Torch Song is an episode of season 1 of New Batman Adventures. It premiered on June 13, 1998.
Synopsis for "Torch Song"
Bruce Wayne goes on a date to the latest concert of Cassidy, the latest pop music sensation and comes across Barbara Gordon. The show is about to start, but backstage, Cassidy is having an argument with the pyrotechnic's expert, whom she used to date. The man by the name of Garfield Lynns is frustrated that Cassidy ended their relationship, but she cuts him off by telling him that they have a show to do and that it is going to be his last. Enraged, Garfield returns to the pyrotechnic console and the show starts normally. However, when Cassidy is surrounded by fire on the stage, Garfield creates a rising wall of fire around her and the entire stage starts burning. Cassidy's manager tries to stop Garfield, but he creates more fire, burning the entire stage with Cassidy trapped inside. The crowd starts to disperse and Bruce is unable to help without giving away his secret to his date, but fortunately, Batgirl goes into action and saves Cassidy as the entire place collapses in flames.
After the incident, the police goes to Lynns' place to arrest him for causing the fire, but when Detective Harvey Bullock breaks in, they find the place empty. Upon further investigation, they find one of the walls filled with images of Cassidy and several candles arranged as a shrine to her. Lynns is actually in another part of town, building something that will help him get revenge against Cassidy and others.
Later, Cassidy talks to her manager in order to organize a new show in another place in Gotham, but as they decide the location, Cassidy receives a strange message that burns in her hands after reading it. Ignoring the ominous threat, Cassidy goes to the night club to make another show, but the place is attacked by Lynns, who now wears a fire-proof suit with a jetpack and a fire gun. Lynns burns the place and as the crowd leaves the building screaming, Batman and Batgirl notice the disturbance and go into action. Cassidy is cornered by Lynns, but Batman shows up and attacks Lynns while Batgirl saves Cassidy and the rest of the people trapped in the building. Batman and Lynns are left alone inside the burning place and Lynns reveals his new identity as Firefly before leaving the place using his jetpack. Batman uses his Batrope to grab Firefly, but only manages to be pulled out of the burning building before Firefly cuts the rope with fire, causing Batman to drop helplessly to the streets.
Cassidy returns to her place, where her manager has placed extra security. However and despite the security measures, Batman gets inside and interrogates Cassidy about Lynns and their past relationship. Cassidy explains the situation and tries to get Batman's protection by offering special favors, but after learning what he needed, Batman leaves the place unnoticed, much to Cassidy's disgust.
The next morning, Barbara manages to find information about Lynns and a possible hideout. At night, Batman and Batgirl go to the place to investigate, but find that it is empty except for several explosives. Batman finds a box of matches as the only clue, but he fails to warn Batgirl of a possible trap when she turns on the lights of the place. The switch was actually a detonator for all the explosives placed in the building and soon, Batman and Batgirl find themselves trapped in a burning building with no way out. Meanwhile, Cassidy is recording at the studio when the place is suddenly filled with smoke and everyone evacuates the building. Cassidy is the last to leave and as the building is full of smoke, she gets help from someone she cannot see. The man is Firefly and he takes Cassidy with him away from the place, while her manager and the rest of the crew can only watch Firefly taking the unconscious Cassidy using his jetpack. Back at the burning building, Batman creates another explosion that clears a way out of the place, but as they jump out of the fire, the building collapses and some of the debris falls on Batgirl, leaving her seriously injured.
Barbara awakes in the Batcave as Alfred takes care of her wounds. She insists that she is ready to go back to the streets, but her weak body shows otherwise. Batman leaves Barbara under Alfred's care while he goes out to stop Firefly after the news of the abduction have spread across the city. Batman knows the location of the villain thanks to the box of matches he found. However, before Batman leaves the batcave, Alfred suggests him to wear something more durable.
Moments later at Firefly's hideout, he tells Cassidy how he plans to burn Gotham to ashes using a gel he developed that burns through everything. He intends to eliminate the city and take Casssidy elsewhere, but as he releases the gel to the sewers of Gotham, he is attacked by Batman. Firefly uses his fire gun against the Dark Knight, but this time it is useless, as Batman is wearing a special heat-resistant Batsuit. Batman and Firefly start fighting and their struggle creates fire that reaches the burning gel before it has reached the sewers of Gotham. Firefly tries to stop the ever increasing fire, but his efforts are useless as the whole place is slowly consumed by fire. Batman takes Cassidy with him to the streets as the building blows up in flames. Firefly tries to escape using his jetpack, but a massive billboard falls on top of him and he is knocked unconscious.
With Firefly captured, Cassidy tries to resume her normal activities and due to the recent events, her manager believes it would be appropriate to call her next projects anything that is related to fire. However, Cassidy realizes that she has developed a serious fear of fire as she panics at the sight of even the smallest flames.
Appearing in "Torch Song"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Cassidy (First appearance)
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Gotham City Police Department
- Detective Harvey Bullock
- Officer Vincenzo
Antagonists:
- Firefly (Garfield Lynns) (First appearance) (Origin)
Other Characters:
- Shannon (Single appearance)
- Frank (Single appearance)
- Sam Fryer (Single appearance)
- Trent Wallace (Single appearance)
- Gotham Angels (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Rock Palace
- Batcave
Items:
- Batarang
- Batrope
- Heat-resistant Batsuit (Single appearance) (Origin)
- Gotham Gazette
Vehicles:
Notes
- No notes.
Trivia
- Officer Vincenzo is probably a reference to Batman comic book editor Darren Vincenzo.
See Also
- 1 Images from New Batman Adventures (TV Series) Episode: Torch Song
- Episodes of New Batman Adventures (TV Series)
- Images from New Batman Adventures (TV Series)
- Gallery for the New Batman Adventures (TV Series) series
Recommended Media
- None.
Links and References
Footnotes