Synopsis: Aquaman takes the family, Mera and Jr. for a road trip vacation but not without a little side action hero’s style along the way.
The teasers reveals Batman pairing up with the World War I fighter pilot “Enemy Ace” to take on an alien monster who’s helping the enemy with the aid of a laser type cannon.
Holiday rooooooooooad. It’s Aquaman meets the Griswold’s as the family of 3 hits the road RV style for some long overdue R & R. This episode follows the family across land as they try some time away from the crime fighting life but not if Aquaman can help it. Each stop his itching for getting some bad guys grows more and more. Along the trip he encounters and aids the likes of Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, and of course the Caped Crusader all while trying to keep it hush hush with his wife Mera. In the end the king of the ocean must take on the (so to speak) flightless bird the Penguin (his first appearance in BTBTB) in the risk of his family, Batman, and his own demise! Over all a very fun episode, I would have liked to see Flash, or even Superman thrown in. They did show Smallville on the map as they were trotting around the country, so maybe the Man of Steel is in things to come? A couple observations; Aquaman in BTBTB reminds of me of Kelsey Grammar as “Frasier”, anyone see the resemblance? And I did notice one throwback to the 1983 cult classic National Lampoons Vacation “Windows up!” All in all a great episode and great quality of a story!!
BTBTB: Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure:
Reviewed by rhine1784
This is another show that you most likely have already seen. You might even already own the individual seasons. For the very first time the series is collected in one form on DVD. The series first aired in the late nineties after the success of Batman: The Animated Series. It featured Big Red saving Metropolis from the perils of many of his own rogues' gallery. It aired over three seasons and ended before the Timmverse continued on with Batman Beyond.
This set consists of seven discs. It has a total of fifty-four episodes for over eleven hundred minutes. There are special features throughout and even a brand new special feature specifically for this set. The new feature focuses on Darkseid.
The series featured all kinds of villains that you have heard of and some new ones that were made for the series. Metallo, Parasite, and Toyman are all present. Many may not know that Mercy Graves was created for the series. The classic voices of Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor and Tim Daly as Superman are obviously present as well. There is even a three-part episode that crosses over with Batman and Gotham City where Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill make an appearance.
Overall, the series is another great release from Warner Bros. I don't have any complaints about this set like I had with the past ones. The discs are still numbered as if they were separate seasons, but I get why now. Another great series to add to this year's Christmas list.
Superman: The Complete Series:
The series became available on November 24, so you can get it at most retailers. If you want to get it from Amazon, click here. Warner Bros. sent over this clip to promote the release as well.
Posted by Dustin
Season 2 of Batman: The Brave and the Bold is now underway. Warner Bros. kicked off the season with an interesting episode that reminds myself of a old Hanna Barbera cartoon, Wacky Races. Tiggerbrown and rhine1784 reviewed the show, so let's see what rating it gets.
Review: Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Death Race to Oblivion
Synopsis: Heroes and villains are forced to race each other in order to save the world from destruction by Mongul.
The teaser reveals the mindless aggressive “Blockbuster” against the Caped Crusader as he and Captain Marvel team up to foil his museum master plan. SHAZAM!
Ladies and Gentlemen….START YOUR ENGINES!! In episode 1 for Season 2, the BMBATB starts out Mad Max/Wacky Races style. The evil and tyrannical alien Mongul with the help of his artificial planet weapon “War Moon” puts the heroes and villains to epic test. They must race each other for the savior of planet earth. Batman, Plastic man, Catwoman, the Joker, Black Manta, the Green Arrow and many others join in on the ultimate race, survivor style. As friend and foe race against the champion Steppenwolf, the War Moon slowly begins to house the drivers who aren’t so lucky.
This is the exact sort of episode which makes BTBTB so wonderful. The story line and characters within are absolutely a perfect fit for this series. We do get to see a slightly different side of Batman, “When it comes to protecting Gotham, I have no friends”. Season 2 is definitely off with a bang and the quality is superb.
BTBTB: Death Race to Oblivion:
Reviewed by rhine1784
Next we move on to Tiggerbrown's review.
Review: Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Death Race to Oblivion
Do you remember the movie Death Race 2000? Jason Statham starred in the 2008 remake of the much cooler 1975 cult classic with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. When I read the title to the season two premiere of BTBTB I thought to myself, “Man, they’re getting serious.” But Dustin called it in the preview, this more like the cartoon Wacky Races than a high octane, blood and guts action film.
There’s no Penelope Pitstop or Muttly here, but the campy cast of DC heroes and villains do their best to ham it up. The story is pretty basic: Mongol transports a group of heroes and villains to a barren desert where he forces them to race against Steppenwolf for control of the Earth or be executed. Using a weapon called the Warmoon; Mongol threatens the home city of each hero and the entire world. Batman, Green Arrow, Huntress, Joker, Catwoman and others all get their vehicles primed for the race to save the Earth. If you’re not familiar with the classic 60’s cartoon Dustin was comparing this to, think Cannonball Run but with super heroes. Just a side note; if WB had decided to make a live action Batman feature film instead of Superman in 1978, Burt Reynolds may have easily become the face of the Dark Knight. Pretty scary thought, isn’t it?
