The WORST episodes of Batman

Every episode of Batman ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Batman!

Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.

Last Updated: 11/25/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires
star
4.93
104 votes

#1 - Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires

Season 3 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/14/1968

Minerva has been using her “Deepest Secret Extractor,” disguised as a piece of equipment at her mineral spa, to discover where her wealthiest customers hide their valuables. With this info in hand, Minerva has been able to pull off a string of robberies with ease. When Batman and Robin’s investigation is cut short by the villainess, butler Alfred goes undercover to help foil her criminal operations.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
Louie's Lethal Lilac Time
star
4.99
95 votes

#2 - Louie's Lethal Lilac Time

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/11/1968

Louie the Lilac is in town, planning to corner the lilac perfume market in Gotham City. His concoction requires the glands of several animals, so he kidnaps Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson to make the extractions. With “Batman and Robin” unable to respond, Batgirl attempts a rescue, only to be captured herself. The trio rely on their wits (and the latest bat-invention) to attempt an escape.

Directors: Sam Strangis
Watch Now:Apple TV
Louie, the Lilac
star
5.25
101 votes

#3 - Louie, the Lilac

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/26/1967

Louie the Lilac has cornered the flower market in Gotham City, hoping to gain control over the entire “flower generation.” He kidnaps the organizer of their planned flower-in, Princess Primrose, and brainwashes her with his Stupefying Aromatic Spray. Batman and Robin follow a clue to the villain’s lair only to be captured by Louie and fed to his giant man-eating lilacs. With the Caped Crusaders out of the way, Louie heads back to the flower-in to continue his evil plan. Alfred, meanwhile, has been alerted to Batman and Robin’s situation, and goes looking for Batgirl to aid in the fight.

Directors: George Waggner
Watch Now:Apple TV
Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club
star
5.52
100 votes

#4 - Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/18/1968

Nora Clavicle, a women’s rights activist, uses her influence to have Commissioner Gordon, Chief O’Hara, and the whole police force fired and replaced with women. She cuts ties with Batman and Robin, then launches her plan to blow up Gotham City with explosive-packed mice and collect on the insurance. The Terrific Trio look for a way to neutralize her mechanical hordes before it’s too late.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
Black Widow Strikes Again
star
5.57
94 votes

#5 - Black Widow Strikes Again

Season 2 - Episode 55 - Aired 3/15/1967

The Black Widow uses her cerebrum short-circuiting device to rob bank after bank in Gotham City. Batman and Robin soon catch up with her, but actually capturing the villainess proves harder than expected. Despite her nerve paralyzer spray, and two remote-control dummies that try to throw the Dynamic Duo off course, they finally make it inside the Black Widow’s lair. But soon after entering, they are trapped in a giant web with two deadly black widow spiders.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Robert Mintz
Watch Now:Apple TV
Surf's Up! Joker's Under!
star
5.64
109 votes

#6 - Surf's Up! Joker's Under!

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/16/1967

The Joker plans to become the king of surfing, hoping the fame will give him control over the hearts and minds of Gotham City. He captures top surfer Skip Parker, then uses his “Surfing Experience & Ability Transferometer” to transfer the needed skills and stamina from Skip to himself. When all the other contestants drop out of the upcoming surfing match, Batman steps up to challenge the Joker’s supremacy.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Foggiest Notion
star
5.69
97 votes

#7 - The Foggiest Notion

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/30/1967

Lord Ffogg and Lady Peasoup plan to steal a ship-worth of mod clothing material with which they can control the fashion world of Londinium. Fogg and his men subdue Batman, Peasoup and her girls grab Robin and Lady Prudence uses the paralyzing fog on Batgirl.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Londinium Larcenies
star
5.71
101 votes

#8 - The Londinium Larcenies

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/23/1967

Commissioner Gordon travels across the channel to Londinium by request of the President to assist in a spree of baffling burglaries. Also aboard ship are Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, their manservant Alfred and Gordon’s daughter Barbara. Alfred sets up a make-shift Batcave under a rented mansion near Londinium while Batman & Robin visit lord Ffogg and Lady Peasoup, who run a girl’s finishing school that teaches their students a degree in shoplifting.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
Caught in the Spider's Den
star
5.74
97 votes

#9 - Caught in the Spider's Den

Season 2 - Episode 56 - Aired 3/16/1967

The Black Widow adjusts her cerebrum short-circuiting device to successfully alter Batman’s brain. With Batman powerless to resist, and Robin captured, she disguises herself as the Boy Wonder and brings along a dummy Batman to rob another bank. Commissioner Gordon initially believes Batman is setting a trap for the villainess. But when word comes of the successful robbery, the commissioner puts out an all-points bulletin to bring in the Caped Crusaders dead or alive.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Robert Mintz
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Sport of Penguins
star
5.74
109 votes

