Category Archives: Comics

April 21, 2019

Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars – Introduction

By Joe

bucky intro This may often look like a Batman blog, but if I could make it look more like a Bucky O’Hare blog then I totally would. The problem is, there just isn’t enough quantity to talk about when it comes to Bucky O’Hare. While Batman: The Animated Series produced 85 episodes in its original run, Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars produced a mere 13. Batman was broadcast on Fox Kids, then Kids WB (with a new season too), with reruns airing for years when it was all said and done. The show had a comic tie-in, toys, three films, and then it went on to basically spawn Batman Beyond, not to mention all of the Justice League themed shows. As for Bucky, he got the toy treatment and a Nintendo game, but his 13 episode total meant there was really no home for him in syndication. After the episodes were broadcast a few times, they all but disappeared. A comic line was launched in the UK, but it never left that territory so if you wanted to continue enjoying the show in the US you had to seek out the VHS tapes.

And that is largely where things remain even today in 2019. Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars has been practically forgotten, and if not for the contribution of toy maker Boss Fight Studio the property would be dormant. On this blog I’ve drawn attention to the various Bucky releases over the years and to the new toy line from BFS. In my last post, a wish list for the line, I theorized that in order for my new favorite toy line to continue as long as I want it to there would likely need to be more Bucky promotion. Well, I’m hardly a major vehicle for said promotion, but I am going to do my part by not only continuing to post about that very line, but starting tomorrow we’re going into a Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars deep dive. All 13 episodes over 13 weeks.

The one true Easter Bunny.

Today seemed like a good day to start this as it’s the day many people invite a large bunny into their homes to hide eggs and candy all over the place. Bucky isn’t as famous as the Easter Bunny, but he should be! Bucky O’Hare is the creation of Larry Hama with an assist given to artist Michael Golden. He was allegedly created sometime around 1977 or 78, probably after Hama saw Star Wars, and made his comic debut in Echo of Futurepast #1 in May of 1984. Likely due to the popularity of a certain group of ninja turtles, Bucky would get his shot at TV stardom not too long after despite only having a total of six comic book stories.

Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars was conceived during the time when it had already been established that in order to launch a cartoon aimed at boys you needed to attack the market from multiple angles. It wasn’t enough to just create a successful show, it needed to be very merchandiser friendly. Hama had already anticipated this when creating the characters and included pegs on their various outfits that a weapon could be affixed to should they become action figures. Due to the success of other toy line/cartoon properties, there was a strong appetite for anything that looked marketable and a lot of people wanted in on it.

The show’s first few episodes largely mirrored the comics while adding in new characters like Bruiser.

The show ended up being a combination of several companies. First was Sunbow Entertainment and its new Sunbow Productions arm. Sunbow had made a name for itself primarily animating commercials for toys. Eventually, the company moved towards creating shows of its own and by 1990 it had several under its belt. It would initially partner with Toei Animation, the company responsible for Dragon Ball, and by the time Bucky arrived the company was partnered with South Korean animation studio AKOM (The Simpsons, X-Men). Abrams/Gentile Entertainment was involved as a producer and Continuity Comics obviously had a stake in the show as well as French company IDDH. Marvel Productions co-produced the show and Hasbro distributed it via Claster Television and it’s Hasbro Studios that holds the distribution rights today. That’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen and a lot of arms with a share in the profits. It’s no wonder the show failed to satisfy and also less surprising to see it has struggled to get a Region 1 DVD release as there are a lot of people that would be owed money.

The show premiered on September 8, 1991 and would conclude its first run on December 1 of the same year. It aired on Saturday mornings in most markets on various local television affiliates. It didn’t air on any of the major networks in my market and I don’t know if it did in others. The show was quite similar to the comics, but since it had more stories to tell it expanded the roster of characters. The only character left out of the show was the Omnipotent Mouse. The first few episodes of the show are presented in a serialized nature and there is a running story through-out the first season concerning Bucky’s home planet of Warren. It’s a sophisticated form of story-telling for children, and it would be popularized by X-Men the following year, and it’s possible that this played a role in making it hard for new viewers to just jump in. I think such arguments are overblown, but it’s worth mentioning.

The Air Marshall may have actually ended Bucky’s existence after all.

To coincide with the launch of the series, Hasbro released the first wave of action figures. Hasbro had ridden to prominence on the back of the Transformers line and had expanded to become the largest toy seller in the world. 1991 was an especially big year for the company because it purchased Tonka, Parker Brothers, and Kenner giving the company huge reach into almost every facet of the toy market. Still, Hasbro (and other toy makers) had passed on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a few years earlier after making the same mistake back in the 70s with Star Wars. Maybe that was part of the drive to go after Bucky O’Hare in hopes it would become a major action figure property for the company.

The initial wave of Bucky O’Hare figures based on the show included six heroes: Bucky, Dead-Eye Duck, Willy DuWitt, Commander Dogstar, A.F.C. Blinky, and Bruiser. Four villains joined them: Toad Air Marshall, Toadborg, Toad Storm Trooper, and Al Negator. The company also released a vehicle play set for the good guys and one for the bad guys, the Toad Croaker (which featured a whoopee cushion like device in it to squish the bad guys) and the Toad Double Bubble, essentially the toad version of a Tie Fighter. The toys were prominently placed in my local Toys R Us and Christmas of 91 was the year I got a lot of Bucky stuff. It ended up being the only Christmas for me and Bucky as the line was discontinued. Series 2 was famously shown in a Hasbro catalog, and a figure of Jenny was completed for the first series but held back. Carded figures of Jenny have become the most sought-after piece of Bucky merch there is even after she finally received an official figure release from Boss Fight Studio.

Blame for the demise of Bucky is largely placed on the toys and Hasbro for its case ratios. When a store would order more, Hasbro would send out a standard case which included two of each figure. Gradually, less popular figures like the Toad Air Marshall would start to take over the pegs while figures of Bucky and Dead-Eye would disappear quickly. Hasbro allegedly never adjusted the case ratios and stores stopped ordering when they had pegs full of Air Marshalls and Storm Troopers. It’s hard to say if that played the largest role, but I can personally recall going to the store and indeed seeing an entire section of Toad Air Marshall figures.

Bucky was apparently picked up by at least one Fox affiliate.

With Hasbro bowing out of the property because of the profitability of the toy line everyone else bailed as well. Obviously, since only 13 episodes were ordered initially there was some skepticism from the beginning for Bucky O’Hare. We don’t know how the show fared ratings-wise or how successful sales of other merchandise was. Like most cartoons, Bucky was on everything: party supplies, puzzles, costumes, lunch boxes, shoes, coloring books, etc. Family Home Entertainment had the distribution rights for the show on home video and released 3 VHS tapes of the show which totaled 7 episodes. The Konami video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System would be a late arrival in January of 1992, but likely still in before the consumer had a notion the show wouldn’t continue. A separate arcade game arrived in the fall of 1992 when it was likely obvious the property was dead. Not surprisingly, I don’t think many units were produced and I’ve actually never come across one in the wild. I mentioned the Hasbro Jenny as the most sought after of Bucky collectibles, but I bet if one of these arcade cabinets were to go up for sale it would fetch a pretty high price.

In Canada, the show was titled Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Menace, like the TPB release.

Whatever the reason, Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars failed to catch on. Blame it on the toys if you wish, or maybe it just wasn’t promoted enough on television. I think a large part of the issue is simply that selling boys on a green space bunny was a bit of a hard sell. I think most who gave the show a chance probably liked it, but they might have needed convincing. Had Bucky been a weekday afternoon show, he might have stood a better shot as that’s easier for kids to get into. A week is a long time between episodes for a six-year-old.

Where I grew up in New Hampshire, Bucky O’Hare was pretty popular. My friends were all into the show and the toy line and eventually the NES game. It seemed popular to me, which is partly why I was so confused as a kid when Bucky simply went away. Now, I’m ready to engage this property once again as an adult. Like Batman, I’ve seen the episodes multiple times as both a kid and an adult, though overall I’ve seen these episodes less simply because the re-runs weren’t on TV for years. As I work my way through the series here, I’ll be re-watching the episodes again and approaching it from a critical standpoint as I walk the reader through the episode. My opinion going into it is that this show is not high art, but it has more depth than many of its peers. Bucky O’Hare aired in a more cynical time pre-Batman and pre-X-Men, and I’ll keep that in mind. This show was supposed to be a 23 minute commercial for toys and games, but it seemed to aim higher.

The now out of print R2 release is the only official way to enjoy Bucky on DVD.

If you want to follow along with me it’s going to be a bit more difficult than it is with Batman. Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars received an incomplete VHS release, but that’s likely not that important to readers in 2019 who likely don’t even own a VCR any longer. The show was released on Region 2 DVD in 2004 by Metrodome Distribution. It was a bare-bones release that contained just the episodes in a quality pretty typical of the era. The DVD is out of print. No official Region 1 DVD was ever released, though there was a popular bootleg put out by Exposure Entertainment in 2010. It just contained the episodes and was probably a rip of the Region 2 release as the quality is pretty much the same. The packaging though was pretty ugly. I covered both in the early days of this blog, though both are a lot harder to come by now than they were back then.

It is highly unlikely at this stage that Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars will get an official Region 1 release and that’s further heightened by its presence on the internet. The entire series can be streamed on YouTube and probably on other platforms as well for free. No one is protective of the property in 2019 and it’s hard to imagine that changing at this point. No matter, this should be a fun exploration of the old show and hopefully you enjoy going on this trip with me. We start tomorrow with the very first episode “War of the Warts.”

1 Comment | tags: akom, boss fight studio, bucky o'hare, bucky o'hare and the toad wars, cartoons, continuity comics, hasbro, konami, larry hama, sunbow | posted in bucky o'hare and the toad wars, Comics, Television

April 19, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Riddler’s Reform”

By Joe

riddlers reform card Episode Number: 79

Original Air Date: September 24, 1994

Directed by: Dan Riba

Written by: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Randy Rogel

First Appearance(s): None

We’re coming to the end of Batman: The Animated Series so just about every episode from here on out will feature a final appearance of a specific rogue. In today’s case, there’s even more finality than there will be for others. The Riddler (John Glover) is considered a notoriously difficult character to write. His “super power” is he’s really, really, smart and also quite clever. It’s not easy to just come up with riddles or puzzles to fill an episode worthy of The Riddler. As a result, his appearances have been few despite his popularity as a villain largely owing to the 1960s series and the performance of the late Frank Gorshin. Nonetheless, three starring episodes isn’t too bad, but the real sense of finality comes from this essentially being it for The Riddler. Most of the villains featured in this show will return in The New Batman Adventures with new schemes, new motivations, and new costumes. The Riddler will return, and with a new costume too, but he won’t receive an episode to call his own as he’s basically reduced to a cameo and brief, supporting, role.

Give that this episode is, more or less, his encore hopefully it’s a good one. It has an interesting premise right in the title as The Riddler looks to establish a life for himself outside of crime. We’ve seen both Catwoman and The Penguin attempt the same and eventually slip-up and fall back into their old villainous ways. Is there any reason to think The Riddler will be any different? Probably not. Last we saw him he was antagonizing Commissioner Gordon and Batman with a virtual reality device. At the episode’s conclusion he became trapped inside the VR world with Batman offering an ominous commentary on the situation that would lead the audience to believe he may be trapped there forever. If you were hoping to find out what happened, well you’ll be disappointed. Similar to how The Joker appeared to die in “The Laughing Fish” only to resurface later as fine as can be, we don’t know how Riddler got here. Maybe Batman was just wrong and they unplugged the console and he was fine. Or maybe he found his own way out. Your guess is as good as mine.

Riddler and his new buddy Baxter who owns a toy company.

This one opens at a nondescript warehouse. Before we get to the action, we get a shot of some newspapers being unloaded featuring a cover story about the release of The Riddler from Arkham. We’re then taken to the warehouse where some typical looking goon-types are carrying a large red box emblazoned with a purple question mark. They’re taking directions from The Riddler on where to place it. After setting it down, they get paid a visit by Batman and Robin who come swooping in to kick ass and ask questions later – literally. Riddler takes a seat on the box and seems amused by their presence. He’s evasive when Batman asks him what’s inside the box and when it looks like he’s about to get punchy they’re interrupted by a nicely dressed old man.

His name is Charles Baxter (Peter Mark Richman) and his name is either a direct call-back to the Baxter Box puzzle from an earlier Riddler appearance or a coincidence. He’s not a puzzle-creator, as we’ll learn, so if it’s a reference it would seem it’s merely for fun. Baxter demands to know what’s going on, and after Robin fills him in on who The Riddler is, he tells him he’s well aware. The Riddler is his new business partner. He purchased the rights to the character’s likeness and intends to use him to market Nygma’s toys. The box then springs open unveiling a toy display kiosk and Riddler even tosses one to Robin referring to him as a kid, which you know he takes well. Baxter orders them to leave, and the two head into the building leaving Batman and Robin to tuck their tails between their legs.

At Wayne Manor, Dick is having a tough time with the puzzle Riddler gave him while Bruce is reading the paper. The television is on in the background and a story about The Penguin is running before leading to another story about a robbery. Some ancient relics were stolen, and this gets Bruce’s attention. When Riddler explained to them the night before his desire to be on the straight and narrow he made references to ancient history and Batman thinks he was referring to the items stolen. A commercial featuring The Riddler then comes on hawking the new toys. He ends the commercial by displaying a number on a chalkboard and then flips it around to reveal a map. It’s a part of some contest, but Bruce isn’t buying it. He pulls out a map and uses the number as a coordinate which leads him to the First National Bank.

Riddler enjoying the perks of being a celebrity.

Batman and Robin stake-out the bank that night, but nothing is doing. Robin begins to wonder if maybe he is reformed, but Batman remembers Riddler flipping the chalkboard over in the commercial, thus flipping the number. He looks at the number which he wrote down on a scrap of paper and turns it around. Before it read “31753701” but when reversed it looks like “10 LESLIE” which Batman determines is an address. They head there to find a large building with a jewelry store in it and sure enough there are crooks inside. They infiltrate the store and take on the bad dudes, but when a large cabinet falls over on Robin the crooks escape. Robin urges Batman to go on without him as his ankle or knee appears injured thus ending his contribution to the episode.

