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… “Fall of the Blue Beetle!” & “Journey to the Center of the Bat!”
1. The Cold Open
While you can still consider each episode to have a teaser opening, the beginning of “Fall of the Blue Beetle!” blends so perfectly with the entirety of the episode that I wouldn’t consider it. Thus, we are left with the opening of “Journey to the Center of the Bat!” Which is spectacular! So far we’ve seen Plastic Man within The Brave & the Bold a few times and it’s not hard to see why he is a favorite for the writers. The Elongated Man, well, that’s one of my favorites, and seeing him squabble needlessly with Plastic Man was bliss. Ralph and Sue Dibny are one of the true jewels of DC Comics (although they’ve been treated as far less throughout the past decade.) Needless to say I hope we see him again soon.
2. Spotlight on the Team-Up
Having the Blue Beetle spotlighted for an entire episode has really shown the growth of the character. While Batman: The Brave & the Bold’s team-ups are generally wacky and the episodes lighthearted, “Fall of the Blue Beetle!” felt more akin to Batman: The Animated Series. This isn’t a negative, not in the least. On the contrary, throwing in a bit of extra character development will go a long way towards making the three seasons of the series more enjoyable. I recall in an interview with Diedrich Bader that they went through a growth process during this first season. Trying out a multitude of things in regards to the themes of the show, the amount of Batman’s inner monologue, and the general humor. I think this is a pretty stark example of them shifting slightly towards a more serious tone. While not as frenetic as the other episodes, as a Batman fan you still love to see it.
3. Things you wouldn’t think Batman could do
Well, I wouldn’t have assumed we’d get an entire episode inside of Batman… “Journey to the Center of the Bat!” picks up on one of the great Hollywood script shticks, recreating the classic Fantastic Voyage with your current cast of characters. Is it as good as Futurama‘s swing at inner body exploration? No, but “Journey to the Center of the Bat!” is wonderful by its own rite. I want more Aquaman in my Brave & the Bold episodes. He’s bombastic and narcissistic and pairs beautifully with the Atom’s straight man approach. They’re like a great buddy cop movie you would have never expected.
4. And the Bad Guy is…?
Chemo and his puppet master Brain work really more as a plot device for “Journey to the Center of the Bat!”. Thus, the stand out villain from this pair of episodes is Jarvis Kord. Jarvis was solid and actually had a decent plan. His highlight comes from his interaction with Jaime. Fronting as the previous Blue Beetle, the character really sells the ruse. The whole episode hinges on it, and it comes through perfectly. As stated above, this feels like a more completed episode with a deeper plot. A lot of that works because of the development of Jarvis Kord.
5. Give me the Bat-Humor
It’s clear that whenever we get Aquaman in an episode of Batman: The Brave & the Bold, its not gonna take itself too seriously. Given the history of Aquaman you wouldn’t think it’d work so well, but it feels like the character was meant to always be written this way. While some might feel that this imperils the gravitas of the character, maybe that’s not what the character ever needed. All I know is that funny, crazy Aquaman works amazingly.
That’s it for now, see you next week! We’ll have Bat’s team up with the Green Lantern Corps, Jonah Hex and the Bronze Tiger!