#10 - The Sport of Penguins

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/1967

The Penguin teams up with parasol collector Lola Lasagne. Together, they plan to rig the upcoming Bruce Wayne Handicap to make a fortune from Lola’s prize racehorse Parasol. They break into Glu Gluten’s Glue Factory to steal a condemned horse, planning to switch horses before the race and make their money by betting on the real Parasol. When Batman, Robin, and Batgirl catch up with them at the glue factory, Penguin sneaks outside and plasters the Batmobile with a sticky glue.

Directors: Sam Strangis
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Dead Ringers
star
5.78
102 votes

#11 - The Dead Ringers

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 10/27/1966

Batman and Robin escape Chandell’s trap. Once back in the Batcave, they deduce his plan to get the Wayne family fortune by killing Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, then marrying the rightful heir, Aunt Harriet. In order to trap the villain, Bruce and Dick fake their own deaths. However, Harry has also figured out his brother Chandell’s scheme, and desiring the Wayne fortune for himself, concocts a plan to masquerade as his twin brother.

Directors: Larry Peerce
Watch Now:Apple TV
Penguin's Clean Sweep
star
5.83
95 votes

#12 - Penguin's Clean Sweep

Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 1/25/1968

The Penguin taints the ink at the U.S. Mint with Lygerian Sleeping Sickness. As word of the infected money gets out, citizens of Gotham City empty their cash right onto the streets – and into Penguin’s pockets. But when Bruce Wayne spreads word of the infected bills worldwide, the Penguin realizes his ill-gotten gain is worthless and threatens a more devilish plot if the warning is not retracted.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Devil's Fingers
star
5.84
105 votes

#13 - The Devil's Fingers

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 10/26/1966

Chandell, the musical virtuoso, visits Gotham City for a piano concert. But unknown to the public, Chandell is being blackmailed into a life of crime by his twin brother Harry, who retains most of the profits. Chandell intends to buy off Harry forever, and he knows just where to get the funds – from the Wayne family fortune. With Batman and Robin out of town, he suspects the robbery will be a piece of cake. However, Batman has been listening to Chandell’s concert remotely, and after detecting an anomalous chord, summons Robin back to Wayne Manor to investigate.

Directors: Larry Peerce
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Joker's Flying Saucer
star
5.88
103 votes

#14 - The Joker's Flying Saucer

Season 3 - Episode 24 - Aired 2/29/1968

The Joker is back in Gotham City, this time with his sights set on worldwide domination. He plants rumors of an invasion from outer space, then sets out to gather the Beryllium metal needed to build an actual flying saucer. Batman picks up on his scheme and sends Alfred to check up on a stash of the metal. But when Alfred is mistaken for a mad scientist by the Joker, he is hauled off to the villain’s lair along with Batgirl. The Dynamic Duo are on their way when a bomb planted by one of the Joker’s henchmen goes off, leaving them unconscious, and their Batcave cut off from the rest of the world.

Directors: Sam Strangis
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Puzzles Are Coming
star
5.90
126 votes

#15 - The Puzzles Are Coming

Season 2 - Episode 31 - Aired 12/21/1966

The Puzzler, a villain with a fondness for both Shakespeare and aviation, indicates he is after the fortunes of Artemus Knab. He convinces the billionaire to invest in his puzzle balloon business, but when the Dynamic Duo find that Knab seems too intelligent to fall for a phony scheme, they look deeper for the criminal’s true intentions. Their search leads them to Knab’s airplane monopoly, but unknown to them, the Puzzler has plans to halt their investigation – permanently.

Directors: Jeffrey Hayden
Watch Now:Apple TV
It's How You Play the Game
star
5.96
108 votes

#16 - It's How You Play the Game

Season 2 - Episode 26 - Aired 12/1/1966

With his special truck finished, Shame goes to work on his final caper – the theft of four prize cattle worth over one million dollars. Batman and Robin deduce his plan, but realize they are too late to stop him and too slow to catch him. With little left to go on, the Dynamic Duo employ their “bat-logic” to try to figure out his next move.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
Come Back, Shame
star
6.00
109 votes

#17 - Come Back, Shame

Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 11/30/1966

Shame is back, and is using stolen vehicle parts to assemble a truck so fast even the Batmobile won’t be able to catch him. Bruce Wayne tricks him into stealing his limo, which he (as Batman) and Robin use to track down his hideout. But the villain gains the upper hand in the ensuing fight, and the Dynamic Duo find themselves staked to the ground in the path of a cattle stampede.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Minstrel's Shakedown
star
6.03
111 votes

#18 - The Minstrel's Shakedown

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/21/1966

The Minstrel, a villain with both musical talent and electronic ingenuity, is wrecking havoc with the Gotham City Exchange in an attempt to blackmail the exchange members. When he soon realizes Batman and Robin are equally skilled with electronics, he deems them a threat to his plan and sets a trap for their demise.

