100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever

Screen Capture from Batman: The Animated Series Season 1, Episode 62: “His Silicon Soul”

#77. Batman: The Animated Series Season 1, Episode 62: “His Silicon Soul”

Medium

Animated Television Series

Release Date

November 20, 1992

Credits

Director: Boyd Kirkland

Writer: Marty Isenberg, Robert N, Skir

Cast: Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth, Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon, William Sanderson as Dr. Karl Rossum, Jeff Bennett as H.A.R.D.A.C., Pat Fraley as Bat-Mite, Richard Moll as Computer

The Reason It’s Great

Batman: The Animated Series has always had a great balance of entertainment and asking the big questions: the what-if scenarios that border on being philisophical. In “His Silicon Soul,” a robot duplicate of Batman—which was first seen being built in “Heart of Steel”—emerges.

When the real Batman starts investigating the goals behind his duplicant, he realizes that the robot thinks he’s the real Dark Knight. Batman later confronts the duplicant and notices that the robot’s personality was recreated too well—it also couldn’t kill, just like Batman himself. However, the duplicant had a conflicting goal—it was serving H.A.R.D.A.C., the master artificial intelligence bent on wiping out humanity.

In the final climactic battle, Batman fakes his own death which drives the duplicant insane. On top of that, the duplicant realizes that if HARDAC succeeds in its goals, it could mean the death of countless innocent lives. Seeing no other option, the duplicant destroys the Bat-Cave’s computer—resulting in his own demise.

Batman, emerging safely from where he supposedly fell to his death, questions if this duplicant had an actual soul. This episode is not only a great installment of Batman: The Animated Series, it was a great story compared to any animated endeavor. It asked some big questions, and left it open so the audience could figure it out for themselves.