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When I first saw an image of Batman: The Brave and the Bold years ago, I was highly skeptical. Batman constantly teamed up with partners and wearing blue instead of black. I'd gotten so used to a grim and gritty Batman that I thought a lighthearted take on the character couldn't be any good. And I was a fool for thinking all of those things. First off, Batman has worked with some of the best heroes in the DC universe despite his loner persona. And secondly, well, blue is my favorite color. Heck, Neal Adams made Batman in blue and gray one of the best combinations for the character. True, he certainly wasn't the first to color the Caped Crusader in blue, but his illustrations of the Dark Knight in blue and gray was more than enough to convince me that Batman could look incredible in those colors when I was a but a child. These were things that I had forgotten since I had been so used to the DCAU (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited) portrayals of Batman. One episode was all it took to sell me on this show, which is now one of my top five animated Batman series.
As I summarized above, fans of the darker and edgier version of Batman will dismiss Batman: The Brave and the Bold. When Batman originally began, he was a dark avenger of the night. As time went on, a lighter and softer approach was taken during the Silver Age. During this time, Batman was about as campy as it got, with the camp factor reaching an all-time high in the 1960s Batman live action TV show. While the camp version of Batman may have nearly killed the character off, it is still an incarnation of Batman and some of the most notable members of his rogues gallery were introduced during this period such as Poison Ivy and Mr Zero, who would later be known as Mr Freeze. Yes, Batman: The Brave and the Bold can be campy. Batman is quite the talkative fellow in this show, spouting one-liners at his comrades and adversaries alike, but it does not mock the legacy of Batman. It is firmly rooted in the Silver Age with Batman having adventures in space and far off worlds, though he still fights plenty of crime in his home town.
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| There's always a hero at Batman's side in this series. |
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| Chased by a hungry T-rex? Just another day for Bats and his partners. |
While each episode is generally comprised of 22 minute crime solving, world saving escapades, the cold openings are more like mini episodes. In the first episode Rise of the Blue Beetle!, we start off with Batman and Green Arrow caught in a death trap fashioned by the Clock King. There's some back and forth banter between Batman and Green Arrow before they free themselves and clean Clock King's clock. After the opening sequence we get to the main story, which focuses on the Blue Beetle. Nearly every episode opens up with Batman teaming up with a different hero, which is one of the key components of the show. Its so much fun to see how Batman works with other heroes in each episode. Batman is highly competitive with Green Arrow but has a mentor role towards Blue Beetle, whom it seems is fairly new to the hero business.
It's a real treat to see these heroes in the cold openings and when they get full screen time as Batman's main partner in the story. One of my favorite reoccurring heroes is Red Tornado. He made his debut in Invasion of the Secret Santas!, the Christmas themed episode. Red Tornado has a longing desire to connect with humanity. Despite Red Tornado being a machine, that desire thankfully shines through thanks to fantastic writing and voice work. This was actually the first episode of the series I saw and its still one of my favorites.
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| Batman in Batarmor. AWESOME. |
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| Hello, Killing Joke homage. Just because it is heavily influenced from the Silver Age doesn't mean you won't find more modern Batman elements in the show. |
They say that heroes are only as good as their adversaries and depictions of DC villains here do not disappoint. While many of them come across in the same campy nature of their Silver Age comic counter parts, they are no less entertaining to watch. Gorilla Grodd, Black Manta, Despero, Felix Faust, Gentleman Ghost, Scarecrow, are just as fun to see in action as the heroes. If your aren't up to date on your Batman history, a few of them may leave you scratching your head as to who they are. Make no mistake, Fun House, Crazy Quilt, Kite Man, and many other obscure villains you see later in the series are straight out of the comic books. Its nice to see even D-listers like Calendar Man in animation form.
So we got a slew of cool heroes for Batman to work with and a ton of villains for him to punch out. But as I was watching this DVD set, I asked myself "Where is the Joker?" The Clown Prince of crime, the greatest villain in comic book history, Batman's arch nemesis. Twelve episodes in and not a purple tux in sight. The final two episodes of this set Deep Cover for Batman! and Game Over for Owlman! show us that parallel worlds do exist in this show. When the Red Hood turns to Batman for help, the Dark Knight has an encounter with Owlman and goes in disguise as him to free the heroes of Red Hood's world. Unfortunately while Batman was away, Owlman was out smearing Batman's good name. Now every cop in Gotham is after him and so are his partners he's fought beside through all 12 episodes thus far. Just when his allies he's forced to fight against have him corned, he's saved. And that's when you see him, stepping out from the shadows, with a huge grin on his face. Ladies and gentleman, the Joker is in the house.
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| The wait for this guy was so totally worth it. |
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| The costume Owlman wears to frame Batman is the very first costume Batman wore in the comics. |
Deep Cover for Batman! and Game Over for Owlman! are a fine way to finish off this set. There are so many references to outside Batman lore it will make one's head spin. Red Hood, the Joker's evil counter part is an obvious homage to The Killing Joke. There's a scene where the Joker is trying to decide on what weapon to use when he pulls out a huge bazooka from his pants pocket. At one point Batman summons the Batmobile via remote control, stands in front of it and says "Stop," a scene straight out of 1989 Batman movie. A hilarious scene has the Joker running with a cartoon bomb for what seems like forever before it finally explodes. This set is packed with some great episodes, but these two are easily the pinnacle of them all.
With Andrea Ramno as the voice director, we are once again treated to some phenomenal voice work. As much as I adore Kevin Conroy's Batman voice, I don't have a problem with others taking on the role. Deidrich Bader was an excellent choice to voice Batman and I can't look at Silver Age Batman comics without hearing him in my head now. Jeff Bennett has long since been one of my favorite voice actors and does a terrific job as the voice of the Joker. He had me smiling every time he was on the screen. Being a huge fan of Batman Beyond, its always great to see Will Friedle back on DC animated show and I must say its kind of ironic to hear him as the voice of Blue Beetle.
After so many serious Batman cartoons over the years its nice to see this incarnation of the character get its due. Don't miss out on this series just because it isn't like Batman: The Animated Series. No Batman show is ever gonna top that one, but that doesn't mean other Batman shows can't be good. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a fine addition to Batman's long animation history paying tribute to the Silver Age while still acknowledging the modern elements. Basically, this DVD set, while lacking any extras, is awesome.
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