Grab a Tissue, DC Just Made a Key Batman: The Animated Series Star Canon

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Two-Face #3!DC Comics has just brought a classic Dark Knight foe back and canonized one of the most tragic episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Several original villains from the beloved cartoon have come to the DC Universe, and now the same can be said for one of the series' most tear-jerking episodes.

In Two-Face #3 by Christian Ward and Fábio Veras, Harvey Dent is tasked with locating the Ventriloquist's dummy, Scarface. After doing some digging, Two-Face determines that the dummy is currently with the small-time criminal, Baby Doll. Dent's employee, Lake Cantwell, isn't familiar with Baby Doll, and Two-Face gives her the rundown.

Like Batman: The Animated Series', Mary Louise Dahl was a former actor with a condition that halted her aging. Doll later kidnapped the actors who played her TV family to get her show back, getting Dahl imprisoned and, as speculated by Two-Face, turning her into an actual criminal.

Baby Doll and Her Heartbreaking Origin are DC Comics Canon

Few Batman Foes Have a Background as Sad as Baby Doll's

Baby Doll first appeared in a self-titled episode of Batman: The Animated Series'second season. Mary Louise Dahl was once the star of a popular tv show "Love That Baby" (playing a child role despite being in her 20s). Unfortunately, the show's ratings dwindled and was ultimately canceled, and Mary Louise's career was effectively over. Taking the name 'Baby Doll', Dahl turned to a life of crime, not only kidnapping the actors who played her family on TV, but later working with Killer Croc, sensing him to be a kindred soul (though their partnership was tenuous at best).

Baby Doll isn't the first villain to come to the DC Universe from Batman: The Animated Series. Roxy Rocket, Condiment King, and, of course, Harley Quinn, all first appeared in the cartoon. But while all of these characters had varying degrees of pathos to them, Baby Doll was undeniably dealt one of the worst hands. Dahl wanted nothing more than be taken seriously as an actor and understandably snapped when her show was canceled, and it became impossible for her to work. It’s a rough backstory that's just as sad now that it’s been made official DC Comics canon.

Baby Doll Still Has One of the Saddest Origins of Any Batman Villain

It's Not a Competition, But Baby Doll Had It Rough

Batman fans everywhere have their own take on which Batman: The Animated Series episode is the show's most tragic (and admittedly, "Heart of Ice" is a solid contender). But "Baby Doll" was a sad story about a woman doing anything she could to keep the one thing that gave her joy in her life. It was a powerful story back when it was in the cartoon, and it's just as powerful now that it's Baby Doll's backstory in the DC Universe. There are plenty of villains in the DC Universe with messed-up pasts, but this Batman: The Animated Series' villain just brought one of the most heart-wrenching origins with her.

Two-Face #3 is available now from DC Comics.