Batman: The Animated Series -- A 19 Year Retrospective

[MasterChief117]

Began Season Two last night. Here are my first few reviews. Feel free to pick on me as you please.





2.01 Splicers

Season One opened with a bang and ended with much to be desired. However, the season was strong, filled with captivating episodes of strong character development and action. I very much looked forward to the start of the second season with Splicers. I must say, I am disappointed. Batman Beyond, in general has been fairly unrealistic but I felt Splicers definitely pushed the envelope too far. The main bad guy was pretty cool, I guess and then the ending was pushed too far. The henchmen were fine but nothing special by any means. The highlight for me was watching Terry have a momentary bout of super human strength and basically becoming a bat, but that wore off when you got to see Terry as basically a vampire bat. I wasn't crazy about this episode and to me, felt very 'jumping the shark'.

D+



2.02 Earth Mover

Batman Beyond is a show that is extremely consistent on being inconsistent. It goes on bouts of three, maybe four great episodes and then two or three bad episodes. Unfortunately, Earth Mover is a bad episode following up a mediocre episode in Splicer. Terry and Dana's friend (and her adoptive father) are attacked by a Clayface like villain, with no clear intentions until mid-way through the episode. I found the episode to be incredibly boring. Season Two seems desperate in making every episode 'big' but really going away from great character elements (Terry and his journey as Batman, Terry/Bruce, Terry/Dana, etc) and keeps focusing on Terry and a new villain of the week. This episode, even at times, felt very video-gamish and Terry continued to fight wave after wave of Clayface like bad guy with little to no consequence. Meh. I hoped for more. Season Two has been disappointing.

D




2.03 Joyride

My last review called out the previous episode for falling victim to this and this episode is much worse. The Jokerz Gang gets a hold of a military vehicle/jet like thing, unaware that it has a reactor capable of destroying half of Gotham. It is a race for Batman to save Gotham and to stop a basically crazed lead gang member driven insane for power. I was not impressed by this episode, despite some impressive animation at times. It was an action packed episode but offered little for character development. I want to see more of Terry and more of him exploring the path of Batman. More moments between Terry/Bruce. Hell, maybe even some villain development. I felt like Batman: The Animated Series definitely succeeded in this department, where as Batman Beyond still feels like it is trying to get its legs. Regardless, this episode was mildly entertaining. I still have yet to find an impressive episode for the season.

C-

[MasterChief117]

If interested, I am most likely going to read the Batman Beyond comics that were created to extend the series after it was cancelled. I was going to post reviews if anyone would like to read them, and know how the series continues beyond the actual television show.

[PG Cooper]

Just so you know, Blight doesn't come back. At least not in the show. I also feel like you and Drac are being harsh on Spellbinder

[Dracula]

Originally Posted by PG Cooper

I also feel like you and Drac are being harsh on Spellbinder

**** that guy

[MovieBuff801]

You know, I maintain that if handled right, a live-action Batman Beyond movie series would be awesome.

[PG Cooper]

Originally Posted by Dracula

**** that guy

Originally Posted by moviebuff801

You know, I maintain that if handled right, a live-action Batman Beyond movie series would be awesome.

I agree.

[Neverending]

I think the ship has sailed on an adaptation. WB probably doesn't even remember Batman Beyond.

[MasterChief117]

Originally Posted by PG Cooper

Just so you know, Blight doesn't come back. At least not in the show. I also feel like you and Drac are being harsh on Spellbinder

Not crazy about him, obviously. Shriek and Inque are far better in my opinion, less 'gimmicky'. Feels like that's the big thing for all villains in the Batman Beyond world. Gotta have a gimmick.


Shame about Blight. Pretty damn good character. I do believe the comic adaptation brings him back in some light.

[PG Cooper]

Spellbinder is awesome because he preys on kids, something that hits home for both versions of Batman. Bruce, because he's always taken cases about young people more personally, and Terry because he is a teenager.