The episode works best when played for laughs. The Joker shines in the role of comic relief playing the commentator as well as getting in some site gags such as using a giant whoopee cushion to put Black Manta out of the race. I also liked the decision to include Woozy Winks, Plastic Man’s oafish sidekick. His very 1940’s depiction fits perfectly with the old school tone of the episode. The more dramatic plot elements are where the episode drops the ball. For example, having Batman pretend to be ruthless in his attempt to win the race at the expense of the lives of the other drivers was unconvincing for any fan of the Caped Crusader. Even Mongol should know better! I suppose if your only introduction to Batman is from this series, the rivalry between Green Arrow and Batman may have convinced you.
The production value, animation and acting were all up to the usual high standard. While he’s no Mark Hamill, Jeff Bennett stands out above the rest as the Joker. I much prefer this throwback to the Dailies style than the attempted modernization in The Batman.
I also continue to like the BTBTB version of the Huntress. This incarnation may be the series’ most intriguing female character. I hope she is featured again.
I leave the prelude to last. Captain Marvel is one of my favorite all time super heroes. Billy Batson and the World’s Mightiest Mortal are portrayed true to the Whiz comic’s original characters, much more so than in the Clash episode of Justice League Unlimited (Although it was still pretty spectacular!). My only criticism is that his appearance was far too short. If there is one character that would fit this series to a tee, it is The Big Red Cheese! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a full length Batman and Captain Marvel team-up.
Overall this episode had its comedic moments, but isn’t exactly the direction I was hoping for after last season’s finale or the Music Meister.
BTBTB: Death Race to Oblivion:
Reviewed by Tiggerbrown
Overall, I would have to agree more with Tiggerbrown. The episode was enjoyable and reminded me of a cartoon from my childhood, but there was nothing special that would make me remember the episode a couple of months from now. Let's hope the the season two episodes have more and better things in store for us.
Posted by Dustin
If you are viewing this site, I think it is safe to say that you have probably seen this show at one point. The show started off by focusing on the Big Seven of the DCU. They were Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter. Now you might argue if these seven should be the main seven, but that is besides the point. Justice League ran two seasons and then was renamed Justice League Unlimited, which also ran for two seasons giving the series a total of four seasons. Justice League Unlimited still featured the "Big Seven," but it also featured a lot of lesser known DC characters. And when I say lesser known, I mean that. I don't think as a casual reader of DC Universe comics, you would have came across Waverider or Vibe. But the series introduced new characters that casual fans and even some seasoned fans may never have known about.
There is nothing bad to say at all about this series. The stories were well written and the animation was high quality. The only downfall of the series was that it ended. The first two seasons featured many multi-part episodes were the story carried over between two and sometimes three episodes. JLU didn't have the multi-part episodes, but it did have an overarching storyline through both of the seasons. The show hasn't been aired regularly on Cartoon Network for quite some time. I personally own the entire series in individual season form.
As for this set there are a couple of negatives, but we will get to that in a minute. Let's cover the series as a whole collected. The entire series has ninety-one episodes. The price tag may seem steep depending on where you are going to buy it from, but even $99.99 as the suggested retail price, is well worth it. Let me put it into perspective. If you were to sit down in front of your TV and start watching the series, it would take you more than two days to watch the entire series. Now I don't recommend you do that, but you may find yourself doing exactly that once you start watching the series. It is just that good.
Now for the negatives. I don't know if it is just the copies that I get sent or what, but there is always some sort of packaging error. With this series, I know it isn't just mine. The fifteen discs are packaged in two plastic DVD cases. One having all of the discs for Justice League and the other one having all of Justice League Unlimited. The two plastic cases are then enclosed in a steel case. Now, the problem with this steel case is that it has lips around the edges, which makes it difficult to get the plastic cases out without having to bend the steel. If someone was going to spend close to one hundred dollars on the series, I would imagine that they do not want to damage the casing. Once you figure out how to get the cases out, you might notice (or this was just mine) that the cases are mis-marked. They are labeled Volume One and Volume Two, but when you open the Volume One case, you find Justice League Unlimited, which many know is actually Volume Two. The paper inserts describing what is on the discs is also mis-placed in the wrong cases. Now, it may seem that I am making a big deal about nothing (and I probably am) but I can't understand why something that gets designed by a person and sent to a factory never gets checked to see if it makes sense. On top of all the that, the discs are labeled as if you bought separate seasons instead of one through fifteen.
I know I am spending way too much time covering the packaging of the series, but the thing is that this is the exact same thing that you might already have if you own the separate seasons. The special features are the same except for one new one. It is on the fifteenth disc and has the series creators discussing challenges and opportunities that the different characters presented.
Overall, the series is remarkable. It is up to par with Batman: The Animated Series. And I would even say that the writing for this series is actually a little better since it as an overall story plot. If I put aside the packaging mishaps, this is the perfect gift for a DC Universe fan for the holidays.
Justice League: The Complete Series:
It would have been a perfect five if not for the packaging and lack of new special features. Keep in mind that this rating is not what the show itself would be rated. I am rating the series collected in this new form. I can't stress enough that the show is amazing. The series was released on November 10. You can find it on Amazon by clicking here. Warner Bros. sent over this clip to show with the review. Take a look:
Posted by Dustin
So the final episode of season one has aired and did it go out with a bang or just sizzle? We hear from normal BTBTB reviewers Tiggervrown and rhine1784. Starting off with rhine1784:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Fate of the Equinox
Synopsis: Batman teams up with Fate to stop the balance obsessed Equinox from remaking the Universe in his own image.
