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I want to continue this blog.

Not done here. Can’t say when my next post will out, though, because keeping myself on a schedule turns me off from it. 

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Batman TAS: Robin’s Reckoning (Part 2)

“There’s roaches in here! Roaches!”

Episode: 33 Robin: Yes Writer: Randy Rogel Director: Dick Sebast Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: February 14, 1993 Grade: C

You just can’t do this to me, episode, you can’t do this to me. Give me a great episode like part 1, and then take that, and throw it. Not, like, out the window or anything, but just a couple feet. Enough to damage it a little. Robin’s Reckoning went from an absolute classic, to just okay, all things considered. This story and this show have so much more potential than that, and I partially blame some episodes like this on the massively long library of Batman TAS season one. The crew must have been stretched to their absolute limit, and if less episodes were required by Fox, then some of the lesser ideas likely would have been thrown out. And also there’d be more time to refine episodes like Robin’s Reckoning.

I think this episode faces two main problems. The first one being the animation. The stuff at the very end during the climax was okay, when Robin snatched up Zucco in his fists and dragged him across the dock while on a motorcycle. 

Other than that, I would have assumed that this was Akom’s work. Like, their lesser-tier crew. It was pretty shitty going from Spectrum to this, and Char and I both noticed the immediate down-grade. The recap of part 1 at the beginning makes it worse because it’s showing us footage of it as if to say, “Remember this? Well, here’s what Dong Yang crafted for this one…” 

The studio usually does on-par work, though, and the episode list for this season was long. I forgive them. One bad-looking one out of the bunch isn’t the end of the world, even though we rarely facer problems like this today. I’m not sure which scene was rendered worse, though. The one where Dick Grayson is hunting down Zucco as a child, or the one where Zucco is freaking out about Batman being in the damn ceiling. Each’s most compelling argument or being the worst shot is Dick Grayson falling into the river, and Tony Zucco’s awful face. I caught on that he’s older now, and all of the stress of avoiding Batman for so long has aged him further. Yeah, that’s not how you draw that. He kinda reminds me of a melting plastic-figurine. 

When Dick falls into the river, it looks sooo bad (even the story-boarding seems lousy), but we get a nice-looking shot of Batman’s old costume, which was hard to spot before. I really like the design, minus the gloves. I think Bruce Time liked the design too…

The episode’s second problem was that the emotional impact of the first half was not present. Yeah, we get a nice scene of Bruce and Dick at the beginning when they are fencing (I hope that’s the correct vocabulary), but then it’s kinda just Dick on his own, dressed unrecognizably, talking to people we don’t know, and walking around the city in silence. The moment where Batman showed Robin the Batcave could count, but it seemed to go by so quickly without much of a response from Dick. Shockingly, though, I think that Dick Grayson rescued a prostitute at one point. Char and I both realized that immediately. So I hope we’re on the mark, because if she’s not a prostitute I’m going to feel really stupid. Fox censors so many things, but not that? Huh. Interesting algorithm you guys got there. Anyway, even as the episode progresses and we see Robin and Batman together, it’s not any better except for Batman’s final speech. “It wasn’t that, Robin. It wasn’t that at all. Zucco’s taken so much. Caused you so much pain. I couldn’t stand the thought that he might take you too.” Isn’t that absolutely beautiful? It’s enough to get you teary-eyed, honestly. This whole time we totally believe that Batman is just trying to parent an adult-aged Robin, but no. He was afraid for his adopted son. And that’s what Robin is. Even if they both may not act like it. The other emotional bits went by way too fast. Robin went from zero to one hundred way too quickly. So when he starts leering and sneering at Zucco, it’s not believable. “Okay, Loren Lester, act super angsty and evil! Ready?” And then he gave that performance. “So was that bad enough to be worth fixing? We are running behind. I think we should just use it.” And just as quickly as Robin’s voice changes, he comes back down that fast. Robin is furious. They’ve found the guy who murdered his parents. And Batman won’t even let Robin at him. He finally has the guy, hanging him over a dock, where at least a handicap is waiting, if not a full-on death. Then all of a sudden, “Batman, I… I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.” Getting to this point eventually would have been good. I just needed another minute or two in length to make it work in my head. Robin’s temper and possible slight-resentment to Batman are basically brought up for the first time in this episode, by the way. And as a lot of us know, this will be a plot-point that will grow the more we watch. I’ve gotta say, after watching Christmas With the Joker, I bet a lot of people didn’t expect Robin to have this side to him. Did you? Oh. You say you did? Okay. Is it fun being a liar?

That’s Dick. 

Recently I talked about Robin’s first appearance in the Batman Adventures comic book, and I like the side of Robin that it and Robin’s Reckoning present. Robin is so human in this series. For the most part, he’s not as exaggerated as Batman. He has a dark-side and a bit of a temper, but he also has moments where he lives as a fun-lovin', ordinary, college-student. We’ve seen him goofy, we’ve seen him afraid, we’ve seen him serious, and we’ve seen him furious. And yet, we don’t really know what he does for fun. What he watches on TV (aside from It’s a Wonderful Life), what his secret-obsession is. We instead know about how his emotions function. We learn about what kinds of decisions he might make, or how he may react. It’s knowing a character beyond the surface-level, and that’s how you know your character is strong. Robin may have been a challenge to do right for the crew, but the DCAU-originals decided to work with what they had based on tradition, and mix in some of their own influence only to further improve. Loren Lester’s voice is also iconic as Dick. Although all of this makes me wonder why some people think that Teen Titans is in the DCAU. They’re both Dick Grayson, but they are certainly not the same universe’s Dick Grayson. It’s clear as day to me. While I haven’t seen Teen Titans that much, Loren Lester’s Robin is iconic to me. As iconic as Kevin Conroy is to Batman. Well, almost. 

A couple more episodes, and we will be closing the split timeline! A bit ago I got behind on episodes, so I “split the timeline” and covered current episodes along with episodes I was behind on. But after, these next few, all of the posts will be coming out complete in-order again. Hallelujah.

Char’s grade: C Next time: The Laughing Fish

Full episode list here!

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Batman TAS: Robin’s Reckoning (Part 1)

“That Grayson kid’s a real boy wonder!”

Episode: 32 Robin: Yes Writer: Randy Rogel Director: Dick Sebast Animator: Spectrum Airdate: February 7, 1993 Grade: A

These blogs have come out quite out of order, so looking back to Robin’s Reckoning has been a bitter-sweet experience. As I watch further and further through the series, going back to complete unfinished blogs is a huge pain in the ass. I just finished watching The Man Who Killed Batman, and then had to go back and cover an episode I saw a couple months ago. Ouch. Don’t even get me started on the comic books. I think I’ve released a blog for maybe one of those? But at the same time, I’m coming pretty close to actually being caught up on these posts again, and that feels really great! Just a few more to go! Robin’s Reckoning was the point where I realized that my schoolwork was too much to be able to continue this series for a while, so arriving here now finally gives me the feeling of accomplishment that completing my finals almost gave me.

Robin’s Reckoning is a stand-out episode in the series, and this is evident as soon as it starts. How I’ve missed talking about Spectrum’s work. After a sea of Akom and some subpar Dong Yang (mixed in with their better stuff), there is a magic and a fluidity that is impossible to take my eyes off of. The first scene gives us a dynamic fight on top of a building (currently under construction). Every hit almost sends one of the on-screen characters flying off, headed toward the traffic below. Nothing is stilted, and it is all paced perfectly. Batman is obviously the one in charge of the duo, but his parental side is pushed further than in previous Robin appearances. It feels a little bit weird to see Batman sending Robin away from the apprehended thug like a dad telling his son that there will be no more rides on the merry-go-round, but this is very important when it comes to what is going on in Batman and Robin’s heads. It turns out that this thug has information about Tony Zucco, the one responsible for the murder of Robin’s parents. We, of course, see this through a flashback.

As soon as the flashback starts, we are greeted with playful circus imagery, but it is all blanketed in shadows, and some absolute killer music accompanies it. When we see Dick Grayson as a little boy, his identity is revealed because of some woman going, “That Grayson kid’s a real boy wonder!” I like the use of a corny joke to establish where we are in time, and who we are looking at. It gives people who already know the Batman lore something to hold onto. We see that Grayson was a trapeze artist, together with his mom and his dad back in the early days of Batman’s crimefighting. This explains a lot of Robin’s acrobatic skills and his overall strength. But what about his desire to fight alongside Batman, defending the innocent? Well, see, this Tony Zucco guy is a real asshole, right? And because the circus refuses to pay him the money that he wants, he goes and sabotages the ropes used in the Graysons’ act. This causes both of Dick’s parents to fall to their deaths once enough weight is put on them. It’s pretty well known that originally, the team behind the show wanted to display the entire murder scene in full detail. The censors, of course, said, “Are you outta yo damn minds?” So they came up with a way around it, showing the Graysons’ silhouettes swing out of shot, and then the silhouette of a severed rope swing back into shot. It’s the perfect climax to the tension (no pun intended), but it really is quite a shocking moment. This probably gave more kids nightmares than what they originally concocted ever could. Imagine if we saw real life like a Batman TAS episode is directed.

Forgive me if I go a little bit out of order here, but Dick at this point is feeling incredibly guilty that he didn’t say anything to anyone about Tony Zucco being in the tent right before the show. There is also the problem of the police (including a younger, red-haired Gordon) thinking that Zucco may attempt to go after him, in order to shut him up about the incident. So he can’t stay with the circus, despite them being the closest thing he has to family. Because of this, we get a goodbye scene that may be short, but boy is it effective. Bruce Time notes on the commentary that the part with the elephant makes him cry, and it definitely almost made me tear up. Goodbyes are something that really get me emotional, and seeing a group of usually cheerful-looking waving to Dick for the last time (yeah, laugh it up, you immature goobers) accesses that part of me. It’s not all bad, though, because Bruce’s mansion is Dick’s new destination, and, well, the rest if kinda history, no? The next section of the episode focuses on Dick attempting to adjust to such a lonely, empty place, while Bruce is constantly gone on “work meetings”. Of course, by “work meetings”, I mean trying to beat the shit out of Tony Zucco, wherever he may be hiding. During what is possibly one of the best Batman-segments yet on the show, there is no music, only the sound of guns, blows being thrown, and the night. We also get to see one of Batman’s old costumes, which features a different belt, no yellow around the bat, and other slightly different aspects. It looks kinda similar to his costume that we’ll see later in the DCAU. During this scene, Batman tries to hunt down Zucco, who is hiding at his uncle’s house. He is terrified when Batman pays a visit, but then acts all cocky once Batman leaves, teasing his uncle about how “well” he handled Batman. Of course, once they both realize that Batman is still outside, that fear sets in again, and I love listening to the voice actor go from such a punchable voice to one that is in full panic mode. In the end, Zucco manages to escape Batman’s grasp, and from what I gathered, that’s the last time he was seen in Gotham city…until present-day.

Robin uses Batman’s computer to figure out that Tony Zucco is back, and gets enraged. I don’t blame him. Ever since he was a kid, he’s been wanting a piece of Zucco. Now, not only is Batman treating him kinda like a child, but he’s trying to keep Robin out of this very personal situation. Why? Well, we’ll have to find out next episode, won’t we?

Episode leaving us hanging like...

I can’t think of a single moment in this episode that I disliked. There were some smaller moments I didn’t mention, such as Bruce offering to take Dick to a game to cheer him up, or Bruce disguising himself as a lowlife during a gambling session to get info on Zucco. He oversteps his boundaries, and the others become immediately suspicious, attacking him. Bruce, of course, handles them quite easily, and then, on one of the thugs, we all of a sudden see the Batman shadow. It’s so badass, and Bruce’s persona he was playing during this moment was pretty legit too. I love the accent, especially when he says, “They say he’s got bat-problems.” Oh, and there’s a bit at the Flying Graysons flashback where we see a young Bruce Wayne in the audience (who does look a lot younger), and as the spotlight shines on him, he drops his popcorn and his drink in the most clumsy way possible. I honestly felt bad! But, yeah, I laughed.

Char’s grade: A Next time: Robin’s Reckoning (Part 2)

Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Terror in the Sky

“Don’t you get it yet, Batman? You failed.”

Episode: 45 Robin: No Writer: Mark Saraceni (teleplay/story) and Steve Perry (story) Director: Boyd Kirkland Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: November 12, 1992 Grade: F

Ouch. Y’know, at least I’ve Got Batman in My Basement had fun stuff for the kiddies and an absolutely hilarious screwdriver duel. What does this episode have for anyone once they know the plot twist? I can’t think of a single thing. Not a single thing. Nothing stuck with me. Nothing is here that I care about seeing again. No killer lines. No great action scenes. Only a mildly good twist, and, well, it does have the incredibly cute scene from the She-Bat eating the fruit at the beginning, but really, this episode’s crime is just being flat out boring. I might even call it my least favorite episode so far. As if all this weren’t enough, this is the third episode within the last four to predominantly feature a human transforming into some type of creature-person hybrid. It doesn’t start off at the zoo again, thank the lord, but why this theme again? Twice that close together was pushing it. Yeah, seeing Langstrom a few episodes ago helps, it gives us a sense of continuity and story-ark, but I wanna see some other things from the world of Batman. I really like Man-Bat too, and a return sounds amazing on paper. Yet, while watching, I found myself looking at the time. What went so wrong?

Like I said, that fruit-eating bit was adorable. I really hope there’s a gif of that somewhere. After that, we see She-Bat going back to Langstrom’s house, and Langstrom jolts awake. Everything seems normal, and we are tricked into thinking that it was all a bad dream. Unfortunately, Langstrom gets up and finds scratches and fruit-splatter all over a throw-rug. This leads him to believe that he is turning back into the Man-Bat creature at night, and he simply doesn't remember it. But here’s what I wanna know. Why do they never notice his wife’s torn-up clothes? Does she never wake up to realize that all she’s wearing is tatters? This never sets off any red flags for either of them? That’s a bit of a plot-hole if I do say so myself. Also, his wife in this scene is wearing a shirt, which the bat-creature clearly was lacking. I know they had to fool us somehow, and they can’t show nekkid boobies on the show, but they coulda kept her covered up. I also thought it was pretty cold how she told Langstrom to just go back to sleep. Wow, how comforting.

When you walk through the house at night and you step in animal-piss.

Batman hears about the bat-creature, and pays Langstrom a visit in his laboratory. At the same time, his wife discovers the torn-up rug, and realizes what is apparently happening. So they both get pissed at him, and his wife threatens to leave him, which I understand, considering they both think that he’s screwing around with the Man-Bat formula again. Langstrom tells Batman, though, that he hasn’t messed with it at all, and that Batman’s antidote must have been a failure. In general he acts pretty unappreciative toward Batman. And I know that he’s stressed and likely feels like he’s being targeted, but he fails to remember that without Batman’s help, he’d be in a lot worse shape, likely contained. Batman saved your ass, and even if the antidote didn’t quite get you to a normal life, it at least did something. So, to prove that Langstrom isn’t messing with the formula, and that he’s changing involuntarily, Batman takes a DNA test. Planning on comparing it to the bat-creature, okay, but you’re 99.99% sure that it’s Langstrom with the wings. You want to make sure that he’s not doing it on purpose. Taking a DNA test would be to see who the creature is. From a writing perspective, I get it, but from Batman’s perspective, he shouldn’t need to do that. His logical conclusion should be to first, do some detective work, spying on Langstrom and his laboratory activities, and second, figure out why he’s changing again.

Batman runs into the bat-creature while outside on his motorcycle, and we get a fight which basically consists of Batman getting pelted with a garbage can a few times. Boyd Kirkland puts out some good stuff sometimes, but this directing is so boring! I swear, nothing interesting-looking ever happens  on screen in this entire episode! Remember On Leather Wings? Remember how dynamic some of those moments were? And to up the boringness a little more, it’s all snowy. Okay, cool change of environment. But when you do nothing with it, this leads to us looking at a lot of bland whites and grays, in addition to the brown of the bat.

After the two fight, there is a chase scene that you might as well fast-forward through, and it ends with, of course, Batman heading right toward a train on his motorcycle. Enough with the trains, it’s getting so cliché. Every time someone is on a train track in this show, just expect a train to inconveniently show up. Even Batman seems sick of it here. This is a scene where Batman is speeding through the snow and ice, being chased down by a giant bat that possibly wants to kill him. How about a more exciting way to end it? Luckily, though, the fight/chase allows Batman to pick up some hair from the creature, and he tests it, proving that Langstrom isn’t the bat. Of course, he now thinks that Dr March is the bat. At least that’s a logical conclusion. When Batman gives Langstrom the news, we learn that his wife has actually left him, and is boring a plane to some undisclosed location. Despite this, it’s really cool how he offers to help Batman catch the new Man-Bat. Batman says that he can handle it, though, so Langstrom heads off to find his wife and explain to her what is going on.

When Batman confronts Dr. March, Dr. March insists that he’s not responsible for the Man-Bat either, because he spilled the improved solution on the floor. But he remembers that his daughter (who is also Langstrom’s wife) helped him clean it up, and in the process, she cut her finger and exposed her blood to the solution. Girl, you’re in a laboratory working with chemicals. Wear gloves if you’re gonna clean up a mess that contains broken glass. Or wear gloves anyway! Duh! So it’s revealed that Francine is the new Man-Bat (or in this case, She-Bat), and it’s a twist that might surprise you your first watch, but it’s not gonna blow you away either. And as I said, once you know it, the episode is basically worthless. And you wouldn’t think so! Because now we shift to the airplane that Francine is on, and she mentions that she doesn’t feel so well. Great! We’re gonna get to see her transform into the bat and go berserk on a crowded plane, right? Well, kinda. After a terribly-animated transformation scene where she looks like one of Spielberg’s gremlins, she leaves the plane, creating a drop of cabin-pressure, and everyone is afraid that they’ll be sucked right out the door. Sounds exciting, but believe me, it’s not. It all feels so low-key considering the situation, and I have to point to Boyd Kirkland again. Dong Yang does no favors, though, because even though this is their episode, it 100% looks like Akom-work. Yeah. You see the problem. I really wish that instead of attempting a scene like this and failing, they would have tried another idea. This is one that I had. So, Langstrom is on the plane that his wife is supposed to be on. He saw her get on it. But when on the plane, he doesn’t see her. The episode would then call back to the Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and he’d see her outside on the wing. How she got there wouldn’t matter, and it would be a really fun moment. That's my way of how to improve the episode. By the way, after She-Bat escapes, Batman pulls up in his plane and rescues a woman from falling out with the Bat-Plane’s grabby arm. The whole thing is preposterous-looking, and I refuse to believe that, as a pilot, Batman has that much dexterity. Get outta here.

And then the rest of the episode is another chase sequence. Fun. Except this time it’s the Bat-Plane chasing She-Bat. I’m not someone who’s against the Bat-Plane or anything, I think that it has its uses. But, similar to the 1989 Batman, it can be so boring to watch. The chase feels like it goes on forever, and when it ends, Batman injects her with the antidote, and everything is right with the world. So with that, Batman takes off, leaving Kirk and Francine Langstrom up on a snowy, slippery bridge, doomed to freeze to death or fall. That basically sums it up. On the bright side, Char didn’t dislike the episode. She didn’t like it either, but I’m glad that I wasn’t insulting her time.

Get a load of this goofy shot.

“You’re on your own, guys.”

Char’s grade: C Next time: Almost Got’ im

Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Day of the Samurai

“Komori no kami!”

Episode: 44 Robin: No Writer: Steve Perry Director: Bruce Timm Animator: Blue Pencil Airdate: February 23, 1993 Grade: A

This was a really cool episode that took the best things from Night of the Ninja and amped it all up to an 11. Night of the Ninja was really awesome, but the stakes also felt pretty low. I also wished we could have seen more of Batman, in-costume, fighting Kyodai. But, after watching this, Night of the Ninja was just right for the first half of this story. They saved the death-touch, the volcano, and the best fights for the second! I really like how each of these two episodes covered different aspects to the same story of Kyodai being a tool and Batman putting him in his place. Night of the Ninja focused more on the past and about Batman’s fear of fighting someone who’s fighting capabilities are technically equal to his. We ended by realizing that Batman has come a long way since training in Japan, and in a one-on-one, no tricks, he has what it takes to be the victor. After that setup, Day of the Samurai picks up the story by giving Kyodai a new edge. There is a reason for Batman to be afraid again, and for Kyodai to be causing trouble. The episode also isn’t very far ahead of Night of the Ninja number-wise, so we haven’t forgotten anything. These two episodes really do make an amazing pair, and it’s an example of how to do a sequel episode right. Batman TAS is very hit and miss with sequel episodes. As we advance further, we’ll probably end up talking more about what makes a fulfilling sequel vs what does not.

To start things off, we’re in Japan, and we see Kyodai kidnapping one of Yoru’s star students, Kairi. One thing I like is how the characters speak Japanese, and it is translated by some simple, yet effective, subtitles. I’m glad they didn’t travel the route of having everyone speaking English for some reason, no matter where they are in the world. When Yoru returns, he can’t think of anyone better to call than Bruce Wayne, hoping that maybe he can help by bringing the Batman with him to take take of Kyodai and protect the secret of the death-touch technique, which Kyodai wants in exchange for Kairi. We get the sense that Yoru is aware that Bruce is the one under the Batman mask from the way he talks about the Dark Knight, and also because he only mentions Batman after Bruce is already in Japan. He didn’t give him a heads-up to let him know that bringing Batman along would be a smart idea. This is because he seems to know that wherever Bruce may travel, Batman is a wardrobe-change away. Sometimes not even, looking back to Night of the Ninja when Batman showed up without any mask whatsoever. But Yoru respects the secret identity too, letting Bruce keep his secret, and never prying. He wants Bruce to reveal it only when he wants to. Like Alfred and Leslie Thompkins, Yoru acts as a guiding figure, supporting Batman and being someone who represents his younger training days. But instead of focusing on years gone by here, we focus on what could possibly mean the end for Batman.

So eventually Batman, in-costume, fights Kyodai, and we get a more entertaining moment than the last episode featuring the ninny in black. Not only do we know already that Batman is only a touch more skilled than Kyodai, but we also have the map showing the location of the death-touch and Kairi to worry about, and Batman needs to keep hold of both of them. Kyodai is incredibly slippery, and trying to keep all three of these things in order is like trying to hold onto three caffeinated monkeys at once. Kyodai ends up kicking Kairi off of a building, and Batman drops the map to save her. She seems to think that he’s some kind of bat spirit, which is a little bit odd, but because Batman let Kyodai go, Kyodai managed to take the map for the location of the death-touch. This tilts the playing field massively, and even though Batman may be a better fighter, he now has to worry about a fatal move that he has no idea how to see coming. The episode notes that even doing something as simple as blocking could mean his end. It would have been nice if Batman would have brought over a false map, but Yoru forbid it, explaining that cheating is the way of the ninja, and not the samurai. …fine, you goodie-goodie… I don’t even know why Yoru keeps this map, though. He is the last one who is ever supposed to get access to it, he might as well burn it, and burn the secret of the death-touch while he’s at it. If he really wants no other soul to have that much power, he should do something about it rather than banking on no one ever finding it. See how well that went for you, bud? Now Batman has to clean up after your mess, following your rules, and risking his life. On top of this, Kyodai knows Batman’s identity (because apparently fighting styles are like finger prints, which honestly makes some sense), and if Batman doesn’t end things now, who knows when Kyodai could creep up on him in Gotham. What a mess we’re in! Even if Batman were to simply send Kyodai to prison, then what? Kyodai is more than capable of breaking out, and even if he serves all of his deserved time, what is keeping him from then killing Bruce? It’s a pickle, and we know that Batman won’t kill.

After some detective work to attempt to know how to handle the situation, Batman and Kyodai have a final battle by a volcano, both unmasked. I wish their final fight here could have been Batman vs ninja rather than Bruce vs Kyodai, but it’s still an amazing sequence. Bruce Time directed it, and some of the silhouettes, revealed by the glow of the lava, show the incredibly weight of that menacing volcano. It’s even better based on that fact that we have no idea how much Batman managed to figure out earlier. At one point, Kyodai actually does manage to use the touch, and Bruce sinks to the ground, screaming in pain. It’s very intense, but it’s all an act. Batman uses the moment of Kyodai’s premature celebration to gain the upper-hand. After the fight, Yoru gives Bruce a speech about how Batman is a true samurai, since he did not use the knowledge of the death-touch against Kyodai, and tried to save the man before he got blown to bits by the eruption. It’s a nice moment where Bruce gets to hear from someone possibly wiser than him that Batman is doing the kind of good that Bruce always strives for. Although… Yoru did say earlier that cheating makes a ninja, and I think that Bruce using that protective pillow as armor while faking his death comes from that place of deceit. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to survive, and what Yoru doesn’t know won’t hurt him…

Char’s grade: A Next time: Terror in the Sky

Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman Adventures: Riot Act II

“Sorry about the TV, Mr. Mayor, but if you’d turned it on, you’d be illiterate by now.”

Batman Adventures #5 Robin: Yes Writer: Martin Pasko (story) and Kelley Puckett (script) Penciler: Brad Rader Inker: Rick Burchett Colorist: Rick Taylor Letterer: Tim Harkins Editor: Scott Peterson Date: February, 1993

The cover of this issue looks pretty bad. Like a half-baked collage. And the Batman silhouette that is always behind the title of the comic just adds more clutter. But don’t judge a book by its cover…

This issue picks up where we left off, with Batman and Robin storming in on some thugs, trying to figure out what makes the electronic equipment give dyslexia to anyone who turns any of it on. Right away, Robin is made useful. As Batman chases away any potential trouble-makers, Robin (the much less intimidating of the two) whips out a screwdriver and starts to disassemble a radio. Finding Scarecrow’s device inside, he rushes off to what appears to be Mayor Hamilton’s place. Hamilton and Gordon are discussing what they are to do about the mess the city is in, and right as Hamilton is about to switch on the TV, Robin bursts through the doors and smashes the TV with a flying kick. It seems a little bit excessive, but given the circumstances, this move makes sense. When one is doing something as effortless and as mindless as switching on a TV, someone yelling, “Wait!” has a high possibility of not stopping them. In their minds, that’s one of the last things that the frantic shouting could be referring to! Right as Hamilton starts to get upset, Robin explains the shunning of fancy things like electricity that he has taken part of, and pulls out the exact component that Scarecrow’s men planted. Gordon asks if all of Scarecrow’s men are taken care of, and apparently all are except for one…

In the middle of all of this, we get a dream sequence belonging to the Scarecrow of all people. He is in Arkham Asylum, and two of the employees are telling him that he will get to participate in a new “work-release therapy”, meaning that, under supervision, he will get to teach a college class a couple of times per week. Scarecrow is thrilled, but his mask that he is holding in his lap belts out that Scarecrow only cares about fear, not stupid learning. Scarecrow, or I guess I’ll call him Professor Crane, quickly covers the mask’s mouth and agrees to the program. But after the first day, he realizes that teaching the students is a pointless endeavor. They can’t even spell their names right, let alone anything else. Being incredibly frustrated, he gives into the pleas of his mask, as he slides it on, and is then awakened in a startle. When I first got to this section, I was a little bit confused, because the Arkham employees specifically say how he’s not dreaming. But then it becomes obvious that he is. In the office, there are green tentacles wriggling out from the corners off the panel, there is a gigantic spider and snake lurking around, and we see someone who resembled Killer Croc being kept behind some bars. The employees also have devil-horns, and have a very surreal way of talking. One of them simply repeats the last line or so that the other one just said. In animation this would have been even better. In Dreams in Darkness, we got a psychological look at Batman, which makes sense, given Scarecrow’s abilities. Here, the tables are turned, and for the first time, we’re getting a real look into the humanity that Scarecrow hides. On the scene that takes place in the classroom, at first we see ordinary students, including Dick Grayson. But in the next panel, despite being cloaked in shadows, we can make out the Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman sitting at the desks. Meanwhile, Crane’s mask is howling that his name is actually Scarecrow, not Professor Crane. This is actually a theme that returns several times, once when Hamilton calls him Crane in a TV report (Scarecrow then punches out the TV, and yells, “SCARECROW!”), and once later when one of the guards calls him “Crane”. “And by the way, Otto… The name… …is Scarecrow.”

Now, what all this exactly means is beyond me, but there is a later scene where Robin is chasing after him. Actually, Robin is chasing him while Batman deals with the henchmen, which I like. Robin tells Scarecrow that rather than fear, he is spreading ignorance, which basically goes against what he stands for. Scarecrow is being a petty hypocrite. To get revenge on Gotham for not educating the youth, he wants to take away their ability to learn. Makes sense, right? Surprisingly, Robin’s words actually get inside of Scarecrow’s head. He lobs the antidote component at Robin, and tries to dart out the door, but Batman is standing there, stopping him in his tracks. Obviously Scarecrow’s mental condition makes it difficult for him to deal with the reality of the world when it comes to education and knowledge. So although he may want to help and make a difference, he is not sane enough to do so. And then he dresses in a Scarecrow outfit and does some psychopathic bullshit. It makes me feel as though Crane is someone who needs professional help, and maybe if he got that, he would turn out alright.

There is another subplot in this issue, where one of the thugs’ mom takes the wrong medication, since she can’t read the bottles. This ends up nearly killing her, and Batman tells the thug that he’s responsible for it. “You like watching old women die? Where is he?” The thug then coughs up the info on where Scarecrow is hiding. It’s a shorter moment, but it is a powerful lesson in responsibility.

I love how the comics took the approach of focusing on Scarecrow’s character while the show handled Scarecrow as a way to show more of Batman’s psyche. They work together nicely hand-in-hand, and I really think that we, the fans, should push for another season for two of Batman that only adapts the comics. It would require less effort than prior episodes, as the stories are already written, the stories would be meaningful (adding something to the Batman TAS mythos), and there is plenty to choose from. Think about it, Warner Brothers. Please.

By the way, Scarecrow still looked really strange. Not only were his colors off, but his facial features (of the mask) and proportions were unusual. Sometimes his eyes looked like google-eyes. I didn’t dislike it, though.

Continuity Status: Seems good! Next time: The Third Door

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Moon of the Wolf

“If it’s a fight you’re looking for, try starting one with me!”

Episode: 43 Robin: No Writer: Len Wein Director: Dick Sebast Animator: Akom Airdate: November 11, 1992 Grade: B

This is perhaps one of the more infamous episodes of Batman TAS, being grouped with episodes like I’ve Got Batman in My Basement on several “worst” lists I’ve seen. But I don’t know, I didn’t think it was that bad the first time I saw it, and I don’t think it’s that bad now. Not a classic episode by any means, but it held my and Char’s attention, giving us some excitement and a pretty cool-looking villain. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think the werewolf-factor may directly affect people’s opinions, even though we’ve seen very similar through Tybrus and Man-Bat. If we can accept a giant cat-like creature created in a laboratory and a human-sized bat that flies around and turns back into a human, why is a werewolf suddenly just too much to believe? Probably because of how the story presents all this, which we will get into in just a second, but I did want to drop the bomb that I like this one, and all the complaints I have are pretty light.

So when the title card drops, we get some weird electric guitar that sounds like no other music the series has played. Think along the lines of The Last Laugh with how foreign that hip hop felt at the time. But now we’re more than 40 episodes in, and we’re so used to the orchestral stuff. On top of the werewolf, a lot of people seem to have a problem with the instrument choice, and I think that the episode could have gotten around it if the electric guitar was slowly inducted, reaching its most intense during the climax. That would have given us a little time to get used to it. Even though I like it, it was jarring to hear right away, right after the theme song we get to see every time.

After the title card, we start out at the Gotham zoo. Umm.. Okay. We’re starting at the zoo again? For the second episode in a row? The zoo really isn’t that interesting of a Batman location in my opinion. If I were writing this show, that would be a last resort setting. Y’know, not only is this the second episode in a row to start at the zoo, but it’s also the second episode in a row that deals with a human-sized creature of the night like this. Was this because of the time of year? Were these originally both planned for an October release? They must have had animals on the brain. Anyway, at the zoo a security guard’s dog starts going a little crazy, and a werewolf pops out from the shrubbery. This werewolf is incredibly awesome-looking, with gross slobber, these glowing eyes, and a very high intimidation factor. The werewolf gives the guard a hard time, but then Batman arrives on the scene, kicking the thing away. Batman does not typically pop up this early without some setup, so jumping into this type of action was a nice change of pace, even if other aspects we have seen recently. Batman fights off the werewolf, but it eventually gets away of course, because we’re still early in the episode. Going back to the Batcave, Batman tells Alfred that he fought a mugger wearing a werewolf mask. Looking at the creature, it’s pretty evident that this is no costume (or at least, no costume that your average mugger would likely be able to afford to run around and get into fights in), but more importantly, I don’t know why Batman doesn’t just assume that the creature is what it is. Bringing up Tyger, Tiger again, he just fought a humanoid-animal. It’s already been established that this kind of thing can happen in this world. Let’s move on from this! Batman notices some wolf fur on his gloves, and he actually ends up testing it, revealing it to be legitimate wolf-fur. But Batman thinks that it could just be an incredibly expensive costume. Look, guys, superheroes get brain-farts too. “What if that guy wasn’t wearing a mask?” Oh, I don’t know, I guess it would be exactly like what you’ve already experienced!

We get to see the identity of the werewolf as it arrives at this little shanty, and it turns out to be some guy named Anthony Romulus. The person in charge of him, forcing him to do his bidding, is Dr Milo, someone we saw in Cat Scratch Fever. He was honestly the last villain I ever expected to see again, and had no memory of him showing up here. Um. Welcome back, Milo? Dr Milo is a smug son-of-a-gun, and is using Anthony to…well, I think he’s just using him for money, as far as I can tell, and for doing his errands and chores (like killing the security guard). I don’t know why he wanted the security guard dead, because the security guard had no idea who he was anyway, but maybe he’s just tying up loose ends. Anthony explains (after turning back into a human) that Batman got in the way of the mission, and Dr Milo arranges a plan to get rid of the caped crusader before trying to deal with anything else. The plan is for Anthony (who is a star-athlete with plenty of money) to announce that he’s doubling up on a donation to a charity if Batman receives the check. We get a little more chatter on this in another scene where Bruce Wayne is shown to be working out with Anthony at the gym. I found this part to be fairly unnecessary, but it was harmless enough. Funny, though, how some of these characters that we’ve never seen before are all of a sudden shown to know Bruce when it’s their episode to become the villain. I like how they handled Two-Face much more, establishing him before the tragic episode. Now knowing about the check, Batman shows up to Anthony’s and is knocked out with gas. Dr Milo takes his utility belt and chains him down in this open area, which is to act like an arena where he will be torn apart by Anthony’s wolf-form (I’d love to know why these criminals always take his belt before taking his mask, by the way). While Batman is still unconscious, we get some exposition on why Anthony is the creature that he is through flashback, and this flashback is a bit confusing. There is a moment where is fakes you out because the flashback Dr. Milo starts narrating, and then it goes back to the present Dr. Milo. This makes it a little harder to follow in one watch, but I think Char and I handled it okay. Anthony’s werewolf origin is okay, but I did find myself questioning a few things. Not necessarily the writers, but the characters. Like, Anthony, why were you so quick to drink that substance which would ultimately transform you? Dr Milo said it hadn’t been tested. It could have immediately killed you. And for what, some gold medals? This puts a bad taste in our mouths over this character because of his willingness to cheat to succeed. He has his face in cereal commercials, being exposed to tons of people around the country and acting as a role-model to many of them, but he’s a filthy, rotten cheater. I also have to question Dr Milo. His plan is insane. Tricking someone to drink a solution that turns them into a werewolf so you can then control them by dangling the antidote in front of their face, getting free work and cash from it? I mean, whatever works for you, but there’s gotta be something a bit more inconspicuous. Throughout this, it’s hard to tell who to cheer for, but I think that at this point, Anthony has learned his lesson. It’s obvious that he finds Dr Milo’s work reprehensible. Dr Milo has absolutely zero redeeming qualities.

Shout out to the director (the show does little Easter eggs like this all the time, keep your eye out!)

Anthony changes into the wolf once the moon comes out (Milo’s scientific explanations never explain how the hell this works) and attacks Milo, throwing him through the wall of the shanty. Damn! Batman, before being attacked, comes to and finds a pin on the ground, using it to pick the locks that are keeping him restrained. I hope Milo provided that on purpose, and for the sake of me liking this episode, that’s what I’m gonna imagine. Otherwise, that is just way too convenient (and allows the writer to dance around Batman actually finding a clever solution). Now free, Batman and Anthony have a fight which moves to a rooftop where they are visible to the Gotham police force, being led by Bullock. It’s a really intense battle, and I couldn’t help but get into it. Oh, I’m aware that this episode is all style and very little substance, but hey, if it works it works. Not every episode needs to make me question morality and life itself. Just give me some dumb action every now and then with an awesome soundtrack and spooky vibes. Unfortunately, the fight comes to a close when Anthony is struck by lightning, and falls into the water below. Pretty stupid way to close out.

Oh, a highlight that I forgot to mention is when Bullock is interrogating the zoo security guard about the missing timberwolves. He pushes the dude right up against the cage, and we can see their jaws snapping, clearly getting agitated by the ruckus. “I want the truth before I decide to feed ya to your furry friends here.” Apparently the term “furry friends” can sound intimidating as hell if it comes with a slick accent like Bullock’s. Not only does Bullock get this moment, but when Batman and Anthony are on top of the roof, Bullock yells at the officers to not fire, and to let Batman handle the situation. This may have been to avoid conflict considering that, well, it’s a scary god damn werewolf which could easily eat all of them if it wanted, but I also like to think that after 40-ish episodes, Bullock develops the tiniest hint of faith in Batman. He’ll probably always be the cocky, sleazy oaf that we’ve known from the start, but it’s nice to see a little bit of development from such an unlikely episode. And that’s not worth nothing.

Oddly, looking back, Batman was never clued in on the entire steroid-situation like we were. I don’t even know if Batman figured out the identity of the werewolf. What an odd feeling. I don’t want to call it an oversight on the writing side of things, but this must be the first time that Batman just didn’t solve the mystery. Huh. Maybe Dr Milo is right, then, and he’ll get away scot-free. Then again, Batman is pretty smart. There are sure to be all kinds of clues lurking within that shanty.

I know I complained a lot, but that’s mostly because the logic was certainly not all there. I don’t grade these episodes based on anything but my enjoyment-level, though, so…

Char’s grade: B

Next time: Day of the Samurai Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman Adventures: Riot Act

“Don’t even think about it, dog-breath--”

Batman Adventures #4 Robin: Yes Writer: Martin Pasko Penciler: Brad Rader Inker: Rick Burchett Colorist: Rick Taylor Letterer: Tim Harkins Editor: Scott Peterson Date: January, 1993

You may notice something interesting when it comes to the crew that brought us this book. The writer is Martin Pasko, who had a hand in writing See No Evil, Paging the Crime Doctor, and Mask of the Phantasm, all DCAU installments that I’m a huge fan of. Unsurprisingly, he brings us yet another bomb story, and I won’t hesitate to say that it’s easily my favorite DCAU comic so far. The art, though, is a little bit different, as Brad Vader did the pencils rather than Ty Templeton. The effect it had was that things appear to be a close relative of Batman TAS, but not like the look of the show being translated to the panels like #1-3 appeared to be. Most scenes look really good, but occasionally I found myself confused and going back a few panels to figure out what I was looking at. For example, in act 3, it wasn’t made very clear that the men in the electronics store were planting the faulty devices for customers to pick up. Also, why was everyone so chill about a guy dressed in a flaming-red circus outfit crashing into the place? The segment reminded me of when I have dreams where I walk into a different room and I’m in a completely different building. After a while I figured things out through the dialogue, but that made the prior pages that showed the action kind of a waste. Another thing that I noticed is that the drawings were less stilted. Templeton did a great job at capturing Bruce Timm’s style and giving us some great panels to look at. But because Rader seemed to mix in a higher percentage of his own artistry, we got some scenes that seemed less like they were trying to fit in with a certain continuity, and more like the action was priority. In general, everyone still looks like they should, though, except for possibly the Scarecrow. He is shown in the wrong color, or perhaps this is just yet another one of his costumes. This makes a definite 3 so far. He really does think it’s Halloween! Oh, and that drawing showing the space where the Bat-Wing flies out of was sooooooo cool. I forget how badass the vehicle looks sometimes. Honestly, most of the vehicles in the Batman TAS world are very nicely designed. Despite starting in the midst of the very distinct 90’s, it is rare to see anything looking “trendy”. Except for maybe a certain mullet that we have yet to see…

The story features a problem in Gotham where everyone is suddenly forgetting how to read, and it seems to be going around like a disease. It’s causing some major accidents, and the ones in charge are forced to comply with Scarecrow’s demands. We find out that the loss of literacy is sparked by picking up specific sound waves from electronic equipment that was tampered with. And it’s making people forget how to read by somehow causing a dyslexia-type phenomenon, and their brains simply cannot interpret the markings as anything that makes sense. Similar to the Penguin in the first issue, I feel like this is thinking outside of the box. The Scarecrow is not necessarily executing a plan that is directly related to fear, but he is instead using his knowledge of psychology to mess with people, which consequentially makes people afraid. His goal is based on his anger over the fact that the local schools aren’t funded enough. This makes a lot of sense for an ex-college professor. He may be deranged, and he may seek thrill in psychologically torturing people, but here, weirdly enough, his heart is kinda in the right place. But, as what often happens with the best villains, he’s fixing the problem in a destructive, hostile manner. Dreams in Darkness has been my favorite Scarecrow episode as of writing this (and it is also our most recent Scarecrow episode), but this story, so far, is on par with it.

Robin gets some good scenes too, by the way. Rather than using the Batcycle like he so often tends to, he appears to be using his own red bike. He’s wearing a helmet that matches the colors of his costume, and has a big ol’ “R” on the forehead. Does that sound stupid? Yeah? Well it’s somehow not when you see it. While on the bike, he comes across a riot, due to the city’s problem, and he rides in, swing this weapon. Instead of immediately taking on the anarchy, he uses it to latch onto a car-door, he pries the thing loose, and this allows a woman to escape before her car explodes as a result of one of the fires seen on the pages. Seeing Robin save someone’s life so heroically, and without Batman there at all, was so refreshing. It makes me question his behavior in If You’re So Smart even more now, but I think there is one animal to explain it. That animal would be Fox.

The comic ends with a cliffhanger, so we’ll be picking it up next time in issue 5. See you there!

Continuity Status: Seems good! Next time: Riot Act II

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy

“How dare you manhandle me!”

Episode: 31 Robin: No Writer: Elliot S Maggin Director: Frank Paur Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: October 14, 1992 Grade: B

At the time of writing this, I have already watched the first episode featuring the Riddler as a villain. And y’know what? This is a much better Riddler episode! At least, it would be if that’s who the villain was. Elliot S Maggin, the writer of this one, originally wrote this story (or at least a similar one) for Detective Comics #450. I don’t think that too-too many scripts were reused from comic stories, but so far the ones I know about are this one and The Laughing Fish. These have been really good choices, but they could have gone further with this one by making the villain Ed Nygma instead of Wormwood. I think that would have been a justifiable change because this guy bleeds Riddler’s personality traits all over the place. I’m including his elaborate plots combined with riddles to confuse, trick, and lure people to their doom, a humungous ego, and a need to display it by humiliating you. Truly these death traps that he comes up with cannot be worth the money, and he could come up with much easier ways to get what he needs. But no. To get something valuable from the man at the beginning, he coaxes him into standing in quicksand. According to Commissioner Gordon, this is a pretty typical thing of him to do, which tells us that the stuff about his ego and true, and overall there is a fun factor for him. Just listen to the way he talks to his first victim or the way he commands Batman to leave his cape and cowl in the light so that he can see his face. This makes it so much better when he is made to look like a complete idiot at the end.

So yes, we have the beginning segment where a man gets stuck in quicksand and gets something stolen. Hearing about the incident, Commissioner Gordon lets Batman in on an associate of Wormwood named Josek. Batman goes to a fancy dinner with Josek is giving a speech, swings in, and drags the guy out, smashing him through a cake and sliding him across a table. Josek is rightfully furious, and he lets out the quote seen at the beginning of the post. The delivery is absolutely hysterical, partially because of how right he is to be angry. Batman was kinda being a bit of a jerk by humiliating him in front of the entire crowd like that, even if he’s not the best human being in the world. 

Do a kickflip! 

Batman interrogates him, getting all the info that he can, and then he gives a word of advice to Josek, telling him to take a vacation. Batman leaves, and we hear Josek grumbling about the encounter. This grumbling is incredibly important to the twist of the episode. We shift scenes to Josek calling in Wormwood and requesting that he get Batman’s cape and cowl for him, humbling the dark knight. We, the audience, think that this is a way of getting even with Batman for the prior embarrassment, but (hopefully you’ve seen the episode, because spoilers) the Josek featured here is actually Batman in disguise. The grumbling at the end of the interrogation scene makes us believe that this Josek guy is really pissed off, and that flows into the moment where “Josek” asks for the cape and cowl, causing us to not think anything of it. It’s a pretty brilliant way to fool us, buuuut… I really have a problem with this type of thing. You’re telling me that Batman was able to get a costume so accurately modeled after Josek? And that Batman is able to talk exactly like him? It’s such a preposterous idea that we don’t even have a chance at seeing the twist coming. Part of the fun of a twist ending is that it should seem more obvious in hindsight. Like we had a chance of cracking the code earlier. But if we are to take this show seriously like so many episodes would have us believe, I feel like this type of twist doesn’t fair all that well. Even though I don’t agree with it on principle, though, it does provide some oh so sweet satisfaction when Wormwood realizes what is going on. The guy is so smug and confident for the entire show, and then it all ends so quickly.

Wormwood sets up the trap for Batman involving a train that looks like it’s about to hit a bound woman. I’m not so sure that I like the woman being a hologram, I would think that someone like Wormwood would have no problem with threatening an innocent life. Maybe I’m reading his character wrong, though. Or maybe it was a case of the Fox Network not allowing such distress for an innocent character. Batman propping open one of the windows with a batarang was a really cool moment, and the quick animation of him throwing it coupled with the sound effect made it feel like he unlocked a cheat code. I don’t even think that Wormwood noticed that he blocked open the window, and this was the only way that Batman were to have any hope of saving the “woman” without giving up his cape and cowl. Batman seemed a little too quick to risk her life, though, especially since he knew the cape and cowl would be going right back to him anyway, but he does have a secret identity and everything to worry about.

The next death trap is the one with the giant lightbulb that gets hot enough to at least melt wax (and eventually Batman). I got Clock King vibes at this part, but this time Batman’s ingenuity was not enough to get him out of trouble. When batman smashes the bulb, and the gas comes out, I couldn’t help but think, “Doesn’t Batman have a gas mask on him most of the time?” Y’know, I bet he even had it on him during this scene, but because of his plan to capture Wormwood while disguised as Josek, I think that he pretended to give up here. He probably could have gotten out of this situation if he really wanted to. This is the type of thing that you don’t think about until a second watch. Another one of these things is the way that Batman seems to decode all of Wormwood’s riddles so quickly, leaving Gordon flabbergasted. Batman totally already knows the answers, he, as Josek, probably helped Wormwood come up with them. It’s so funny that he would not only use this knowledge against the villain of the episode, but also to tease Gordon a little bit, further adding on to the legend that his Batman, and his apparent super-mind.

So yes, at the end of the episode, when Wormwood finally brings the cape and cowl, it is revealed that Josek is Batman. After this, we get a fight between Batman and Wormwood where they each try to get a key that is important to the plot. This scene I thought went on a little bit long, and wasn’t particularly exciting, but we did get a pretty good scream out of Wormwood as he smashes through the window with one of those weights. There’s also the moment where Batman puts his hand on Wormwood’s head, as if to say, “Gimme” and Wormwood just hands it over, knowing that he can’t take any more of Batman. Some of Batman’s most badass moments are the moments where he uses the least amount of effort, simply because he knows that he doesn’t have to.

Char’s grade: B

Next time: Robin’s Reckoning (Part 1) Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Tyger, Tyger Batman: The Animated Series

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Tyger, Tyger

“Kong carried her off. I mean, we’re talkin’ primal here.”

Episode: 42 Robin: No Writers: Cherie Wilkerson (teleplay), Michael Reaves (story), and Randy Rogel (Story) Director: Frank Paur Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: October 30, 1992 Grade: C

Alright, so what the hell kind of episode was that, anyway? I’ve been noticing that as of recent, the tone of Batman TAS is shifting. We’re not so much getting the Two-Face stories, the P.O.V. type of episodes or the It’s Never Too Late-style entries. Night of the Ninja was the start of it, feeling different than the typical, but Tyger, Tiger is where we possibly get the most experimental yet, and the most fantastic. Yeah, our first episode featured a mad scientist turning into a giant bat, but we still got exposure to the police force, we were in the city, and for the most part it felt like a Batman episode, did it not? This one did not, and while not awful, it’s not one of my favorites. It rubs me in some wrong ways, and I find it struggling to watch. I get too weirded out.

We start out at the Gotham zoo, and we see Selina Kyle again. Always cool to see what comes next in her story. Dong Yang is in charge of animation here, but unfortunately we don’t get to see her in her costume to take advantage of it. Some creepy guy who we find out in part gorilla or some type of ape shoots her with a tranquilizer dart and kidnaps her from the zoo. Selina sneaking into the place after hours to see the oddly-colored tiger is pretty dorky. It borders a bit on pushing her cat gimmick too far, but it’s better than in Cat Scratch Fever where we just so happen to get an episode all about cats and it just so happens to feature Selina. In Tyger, Tyger it comes off a little bit more naturally since her Catwoman persona is the reason she’s being kidnapped in the first place, giving a reason to much of the cat-themed elements we’ll get.

So after Selina is kidnapped, we see that she has been taken to a lab so that this red-headed scientist (who almost looks like he has devil horns because of his hairstyle) can experiment on her, and turn her into this cat-like creature. Coincidentally, Jim Cummings provides three of the voices this episode, including the voice of Tybrus, another laboratory experiment. Cummings also voiced a cat-creature in Scooby Too on Zombie Island, and I was hoping we’d get a voice like that. Or even a model like that. Tybrus is supposedly the ultimate life-form, and I’m not sure if he was ever human at any point. I got the impression that he was concocted in a way similar to Frankenstein’s monster, taking different elements from different creatures and forming something completely new. His design is pretty neat, resembling a feline-esque werewolf, but again, I wish he could have looked a little more like Jacque from Zombie Island (I am aware that this episode came out long before that, though). Oh, and I suppose there is a little bit of an elephant in this room. In the credits to the episode, and basically every online resource, his name is spelled “Tygrus”. But watching the episode, they clearly say “Tybrus”, so that’s how I’m going to spell it. Someone made a mistake somewhere, and I would assume it’s more likely for it to be a typo than a mispronunciation, considering how many times his name is said.

Selina gets injected by the doctor in a pretty horrific scene. She is strapped down, and we get to watch her silhouette as the sciency stuff is put right into her neck. 

Meanwhile, Batman has a chat with Dr. Langstrom who was the one that transformed into the Man-Bat in the very first episode of the series. Yeah, not only has the tone been shifting a little bit lately, continuity has been playing a bigger role. Dr. Langstrom tells Batman about Emile Dorian, the scientist, and shows Batman one of his experiments, which looks to be a cat-monkey hybrid. It’s kinda cute. 

Worrying for Selina, and knowing of Dorian’s habit of experimenting on humans, he finds Dorian’s lab which is located on a privately-owned island, and breaks in. Here we, along with Batman, see Selina in her new body. And wowzers. What the hell. I hate it, guys, I hate it. What am I looking at here. This does not look like a Bruce Time design at all, and ahhh, where do I begin. First of all, she’s this kinda ugly mustard-color. And I get that thus far we’ve seen Selina Kyle as a blonde, but we needed some addition shading or something in there. It’s so matte, and that extends to her fur-texture in general. She looks kinda like plastic, and when you add I the lines that separate her legs from her torso, it really is a grotesque look. Selina could look beautiful as a cat-creature. And this is what they went with.

The rest of the episode involves Batman needing to outrun Tybrus in order to obtain Dorian’s antidote for Selina. Some of the animation here is top-notch, and I feel like it’s been a little while since we’ve seen the show look this heavily-stylized. There is also a lack of music, which is always used to great effect on this show. And when there is music, it aids the story perfectly. When we first see Selina’s catlike body, the stringed instruments spit into this warped frenzy that highlights how actually messed up this guy Dorian is. As Batman is pursued, we get hints of the story The Most Dangerous Game which was a great read when I was in middle school. I guess The Island of Doctor Moreau is referenced too (I’ve never read it) and of course The Tyger. But not being familiar with those, I just caught The Most Dangerous Game. Eventually, Batman and Selina meet up, only to be confronted by a Tybrus who can apparently speak English. Tybrus has been told by Dorian that if Batman is killed, he can have Selina all to himself, something that is simply not true (Selina wants no part of this weird-ass relationship). It’s a little uncomfortable to see Tybrus attempting to court this hideous-looking version of what was once a human. But at the same time, after Dorian is defeated by Tybrus, it’s somehow so sad to see Tybrus refuse to leave with Batman and Selina. Before giving them the antidote, Tybrus asks Selina if she’d like to stay as a cat and live with him. When she says “no”, he seems to almost take this as an end to any hope of him feeling as though he belongs and being happy. Knowing that Selina doesn’t ever want to remain the type of creature that he has no choice in being must be really, really painful. We end with him making his way back into the forest of the island, destined to live alone. It’s a really deep dilemma that justifies some of the weird things the episode pitches. Of course, slightly before this, the episode tries to trick us into thinking Tybrus is dead, and this didn’t really work. I did laugh at the idea, though, of Batman saying, “No need for tears yet, Selina” and then staring at the door to the destroyed lab, only for Tybrus to just never show up. “Okay. I suppose tears are called for now.”

So yeah, we have a pretty mixed bag. The story is decent, but it’s a little too out there for Batman the Animated Series. We have some great animation, great music, and great ambient sounds, but then we also have Selina’s design and Tybrus’ voice which I also really don’t like at all. I also want more from Selina’s story. I’m glad that they’re giving her an ark, but I want some really strong Catwoman episodes. Hopefully they are to come.

Char’s grade: A

Next time: Moon of the Wolf Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman Adventures: Joker’s Late-Night Lunacy

Batman Adventures #3 Robin: No Writer: Kelley Puckett Penciler: Ty Templeton Inker: Rick Burchett Colorist: Rick Taylor Letterer: Tim Harkins Editor: Scott Peterson Date: December, 1992

So if y’all remember, the last two issues featured Penguin and Catwoman each doing a favor for the Joker in exchange for basically nothing other than a fun idea as a way to kill some time. This is the issue where we see what it is amounting to, and after seeing so much of Batman TAS, it’s nothing to get excited over. We’ve seen the Joker hack the airwaves several times just like he does here, so the stuff involving Penguin and Selina’s help seems like wasted buildup. Where the issue’s strength lies is in how brutal the Joker is. He has his scary moments in the show all the time, sure, but first panel of the comic, he ambushes Commissioner Gordon in his own office, waving around a gun. It only shoots tranquilizers, but Joker saves the real damage for later, when he can broadcast it all over the city.

After Gordon passes out, the comic shifts focus to a hostage-situation on top of a rooftop. It doesn’t really relate to the Joker story, but it does give a reason for Batman to be at the right place and the right time to catch Joker’s show. It also serves as a glimpse into Batman’s nightly patrol. What’s pretty crazy is that it appears that the hostage is the thug’s girlfriend, and once Batman leaves, she says, “How dare you point that thing at me.” You can tell that she’s rightfully pissed. He assures her that it was all an act, but goes to hit her several panels later when she accuses him of murder. Batman returns before contact is made, but you don’t see too many scenes like this in the cartoon. I love how when Batman swings away, she just goes, “Bye.” Like she’s thrilled that maybe her boyfriend was taught a lesson.

Next, Batman passes by an electronics store, and sees on the screens that the Joker has Gordon all tied up. Not only that, but he starts beating the poor man with a baseball bat and promises to bring more the following night. Jesus! The actually slugs are not shown, but you see the public’s and Batman’s reactions. The people of Gotham have their eyes wide and their mouths wider. Batman just stares in silence. After the beating, the Joker is visibly sweating, and he has to comb his hair back into place. Even though it’s left up to our imagination, we get a pretty clear picture in our heads of what the wood-to-bone connections were like. Wasn’t this comic for kids?

Batman gets a hunch of who Joker will like nab next, and so he pays a little visit to…Harvey Dent! Who…is using the Bat-Signal. Oh. Okay. Well, here’s the first real continuity error of the series, and this is what I’ve been so excited to research and talk about (continuity stuff in general, not this specific case)! So let’s talk about it! Harvey Dent should not be able to use the Signal, because it made its first appearance way after Harvey should have become Two-Face. This is true whether you go by production-order or airing-order. So to make this work, you’d have to rearrange the episodes a bit and mess with the timeline. Some fans are into this, I’m not really. But, this is a minor detail, and to me, it’s not enough to label the entire issue as non-canon. We can retcon the signal, and pretend it was never there, and that works for me. Anyway, Harvey Dent and Batman figure out a plan, and also Bullock is there being a useless obstacle as he so often is. I wish I read this before the Two-Face episode, it’s more Dent character development, and therefore, more sad to watch him eventually crumble.

On the next page, the Joker and his men break into Dent’s home, but the Joker thinks that it’s going way too smoothly, and that Batman is sure to show up. And just like that, he does, but is shot with the tranquilizer and knocked out. This surprised me when I read it. Batman and Dent discussed their plan, and then it immediately failed. Well, so I thought. That night, when Joker is broadcasting his new victims, Dent and Batman, he tells Gotham that it’s time to unmask the passed-out Dark Knight for everyone to see. But when Joker takes Batman’s mask off, we see that it is actually Harvey Dent. The one whom Joker thought was Dent is revealed to be Batman in disguise and… You guys know I hate this kind of plot-point, right? But here it’s even worse. We see “Batman” very clearly during these panels, and it’s so obvious that it’s just not a drawing of Harvey. Their jawlines are completely different, and hell, I refuse to believe that Joker wouldn’t notice that. Disguises should not follow Scooby Too logic in Batman. I feel like it’s a cheat, and way too hard for me to believe. That is why, though, Batman and Dent were so easy to capture in the prior scene. They wanted to be captured. Batman had to let himself get beaten up as Harvey, and Harvey as Batman actually stood up to the thugs pretty well! But he’s a big guy, and I wouldn’t ever wanna mess with him. From here there is a little bit of a chase scene which takes us to a boat on the ocean (which features some really awesome nighttime drawings), but Joker ultimately gets away. The colors in this scene rock with the sky being black and the water being a bluish-green. At the very ending we get a really cool drawing of Batman treading in the salt water, and the moon glowing behind him.

The Joker drawings all looked really nice too, and even when he was off-model, it seemed to be off-model in an okay way. The same design, but elongated, or overly-expressive. He’s basically the same blend of scary and funny that  we get in his best episodes, but amped up a little bit, showing more of his serious side. We see a lot of him without any kind of smile on his face. A lot of times I feel like DCAU-drawings have a hard time with Joker’s face when his mouth is closed. Here it wasn’t an issue at all. Related to that, I kept thinking about how tough it must be to consistently capture the magic of someone else’s art-style, in this case, Bruce Timm’s. Especially since you must so often get creative with the angles and draw them in positions and actions that we just never happen to see on the tv show. There’s no frame of reference for it! A little artistic skill that I think should be considered and praised more.

Continuity status: Issues exist. Next time: Riot Act

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Joker’s Wild

“Next, a dog drinks milk out of its owner’s mouth.”

Episode: 41 Robin: No Writer: Paul Dini Director: Boyd Kirkland Animator: Akom Airdate: November 19, 1992 Grade: A

Some may dismiss Joker’s Wild as just another Joker episode, failing to stand out, but I’m thinking that we may be looking at this in the wrong way. Rather than people blaming this one for them reaching the point of being “Joker’d out”, I think it would be more appropriate to look back at The Last laugh or Be a Clown. Neither of these are as good as Joker’s Wild, yet because they existed before Joker’s Wild, it feels a little bit stale. I really like this one. It starts inside Arkham Asylum, and we see the Joker interacting with the inmates, something we haven’t seen since the second episode of the series. There’s a major difference, though, because this time we see other inmates that we recognize, such as Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, and of course, Poison Ivy. For how dangerous, unpredictable, and creepy the Joker can be, when it comes to his fellow Arkham friends, he seems a little bit more restrained. He gives Poison Ivy a wicked hard time at the beginning, but ceases when she threatens to call the guard over. It’s all pretty funny, and when Ivy gets the last laugh at the end of the scene, it’s so worth it. Sometimes in TV shows, when we lie the villains too much, we root for them. In Pokémon I admittedly find myself wanting Team Rocket to come out on top after so many episodes where we see them fail. Possibly because of how lovable almost every character is in Batman TAS, Joker is someone I love, but also someone I never want to see come out on top. Not only does he get bamboozled by Ivy, he also gets a bit of a confrontation with Bruce Wayne. We see Batman and Joker interacting all the time. But without the costume, it’s more conversational, and we actually see Bruce making some cracks at Joker, trying to piss him off. How therapeutic! To keep his character, Batman doesn’t often talk to the Joker at all beyond what he has to say, so hearing the smirk in his tone and seeing is visibly disrupting the Joker’s flow is a treat.

Even though Akom animates, this was one of their better efforts, and the directing is fantastic. When Joker runs away from Batman at the end, that sequence is amazing. Batman swings through the area, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the abdomen (which is a risk that reminds us that batman is risking his life to stop this psychopathic madman), and then slamming the Joker against a slot machine. It feels like he just barely managed to catch up to him, because Boyd Kirkland recognized how to keep some awesome momentum. The slam at the end finishes things with a bang after building so much, and this was also cool because for once Batman got to end the Joker episode with a final blow, rather than watching the Joker get away or simply capturing him. A similarly energized moment is when the Joker steals the car that is on display at the casino. It’s a little bit frivolous that the darned thing is gassed up and ready to go (reminds me of the plane from the pilot episode of Scooby Doo!), but hearing the gasping of the crowd and watching slot machines and things tip over are examples of the amount of chaos that this caused. First you’re hanging out at a casino, just trying to have a good time, and next thing you know, you’re running out of the way of the Joker himself, being chased by the dark knight. What a time!

Something fun here is how spontaneous Joker’s plan is. This wasn’t something that he’s been stewing up for a long time, perfectly crafting to give everyone the hardest time possible (a la The Laughing Fish). Knowing, though, that it’s that easy to escape from Arkham really puts previous episode into perspective. The place doesn’t even have locks on its doors. Umm… Okay. Bruce Time has actually noted how stupid this oversight was, and he would have fixed it if they had the time and resources. But what’s done is done, and honestly, the lack of locks makes more sense anyway. No criminals in real life reappear as much as comic book villains. Anyway, part of the Joker escaping involved him using some tied-together handkerchiefs to swing out, hanging from a truck, and while Joker may not have been planning this exact escape, I love the thought of him holding onto these just in case he ever needed them. He probably hid them and everything. Don’t trust the Joker with any object. He’ll find some way to use it against you. There was also some Arkham employee in the building when Joker was running off, and when the Joker calls one of the ones chasing after him a “maroon”, this one employee slyly goes, “I know you are, but what am I?” I don’t know why this is here, and I’m wondering if I missed something. Was this guy not actually an Arkham employee? Was he working for the hotel? He did  sorta look like one of Kaiser’s men that show up later. I really don’t know, but it sounded like he had some sneaky plan to apprehend Joker, yet it never happens. I guess if I were a hard, though, I’d be thinking, “Meh, let him escape. Batman’s gonna throw him back in here anyway. Now where’s that paycheck?” Speaking of getting paid, Joker also does things like spontaneously joining a game of blackjack, and completely cheating the other people out of their chips. I think that in real life this would cause a much bigger uproar than it did, even to the point of a fight breaking loose. The people here just storm off. Joker sarcastically tries to get them to calm down by telling them they’re all simply here to have fun, and the irony is perfect. They may be here to have fun, but Joker is here to prevent them from doing just that. While having the time of his life! Even when he spots Batman for the first time, he seems to exude some thrill. It’s only when Batman directly interferes with his motives that he gets pissed (like the moment in the helicopter). When it comes to the Joker, you never know when you’re gonna hit that button that makes him oh so scary. Would you have expected him to smash the TV like he did when he saw the idea for the casino? What the hell, dude. Cameron Kaiser rubs it in so much too by calling him just, “some criminal fruitcake”. While in the moment, before knowing Kaiser’s intentions (which Char guessed pretty early on to my surprise), we may not recognize the subtlety of this, looking back, this was total bait.

Oh, also the Joker occasionally looked like this. 

Char’s grade: A

Next time: Tyger, Tyger Full episode list here!

Is that supposed to be the Mad Hatter? Because he’s lookin’ like a Tech Deck Dude. 

[dcarevu]

Batman Adventures: Catwoman’s Killer Caper

“Hey, Joker, ya got some more hate mail from The Penguin…”

Batman Adventures #2 Robin: No Writer: Kelley Puckett Penciler: Ty Templeton Inker: Rick Burchett Colorist: Rick Taylor Letterer: Tim Harkins Editor: Scott Peterson Date: November, 1992

Before we get into this issue, I wanted to mention that I went back and read the first one again. I enjoyed it a lot more my second time through. Maybe because I was reading a physical copy rather than scrolling around on a computer screen. The Penguin’s writing is really great, showing a quick-to-ignite temper, and a tendency to want to be that which he doesn’t even really understand. He makes a derogatory comment about the art displayed at the Wayne Financial Institution (“Now what’s this supposed to be? It doesn’t even look like anything!”), basically calling it a huge waste of money, and that he would make sure the stolen money went to better use. Kinda like some kind of weird Robin Hood. As someone who just took a class on modern art, I much appreciated this. He is also all talk when it comes to his vocabulary (no pun intended), mixing up definitions of a word or two, and completely bullshitting the definition of another. He’s in way over his head (and that’s not just a short joke), and this seems to extend to him trying to be a crime lord, and him getting mixed up with Batman as well. Also his scheme oddly makes sense, and it makes for an overall amusing comic book, with a nice bit of comedy thrown in. I think my favorite part was when the Penguin and his thugs are trying to figure out who shut the lights off. Batman goes, “Maybe it’s Batman,” and they respond with, “Yeah, maybe it’s…” before rapidly and haphazardly shooting off all of their firearms into the darkness.

Onto issue number two!

We get a return of Catwoman after not getting any of her since The Cat in the Claw (at the time of writing). The comic starts with her stealing some jewelry to set us up for the tone of the story, and after taking it back to her apartment, her doorbell rings. It’s the mailman, Max, and he has a giant package for her. It is a little odd that a delivery would be made at that time of night, but at this point I’m convinced that everything happens at night in Gotham. What’s in the package is a giant TV like in the last issue, complete with a challenge from the Joker over what is essentially video chat. The challenge is to steal the Crown Jewels of England (for her to keep), along with a little trinket to be delivered to him. Catwoman sees this as a fun deal, and agrees to act as a pawn. It seemed out of character for Catwoman to work with someone like the Joker. She may commit crimes, but she also acts as more of an anti-hero than a villain. No one with a good conscience would willingly sign up to steal any type of tech for the Joker, I would assume. Much like in issue #1, I find the Joker element to be quite flimsy, even though we do get a few laughs from it. There is a repeating gag where we at first see the Joker cloaked in shadow as he tries to create some mystery as far as his identity, but then a thug always walks into the room and turns the light on, revealing who it is.

Later on, Batman gets word that the Crown Jewels have been stolen, so he pays a trip to the museum as Bruce Wayne. Here he learns that there is virtually no way for anyone to have taken them, because there is a security system in place that would alert the museum if the Jewels were taken more than a meter away from their proper spot. But, investigating the exhibit in costume late that night, he not only discovers that it was likely Catwoman to commit the theft, but also how they were taken. The comic keeps it secret for a few pages, and I won’t reveal information, but it is pretty clever. Of course, it blows my mind that the police and detectives were unable to find the jewels, but I suppose sometimes the answer is so clear, you see right through it.

Batman never refers to Catwoman as Selena, and after the episode Perchance to Dream especially, it seems like he should. Using the name Catwoman is very impersonal. Maybe that is a way of keeping his distance, considering the temptation that exists for them both. They do have a flirtatious chase scene like in The Cat and the Claw, though, that shows that these two are likely not done with each other yet. As far as Catwoman escaping at the end, I would think that Batman could easily find her. Doesn’t he know where she lives?

Catwoman’s illustrations looked absolutely beautiful (with the exception of one on page 21), and everything else was great to look at too. I’m not quite used to the Joker’s comic book model (it looks close to the cartoon, but not exactly the same), but considering he seems to be the main villain of issue 3, that may be resolved soon.

Continuity Status: Seems good! Next time: Joker’s Late-Night Lunacy

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

“Batman, you gotta help me. I can pay you, Batman!”

Episode: 40 Robin: Yes Writer: David Wise Director: Eric Radomski Animator: Blue Pencil Airdate: November 18, 1992 Grade: C

What the. This episode was an oddity, and I’m quite sure that I’m down for it. To start things off, we got a new animation studio, and while their work is fine enough, it’s clear that they hadn’t had the time to work with Batman and understand where the writers and producers were coming from. Something like Animaniacs I’m sure they could be more than fine with. I don’t know why they were in charge of doing If You’re So Smart, but maybe it had something to do with the backstory of the episode. Apparently Riddler was held off for a while because they couldn’t get a story or a voice actor together that was satisfactory. So maybe this one was on the back burner for a bit, and when it was finally finished, they had booked everyone else, and decided to wing it with these guys? Just a hunch. Some things did look pretty awesome, though. Even simple things like the meeting when Daniel Mockridge gets spooked by a riddle showing up on an electronic sign situated on the wall of another building. The maze during the climax worked really well too. That minotaur and the griffin were threatening as hell. I had to hold back from giggling when we see the griffin fire its first shot because I was simply not expecting such an outrageous explosion given that most of the episode is pretty light-hearted. 

