, villains as tragic theater. Kids’ TV that adults claimed without irony. Harley walks out…
- Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.’s Stuart Bailey made 77 Sunset Strip Hollywood-PI cool — jazz theme, parking-lot slang, 1960s catalog detective factory with Kookie in the margins. The F.B.I. and Batman: The Animated Series stretched the same…
- Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn
Arleen Sorkin’s Harley Quinn walked out of Batman: The Animated Series into the wider DC canon — art-deco Gotham, Kevin Conroy’s growl, Mark Hamill’s Joker, kids’ TV that adults claimed without irony. Bruce Timm black-sky noir, villains…
- Loren Lester as Dick Grayson / Robin
Loren Lester voiced the sidekick as Dick Grayson / Robin on Batman: The Animated Series — art-deco Gotham, Kevin Conroy’s growl, Mark Hamill’s Joker, and kids’ TV that adults claimed without irony. Black-sky noir, jazz menace. TV Flash…