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I finally got a chance to watch the latest animated incarnation of the Dark Knight.
While The Dark Knight has justly won critical and popular acclaim for an intense, gritty, downbeat look at Batman, The Brave and the Bold may just win equally positive response to a much different direction.
What can I say about a show where elements such as evil sentient gorillas wielding death rays and riding giant pterodactyls are not only included, but gloried in?
I'll say it's a darn fine super-hero show.
It's interesting to note the portrayal of this version of Batman. In Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League he was an intense, driven crimefighter in the prime of his career. In The Batman he was a scrappy newbie.
In The Brave and the Bold he's the ultimate seasoned veteran. The ultra-competent, cool-headed guy who everyone either respects or fears. He's Been There, Done That, Saved the Universe. They may be using the cartoony Dick Sprang design for the costume, but this isn't being played for camp.
Not that it's taken dead-set seriously either. There -are- those talking apes.
This episode featured a brief cameo by Fire, who was a favorite of mine back in the ol' JLI comic days, but mostly focuses on Plastic Man. Plastic Man was perhaps the first super-hero parody character. Few modern attempts to use Plas have been successful. They either make him too weird or too serious, not able to strike the delicate balance his creator Jack Cole did.
The solution of The Brave and the Bold was to use a Plastic Man who only recently obtained his bizarre elastic powers...see, Plas started out as a crook. The bad habits aren't easy to drop, and he's dubious at best about Batman's efforts to rehabilitate him.
I really dug it. I also dug that they remembered Plas always did more than just stretch...he also reshaped himself into an endless variety of objects.
Very fun show. I'm certain any kids who watch it will enjoy it. Adults who dig nice animation and seeing Batman on his more fantastical cases will also find it a lot of fun.
Edit:
Man, that YouTube video isn't just shoddy, it's painful!
posted
For those who want to check this out, the first episode (featuring Green Arrow and Clock King as the warm up, followed by Blue Beetle and Kanjar Ro) is on youtube in shoddy quality:
The Fire/Gentleman Ghost/Plastic Man/Gorilla Grodd episode Puffy mentioned is the second episode - which being Canadian I have yet to see *grumblegrumble*.
Forgot to mention one thing: It appears in the version that airs in the US, censors took out a joke. When Jamie and Paco are flipping channels there's a comedian who says something along the lines of "...to get to the other side!" In the original version (which was broadcast in Canada) he says "...and it's called: The Aristocrats!"
Edit2: And if anyone is doubting the show's quality of writing, a sample of Blue Beetle speechifying:
Blue Beetle[BB]:Um.. hey. I guess in the past I've handled this sort of thing myself, but this time...umm...I'm going to need your help. To fight Kanjar Ro. *one of the gibbles faints* Gibble[G]: Fight Kanjar Ro? How can we? Our weapons are no match for his. *one accidently break his gun* And we are weak. You must save us - with your powers. BB: Dude, I tried. Batman[B]: Try. Harder. BB: Uhh...Look. You guys aren't always going to be able to rely on me. I mean, what if I've got soccer practise or something? One of these days, you might have to save yourselves, and the only way to do that is... to find the power, that's in each of you. So, in conclusion: find the power within, and, y'know...it's better to die on your feet then live on your knees. B: They don't have knees. Now wrap it up. BB: NOW WRAP IT UP! Gibbles: NOW WRAP IT UP! YAY!
[ November 21, 2008, 11:26 PM: Message edited by: Lord Solar Macharius ]
Posts: 254 | Registered: Apr 2005
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The Christmas episode further demonstrates the strengths of the series. Batman and Red Tornado team up on Christmas Day to defeat the nefarious "Fun Haus", a villain who's attacking innocents in their own homes with animate toys.
Awesomeness:
Fun Haus attacks Batman with a Santa robot. Batman defeats the robot violently, causing it to incinerate. As the charred, trembling robot Santa still laughs, Fun Haus quips: "Gee, that won't give kids nightmares, will it?"
We see the reason why Batman fights crime even on Christmas Day: Thomas and Martha Wayne took little Bruce to the movies in order to make up for him not getting the toy he wanted for Christmas. He sulked through the movie, too...not talking or even looking at his parents as they left the theater. Not even as they wandered onto Park Row/Crime Alley...
Corey Burton, long the voice of Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, finally gets to play a good android as Red Tornado.
This continues to be one fun show. This episode was a bit dark thanks to the flashbacks, but I doubt viewers will mind.
What can I say about a show where elements such as evil sentient gorillas wielding death rays and riding giant pterodactyls are not only included, but gloried in?
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The latest episode shows they're more than willing to throw in bonuses for older fans even while making this a "kids" show. For instance, the pre-credits sequence features Guy Gardner and the Green Lantern Corps as special guest heroes. They manage to cram in a ton of classic GLC characters and references without slowing down the action in the slightest...right down to Ch'p wearing a bow tie. Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Whoever had the idea to cast R. Lee Ermey as Wildcat, the greatest octogenarian vigilante in comics deserves a medal.