[MasterChief117]

Originally Posted by PG Cooper

Spellbinder is awesome because he preys on kids, something that hits home for both versions of Batman. Bruce, because he's always taken cases about young people more personally, and Terry because he is a teenager.

Ahh, well I like the way you addressed that.

[MasterChief117]

2.04 Lost Soul

HAL-esque episode. Terry finds himself battling an old man turned into an Artificial Intelligence. Interesting story idea, not so great execution. The AI is pretty creepy and the voice acting is pretty damn solid. Another episode where I was mostly bored. I was not entirely crazy about Terry fighting the AI in his bat suit but it was an interesting idea. I did like seeing them talk amongst the bat suits and how Bruce offered his old suit. I'm glad they did not give the suit to Terry.

C-

2.05 Hidden Agenda

Season Two has been disappointing to say the least. Consecutive episodes with excellent ideas, horrible execution and poor entertainment values. I found at times the animation has struggled to look as good as the previous season, writing not as tight and genuine light humor not as smooth. Enter Hidden Agenda that ends the streak of mediocre episodes. This episode, perfect by no means, with a sub-plot based around a High School score similar to the PSAT has a lot more values in the overall context of Batman. Terry finally has actual character development and the introduction of a new character, Max. She knows Terry's secret and that has definitely made things interesting, including a fun Robin joke as well as a reference to Alfred (Which reminds me, why has Bruce NEVER MENTIONED ALFRED. WTF!) I'm not crazy about the lack of character development with Bruce Wayne, Dana, and every one else but this episode was relatively fun and consistent.

B-


2.06 Bloodsport

My problems with character development is answered in this spotty episode. I love the characters between Terry and his brother. A lot of fun and entertaining, cute moments that create genuine smiles. The idea of the African Hunter coming back to Gotham to fight Batman is okay, I guess. However, the Batman HE was addressing was Bruce Wayne's Batman, and not Terry's. Which is obvious since he thought of Batman as being a demonic figure, and not an actual man. I was just not really crazy about this episode.

D+



2.07 Once Burned

The Royal Flush Gang is back, as well as the confusing fling with Melanie/Terry. I'm not a fan of it because of the unnecessary character as well as problem it creates with Terry deciding between Melanie and Dana. Dana, a character rarely used or mentioned only becomes a problem when writers need it to. It's an unfortunate crotch of the series is the unnecessary want for a High School age character to have a love interest. Bruce Wayne did fine without one most of BTAS, with the occasional fling that usually came with a life lesson. The Royal Flush Gang trick their own daughter into finding out here allegiance between them and Batman, for no real reason and putting their entire family at risk against the HEAD Mobs. Again, unnecessary tension and before you know it, you can poke ocean size plot holes in this episode. I did like some of the action and the character play, as well as Max saying, "You really need to decide what to do with your situation." Terry does and picks Dana. Glad to see SOME intelligence here.

C-

[PG Cooper]

21- Hooked Up


Written by Robert Goodman. Directed by Dan Riba.

Kids are becoming addicted to a new form of virtual reality created by Spellbinder. Spellbinder gets the kids addicted and then charges them to use the reality. Like “The Winning Edge”, this episode focuses on addiction. The desperation the kids show is pretty scary, and watching this episode now, I’m impressed on how intense they were able to show the effects the addiction was having on them. It isn’t Requiem for a Dream, but for an action-adventure show aimed at kids, it’s pretty dark. I also love that while the virtual reality isn’t technically a drug, in many ways it’s the ultimate drug. It gives people an escape from reality and makes them feel happy when they have it. But when they don’t have it, they become sick and live for the next hit. This episode also proves why Spellbinder is one of the best Batman Beyond villains, if not the best. His obsession with using and abusing kids is really interesting and sick. Of all the Batman Beyond villains, he’s the one that feels most like a classic Batman villain, perhaps because he was loosely based on a Batman villain. This episode also reveals more depth to Max and reveals a bit of her back story. Great episode.

22- Rats


Written by Rich Fogel. Directed by Curt Geda.

A creepy dude living in the sewer abducts Dana with the help of his army of rats. This is a creepy episode, with the rat boy Patrick being pretty disgusting. At times, you do feel bad for him, but he’s pretty sadistic, which is made very clear during the episodes climax where he reveals he’s abducted several kids who were lonely and that when these kids tried to leave, Patrick had them killed. That’s pretty dark, and I didn’t expect the show to go there. It’s also nice for them to actually focus on Dana and Terry’s relationship a little bit. I still like Max a lot more, but whatever. This episode also gets credit for introducing Mad Stan, voiced by Henry Rollins. I love this character because it makes me think of someone who took Fight Club way too seriously. This villain is mostly used as a secondary villain, but the dude is awesome. On the whole, this is a merely okay episode, but Mad Stan makes it stand out.

23- Mind Games


Written by Alan Burnett. Directed by Butch Lukic.

A young girl with telekinetic powers is abducted by a group of people who use mental powers. Batman tries to save her. Apart from some decent humour and action, I find this a really boring episode. I’m not too sure why. Perhaps because the villains of the episode are really lame. At any rate, this episode leaves no real impression on me.

24- Revenant


Written by Hilary J. Bader. Directed by Kyung-Won Lim.

Strange incidents at Hamilton High leads to students believing a ghost is at work. But it’s not a ghost, it’s Willie Watt, now with psychic powers after his incident with the GOLEM. My one big complaint is that it’s obvious from the very beginning Willie is responsible. Why? Because Blade is in the episode a lot, a character we haven’t seen since “Golem”. Also because we see Nelson being a prick. Speaking of Nelson, I know this character is over the top, but Seth Green amuses me. I will say I like what they do with Willie’s character. There’s actually some growth there, and the psychic powers makes for a good threat. Bruce Wayne also gets a great moment when Terry asks if he believes in ghosts and Bruce responds, “I've seen it all — demons, witch boys, immortals, zombies. But this thing? I don't know, it just feels so... so high school.” On the whole, solid episode, but not great.

25- Babel


Written by Stan Berkowitz. Directed by Curt Geda.

Shriek returns! Messing with the sound of Gotham, his price for returning the sound back to normal is Batman’s life. I like seeing Shriek come back. The way he fights Gotham is pretty interesting, and I especially like the way he makes everyone’s speech sound like gibberish. I also like seeing Terry have to make a difficult choice, and his conversations with Bruce that begin and bookend the episode are pretty good. The final fight scene with Shriek is also good. Overall, this is a fun episode. I don’t think it hits the dramatic beats it’s trying for as well as it could have, but I still really like it.

26- Terry’s Friend Dates a Robot


Written by Paul Dini and John P. McCann. Directed by Dan Riba.

A geek named Howard creates a robot girlfriend and has a party. This episode is stupid, it really is. And yet, for some reason, I like it. I think it’s entertaining. It’s goofy and clearly aimed at that young audience, but I find it entertaining. I don’t know, call it a guilty pleasure, but I like it. I also like the references to old Batman villains in the opening scene. Overall, it isn’t a good episode and I wouldn’t stand up to defend it, but I do enjoy it.

Strongest Episode: Hooked Up

Weakest Episode: Mind Games

[Dracula]

Hooked Up
Well, this is a new season so the writers need to fill up their PSA quota again. Fortunately they do a slightly better job of tackling addictive substances here than they did in season one’s “The Winning Edge.” While that earlier episode was basically just about future-steroids, this one uses virtual reality as a drug/addiction allegory. Of course the idea of virtual reality worlds being addictive is far from being an original science fiction idea, but they execute it well enough. This is about the point in the series where they start bringing back a lot of the season one villains for a second go around. This episode focuses a lot on Batman as a detective rather than as a fighter, which is good in theory, but they do little to hide the fact that Spellbinder is at the heart of the virtual reality conspiracy and once McGinnis finally catches him he proves to be kind of a pushover.
B-

Rats
I could be mistaken, but I think this marks the first time where Batman had to save Dana from a villain. If anything it’s a miracle that it took twenty two episodes for it to reach that point, especially after watching three seasons of Lois Lane constantly getting into trouble on Superman. Of course this brings up a bigger question: why does Terry McGinnis have a girlfriend. I mean the answer is probably obvious, especially given the way Dana looks, but it’s not that simple. Bruce Wayne never got into serious relationships, ever, at least not with normal women who he’d have to hide his secret from. McGinnis on the other hand, well, he doesn’t have the same discipline and I’m surprised that Bruce Wayne hasn’t called him out because of it. That raises a larger question about what drives McGinnis, sure his father was killed, but he doesn’t seem all that scarred by it, certainly not enough to sacrifice a normal life in an unending crusade against crime. Maybe I’m getting a little sidetracked, after all it’s more the series as a whole bringing out these questions, not this particular episode in which Dana is kidnapped by a mutant half-rat stalker, in fact it’s because this episode is so boring that I’m going so far off topic into larger show issues.
D+

Mind Games
I don’t love this episode, but there is an awesome sequence midway through the episode where Batman fights an obese telekinetic. This is one of the best action scenes in the series to date, one part Pierrot le Fou (the Cowboy Bebop episode, not the movie) and another part Psycho Mantis. Now if that doesn’t warm the inner cockles of my geek heart what does? The rest of the episode is more in the “average” territory with Batman tracking down an underground organization of criminals with psychic powers which has kidnapped a similarly powered little girl, which sounds a little better in theory than execution. Good overall episode though.
B+

Revenant
It’s strange, for much of its running time I thought this was one of the weaker episodes yet, then after a twist two thirds into the episode it got good fast and ended up being a pretty strong episode. I wasn’t amused at all by the high school poltergeist hijinx early in this episode, I thought it was going nowhere and I was getting downright bored. Then in a twist I genuinely didn’t see coming it turns out that the strange happenings were the result of Willie Watt playing pranks with newfound telekinetic powers from prison. The writers smartly had Willie Watt change in prison into a rather buff and not at all laughable threat and the fight at the end was actually rather exciting. I still don’t love that first half, but the episode turned into a an overall win.
B

Babel
The tour through the season one villains continues, this time with the return of Shriek. I thought the first Shriek episode was fairly average, but it had one standout action scene that sort of made up for it. This episode doesn’t have an action scene that lives up to that moment, but it is an overall improvement. The central question is whether or not Batman (both old and new) would give his life to save Gotham. On top of that, the episode revolves around a pretty cool evil scheme which involves soundwaves that distort people’s use of language. It’s the kind of craziness that The Riddler or The Scarecrow would have come up with in B:TAS and the stakes do feel pretty big because of it.
A-

Terry's Friend Dates a Robot
Now this is the episode I was afraid Revenant would be, an exploration of petty highschool nonsense for the better part of a half hour. I suppose that makes sense given that this bears a striking resemblance to the first Willie Watt episode “Golem” which wasn’t that great an episode to begin with. This Howard Groote character is a ridiculous nerd stereotype who goes and buys himself a whore-bot and goes on to learn a hard lesson about the second law of robotics. I kind of found the very end of the episode (where the whore-bot buying idiot burns down his damn house) kind of funny, but otherwise I have almost nothing nice to say about this episode.
D

Strongest Episode: Babel

Weakest Episode: Terry's Friend Dates a Robot

[Neverending]

I remember the "ghost" episode. As for Dracula's question about Terry keeping a normal life, that is something the show should have explored more. Clearly, Terry can see what Bruce's crusade has done to him. It's one of the things that bothered me about the show. They avoided too many obvious storylines and character development.

[PG Cooper]

Originally Posted by Neverending

I remember the "ghost" episode. As for Dracula's question about Terry keeping a normal life, that is something the show should have explored more. Clearly, Terry can see what Bruce's crusade has done to him. It's one of the things that bothered me about the show. They avoided too many obvious storylines and character development.

Have you seen the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue"?