The teaser, well it was good and bad. BMBATB fans finally have the privilege of seeing Harvey Dent against the Dark Knight. True to his colors, Two Face keeps his own world fair and balanced with a flip of the coin.
For a third time Batman is after Equinox and his goal of keeping the universe in perfect harmonic balance. But Fate lends a hand, Doctor Fate. With Fates mystical powers the two heroes take on Equinox by evening the playing field in a Brave and Bold manner. Batman takes on the powers of many of his super friends. Blue Beetle, Flash, Plastic Man, and Green Lantern just to name a few, have all their powers transferred to Batman for one final epic battle with Equinox.
This episode is very fantastical, but it works, and with all the DC characters that make an appearance, it very much had a Justice League vibe to it. I really enjoyed the way this story played out. The Fate of Equinox truly felt like the end of a three part story arc since he first appeared in the episode “Mystery in Space”. As usual the animation is first rate and the voice talents are absolutely wonderful. Although the title remains “Batman” The Brave and the Bold, skewing off into a Justice League vibe certainly won’t hurt my feelings!
BTBTB: Fate of the Equinox:
Moving on to Tiggerbrown:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Fate of the Equinox
Season one of Batman the Brave and the Bold has mostly consisted of stand alone episodes; each one focusing on a different team-up with the Caped Crusader. The dynamic between the different hero match-ups is more often than not the predominant focal point of each story. Batman's "partner of the week" usually has some moral or behavioral conflict that impedes him from bringing the episode's bad guy to justice. There have been few repeat appearances, Green Arrow being one of the exceptions amongst the heroes, and the tone of the stories are usually light and kid friendly.
The season finale attempts to break the mold by bringing back Equinox as a serious arch villain and Dr. Fate as Batman's partner. The writers make a valiant attempt at creating an exciting hero vs. villain battle that explores the complex theme of chaos vs. order.
But before the main action begins, we are treated to a little crime noir vignette starring Two-Face. My favorite moments of this series have been when they use the classic villains; the golden age Joker being my particular favorite. This fun scene, highlighted by a great music score right out of an Elmore Leonard or Dashiell Hammett film adaptation, is a simple but classic confrontation between Harvey Dent and the Dark Knight. My only gripe is the detail on the evil side of Harvey's face. I like the almost Dick Tracyesque style given to Harvey, but his Two-Face look is too simplistic. The decision to only use the color green and limit the deformity took away from the fierceness of his character. I hope we get to see full length Golden Age style episodes in season two. The cheesy dialogue and square-jawed animation really lend well to that era.
The episode itself had its moments. I appreciated the writers trying to give the viewers a finale that is a bit more epic in scope than normal. The series has developed Equinox as its principal antagonist, and the apocalyptic potential of his success created needed tension in an often fluffy first season. Dr. Fate is relatively one dimensional in this issue, with the real focus being on Batman and Equinox. It was refreshing to see a villain in this series use their intellect to outsmart the world’s greatest detective.
The dialogue and the flow of the scenes created some confusion for me, and unfortunately, the episode climaxed by resorting to its often pre-teen plot resolutions. Having many of the heroes from previous episodes reunite was fun, but having Batman turn into a Transformers styled giant to defeat Equinox was exciting to some I’m sure, but a disappointment to me considering where the episode seemed to be heading.
The production values and acting were solid as always. However, I’m still hoping that next season will see a different choreography style for the fight scenes. The animation is top-notch as always, especially compared to the Marvel animated shows currently airing. The bright colors and grandiose settings suit the cartoon to a tee. Deidrich Bader has proven himself to be a lot more capable a Batman than anyone thought. I’m looking forward to seeing if he is able to develop the character a little deeper. If I could ask the producers one thing in regards to this Batman, is to have him take off the mask and introduce Bruce Wayne and maybe Alfred to the series. I think it would add a very interesting dimension for future stories. Oh, and match him up with Superman….that’s always a classic.
Overall, this was a serious step in the right direction for the series. Season one had some surprisingly memorable moments, and if the creative team behind BTBTB is going to give us efforts like Fate of the Equinox, this version of our favorite crime fighter will continue to gain fans both young and old.
BTBTB: Fate of the Equinox:
So there you have it. An average score of three and a half batarangs. The new episodes for the new season are right around the corner. And TheBatmanUniverse.net will be there to review them as well.
Posted by Dustin
Last Friday, the second to last episode of the first season for Batman: The Brave and the Bold aired on Cartoon Network. The episode featured the Outsiders with a teaser of Green Arrow and Catwoman. Tiggerbrown and rhine1784 both weigh in on the episode. Let's start off with rhine1784:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Inside the Outsiders
Synopsis: Batman must enter the mindscape to save Black Lightning, Katana, and Metamorpho from the evil Psycho Pirate.
The teasers reveals Batman and Green Arrow captured by Catwoman and her henchmen after she has stolen two golden feline statues from a local museum. The bat/cat banter and flirting is thick and enough to make Green Arrow lose his lunch. Catwoman narrowly escapes after the heroes retrieve the statues but not before leaving her digits for the Caped Crusader.
I’ll admit I’m not a huge Outsiders fan, but I have enjoyed them in this series. Batman meets up with Psycho Pirate who has the team trio under his power via nightmares to gobble up their anger. Batman joins in the fun to save them “yeah in their dreams”, no I’m serious in their dreams. Each Outsider must face their demons with “happy thoughts” to combat Psycho Pirate. I guess even Batman has a few happy thoughts to pit against his villains. While a bit darker than most BTBTB episodes, for me it was just an average episode. The animation and voice work were excellent, but I felt the story lacked a little “meat”. Good thoughts in, bad thoughts out.
Inside the Outsiders:
Moving on to Tiggerbrown:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Inside the Outsiders
I always have to remind myself that as an adult watching cartoons, I am in the demographic minority. There are definitely animated series geared toward college students and adults, but for the most part, and in particular superhero shows, they are made for kids. BTBTB is one of those cartoons. Yes, there is the occasional episode like Music Meister or the one with the comic-con scene that infuse child like adventure with a bit of tongue and cheek wit. But even with the “camp” style, the dialogue and stories are written at a level reminiscent of the New Adventures of Batman from the 70’s, rather than BTAS. And of course that’s ok. If we don’t give our youngsters a Batman they can identify with, who is going to be listening to Dustin and the gang ten years from now? (Hey, I grew up with a towel clothes-pinned around my neck pretending to be the animated Adam West or Olan Soule Batman, and look how I turned out 
The second to last episode of the first season revisits the Outsiders and uses the villain Psycho Pirate as a means to explore the origins and motivation of the three Outsiders. Metamorpho, Katana, and Black Lightening are all portrayed as young teens in this series. Appropriately, the themes of rage, guilt, and revenge vs. justice are all explored with very simple, straightforward storytelling.
We all know Psycho Pirate as the rage feeding mind manipulator from Crisis on Infinite Earth, Infinite Crisis and now Blackest Night. But for trivia sake, his first meeting with the Outsiders was in the Outsiders Special “From here to Infinity” from 1987.
Metamorpho has never been one of my favorite comic book characters, but I love his tragi-romantic depiction in the Justice League animated series. BTBTB gives us a one dimensional version of the JL characterization. Psycho Pirate is able to channel Metamorpho’s rage by praying on his insecurity of his freak like physical appearance. In classic 70’s cartoon fashion, he realizes his appearance and abilities are what bond him with the other Outsiders and make him a hero.
Black Lightning’s rendering is the least successful of the three Outsiders. He is relatively just an updated version of Static Shock. His enraging from people’s daily pet-peeves doesn’t work. I think it was this episode’s attempt at humour, but even the tiniest of tots wouldn’t find BL’s nightmare scene humorous.
I like what the writers did with Katana. From a storyteller’s perspective, her character and the guilt she felt over her Masters death was the most compelling and complex. Batman’s interaction with Katana is also the most successful of the three. Rationalizing her role in her Master’s murder, and mentoring her on the importance of justice over revenge worked quite well.
Batman himself is mainly used as a mentor to the three young heroes. Although, the best line of the episode does come at Batman’s expense. To defeat Psycho Pirate, Batman focuses on thought of happiness rather than fury. As the story is about to end the Outsiders ponder out loud, “What are Batman’s happiest thoughts”? Great question for debate isn’t it?
Inside the Outsiders was far from my favorite BTBTB episode. Maybe if I was still twelve years old, which would surely give me a more objective opinion, I would have appreciated it more.
Inside the Outsiders:
Having watched the episode myself, I will agree with both of them. It was an ok episode but nothing to write home about.
Posted by Dustin
In the 1970's Saturday morning cartoons changed. Some would say for the better some would say for the worse. I am one of those people that think it was a bad turn. There were more cartoons being produced and very little had a significant storyline. Many of the cartoons were the same exact outline every time with a different villain or character. The originality of cartoons had left. More people wanted to see adventure stories that humor. The animation department cut corners to save money. This was a strange time for cartoons.
After saying all of that, I want you to read through the list of the shows on this set and see how many you actually remember: Hair Bear Bunch, The New Adventures of Gilligan (that's right, there was a cartoon), Sealab 2020, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Shazzan, Yogi's Gang, The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show, Valley of the Dinosaurs, Tom & Jerry Grape Ape Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Inch High Private Eye, and The New Adventures of Batman.
What in the world were they thinking with The Banana Splits Adventure Hour? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, watch this (oh, and listen for a familiar Winnie-the-Pooh character's voice):
One of the things that makes up for the issues is that they took all of our favorite animals from the 1960's and put them on one show, Yogi's Gang. The only issue I had is the laugh track. It seems that they were trying to make cartoons more like sitcoms. That is probably true since they started to have shows that featured Bob Denver and Charlie Chan.
Now before you say to yourself that I forgot to talk about Batman, I am just about to. The New Adventures of Batman was a very weird interpretation of Batman. Robin was there along with Batgirl, but Bat-Mite was also on the show. The villain featured in the episode in this set was Sweet Tooth. Yea, I know. I never heard of him either. Adam West and Burt Ward reprise their roles only in voice form this time. Hearing West's voice in a cartoon reminds me too much of Mayor West from Family Guy. I have nothing good to say about this portrayal of Batman.
The one special feature talks about how Shazzan was created. One interesting Batman note is that Paul Dini makes an appearance and criticizes the show.
Overall, I was not very impressed. I don't think of myself as a old-timer, especially since I am only in my twenties, but this was well beyond what I would have like as a child. If you grew up with these shows, leave a comment below letting me know why you liked them.
Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Volume 2:
You can buy this set on Amazon here. The set was released earlier this week. Check out this video from Valley of the Dinosaurs.
Posted by Dustin
Saturday morning cartoons. Do you remember waking up early on Saturday just to watch cartoons? I do. Even though these cartoons are earlier than my time, I still remember them. Waking up early, getting a bowl of cereal and sitting four feet from the television screen to laugh until lunch time.
This set features various Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1960's. The shows that the set features includes; Snooper and Blabber, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, Quick Draw McGraw, The Space Kidettes, Young Samson, The Bugs Bunny Show, Porky Pig Show, The Adventures of Gulliver, Wally Gator, Touche Turtle, Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har, The Jetsons, Peter Potamus and So-So, Breezly and Sneezly, Yippee, Yappe and Yahooey, The Road Runner Show, Atom Ant, Precious Pup, The Hillbilly Bears, Tom and Jerry, Magilla Gorilla, Punkin' Puss and Mushmouse, and Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-long.
Now most of Hanna-Barbera cartoons had some sort of animal that had events that pertained to the fact that it was a specific type of animal. For instance Touche Turtle found himself in fights and used his shell as a self-defense mechanism. Some of the shows related to classic stories such as Samson and Gulliver. The Bugs Bunny characters are thrown in as well, since they were Warner Bros. Mickey Mouse characters.
The best episodes for myself were the Jetsons and Bugs Bunny. I remember watching these shows as reruns as I was growing up on Cartoon Network and various other networks. I always loved the Jetsons because I wondered if the future would really be the way they portrayed it.
There is one special feature that goes over the history of Magilla Gorilla. It also shows that the cartoons of the 1960's were about to change after Hanna-Barbera created Magilla Gorilla. An interesting look at cartoon history.
Overall, this was a great reminder to me early childhood days. Recommended for anyone who wants to have a refresher of their earlier days.
Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Volume 2:
The set is available now. You can buy it on Amazon by clicking here. Check out a video from the set below:
Posted by Dustin
Plastic Man. Plastic Man. Do you know who Plastic Man is? Well, let me give you a little back history. Plastic Man was created by Jack Cole in 1941. He originally appeared in Police Comics which was published by Quality Comics. Plastic Man was originally a crook and con artist. On one of his heists at a chemical plant, he was shot and acid got in his wound. He escaped and found himself in a monastery. Well there he realized that he wanted to change his ways and use his new found powers for good. In 1956, Quality Comics went out of business. DC Comics were distributing the comics for Quality and acquired three properties; Blackhawk, GI Combat, and Plastic Man. Plastic Man was not used very much at first, specifically because Julius Schwartz did not know they owned the rights to him. In 1966, a comic called Dial H for Hero introduced Plastic Man to the DC Universe.
Years later, Plastic Man was introduced to children everywhere through animation. Plastic Man could not be harmed by a punch. His only weakness was extreme cold and hot. Ruby Spears, a production company owned by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, created the series. Plastic Man worked for the government and was like a James Bond-type agent. He traveled in different vehicles provided for him to stop criminals all around the world.
He had a supporting cast that consisted of Penny and Hula Hula. Penny was the typical female for the time frame, always worrying about Plastic Man. Hula Hula was a Hawaiian who had horrible luck. Hula was introduced through a mandate. There were specific ethnicity groups that were not represented on Saturday mornings. They were given a list to choose from and originally called him Coconut. That was deemed a racial slur and his name was changed. The writers for the series wanted to do original Jack Cole stories, but were told by the network that they wanted something different. That is where the crazy slap-stick humor came in.
So now we move onto the DVD set. This set consists of 35 episodes. It aired in 1979 following episodes of Super Friends on ABC. This was not the show that featured Baby Plas. I mention that because while browsing the net for info about the show, I read countless complaints about when the show switched over in 1980and featured Baby Plas. Anyway the show had 35 episodes and the DVD set has all of the episodes.
Plastic Man fights various villains such as The Weed, Badladdin, and Disco Mummy. He only fought three villains that were featured in the comics. They were Carrot Man, Dr. Dome, and Toyman. Yes, that's right. I said Carrot Man. Google that and see what comes up.
After watching numerous of the episodes, it reminded me a lot of the Super Friends. This was probably because it was also produced by Hanna-Barbera. The animation had the same feel. Although, the stories themselves, were more like Scooby-Doo humor.
Normally, my complaints with these sets are that there are not enough special features. This is not the case with this set. There is a very informative feature that gives an overview of the history of Plastic Man. There is also a pilot episode for a show that was made only a couple of years ago featuring Plastic Man, voiced by none other than Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob). There are also numerous trailers for WB animation projects including many of the recent DC Animated films. The only problem was that the packaging mis-marked the location of the special features.
Overall, the series takes you back to a time of simpler animation and story-telling. It is definitely worth watching. Always nice to see some of the lesser known heroes in the DC Universe getting some attention.
Plastic Man: The Complete Collection:
The set has already been released and can be found at Best Buy. To get it on Amazon click here.
Check out some of the screen shots from the show:
Posted by Dustin
So another Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode has aired. Wait. Did it? No, you are not looking at your screen and thinking you missed it. Actually, if you live in the UK, a frequent internet user, or went to San Diego Comic Con, you probably have already saw the episode. But nonetheless, the episode officially airs tonight at 7:30 PM EST. Warner Bros. sent us over a clean version of the episode to review ahead of time so that we could get you hyped about it. We mentioned during the podcast after SDCC that the episode was way better than expected. So let’s hear from Tiggebrown and Josh and see what they thought of the episode. First up is Tiggerbrown’s review:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Mayhem of the Music Meister
Holy Pirouettes Bat-fans; Batman is starring in a musical! When BTBTB first started, there was a lot of trepidation that a return to the campy, psychedelic tone of the 60’s would undo the respect the character has attained since BTAS. However, after the first several episodes, even the darkest of fans found moments they enjoyed. True, the show doesn’t take itself too seriously, but there is no doubt that the integrity of the character is upheld and most importantly respected. While at first we hardcore fans thought the creators of the series were thumbing their noses at us, we realized that the keepers of the cowl just wanted us to lighten up a little, laugh at ourselves, and maybe have some fun.
So with show having achieved a level of acceptance among the Batman fan-base, we are asked to take this acceptance to a new level: Batman the musical. The idea of a dramatic show attempting a musical episode may seem outrageous, but it’s been attempted before; Buffy the Vampire Slayer being the most notable to genre fans. But how could Batman, the darkest of superheroes possibly translate to a Broadway style interpretation? Well you know what; it works.
The premise of the episode is that a villain called the Music Meister can use his singing voice to control the minds of anyone who is in ear shot. He of course wants to take over the world, and of course is stopped by the Dark Knight. Nothing extraordinary to be sure, but what makes this episode special is the phenomenal production value and the formatting of the episode as a three act musical play. Each act has one or two featured songs and production numbers that drive the narrative. There is even a curtain that opens and closes at the beginning and end of each act.
The first act has Gorilla Grodd, Black Manta, and Clock King about to be stopped from sabotaging a satellite by Aquaman, Green Arrow and Black Canary. Music Meister takes control of all of them, and forces them to battle Batman. The “West Side Story” fight choreography was hilarious. The main song, sung by actor Neil Patrick Harris as the Music Meister is classic Broadway, and although I’ve never been a fan of the genre, I found myself humming the tune long after the show was over. The choice of Harris as the Meister is inspired casting, especially for genre fans who watched the former Doogie Howser in Dr. Horrible.
My favorite song of the episode is from Act 2, “Drives us Bats”. Music Meister vents amongst all the villains of Arkham how Batman always thwarts their evil plans. “No super powers, just a flying rat. Good thing there’s Arkham, he drives us bats.” Michael Jelenic, who along with producer James Tucker wrote the lyrics and Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter, and Michael McCuistion composed the music, give us a quality that is first rate. Honest, if this was a traditional animated musical you might be looking at a music Emmy here.
The story is simple as I mentioned before, but the sub-plot love triangle between Music Meister, Black Canary and Batman added some intensity to the drama. Black Canary’s love song to Batman and her darker toned “Death Trap” while captured in act 3 are very well performed. Voice actress Grey Delisle has an incredible voice. And not to spoil the ending, but although the love struck Canary is spurned by the Caped Crusader, she does find romance with a certain green masked archer.
So the question I know you are asking yourself is, does Batman sing and dance? Very appropriately he is played very straight amongst the frolicking. Only to save the situation at the end of the final act does he briefly use his vocal chords, enhanced with a “Bat auto tuning amplifier”. He goats a hypnotized Black Canary to use her Canary cry to ruin the Meister’s nefarious plan. And for trivia sake it isn’t Deidrich Bader singing in that scene; it is actor Jeff Bennett (Creeper in BTAS, and Ragdoll in The Batman).
I admit I am one of those fans who prefer Batman dark. But I watched this with an open mind and really enjoyed it. The effort put into this episode was extraordinary and I respect the desire of the creators to try something new. Now I definitely think once was enough, but I am surprisingly giving Mayhem of the Music Meister………
Moving on to Josh’s review:
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Mayhem of the Music Meister
Every now and then, there is an episode of a television series that will inevitably come up whenever the show is discussed at length. “Mayhem of the Music Meister” will become that episode for “Batman: The Brave and the Bold”. The show pulled all the stops here and the ending result was a masterpiece worthy exceeding everyone’s skeptical expectations.
The premise is simple and fun. Neil Patrick Harris, who shines in every role he plays, voices the Music Meister who controls the free will of others by singing. His origin is simple and explained in a verse of his opening song “I’m the Music Meister”, which will be in your head for the rest of the week. It’s up to Batman, along with Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Black Canary, to stop him.
Highlights include the “Death Trap” musical sequence which has callbacks to the 1960’s “Batman” series. Fans of that series will also notice a reference to “shark repellent spray”. We get some Broadway musical cliché’s, such as the Black Canary love ballad “If Only”, which turns out really good despite the danger of being cheesy. There is nothing more visually amusing than a superheroine in fishnets singing a love ballad while knocking villains off a rooftop.
Batman fans young and old will enjoy this. As an experiment I decided to watch this with two children and gage their reaction. They were singing the songs for the rest of the night and reenacting the scenes. Batman and musicals don’t sound like something that would go together, but this episode should win over the non-believers. Overall, I give it….
So overall, they both agree and I have to say that I agree along with them. This show has been a pleasant surprise from the very beginning. Even though when the musical episode was first announce, I cringed, this was very enjoyable. I think that this will in fact be the series that my children will watch when I am introducing them to Batman.
Posted by Dustin
So the first of the last four episodes of this season aired last weekend for Batman: The Brave and the Bold. When OMAC Attacks was the episode and it starred Batman, OMAC, Hawk, and Dove. We have two reviews for you to read and decide if you agree or disagree with their thoughts. The first one is from long-time reviewer Tiggerbrown:
When OMAC Attacks!