Another fun episode. It was interesting to see Batman's other team, the Outsiders make their animated debut. I like the retool of them as angry but wistful teens. True "Outsiders", this time.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: The latest episode shows they're more than willing to throw in bonuses for older fans even while making this a "kids" show. For instance, the pre-credits sequence features Guy Gardner and the Green Lantern Corps as special guest heroes. They manage to cram in a ton of classic GLC characters and references without slowing down the action in the slightest...right down to Ch'p wearing a bow tie.
Plus the power-ring-generated mop at the end was great.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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I'd love to sit in on the pitch sessions for new episodes.
"Okay, the in this episode Batman teams up with Doctor Fate, the Man of Magic in order to prevent Fate's arch-enemy the immortal sorcerer Wotan from breaking into the Library of Infinity!"
"Wow! That'll allow great possibilities for the climax!"
"Climax? Oh, no. This'll just be the cold opening. In the actual episode, cosmic telepathic super-villain Despero takes over the minds of almost all the Green Lantern Corps! But Hal Jordan apparently destroys the Corps and himself, programming his ring at the last minute to go to Earth and find Batman!"
"Ooooh."
"Batman travels to Oa, only to find three Green Lanterns left: Guy Gardner, Sinestro, and G'Nort!"
"The jerk, the evil renegade, and the inept doofus, eh?"
"Yes! And these three are the only help Batman has to prevent Despero from taking over Mogo."
"...*...the Green Lantern who's a living planet?!? Oh my gosh. SO COOL!"
"Yeah, and we'll design Batman special GL armor, too!" *geekish titter*
*****
Yeah, I bet they go something like that. Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Okay, if you ever watched The Grim Tales of Billy and Mandy, you may be familiar with a fuex Ash (as in the Sam Raimi movies) demon hunter character making fun of any and all action heroes named Haas Del Gato. It really creeps me out that it seems to be the same voice actor playing this new version of Batman, my first thought when hearing that voice are silly puns and trying way too hard to be cool hardened.
But honestly... didnt Frank Millar nearly commit comic book suicide to change our opinion of Batman from boyscout/doormat to cold-hearted and fervently devoted to the mission? I grew up as a Batman fan because he was the mean hero, especially compared to the rest of the JLA. It even seems as if the point of Batman: The Brave and the Bold is just to have him join forces with random underexposed heroes to introduce kids to characters that they wont understand. Like Dr. Fate.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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The voice of Batman is the shorter, darker haired half of the two dorky friends on the Drew Carrey show. The guy that played the son on the Beverly Hillbillies movie.
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Originally posted by AchillesHeel: But honestly... didnt Frank Millar nearly commit comic book suicide to change our opinion of Batman from boyscout/doormat to cold-hearted and fervently devoted to the mission?
Nope. That was Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Miller himself credits them with paving the way for The Dark Knight Returns. What he did was take the intense, driven, but still basically pure Batman they envisioned and grimed him up.
And what's so hard to understand about Doctor Fate? He's a magician with a cool golden helmet. No further explanation needed.
(I didn't need anything further, when I was a kid.)
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Watched part one of what was formerly the season finale.
(It's been expanded to 26 episodes instead of just 13!)
Batman switches places with Owlman, his evil alternate universe self. Ends up fighting twisted, sinister parallel versions of the Justice League while teaming up with the Red Hood, the Joker's good alternate self.
Depending on your taste, that's either really cool or really stupid.
"Where did you send the bomb?"
"Earth 161. Zombie world. Impossible to kill."
(Earth 616 is the number usually used to designate the Marvel Universe. Hee.)
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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yeah, for a second I thought they blew up the marvel universe. Still I thought the joker being a superhero was pretty cool, and kind of wondered if that world's plastic man used to be a police officer or something before he got his powers.
Posts: 2332 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Part two, if anything, exceeded my expectations. Batman is back in his own universe, only to find that Owlman has escaped and framed him for numerous crimes. Hunted down by the Justice League and the GCPD, the Dark Knight ends up with no one to turn to but the Harlequin of Hate, the Ace of Knaves, the Clown Prince of Crime...the Joker.
Fun episode. Lots of Easter eggs, like Owlman wearing the original Bob Kane Batman costume design, the Golden Age Batmobile, etc. Classic tropes, like "Room full of death traps, each trap uniquely designed to take down the hero! When the villain pulls....THE SWITCH!"
Best moment of the show is when Batman recruits counterparts from across several universes, including the Dark Knight Returns Batman, the Justice Riders Batman, AzBat, and the vampire Batman from Red Rain. Heh.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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Re: The new episode. It has Adam Strange and Alanna of Rann. You can tell Adam Strange is cool, because he wears a hat with a fin on it. And fights evil lizard men.
They Zeta-Beamed the Moon. Into another star system.
This show is so delightfully crazy. Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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