The woman who really seems to get Nygma’s attention.

In a nearby high-rise, Riddler is getting ready for a party. He shows off a nifty little two-way radio that will be going to market soon and begins schmoozing with Baxter and the party-goers. Baxter is having a dreadful time with Nygma’s toy puzzle, but Nygma demonstrates it’s easy if you’re a genius. This earns him lots of laughter and even the attention of a fetching brunette in a blue dress (Patricia Alice Albrecht). When Riddler first lays eyes on her a cartoonish “boing” sound like a spring is heard. Yeah, the universal sound for a boner in a comedy setting. Riddler just popped a boner. Another female joins her and he’s very much enjoying their attention until a butler comes by to inform him he has a phone call. Riddler takes it in another room, but not before admiring himself in mirror. No one is on the line, but Batman is in the room. He mocks him a bit for his vanity, but Riddler quickly gains the upper hand in their conversation. He also activates his two-way radio, which one of them women had asked him to demonstrate. Since she’s holding the other one, all of the party-goers then overhear Batman threatening The Riddler. He doesn’t mind though, and opens the wall with a switch to introduce his guests to the one and only Batman. Batman, to his credit, doesn’t seem flustered by the display and tells Riddler he’ll get him eventually before taking his leave.

Look who crashed the party.

While Batman’s confidence remains intact, Riddler’s is not. He’s now convinced that Batman will indeed catch him. He has no desire to return to Arkham, so there’s really only one solution: he must kill Batman.

Sad Riddler is losing confidence in himself.

In order to set a trap, Riddler relies on yet another commercial to get Batman’s attention. This time the clues lead Batman to the Gotham Toy Fair. Batman heads for the local convention center and finds a rather large Riddler Box. The sides fall away, nearly crushing Batman, to reveal an equally large television inside. Riddler comes onto it, and he tells Batman farewell. It would seem the games are over, and rather than present Batman with a riddle, metal shades are dropped over all of the exits while Riddler reveals a bomb is about to go off that will kill Batman. Batman frantically searches for a way out, but the bomb detonates as Riddler said it would.

At some point Riddler had inflatable versions of himself made that could fire guns. Neat.

Back at his penthouse, Edward Nygma is burning his Riddler outfit. With Batman out-of-the-way, he has no need for it. No one to play with, and he vows now is the time to really reform his act. He doesn’t get to enjoy the satisfaction of victory for very long as Batman appears inside the room with him. Nygma is shocked to see Batman and absolutely perplexed at the thought of him escaping. He wants to know so bad that he’s willing to cut a deal. In exchange for the knowledge of how Batman escaped he’ll tell him where all of the stolen goods are hidden. Batman agrees, and Nygma explains his crime. Batman then produces Nygma’s own two-way radio and speaks into it “You get everything?” Commissioner Gordon is then heard on the other end confirming that he did. As Nygma is taken away he’s screaming at Batman to tell him how he escaped his trap, but Batman just smiles.

A couple of quick cameos of two famous rogues.

At Wayne Manor the next morning, Bruce and Dick are seated at the table and Dick asks just how he did escape. Bruce explains he couldn’t, but there was a safe on display and he climbed into it. It was strong enough to protect him from the explosion, though Bruce doesn’t say how he got out of it. Maybe it had a safety release on the inside. Dick says he never would have thought of that, and Bruce suggests The Riddler would not have either. We then cut to Arkham where several familiar faces are shown in their cells covering their ears as Nygma can be heard screaming from his own cell demanding to know how Batman escaped. It’s not going to be fun being locked-up with him for the foreseeable future.

Poor Eddie. It’s unlikely Batman will ever take pity on him enough to tell him how he escaped his death trap.

“Riddler’s Reform” is a fun little episode for The Riddler. It’s not particularly clever, but it’s interesting to see how Riddler’s mind operates. He literally can’t help himself when it comes to Batman and is compelled to commit crimes and leave behind clues just to see if Batman is smart enough to figure them out. There’s some situational humor, and seeing Batman with egg on his face to start things is an interesting look for our hero. It’s rare that he’s wrong. Of course, he wasn’t wrong in his hunch that Nygma was up to no good, it just took him a little while to prove it. The erection joke was a surprise, and it’s a greater surprise that it made it into the episode. It’s a low brow joke so it’s not really funny on its own, but amusing given the setting. The ending is perhaps a bit embellished I would think a man of Nygma’s intellect would figure out how Batman did it as he seems like the type who would have a near photographic memory. Maybe I’m giving him too much credit thought.

This is yet another episode animated by Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. and it looks rather good. There’s some rainy sequences that look great and also some fun, shadowy shots of Batman. Riddler is animated in an amusing fashion as well as he’s quite expressive in costume when receiving female attention and I am just plain fond of his costume in this series. It’s too bad this is the last we’ll see of it as he’ll have a more classic look next we see him with a green unitard.

This is a good episode for Riddler to go out on. It was, after all, the rubber match or tie-breaker for these two. In Riddler’s first appearance he escaped capture while Batman emerged victorious in the second. With Batman foiling him here, and basically driving him even more insane, he earns a convincing win over the cerebral villain. I wish we got another starring episode out of the character, but I’m happy the writers never did a bad Riddler episode for the sake of doing another.

1 Comment | tags: batman, dc comics, john glover, paul dini, robin, the riddler | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

April 12, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Showdown”

By Joe

Episode Number: 78

Original Air Date: September 12, 1995

Directed by: Kevin Altieri

Written by: Kevin Altieri, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Joe R. Lansdale

First Appearance(s): Jonah Hex, Arkady Duvall

We’re in an odd string of episodes, with perhaps this being the oddest, structurally speaking. It’s probably the episode to feature the least amount of screen-time for Batman up to this point, and there’s a good reason for that. Also, look at that “Written by” line – that’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen for one episode. The last name, Joe R. Lansdale, is credited with handling the teleplay so the other names handled the story – and they’re pretty big names. Kevin Altieri, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini are the three most commonly credited with really bringing this series to life. Altieri has mostly handled directing duties and Timm producing with Dini leading the writers. It’s possible this episode was envisioned as a back-door pilot, but nonetheless, the list of writers gives this episode an aura of importance before it even begins.

For a lot of viewers, this was likely their introduction to Jonah Hex.

Most of all though, this episode is remembered as The Jonah Hex episode. Most of the episode occurs as a flashback to a time where Batman didn’t exist but there was Jonah Hex (William McKinney), a disfigured bounty hunter of the old west. Created by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga, Hex first appeared as an ad in Batman #237 in 1971 before officially debuting in the pages of All-Star Western #10 the following year. He mostly remained in the pages of Western themed comics before being catapulted into the future to appear in a post-apocalyptic kind of setting in the pages of Hex which was cancelled in 1987. He would eventually resurface on DC’s indie-inspired label Vertigo in the 90s. After limited runs in 93, 95, and 99 he vanished once more but received a new line of comics in 2005 which ran for 70 issues before ending in 2011. All-Star Western then got revived and lasted until 2014. There was also the film in 2010 starring Josh Brolin that was a huge flop. This episode, airing in 1995, came during his revival period. I would guess the writers liked the character and wanted to do a treatment of him, and since he debuted in an issue of Batman, it probably felt appropriate. The problem though is figuring out how to connect a modern-day hero in Batman with a bounty hunter from the 1800s. It just so happens though that Batman has an enemy who can provide a link since he lived through the era himself: Ra’s al Ghul.

The episode opens at a rather unusual setting: a retirement home. Ninja-like infiltrators are on the scene and they bare a resemblance to some old friends, The League of Shadows. What could they possibly want at a retirement home? All in due time. Batman and Robin show up and do battle with the men they encounter, but they’re after bigger fish, namely the leader of the group: Ra’s al Ghul. He’s there as well, and is shown entering a long hallway that ends with an old man in a chair. Ra’s has apparently come for this man, and given his long life, there could be any number of reasons why. When Batman and Robin get to the same room they find an empty chair where the old man sat and a cassette tape (how dated). They don’t know what Ra’s could have wanted at the facility, but they take the tape and leave.

For our younger readers, this is what’s known as a cassette tape deck.

Once in the Batmobile, the two examine some flight schedules and find one labeled Lazarus. It would seem Ra’s wants to be found. While they head to the airport, they decide to listen to the tape Ra’s left behind. When Robin presses play, the cabin of the Batmobile is filled with the voice of their enemy, it would seem he has a little story to share with them.

The role of the barmaid is played by actress Elizabeth Montgomery in her final role originally airing four months after her passing.

Back in 1883 when the Transcontinental Railroad was nearing completion is where our story takes place. Out in the old west in a town called Devil’s Hole, an old man in a gray duster strolls into a bar. He’s got a pretty nasty looking disfigurement and it causes the barmaid (Elizabeth Montgomery, in her final role before her death) to recoil when she approaches him. He wants some water, but also information. He’s a bounty hunter looking for a fellow by the name of Arkady Duvall. The barmaid knows, and hates him, and she brushes aside the coins the bounty hunter tosses on the table and offers to help him for free. It would seem Duvall beat on some of her girls in the past and has been driven out-of-town, hence why she’d like to see the bastard get what’s coming to him. A sheriff (William Bryant) then barges in and confronts the bounty hunter. It’s then we learn his name, Jonah Hex, and it would seem he has a reputation for bringing his bounties in dead. The sheriff is mostly there to intimidate, as he says he’s got nothing on Hex, who in turn embarrasses the sheriff by pointing out his fly is down.

That night, the barmaid leads Hex away from the town to a rock formation with strange light pouring from it. Duvall apparently has no home in town and isn’t staying at any of the inns. He’s the soft type, so she rules out him sleeping on the ground under the stars with the real cowboys and figures there’s something more to these strange lights. Hex thanks her for taking him out there, and she thanks him with a kiss and a wish of good luck before taking her leave.

I wonder when he gave up on that monocle.

Hex investigates the formation and finds a cave, the inside of which is ludicrously massive. And it needs to be, because a group of laborers are building a massive dual-balloon zeppelin. And this isn’t some Good Year blimp, it’s coated in steel panels and looks to be heavily armed with canons and turrets. Near the sight, a moustached man in an expensive suit is whipping one of the workers. He’s soon stopped and accosted by a man in a top hat, and we know this man to be Ra’s al Ghul. Besides the funny attire, he looks more or less the same and even has that silly facial hair. He is angry at the man for beating on his workers and will not stand for it, and we learn the other man is Hex’s target, Arkady Duvall (Malcolm McDowell). Duvall falls in line with his boss, but not happily. Ra’s also fills us in on what is going on. The massive airship has been christened The Phoenix, and he intends to use it to smash the Transcontinental Railroad before taking it to Washington, D.C. where he’ll force the current President (Chester A. Arthur, if you’re curious) to surrender to him and make himself Master of America! The man is a dreamer.

Ra’s does not seem to be a big fan of Arkady Duvall. It’s a wonder he just doesn’t hand him over to Hex and get on his way.

As Hex watches the scene unfold, a noise behind him alerts him to the presence of some of Ra’s al Ghul’s men. He spins and fires his revolver, but the men are in large steel suits (kind of like old diver suits) and his bullets ricochet harmlessly away. They grab him and take him to Duvall, who immediately thinks he’s a government spy. Hex informs him he’s a bounty hunter, and that he’s come for him and him alone. He doesn’t really care about the railroad, or anything else going on here. Duvall doesn’t believe him and orders the men to drop him in a melted vat of lead. They chain him up and begin to lower him headfirst, but Duvall has the men pause before the ends of Hex’s hair touches the boiling metal to get some more taunts in. Ra’s shows up and is again outraged to see the measures Duvall has taken in addressing the problem. He orders Hex be taken down and placed in a holding cell for interrogation, and turns to Duvall to tell him he is no longer allowed to make decisions for himself.

While Ra’s and the others prepare to depart, Hex is thrown in a cell. It doesn’t take him long to devise an escape plan, and he tricks the guards into thinking he’s already escaped which in turn causes them to enter the cell allowing him to exit for real. And he does so just in time, as the mountain they’re occupying opens up (it’s pretty absurd, even by this show’s standards) and The Phoenix begins its departure. Hex is able to grab onto a rope ladder draping off The Phoenix as it leaves and the few men who notice are unable to shoot him down.

That’s some rather intimidating fire power for 1883.

As Hex makes his way aboard The Phoenix, a local governor (voiced by current Vermont Senator and longtime Batman fan Patrick Leahy) is dedicating the railroad by driving in the last spike. The Phoenix comes into view and fires upon the town from a massive, rotating, turret. The locomotive is destroyed, among other things, and The Phoenix then turns broadside to unload a huge volley of cannonballs at the town itself. The local militia shows up, but their pitiful rifles don’t appear to bother The Phoenix one bit. A gunner on the airship unleashes another one of its many weapons, a crank-powered gatling gun, just adding to the lop-sided nature of this skirmish.

Hex shows up and takes out the gunner. He makes his way into the innards of the ships where the canons are manned and finds a stash of spherical, black, cartoon-styled bombs. He lights one and rolls it toward the men, who rather than try to get rid of it, all run like Hell. The place goes up, since it’s full of bombs and gun powder, but somehow doesn’t destroy the ship and everyone onboard in the process.

He’s pretty slick with that knife.

Hex then heads higher while some more men foolishly shoot at him. An officer (Michael Bell) orders them to cease-fire since they’re aiming right at the hydrogen filled balloons. Hex reaches a bridge, where more men come after him though this time they’re brandishing knives and swords. He’s able to illude them and eventually he comes face to face with Duvall. Duvall is surprised to see Hex aboard The Phoenix, but will be happy to force his exit. Armed with a sword, he approaches Hex, who rather than fight kicks a canon so that it points straight up and fires it right into one of the zeppelin balloons. It blasts right through it and the ship immediately begins to lose altitude.

Duvall is incensed and asks what Hex is up to. He explains he just doesn’t like them and will enjoy thwarting their scheme. Duvall then informs him he has no chance of beating him since he’s an expert fencer and Hex is only armed with a bowie knife. Undaunted, Hex welcomes the attack, though he soon retreats.

As those two fight, Ra’s al Ghul is ready to concede defeat. He launches himself from The Phoenix in a glider, but before he does he orders the others to evacuate. When the person he gives the order to asks about Duvall, he tells him to leave him to his fate.

Hex eventually gets his man.

Hex and Duvall continue their fight, and it’s moved to another part of the ship where a bunch of piping has been erected. An errant swing of the sword causes Duvall to strike the pipe and steam blasts him in the face as a result. The momentary distraction gives Hex enough of an opening to disarm him and as The Phoenix crashes into the mountains they’re able to jump off onto a nearby rocky outcropping. Once on the ground, the now unarmed Duvall begs for his life and Hex tells him he’s not going to kill him. He gives him a shove and then finds his hat on the ground, which he had lost while fleeing the men on the airship so this is quite a special hat. He remarks that he’s getting too old for this, as Ra’s al Ghul’s story comes to an end.

Robin is left puzzled with why Ra’s shared that story with them, while Batman claims he knows why (I call bullshit). They soon arrive at an airport runway and Ra’s is there with his loyal attendant Ubu and an old man in a wheelchair. Ra’s turns to face Batman as the duo approaches. It’s then revealed the old man is Duvall himself, and when Robin questions how he could possibly still be alive, it’s revealed that Duvall came into contact with a Lazarus Pit as a young man for he is the son of Ra’s al Ghul. Ra’s explains he recognized that Duvall was too cruel to take over for him as his true heir. Following his capture by Jonah Hex, he was sentenced to 50 years hard time. He surprised everyone by surviving the sentence, and Ra’s lost track of him until now. Telling Batman he still has a few good years left in him, he promises they can cross swords another time, but for now he just wants to take his boy home. Batman snaps his cape across his shoulders and turns around leaving Ra’s to do as he wishes.

Ra’s and his very old long lost son.

I touched upon this during the write-up of “Avatar,” the most recent appearance of Ra’s al Ghul, in that this is an odd final note for the character to go out on. Batman and Ra’s al Ghul were setup as enemies destined to confront each other for decades to come, but “Avatar” failed to capitalize on the excitement of “The Demon’s Quest” while this episode really doesn’t attempt to address it. Ignoring that short-coming, it’s still an interesting episode with a fun twist of an ending. This show reserves almost all of its twists for Ra’s, which is a bit amusing, and I like the Duvall twist at the end. It’s also interesting to see Batman acquiesce to Ra’s al Ghul’s request as we’ve seen him be rather inflexible at times in the past.

The portions of the episode set in the past confused me as a kid. I think I turned this one on for the first time having missed the beginning, because I remember being really confused. I could tell it was an episode of Batman given the style, and then the presence of Ra’s al Ghul, but for some reason I wasn’t able to let myself get absorbed into the story. As a result, I never looked forward to revisiting it when the show first hit DVD, and I still didn’t for this viewing. Now though, I just see it as a change of pace. It’s fun to see a new setting, and the character of Jonah Hex, while feeling like a cliché of classic characters, is entertaining enough. Some of the stuff that happens in the flashback is pretty ridiculous, but in an Indiana Jones kind of way. And it’s fine for Batman to step aside once in a while to let someone else soak up the spotlight. It’s not the last time he’ll do so.

“Showdown” is what I would consider a fun episode. Lots of action with the bonus of actually containing some interesting character development. It’s shortcomings are almost entirely due to the surrounding episodes featuring Ra’s al Ghul which seemed to promise something bigger, which the show never delivered. If Batman had one final showdown of his own with the villain before the series ended then it wouldn’t matter at all. On its own, it’s a good episode that’s a nice showcase for Jonah Hex at a time when he was far from being a household name.

1 Comment | tags: all-star western, arkady duvall, batman, bruce timm, david warner, elizabeth montgomery, joe r lansdale, john albano, jonah hex, kevin altieri, malcolm mcdowell, patrick leahy, paul dini, ra's al ghul, tony dezuniga, william mckinney | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

April 5, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “The Lion and the Unicorn”

By Joe

lion and unicorn card Episode Number: 77

Original Air Date: September 15, 1995

Directed by: Boyd Kirkland

Written by: Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, and Steve Perry

First Appearance(s): Cousin Frederick

“The Lion and the Unicorn” brings with it some new additions and an old unfavorite. As far as the episode goes, we only meet one substantial new character, Alfred’s cousin Frederick (Roy Dotrice). This is mostly just interesting because after 76 episodes we still know very little about Alfred so anyone attached to him feels noteworthy. On the production side, we have two new writers in the husband and wife duo of Peter Morwood (who was mis-credited as Philip Morwood) and Diane Duane in their only contribution to this series. And then we have a returning face in Red Claw (Kate Mulgrew). Red Claw is a show creation of little importance. Her episodes aren’t great and she was never deemed worthy of introduction in the comic books. Her headlining role here is particularly noteworthy though since she debuted in “The Cat and the Claw.” That episode was chosen to be the series premiere, while this episode (her only other appearance aside from Part 2 of “The Cat and the Claw”) was the series finale. Now it wasn’t billed as such or setup as the finale, it was largely just circumstance as far as I know. Still, it’s pretty interesting given all of Batman’ celebrated villains that it’s Red Claw who gets to open and close the series.

In this episode Alfred gets a phone call!

The episode begins rather mundanely. Alfred is brushing lint off of Batman’s cape as he protests the criminals won’t care about the cleanliness of his costume while Dick works out on some gymnastics equipment. Alfred admonishes Dick for not wearing a shirt (it’s cold and dank in the Batcave) while Batman smiles as he watches the exchange and takes off in the Batmobile to go do crime-fighter stuff. Alfred leads Dick upstairs to the mansion while telling him where he can find his dinner. When they get up to the manor Alfred goes to answer the phone while Dick heads off to either get his food or take a shower or something. Alfred is surprised to find his cousin Frederick on the line. Frederick requests that Alfred meet him in what he calls the usual spot, and Alfred agrees to do so right away. As their conversation ends, we get a look at Frederick who’s tied up with a crimson-clad person behind. The tattoo of a clawed paw on her arm is a dead give-away for the identity of this nefarious individual.

Bruce, unsure how he’s going to get dressed without his trusty butler.

The next morning, Dick comes downstairs and playfully asks Bruce if there’s a butler strike because there’s no breakfast (the problems of the 1%). Bruce is standing in the same spot we last saw Alfred holding a note. He hands it to Dick and it’s from Alfred saying he needed to go to London right away because his cousin Frederick needed him. He apologizes, and even signs it as “Your obedient servant” which strikes me as kind of sad if that’s how Alfred thinks he should be viewed. Dick is surprised and a bit confused and this is the start of the episode showing us how Dick has viewed Alfred as some doting old guy. Bruce is more alarmed as he knows Alfred has no living relatives. He also knows Alfred was once a British agent and they often refer to their fellow agents as cousin.

The London street scenes are dark and terrible.

We’re then taken to dark and foggy London. At least, I think that’s the effect Dong Yang Animation was going for. It’s a real dirty, grainy, image that’s not particularly enjoyable to look at. Alfred is at the spot requested, and two gentlemen approach him (they seem to be credited as Bert and Ernie, voiced by Adam Ant, [yes, the one from Adam and the Ants] and Richard Doyle, respectively) claiming to be sent on behalf of “Freddie.” Alfred knows Frederick hates being called Freddie, and he is immediately skeptical. When the two get hostile, he uses his umbrella to trip them up and then take off. Back at his hotel, Alfred is able to phone Bruce to fill him in on what’s going on. Before he can say much, Bert and Ernie cave in his door and Bruce is left to helplessly scream “Alfred!”

Alfred is then taken to some Scottish castle where he is reunited with Frederick. His hands are bound and the real captor emerges: Red Claw. Alfred recognizes her, and I can’t tell if it’s because we’re supposed to think he tangled with her before or if he just remembers seeing her back on Batman’s massive computer.

Red Claw is back and everyone is just super happy about it.

Back in Gotham, Bruce fills Dick in on what happened as well as Alfred’s background. Dick is surprised to find out Alfred used to be a government agent, which is a running theme of the episode. The two decide they need to help their friend, and they depart for London as Batman and Robin in the Batwing. Once there, they investigate Alfred’s room as Dick and Bruce, which gets the attention of Bert and Ernie who have been staking the place out apparently expecting someone to come nosing around. They try to tail them as they leave, but they don’t realize they’re tailing pros. Batman and Robin drop in on them, and give them a good beating. When the commotion is over, Robin inspects one of the men and finds Red Claw’s marking on his arm.

A meeting between British agents is going down. Two men and a woman are discussing what’s going on, noting Frederick’s disappearance and Red Claw’s occupation of a castle. Apparently that castle houses a missile silo and Red Claw wants to take control of it to hold Britain hostage. Batman and Robin then drop in, and the three agents seem to regard the duo with a ho-hum manner. I’d assume that Batman is pretty popular world-wide, but they essentially have no reaction to his presence in London. Actually, they’re a touch hostile. Batman alerts them that Red Claw also has Alfred Pennyworth and requests their help, but they don’t really see value in that. When he promises to deliver Red Claw, they change their tune and tell Batman where she’s hiding out and the two depart.

She has ways of making men sing,

At the castle, Red Claw records a message for the British government. She lets them know she has control of the silo, and unless they pay up they’re going to get a taste of it. As the video signal is cut off, it’s revealed that Red Claw was bluffing, to a point. She has yet to get control of the missile because Frederick and Alfred each possess a unique code needed to activate it. They’re not going to talk, but Red Claw has her ways. She produces some truth serum, and apparently her crew is concerned about maintaining a sterile environment as one of her goons swabs Alfred’s arm before it’s administered. Both are given a dose and Frederick is the first to sing while Alfred just sort of mumbles away. Red Claw hardly seems dismayed though and is content to wait for the serum to do its thing.

Outside, some sentries hear a sound and go to investigate. That’s a mistake, as it allows Batman and Robin to take them out. They start making their way through the castle, picking off other men as they go along. In one fun sequence, a quartet of men are walking along in a diamond formation and Batman and Robin keep dashing back and forth and picking them off one by one.

It’s even foggy indoors over there.

Inside the command room, Alfred finally cracks. He’s singing a song about the lion and the unicorn, a reference to the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. Red Claw mistakes it as nonsense at first, then realizes it’s the code. After she enters it into the terminal, the silo becomes armed and she is free to launch it whenever she pleases. By now, they’ve become alerted to Batman’s presence so she and her men arm themselves and set out to take out the intruders. They burst into a room and open fire on Batman and Robin. The heroes use cover to try and take them out one at a time, and thankfully everyone can’t shoot.

Robin eventually makes his way to the room where Alfred and Frederick are being held. He opens the door, but finds a gun pointed at his face by the one woman who stayed back to guard the prisoners. He smiles sheepishly, and then the woman gets taken down from behind by Alfred wielding a chair. He expresses some remorse at smashing the chair as it apparently dated back to Louis the XV. Robin congratulates him, but the celebration is short-lived as Red Claw chops him from behind knocking him out. She then heads straight for the terminal, Alfred apparently has no desire to try and fight her, and launches the missile and takes off as Batman busts in.

Go for the face!

Batman immediately takes off for the Batwing. His only hope is to shoot it down as there’s no way to cancel the launch command from the terminal. As he flies towards it and gets it in his sights, Red Claw emerges from behind him. She’s a stow-away, and grabs at Batman’s face and pulls on his cowl, successfully removing it in the process. This causes her to fall back into her seat allowing Batman to eject it sending her parachuting into the waters below. Batman then has to re-find the missile all while dealing with the fact that the Batwing’s hatch is open. We know Batman doesn’t like guns, and he doesn’t use them, but apparently that apprehension doesn’t extend to missiles. He locks onto the missile heading for London and then fires a pair of his own missiles. They do their job and take out the rogue-fired weapon and it detonates harmlessly in the London skies.

With the threat of Red Claw over, Batman and Robin apparently head home without Alfred to avoid suspicion. There’s no indication that they made good on their promise to deliver Red Claw to the British government, and she will never be heard from again. Alfred says goodbye to his “cousin,” who tries to coax him into returning to the agency. Alfred says he’s needed elsewhere though and heads back his life as the humble servant of Bruce Wayne.

A curtain call for Red Claw. So long, you won’t be missed.

“The Lion and the Unicorn” is a bit of an atypical episode, but it gives Alfred more of a share of the spotlight than he’s had in awhile so it’s an episode I appreciate on that level. Especially since one of the other episodes to feature a heavy dose of Alfred is “The Forgotten,” one of my least favorite episodes of the series. Red Claw still kind of sucks, but she’s not really asked to do much. I like that she’s fairly ruthless and actually launches the missile. I don’t really get a sense of what’s motivating her here though. I guess money, or just general terrorism, but it’s not that important, I suppose.

The aspect of the episode that disappoints me the most though is some of the visuals. I mentioned it during the write-up, but the London night setting looks awful. I’m torn on if HD improves it or makes it worse. It’s so dark and grainy that it’s just frustrating to look at. My eyes are working too hard to make out the visuals. I don’t know if the animators were going for a fog effect, but it’s not good. The rest of the episode looks fine though, and the castle setting is new and interesting to look at. This castle apparently exists in the real world, though it’s an inland structure not located on the coast. I don’t know why they didn’t just make up a fake name then, but this was also back in the early 90s and the only way you were going to find out the depiction here isn’t authentic is if you found this thing in a book. In other words, it was information not as easily accessible as it is today.

If not for the unique setting and focus on Alfred, this episode would be pretty forgettable. The villain isn’t important, and there’s nothing flashy or memorable about the plot. It’s just a solid B- type of episode from the show. It’s miscast as the final aired episode of the show, and there’s a shame there wasn’t more of a “bang” to go out on, but the final fourth season Fox aired is mostly pretty mediocre so there wasn’t much to choose from. They could have chosen “The Terrible Trio,” so at least they didn’t go with that one.

1 Comment | tags: adam ant, alfred pennyworth, batman, diane duane, efrem zimbalist jr, kate mulgrew, peter morwood, red claw, robin | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

March 29, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Baby-Doll”

By Joe

baby-doll title Episode Number: 76

Original Air Date: October 1, 1994

Directed by: Dan Riba

Written by: Paul Dini

First Appearance(s): Baby-Doll

Well, this is an interesting one. Batman: The Animated Series has done well with original creations, and it’s also done not so well. Harley Quinn may have been a huge hit, but nobody likes Boss Biggs. Baby-Doll is yet another invention of the show and I’m curious how she came to be. Paul Dini, who has had to do some heavy lifting on the show’s second season, wrote this episode and presumably created the character. Baby-Doll is a Hollywood has-been with a rare genetic condition that makes her look like a child. Batman refers to the condition in the episode as systemic hypoplasia, but that’s a condition that usually impacts organs so Batman’s diagnosis is a bit off. The character is likely inspired by someone like Gary Coleman or maybe Emmanuel Lewis, two actors who played children on-screen even though they were older. Coleman had a kidney condition and his stunted development was the result of medication and complications from his disease, where-as Lewis apparently simply stopped growing. No matter, what’s important to know about Baby-Doll is she’s an adult female that resembles a child and she’s really unhappy with her life choices and how her career turned out. It’s certainly an unconventional premise for a Batman villain, but really, how many are truly conventional?

The episode opens as a play is letting out, Death of a Salesman. A young actor named Brian (Robbie Rist) waves goodbye to his cast mates and then is startled to hear crying. He finds a little girl with big, blonde, curls in the alley behind the theater. She’s lost, and apparently her brother is to blame. Brian goes to comfort her and when he gets a look at her face a shocked expression crosses his own. Before he can react further, he’s knocked out from behind and the girl apologizes for playing rough.

The cast of That’s My Baby, a show that probably would have aired on Nick at Night had it been real.

Some time later, Batman and Robin are watching video in Commissioner Gordon’s office. Today’s subject is an old sitcom titled Love That Baby and Gordon informs the vigilantes that cast members from the show have gone missing. The young man we saw earlier, Brian Daly, was a part of that show which starred Mary Louise Dahl (Alison LaPlaca) as the title character Baby. Batman knows her from reading a report on her condition which caused her to retain a child-like appearance into adulthood. Robin mostly just remembers watching the show, which he was not a fan of. Dahl hasn’t been seen or heard from in years, while one other actress from the main cast has yet to go missing: Tammy Vance (Judy Strangis). Batman takes the tape to check it out further, but then Bullock comes over on the police scanner about gunfire where they’re currently providing protection for Ms. Vance.

At the studio, which looks really similar to the background from the prior night, armed gunmen are firing on police while trying to abduct Vance. The two gunmen have a Gilligan and Skipper look going for them, which is interesting if nothing else. Batman and Robin soon arrive to put a stop to the gun-play and rescue Vance, but before they get a chance to settle down an armored truck comes barreling down the alley. Batman has to get out of the way and Robin is nearly flattened. The distraction allows the goons to grab Vance and toss her in the truck. As they speed away, Batman uses the controls on his belt to summon the Batmobile, but when a kid runs out into the street the Batmobile is forced to swerve and crash while the bad guys get away. Robin scoops up the crying child, whose mother soon shows up to take. As she’s holding her daughter the girl says to her mother “I didn’t mean to.” Batman recognizes this as the catchphrase for the Baby character from the show, and when he goes to stop the pair the girl slams a ball she was carrying on the ground which explodes into a big, cloud of smoke to mask their escape.

Meet Batman’s newest foe: Baby-Doll.

Batman and Robin then drop in on Summer Gleeson (Mari Devon) who recently had done a “Where Are They Now?” styled feature on the cast of Love That Baby. She has some tapes of the show, but when Batman asks why Dahl might have a grudge against her co-workers he finds out it’s they who should be angry with her. It would seem Dahl left the show to pursue a dramatic acting career, and Gleeson has a copy of her failed attempt at the notoriously unlucky MacBeth. Robin thinks it stinks and shares his opinion with the group. Apparently the critics and audiences felt the same way as the production was a flop. Following that high-profile failure, television networks no longer wanted to work with Dahl and the rest is history.

Meanwhile, Baby-Doll has assembled her old cast. Vance wakes up to find herself dressed as her old character and when she exits her bedroom she finds the old set and the familiar faces. The other actors include her TV father, Tod (Alan Young) mom June (LaPlaca) and brother Brian. They’re in costume as well and Baby-Doll comes strolling in with her favorite doll, Mr. Happy-Head. She’s very happy to have her “family” back, while the rest are pretty confused. She gathers them at the table where she lets them know they’re going to celebrate her birthday. It’s at this point that Tod has had enough. He tries to leave, but Baby-Doll’s assistant Mariam (Tasia Valenza) assaults him and he lumbers back to his seat at the table.

Joker has tried this same thing. It too failed.

At the Batcave, Robin is suffering through the tapes they got from Gleeson and letting Batman how much he’s enjoying himself. He does stumble onto one potential lead though. In the show’s final season, to combat sagging ratings, it pulled a Cousin Oliver and added a new character named Cousin Spunky. Spunky would basically upstage Baby-Doll, and we see a clip of him slamming her face into her birthday cake from one episode. Apparently, it was the presence of that character that drove Dahl to quit and Batman assumes it’s only a matter of time until she sets her sights on the actor who played him.

We’re then taken to a suburban neighborhood where a heavy-set kid is playing guitar in his garage. A woman pushes a baby carriage up the driveway to him to complain about the loudness of the music claiming it woke her baby from her nap. The woman is Mariam, once again posing as a mom (she was the one who picked up Baby-Doll after the Batmobile incident) which means there’s only one person who could be in that stroller. When Spunky (James Marsden) looks in, he sees Dahl looking back at him and she shoots him with brown gas from her baby bottle.

I hope you weren’t expecting much of a fight scene from this one.

Back “on-set,” Spunky is now tied to a chair and at the dinner table with his other former cast mates. Like them, he’s really confused about the situation as Baby-Doll confronts him from on top of the dining room table. She blames him for ruining her birthday, while he tries to explain they were just acting. Baby-Doll will hear none of it though and she pushes a giant cake towards him. She then starts smearing cake on his face as revenge for what happened to her, but she’s not stopping there. Soon she places candles on the cake and a big ‘ol stick of dynamite right in the middle. She lights it then tells Spunky (we never learn his actual name) to blow it out, which he tries to do, but is unsuccessful. Seeing no other option, he grabs the dynamite with his mouth and flings it over his shoulder. It bounces onto another part of the set where it explodes harmlessly (the blast was quite large, so either Baby-Doll underestimated it or she planned on killing herself and her fake family in the process). disappointed, Baby-Doll whips out Mr. Happy-Head who apparently has a gun hidden in his head. She fires a shot which emerges from the doll’s eye socket and then starts towards Spunky in an obviously threatening manner.

Glass shatters above the table, and Batman drops in (seriously villains, avoid skylights)! He makes quick work of Gilligan and his buddy and knocks the doll from Baby-Doll’s hands. It’s at this point Spunky jumps up, free of his restraints, and reveals he was actually Robin in disguise (so did he have that dynamite thing the whole way or was Batman late in getting there?). The Dynamic Duo has played Dahl for a sucker, but things aren’t a wrap just yet. Mariam comes to her boss’s aid and she apparently has some moves. She blasts Batman into some rigging and takes out Robin as well, who can’t help but pay her a compliment. Batman is able to rope her ankle with a Batarang-hook, when Mariam goes for a jump-kick he gives it a tug and swings her into a wall putting an end to that threat.

She’s smart enough to know to lead Batman somewhere he won’t have as easy a time navigating as she will.

Batman then leaves Robin to tend to the actors while he goes after Baby-Doll. She’s taken off with her doll and made her way into a nearby amusement park. Unlike the parks Joker typically inhabits, this one is very much in use and Baby-Doll is able to hide amongst the patrons. When Batman drops in to survey the area, his appearance attracts attention as people flock to get a look at him. This works to his advantage as Baby-Doll hangs back and then takes off running. She ducks into a shooting gallery type of game. When Batman does the same, he finds himself staring down an over-sized gun that fires tennis balls. Baby-Doll, apparently forgetting she has a real gun, pummels Batman with tennis balls until he is able to grab a doll prize and throw it at her the force of which knocks her from her perch.

What Baby-Doll refers to as her real self.

Baby-Doll then flees into a fun house that’s closed for repairs. She taunts Batman apparently wanting him to follow her. He’s forced to crawl through plastic tubes which Baby-Doll can run through, putting him at a pretty big disadvantage. She continues to taunt him before slipping in some strikes. When she finally turns to her doll-gun, Batman fires his grapple gun at it to knock it from her hands. Baby-Doll exits the tube to retrieve her gun and finds herself in a room of mirrors. One of which reflects back an “adult” version of her. She identifies with this image as “the real me,” and seems to grow sad. Batman then appears and she swings around and fires only to find it was a reflection. As Batman appears in other mirrors, Dahl fires repeatedly at them destroying them all until the only one left is the one reflecting back her “real” self. With tears in her eyes, she fires once more destroying the image. She tries to continue firing but she’s run out of bullets. Batman removes the doll from her hands and she tearfully turns to him and repeats her catchphrase “I didn’t mean to.” She clutches at his leg as a high-angle shot from the camera lingers a moment, then fades to black.

“Baby-Doll” is an unconventional episode, no doubt about it. Or rather, the villain is unconventional in her design since really the story is just another insane individual looking for revenge on those she perceived wronged her. A lot of Batman villains can say the same. It’s also interesting that this episode follows “Bane,” an episode where the villain is a huge physical threat to Batman where-as Baby-Doll is really not one at all. I’m impressed that Dini came up with the funhouse as a way to put Batman at a disadvantage, since the thought of Baby-Doll taking him out is ludicrous on the surface.

When ever Baby-Doll gets mad, her voice deepens and the black around her eyes thickens. It’s a neat approach.

Obviously, part of the genesis for the episode stems from someone like Dini just working in television. The Cousin Oliver gimmick is interesting as it refers to Oliver from The Brady Bunch, who was played by Robbie Rist who voices Brian in this episode (I guess it would have been too on-the-nose to have him voice Spunky). Baby-Doll is a stand-in for many child actors who have had a tough time transitioning to adulthood. And in her case, the point is hammered home by having her physically remain like a child.

This episode marks the final contribution to this show by Studio Junio. Aside from their episodes seeming to contain lots of grammatical errors in the backgrounds, I must say I enjoyed their work. There’s a bit more of a cartoon vibe to their episodes and even some flashes of anime. Batman looks great in this episode and Junio apparently had access to better shades of green as Robin doesn’t have those turquoise accents on his gloves. Baby-Doll is perhaps a bit too cartoonish for my taste as she reminds me of Elmira from Tiny Toon Adventures. Her head is gigantic like a cartoon character, and it pulls me out of the scenes sometimes especially the closing shot with Batman.

I feel like “Baby-Doll” is an episode that should suck, to put it bluntly, but doesn’t. The story it tells actually proved compelling and the character of Dahl is made sympathetic in the end. A lot of that can be attributed to the voice work of Alison LaPlaca who does a great job in shifting tones from a higher, child-like voice, to a lower aged one when Dahl gets upset. There’s even a touch of a Child’s Play vibe as Dahl gets a little creepy when not using her Baby voice. This one works, in spite of its weirdness. It’s not anywhere near my top 10 episodes, and I don’t need to see Baby-Doll again (and we won’t until The New Batman Adventures), but I am fine with this episode existing.

1 Comment | tags: alan young, alison laplaca, baby-doll, batman, cousin oliver, james marsden, mari devon, paul dini, robbie rist, robin, studio junio | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

March 25, 2019

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

By Joe

spider-verse poster Over the years, the comic book movie has changed immeasurably. Prior to the year 2000, you could basically count the successful superhero movies on one hand and the only heroes able to really break through were Superman and Batman. This meant Marvel was completely shut out despite feeling like the hotter publication for a long time. That company’s forays into the world of cinema were largely terrible and the only semi-successful venture was probably The Incredible Hulk television series.

Now though it seems like anything Marvel wants to send to the big screen is a massive success. It’s not that surprising that X-Men eventually worked or that Spider-Man could become a big player. Captain America? That one is pretty surprising considering how lame he was when I was a kid. Basically everyone associated with The Avengers had been pushed aside. Those were the heroes your parents might have read about, but us 80s and 90s kids wanted mutants, pouches, and clones, damn it! We once thought that in order for these movies to be successful they needed to be more grounded than a comic and basically not look like one. Drab costumes for the X-Men, realistic villains for Iron Man, and so on. Now we’ve learned that doesn’t matter. Bright spandex is in, heroes leave the planet, and a big, purple, bad guy can lead one of the most successful movies of all time.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse pushes the super hero movies even closer to the world of comic books. It’s a bold movie on the part of Sony Pictures and Marvel, though considering the budget for this film is far less than what is spent on a typical live-action super hero film it’s perhaps not perceived as being a great risk. Spider-Verse is a film aimed at the longtime fans of Spider-Man. It’s not really made for those who liked Spider-Man comics as a kid and then moved on, or simply know the character from his other films. This film is modern, it contains references to the old Peter Parker who fell in love with and married Mary Jane Watson, something Marvel has undone. It also references a Spider-Man who divorced MJ, a Spider-Man who is actually a woman, and a Spider-Man who is black. Only in comics could all of these different, yet all valid, versions of one character exist and this film seeks to throw them all into one movie. It’s a transdimensional gathering of Spider-People (and animals) which is the type of story usually reserved for the world of comics as comic fans are used to differentiating from Earth-616, Pre-Crisis, Ultimate, etc. It sounds complicated, and it kind of is, but Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ends up being far more accessible than it has any right to be.