Directors: Murray Golden
Watch Now:Apple TV
A Horse of Another Color
star
6.04
104 votes

#19 - A Horse of Another Color

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/12/1967

The Penguin steals a priceless folio of famous parasols from the Gotham City Library. He plans to wager the $10,000 earned from its ransom on a rigged horse race. Aided by his partner-in-crime Lola Lasagne, he disguises the favored entry Parasol as the unknown “Bumbershoot,” then enters a painted glue factory horse as “Parasol.” With everyone betting their money on the fake horse, it looks like the Penguin will make a fortune when the real Parasol wins the race. But he wasn’t counting on a last-minute entry of Bruce Wayne’s, the horse Waynebow, ridden by none other than Batgirl.

Directors: Sam Strangis
Watch Now:Apple TV
Barbecued Batman?
star
6.04
111 votes

#20 - Barbecued Batman?

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/22/1966

Failing to destroy Batman and Robin, the Minstrel enacts “Plan High C.” He shakes the building of the Gotham City Exchange, and promises to send it crumbling down if his demands are not met in one hour. Batman assumes cutting off the building’s power will thwart the villain, but when that plan fails, it’s up to the Dynamic Duo to track down the Minstrel before it’s too late.

Directors: Murray Golden
Watch Now:Apple TV
Walk the Straight and Narrow
star
6.05
177 votes

#21 - Walk the Straight and Narrow

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/8/1966

Batman and Robin escape their previous peril and are back in action seeking to foil the Archer and his gang. After pulling off a counterfeit job, the villains head for their boat, planning to take their loot safely to Switzerland. The Dynamic Duo set off in the Bat boat to try to stop their escape.

Directors: Sherman Marks
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Ogg Couple
star
6.07
99 votes

#22 - The Ogg Couple

Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/21/1967

Egghead and Olga, Queen of the Cossacks, kick off their return with several thefts from the Gotham City Museum. Egghead begins planning a series of heists – intended to provide him with the dowry needed to marry Olga. Swiping 500 pounds of dehydrated caviar goes off without a hitch. But when Batgirl attempts to outfox Egghead, she is instead captured by the villain. It’s up to Batman and Robin to find the villains’ hideout before Olga’s Cossacks make mincemeat out of their crime fighting friend.

Directors: Oscar Rudolph
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Duo is Slumming
star
6.10
97 votes

#23 - The Duo is Slumming

Season 2 - Episode 32 - Aired 12/22/1966

The Puzzler continues with his plan to hijack Artemus Knab’s new airplane, the Retsoor, all the while leaving puzzles behind for Batman and Robin to ponder. He familiarizes himself with the jet’s designs, then prepares to fly his prize to a foreign country where he will hold it for ransom. But the Dynamic Duo have an easier time with his clues than he expected, resulting in a climactic confrontation at the airplane hanger.

Directors: Jeffrey Hayden
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Shoot a Crooked Arrow
star
6.14
188 votes

#24 - Shoot a Crooked Arrow

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/7/1966

Archer and his gang have come to Gotham City, winning the public’s favor with their Robin Hood style deeds of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Batman and Robin set out to discover the location of their hideout and stop these villains, only to find themselves caught by a trap in the Archer’s lair.

Directors: Sherman Marks
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Catwoman Goeth
star
6.15
101 votes

#25 - The Catwoman Goeth

Season 2 - Episode 34 - Aired 12/29/1966

Though Batman escapes the Sandman’s trap, Robin is left to wander in a deadly maze. A clue leads Batman to Catwoman’s lair, where he informs her of Sandman’s plans to elope with J. Pauline Spaghetti and keep her fortunes to himself. Enraged by the Sandman’s trickery, Catwoman sets out after him. Batman, with the now-rescued Robin, also follows, and the group meet up at Spaghetti’s old deserted pasta factory.

Directors: George Waggner
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV