#I kinda blame dcau for all of this

[cessmaga]

a bit ranty but the fact that barry has been through a bad tv show and a bad movie through the years and wally fans have the audacity wanting barry to be replaced by him

[ihatebrainstorm]

I blame you for my new hyperfixation on DC. I now know all of the Robin's (Grayson and Tim are my favs) and am obsessing over Superboy (Kon-El). Now I have to read not only the Transformers comics, but also find out where to even start with what I want from DC. (No, but seriously, love your au and can't wait for more.)

MUAHAHAHAHAAHAHA WELCOME TO MY HELL (i don’t know why im laughing im suffering the same fate ;v;) but hey we can all be on the same sinking ship together! (Can I steer the life raft?)

Thank you tho! I still have. so many things to draw for this au, except I’m super budged for time atm so they’re on my backburner in the meantime… Grayson and Timbo as fav robin choices tho is so real (love them all, Damian and Grayson are my favs but TNBA Timbo takes the cake)

Comic + more info about getting into the TF comics and DC vvv

With the comics, I will say that I’m pretty sure the TF ones are generally easier to get into? The 3 main storylines most commonly read are IDW1, IDW2, or Skybound/ the Energon Universe, which all have their own reading guides. IDW1 can be pretty damn long tho so I don’t blame you if you want to skip and only read the MTMTE or Wreckers runs :P

For DC it’s uh… ok so they retcon stuff constantly, reset timelines, have multiverse shenanigans, and so many different runs happening all at once?? You can try and follow big separate eras/timelines like Rebirth, The New 52, etc? But yeah honestly it’d be easier to find specific runs that have your favourite characters/characterizations of those characters, and read those instead ;v; (I think Tim and Kon are pretty centric in the Young Justice comics? Never read it, so could be wrong- Grayson and Kon are very centric in the YJ animated show tho!) Or alternatively, there are non-mainline DC canon comics that are their own little contained stories/universes! They may only be one book or are shorter runs, so they’re much easier to get into.

[Non-main timeline DC Batman-centric comic runs I highly recommend: Batman: White Knight -> Murphyverse, The Boy Wonder (2024), Gotham Adventures -> DC Animated Universe tie-in (DCAU), Batman Adventures v2 -> DCAU tie-in, L’il Gotham]

Tbh I kinda grew up with the animated shows, movies, and games more? (Did a thing where I tried to watch every single Batman animated show lmao.. didn’t succeed) Most are their own separate timelines tho (minus the DCAU and DCAMU) so they’re pretty easy to follow!

[A couple I highly recommend: Batman the Animated Series & The New Batman Adventures (BTAS/TNBA, starting point to the entire DCAU), Young Justice!!!!, Teen Titans, the mainline Arkhamverse games, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (JL/JLU, DCAU timeline), the Under the Red Hood Movie, Justice League Action (JLA), Batman the Brave and Bold, and uh… a couple of the DC Animated Movies Universe (DCAMU) movies were pretty good imo? (Also heard the new Superman show is really good? Haven’t seen it just yet tho :’)]

[nightglider124]

Dickkory Week: Day 5

Oops. A day late again. I got in from work last night and just could not be fucked to write a thing XD.

We can assume that anytime I have Dick calling Kory, ‘babe’ it is based in the DCAU. 

Honeymoon was the greenlight for me to write some kinda smut but it didn’t turn out as great as I wanted but hope you still like it any way. NSFW ahead.

_________________________________

Honeymoon

Purple skies bled into the orange tone that smothered the horizon as the sun descended lower on the world, casting an ethereal glow on anything the last light touched on it’s way into hibernation for the night.

The colors bounced and reflected off of the clear turquoise ocean, the calm waves seeping up onto the soft grains of sand before receding back into the mass of water. The sound of the sea as it lapped back and forth against the shore was tranquil; an utter state of relaxation encompassing the whole island.

A gentle breeze flowed along the edge of the beach, carrying a warmth within it that was comfortable enough for the time of day it was.  

Kory smiled up at the sky, letting the sacred rays of sunlight that remained wash over her skin, replenishing her energy and letting it build her strength anew. During this whole trip, she had felt extremely powerful due to the constant exposure to such a delicious taste of sunlight. There had yet to be a single cloud in the sky whilst they were staying there.

She hummed a quiet tune to herself as she swayed lightly on the swing that was attached to one of the long palm trees surrounding the main section of the beach they were spending the 2 weeks. 

It was merely a strong piece of wood that had been strung up with rope but Kory found it a peaceful place to be situated, given the breathtaking view of the ocean and the sky it provided.

She turned her head to the side of the island, a wooden boating dock and the small white yacht they had arrived on, filled her vision. The yacht glimmered under the dying sunlight and Kory found herself appreciating all that her now father in law had arranged for them.

Kory glanced down at the sparkling engagement and wedding rings that were intertwined upon the finger of her left hand and smiled to herself.

They were married.

She still couldn’t quite believe it; like she was living in some kind of dream and she was terrified she would wake up at any given moment and ruin the state of bliss she was in.

As she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with moments from their wedding; walking down to aisle to him, dancing their first dance at the reception, surrounded by friends and family.

With the squawk of an overhead seagull, her eyes shot open and she sighed in sheer contentment. She dug her toes into the sand beneath her feet, smiling at the heat emanating from it. 

Suddenly, he felt someone else grab the ropes of her swing and she grinned as she tilted her head upwards to get a look at him.

Dick smirked down at her before he leaned in and stole a brief kiss from her. She giggled against his mouth before he pulled away and crouched down in front of her,

“Hey, beautiful.” He murmured, placing his hands on her bare legs, not so subtly eyeing the green bikini she wore,

Kory giggled and touched his chin with her index finger, directing his cerulean gaze to her face, “Up here, thank you.”

Dick chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, “What? I’m just admiring my wife’s gorgeous body.”

“Mhm.” She returned, a smirk on her lips.

He gave her a wink before he rubbed the hand on her leg a little more, “You wanna come inside and start deciding what to eat tonight?”

Kory considered but was drawn to staying outside since the sunset was just so very captivating. 

“Perhaps a little bit later?” She suggested, shyly, “It is so beautiful out here…”

He watched as she got up off of the swing and walked along the beach, just out of reach of the sea that looked to be searching for her,

Dick smiled and let his eyes trail over her, enthralled by the way the setting sun shone down on her, illuminating her golden skin. The whisper of a breeze caught her long tendrils of hair, the lush mass of red swirling around her shoulders,

He couldn’t stop the way his heart hammered away in his chest, still in disbelief that he was married to her. He was in constant amazement that this goddess had genuinely chosen to start a life with him and him alone. 

He watched as Kory tiptoed closer to the water, shuddering when it flowed back and over her feet, tickling at her ankles. She let her shoulders sag and turned her face upwards to the light, simply absorbing every bit of solar energy that she could.

Being there had been amazing for her, she had felt utterly rejuvenated since she had been cradled by the sunlight all day, every day that they had been on their honeymoon.

Bruce had been the one to gift them with their post married gift; a honeymoon off the coast of Fiji on one of Bruce’s several, privately owned islands. It was just the two of them on this patch of sand and trees, in the middle of the south pacific ocean. 

As Dick wandered closer to where his wife stood, soaking up the last rays of daylight, he glanced over at the very place they had been staying.

His adoptive father had never been one to skimp on luxury when purchasing homes around the world. The sole building on the island was theirs for the 2 weeks they were staying.

It was all one floor, covering a chunk of square foot of the island. It was a modern style home with glass lining almost all of it, the few panels that were not, were a smooth mahogany wood, giving it a sleek geometric charm. An abundance of trees surrounded the back of it, creating an intriguing forest feel, despite being on a sandy island in the middle of the sea. 

The porch was a slick grey marble that had no railings but was lit up by multiple spotlights, lining the path with ease.

Dick had to chuckle; only Bruce would go for such an open styled home on a private island that was deserted most of the time.

He reached Kory and placed his hands on her waist from behind, peppering kisses along the line of her shoulder until he found the underside of her jaw. She giggled as he continued, sliding his hands around until they rested on her stomach. Kory gently laced her fingers together with his and leaned back against his bare chest.

“So, what do you want to do instead of eating?” Dick mumbled against her ear,

Kory bit her bottom lip, trying to fight the mischievous expression that was trying to burst forth on her face. With a humming sound, she turned in his arms and pressed her hands to his shoulders,

“I have an idea…” She whispered, kissing his cheek until she reached his ear which she blew on and nipped his lobe. 

Dick closed his eyes and shivered, his breath stalling in his throat at how brazen she was. He felt her pushing him towards the ground so, obeying his girl in every way he could, he let himself fall on his back against the sand, bringing her with him.

She giggled as she landed on top of him, the smile she wore so sultry that it would put most women to shame. Kory pressed her lips to her husband’s, running her tongue along his bottom lip, tasting and asking for entry. 

Not one to disappoint, Dick allowed her, cupping one side of her face to hold her in place whilst he continued to kiss her. 

“Babe…” He murmured, pulling away briefly to stare at her,

She appeared bashful but pushed some of her hair behind her ear and shifted so that she was straddling his hips. 

“You do not want to?” She asked, her tone one of complete innocence,

He snorted, “I always want to… but… y’know we have a bed for this.”

Kory flipped her hair over her shoulder so that it cascaded down the length of her back, “We do… however, I do so enjoy the fading light and heat of the sunset, my love…”

Dick shook his head at her, “You’re a minx, y’know that?”

“So you have said before but I never hear you complaining about it.”

“If I get sand in weird places after this, I’m blaming you.”

Kory’s eyelids drooped as she felt him becoming more accustomed to this idea of hers, “I believe I can live with that.”

She lifted off of him, floating for a minute before she placed her feet firmly on the sand whilst he remained on his back, pushing himself up onto his elbows to watch her. 

The Princess smirked at him before she reached up and behind her neck, carefully tugging at the strings holding her bikini top up. She could feel it loosening and reveled in the lust beginning to cloud her husband’s eyes, clearly tormented by how slow she was proceeding.

“Kory-” He breathed, cut off as she suddenly slipped the rest of the garment off, throwing it further up the beach so that it wouldn’t get taken by the waves behind them.

Dick gulped, his eyes glued to her form, her ample breasts right there in front of him under the shying daylight. If they had been on a public beach where people roamed, he would be mortified but this situation only served to excite him. 

And yet, she wasn’t even completely finished with torturing him.

Kory hooked her thumbs inside the waistband of her bikini bottoms, sliding them over her hips and down the lines of her long legs. She let go, allowing the material to fall to the ground as she gracefully stepped out of them.

Dick smirked, eyeing her perfect body and admiring the slim pinch of her waist alongside the curve of her hips. He momentarily couldn’t wait to have her back on him so he could grab at her supple rear.

“Hm. No tan lines?” 

A silver laugh, full of delight poured from Kory’s throat as she descended back to him, knelt with one leg on either side of his hips again. 

There was a wicked gleam in her eyes as her gaze locked with his, “I have not been wearing this bikini today as much as you might think...”

His eyes widened and his mouth fell open, “You’re killing me here.”

Kory grinned and placed several kisses against his jaw before whispering, “You’re turn. I want you also naked…”

Dick scoffed, “That’s not hard since I’m only wearing trunks.” 

She considered that, reaching back to start pulling them, giggling as she got them off of him and threw them up the beach too, alongside her bikini. 

“Impatient today, huh?” 

Kory shrugged, “Just a woman thoroughly in love with her husband.”

Dick’s lips split into a grin at the terms used, loving the fact that was what he was to her now, “That’s fair.”

She leaned down, pressing her palms into the sand on either side of his head before she molded her lips to his, adoring the way fire sparked between them where their lips met. 

A heat stirred in his lower abdomen as Kory breathed more heavily, grinding her hips against his most sensitive area as of right now. Dick’s hands trailed down her back, stopping to hold her waist, kneading his fingers against her flesh. 

“I’m… assuming we don’t need foreplay tonight…” Dick huffed, pulling away and certainly not in need of any more coaxing,

Kory shook her head, strands of ruby hair falling over her shoulders, brushing against his chest.

She held his gaze, an unspoken heat between them as she reached down and wrapped her fingers around his member. He jerked at her touch, his grip on her waist becoming firmer.

Smiling, Kory positioned him so that the tip rested at her entrance. With a deep breath, she sank down, impaling herself on his cock. She gasped aloud, always enticed for more by the initial penetration.

Dick gritted his teeth together as he became overwhelmed with sensations. Despite regular intimacy with Kory, he could never quite prepare himself for how wet and tight and ready she constantly was for him.

“Damn, Kory…” He whispered, lifting one hand to push his fingers through her silk hair,

She breathed a laugh as she wriggled her hips, teasing him further. Dick squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back, thankful for the cushioning that was the sand.

Kory lifted up, slowly before she forced herself back down to the hilt. Dick groaned as she moved, the heat inside of him only burning more as she moved. 

Taking a deep breath, Kory increased her speed as she rode him, lifting her shoulders as the bout of pleasure swelled inside of her. Dick held her hips tight as he thrusted upwards to meet hers, pushing his cock as deep as he could go. 

