Batman Adventures Annual #1 is an issue of the series Batman Adventures Annual (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1994.
Synopsis for "Going Straight"
Hollywood stuntwoman Roxanne Sutton turns to crime as the thief Roxy Rocket, only to be apprehended by Batman after a wild chase through Gotham's skies. Less than two years later, Batman and Alfred witness Roxy being paroled early for good behavior, and wonder if she will truly be able to reform, an act that seems impossible for most of Gotham's criminals.
From the Batcomputer's files, the two men find and review several of those failed reformations:
Appearing in "Going Straight"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Roxy Rocket (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Ventriloquist (On a TV or computer screen)
- Scarecrow (On a TV or computer screen)
- Joker (On a TV or computer screen)
- Harley Quinn (On a TV or computer screen)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Batcave
- Courtroom
Synopsis for "Puppet Show"
Physically and mentally separated from Scarface, a paroled Arnold Wesker joins the children's series Magic Mitzi's Fantasy Forest as operator for a frog puppet named Croaky. Soon after, the show is slated for cancellation, causing its star Mitzi Martin to develop a psychotic vendetta against its director Radford. Upon learning of Arnold's criminal background, Mitzi forcibly "reunites" Arnold with Scarface, causing the Ventriloquist to resurface. In return, Mitzi demands that Scarface help her kill Radford.
Impressed with Mitzi's ruthlessness, Scarface agrees to carry out the murder, but is quickly thwarted by Batman. As they flee the scene, Scarface discovers a bizarre and unpleasant twist: during his time on Magic Mitzi, Arnold developed a third personality, embodied by Croaky the frog. It was this personality that contacted the police, and brought Batman to the scene.
An enraged Scarface attacks Croaky, causing Arnold to lose control of both his hands and the getaway car. The car soon crashes and ignites, and despite Arnold's best efforts, Croaky is burnt to a crisp. Batman then takes Arnold back into custody, grimly noting that Scarface no longer has any competition for control of Arnold's mind.
Appearing in "Puppet Show"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Radford
- Croaky
Antagonists:
- Ventriloquist & Scarface
- Mitzi Martin
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham Public Library
- Gotham Public Library
Synopsis for "24 Hours"
Harley Quinn is paroled from Arkham Asylum, only to be reunited with the Joker, re-enticed into crime, apprehended by Batman, and returned to Arkham in the space of twenty-four hours.
Appearing in "24 Hours"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Synopsis for "Study Hall"
After his latest escape from Arkham, the Scarecrow finds that he has lost his taste for crime and flees to an upstate university, masquerading as an English teacher named Irving Diedrich. He finds the student body predictably disappointing, save for one: a coed named Molly Randall, remarkable not only for her intelligence but her passion for learning all that "Professor Diedrich" has to teach.
One night, Molly is victimized by classmate and fraternity member Bromley, whom the Scarecrow quickly kidnaps and tortures with a variety of his old fear-toxins. Before the Scarecrow can kill Bromley, Batman intervenes, revealing that he had known about the Scarecrow's location for weeks but remained unsure of what, if any, crime was being planned.
Batman easily subdues the Scarecrow and turns him over to the police, but not without a measure of sympathy for Crane's motivations.
Appearing in "Study Hall"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Batman
- Molly Randall
Antagonists:
- Bromley
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Upstate College
Synopsis for "Going Straight, Part Two"
After reviewing the files, Batman receives news from Commissioner Gordon that Roxy Rocket has returned to crime. Batman analyzes the footage of Roxy's latest burglary, only to deduce that the burglar isn't Roxy, but Catwoman, who had disguised herself as Roxy to throw off the police.
Batman - along with the real Roxy - confront Catwoman at Gotham International Airport, but the wily cat burglar evades both of them. Eventually, she falls off a roof to her apparent death, though Batman notes the lack of a corpse and concludes she almost certainly survived. The exonerated Roxy then tries to flirt with Batman, who ignores her advances and advises her to stay reformed before leaving.
Appearing in "Going Straight, Part Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Joker (As an illusion only)
- Two-Face (As an illusion only)
- Killer Croc (As an illusion only)
- Riddler (As an illusion only)
- Harley Quinn (As an illusion only)
- Poison Ivy
- Ventriloquist & Scarface (As an illusion only)
- Penguin (As an illusion only)
- Mad Hatter (As an illusion only)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham PD
- Gotham International Airport
Synopsis for "Laughter After Midnight"
Believed dead after his latest battle with Batman, the Joker wanders the streets of late-night Gotham, terrorizing and murdering several civilians along the way.
Appearing in "Laughter After Midnight"
Featured Characters:
- Joker (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Stan the Donut Man
Antagonists:
- Batman (Flashback only)
- Policeman
Other Characters:
Items:
Notes
- The entire issue is reprinted in:
- "24 Hours" is reprinted in:
- "Laughter After Midnight" is reprinted in The Joker: The Greatest Stories Ever Told.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- DC Animated Universe Recommended Reading
- Adventures in the DC Universe (Volume 1)
- The Batgirl Adventures #1
- Batman Adventures (Volume 1)
- Batman Adventures (Volume 2)
- The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years (Volume 1)
- The Batman Adventures: Mad Love
- The Batman and Robin Adventures (Volume 1)
- Batman and Superman Adventures: World's Finest
- Batman Beyond (Volume 1)
- Batman Beyond (Volume 2)
- Batman Beyond (Volume 4)
- Batman Beyond Unlimited (Volume 1)
- Batman Beyond Universe (Volume 1)
- Batman: Gotham Adventures (Volume 1)
- Batman: Harley and Ivy (Volume 1)
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - The Animated Movie #1
- Gotham Girls (Volume 1)
- Justice League Adventures (Volume 1)
- Justice League Unlimited (Volume 1)
- Superman Adventures (Volume 1)
- Superman & Batman Magazine (Volume 1)
- Justice League Infinity (Volume 1)