100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Screen Capture from he New Batman Adventures Season 1, Episode 8: “Growing Pains”
#74. The New Batman Adventures Season 1, Episode 8: “Growing Pains”
Medium
Animated Television Series
Release Date
February 28, 1998
Credits
Director: Atsuko Tanaka
Writers: Robert Goodman, Paul Dini
Cast: Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Matthew Valencia as Tim Drake / Robin, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth, Bob Hastings as Commissioner James Gordon, Francesca Marie Smith as Annie, Ron Perlman as Matt Hagen / Clayface, Matt Landers as Gang Leader, John Rubano as Gang Member
The Reason It’s Great
Growing up means experiencing the full gamut of emotions—happiness, pain, anger, and sadness. “Growing Pains” is a Robin story at its finest. It gives us some background on Tim Drake’s childhood, as well as his rebelliousness and heroism.
On a random night, Robin saves a mysterious girl from some unsurly characters. He later finds her again and learns that she has no memory of who she is or where she’s from. However, a mysterious man is after her. He emphathizes with her situation because he grew up in an abusive household. When Batman is brought into the situation, he discovers that the man after her is Clayface.
It’s later discovered that Annie isn’t a regular human girl—she’s from a piece of Clayface himself. Annie, finally recollecting who she is, reveals that Clayface created her to scout Gotham City when he was hiding. In the final climactic scene, Annie reintegrates herself with Clayface to save Robin’s life. After Clayface is arrested, Robin wants one of the charges against Clayface to be murder.
The story stands out because it doesn’t have a happy ending. It shows how heroes have to endure loss, and justice may not always be carried out. It also brings to question what it means to be human—as Annie showed more humanity and caring than most people when she sacrificed herself in order to save her friend.