Reviewed by Tiggerbrown
When I first read the title of this episode on the Batman Universe website news, I thought WB was going to bring some recent comics continuity to BTBTB à la Infinite Crisis. Instead, which I would have known had I read the preview, we are given a pretty faithful homage to the original Jack Kirby character OMAC of the mid 1970’s. Buddy Blank, a hero worshiping insignificant janitor for the Global Peace Agency (GPA), is transformed by an eye shaped satellite called Brother Eye into the One Man Army Corps.
The premise of the episode is that the GPA isn’t happy with Batman’s methodical approach to stopping a “Soviet military” styled villain named Kafka (interesting since the famous author Franz Kafka was from Prague and died prior to the creation of the Soviet Union). The GPA, who ironically are known for their less than pacifist methods, partner the Dark Knight with their most valuable operative; the wrecking ball named OMAC. Predictably the two heroes disagree on how to proceed, with OMAC emphasizing violence and brute strength, while Batman uses his intelligence by analyzing his opponent before taking action. As a result of an explosion due to an over zealous OMAC, Kafka morphs (a reference to Kafka’s Metamorphosis perhaps?) into a cyborg monster called Shrapnel whose power is derived from the aggressive energy of others like the Greek God Ares. The results are also predictable, with OMAC realizing that Batman’s way has its merits, and uses a defensive strategy to neutralize Kafka.
The plot line I found interesting was the return of Equinox, who manipulates the episode’s entire events in order to keep his notion of universal balance. He attempts the meltdown of a nuclear power plant to destroy the city in order to counter the destruction of another. Batman of course sacrifices himself to stop the meltdown, but Equinox spares his life so as to not let Batman have the free will to choose the time of his own death. Equinox is set up to be a reoccurring villain, which creates some much needed continuity for this series.
Much like Jack Kirby’s work, Stan Berkowitz’s story is definitely not subtle. The theme of balance is obvious, with Equinox’s half black, half white costume that has the yin yang symbol crested on its chest. Then there’s all the characters having one key personality trait, while Batman possesses them all: dark and light, brain and brawn, courage and self-sacrifice. Of course OMAC and Buddy Blank are inspired by the Caped Crusader to discover the missing human elements that finally make them valued and complete.
The prelude to the main story finds Batman in space, partnered with Hawk and Dove trying to broker a peace agreement between warring alien factions. Hawk and Dove provide a rather juvenile lead in to the theme explored in the main story, and Batman plays the diplomat who invites the aliens for refreshments on his ship after signing the agreement. My mind is opened to the 50’s throwback, but this is a stretch even for Brave and the Bold. Although Batman’s use of an “Alien Nullifier Ray” to stop their fighting made me laugh. Adam West would be proud.
The animation is first rate as always, although the now trademark freeze frame fight scenes are getting a bit tired. A little trivia: Jeff Bennett, who voices OMAC in this episode, also stands in for Deidrich Bader during Batman’s singing moment in Mayhem of the Music Meister.
The best episodes of Brave and the Bold are the ones where the guest hero has an interesting chemistry with Batman such as Green Arrow, The Joker, Blue Beetle or Robin. While I appreciated the honor being paid to Jack Kirby, the dynamic between the two protagonists was uninspired and unoriginal. OMAC Attacks was definitely watchable, but not up to par with the more memorable ones of this first season.
Overall, I give When OMAC Attacks:
Next, we move on to a first time reviewer Ryan akotfa (also known on the forums as) rhine1784. Here is his take:
When OMAC Attacks!
Reviewed by Ryan
Synopsis: The all-American fighting machine OMAC is pitted against the equally destructive Shrapnel in a chaotic fight to the finish, but the architect behind the battle is the mysterious, balance-obsessed villain "Equinox."
The teasers starts out with Batman in space (argh!!) But it’s BMBATB all is well right? Batman pairs of up with Hawk and Dove to help stop an intergalactic war, an interesting prelude to the feature, Hawk – aggressive, Dove – passive.
Batman is working for the leaders of the GPA (Global Peace Agency) to find and stop the Russian war criminal Kafka. He is paired up with Buddy Blank a lowly janitor at GPA, who through the “magic” of Brother Eye in space, turns into the mighty OMAC (One Man Army Corp). The fighting pair are searching out Kafka who unbeknown to them is being used as a pawn by the mysterious Equinox, who only wants balance in the universe, and Shrapnel who is a transformed Kafka via liquid organic metal.
Why the quality of this episode holds up entirely with the BMBATB cartoon network universe, I am not a huge fan of Batman in any sci-fi situation,(especially one that involves him in space). But this is BMBATB. While the villain Equinox is not my favorite, the voice work by Oded Fehr is outstanding. I admit, I’ve been a fan of BMBATB from the get go, and while this is “not my Batman” in this episode, I’m eager to see season two. It’s like pizza, even when it’s “ok”, it’s still pretty darn good. Fans of the fantastical subject DC world will thoroughly enjoy this one!
I give When OMAC Attacks:
So now it is up to you to decide what you think. Leave your comments below.
Posted by Dustin
Yesterday, some very big news was announced over at Warner Bros. and DC Comics. If you didn’t read the official press release, head over to the news post here. To summarize a really long PR statement, WB is creating a new company called DC Entertainment, Inc. This division will still obviously be owned by Warner Bros., but will report directly to Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The main job of this new company is to prioritize the DC properties into all forms of media by specifically focusing on them alone.
