Batman’s had a lot of different animated incarnations over the past 30-years, and while Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League are certainly iconic, one should not overlook Batman: The Brave & the Bold. Is it a bit campy? Yeah, but that’s what makes it so utterly charming. Follow along as we go through the all 3 seasons and experience a Batman that can be loved by all. Plus, feel free to comment down below and make this as interactive as possible, because Batman: The Brave & the Bold is first and foremost, fun. And now… “Duel of the Double Crossers!” & “Last Bat on Earth!”
1. The Cold Open
We get our first view of some of the more popular Jack Kirby created DC characters, Mister Miracle and Big Barda. It’s a cool enough teaser giving viewers a taste of both characters, yet a bit strange at the same time. Batman is helping out with a daredevil event to raise money for charity? Okay… And somehow this event is being held in a realm where Batman freely interacts with DC’s Fourth World? You can’t be a stickler for continuity when it comes to Batman: The Brave & the Bold, but a teenie bit of an explanation would have been nice to go along with some of DC’s coolest characters.
2. Spotlight on the Team-Up
There were a lot of supporting characters in these two episodes, but it was nice to finally see Jonah Hex get a proper spotlight. DC’s cowboy bounty hunter can be difficult to incorporate to the rest of the DC universe, but the premise of the episode was excellent. It portrayed Hex’s surly demeanor quite well, while hinting at his openness to do whatever needs to be done. Without getting overly clichéd, Hex does the whole anti-hero who doesn’t care but secretly does thing really well.
3. Things you wouldn’t think Batman could do
In the opening sequence for “Duel of the Double Crossers!” we learn that Batman has a Danger Room. Now, it goes without saying that all superheroes need a bit of training to get better, and the fact that Batman is taking time to give The Outsiders some tips has to be commended. But, a Danger Room? Bruce Wayne’s tech is second to none, of that there is no doubt. Yet, there’s a healthy jump from a Batmobile, to a full on out Danger Room that can fight back with simulations of Despero. Like most wacky creations within Batman: The Brave & the Bold, this somehow works.
4. And the Bad Guy is…?
While Gorilla Grodd continues to be a bad-ass within the series, and has cemented himself as one of Batman’s premier villains from The Brave & the Bold, we can’t ignore the first appearance of Steppenwolf. A much better representation of the character than the globby grey monstrosity we were presented in Justice League, Steppenwolf is a great character with a legit power set. If we get a full Fourth World appearance for Batman within The Brave & the Bold, I hope that we can see Steppenwolf and the other Fourth World characters introduced in this episode again.
5. Give me the Bat-Humor
These two episodes were light on the humor, playing things in a more traditional Batman style. While both teaser openings were definitely lighter in tone, there wasn’t any comedy at all. It was a let down, and I didn’t notice it until afterwards but when watching the episodes they didn’t feel as fun as the rest of the series. The Brave & the Bold has been a very successful experiment in making Batman more accessible to viewers, and I hope the rest of the episodes keep the lighter tone that had been established before these two.
That’s it for now, see you next week! We’ll have Hawk and Dove, OMAC, Two-Face and Doctor Fate!