“Dick…” She murmured, slipping her hands to his shoulders, bowing her head into the crook of his neck as they moved as one. 

She bounced against him, taking him all the way inside before pulling back and repeating the motion again. Dick’s hands moved to her ass, giving her a loving squeeze before he used her for leverage, shoving himself between her folds over and over until they both had a thin sheen of sweat against their skin.

Kory squealed in ecstasy as they found a steady rhythm, moving against each other in the best possible way. Dick puffed and groaned as she moved faster, the telltale tightening from her slick channel signalling that she was close,

He gave a breath of a laugh, “God, that didn’t take you long tonight…”

“I… have wanted you all day.” She whispered, her whole body seizing up in preparation of the explosive pleasure to come,

“Why… didn’t you.., say something earlier?” 

“I thought… it would be… more rewarding… to wait.” 

Dick grinned and gently bit her shoulder as he thrusted inside her a few more times before Kory froze, gasping and moaning against his neck. She tightened around his member and she remained that way for a brief few seconds before a wet heat surrounded his member.

“Oh… D-Dick…” Kory moaned, shakily coming down from her orgasmic high,

He rubbed her back for a minute or so before he cradled her body and gently turned her over onto her back so he could finish as well. 

“You okay for me to…?”

Kory smiled, a sight of beauty as she laid there panting, “Of course, my love.”

Dick kissed her quickly and pushed his cock all the way back inside her, grunting at the way she felt. He pushed forward, thrusting in and out at a frantic speed, clearly wanting to reach his peak as well since Kory already had.

His wife raised her knees, crossing her legs behind his back at the ankles, ensuring they remained connected throughout. 

His dark hair flopped over his forehead as he went harder, slamming his hips against hers so hard, her breasts bounced against her chest every time. Kory placed her hands on his back, holding him so close that their chests brushed together. She chewed on her lower lip as Dick continued to have his way with her, relentlessly pounding into her.

Kory sighed in euphoria as she raked her fingernails against the skin of his back, leaving faint red marks of passion. 

Dick grinned to himself, loving whenever she did that; all it served to do was spur him on.

“Kory… I… oh, babe…” He muttered, reaching the crest,

“Mm, Richard…” 

He clenched his jaw and with several more thrusts, he found himself groaning aloud; his cock throbbing as he released everything he was inside of her tight, wet hole. He shuddered as he continued to orgasm until finally, his energy gave out and he slumped atop of his Princess.

Kory giggled as his hot breath fanned her bare shoulder, their bodies slick with sweat as they rubbed together on account of their heaving breaths. 

“Don’t ever let me say you don’t have good ideas, babe.” 

She peppered gentle kisses against his shoulder and smiled, a serene haze fogging her mind, “I will not, don’t worry.”

Dick chuckled and carefully raised himself up to gaze at her face, “I love you, Kory.”

Matching his expression, Kory tilted her head, “And I love you as well.”

He lowered himself briefly so that he could place a chaste kiss against her cupid bow lips. Dick smirked as he came back up to look at her, “Now, you better be helping me wash the sand off in the shower.”

Kory beamed, “I would love to.”

[dcarevu]

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!

[cryptoriawebb]

A, B, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, N, O, Q, R, W, X, Y, Z

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)Honestly, my top ships kinda stay the same XD; I haven’t had a new one in a while that I’ve been super obsessed with.Charles Xavier/Erik LehnsherrKiara/KovuDraculaura/CupidNinth Doctor/Jack/Rose

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mindUmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmClark Kent/Bruce Wayne XD; and I blame BvS and our cute domestic verse entirely. 

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, whatI KNOW I have over the years, I just can’t remember what or for which fandom ^^;OH WAIT… KYORANGE

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandomPRobably the X-men. I’ve loved them since I was a kid, over half my life, now. I’ve grown up with various versions of them–primarily tv and movies–and they’re very close to my heart.

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in itHm…I don’t know…I remember one big one from junior high but I don’t think it was my first. Maybe Kiara/Kovu? I adored them and I still do. 

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., tv shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)8′D the X-men movies. Ahh mostly live-action movies, to be honest. And I guess western (especially girly) cartoons lol. Although to a lesser degree. Note, this has changed over the years. I was a big ol’ anime shipper (as I’m sure you remember) back in the day. 

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and whyIt’s made me avoid fandoms I’m not into. Otherwise I don’t think so…I’ve become aware of certain sects in my fandoms that I steer clear from but beyond that, not really. Most of my bad experiences occurred on other sites.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblrVikings. Haven’t watched the show, probably won’t watch the show but I admit gifsets and fandom talk intrigue me. 

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)In any fandom? I guess I’ll choose My Little Pony. I’m not really into the fandom, I prefer Equestria Girls, but I’ve watched the show for years so why not. Rainbow Dash isn’t high on my favorites list but I love her nerdy streak and devotion to both A.K. Yearling and Daring Do. Heck knows that’s how I feel about certain series (books or otherwise.) It’s a nice contrast to her otherwise cocky and athletic personality. 

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)I guesssss I’ll do Monster High? I don’t really have one main fandom…although if it isn’t this, it’s X-men.1) More Cupid/Draculauraaaaaa! Come on guys!2) More people aware and obsessed with all the little Universal monster references in gen 1. Heck, more references to that stuff in general. There used to be such strong ties to it! That’s what really made me fall in love with Monster High. I wish I saw more people touch on or explore it. 3) I…can’t believe I’m going to say this but I’d love to see other fans explore and entertain the world set up in the anime shorts. I think it has a lot of intriguing potential. Characterizations aside. 

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you ofWell I have this song stuck in my head. Honestly it could probably fit a couple of ships, if you want to go the angsty route…but I tend to associate the Killers with Cherik XD; Although this totally works for Clark/Bruce too~ before they learn the other’s identity, I mean. 

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and whyMost of my MLP ships. Because I learned a long time ago certain fandoms lack a broad imagination. They’re linear and can only see the forest for the trees. Or something like that.I also grew out of most of my Naruto ships…apart from NaruHina, the only one I really like is from that collaborative AU headcanon ten years or so ago…damn I’m old. 

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else shipsFrankie Stein/Gooliope Jellington, Faybelle Thorn/Poppy O’Hair, there’s one X-men ship I’ve explored but I think it would be considered taboo (which is precisely why I like exploring it. Changing angles, trying to look at things from perspectives I haven’t seen before. Keeps the creativity fresh.) 