I know a lot of people are going to immediately associate this announcement as a reply of what happened last week with Disney and Marvel. For those of you who strictly stick to the DC Universe, let me inform you of what happened. Disney announced that they were buying Marvel for around $4 billion. Now while the internet blew up all over the place about that, the range of feelings towards that announcement ranged in every direction. Some thought that Disney could ruin what Marvel has been doing, while others believed it was just a way for Disney to reconnect with the younger male audience. My thought is that we probably won’t see very much come out of this for awhile, mostly because Marvel has things spread all over the place with all kinds of different studios. While the marketting giant that is Disney will probably help Marvel in an area that they need little help in, we are still years away from seeing any kind of major impact.
The reason why I tell you all of this, is so that you understand why some have immediately made this out to be a counter measure of that deal. While at first glance it seems that it just might be, according to Deadline.com it has something that has been in the works for awhile:
I know what everybody is thinking: that this move is in response to the announcement August 31st that Disney is buying Marvel. You can think that, but you would be wrong. This change has been in the works quietly for two years ever since Robinov moved into the top slot. "It was Jeff’s idea to have DC Comics reporting to him, and DC will be his direct responsibility with Diane Nelson," an insider confided to me. I’ve also learned that Robinov for months has quietly gone to producers like Chuck Roven and Joel Silver and Akiva Goldman and "called back" all their high profile DC titles in development like The Flash and Wonder Woman. Not only was that shocking to the producers, but even more so when they found out this was part of Robinov’s strategy to severely limit the number of gross participants on the projects. Because the producers were told that they may get the titles back to develop, but with far less rich deals. "Jeff always wanted some kind of oversight of DC, and now he wants Warner’s to hold onto ownership," my insider explains.
Now with all of that said, could this be the reason why so many DC properties have been announced and then have completely fallen of the map? It just may be. It seems as if this was something that they may have been planning for awhile and be that it just comes off the heels of the Disney/Marvel announcement. If so what does it all mean?
First, let’s go over what this means for the DC Universe in general before we get to Batman. Basically, what I interpret out of the press release is that DC Entertainment will get a lot of our favorite superheroes on to the silver screen, the small screen, or into video games. We have been wondering for quite some time why WB has not been working with comic book characters, especially since there are so many they could capitalize on. WB has owned DC Comics for over 40 years. It all started with Superman back in the seventies. Batman came into the late 80’s. But besides the two big names, there really has not been much in terms of use of the rest of the Universe. We are just now starting to see more heroes come out. Putting aside the animation aspect of things for a moment, we will finally be seeing some other characters break on to film. With Green Lantern and Jonah Hex already underway and announcements last week about Deadman and Lobo attaching key production members. We also know that Human Target is getting it’s own show that will start airing in January. Could more things be announced in the future? Only time will tell, but my money is that we hear some big news about a truckload of properties come Q1 of 2010.
That all being said, what does this mean for us Bat-Fans? In my opinion, not much at all. Batman is currently the most successful property coming out of DC right now for WB. Batman has the billion dollar plus film franchise, a critically acclaimed video game, and a TV series that is being adored by fans of all ages. I don’t think that the new DC Entertainment will be super concerned about what Batman needs to do to become more successful. They just need to get Chris Nolan and his team back, make a sequel to the now world-record holding video game, and keep making more episodes of BTBTB. Could we see more? Yes. But I think their focus will be more on the under used properties over at DC. Wonder Woman. Flash. Aquaman? Well, maybe not all of them.
In closing, I think this is a great thing for all DC fans. This will be what most have been waiting for in one way or another. Many fans have asked themselves, "Why are we not getting the same treatment for our characters as Marvel is giving their characters?" Wait for the announcement coming in January 2010. Then DC fans, we will.
Posted by Dustin
If you were a kid growing up in the seventies or eighties, how can you forget the Super Friends? In 1973, ABC introduced young children to a more kid-friendly version of the Justice League of America. The series was called Super Friends. The series ran on ABC for many years and it wasn’t until 1984 that the series went into a break. ABC had enough episodes from the past that it canceled the series and started running the old episodes syndicated five days a week. Hanna-Barbera on the other hand continued to produce the show and created another 24 episodes. The new episodes aired in Australia and eventually ran during Superman/Batman Adventures in 1995.
The Super Friends have been released in various version combining seasons in a box set for all to enjoy. But there was a question from fans of the series. Where were the 24 episodes that never aired on ABC? What ever happened to them? Why were they not released as part of the special features? Well, Warner Home Video has answered the questions by releasing all 24 episodes on DVD this week.
After watching the 24 episodes, I have to say you really have to be a fan to enjoy this. A lot of people despised the Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna and their crazy monkey Gleek. These characters are front and center in these episodes. The animation isn’t the best and the writing is horrific, but if you are a fan of DC animation it is still a must buy. You will feel a bit nostalgic when watching the episodes and remember watching them back when they first aired. The other thing that is really nice about the set is that it comes with two downloadable Super Friends comic book adventures. Despite being the only special feature it is still worth it.
Overall, if you enjoy feeling nostalgic or are a huge fan of DC animation this is for you. If you are not either one of those people, then you might want to pass on it as you probably won’t enjoy it as much. The DVD set was released on August 11 and is available now at most stores and online.
Super Friends: The Lost Episodes:
Posted by Dustin