Batman: The Animated Series
I briefly mentioned the 1966 "Batman" television series last post due to Adam West's voice role in "Beware the Gray Ghost," but as we chat about another two-parter it seems like a good time to bring it up again. These definitely feel like homages to that classic show. The majority of those were two-parters with the Dynamic Duo being in some sort of danger at the end of part one. The B: TAS two-parters veered away from this, instead focusing on deeper character studies of some iconic Bat villains. Is that the case with the two-parter we are looking at this post? We'll find out. But first...
"Oh, I understand, all right. You're like all the rest, suckered in by this money-grubbing, bogus creep!"
When a riverboat carrying some of Gotham's elite goes down, Bruce Wayne is told by friend, Ethan Clark, that he was warned away from going on it by a fortune teller named Nostromos. Bruce and Ethan's daughter, Lisa, are skeptical of Nostromos, but Bruce decides to throw in with Nostromos billionaire brotherhood to expose him. Can Batman use his alter ego to prevent Nostromos from bilking Gotham's elite?
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| Written in the stars |
I honestly don't have a lot to say about this episode. Heather Locklear voices Lisa Clark, which is kind of cool. Nostromos wears a toupee. Hilarious, right? The whole episode amounts to a 22 minute shoulder shrug.
The plot is kind of ridiculous. Every one knows that Nostromos is a big fraud, so it really makes these millionaires look like buffoons. They are, presumably who we are supposed to be rooting for or caring about, but when a 9 year old can see through Nostromos' plot, it's difficult to really feign any sort of caring for anything that is happening on screen.
I remembered liking Lisa, and she's not a bad character. I do enjoy her effusive declarations that Nostromos is a snake oil salesmen. She's an effective audience surrogate in that regard, but her reaction to Bruce falling in with Nostromos left me a little cold. I felt like she should have known that it was all an act. Then, she ends up tied to a giant planet, a generic damsel in distress for Batman to save.
Nostromos is lame too. I mean, I guess he's supposed to be, what with his fake hair and all that. But if that's the case, then, that makes these rich people look even dumber. And you know, maybe that's it? Commentary on how dumb and superstitious rich people are? Satire? Meh. I think I'm giving them too much credit.
Seriously. The less said about this the better.
Grade: D
Another two-parter. Another introduction of a classic Bat-villain? Um....
Bruce Wayne meets Lucius Fox at an abandoned warehouse. And tries to kill him?! "Bruce Wayne" is actually a disfigured actor named Matt Hagen. Hagen is doing the bidding of corrupt industrialist, Roland Daggett. Daggett has manufactured a face cream called "Renuyu" that Hagen uses to fix his face and has become addicted. Daggett wants to frame Bruce Wayne for Fox's murder in order to take over Wayne Enterprises. Hagen fails and it's not the first time. Daggett's thugs attack Hagen and force him to drink a lot of Renuyu. The Renuyu changes the composition of Hagen's body, turning him into the malleable Clayface.
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| Is there something on my face? |
The previous B: TAS two-parters have served very specific purposes. They have taken characters and used the extra time to deepen them. They have had close ties to Batman. Harvey Dent was Bruce's best friend. Catwoman is, arguably, the love of Bruce's life. it makes sense that the writers would use this extra time to really explore these characters and their relationships with the Dark Knight.
Matt Hagen is a little different. He is somewhat of a tragic figure. His disfigurement has taken away the career he loves unless he succumbs to the whims of the man he has been made dependent on. There is something there for sure. The issue is that Hagen is kind of a douchebag. Dent you empathized with. Hagen you don't really.
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| Cleanup on aisle 4 |
That is what really holds "Feat of Clay" back from being a stand out classic like "Two-Face." Hagen and his motivations are too one dimensional. There are no nuance. Hagen is a straight up creep. He has no remorse for what he's done. There is no conflict. He's willing to do that and more for his stardom. Now, that's not necessarily bad, but it feels like the show sees him as more than that since they throw Daggett into the mix as another villain, like Thorne and Red Claw. Daggett is another generic corrupt Gotham businessman. His plan to takeover Wayne Enterprises is super convoluted. There's a to of moving parts here and I'm not sure the episodes are entirely successful in giving them all what they need.
The episodes do have some pretty cool visuals. Hagen and his facial manipulations are super creepy and perfectly disconcerting. The silhouette of Daggett's thugs pouring the Renuyu down Hagen's throat is great. The animators continue killing it with the redesigns and tweaks to the looks of Batman's rogues. Clayface looks fantastic.
Batman goes a little darker in this episode too. Threatening thugs with death, even if they do make it clear that it's an obvious fake out like in the hospital. We really hadn't seen this more aggressive take on Batman in B: TAS up to this point and it works. It also makes sense that the threat against Batman's civilian identity would bring this side to the forefront. It's not all aggression as Batman uses his smarts to short circuit Clayface, bringing up shots of various characters Hagen played causing him to shift uncontrollably. Clayface's' potential sacrifice is cheapened a bit by the reveal at the end of part two that he survived. I understand how that would maybe be too dark, but they could have saved the alive reveal for the next Clayface episode.
A lot of big ideas in these two and the darkness is appreciated, but more empathetic villains really held these episodes back.
Grade: C
I know. That's harsh. I'm sure I'll get some flack because I know there are big fans of "Feat of Clay" out there. If you're one, I'd love to get your perspective in the comments.
Next time, we hear the immortal words "Mistah J" for the very first time and Bullock runs across a perp from the past.
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