Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series) Heart of Steel: Part I (1992) User Reviews

Behold, Gotham's HAL 9000

[Mr-Fusion · 9/10 · 5 January 2017]

A curious blending of The Terminator, Stepford Wives and the Fleischer Superman serials in look and feel. That's the best way I can think of to describe 'Heart of Steel', a swerve into hard science fiction (for this show, at least, although it absolutely works). The animation is upper-tier (especially favorable of Batman in action scenes) and the lighting casts just the right noir tinge to such an eerie story.

All of this is setup (replacing human beings with cyborgs) but man, does it whet your appetite for the payoff. I hadn't seen this in a very long time, so the subtle homage to "Blade Runner" feels especially novel. It's just not something you'd expect to see on a Batman cartoon.

9/10

Batman Battles A Briefcase.....And HARDAC

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 4 March 2008]

Machines in the form of unusual looking robots are Batman's chief foe in this two-part adventure. The first robot is unlike anything I've ever seen: animated or in some sci-fi movie. It's a briefcase than turns into a walking octopus-like creature! It takes pictures of the Wayne Enterprise security system and attacks people with some nerve gas and a laser.

This is one mean and fascinating brief case!

It goes on from there, with a big computer - HARDAC - able to clone human beings. One, for instance, takes the place of Inspector Gordon. Another infiltrates the Bat Cave.

There are all kinds of happenings in this very fast-moving episode.

homage to blade runner

[Black_Chak_Chaka · 26 September 2006]

William sanderson doing the voice of karl rossum is wonderful, as he the role is essentially the same in blade runner, as sebastian the genetic replicant engineer. Heart of Steel was one of my favorite episodes when I was a kid, and HARDAC is on my mind from time to time! I just watched Blade Runner and noticed their voices were the same so I came to IMDb to check it out. I probably haven't seen this episode in ten years, so I was pretty happy to have picked up on it. I think it tipped me off when Sanderson says he " built his friends". Whomever was doing the voice casting for this particular role definitely has good taste.

One of the highlights an animated series known for quality

[garrard · 20 April 2006]

1992 saw the dawn of a new age in television animation with the birth of "Batman: The Animated Series," an homage to The Dark Knight, as well as a tribute to the comics and vintage animation of the 30's and 40's. "Heart of Steel" (both parts) presents the show at its finest, with spectacular animation and a riveting storyline, reminding viewers of the pitfalls of technology.

The plot involves a super-computer replacing influential Gothamites with robot doubles. One of the first to succumb is Police Commissioner Gordon. Mayor Hill, along with other civic leaders comes next. At the top of the list is playboy/financier Bruce Wayne, who, of course, is Batman.

This installment presents a young Barbara Gordon (the future "Batgirl") delving into the mystery when she notices that her father is not the man that she knows and loves. She shows the resourcefulness and ingenuity that would later serve her well as Batman's crime-fighting ally.

One of the main pluses of this installment, along with other episodes in the series, is the voice-over talent. Kevin Conroy deftly balances the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman with the skill of a trained actor. Veteran voice-over artist Bob Hastings is the tough-as-nails Commissioner Gordon, while Melissa Gilbert (of "Little House on the Prairie" fame) is Gordon's daughter. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., himself a veteran of television and the movies, is appropriately "British" as the loyal butler, Alfred.

Besides the aforementioned recurring characters, "Heart of Steel" has William Sanderson as inventor Karl Rossum, Jeff Bennett, appropriately cold and calculating as the voice of the supercomputer, and Leslie Easterbrook as the sultry "Randa Duane" who is not as she appears to be.

The first five minutes of the episode are quite thrilling as a "suitcase" takes on a life of its own and gets through the security at the Wayne Enterprises Building.