Pilot

Pilot is the first episode of the season and the series. It first aired on November 17, 2008. It is the first episode overall.

Plot
21 years ago, Bruce Wayne, and his parents, Thomas and Martha walk in an alleyway, discussing a movie they had just seen. Bruce and his father agree that the movie was very cheesy, while Martha thinks it was great. A man with a ski mask on walks up with a gun and wants Thomas' wallet and Martha's necklace. They co-operate but the man still shoots the parents. Bruce looks at them in horror while the man looks at the boy and runs off. In present day, a taxi arrives at Wayne's mansion and the butler, Alfred Pennyworth, walks out delighted to see an older Bruce Wayne get out of the taxi. Bruce discusses his trip to Iceland and a man training him to become a soldier. Alfred wonders about him joining the war but Bruce interrupts him saying that he's gonna be a soldier to stop Gotham City's recent crime wave.

The parents' murderer is now an assassin who targets and kills corrupt businessmen and all witnesses at the location of the crime, including children. The assassin enters a driveway and sees a man in a suit at the dinner table with his wife and two kids. The assassin sits on a bench outside the window and aims. Police sirens are heard and the assassin runs off. The businessman sees the man run off and police cars pulling up. The man exits the house. The assassin, Joe Chill is heard by a police officer, shoots several cops and police car engines. After a while, he runs off while several cops are dead. Four officers, Jim Gordon, Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock, and Chris Allen, have survived and they exit the neighborhood.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce finds a young tennager at the house. He gets a knife and points it at him. Alfred runs in saying that the teenager, Dick Grayson, was orphaned two years ago when the Joker, Gotham's worst criminal, shot and killed Grayson's family at the circus when they were performing their acrobatist act. Wayne apoligizes and sahkes his hand. Bruce goes to Wayne Industries, his parents' corporation and demands a military suit from his father's friend and the present CEO, Lucius Fox. Fox is the second to learn of his idea to become a superhero and gives him a military-grade suit and a belt of gadgets, including a gun, which Bruce gives back.

Gordon returns to his apartment yelling his daughter's name. On the kitchen counter, a tablet with a note on it is there. The note reads: "Out of you and your three friends, it seems you're the only one with a family. Too bad". The tablet has a video on it that shows his daughter, Barbara, his ex-wife, Barbara, and his son, James Jr., tied up by Joe Chill. Gordon drops the tablet and screams. He goes to the police department, and Assistant Commissioner Sarah Essen orders Bullock, Montoya, and Allen to help Gordon search.

At the Joker's nightclub, he watches his girlfriend, Harley Quinn, do an act. The door opens and Oswald Cobblepot, millionaire, and Selina Kyle, a mysterious lady dressed in black, walk in. The Joker orders all non-criminals to get out. many people leave except Harvey Dent, who watches. Quinn leaves the arena and tries to romance Dent into leaving. Dent denies, so Harley gets up and helps Joker fight Penguin (Cobblepot). Selina sits at a table and watches the fight. Don Carmine Falcone and Don Sal Maroni try to break up the fight with Falcone taking Joker's side and Maroni taking Penguin's. Joker stops and takes an acid bottle and throws it at Penguin. Maroni catches it but it slips out of his hands and pours on Dent's face. Quinn laughs and mumbles, "I warned him".

Bruce enters the police department and sees Gordon, Bullock, Montoya, and Allen preparing to leave. Bruce asks them what's going on and Gordon tells him his predicament. Bruce leaves in a hurry and Gordon wonders what he is doing. Bruce is now at his mansion and puts on his suit and leaves in a military-grade car, given to him by Fox.

Starring

 * Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
 * Alexander Gould as Dick Grayson
 * Sarah Hyland as Barbara Gordon
 * Zen Gesner as James Gordon
 * Dina Meyer as Barbara Kean
 * Nathan Gamble as James Gordon Jr.
 * Jared Leto as the Joker
 * Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin
 * Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman
 * Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/Riddler
 * Zabryna Guevera as Sarah Essen
 * Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock
 * Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya
 * Andrew Stewart-Jones as Chris Allen
 * John Doman as Carmine Falcone
 * Nicholas D'Agosto as Harvey Dent
 * David Zayas as Sal Maroni
 * Margot Robbie as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn

Trivia

 * This episode achieved 16.68 million viewers live in the USA.
 * Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma does not appear in the episode.
 * The episode has recieved generally mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a score of 51%. On Metacritic it has a score of 51 out of 100.