Ok, so I know we already have Mattman's weekly Batman comic reviews going on (which if you haven't been reading, shame on you because they're awesome), and I don't by any means wish to steal his righteous Batman thunder here, but something has come up that I simply must mention. Batman has a new animated series that debuted two weeks ago. It's called Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and it's absolutely phenomenal.
When I first saw the original promo posters for this show, I was a little worried. The art design was pretty, but the bright flashy colors made me nervous that they were going to go over the top with the kiddyness of the show. Mind you I'm a huge, HUGE fan of the Batman Animated series that came out in the 90's. You know the one, where it's all dark and gothic like the Tim Burton films and Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy and the Joker is voiced by Mark Hamill. To me, that's still the best adaptation of Batman I've ever seen done, and the animated movie it produced, The Mask of the Phantasm, is pretty much still my favorite Batman movie of all time (although Dark Knight is an awful close second place, it's almost a tie really). Hell, even Siskel & Ebert loved Masked of the Phantasm.
Knowing that, you have to realize then that for me, any other Batman animated series has an extremely high bar to reach. Batman Beyond was good, it was great really, but it wasn't really the Batman we all know and love, it was Batman's protege, and thus it could never really compare to the other animated series. Then came The Batman, which was so crappy I couldn't make it past a few episodes before I gave up on the show. So when I saw these bright colored stills from a new Batman show, I got nervous. Was this going to be another horrible show like The Batman was? Was there never again going to be another great Batman cartoon for us to enjoy? Were the glory days truly past us?
Then I saw the trailer back in July. It was actually one of the first posts I made here after launching Geek-tastic. The trailer gave me hope, and I said as much in the post. Seeing how the art design came across when in motion, and mixed with cool music and clever editing, the show looked like it could be fun. But while cool music and clever editing make for a good trailer, they don't necessarily a good show make.
Thus it was with mild reservations and vague hopes that I sat down to watch the first episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold a little over a week ago. Mattman had given it good reviews when I had asked him about it, which had given me hope too, and I'm glad to say that I whole heartedly agree with him. The first episode of the show was a lot of fun.
Brave and the Bold tells you in the first minute exactly what kind of show to expect. The episode opens with Batman and the Green Aarow tied up, upside down, over a giant vat of acid while a clock themed supervillain named The Clock King spouts off clock related puns about how they're soon going to die. He then flies off on a clock themed flying device. This is a straight throwback to the campy days of the Adam West 1960's era Batman, and I mean that in the best way imaginable.
At no point during the two episodes I have seen thus far does the show ever talk down to the audience. The show knows exactly what it is trying to be, a fun kids cartoon show, and it achieves this perfectly. Yet it also manages to not dumb down the plots, thus lowering the enjoyability for adult fans or for parents who are watching it with their kids. A good number of hidden jokes only adults would get are thrown in as well, which I always find the mark of a really good show. In the first few minutes of the first episode, there was even a direct reference to The Aristocrats* for god's sake. Now that's what I call damned cool.
The show's writing is amazingly good for what could have easily been an over the top, stupid, mindless kids show. Are the plots realistic? No. Are the villains campy? Yes. But that's the whole point. This show is taking a look back at the kind of Batman we all grew up on and loved and is making it cool again. Take everything that you loved about the old 60's Adam West TV series and mix it with the coolness of the Dark Knight and you get Batman: Brave and the Bold.
Batman himself is a mix of the classic Adam West Batman and the cool of the Kevin Conroy or Christian Bale Batman. He's cheesy, he's fun, but he's still a badass who can put the beatdown on anyone and who can out-think the smartest people on earth. If you're looking for a dark and brooding Batman, then this show is definitely not for you, but if you're looking for a smart, fun and light hearted caped crusader who isn't afraid to crack the occasional joke, then you're really going to like what you get here.
Interesting fun fact. As I was looking around online, I found out the name of the show is actually a reference to an old DC comic book called "The Brave and the Bold". First published in 1955, the comic featured team-ups of different superheroes from the DC universe, but after issue 50 was primarily a Batman team-up title. The series even had the first appearances of two great superteams in its pages...the Teen Titans and the Justice League.
The new show is definitely a team up show. Each episode will see Batman teaming up with different characters from the DC universe to defeat whomever is that episode's bad guy. The first episode saw Batman teaming up with Green Arrow and the Blue Beetle, the second episode had him teaming up with Plastic Man, and episode 3 will have him working with Aqua Man.
If you watch the first episode and don't instantly love the show, then please, as a personal favor to me just watch the second episode. It has some of the greatest animated moments I have seen on TV in a long time. Moments such as:
- Giant apes flying around on Pterodactyls...with harpoon guns...stealing luxury yachts.
- Batman and Plastic Man running from a T-Rex.
- Batman face punching more giant apes than I could count.
- Batman being seriously tempted to hit the eject button in the Bat-jet to shut Plastic Man up.
- Batman getting turned into a giant ape, and still kicking serious ass.
If that isn't enough to sell you on what an awesome show Batman: Brave and the Bold is, I don't know what will...except for maybe this trailer:
I cannot stress enough just how awesome this show is. I can't wait to see the third episode. I hope this show runs for a long, long time. I'll be watching and loving every second of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go watch the second episode again. I just can't get enough of watching Batman face punching giant apes. If there is a TV heaven, I think I've found it.
* If you don't know what The Aristocrats are, watch this, but BE WARNED that if you click that link you are about to hear some of the dirtiest things you will ever hear in your entire life coming from just about every comedian from the last 30 years. Seriously, don't watch that clip if you're easily offended or there are children anywhere near you. I'm not joking here. Trust me. But if you're an adult and you like a little vulgar in your humor, then by all means click away. The link is a trailer for a film about The Aristocrats, which is a fine film itself to watch.
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