I hope you like Spider-Man, because there’s a lot to go around.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is based on a screenplay from Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman directed by Rothman, Bob Persichetti, and Peter Ramsey. It’s a computer-animated film that seeks to emulate the look of a comic book. Movement is intentionally janky as a low frames-per-second was utilized to make sure that basically every moment of the film could work as a still image from a comic book panel. It’s the careful planning of the screenplay and the direction that allows the viewer to ease into this one as it slowly peels away layers making the plot more complicated as it goes along without becoming overwhelming.

Miles never leaves home without his trusty Sony headphones.

The movie focuses first on teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). Morales is a young man who is an only child to police officer Jefferson Davis (Brian Tyree Henry) and nurse Rio Morales (Luna Lauren Velez). His father is african american and mother Puerto Rican, and even though he shares a last name with his mother, his parents are a couple and they all live together in Brooklyn. Miles though is sent to a special academy for schooling which functions like a boarding school. He doesn’t like it, but his father insists it’s for his own good. His mother is more sympathetic to his concerns, but not enough to interfere on behalf of her son. Miles is quite smart and apparently gifted, but he desires to be what he feels is normal. As a result, he has a kindred spirit in his uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) who encourages Miles’ preferred form of expression: tagging. Aaron and Jefferson apparently had a falling out of some kind and aren’t on speaking terms, so Miles has to sneak around to hang out with him.

It’s partly through sneaking out with his uncle that causes Miles to run into Spider-Man (Chris Pine). While tagging a tunnel in the subway, Miles is bit by an odd looking spider. The next day, he feels off and finds he’s sticking to everything and unable to make sense of it. When he returns to find the spider that bit him he encounters Spider-Man, who is battling with a massive, monstrous, version of the Green Goblin who is working for Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber), also known as The Kingpin. Kingpin also employs The Prowler and Tombstone and they’re trying to prevent Spider-Man from destroying a particle accelerator. He will be unsuccessful, and it’s the turning on of that particle accelerator that opens up a rift between the various dimensions which causes other versions of Spider-Man to enter Miles’ world.

Spider-Man may be in the title, but this is a Miles Morales movie.

Most of the movie will then center around Miles and one of the other Spider-Men, played by Jake Johnson. With Miles trying to figure out his own spider-powers, he turns to Peter B. Parker, but unfortunately for Miles this version of Parker is older, out of shape, and not really a good teacher. They need to steal a code from Fisk in order to destroy the accelerator and return Peter to his own dimension. It becomes apparent that they’ll need help though, and gradually more versions of Spider-Man are introduced including Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and Spider-Man Noir (Nicholas Cage). Each time a new one is introduced, they get a little 30 second origin story that all utilize the same concept. It’s both informative and amusing and never gets old.

While a lot of different versions of the classic character appear, the film never loses sight of the fact that this is really Miles’ story. He has to deal with disappointing his father and trying to find his footing amongst a group of people that have all been at this Spider-Man thing for quite awhile. He’s insecure, and unsure of himself. He just wants to be a normal kid, and while we see right away he’s a fan of Spider-Man, it’s not really something he necessarily wants to be. It’s a movie of self-discovery, camaraderie, and family. Most of the villains are simply physical adversaries, though some time is given to Fisk, and yet the film doesn’t suffer because of it.

A good chunk of the movie is devoted to an odd couple pairing of inexperienced Miles with past his prime Peter B. Parker.

The story in the film is well-told, but the major take-away from the film will be its look and style. It’s computer-animated, but there’s a hand drawn quality to everything present not seen in something from the likes of Dreamworks or Pixar. It’s bright, bold, and unafraid to take chances. There’s a sequence where Miles and Peter are stuck via webstring to a subway car and are pulled throughout New York at night. They pinball off of cars, slam into pillars, and slide across windows. It’s a chaotic, visual, experience that never gets out of hand or hard to follow. The finale is even more ambitious as the heroes battle the villains while the accelerator goes nuts and starts sucking in buildings and vehicles from other dimensions with everything suspended in a surreal setting. The film doesn’t need those tricks to be interesting though as even watching Miles walk down the street or emerge from a subway car is visually engauging. Sony stumbled onto something that really works here and I doubt this is the last we’ll see of this style.

There are a lot of big fights and moments in this one, but no matter what there’s always going to be a scene where Spider-Man needs to hide from someone in an amusing manner.

The vocal cast is wonderful with not a bad performance to be found and the music the film turns to is appropriate as well. The film opens with Miles listening to the film’s featured song, “Sunflower” performed by Post Malone and Swae Lee, and the rest of the songs used in the film all sound like something Miles would listen to. It’s heavy on hip hop and R&B, while composer Daniel Pemberton mixes similar concepts within a traditional superhero score. Like the film’s visual, the soundtrack and score meld beautifully with the scenes and characters and it’s hard to imagine the film having a soundtrack that could possibly be more appropriate than what is here.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a technical and artistic marvel in cinema. It’s a film made for the Spider-Man fan, but one that isn’t exclusive to that fan base. The character of Miles Morales is portrayed in such an authentic manner that it’s almost unfathomable to think someone could watch this film and not fall in love with the character of Miles. His journey from typical teen with typical problems to full-fledged Spider-Man could feel too familiar, but the film makes it compelling and interesting every step of the way. It’s also impossible to talk about the film and not mention how important and refreshing it is to see a character of mixed race assume the spotlight in a superhero film. I’m just a dumb white guy, so perhaps my opinion isn’t relevant, but I found it exciting and awesome to see Miles assume the mantel of Spider-Man and make it his own. The message of the film is that a hero can come from anywhere, anyone can be Spider-Man, and it’s a message the film takes to heart. And it isn’t just Miles as we also get a wonderful portrayal of Spider-Woman via the Gwen Stacy character. I’d love to see another adventure from Miles, and I’d also love to see a Spider-Gwen movie because I found her character really compelling as well. Hell, I’d even take a Peter B. Parker movie to see how things turned out for him.

I would love another movie centered on Miles, but if Sony wants to give us a Spider-Gwen I won’t be complaining.

I suspect that given the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that we’re not done with this setting. I don’t expect a sequel to feature dimension-hopping unless it’s flipped and Miles journeys to help another Spider-Man. I think more likely is that a more conventional plot is scripted for Miles. However it happens, it needs to because Miles is too wonderful to only receive top-billing in a single film. I think most who see this film will walk away pondering if it’s their favorite Spider-Man film or close to it. I want to watch it again, but I think I would put Homecoming ahead of it, but it’s not an easy call. This film may be crowded with Spider-People, but it understands Spider-Man and presents what is a perfect Spider-Man story. It may be animated, but it’s paced like a live-action film and definitely isn’t aiming to lure in children, like many animated films developed primarily for a western audience aim for. If you passed on this one because it’s not tied into the Marvel Cinematic Universe or are intimidated by the plot then you made a mistake. There’s time to fix that mistake though and I urge you to do so.

4 Comments | tags: marvel, miles morales, sony pictures, spider-gwen, spider-ham, spider-man, spider-verse, stan lee, superhero movies, superheroes | posted in Comics, Film

March 22, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Bane”

By Joe

Bane title card Episode Number: 75

Original Air Date: September 10, 1994

Directed by: Kevin Altieri

Written by: Mitch Brian

First Appearance(s): Bane

Episode 75 brings us a relic from the 90s: Bane. Bane has always felt like the Omega Red of DC. He’s kind of cool looking, yet also lame at the same time. Both characters were introduced into the comics in the early 90s, then fast-tracked to their respective animated counterparts. In the case of Bane, basically a year elapsed between his debut and this episode’s airing, so it was likely in development not long after Bane’s lore was created. Either as an indictment of that lore, or because things were still in flux, this version of Bane is merely a basic representation of the character from the comics. His look is largely intact, save for the superficial difference of his mask featuring an exposed mouth, and he’ll rely on the serum Venom to augment his strength. Almost everything else is different, and arguably for the better. He’s a mercenary here, rather than a guy tormented by visions of a bat monster, and the episode has no need to dive deep into his origins. So much of Bane’s comic book back story strikes me as ridiculous, and it’s rightly ignored for this episode. It’s just possible the lot of it was ignored or glossed over for time constraints rather than because of its quality.

I guess when you do something like break Batman you get to make the leap from comic to TV rather quickly.

Bane, for all of his problems, is merely here to play the role of physical adversary for Batman. He can overpower Batman with no problem, and unlike a Killer Croc, he’s got brains to back-up his brawn. He’s portrayed as a tactician and takes to the task of destroying Batman in the way an expert hunter would approach its prey. It’s a unique approach for the series as really few have attempted to engage Batman in a similar manner. And for all his strength, Killer Croc has never been much of a problem for Batman in a fight. One could argue his toughest physical foe up to this point has been the ninja Kyodai Ken. Say what you will about Bane, he has a role to play on this show and it’s a role that had not been filled by anyone else.

This episode also marks the beginning of Fox’s third season of the show launched in September 1994. That makes “Bane” the first episode to feature the new opening. It’s set to Shirley Walker’s Batman theme, which some argue is superior to the Elfman theme. Obviously, Walker probably never would have arrived at this sound for her Batman theme without Elfman’s, but it’s a point worth taken. And even though I think this opening is inferior to the original, I do think it’s nice Walker’s theme got a chance to shine.

An old enemy is introduced to Bane.

“Bane” begins inauspiciously at an airport. A rather large man emerges from a commercial flight and finds a car waiting for him. We don’t get a full-frame look at him, but get to see the vehicle buckle under his tremendous weight as he climbs in. Inside is a character we haven’t seen for quite some time. Candice (Diane Michelle), the assistant to Rupert Thorne whom we haven’t seen since “Two-Face,” welcomes the man. He sits beside her and speaks with a Spanish accent. She takes him to her employer, Thorne himself (John Vernon), who is in the middle of a work-out. His coach, in a bid to motivate Thorne to hit the punching bag harder, hits a sore spot when he brings up Batman and gets knocked out as a result. Thorne greets the big man, who we come to know as Bane (Henry Silva), and we find out he’s been hired to take out Batman. The caped crusader recently cost Thorne a lot of money, but he did manage to hang onto a suitcase full of diamonds which he uses to pay Bane. After payment, Bane hands over a newspaper with a cover story on Killer Croc, who recently escaped from Arkham (as we saw in “Trial,” he ended up there for some reason following the events of “Sideshow” in which he was supposed to be transferred to prison), and wants to know how he can find “the reptile.” Thorne isn’t really thrilled to see Bane targeting Croc when he’s supposed to be going after Batman, but Bane explains he wants to see the Batman in action before engaging him.

Rupert Thorne may be the man paying Bane to take out Batman, but we’ll learn that Bane has been looking forward to matching wits with the detective for some time.

Apparently not one to sit around, Killer Croc (Aron Kincaid) has assembled a small gang and is either on the run from Batman and Robin or is in the midst of having a crime foiled. He’s being chased through a construction yard or factory of some kind, a typical nondescript backdrop for the show, and Croc demonstrates his own impressive strength by mangling a series of pipes and tossing them at Batman and Robin, scoring a direct hit. This gives Croc time to flee into the sewer. Wanting Batman to follow, he makes no attempt to hide his escape and is shown waiting in the sewers with a pipe in hand quietly urging Batman to come on in. Behind, the wall smashes in and in comes Bane. He’s dressed like a giant lucha-libre performer (Mexican wrestler) complete with mask and singlet. He announces that Batman is his to destroy, and when Croc retorts with “Over my dead body,” Bane responds with “As you wish.” He flicks a switch on a wrist contraption and a liquid starts pumping from it into a tube connected to the back of Bane’s skull. His muscles begin to bulge and the background turns bright red to heighten the apparent adrenaline rush Bane receives. He grabs Croc by the skull, his hand now large enough to palm it effortlessly, and shoves his head underwater.

Killer Croc gets a look at Bane, now in full wrestling-inspired attire.

By now, Batman and Robin have entered the sewer and we can hear the sounds of Croc being pummelled, Bane apparently not content to merely drown him. He soon floats into sight, but Bane is gone. As the two haul Croc out of the sewer, Robin wonders if there’s a new vigilante on the block while Batman remains silent. They arrive at the Batmobile to find it’s been smashed. It’s there Batman agrees with Robin that whoever stopped Croc is tough because he notes the damage to the Batmobile was done with bare hands.

Later on, Batman pays Croc a visit at Arkham where he’s looked better. His head is bandaged and he has a broken arm and leg both of which are being suspended by slings on pulleys. Batman wants to have a chat, but Croc is in no mood. Batman basically uses some mild torture by messing with the pulley which is enough to make him sing. Croc tells him about Bane, in particular about the drug that pumps him up, and also taunts Batman a bit as he’s convinced Bane will snap him in two once he gets his hands on him. Batman doesn’t seem too concerned and departs with a, “Later gator.”

At the Batcave, Robin is working on the Batmobile while Batman is at the computer. Alfred comes strolling in (feels like we haven’t seen him in awhile) and mentions something about Bane to Batman who makes a quip about it being personal now that he totaled his car (Batman is on point with the jokes so far). Batman, having heard enough from Croc, already knows everything there is to know about Bane as his computer reveals all. Bane is the only man to escape from some notorious prison in Cuba. It was there he was experimented on with the substance that will be identified as Venom. Since escaping, Bane has fashioned himself into a merc for hire, and a real expensive one at that. His price starts at 5 million a job, and when Batman questions who has that kind of money and a desire to kill him Alfred hands him a newspaper (this again?) that inexplicably has a headline that just reads Rupert Thorne.

Robin must not have been very good at hide and seek.

At Thorne’s office, Candice is seated with Bane while he does curls with a massive dumbbell. Earlier, Thorne had offered Bane the “services” of his assistant and Bane appears to be taking full advantage of said services. Candice tells him that he could own this city, and she, once he takes out the Batman. When he asks her about her boss, she just says “accidents happen,” and plants a kiss on his exposed lips. Thorne then enters and Candice takes her leave. When Thorne casually says “He’s out there, Bane,” referring to Batman, Bane respond with a “Closer than you think.” Across the way, Robin has been eavesdropping the whole time and recording the conversation too. As he’s putting his equipment away he notices Candice leave in her own vehicle and the Batmobile then appears and follows her. Behind Robin, a red-eyed shadowy figure emerges and starts racing up behind Robin. He spins around at the last second to find Bane. He dodges Bane’s attack, but soon finds himself in his clutches. As Bane dangles him over the ledge, Robin is able swing between Bane’s legs and upend the big man. He wisely doesn’t try to pick a fight with Bane and flees to another rooftop. He hides behind some ventilation as Bane walks by, but when Robin tries to sneak away Bane is there to wrap him in a bear hug. He turns his back to the camera so we don’t see Robin get choked out. When he turns back around he’s cradling an unconscious Robin in his arms and makes a remark that he may prove useful to him as he walks off.

It would be sweet had he not just choked Robin out.

Batman has followed Candice back to her apartment. He enters and confronts the woman about Bane. She seems rather casual and plops herself down on the couch to watch cartoons (surprisingly, not another Warner cartoon) while Batman yaps on. She then tells him he has no chance against Bane. He’s studied him since he was in prison and is obsessed with taking him down (a slight nod to Bane’s comic origin, I suppose). As she goes on, the phone rings and she tells him that it’s probably for him. Batman answers and it’s Bane, who lets him know that if he were a sniper he’d already be dead. He then threatens to get him by getting to whom he values most. Batman is alarmed and looks out the window to see Robin’s shirt and cape draped over an antenna on a rooftop across the street. In an action that was actually amusing to me, Batman smashes Candice’s window rather than open it so he can fire his grapple gun to retrieve Robin’s garment. A note is affixed to it with Robin’s apparent location on it.

The note instructed Batman to head to a wharf where a ship called The Rose’s Thorn is docked. I don’t know if it’s Thorne’s ship or if Bane picked it because it reminds him of his employer. There Robin has been chained up with a massive weight chained to his ankles. Candice managed to beat Batman there and tries to remove Robin’s mask, but Bane stops her for no apparent reason. Robin is then lowered into a pool on the ship that has water pouring in. Soon enough he’ll be underwater with no apparent way to escape.

They should have just gone all-in and hired Jim Ross to do commentary.

Batman arrives to see Robin and goes for him, but Bane soon announces his presence from the top of a mast. He activates the Venom and jumps down, the camera shaking as he lands on the deck. Batman is tentative, but goes in eventually. The fight turns into a faux wrestling match with Bane no-selling Batman’s strikes as if he were The Undertaker. He tosses Batman into the ship’s railing, which cartoonishly bends like wrestling ring ropes allowing Batman to rebound off of them into a massive clothesline from Bane. Batman gets up and uses some lucha-libre of his own with a series of head-scissor takedowns on Bane. Eventually, the enraged behemoth just catches Batman and heaves him into a bunch of crates. Among the rubble, Batman finds some device which turns out to be a grappling hook gun. He plunges it into Bane’s midsection and fires catapulting the villain from the deck to the water below.

With Bane out-of-the-way, Batman races to Robin’s aid and finds the water level has reached his chin. He dives in and starts prodding at the chains around Robin’s wrists, but the boy wonder quickly directs Batman to the weights on his ankles. Batman goes under water and finds the chains padlocked. Expecting him to go to his belt for something to break the lock or chain with, Batman surprises me by pulling out a set of keys. Did he remove them from Bane during the fight? He frees Robin, but while Batman is busy Bane re-emerges behind Candice, who looked like she was about to flee.

This isn’t the fight we were promised.

Bane waits for Batman to climb out of the pool before grabbing his head and tossing him. He merely kicks Robin back into the water, apparently not at all concerned about him. From the water, Robin spies Candice and beckons her into the water. For some reason she obliges, tossing aside her red pumps (but not her jacket) and dives in and the two start wrestling with each other. Likely owing to the show not wanting to show Robin assaulting a woman, Candice is shown to have the upper hand immediately.

The animators at Dong Yang utilized a red background for some of Bane’s Venom scenes, which is pretty effective.

On the deck, Batman and Bane have resumed their fight. Batman, apparently running out of ideas to confront this beast, tosses a Batarang at Bane who catches it. He crumples it in his hand and taunts Batman for trying to fight him with toys. Now clearly with the upper hand, Bane methodically beats on Batman though the camera is careful not to show anything particularly gratuitous. He grabs Batman by the shirt and demands he scream his name, but of course Batman isn’t about to do that. Looking to end the fight, Bane lifts Batman over his head and announces that he will break him. He assumes another classic pro-wrestling position, that of the backbreaker. It’s at this point those who were familiar with Bane’s presence in the comics may have actually fallen for the tease. In the books, Bane does indeed break Batman’s back across his knee, but he won’t be so lucky here. Batman, holding onto the mangled remains of his Batarang, uses it to stab the pump on Bane’s wrist. This causes it to go haywire and continuously pump Venom into Bane’s noggin. He drops Batman and starts freaking out as he can’t control the Venom. His muscles keep increasing and we return to the red background to focus in on Bane’s face. The red lenses over his eyes pop off as his eyes bug out and the whole sequence is rather freaky. He’s in obvious pain and in a state of panic, but he also is in a state of disbelief that he could be defeated. Taking apparent pity on him, Batman rips the tube out of Bane’s head causing the massive man to collapse and begin returning to a normal size. At the same time, Candice climbs out of the water with Robin right behind her. She takes off running and Robin is prepared to go after her but Batman stops him since he knows where she’s heading.

Batman’s mercy.

Batman drops by the office of Rupert Thorne on his way home. A still soaking wet Candice is cowering behind her boss’s chair as Batman presents the defeated Bane. He mocks Thorne as he pulls off Bane’s mask to reveal a baby-faced man beneath it who lets his head slam onto the desk. Still in a pretty good mood, Batman whips out a tape player and lets Thorne know he has a new release and even gives it a title, Better Luck Next Time. It’s the recording Robin made of Candice propositioning Bane where it’s insinuated they were going to knock-off Thorne. Batman then takes his leave while Thorne roars “Candice!”

And that’s all she wrote for Bane. He won’t show up again until the made for television move Mystery of the Batwoman which is part of The New Batman Adventures. I suppose it’s not surprising since Batman would be able to beat him the same way, kind of like how X-Men ruined The Juggernaut by revealing the blueprint for beating him in his first appearance. It’s also the final appearance for Candice, which is actually a little menacing. Did Thorne have her killed? If he really is a ruthless criminal he probably would. My guess is we’re supposed to assume she was fired. The ending scene feels like it’s played for laughs, but she just got caught plotting to have Thorne killed. He’s not going to let that slide.

The baby face beneath the mask.

The whole tone of this episode is really amusing to me, though not necessarily in a good way. Mitch Brian is the writer, and he previously wrote “On Leather Wings” and “P.O.V.” which were not particularly humorous. For this one he really went all-in on the wrestling motif of Bane with the fight scene especially looking silly. I like wrestling, but Batman rebounding off of steel railings like they’re ring ropes was pretty over the top and it takes me out of the scene every time. Batman is also jokey, which is unconventional, though his dry delivery to Alfred helps sell his car line. The “Later gator” line is way more playful, and pretty out of character. Not offensively so, but it is jarring. I wonder if some of the humor was intended to soften the menacing undertones of the episode where a contract killer is out to get him.

The way Bane is made a fool of, and subsequently not utilized again, leads me to the conclusion that the staff wasn’t too high on Bane. Was he forced upon them because of Knightfall? I don’t know if anything was necessarily mandated upon, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were encouraged to do Bane in season two. He’s fine, and the episode largely is as well. He’s not one of Batman’s greatest foes, but at least he’s not a big, dumb, strong man like so many similar villains. He didn’t need to come back, and I’m fine with this being his lone appearance. Not to be forgotten, this also marks Killer Croc’s final appearance in this show. Unlike Bane though, he’ll return in The New Batman Adventures where a reboot is sorely needed. He’s turned into a silly character who isn’t a threat to Batman despite his appearance. Most of all though, I’ll actually miss Candice. She’s just so nasty and a natural bad girl that it’s a shame she and Thorne were separated. It might have been fun to see her resurface with one of Thorne’s rivals down the road, but alas it was not to be, so pour one out for Candice.

3 Comments | tags: aron kincaid, bane, batman, diane michelle, henry silva, john vernon, killer croc, robin, rupert thorne | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

March 15, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Catwalk”

By Joe

Catwalk title Episode Number: 74

Original Air Date: September 13, 1995

Directed by: Boyd Kirkland

Written by: Paul Dini

First Appearance(s): None

Batman: The Animated Series has done a great job of elevating some of Batman’s lesser known villains. It’s really a big part of the show’s legacy. And the well-established villains like Joker and Riddler did just fine as well. One notable exception though is Catwoman. Perhaps the most famous foil for the caped crusader not wearing clown makeup, Catwoman has struggled when finding herself on-screen. Her debut, which was the show’s broadcast premiere, “The Cat and Claw” established her character as a cat burglar with an animal rights activist bend. She stole to help fund her efforts there, and also for fun. She also instantly fell for Batman, who’s alter ego Bruce Wayne found himself infatuated with Selina Kyle, the alter ego of Catwoman – naturally. This dance played out over two episodes with Batman and Catwoman finding a common enemy in Red Claw before everything ended with Gotham saved, and Catwoman behind bars.

Since then, Catwoman has returned, but really only in the role of victim. She needs to be rescued by Batman in all three of her return engagements, though at least in “Almost Got ‘Im” she can boast that he was only returning the favor. It’s been a rather toothless portrayal for a character that should be able to stand on her own, be she thief or vigilante or something in between. And the show really couldn’t decide what she was. She’s basically another crime fighter in “Almost Got ‘Im” and I hypothesized during my write-up that she was shoe-horned into the role of Robin so that the episode could end with its punchline. Her character is left uninteresting by season one’s conclusion, and it’s clear she needs a fresh approach.

Enter Paul Dini. Dini did not receive a writing credit on any of Catwoman’s prior appearances, though as one of the credited show creators it’s likely he had some input on virtually every episode to air. This is his first real try at course-correcting the character and it’s one that is going to bring Catwoman back to her thieving roots. It’s a sorely needed direction, the only question being is the character worth salvaging at this point so late in the game?

Selina misses her old life.

The episode opens at a museum exhibit. Selina Kyle (Adrienne Barbeau) is staring forlornly at a stuffed leopard and thinking back on her life as Catwoman. She’s basically bringing the audience up to speed while placing some of the blame on her Catwoman-less existence for the first time on Batman, a common sentiment amongst his many enemies. Bruce Wayne and Veronica Vreeland (Marilu Henner) are also attending the same function and approach Selina. Vreeland tries to make small talk by mentioning her grandfather donated much of the display, but that doesn’t sit well with Selina. She accuses Vreeland’s grandfather of hunting many of these animals to extinction. Suggesting this place isn’t for her, she leaves while Veronica and Bruce can only stare with mouths agape. Bruce catches up to her to admonish her for her rude behavior, but Selina seems to feel no shame or need to apologize for the cat in her. She thanks Bruce for inviting her along (Yup, he’s still barking up that tree, or maybe I should say scratching at that post), but tells him she doesn’t fit in here and takes her leave.

The gangster puppet is back again.

As Selina leaves a rather large individual grabs her and tosses her into an ominous black car. It’s Rhino (Earl Boen) who is apparently still in the employ of one Scarface. He and The Ventriloquist (George Dzundza) are free from Arkham. If they were released or escaped, it isn’t explained. Selina is quite amused by the talking dummy, but Scarface has a job for her. Or rather, a job for Catwoman. Scarface wants to steal from the Vreeland family, and he’s apparently aware of Selina’s feelings towards them. Either he was spying on her just now or his intuition is remarkable. Selina is unable to resist the urge to not only get back at the Vreeland family, but also to be Catwoman once again. She takes the job.

Catwoman returns to the museum and is able to sneak in undetected. As she goes for the jewels, a so-called business partner has other plans. It’s Scarface and his crew, and they’re making a brazen assault on the museum by detonating some explosives inside, which not only attract attention, but foil Catwoman’s escape. The security, and eventually police, key-in on Catwoman forcing her to make a daring escape while Scarface and his men have a much easier go of things. It’s obvious now Scarface only wanted to use Catwoman as a cover, but for what purpose we don’t know.

He sure looks smug.

Catwoman is able to make it back to Selina Kyle’s penthouse. There she has a visitor in the form of Batman. Nothing happens in this town without Batman knowing, and he seems concerned for Selina. She makes up a story about wanting to return to the museum to apologize for her behavior earlier, and finding a robbery in progress, she decided to infiltrate the building as Catwoman in a bid to stop the perpetrators. Batman is insistent that she tell her story to the proper authorities and the two return to the museum. Once there, Catwoman notices that some rare extinct animal mounts are missing and assumes that’s what Scarface was really after. Batman can tell she’s not revealing the full truth. And just like that, the old Catwoman is back. She attacks Batman with what may be a kick to the Wayne family jewels, but the angle makes it unclear. It’s a good kick though since it gives her some time to ascend onto what appears to be a blue whale suspended from the ceiling. Batman meets her there, and the two make a pretty big mess and Catwoman ultimately escapes. Batman flees to the roof and pulls out a tracking device – he apparently bugged the Catwoman.

It’s been awhile since we had a good Batman vs Catwoman confrontation.

