This week's "Powerless" episode will once again prove how strong the show's ties to Batman are. An attempt to have a love life, meanwhile, will endanger Emily's (Vanessa Hudgens) life.

Van Wayne (Alan Tudyk), cousin of Bruce Wayne, is suiting up as Robin in episode four titled "Emily Dates a Henchman." Entertainment Weekly obtained photos of Tudyk dressed up in the superhero's trademark red, green and yellow suit.

Emily's attempts at romance go awry when she unknowingly dates one of the Riddler's henchmen (Robert Buckley), SpoilerTV reported. In the comics, the Riddler is obsessed with infusing puzzles, riddles and brain teasers into his crimes. He leaves this mind games behind for the Batman and the police to crack.

Teddy (Danny Pudi) and Ron (Ron Funches) come across a Batman artifact (a Batarang) and piece together Van's superhero fantasy. "Emily Dates a Henchman" airs on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 08:30 p.m. - 09:00 p.m.

"Powerless" executive producer Justin Halpern said earlier this year that the series won't showcase Batman in the flesh because of the numerous restrictions in the movie franchise and Greg Berlanti's superhero shows currently airing on The CW.

Halpern said that DC Entertainment is "usually very protective" of their characters "for good reason" because they have invested in them a lot. The NBC comedy compromises with DC to "find a happy medium," with the latter always making sure that "Powerless" isn't awful before allowing the show to use the brand's characters and materials.

The series plans to go beyond DC's big five -- Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern. Executive producer Patrick Schumacker revealed that they're going to use characters from the "entire canon of the comics," specifically those that casual viewers aren't familiar with or considered underdogs compared to the more popular superheroes.

"Powerless" will still address these big superheroes from time to time, though the show will only focus on the repercussions of those characters' actions that don't necessarily require a physical appearance.

The comedy is yet to make an impression in viewers' hearts. Its second week on the air generated 2.5 million viewers and a 0.8 demo rating -- 19 and 27 percent weaker than its pilot episode, TVLine reported. The series isn't quite safe from getting axed off the air until it figures out how to stand out among other comic book TV projects out there.

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Topics NBC, DC Entertainment