Batfink facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Batfink
Batfink being chauffeured by his aide, Karate.
Created by	Hal Seeger
Written by	Dennis Marks Heywood Kling
Starring	Frank Buxton Len Maxwell
Narrated by	Len Maxwell
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	100 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	26 min. (approx. 6 min. per short)
Production company(s)	Hal Seeger Productions Golden West Broadcasters
Distributor	Screen Gems
Release
Original network	KTLA & Syndication
Original release	21 April 1966 (1966-04-21) – 4 October 1967 (1967-10-04)

Batfink is an animated television series, consisting of five-minute shorts, that first aired in April 1966. The 100-episode series was quickly created by Hal Seeger, starting in 1966, to send up the popular Batman and The Green Hornet television series, which had premiered the same year.

Plot

Batfink is a bat superhero with metal wings. With the help of his aide, Karate, he fights crime in his city, with his recurring villain being Hugo A-Go-Go

Cliffhangers

Many episodes end with Batfink in a dangerous situation; typically this is effected by trapping him in some sort of bondage, placing him in a position that renders his wings useless. At the moment the potentially fatal shot is fired, the action freezes, and the narrator asks dramatically if Batfink will survive. Then, the action continues with Batfink escaping, via a convenient but previously unseen deus ex machina or through the use of his superpowers.

Characters

Batfink

Batfink (voiced by Frank Buxton) is a superpowered anthropomorphic grey bat in a yellow costume with a big red "B" on the chest and red gauntlets and boots. He uses his supersonic sonar radar and black metallic wings to fight crime.

Batfink's "supersonic sonar radar" is a super-powered version of a bat's echolocation, used to locate prey. Batfink's power takes the form of the letters of the word "BEEP" (or "BEEP BEEP") emanating from his mouth. The letters are anthropomorphic and sentient and can fly wherever Batfink needs them to go – accompanied by a distinctive beeping noise. His catchphrase during that time is "My supersonic sonar radar will help me!" Whenever Batfink said those words, he would say it through the open sun roof of the Battilac car, while it was not in motion. The letters can see; feel fear; evade capture; and report back to Batfink on what they have seen. In one episode, the "BEEP" is ambushed and beaten up. The "BEEP" also gets confused, misdirected and lost, leaving Batfink to rely on other means to spy upon the episode's villain. Once, when the "BEEP" is sent to investigate Queenie Bee and her swarm of villainous bees, it returns with the letters "EEP" swollen with bee stings. When Karate asks Batfink: "How come they just stung the EEP?" Batfink replies: "Because a bee would never harm another B. But a B will tell on another bee – Queenie Bee is in THERE!" The literal spelled-out appearance of an onomatopœia was a running gag not limited to the supersonic sonar radar; in one episode, Hugo A-Go-Go invented a tickling stick that tickles its adversaries into submission, which sent out the words "Kitchy Koo" to do the deed on Batfink (the episode ended with Batfink slicing the K's off to create the far more irritating, but less distracting, "Itchy Oo").

Batfink's main defense are his metallic wings, which he is able to fold around himself as a protective shield against most attacks, thereby spawning the most famous catchphrase of the show: "Your bullets cannot harm me – my wings are like a shield of steel!" He claims in some episodes that his wings are stainless steel, but in other episodes he explicitly states that they are not – since he always carries a can of spot remover to keep them polished. Batfink can also use his wings as offensive weapons. In one episode, he uses one of them as a sword during a duel. His wings can also help him fly at incredible speeds. They are often used to help him escape certain death or cut through bonds when he has been captured (he can break out of regular ropes, but not rubber ones). In the episode "Ebenezer the Freezer", Batfink has automatic retrorockets built into his wings, but not in any other episode. Sometimes his wings hinder him. When in water, he will sink because of the weight of his metal wings. Powerful magnets are also a problem for him. Plutonium, for reasons unexplained (but possibly relating to his birth in a plutonium mine) also renders the wings useless. Batfink's life and wings are explained in the final episode, "Batfink: This Is Your Life", which depicts his boyhood and how his real wings were replaced.

Batfink rides in a customized pink car resembling a Volkswagen Beetle with scalloped rear fins and bat-winged red "B" emblems on the doors and hood. Called the "Battillac" (rhymes with "Cadillac"), it is outfitted with a sun roof and many defensive devices. The car is resistant to collision damage and energy weapons. Batfink often says something like "It's a good thing the Battillac is equipped with a thermonuclear plutonium-insulated blast shield!" and Karate replies, "It's also good it was a small bomb." As soon as a crime is acknowledged, Batfink says "Karate, the Battillac!"

In the last episode of the series titled "Batfink: This Is Your Life," it is revealed that he obtained his powers when he was born in an abandoned plutonium mine and that he lost his natural wings as a child while saving his mother's life, after escaped convicts blew up their mountain-top cave (plutonium in real life is too scarce in the Earth's crust to be mined, it must be synthesized, usually from uranium). This incident is what motivated him to become a crime-fighter.

Batfink lives in a split-level cave, and has a direct video link to the Chief's office.

Karate

Karate (voiced by Len Maxwell) is a gi-clad martial arts expert and Batfink's oafish sidekick who drives the Battillac. He is somewhat oversized and not very bright, but is strong enough to help Batfink out of any situation. He carries a wide variety of objects and gadgets in his "utility sleeve" (a parody of Batman's utility belt), but he often has trouble finding what he needs in it. Karate tends to succeed by dumb luck rather than by skill or ingenuity, and often Karate's involvement will make a bad situation worse.

