Victor Payne (episode)

Victor Payne is the fifth episode of the third season of NBC's The Batman. It first aired on December 13, 2010. It is the thirty-first episode overall.

Synopsis
With Batman have returned to Gotham and nearly half of the population of Gotham dead and half a million more injured, the city goes through changes. Luckily, all of Bruce's allies and friends made it out okay while his foes also made it out. Vicki is struggling to decide whether to go through with the engagement after learning Bruce is Batman. Dick is given the okay to leave the hospital and reunites with Barbara and her father as the family is trying to put back the pieces. Bane wants his turn in the villain spotlight and decides to kill Batman. Leslie returns to the GCPD where she reveals what Allen has turned into.

Plot
Killer Croc leaves a body in the sewage and watches the reports of the estimated 1,300,000 that died with more than 600,000 of those died in the hospital in the past week, while 500,000 are still being released from the hospital. Croc also sees that Jervis was arrested again and put back into Arkham. Croc calls him an idiot. At the hospital, Dick is still recovering from his gunshot and hallucinations afterward. Bruce visits and asks him if he wants to revisit being his sidekick when he recovers. Dick agrees on the rule that he is not Robin but Nightwing, the darker version of Robin. Bruce agrees and decides to try to get Barbara to rejoin, too.

Bane studies the reports of villains like Joker, Harley Quinn, and Two-Face taking down Batman. Bane injects himself with a green bubbly liquid and he gains more strength. He leaves his base to go after the Batman. At the mansion, Vicki and Bruce are in bed. Bruce tries to tell Vicki something but she keeps talking about their engagement. Finally, Bruce interrupts and tells her that he is Batman. Vicki is surprised and mad. She gets dressed and leaves, leaving her key to the mansion on his desk.

Dick is in the hospital until Leslie walks in and tells him that he is cleared of all injuries, mentally and physically. He thanks her and leaves. He finds the broken plant shield in the cornfield but not Barbara or her family. Barbara arrives and the two reunite. Barbara brings Dick to her father's apartment where James is trying to be hypnotically cleared of all supervillain traces by his father. Dick asks why not just bring James to Wilson Mental Hospital again. Barbara tells him that the Mental Hospital has joined with Arkham so if they take James there he would be put in Arkham.

Basil and Sawyer are assigned by Sarah to make sure that people's bodies weren't left near where the nuclear bomb's mushroom cloud ended. The two find out people are protesting to kill all deemed "supervillains" due to their involvement in the destruction of Gotham and nearby cities along with the 1,300,000 million deaths in Gotham and the hundreds of thousands of lives lost outside of the city.

Sarah is still running for mayor, and although she is losing to Bruce, she is still going hard. Sarah gets a phone call from the president and answers. She learns that he has sent out SWAT teams to find and kill every single supervillain in Gotham: Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Bane, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Clayface. He also orders Jervis to be publicly executed along with the others. Cameron van Cleer is given a pass due to his "recovery".

Basil and Sawyer are met by a SWAT team consisting of Agents Ryder, Carr, Quinn, Wallace, Garrick, and Ellis. The team has the two officers join them to guide them around the city.

Harley is again in the Joker's custody. However, she is now in the underground base with Penguin and the Riddler watching her. The Joker rushes in telling them about the hunt. Harley is untied by the Joker but she knocks him out and escapes. She takes the elevator up and is now in the telephone booth. She tries to dial 9 but it is jammed and she is stuck. She runs out of the booth and tries to hide.

Jervis is in his cell when guards enter and take him out. He asks what is happening but they don't stop. Jervis is dragged into a holding cell near City Hall. The SWAT team finds a note with a green question mark on it and realize it's from the Riddler. It is a riddle that Basil immediately solves, telling them to go to the docks.

Bruce learns of the US government hunting and killing the supervillains and decides that these people can be helped and cured without being killed. He gets into his Batman suit to make the hard call. As Batman steps into the city. Bane attacks him. The two get into a fight until the SWAT team shoot at Bane. Bane is weakened but is strong enough to kill Ellis. The SWAT team mourns but they continue on. Batman follows the SWAT team to the docks where he finds another note.

Dick and Barbara have the same idea as Bruce and get into costume. Gordon tells them to be careful, as they are still only high school seniors. The two don't care and leave through the fire escape shaft. They join up with Batman where the trio find the Riddler and bring him to Sarah. Sarah also agrees that these people shouldn't be killed. She sets up a secret prison for now.

The SWAT team finds the last note saying that they found him but due to the bat trio already getting Riddler, he is gone. Bane roams the city, weakened. He finds the drug that gave him his strength in the wreckage of a hospital and injects himself with it. He is healed of all injuries and puts on a bulletproof vest. Nightwing finds him and tries to escape but Bane tackles him. Batman fends him off, giving Dick time to escape.

Nightwing and Batgirl investigate the high school and find the Joker with many kidnapped high school students. The two try to stop him but the Joker threatens to kill Barbara's best friend. Batgirl stops the Joker as Nightwing saves the students. However, the Joker kills her friend. Batgirl is tempted to kill him but leaves him to be killed by the SWAT team. Batgirl takes her friend to the hospital but it is overrun by the bomb victims. Leslie tries to help Barbara's friend but the latter dies.

Judge Crane returns home and hangs up his costume. The SWAT team is attacked by Poison Ivy and Cameron. Ivy manages to kill Quinn, Carr and Garrick. Sawyer, Basil, Ryder, and Wallace hide and are saved by Batman. Bane is left to the SWAT team to take him out. Just as Batman fends off the heroes, Scarecrow's fear gas fills the city. Maroni is taken to Keystone where he seeks refuge. Falcone is in his prison cell, laughing at the misfortune of the city, lately. Harley finds Two-Face, and the two escape to the wreckage of buildings where the gas does not reach.

Starring

 * Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
 * Alexander Gould as Dick Grayson/Robin
 * Sarah Hyland as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl
 * Zen Gesner as James Gordon
 * Diana Muldaur as Leslie Thompkins
 * Nathan Gamble as James Gordon Jr.
 * Jared Leto as the Joker
 * Brian McManamon as Basil Karlo/Clayface
 * Tom Hardy as Victor Payne/Bane
 * Maggie Geha as Pamela Isely/Poison Ivy
 * Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin
 * Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/Riddler
 * Zabryna Guevera as Sarah Essen
 * Floriana Lima as Maggie Sawyer
 * Andrew Stewart-Jones as Chris Allen
 * Benedict Samuel as Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter
 * Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
 * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc
 * John Doman as Carmine Falcone
 * Nicholas D'Agosto as Harvey Dent/Two-Face
 * Jamie Chung as Vicki Vale
 * David Zayas as Sal Maroni
 * Thomas Haden Church as Cameron van Cleer/Killer Moth
 * Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

Guest Starring

 * Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Jonathan Keltz as Agent Ryder

Trivia

 * This episode achieved 14.40 million U.S. live viewers.
 * Andrew Stewart-Jones does not appear in this episode as Chris Allen.
 * This episode received negative reviews. It scored a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 11 out of 100 on Metacritic.
 * Guest stars in this episode include Jeremy Irons and Jonathan Keltz as Alfred Pennyworth and Agent Ryder, respectively.
 * This episode is rated TV-14 for L-S-V.