W - 5 favorite shipssOf all time? Well XD I listed three of them (Cherik, Kovara, Nine/Rose/Jack) but let me think…the last two…Honestly I’m not sure I have another two. Nothing that’s completely cemented unless you count that au Naruto ship but I haven’t touched that fandom in years. I’d have to think more carefully about this… 

X - top 5-10 characters who are YOUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEMCHARLES XAVIERKiara ElsaClark KentFrankie SteinDraculauraFaybelle Thorn although I wouldn’t call her my precious baby so much as fabulous fae-bae~Sunset ShimmerPinkie PieSally Acorn

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)DCAU for sure XDSailor Moon although I’d love to get into it properlyPokemon MCU/Avengers Harry PotterPolitics *shot* I AM KIDDING.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)Ahahahhahahaaa wellllllll most of the stuff I’ve been rambling about lately is my own creative world but you know all about that lol. I guess like hmmmm I’m lame but I’ve been seriously thinking about purchasing a moderately affordable and sized Monster High playset because I’m tired of taking photos against a white background and a playset would come with a variety of accessories and furniture and just dress everything up.Plus cuuuute cuddly OTP photos I was going to say something else too but I can’t remember what it was. 

[cessmaga]

Do you think that in the new universe that James Gunn is creating, we will finally be able to have a proper interaction between Hal and Barry?

I mean honestly I really don't know but I'm a little worried about the rumors about hal being an old mentor figure cuz they're a good chance that they're gonna push hal away in favor of john considering the fact that hal is very underrepresented, he is either just a side character or mischaracterized (also considering dc is slowly starting to do it) or maybe I'm just overreacting a bit

I don't know why but I find it a little unfair (I get they wanted to be accurate to the silver age comic when hal's actually decades older than john but cmon) and just making more alan underutilized

I don't hate john but like I said I just want a buddy cop between these two considering we really don't have a full interaction between these two

as for barry we really have no news for james gunn flash but they better use barry cuz I'm so sick of wally fans dissing barry in favor of wally

bfr they should make barry wally's mentor figure I mean after all he is barry's apprentice instead of punching each other would be the best (I blame dcau for all of this) (also probably they gonna make barry an old figure to shoehorn wally as a main flash, like jay garrick's right there ffs)

tbh I wish we could get good interactions between these two, but considering dc and the fans kinda don't really like them and me overthinking idk, i guess maybe

[dcarevu]

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: Mad as a Hatter

“Why don’t you go do something useful like… Oh, go jump in the river.”

Episode: 27 Robin: No Writer: Paul Dini Director: Frank Paur Animator: Akom Airdate: October 12, 1992 Grade: B

I was in high school when Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland showed up in theaters, and like almost everyone I knew, I could not have been more excited. I really loved the Disney version, and considering that the man involved with Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, and more would be giving us his take on it right as I was starting to move toward my emo-scene phase, it was a dream come true. Even now, on paper, this seems like the perfect recipe, doesn’t it? But I think most of us can agree that it just didn’t meet expectations. The first time I watched it, I wouldn’t admit to myself that I wasn’t a fan. It was dark, and strange, and Tim Burton + Alice in Wonderland. Everything I wanted! As a developing emo kid, I was supposed to like it! The reason I bring this up is because Batman the Animated Series being fused with Alice in Wonderland seems like another fantasy-combination that would have no way to turn out subpar. Mad as a Hatter is an episode that, for the most part, actually gets a lot of praise. Alas (or, for the sake of the pun, Alice), maybe the idea seemed a little bit too easy, making it easier to over-shoot, missing the mark. This is another episode featuring a crazy set-piece at the end, but it is also another episode that was handed to Akom. Christ, why. Of all the episodes. All the episodes. Why is it some of the ones with the highest reliance on visuals? This episode involved not just complicated, creative visuals, but incredibly weird ones as well that needed to be animated just right to not look like subjects from one’s fever dreams. You wanna know how that turned out? Well, I heard an, “Oh my god!” from Char as the walrus and the carpenter made their appearances. While that did make me laugh quite hard, and Akom definitely got the weirdness down, it should have looked like intentional weirdness. Beyond the animation, the story is actually decent. It is Paul Dini, so what can you really expect. But even here, I would not call it A-level material. Some strange dialogue/delivery choices, and other leaps of logic/strains on the suspension of disbelief take away from it and leave me feeling extremely neutral.

Okay, so after that paragraph above was written, I went and took the screenshots from my DVD. I was surprised. The DVD looks so much better than the Blu Ray here. This was the case with The Clock King too, and I fear it is starting to seem like a pattern. I think it all comes down to the Blu Ray release looking too clean, and way too bright at times. Because of course, the DVD is in lower definition. Shadows are lightened so that we can see all of the imperfections of Akom’s drawings. Smudges and dirt are removed, giving the people a plastic look at times. It’s not the way the show was meant to be watched (as I said, probably VHS would be my preferred way of viewing if that were feasible). This puts me in an interesting spot, because I paid near $100 for the set, and also, some episodes look absolutely phenomenal. But is it worth it when some look like absolute crap? The great-looking shows look godly. The mediocre-looking ones look horrible. I was ready to tear into how Mad as a Hatter looked and rip it a new one, but now I do not think that would be fair. No, the animation here isn’t perfect. But it’s passable. And I think that’s worth something given the frequency at which I complain about Akom. At this point, I have watched up to Robin’s Reckoning. From here, I honestly might start using the ol’ dvd’s again. It’s unfortunate, but if I go back to specific episodes that I love later on, then I’ll use the Blu Ray. Remember, I am watching these with Char who has never seen the DCAU before. I want the series to make the best possible impression, and even with the best plot ever, a bad-looking episode can make a disappointing episode. Merely getting the episodes at a higher definition, but leaving them dirty and dark would have been my preferred solution. Anyway, back to talking about the episode itself (and yes, this does slightly affect how I see the episode. At first I was giving it a C. But I think I’ll have to bump it up to B territory).

We start with episode with some cute-ass mice, only to then be introduced to a face that a mother would have a hard time loving. Jervis Tetch, aka The Mad Hatter, is a character-design, alright. I think I know what they were going for, though. He has this kooky look that makes him stand out from every other character. He certainly looks like he could play someone from Wonderland. But the problem I think comes from Akom (ironic given that last paragraph, huh?). This design could probably work, but he has such an odd model, so I think they had a tough time animating him. Or maybe he simply does not translate to movement very well in general, and there was a problem the moment his model sheet was created. Regardless, he can be pretty tough to look at sometimes. Other times, though, he does have that level of whacky which I would hope would be in an episode based on Alice in Wonderland. But we see that Jervis is working on some mind-control technology while also being smitten for a girl that works in his office named Alice. Unfortunately, Alice has a boyfriend, and like many sociopaths in real life, Jervis is not okay with this, taking matters into his own hands. First of all, her name being Alice is kinda stupid, and Char agrees. It takes parallels a little bit too far, and Char noted that it would have been more subtle if her name were something like Alycia. Alice is one of the only people that Jervis feels is nice to him, so if we follow the most sound of incel-logic, she owes him her heart, mind, and body. Not only is she nice to him, but, again, her name is Alice. And it would not surprise me if this were a main factor of why Jervis is into her. He has an Alice in Wonderland poster in his office, he takes her to a theme park of sorts that has a section which is themed after the book, he owns a Mad Hatter costume (or perhaps he obtained this from the park), he quotes the book regularly, etc. He is clearly obsessed. When we reach the point where he mentions that it is one of his favorite stories, it’s like, “Wow! No kidding!” He is not quite wired into reality, likely developing this obsession at an early age to escape from life’s burdens. But Wonderland has burdens of its own.