Karate is a direct send-up of Kato, the Green Hornet's companion, but his hulking size is inspired by the James Bond villain Oddjob. Also as in The Green Hornet episodes, when both characters are in the car, Karate is the driver while Batfink rides in the back seat. In early episodes, his voice is a stereotypical Asian accent, but in later episodes, Len Maxwell adopts a clipped and nasal speech pattern. This was inspired by Don Adams, whose Get Smart character, Maxwell Smart, was popular at the time. Karate on occasion even utters the Maxwell Smart-inspired catchphrase, "Sorry about that, Batfink."

Karate was usually ordered to check downstairs while Batfink checked the upper floor.

At the end of each episode, Karate would make a corny pun that was sometimes physical on the part of his stupidity.

Karate's father was the blacksmith who made Batfink's metallic wings.

The Chief

The Chief (voiced by Len Maxwell) is Batfink's contact on the local police force and informs Batfink of all the latest crimes via a direct video link to Batfink's Split-Level Cave as Batfink answers "The hotline — Batfink here."

The Mayor

The Mayor is the unnamed mayor of the city that Batfink protects.

Hugo A-Go-Go

The blue-smocked, wild-haired Hugo A-Go-Go (voiced by Frank Buxton) is the main villain of the series. He is referred to as "the world's maddest mad scientist" and spends his time in his "secret" laboratory creating weird and wacky inventions (including a robot bride, complete with robot mother-in-law) to defeat Batfink and dominate the world. He always manages to escape jail to antagonize the hero in a later episode. Hugo A-Go-Go often breaks the fourth wall and has conversations with the narrator.

Other villains

Other villains that are Batfink's enemies are:

• Ebeneezer the Freezer - A villain who collaborated with Hugo A-Go-Go in a plot to freeze the city.
• Mr. Boomer - The owner of Boomer Glass Works who has been using the sonic booms caused by his jets to improve his business.
• Big Ears Ernie - A villain with sensitive hearing.
• Manhole Manny - A villain who operates in the sewers.
• Mr. M. Flick - A mad movie maker.
• Skinny Minnie - The world's thinnest thief.
• Fatman - A fat criminal who steals fat items.
• Gluey Louie - A villain who uses glue in his capers.
• Brother Goose - A supervillain who always leaves taunting clues based on nursery rhymes.
• Myron the Magician - A criminal magician.
• Sporty Morty - A sports-themed villain that wields different sports equipment.
• The Ringading Brothers - Criminal acrobats.
• Stupidman - A criminal who commits crimes that no sensible person would commit. He is also the brother-in-law of the Chief.
• Professor Vibrato - A mad scientist that uses vibration technology.
• Greasy Gus - A villain who uses grease in his crimes.
• Zero - Plus A. Minus is a villain.
• Swami Salami - A criminal snake charmer.
• The Human Pretzel - A criminal contortionist.
• Professor Hopper - A criminal flea circus owner who uses his trained fleas to commit crimes.
• Roz the Schnozz - A criminal with a bloodhound-like nose.
• Lucky Chuck - A lucky criminal.
• Party Marty - A party-themed criminal who uses special party favors in his crimes.
• Professor Flippo - A mad scientist who invented a machine that turns things upside down.
• The Rotten Rainmaker - A villain with a weather-controlling machine.
• Gypsy James - A parking-meter thief and fortune teller who makes voodoo dolls of Batfink and Karate to try to seal their fate.
• The Chameleon - An art thief who uses portable camouflage screens.
• Beanstalk Jack - A farmer who uses instant beanstalks in his crimes.
• Curly the Human Cannonball - A criminal human cannonball.
• Robber Hood - An archery-themed criminal.
• Sandman Sam - A criminal who uses "slumber sand" that puts anyone to sleep.
• The Great Escapo - An escape artist.
• Daniel Boom - A criminal who uses explosives in his crimes.
• Queenie Bee - A female supervillain with her army of bees. Batfink sends Queenie Bee to Sing Sing and her bees to "Sting Sting."
• Sabubu - A thief from Baghdad.
• The Mean Green Midget - A short criminal who grows fruits and vegetables to help in his crimes.
• Napoleon Blownapart - A criminal who uses hand grenades to blow up stuff.
• Magneto the Magnificent - A criminal who wields magnetic gauntlets.
• Buster the Ruster - A criminal who uses a spray gun that shoots "rust dust."
• Mike the Mimic - An impersonator.
• Cinderobber - A criminal cleaning lady.
• Mr. Bouncy - A former bouncer who uses a special spray to turn anything into rubber.
• Old King Cruel -
• Victor the Predictor - A criminal who uses a prediction motif.
• Goldyunlocks' - A female villain with an obsession of unlocking every lock she sees. Batfink finally defeats her by putting her in a cell with no lock.
  • The Three Baer Brothers - The henchmen of Goldyunlocks.
• Bowl Brummel - A criminal bowler.
• Harold Hamboné - An opera understudy.
• Mr. Blankenstein - A green-skinned criminal whose gun shoots out "blanks" that give people amnesia.
• Whip Van Winkle - A criminal who uses whips in his crimes.
• Tough MacDuff - Batfink's oldest enemy. He once gathered other Batfink enemies in a plot to get Batfink to leave town.
• Judy Jitsu - A martial artist, whose name is derived from jujutsu, and on whom Karate has a crush.
• Father Time Bomb - A criminal who uses time bombs in his crimes.

Episodes