With Batman out-of-the-way, Catwoman is free to zero-in on her new prey: Scarface. He’s holed up with his men at a sawmill and when we check in on him he’s speaking on the phone to The Penguin about a bird mount he swiped. Also with him is a rare Tasmanian Tiger that is being billed as the last of its kind. Catwoman enters, but not entirely successfully as the guards take her out. She ends up in a cliché, unconscious on a conveyor belt heading towards a whirling saw-blade. This time it’s her cat Isis who makes the save by licking her face to bring her to consciousness. She rolls away just in time, but now has Scarface and his men to deal with. She’s outnumbered and having a tough go of things, but Batman soon arrives to even the odds. He takes on Rhino, while Catwoman goes after Scarface.

The artists always seem to find a way to get a butt-shot into every Catwoman episode.

She corners the maniacal puppet and his “dummy,” The Ventriloquist, in the command room of the mill. Scarface apparently never got around to reacquiring an adorable, tiny, tommy gun because he’s unarmed and unable to really do anything when confronted by Catwoman. She snatches Scarface from The Ventriloquist and tosses him on to the same belt she was on minutes earlier. She seems to enjoy how The Ventriloquist begs and pleads with her to let him help his beloved Mr. Scarface, but she’s not going to let that happen. He turns his back to her and grabs the Tasmanian Tiger and hurls it at Catwoman. When she moves he races in and shuts down the machine sparing his boss’s “life.” This proves to be a brief reprieve as Catwoman just pulls a crane release that drops a bunch of logs onto the machine smashing it, and Scarface, in the process.

The animators at Dong Yang do a great job of making The Ventriloquist look pained throughout his confrontation with Catwoman.

As The Ventriloquist weeps Catwoman smiles gleefully, but then things take a turn. She confronts The Ventriloquist with claws exposed and starts tearing at his clothes. When he insists that he and Scarface are two different people, she just reminds him that Scarface is locked inside him and her thirst for revenge has apparently not been sated by merely crushing the dummy. By now, Batman has finished tangling with the likes of Rhino and is able to put a stop to this. Catwoman insists he cease his actions so she can take her revenge on The Ventriloquist for costing her her freedom. Batman reminds her she did it to herself, and when he asks why she insists because she couldn’t live without being Catwoman. By now, the wreckage of Scarface has caught fire somehow and Catwoman tosses the Tasmanian Tiger into the middle of it (a Hell of a throw). She tells Batman he can’t let it burn because it’s priceless and the last of its kind. He apparently agrees as he swings in and snatches the mount from the flames, but by doing so allows Catwoman to escape. We cut her to her perched on a building and a voiceover from Catwoman declares she’s a cat who walks alone.

I find it interesting that the title card of this episode is essentially a mirror image of its closing shot.

And so we have Catwoman essentially brought back to where she was when this series started. The only difference is the whole world knows who she is so she can no longer live the swanky lifestyle enjoyed by Selina Kyle. How she’ll manage to get by as a criminal on the run is a tale left for another day. For what this is, it’s successful and I do prefer a Catwoman who is a villain of sorts as opposed to an ineffective vigilante, or whatever she was. It will be a challenge to integrate her further into Batman’s foes, but it’s better than what had become of the status quo. As for Scarface, his use here was suitable. Some liberties were taken this time with his performance as one scene featured The Ventriloquist using both of his hands to manipulate Scarface’s arms, while his mouth continued to flap away. He was seated in The Ventriloquist’s lap so maybe he found a creative way to utilize another appendage? My only real issue with Scarface is the unexplained nature of his arrival on the scene. I get that it would be tiresome to always see how the villains manage to escape Arkham, but a throw-away line about The Ventriloquist getting a clean bill of health would have sufficed.

Batman, once again, proves how poor he is at managing Catwoman. Perhaps it’s an intentional weakness by the writers as even Catwoman points out he lets her get too close. I’m not sure I buy the concluding scene where Batman opts to “save” a dead and stuffed animal rather than apprehend a criminal. My own take on the scene is that Batman really didn’t want to arrest Catwoman, and when given an out, he took it.

Batman always letting Catwoman get too close, and this time she calls him out on it.

This is a good-looking episode for Dong Yang. We get some new backgrounds and the museum is a fun setting for a little skirmish between hero and villain. The fight scene at the mill is perhaps brief, but visually entertaining. Batman and Rhino for a moment take on a slightly rubbery, toon look at times. It’s not a look I’d want for every episode, but when it pops-in here and there it’s a bit fun as most of this show is rather rigid. Best of all though, they did a really nice job during the scene where Catwoman is essentially torturing The Ventriloquist as he watches Scarface near another untimely demise. The Ventriloquist has no pupils, so it’s a challenge to make him convey emotion, but it’s done well here and I almost pity the man as a result. Catwoman, on the other hand, looks positively evil in her enjoyment of the whole thing. It’s actually refreshing to see her embrace her dark side and helps to sell the overall narrative of the episode.

“Catwalk” is a good return to form. It has a few stumbles, but nothing serious. It feels like a stepping stone for Catwoman, though unfortunately I’m not sure it really pays off. Catwoman will make another appearance before this season ends, but from what I recall it doesn’t really refer back to this episode (it doesn’t even feature Batman). The bulk of her additional time will be spent in The New Adventures of Batman where basically everyone feels like they received a reboot. And by then, Catwoman will practically be a different character, but that’s not the fault of this episode. For what it’s worth, this episode is probably the best depiction of the iconic feline the show has.

1 Comment | tags: adrienne barbeau, batman, catwoman, george dzundza, marilu henner, paul dini, scarface, Selina Kyle, the ventriloquist | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

March 8, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Time Out of Joint”

By Joe

Episode Number: 73

Original Air Date: October 8, 1994

Directed by: Dan Riba

Written by: Alan Burnett, Steve Perry

First Appearance(s): None

No one’s favorite villain, The Clock King (Alan Rachins) is back once again to resume his quest for vengeance against Mayor Hamilton Hill (Lloyd Bochner) who had the audacity to make him late long ago. The Clock King, real name Temple Fugate, hasn’t been heard from in quite some time. He was thought dead after his first appearance, but Batman had a premonition he’d return like so many others. When last we saw him, Fugate was little more than a man of extreme punctuality which was his only defense against Batman. It was quite the mismatch though Batman has a way of scaling down to his adversaries to make things seem more equitable. This time, Fugate has wisely shown up armed with a new device that can manipulate time. It’s pretty fantastic and makes for some fun visual flair though it does open up some plot holes here and there. The creative staff, perhaps wisely, chose to ignore the questions such a device raises and just try to have fun with it. In other words, shut your brain off for this one.

The episode opens with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson attending a charity auction. Dick is acting like a child and is bored out of his skull while Bruce reminds him they’re doing this for a good cause. An antique clock goes up for sale and that attracts the attention of The Clock King. He comes strolling in but soon starts blinking in and out and moving at an impossible speed. He befuddles anyone he comes across and startles one woman (Tress MacNeille) while inquiring with her if the Louis XVI clock went on the block yet. When she tells him it did, he blinks out of sight.

Back in black.

In the galley, Bruce places a sizable bid on the clock while Dick remarks he wouldn’t even use it for a doorstop (he really has become spoiled). Dick then catches a glimpse of The Clock King as he vanishes and reappears all over the room. He alerts Bruce (apparently Dick read up on him in the Batcave because he’s never tangled with The Clock King) and as the auction ends the clock disappears. In an alley outside, The Clock King looks over his new prize. Remarking he has one already, he tosses it on top of a pile of trash which at least should reduce his crime from theft to something more along the lines of criminal mischief.

At Commissioner Gordon’s office, Batman and Robin replay security footage of the clock theft. They’re able to make out a hand reaching for the clock as it vanishes when slowing the tape down. Given what Dick saw just before the theft, Batman believes it’s the work of Fugate and advises Gordon to warn Fugate’s old nemesis, the mayor.

Dr. Wakati and “Harold”

At a rather lavish looking mansion, an old scientist by the name of Wakati (Roscoe Lee Browne) is working on an experiment. He’s created a small, infinity shaped, device that can slow or advance time. His butler Harold strolls in with his breakfast, right on time, and we see it’s Fugate. Wakati apparently doesn’t know him by his real name and likely is ignorant of Fugate’s criminal past. Fugate marvels at the device while Wakati tells him about all of the wonderful things it could accomplish for mankind like speeding up the deterioration of radioactive material or placing terminal patients into a stasis until a cure is found for what ails them. Fugate rather aggressively snatches a device to take a closer look, but Wakati does not object to the intrusion as he turns to his breakfast. Fugate pockets the device, and leaves while making bad time puns.

Mayor Hill is shown on the phone at his residence. Whomever he’s speaking with is being told how little Hill fears Fugate thanks to his beefed up security. Batman and Robin are lurking on the roof keeping an eye out expecting Fugate’s arrival at any moment. And lo and behold he does show up, but with the time device he “freezes” everything around him and simply strolls in. We’re shown that time isn’t actually frozen when he passes by a small fan which is spinning ever so slowly. Realizing he can’t use the elevator, he’s forced to take the stairs and makes a remark as he passes by a woman who’s about to take a rather bad fall. When he arrives at Hill’s office he knocks several times, and to Robin this sounds like machine-gun fire over his ear piece.

With the ability to freeze time the Gotham police force is somehow even less effective than before.

Fugate strolls into Hill’s office, who is quite surprised to see he slipped past security. Fugate begins taunting him, and when Hill reaches for some alarm device Fugate uses his time-slip powers to snatch it away. Hill races for the window, but Fugate intercepts him. As he bares down on Hill, Batman and Robin swing through the open window after activating a light trap which momentarily blinds Fugate. Batman tries casually walking up behind Fugate, but gets swatted away by Fugate’s clock hand cane. He uses a Tazmanian Devil-like spin move to avoid Robin, and then again when Batman lassos him. He uses the time device to tie up Batman before stumbling down the stairs. The woman he passed by earlier has now fallen, and Fugate doesn’t see her and trips over her knocking him out of his stasis field and partially breaking the device. Confronted by the woman, Fugate is forced to run as she wails on him for essentially being a jerk. The security guard offers no resistance, apparently not realizing what just happened in his boss’s office.

Outside, Fugate is surrounded by the police as his vision returns. He’s able to get the time device functioning once again and gives them the slip by swiping a police car, but not before he audibly notes the presence of the Batmobile. Upstairs, Robin frees Batman, but Fugate is long gone. Gordon assures the mayor that they’ll find him since all of their cruisers are equipped with a tracking device. Back at the mansion of Wakati, the old scientists is alarmed when he can’t find his trusty Harold, but Fugate soon returns. He’s angered to see Wakati snooping around his room, and Wakati is further startled to see his time device affixed to Fugate’s person. Fugate leans in threateningly as the scene fades out.

Robin doesn’t respond well to the possibility of being a part of an atomic explosion.

The police have found the car Fugate used to escape in a canal. Batman and Robin are there as well and Batman takes note of the nearby train tracks. He recalls Fugate’s knowledge of train schedules from their last encounter and discerns that he likely utilized a passing train to escape. The only train to come by in the last six hours would have been heading towards the mountains, and Batman knows the only thing out there is Wakati’s mansion. As the two head out, the camera pans to show us that Fugate planted a time device underneath the Batmobile. As Batman is driving, the device switches on putting the Batmobile into a stasis field. From inside, cars are flying past as streaks of light as the outside world moves in what appears like incredible time to Batman and Robin. Batman also notes that if a car should strike them it could trigger an atomic explosion. He’s soon able to locate the device, and by firing his grapple gun through the floor, it smashes and the field is ended. The Batmobile rockets out of stasis, but there’s literally no other cars in sight. Batman is able to fishtail the car into a light post to bring it to a stop.

Batman and Robin arrive at Wakati’s residence via motorcycle and find the doctor trapped in a stasis field. They deactivate it and have a little conversation about Wakati’s servant. Fugate’s little trap with the Batmobile resuled in Batman and Robin being tied up for 48 hours real-time, and Hill is set to dedicate a new courthouse momentarily. They figure out, based on another bad pun Fugate left with Wakati, that he plans to strike at Hill during the ceremony, but it starts in two minutes and Wakati has no phone to alert the police (though given what has already transpired, they should be expecting this anyway). Their only chance is to use Wakati’s device to reach the ceremony in time.

A bit different from the more famous Batman bomb scene.

For Fugate, he’s had two Batman-free days to plan for this, so how did he spend those two days? He made a bomb, and apparently not much else. With time frozen around him, he’s able to walk to the podium Hill will be giving a speech from and plant the bomb on the underside of it. He then heads into the crowd to watch apparently secure in thinking that no one will notice his understated super villain attire. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin are streaking towards the city on their bikes, and Robin just has to make a crack about being faster than a speeding bullet. Thankfully for them, Fugate wants to savor the moment of Hill’s demise and is watching the events unfold in slow-motion. Hill lifts a rather large gavel to strike the podium in a ceremonial fashion, which apparently will trigger the bomb (even though it looks like a time bomb). Batman and Robin arrive just as Hill strikes it forcing Batman to attach another time device to the bomb itself and run for the bay. As Batman appears to run at a tremendous speed, the bomb is detonating at an impossibly slow rate. It looks like an expanding ball of light and Batman is able to heave it into the river.

From the podium, Hill and the crowd are startled by the explosion off in the distance as The Clock King attempts to escape. Given that Robin is there with his own time manipulating device, Fugate has no edge and is apprehended easily. Batman and Robin are then shown back at Wakati’s residence where the scientist has decided to keep his invention a secret concluding that mankind isn’t ready for it. Batman is a bit dismayed at the thought, while Robin just makes a joke about Fugate likely wishing he could speed up time where he’s going. We’re then shown Fugate being stuffed into a paddy-wagon. As it takes off, the camera pans to a clock tower which reads three o’clock, the same hand position that appears on Fugate’s Clock King glasses.

So long, Fugate.

“Time Out of Joint” returns a lame villain, but it at least reduces the villain’s lameness with a new toy. As I noted in the intro, you do need to shut your brain off a bit for this one. For one, how far does Fugate’s device reach? It creates a bubble, one can see from its smaller applications, but it must have an end? And the whole thing with the Batmobile, while neat, begs further questions. To the outside world, the Batmobile would have appeared frozen. And since they sat there for two days, one would think a crowd or something would have formed around it. Fugate also could have made sure, in those two days, that his trap indeed proved fatal, but apparently he opted not to. And since he failed at basically everything, The Clock King sure comes up looking rather foolish for not making better use of his technological advantage. He even stole that clock at the beginning of the episode for no reason, which ended up tipping off Batman that he was back in town. Really, he might be the dumbest villain thus far.

