New Love

New Love is the second episode of the fifth season of NBC's The Batman. It first aired on November 26, 2012. It is the fifty-fourth episode overall.

Synopsis
With Cheetah still on the loose, Bruce, Clark, and Diana search. Tim and Kate are visited by Tim's girlfriend and Kate's best friend, Stephanie Brown, who wants to be a vigilante. The three decide to prove themselves to Bruce by taking on Hush. Allen informs Maggie of a new case, and she is partnered with new police detective, and her ex-boyfriend, Andrew Ryder. Meanwhile, the enslaved supervillains attempt to escape.

Plot
Bruce, Clark, and Diana are upset that they lost but try to find Cheetah and stop him from becoming a regular villain. Tim and Kate ask if they can help them, but Bruce says they are not ready yet. Lois talks to Alfred about how Clark and her have sex just about every night they're together. Alfred is visibly uncomfortable and leaves Lois, who is confused.

The Joker tries to escape his cell at the mafia mansion but Harley reminds him that they are all trapped together. The Joker tells her that they can also escape together. Killer Croc, Killer Moth, and Two-Face all agree. Harley asks them what they mean. Two-Face tells her that they've been planning an escape for the past week. Harley joins in. Maroni has James Jr. in his hands and throws him into the last open cell. James Jr. tries to run out but his fingers are crushed in the door. Harley looks down, feeling bad. She tells them to put the plan in action, now.

Tim and Kate talk about annoying it is that Bruce isn't letting them out. They hear a knock at the door and open it. Stephanie Brown is there. Tim is excited to see and so is Kate. They hug her and she asks them why they are staying at Bruce Wayne's mansion. Kate tells her about them becoming vigilantes. Stephanie tells them that she had always wanted to be a superhero, ever since Batman's first appearance four years ago. Tim tries to bounce around the idea, but Kate outright tells her that she can be a superhero too. Stephanie loves the idea and Tim is forced to support it.

Maggie and Allen talk about a murder case as they walk into an alley. Allen reveals to Maggie that she is now being partnered with a new police detective, due to Allen becoming the captain and Gordon leaving. Maggie meets her new partner, who is Andrew Ryder, Maggie's ex-boyfriend and former FBI agent. Allen leaves the two to talk and Maggie is forced to get along with him for the case.

Batman, Superman, and Diana patrol the streets of Gotham. They hear a scream and run over where they see Cheetah trying to get a purse from a woman. Batman helps the woman while Superman and Diana try to take Cheetah down. Cheetah escapes.

Two-Face tells the five other captives that first they will ask Maroni for food and when his henchmen come over, they will each knock the henchmen out and get their gun if they can. Whoever gets a gun will shoot their cell door open and free the others and then escape from the mansion, with killing Maroni being an option.

Tim, Kate, and Stephanie decide that they can prove to Bruce by taking on a villain themselves. Kate gets the Batgirl suit on, but deems herself Batwoman, instead. Tim decides that he is not going to where the Robin suit as it is childish and too small. He instead takes inspiration from the suit and creates an all-new one. Stephanie does the same, but deems herself Spoiler, as she is going to spoil the criminals plans. The three go out into the city to find a villain to face.

Maggie and Ryder investigate the body and the crime scene in silence. Ryder tries to break the silence with a joke but Maggie begins to cry and asks him why he cheated on her. Ryder looks confused and tells her that he never really dated her. Maggie laughs at him and tells her that they were together for two months and lived together for most of that time. Ryder tries to shake it off and asks her about the crime. Maggie asks him how he and Flamingo are doing. Ryder tells her they broke up five months ago. Maggie smirks.

Batman, Superman, and Diana find Cheetah once again but the villain tells them that he will always win. Superman tries to fight him but Cheetah begins punching again. Wonder Woman tackles Cheetah and Superman and Batman attack the villain from behind. Superman knocks him unconscious and Diana thanks them. Batman tells her goodbye by kissing her but she tells them that she will be back soon.