I think the animation may cast that illusion, though. Of course, at the very end, things take a super dark turn. Mockridge is shown taking a gun to bed, and being scared to death of falling asleep. Maybe a little bit of a harsh punishment considering he didn’t do anything more than be kind of a jerk, but it does showcase one of the few times a villain has straight-up gotten away. Clayface is the only other one that comes to mind (if we’re not counting people like the Clock King who didn’t intentionally escape). I like when this happens, Batman isn’t perfect and can’t stop everyone, but with the Riddler, I didn’t find myself particularly caring. We waited so long to see him, and then this is the episode we got. I understand that the episode The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy is based off of a pre-existing story, but if the Riddler was the villain there, it would have been a much better Riddler episode than this one. I like when the writers of this show work to not necessarily portray the characters in such a literal sense. Example, I prefer when Penguin isn’t constantly making bird-related puns. I like the fact that Mr. Freeze not only has a cold gun, but a cold personality. With The Riddler, I like to see him being obsessed with outwitting the dark knight. I like to see him leaving subtle clues because he just can’t help himself. I like to see him compulsive. I like to see him occasionally leaving riddles too, of course. Here, that’s basically his gimmick. He leaves riddles in an attempt to stop Batman. That’s just not interesting to me, and we, the audience, don’t even get a chance to solve the riddles ourselves because they come and go so quickly. Mystery stories are often fun because of the mystery component. And riddles are the perfect opportunity to highlight that and get us involved. Even Blues Clues knows that. But when we get one of these riddles or clues and it is fed through Batman and spit back out at us, that takes a lot of the involvement away. The episode doesn’t have much to offer beyond that, so it falls flat.

The maze is alright, but the video game aspect seemed kinda corny. I’ve seen a few DCAU episodes involving video games, and I never like them for whatever reason. I did like, however, how interested Alfred seemed in Riddle of the Minotaur when Robin was playing it. And it being played on that giant computer was hilarious, yet understandable. Who wouldn’t want to play their favorite video games on that screen? It would have been awesome if Alfred had been offered the controller and played a little bit, but there wasn’t time for that in the episode. It’s passable that they had other things to focus on. Going back to Robin, though, I think he seemed a little bit juvenile. It’s the way he talks, the way he moves, I don’t know exactly, but he got on my nerves just a hair. Maybe being 23 now separates me from the average college student (even though I am one), and so maybe I’m off base by complaining, but seeing him getting trapped by Riddler’s ridiculous gun and putting his feet up on the dashboard of the Batmobile was what I think Batman TAS was trying to avoid. 

It’s no 60’s Adam West show, but it’s closer than what we typically see. Robin should be free to be a young adult, and to be the young, wise-cracking one, I just think that they’ve done it better. Char noted that Robin’s gamer hobby played well with Batman’s more “adult” attitude despite him being a nerd and reprogramming the “Hand of Fate”. It’s a nerd/geek team-up I wouldn’t have thought of, and both sides help them through the maze. Specifically, Robin’s familiarity with the game and Batman’s ability to “hack” the game and send them straight to the end. Admittedly clever.

We’ll see what comes through later Riddler episodes, but for now, it feels like one of the best players has been benched. The Riddler is so popular and such a major villain, but he feels no more special than some of the one-offs we’ve seen.

Char’s grade: B

Next time: Joker’s Wild Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Heart of Steel (Part 2)

“I do wish your toys wouldn’t play so roughly with you, Sir.”

Episode: 39 Robin: No Writer: Brynne Stephens (Brynne Chandler) Director: Kevin Altieri Animator: Sunrise Airdate: November 16, 1992 Grade: A

Picking up where we left off, and things don’t appear to be off to a stellar start. Batman escaping the grabber that is installed incredibly high up on the cave ceiling seems anti-climactic. Because after that, HARDAC just gives up. Batman starts to track its location, and it disconnects from his system, ending the moment. What the hell, HARDAC. Didn’t you just have control over everything? You couldn’t have locked Batman out entirely and prevented him from even getting that far? Luckily this segment ends with a pretty funny callback to Part 1 from Alfred, and from here things are awesome the entire way. I think that the cliffhanger last time was only there to be a cliffhanger and get ratings for Part 2. I guarantee it was an afterthought. But whatever, it’s out of the way, now let’s get to the good stuff!

The previous episode was used to set a lot of things up. It had some good moments, but they held off from showing us the major excitement. This episode flies by, and it feels like nonstop action with some of the best imagery we have yet to see. I’m so happy with how well they nailed the designs of a lot of these robots, and the concept was taken to its max potential. I love the way that the robots (disguised as people such as Bullock, Gordon, Mayor Hill, etc) move around, sometimes walking and talking just like you and me, but other times they leap and scuttle in a way that almost resembles the way the little girl moves in The Exorcist or like the girl from The Grudge. Paired with their glares and those piercing eyes, and it’s easily as creepy as anything on Courage the Cowardly Dog. The most disturbing moment is when one of the robots twists its head all over the place and then follows Batman up the elevator cable. It’s a moment of tension because we know the bot will grab Batman if he doesn’t hurry the hell up and solder through it. It’s a similar feeling to being followed and trying to quickly unlock a door. After Batman solders through, the elevator falls many floors and completely demolishes the robots that were onboard, and we get to see their mangled carcasses. Like with Captain Clown from The Last Laugh, robots give the writers a lot of fun opportunities for violence that is not typically permitted. There’s an earlier scene where a robotic Bullock is thrown onto the Bat-Signal where it gets electrocuted. We see a charge running through it, its hand twitches, and it loses its skin-like shell. Seeing how willing Batman was to deliver this type of punishment to Bullock was a little bit concerning, and we even see Barbara start to cry during the aftermath before they realize that it’s not really Bullock. Beautiful stuff!

During the climax we get a lot of this type of thing all shoved together into one scene. There are explosions galore (I sorta gave up on the fire count that we had going, but if I hadn’t, you’d better believe that this episode would count toward it), some twisted imagery in the form of seeing Bullock and Gordon suspended in a tank of water for observation, and Randa gets part of her face ripped off, revealing a metal skull underneath. It makes Batman jump in fear as he turns around and sees her. While one of Batman’s major talents is scaring the piss out of the criminals he fights, as we know from Scarecrow episodes, he himself is not immune to fear. It’s nice to see him expressing this emotion without the use of mysterious gas.

HARDAC’s motives were fleshed out a lot more, and they are a little cliché. Replacing all humans, eliminating man-made flaws, allowing the world to run smoother, yada yadda. We’ve heard this before. What I find more interesting is Karl Rossum’s role in all of this. What I gathered was that Rossum designed HARDAC to replace certain human-operated functions with robot-operated functions. For example, self-driving cars. He had a daughter that died in a car accident, and so he vowed to rid the world of the possibility of this happening to anyone else. Because he…for some reason…gave HARDAC a free-thinking mind, HARDAC decided to take this plan much further than intended, considering all humans a problem period. They’re too imperfect. Ironic, given HARDAC’s quick downfall, but hey, this is the 90’s. Technology has a long way to go. Anyway, Rossum’s motives are pretty vague, though, so I could be interpreting this wrong, but I like that there are a couple of ways to take it. I can see someone else going more literal and imagining that he wanted to replace drivers with robots, or even some of the more problematic citizens. Who knows. Interestingly, in Part 1, we see Randa using a self-driving car, which I just now remembered. I thought I remembered something too about Randa being modeled after his daughter, but they never mentioned this. Head-canon I guess. I have to ask, is Rossum innocent? He doesn’t seem to be in much trouble at the end, but we have no way of knowing how far he was going with this plan. Yeah, HARDAC went further, but that doesn’t mean that Rossum wasn’t trying to go further than most sane people would, you know? I have a feeling that we’ll never see him again and won’t have to worry about it, but Batman the Animated Series has this way of surprising me.

Barbara Gordon gets more time this half hour, and she’s so rad! Her voice actress (Melissa Gilbert) plays her so well, and combined with the lines, she sounds like she’s incredibly intelligent. How love how she talks to her stuffed bear when she’s by herself, but what she talks about is how she plans on breaking into Cybertron to rescue her father. It combines cute with badass and capable, and she seems to be a strong female role model that any kid could look up to. Not to say that I condone putting yourself into the kind of danger that she did, but hey. You know what I mean. Last episode she may have been an extension of Jim. This episode she broke out of that and felt like something entirely her own. You already know that I know, but for those who don’t know what’s coming (Char), hopefully we’ll see lots more of Barbara! She did mention how much she enjoyed getting in on the action, and Batman told her that she did an excellent job. If that doesn’t sound like a recurring character, I don’t know what does!

I don’t have too-too much more to say, but this episode was way better than I remember. So far, it may even be top ten material. Char loved it too. She said that she was happy that no one died in the end, but jesus, when Possum was fried by HARDAC’s laser, I thought he was going to be left a pile of ash. Never program a super-powerful, free-thinking computer to have weapons like that… You give it a will to be free and a way, what could go wrong?

Get a load of Gordon’s tall mustache. 

Some of the animation in this one reminds me of The Tick. It’s the line work as well as the eyes. I couldn’t find any info on who did the animation for The Tick, but could it have been Sunrise?

Jesus, he’s not dead? The intensity of HARDAC’s laser blast was shocking, and it looked soooo violent.

I keep seeing a smiley face on HARDAC’s light/eye/whatever. On purpose?

Basically what I see when I go to the dentist. What creepy lighting! I like how intimate this segment was.

It must be so therapeutic for Batman to get to beat the shit out of the fake Bullock, especially after this shit-eating grin. What a great face!

Bullock’s twitching hand was super gross. Anyone else agree that this is Sunrise’s best work on the show?

This robot almost looks zombie-like, which is fitting considering Bullock’s apparent demise. 

What happened to the batarangs, Batman? 

Even when dead, those red eyes stare in such a malicious way.

“Please let go of my cape.”

Is there any reason that these guy need to have light-up eyes like this? No! HARDAC clearly installed them just for the “Holy shit, what the hell is going on” factor. 

Yes, HARDAC, humans are so imperfect. Meanwhile one of your friends lets Bruce slip away like this. 

KILL IT. KILL IT. KILL IT. 

THANK YOU. 

These trashcan robots very much look like the robots from Castle in the Sky. 

Seeing them in this kind of danger is quite disturbing. As is the fact that a computer is keeping humans contained like this. 

Up until now, we’ve only seen Randa as a drop-dead gorgeous woman. We saw the twist coming, yet it’s still quite the surprise!

A really stupid moment in an otherwise amazing half hour. A makeup mirror deflecting a laser like that felt really implausible (yes, in the face of everything else), and it also seemed like a lame way to remind us that Barbara is, in fact, a woman. 

Batman panics as his head is about to be crushed by an elevator. Batman breaks a few times during Heart of Steel. He’s sure to experience some nightmares about computers.

Bob Hastings has a tremendously good moment as he calls out the name of Jim’s daughter, thinking she’s dead. 

Char’s grade: A Next time: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Eating popcorn🍿