All that said, I do like this episode better than the prior one featuring The Clock King. It plays with a new toy, and I suppose no one is better suited for it, thematically anyway, than The Clock King. Though I do wonder what Joker would be like with this device, or maybe Riddler. No matter, this episode is fine and it’s also thankfully the last we’ll see of the old Clock King which feels like a cause for celebration.

1 Comment | tags: batman, dc comics, robin, the clock king | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

March 1, 2019

Batman: The Animated Series – “Harlequinade”

By Joe

Harlequinade_Title_Card Episode Number: 72

Original Air Date: May 23, 1994

Directed by: Kevin Altieri

Written by: Paul Dini

First Appearance(s): Boxy Bennett

“Harley & Ivy” introduced some unhappiness to crime’s most celebrated couple. The Joker, angered with Harley, tosses her out forcing her to make it on her own where she finds a kindred spirit in Poison Ivy. That was back in episode 56, and Harley and Joker have made just one appearance each since and that was the ensemble episode “Trial” which seemed to reset their relationship while still drawing on their dysfunction for comedy. “Harlequinade” feels like the true follow-up to “Harley & Ivy” as a result. This is an episode that’s going to further establish that Harley and Joker do not share a relationship that anyone should aspire to emulate. It’s an abusive, toxic, relationship that will likely eventually end with one, or both, dead. And therein lies the strange dichotomy of this relationship as it’s largely presented for laughs, but writer Paul Dini isn’t afraid to peel back some of that surface-level humor to show what’s underneath.

In order for this episode to work, it’s going to ask of us to suspend our notion of disbelief. It begins with a mob auction, and what’s on the docket? An atomic bomb! The episode makes no mention of how the Gotham underbelly acquired such a destructive weapon, which really might be more interesting than the episode itself. Obviously, if a crime boss ever got ahold of something such as an atom bomb more than just the Gotham PD would be on-hand.

On the block today, one A-Bomb!

Those attending this auction aren’t particularly of interest. On one hand, it’s admirable that Dong Yang Animation didn’t re-use a bunch of season one characters, but it might have also made sense to see a Rupert Thorne in attendance. The bidding opens at a million, and it escalates from there, until someone interjects with a “zero!” That someone is The Joker (Mark Hamill), and when he walks on stage in his usual attire plus a fashionable top-hat (The Mad Hatter would be furious) all of the guns in the place soon find him. Before anyone can open fire, Joker removes his hat to reveal a lit bomb. Not a realistic one, mind you, but a cartoonish, spherical, black bomb. Everyone hightails it out of there, but Joker grabs the auctioneer (played by Neil Ross) and sticks him with the bomb. Predictably, it’s a gag-bomb, but it also houses a sinister purpose as Joker Gas soon pours out of it. The auction dealer bursts into hysterical laughter while his eyes look like they’re about to pop from their sockets. And now Joker is in possession of an atomic bomb. The setup may be silly, but I can’t lie, it’s an interesting situation.

Did real bombs ever resemble this?

Commissioner Gordon is shown on the phone with Mayor Hill (Lloyd Bochner) who is stressing this needs to be hidden from the public. Why a mayor gets to make that call is not explained, but Gotham feels like it’s its own island. A quick cut to Hill on the phone reveals that the hand holding the receiver to his ear possesses a violet jacket and white glove, so someone is obviously being coerced into making this statement to Gordon. Batman is there to eavesdrop and makes the pronouncement that in order to catch The Joker they need to be able to think like him, and there’s only one person capable of doing that.

Batman’s got a proposition for old Pig Tails.

Which brings us to Harley (Arleen Sorkin), who seems perfectly content by herself in her room at Arkham when Batman busts in on her. She’s not particularly thrilled by his presence, but Batman brings her up to speed and offers her a way out: help him find The Joker and she can walk out of Arkham a free woman. Harley accepts and there’s some good visual humor as she enthusiastically waves Batman’s arm around while proclaiming herself his greatest female adversary. Batman, for his part, is able to convey a feeling a dread as he now has to put up with her for what could be a long night.

She may be a psycopath, but she sure is adorable.

They jump into the Batmobile, and after Harley nearly causes a crash (and Batman gets really angry with her, bravo Kevin Conroy on this piece of voice-acting), he tells her they should first head to Joker’s last known hideout. It’s some kind of dilapidated fun house, but it was obviously in use recently. Harley disappears a moment to “slip into something more comfortable” while Batman takes note of Joker’s vast surveillance network that includes City Hall, Gordon’s office, and Hill’s office. He also gets reacquainted with Harley’s babies, two massive hyenas that pounce on him and rip his costume a bit. Harley emerges form the back, now in her harlequin costume, and calls off her dogs who are delighted to see their mommy. This leads to an interesting conversation between Harley and Batman who questions why she’s so infatuated with Joker. She reveals another layer to her origin by explaining that she got sick of listening to other’s problems while she was a psychiatrist at Arkham and that Joker was the first one to listen to her’s. And he made it all seem fun. When Batman asks about the people Joker hurts, she crosses her arms and stubbornly responds with, “It’s just a joke.” Batman then offers up what can only be foreshadowing when he says she’ll think differently when it’s she who is on the receiving end.

Harley reunited with her precious babies: Bud and Lou.

Batman and Harley then head off to another old hideout and Batman radios ahead to Robin (Loren Lester) to meet them there. As Batman fires off a grappling hook to enter, Harley tries to impress him with one of her own, but only succeeds in hurting herself. They enter, and much to their surprise, find a thriving night club full of mobsters. They turn and notice Batman’s presence and start pulling out their guns. As Batman surveys the room, he’s struck from behind and knocked out cold by, who else, Harley Quinn.

Silly and seductive.

She ties him up and tosses him on a roulette table announcing her presence with extreme authority. The host of this party is Boxy Bennett (Dick Miller), who has taken over this location from The Joker. Harley and Bennett apparently know each other as they reminisce and Harley soon jumps onto the stage and launches into a rendition of “Say that We’re Sweethearts Again.” It’s a humorous little number full of slapstick humor. It soon becomes obvious this performance is a distraction, and one that apparently is working as the men all hoot and holler and Bennett himself displays a disturbingly aggressive expression upon his face. As Harley sings, Robin sneaks in through a window and is able to cut the ropes on Batman’s wrists. After that, it’s a just matter of beating up the bad guys. As the dynamic duo take them all on, Harley encourages them in a rather cute manner referring to them as “B and R.” She also gets in on the action herself, swinging from a chandelier that she drops onto Bennett.

Maybe they should just replace Batgirl with Harley.

As the trio escape into an alley, Harley cheerfully encourages Batgirl to eat her heart out while Robin asks Batman just what was she before she went nuts. They arrive at the Batmobile, and Robin came via motorcycle, and he gives Batman an update. No one has been able to locate the Joker, but Hill still refuses to evacuate Gotham. At that point Harley starts laughing. When Batman inquires why she responds with how better to tie-up the police than to tie-up the mayor himself?

We then cut to a bound Mayor Hill. He’s at his home and Joker soon struts into the picture wearing an old-fashioned striped swimsuit complete with sunglasses and his duck floaty from “The Laughing Fish.” The atomic bomb is the backdrop to Joker gleefully jumping into Hill’s swimming pool as ominous music thunders in the background and Joker laughs menacingly.

Outside Hill’s residence, Harley is happily congratulating herself for figuring out the scheme until Batman cuffs her once more and seals her in the Batmobile. She easily gets out of the cuffs and starts playing with some of the many buttons as Batman and Robin sneak in.

Joker surprised, but hardly disappointed.

Done with his swim, Joker is happy to taunt Hill as he prepares to make his escape. Viewing Gotham’s annihilation as the ultimate punchline, he radios for his boys to bring in the plane and shoves a bound Hill into the pool. Batman bursts in and wacks Joker with a batarang before attending to Hill. Joker then attacks with his only weapon, a patio umbrella (first Mad Hatter, now Penguin!), which proves rather ineffective. It seems like the fight will end rather quickly, until Batman gets shot with a strange weapon. What basically look like steel “U” shaped stakes hit him in each wrist before going into a nearby tree, pinning him against it. The camera pans to Harley, who is armed with some kind of rifle she found in the Batmobile. She fires it again at Robin, who was busy untying Hill, and a bolo comes out and ensnares him before she jumps into Joker’s arms.

What about the babies, Mr. J? WHAT ABOUT THE BABIES?!

Joker is about as surprised as he’s ever been to see Harley. It takes him a few moments to compose himself before eventually congratulating her and asking her how she got there. When Batman cries out to remind her they had a deal, she lets him know the deal’s off and that no one could turn her against her beloved Mr. J. An old-school looking Joker Plane then arrives and Joker activates a ten-minute countdown on the bomb. As the two head for the plane, Robin calls out to Harley that it’s a good thing they came because that countdown didn’t leave Joker enough time to swing by Arkham to get her before blowing the whole city up. Joker tries telling him to shut up, but this gets Harley’s mind racing. She starts bemoaning all of their friends who will soon be killed and she lists them off in amusing fashion: Ivy, Two-Face, Hat Guy, Lizard Man, and Puppet-head. It’s Batman’s reminder that her precious pets will also be killed that puts her over the edge. Joker tries shoving her onto the plane, but she kicks him in the face and races over to Batman declaring for the first time that maybe Mr. J isn’t the right guy for her after all.

Getting a real Snoopy vibe, here.

Undaunted, Joker climbs aboard the plane and emerges in the gunner position complete with flying attire. Batman is able to escape from his bounds just before some Joker bombs strike. Joker is discouraged to see his attack failed and he orders his men to circle back. They, understandably, protest given the presence of the atomic bomb about to explode and Joker responds by swinging the gun turret in their direction. Batman and Robin are able to cancel the bomb’s countdown, but Joker soon swoops in with machine guns blasting. He declares the bomb is going off no matter what, but they fly too close to the ground allowing for Harley to make a move. With one final bad ass line, “Laugh this one off, puddin!” she fires her jester-head device and lands a direct hit on Joker’s noggin. He lurches back, obviously concussed, with his hands still squeezing the triggers causing the turret to spin around wildly.

Of course.

The plane crashes into Hill’s house, but Joker demonstrates once again his hidden super power of avoiding death as he merely stumbles out the backdoor, unharmed. He collapses on the ground as his chute deploys. He eventually looks up to find Harley standing over him with a gun aimed right at him. He stands up to confront her and declares she doesn’t have the guts while Batman calls to her to stop. She’s determined though, and yanks the trigger only for a “Rat Tat Tat” series of flags to emerge. Joker appears shocked, while Harley seems just as surprised and even a little disappointed. He soon smiles and declares “Baby, you’re the greatest!” She too smiles and jumps into his arms once again as the camera pans up to close out the episode with an iris shot in the shape of a heart. Before it fades to black, Joker’s two henchmen can be seen crawling from the wreckage of the plane as well, in case you were concerned.

I guess they’re made for each other, for better or worse. Mostly just worse.

“Harlequinade” both explores the dysfunction of Joker and Harley’s relationship while also serving as a bit of a reset. We find out what it was that lead Harley into Joker’s life and get a little peek into both of their minds. For Harley, Joker is an obsession, a controlling force in her life not unlike addiction. Even when she proves to herself that she’s ready to move on, she still comes crawling (or jumping) back. For Joker, she’s merely another plaything. When she’s there to help with a punchline she’s useful, but when the joke doesn’t call for her he’s fine to move on. And moving on for Joker essentially means he no longer places any sort of value on her life. For Batman and Robin, the events of this episode probably help them to understand Harley a bit more and I presume even pity her. She demonstrated an ability to be heroic, but also further punctuated that her Joker obsession is far from over. It just further stresses that this relationship won’t have a happy ending.

Arleen Sorkin is delightful as Harley, as usual, but this time gets to show off some singing skills as well. It’s a fun sequence and it’s interesting to see the usually goofy Harley Quinn take advantage of her obvious sex appeal (that costume leaves little to the imagination). The whole sequence came about when Paul Dini heard Sorkin singing this same song and thought it would be perfect for Harley and Joker. This is also one of the better episodes from Dong Yang in terms of visuals. Batman looks especially intimidating, and it obviously helps when Kevin Conroy is playing up his angry side when he’s yelling at Harley. The only shortcoming is a goof with the piano player who appears to lack legs. The commentary also points out an issue with Robin’s green attire. They didn’t have access to a good dark green, so a lighter shade of blue is used for the shadows and I think it’s made more obvious by the HD transfers. It’s amusing that given the show’s budget, which was quite large for a cartoon, they couldn’t afford a dark green. It also seems obvious that the network wanted the characters to shy away from the atomic bomb and it’s really only inferred rather than stated explicitly.

Harley is truly the star though here. It’s not surprising to find out via the commentary that Paul Dini had developed a Harley and Ivy spin-off, but it obviously never made it into production. She plays well off of serious characters, and Batman is perhaps the most serious of them all (despite the fact the he wears a Halloween costume all of the time). She has a tremendous amount of character in all facets: her mannerisms, the script, the acting performance. It’s actually a shame that spin-off never came about. The episode could be uncomfortable for some though, as when viewed through the lens of Harley as Joker’s victim, the story is less comical and more sad. That angle really isn’t played up and the ending feels like it’s intended to be almost cute while also being funny. Maybe it’s asking too much for what is a kid’s show to really wade into such dark waters, but I’m comforted by the fact that we have more episodes to come and more time to see if Harley can break away from the psychotic Joker.

3 Comments | tags: arleen sorkin, batman, dc comics, harley quinn, kevin conroy, loren lester, mark hamill, paul dini, robin, the joker | posted in batman the animated series, Comics, Television

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