Jervis ends up using these mind-control cards that he created (another Alice in Wonderland-related thing) to make people basically do his bidding. He first uses them on two thugs attempting to rob him and Alice, forcing them to climb up on top of a bridge and jump into the river. Batman catches notice of this through a police broadcast, and to my surprise, the show mentions a possible suicide in progress. How often do you hear a family cartoon like this use the word “suicide”? I think this is the only time I have ever heard it, despite references occasionally popping up in shows like Spongebob. He then uses more cards on his coworkers, Alice’s fiancé, and Alice herself, creating an army of Alice in Wonderland-themed warriors to defend him from Batman when Batman finds out what’s going on and sets after him. He wants Alice all to himself, and is willing to do whatever possible to obtain her. The final battle takes place in the theme park, the big set-piece of the episode. It’s got some great looking background paintings that 100% capture the tone of the book. It is a shame that the animation done by Akom couldn’t hold up to Radomski’s work. We have moments such as Batman balancing on top of the walls of a playing card maze that I wish stressed me out a little bit more. But because of how stilted the movement is, Batman never really seems like he is having a tough time keeping balance, even though we clearly see him struggling. The fight scenes could also be much better, with more impact felt. The odd costumes that most everyone is wearing makes for some really distorted-looking characters, and it’s clear that not a lot of time was spent making them look quite right. At the same time, though, between the subject material, the gimmicks, the overall surreal nature, and the background art, it is still a lot of fun to watch, even if it is in a more campy way. It is not an episode to be taken extremely seriously. This can be a problem with Batman. The tone can fluctuate greatly from episode to episode. At the beginning, it did not matter as much. Right away we had varying quality and seriousness. I mean, we went from On Leather Wings to Christmas With the Joker. But now we are getting gothic masterpieces like Two-Face, so episodes like Mad as a Hatter feel jarring as hell. It is an episode I enjoyed more on second watch as I gathered screenshots. I loosened up and let myself have fun with it.

The Mad Hatter fails to be a sympathetic villain like I feel they might have been going for, but I do enjoy him being so delusional and sociopathic. When Alice mentions her boyfriend, he gets this scary scowl, and you know at that moment that this is no character you want to root for. When Alice’s boyfriend temporarily breaks up with her, rather than attempting to comfort her and being upset over her sorrow, he jumps for joy because he has a chance to finally swoop in (the epitome of an Internet “nice guy”). When she gets back together with her boyfriend, turned fiancé, he squeezes a bouquet of roses in frustration so hard that he bleeds. I think they were able to get away with this portion because maybe the blood could have passed off as liquid from the flowers? Which doesn’t really make a lot of sense, but for the sake of the blood being included, um, sure. It was definitely rose-goo, guys. Not blood at all… And he also blames Batman for why things ended up the way they did, even though Batman had virtually nothing to do with anything until the very end. He decided to mind-control everyone because he was being a spoiled little piss-baby who could not let the girl he supposedly loves be happy. Char did not care for the character, and jokingly mentioned that he was appropriating the Mad Hatter, doing things that he would never do. Like some batshit crazy super-fan who feels sooo connected with a character, but actually doesn’t understand them at all.

Not a perfect episode, but a grower.

See? Cute-ass mice!

Wow, I didn’t realize that we were watching Attack on Titan. (Joke inspired by Char).

The poster on the wall matches the title card/an actual illustration from the book. It’s actually a pretty dope poster.

A variety of shots showing Jervis’ face. See how inconsistent it is? It is a little similar to the Pokémon Drilbur, where it only works 2D. Adding an element of 3D illusion (such as movement) causes it to fall apart.

Oh, sure, go and rob them right after you see Batman drive by. That’s always smart.

“Please, Mr. Hat. Go easy on us.” The delivery here was wicked funny. It was so monotone, and sounded like he was faking.

I quite like this facial expression. His smile reminds me of the Cheshire Cat.

Batman + Taco Bell

I love the panic in Batman’s voice as he tries to stop them from jumping off of the bridge. It shows how concerned he is with keeping them safe.

They were able to animate this shimmer pretty damn well. Then again, how hard could it be?

A very subtle recreation of the illustration/title card.

I don’t think the background here quite comes together, the composition is off. Still neat to look at.

A close-up of the illustration.

Now this is an ugly facial expression. Gross! And it’s not like this was a quick frame. It was there long enough to notice.

This shot has a lovely glow to it. It looks quite nice. 

One of the only times they were able to get away with blood. Um. Oops. I meant flower-goo! It’s flower-goo, guys! The blood drips right onto Billy’s face. As if a hit were put on him. Awesome detail.

“Oh, do be quiet!”

Bruce whispers “Congratulations.” in such a goobery way. I love it. 

The shadow of the plants shifted in some wonky-looking ways. Also, when the Mad Hatter and Batman both arrive on the scene, she says, “This is getting too weird.” But she says it so nonchalantly. Not the best delivery.

Very sloppy-looking drawings of their faces. These costumes, though. 

Cool impact here. He just decimates that wood. I’m not sure if Storybook Land has the safest costumes. 

This is some enjoyable stuff right here. I had a lot of fun with this portion.

“Off with his head!” I should have counted how many times this line was said.

Perfect example if how cool the painted visuals are paired with some mediocre animation. Hell, I’m pretty sure Batman’s run was recycled for two of these stills.

Gee, I wonder which cards are going to move. Great Mad Hatter, pose, though. This is what I wish he looked like all the time!

The looming Jabberwock ends up falling on him, ending the adventure through Wonderland. 

There’s no reversing the damage, Jervis. You’ll never talk with her again. Was it worth it? Also, his hair totally changed color at one point. Um... Maybe he dyed it?

Char’s grade: D Next time: Dreams in Darkness

Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Vendetta

“Alfred! You’re beautiful!”