The six captives at the mafia mansion begin their plan. The henchmen walk over but only the Joker succeeds in getting a gun. He shoots his door and Harley's open and escapes with her. Harley begs with him to free Two-Face. The Joker realizes that if he loves Harley he has to free Two-Face. The three villains escape the prison, leaving Killer Croc, Killer Moth, and James Jr. behind.

Tim, Stephanie, and Kate see Hush about shoot Batman. Kate tries to warn him but Tim says that they can stop Hush themselves. The three new heroes get to Hush and tackle him just as he takes his shot. The bullet hits Superman and deflects into Hush's shoulder. The three new heroes rejoice, but Hush escapes in the celebration. At the mansion, Bruce scolds the three, but they tell Bruce that they saved his life. Clark smiles and tells Bruce that that is true. Bruce thanks them and tells them that he is still going to have to train them to make sure they don't let a villain get away next time. Stephanie introduces herself as Tim's girlfriend. They hear a knock at the door and Bruce opens it, only to see Ra's al Ghul and an unknown boy. The boy tries to knock Bruce down.

Clark, Lois, Alfred, Stephanie, Tim, and Kate ask Bruce who the boy is. Ra's tells them that it is Bruce's son from a long time ago, before Bruce traveled to Iceland to train for five years. Ra's gets the boy off of Bruce and tells them that the League of Assassins banished him from their base, so instead of leaving the League to raise the boy, Ra's is keeping his leadership and leaving the boy, named Damien, in the custody of Bruce, as he is Bruce's son. Ra's leaves. Damien asks Bruce for dinner.

Maggie and Ryder celebrate solving the case by eating dinner in silence. The two finally talk to each other about how they've missed each other in the past year. Ryder tells her that he still loves her and he is sorry for cheating on her. Maggie forgives him and the two begin to make out. The climb into the back of the police car and have sex.

Hush arrives at the base of Riddler, Bane, and Scarecrow and tells them that he had a clean shot on Batman, but three new heroes in Gotham stopped him. Riddler says that this is a problem but tells Hush that next time, he can just kill them too.

Starring

 * Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
 * Tom Austen as Tim Drake/Robin
 * Zen Gesner as James Gordon
 * Nathan Gamble as James Gordon Jr.
 * Jared Leto as the Joker
 * Keri Lynn Pratt as Cat Grant
 * Tom Hardy as Victor Payne/Bane
 * Yvonne Strahovski as Kate Kane/Batwoman
 * Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent/Superman
 * Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/Riddler
 * Floriana Lima as Maggie Sawyer
 * Nolan North as Thomas Elliot/Hush
 * Emma Stone as Stephanie Brown/Spoiler
 * Andrew Stewart-Jones as Chris Allen
 * Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
 * Jonathan Keltz as Andrew Ryder
 * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc
 * Jake T. Austin as Damien Wayne
 * Liam Neeson as Ra's al Ghul
 * Nicholas D'Agosto as Harvey Dent/Two-Face
 * David Zayas as Sal Maroni
 * Thomas Haden Church as Cameron van Cleer/Killer Moth
 * Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
 * Gal Gadot as Diana/Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

Guest Starring

 * Erica Durance as Lois Lane
 * Dan Stevens as Sebastian Ballesteros/Cheetah
 * Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth

Trivia

 * This episode achieved 14.29 million U.S. live viewers.
 * Zen Gesner and Keri Lynn-Pratt do not appear in this episode as Jim Gordon and Cat Grant.
 * This episode received mixed reviews. It scored a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 46 out of 100 on Metacritic, and 6.2/10 on IGN.
 * Guest stars in this episode include Erica Durance, Dan Stevens, and Jeremy Irons as Lois Lane, Sebastian Ballesteros, and Alfred Pennyworth.
 * This episode is rated TV-14 for D-L-S-V