When Batman: The Brave and the Bold was first announced as a new series coming to Cartoon Network, the reaction that another Batman cartoon was coming was high. When the first trailer was released for the series, there was a lot of critics including me that this might be the wrong direction to take the character. As it turns out, the critics and I were wrong. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a perfect mixture of children amusement and adult nods.
Warner Bros. has released a collection of the first 13 episodes on August 17. They have previously released separate volumes that included four episodes a piece. I always thought that those were a huge waste of money, especially at least ten dollars a piece. This part, unfortunately, is not much better. Even though there are thirteen episodes collected on this set, it still seems as if Warner Bros. is trying to cash in on as many releases as possible.
The two-disc set includes the first thirteen episodes of the show. The first episodes really didn't have a whole lot of good things. The exceptions of course being the "Invasion of the Secret Santas" episode, which is still one of my favorite episodes, and the episodes featuring Owlman.
As far as special features go, there are none. Well, there is a trailer for Lego Harry Potter, but does that even count? With BTBTB getting its own video game in the coming weeks, why wasn't there at least an advertisement for that? Sometimes, I really don't understand the marketing department for these releases.
Overall, I think the show is great, but I want to have complete seasons, not parts. I also want at least some special features. The lack of features and the simple word "Part" makes we say wait another year or two for the complete seasons or even complete series to be released.
You can buy it here on Amazon
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 1 Part 1:
Reviewed by Dustin
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Posted by Dustin
After watching the new Brave and the Bold episode, the chill of the night, I wanted to express my opinion on the latest installment of the series. I have probably been the greatest critic of the show on the podcast, but I have also ensured the show receives praise from me when they've impressed me. Which has been on a couple of occasions during the first season with Bat- Mite, the Music Meister and The Color of Revenge episode.
I sometimes feel harsh criticizing the show because I'm fully aware it is aimed at young children and the producers are generally not considering myself when designing the show. I fully respect that this show is for another audience and I'm glad that there are other interpretations of Batman out there. Just like the 60's show, Tim Burton's Batman and Nolan's Batman, this is a character that can be adapted to fit anywhere. So naturally when viewing the show I expect to not be really drawn into the story and am expecting the same stuff every time. The second season has had some fun moments amongst a few dull episodes but nothing outstanding…until now!
Now when I first heard about this episode from Dustin and Apple at San Diego Comic-Con with the comments that even the actors involved were making about this episode made it sound like a biggie! The incredible all-star additional casting whetted my appetite even further. Now no plot points will be revealed here (even though I'm sure you can guess a bit about what's going on from the title) but the sheer quality of writing, acting, animation and direction were superb. This episode felt more like the awesome BTAS from the nineties with plenty for Batman to deal with, no sidekicks to get in the way and the focus devoted to the story and some real character development. Some dark moments existed in a show that I never saw portraying Batman in this light and Batman's morals and psychology are brought into question. How far will he go when it gets personal? For those of you out there that have been overlooking the series, check this episode out and you won't be disappointed.
My next question is where does the show go next? Well the next listed episode is Gorillas In Our Midst, where Gorilla Grodd tries to turn the population into gorillas. Why oh why? Now I'm not saying that the show would make me happier being a clone of BTAS, but sticking with Batman and his family/villains, fighting the criminal underworld of Gotham gangsters and dealing with his own deep rooted problems would be much more satisfying. It worked for my generation when we were younger, why can't they transfer that to this show more regularly? Surely this episode showed us what the Brave and the Bold is capable of and I'd love them to stay there rather than revert to the cosmic, immature antics of the last year and a half.
In conclusion, at least this episode has got me caring about the show again and proved to me the talent working on this project. As long as they do a couple of high quality episodes a year I'm going to keep watching. So I'm going to selfishly finish by saying FORGET THE KIDS! MORE OF THIS PLEASE!
Posted by Nick
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
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
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 Tiggerbrown 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
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