Episode: 23 Robin: No Writer: Michael Reaves Director: Frank Paur Animator: Spectrum Airdate: October 5, 1992 Grade: B

I love it when in Batman media, we get to see Batman solving mysteries. Particularly when it’s a little bit more involved than Batman simply putting something into his computer and having it shit out an automatic answer for him. I like to see him investigating a crime-scene, interrogating thugs, and exploring new areas. That is exactly what we got to see in the episode Vendetta, as Batman tries to figure out who is seemingly axing off different convicts that share some dark connections with Harvey Bullock. Because of these connections, along with some framing and some false evidence, Batman suspects that Harvey himself could be the one causing trouble, a concept that I feel was begging to be done. Bullock often suspects Batman as not only being untrustworthy, but sometimes even having a hand in specific crimes (see On Leather Wings). Here it is a reverse situation. Harvey didn’t do anything wrong (as Commissioner Gordon insisted to Batman, letting him know that Bullock is a good cop), so Batman, instead of immediately blaming him and going after him, takes his time, trying to make sure that he has the mystery solved. This highlights one of Bullock’s flaws, and that is his pride (which we have mentioned before). Once he suspects something, he has too much pride to consider other possibilities. And sometimes, these suspicions of his can get him into a lot of trouble like in the episode P.O.V. Batman, on the other hand, is much more unbiased when he is at work. And even though he heavily suspected Bullock, in the end, he was willing to admit that he was mistaken to Bullock’s face. Bullock, obviously foreign to this respectable behavior, seemed confused, but perhaps it was enough to maybe teach him a thing or two. Batman’s little speech at the end was really nice too, and it shows that even though he feels similar about Bullock to how Commissioner Gordon feels, that he’s stubborn and hard to work with, he still respects him on some level. He knows that Bullock wants what is best for the city, and that he believes in keeping crime down while keeping innocent people safe. They both have questionable ways of working with the law too. Bullock can be slimy, sneaky, and willing to break some of the rules. So can Batman. But one major difference is that Bullock is an official employee, while Batman isn’t. Yet another thing that he is incredibly proud of. He also seemed to assume that Batman wouldn’t ever bother helping out someone like him, as if they were enemies. He didn’t seem to understand that Batman wants the same basic things that he does. The two could probably work pretty well together if they tried. And I’m not going to pretend that Batman can’t be just as stubborn as Bullock. He’s the protagonist, so we may not notice it as much (we get more insight on him), but we are sure to notice a lot of Bullock-like qualities that he possesses as we move much further into the DCAU, when he meets up with some future protagonists. Batman can be a dick, guys. But that’s a discussion for another day. I’ll just leave it with saying that I think as Batman gets more jaded and as things around him start changing, he gets much more disgruntled.

“Why’d you stick your neck out like that to help me?”

“We may have different ways of enforcing the law, but we both believe in it.”

Speaking of disgruntled, Killer Croc makes his first appearance here, and it is pretty satisfactory. When I first saw this episode (my dad watched it with me, by the way, alleviating the pain of him only seeing I’ve Got Batman in My Basement and The Forgotten prior), I already knew who Croc was, and had already seen an episode with him, so the buildup was not nearly as strong. For Char, I think it was more elevated, as I don’t think she was expecting him. She was familiar with his Suicide Squad design, though, so it was hard for her not to compare it with this more ugly one. Yeah, I don’t know about Croc’s design. I’m pretty used to it, so it doesn’t bother me, but I have heard others say that they’re not really a fan. He only kinda looks crocodile-like, and I think that is because of the more subdued, realistic approach that this show was initially going for. I tend to prefer the hulking mass that we get to see in Arkham Asylum, which is significantly scarier. In this episode, we see the fear in the convicts’ eyes as they witness the strange-looking, reptilian man, and I think that it ends up being a little anticlimactic, especially since he doesn’t kill them or anything (on top of looking the way he does). Taking all that into consideration, the episode would have gotten an A most likely if the issue was fixed. Buuuut, I do like Croc as a villain, despite this. He has an interesting enough backstory, he creates a challenge for Batman, he has a cool habitat, and his personality is fine. He’s definitely not a sympathetic villain like Freeze or Two-Face, but Harvey Bullock was the one with the focus this time. It makes sense that Killer Croc would serve more as that scary, mysterious threat which lurks around in the water, stalking and capturing him. Too much insight can take away from the intimidation. Also, not every villain in real life has all that much depth to them. As long as the episode is still entertaining and has other qualities to take the place of the intense feels (and this episode does indeed), then it’s perfectly reasonable that not every villain in Gotham would either. Sometimes you just need an evil guy, with an evil plan, and a cool gimmick.

Oh, Spectrum is back with the animation. This is weird because, again, I thought they went under after Heart of Ice which was a handful of episodes back now. Also, this episode isn’t quite up to snuff with a lot of the things that they’ve done. I noticed some recycled animation, some weird models, and overall a cheaper-feeling quality. But it’s not Akom-level stuff either, it’s closer to Dong Yang, which is 100% fine by me. I’m trying not to be spoiled. This is a 90’s television show, aimed at kids, which had an accompanying toy line. How much can I really expect? So while not very recognizable as Spectrum, it is still beyond passable, and the directing/storyboarding was a highlight (take a look at some of the below screenshots).

Do these look like Spectrum drawings to you?

This one is a little more like it. 

I like the bit where Commissioner Gordon dumps out his nasty coffee. Another little bit of character.

Croc’s hand reaching out of the water. “Hayyyy, guys! Can I get a lift?”

This still doesn’t do the intensity of this guy’s fear any justice. His sudden gasp was one of pure panic.

These types of blue colors are incredibly common in Batman TAS. The team couldn’t always use the variety in colors that they wanted. They were pushing the budget as it was.

This section confused me a little bit. We see Bullock toss a toothpick to the ground. But later, the toothpick is treated as though Croc planted it to frame him. It must have been a different toothpick, right? This is not communicated very clearly. And I don’t know, how would Croc have known that Bullock would have a toothpick on him? How would he know that others would notice? And how well known for carrying a toothpick around is Bullock, exactly?

A great shot. 

The planted toothpick. Or maybe it’s actually the one Bullock dropped. I’m not entirely sure. 

We see lightning flash, engulfing Bullock in light. It looks awesome in motion because we don’t linger on it. Although one thing that bugs me about cartoons is that we always hear the thunder boom at the exact time that the lightning strikes, which is generally not what we experience.

Look at those reflections. Another cool use of lightning. We need a Top 10 Lightning Strikes post eventually I think. Hmm...

There was nothing like this on TV at the time.

Just an s short of being a Psycho reference.

This might be the first time that we see how the entrance to the Batcave works? Oddly, we hear the clock ticking in this scene. I wonder if the hands move. And if they do, there has to be some function to prevent the door from opening  when it reaches 12 normally. I’ll bet that Alfred is the one who has to fix the time.

I love how the camera slowly pans as we see them coming down the stairs, with the computer system in view. I’d love to hang out in the Batcave. 

Another scary Croc entrance. Fitting that this episode aired in October.

“Ah, turnips.”

Awesome shadow work. For no other reason than that it looks awesome and makes Batman look hella intimidating. This is why people fear him.

Batman smacks the plant out of his hands. Get the gross vegetables out of his face!

“I’ve got plenty of answers. .38 caliber answers.”

“You’d better hope your men are very good shots.” I’m sure you guys can come up with many alternative captions for this screenshot.

Batman’s nose is a little crazy here. He’d look more like a bird if the ears were missing. 

This scene made me chuckle. A false Harvey Dent walks in, dropping wet. Like, yup, that’s him alright. Nothing nefarious going on at all.

Gotta feel a little bad for him, even if you don’t like him.

“Alfred! You’re beautiful!” Best moment.

See, I mean, he looks okay. Just not the best Croc design out there.

Hmmm.. Recycled segment.

Now these are some Spectrum shots!

A really cool Batman entrance. 

Char’s grade: B

Next time: Fear of Victory Full episode list here!

[dcarevu]

DCAU #18: See No Evil

“Hey! Who locked the bathroom?!”

Watching this show in production-order as opposed to airing-order is drastically altering how I perceive it. This is an episode that I had no memory of. Like, none. And then when I watched it, yeah, I managed to sense some vague familiarity (at least enough to know I didn’t miss it the first time I went through the show), but it was basically like watching it for the first time. This time was different, though, and I actually think that this episode is not only worth remembering, but it’s kinda another key episode! I know, you probably have your doubts, but hear me out. Maybe by the end of today’s blog post, you’ll at least see where I’m coming from.

Episode: 17 Robin: No Writer: Martin Pasko Director: Dan Riba Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: February 24, 1993 Grade: A Where do I begin with See No Evil… Talking about an episode like this is weird, because knowing that I can praise an episode you don’t see praised as often as, say, Heart Of Ice puts more pressure on me to say what I feel I need to say. With Two-Face I didn’t really need to worry about getting my points about how great it is through. Everyone already knows. I was preaching to the choir. But this episode doesn’t have the flashy villain. It also doesn’t have the landmark status. Hell, its airing number was 56. By that point, this episode wasn’t special at all. The series was more than halfway over. The airing order wasn’t all bad, I mean, let’s bring up Heart Of Ice again. It’s a wonderful episode, but imagine if it aired more than halfway through the series. We’d probably be looking at it at least a little differently. I believe that See No Evil got swept into the cracks. No real harm done, don’t take this as me saying that losing this episode like that was a travesty. I still wouldn’t put it on a top 10 list or anything (at least, I don’t think I would). But I want to shine the spotlight on it, even if it’s just through this post. Give it a little bit of love, and hopefully at least get a few to acknowledge it as an achievement within Batman the Animated Series, despite it often being seen as a standard.

(“Hey! Who locked the bathroom?!” Try knocking, asshole!)

What’s funny is that the first few minutes are more engaging and have better atmosphere than the entire climax of our last episode. And that had explosions and fires galore! This is essentially just a little kid talking to a seemingly supernatural being! Wait. A little kid? In a Batman TAS episode? I know you’re going, “I thought you said this episode was good.” As I said. Hear. Me. Out. Now there’s something that creeps me out about things such as dolls coming to life, whether they’re actually sentient, or some creepy invisible thing is manipulating them. Especially when intentions are clearly malicious to everyone except for the naive child. It’s that creepy manipulation aspect. You ever see a horror movie where the mom asks their kid who they’re talking to, and at that moment you know that it’s not just their imaginary friend? That something sinister is lurking around? Hell, when I was a little kid I used to partially wake up in the middle of the night and see things in the dark. Apparently one time I asked my mom over and over if she could see/hear the lady with the guitar wandering through the house. If I were my mom, I woulda packed my bags and moved out until I could get ahold of the god damn Ghostbusters (by the way, Ghostbusters 3, what the actual fu-).

(Char thought this scenery was really spooky. I’d have to agree!)

But anyway, getting back on topic… Now, we later of course find out that this “ghost” is just a regular dude, and is in fact the girl’s father. But, despite concerns, that doesn’t remove the tension from the episode at all. There’s a horror movie called Hush which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I was going to. But one minor nitpick is that, although it helps alleviate the cliché, when the killer removes his mask and we start to slowly see them as more human than blank, creepy slate, the scariness takes a hard hit. I hear a similar complaint with how some of the modern Halloween movies make Michael too human, and although it can often create a stronger character, that doesn’t exactly help improve the Halloween movies. Michael Myers is scary because of how mysterious and inhuman he is. My point is that relatability alone cannot always take the place of that haunting alien quality. And our villain, Lloyd Ventrix, goes through a similar transformation as we learn more about him. But here, it doesn’t hurt the episode, it only makes it more interesting. I’m usually all about sympathetic villains on this show, but it would have been so easy to turn this into a typical emotion-driven story about a dad who misses his daughter and uses his invisibility to see her sometimes. Granted, this story could have worked. It worked in Spider-Man 3 with the Sandman (I actually like that movie, despite having some major problems with it). But instead we go for a different route where somehow our character gets scarier when we find out who he is and what he wants. The best way I can put it is that we found out what he wants without finding out what he wants after he gets what he wants. Whatever it is, though, it’s likely not good. Something is so off about Ventrix. And it’s actually explained why. The chemicals in his invisibility suit are basically making him go crazy. He’s not going crazy in a cartoonish way, it’s a legitimate mentally ill way.

(Look at that fixated glare. <Shudders>)

He stalks. He steals. And despite the super villain element, there’s a realness to it all that puts the real accounts of child kidnapping and stalking at the back of your mind. Enough to get a slight case of the willies. We find out from the mother that Ventrix has basically no redeeming qualities at all, but she doesn’t know much more about his motivations than we do. Even his daughter. She has no idea who he is when he reveals his face to her. Add in the fact that he ignores his restraining order at one point in the episode to try and show his ex wife that he’s a changed man because he has money now, and it makes you real glad that Batman exists in this world to protect the more innocent.

(“Goth Mart”. Love it. This store would eventually become Hot Topic.)

I legitimately feel like his daughter would have been in danger if she would have gotten into that car. Ugh. Yeah. That’s another thing. Ventrix trying to get his daughter into his car (when she has no idea who he is, they likely haven’t communicated face to face since before she can even remember), and her saying that her mom told her to not talk to strangers. Ahhhhhh! Scary! And she sees his face and gets creeped out that he’s a grown-ass man she’s never seen before. Like, am I the only one so disturbed by this guy? In a world that unfortunately contains child-molestors and killers, can you blame me?

(I really love this little girl’s character model. Beautiful eyes!)

Now, if you’ve never seen this episode (go watch the series, dude!), you’re probably a little surprised about this being an episode of Batman the Animated Series. But they don’t play everything quite so scary. In fact, there was a decent amount of comic relief, and it was genuinely funny. There was one moment where Batman jumps onto our villain’s invisible car as it starts racing through the city. At first, this looked stupidly campy. I was thinking of the Invisible Boatmobile. And also, since we can’t see the car, we just see what appears to be Batman flying around in an incredibly static position at 90 mph. But the show was smart. Martin Pasko knew that this would look stupid. So they embrace it. We see a civilian who notices Batman speeding by, and he goes, “I didn’t know he could fly too!” in a pretty funny voice. Char and I both laughed out loud. It was very well played.

Speaking of funny voices, by the way, holy hell, the voice work in this episode was incredible. Every character’s voice had so much…well…character! My favorite voice performance in the episode was actually that one scientist (Sam Giddell was his name) that Batman talked to about the invisibility plastic. He was kinda funny sounding, but not in a cartoony way. He sounded exactly how he should, a nerdy, dedicated, hard-working researcher. He was no Seymour the scientist (anyone who gets that reference gets a bat-cookie. Or maybe a lava cookie…), that’s for sure. Y’know who another surprisingly great voice came from? Batman. You’re probably thinking, “This is Kevin Conroy, Collin. His Batman voice is always great.” You’d be right…kinda. Watch The Cat and the Claw, and then go watch the Superman TAS episode World’s Finest. One is really good. One is great, and the Batman voice we’ve come to know and love from Conroy. I think that See No Evil is our first episode with the definitive Kevin Conroy Batman voice. Especially when compared to The Cat and the Claw where everyone was barely talking above a whisper (I still don’t know what that was about, honestly). Really, The Cat and the Claw coming right before this episode just highlights why this episode is a key episode even more. The Red Claw ended up being a little bit more gimmicky and stock than I would have liked. And she was a little bit too…exaggerated? Think back to that attack on the train. See No Evil indeed has a villain with a gimmick, don’t get me wrong. But this gimmick is one that provides a lot of plot-points that don't feel empty. It’s how he manages to frequently talk to his daughter. It’s how he managed to kidnap her. It’s how he committed so many of his crimes. It’s how he gave Batman so much damn trouble. Compare this to the level of meat that Red Claw provided for that story. Miles apart.

Underneath this gimmick, which essentially is a way of giving someone in this show a super power, we have a regular guy (well…kinda) without even a supervillian name. Bruce Timm and co from the beginning wanted the show to focus on good stories rather than freaks of the day. They made it clear that sometimes this would involve regular mobsters or, maybe people like Ventrix. We’ve already done similar with It’s Never Too Late, but I think that this episode is even better in some aspects.

It isn’t perfect, though. The scene with Batman on top of the car, yeah, the joke was funny, but it goes on a little too long for me. Also, the bit where Ventrix pulled that robbery of the jewelry at the beginning I had mixed thoughts on. Like, dude. You’re invisible. You manage to quietly sneak an item into your pocket, but then decide to throw the idea of stealth completely out the window by ripping jewelry out of people’s hands, shoving people around, and dumping out displays right in front of people? Oh, good job, now you alerted Batman, you moron.

(An in-costume Ventrix, visible.)

At the same time, though, we do establish later on that this guy isn’t mentally there, so maybe that’s a decent enough reason. Either way, these are nitpicks through and through, and calling them anything but would be doing an injustice. This episode is awesome. I haven’t even talked about the step up in action scenes yet. This is probably the best the series has been so far with action. Except for when Mr. Freeze rode that fire hydrant into a building. That was amazing. Batman gets the shit beat out of him in this episode. I think that maybe they could get away with more because the villain was invisible for most of the hits or something, but the way that they were animated still makes them look just as painful as any hits from a completely visible person would have.

(Caption this?)

(Or this.)

(Or this.)

(Or even this.)

Yeah, the animation here was done by Dong Yang. Y’know. The same ones who did Nothing to Fear and I’ve Got Batman In My Basement. Before I checked on who the animation studio was, I totally would have guessed TMS or Spectrum. It looks that great. A major step up from those two mentioned episodes. The only weird bit was that Batman’s face looked a tiny bit off occasionally, but it's barely noticeable. It’s mostly in his nose, and how it tends to hang down. Anyway, yeah. Lots of great action scenes. Probably one of the coolest was when water is raining down on the battlefield, and Batman uses that to keep an eye on Ventrix and take him out. Here, he is totally visible, but they don’t cut back on the damage being done by Batman’s fists and feet. But y’know what the main thing I noticed with this bit was? The live action Daredevil movie totally got the final fight scene from this episode. Coincidentally Ben Affleck is a common denominator.

There are lots of other little things I could say. There were a few more funny bits, a particular scene where Batman is rummaging through some files and tension skyrockets, and even the technical mumbo jumbo that surprisingly made a lot of sense and didn't seem to jump the shark much… It’s mostly all great. This is why production order is so important for this episode in particular. By the time episode 56 arrived, much of See No Evil’s achievements had already been seen! But watching it this way, we see a huge boost in good comic relief, a huge boost in action, a huge boost in tension/borderline horror elements, a huge boost in animation (at least for this particular studio), a huge boost in voice work, and a solid, entertaining story to go with all of it. I really liked this episode, as did Char, and this is why it gets a proud, sturdy A from me. Char mentioned to me that this villain felt like a one-shot, and I’m guessing she’s right (I can’t quite recall). I bet they could have done another interesting story with Ventrix, and maybe he found his way into some of the DCAU comics? Speaking of that…

I made a post earlier, but I wanted to reiterate! There are DCAU comics. There are actually a lot of them. Now, I have no idea which ones are technically still considered canon (or which ones ever were). But what I’d like to do is put in a little research and start including them in this blog! Unfortunately, these likely won’t align together as nicely as the episodes do. Because I’m watching Batman in production order, it’s kinda hard to then look at the comic dates and place them appropriately throughout. So I’m going to treat them more as a separate thing and check them out at my own pace. I don’t even own any right now, so it’s likely gonna be a while before I even get to them. I still don’t know if I want to do all of them, or just the confirmed canon ones? Any input? Lemme know! With that, I’ll see y’all next week, most likely, as we…um…head west…

Char’s grade: A

Next time: Beware Of the Grey Ghost Full episode list here!