The New Batman Adventures
We did, Joe. We did it. These are the last two episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series." It's pretty exciting for me to finish this. I started it back in 2017 and four years later we are finishing the series. There will be a couple of loose ends we will have to tie up, but it's crazy to think this blog series outlasted my marriage. Without further adieu, let's get to it.
The Creeper: "I like a girl who plays rough!"
Robin: "But... she just tried to kill you!"
The Creeper: "You're young. You'll learn."
Jack Ryder is reporting on the seven year anniversary of the accident that turned the Joker into the Joker. The Joker shows up and so does Batman. During their altercation, Ryder is dosed with Joker toxin and dumped in a vat of chemicals. The combination morphs Ryder into a funhouse mirror version of himself, that is very similar to the Joker himself. Ryder dubs this new version of himself, The Creeper and sets his sights on revenge. At the same time, Joker is looking for the new guy in town stealing his schtick. What will happen when these two come face to face and will even Batman and Robin be enough to stop them?
 |
| Guess who? |
I always forget that the Creeper is linked to Batman. He was created by famous artist Steve Ditko, the guy who co-created Spider-Man, and Don Segal. His first solo series was written by famed writer Dennis O'Neil who had a pretty legendary Batman run. He continued to show up in Gotham and became so ingrained in the Batman mythos that in 2006 his comics origin was tweaked to basically mirror what happens in this episode. Another example of the lasting impact of "Batman: The Animated Series."
This episode poses the question: what if there were two Jokers and it is just as manic and all over the place as you would expect from that premise. It may be manic, but it is not a bad episode. It's pretty good. There are a lot of jokes this episode. It is very jokes, jokes, jokes and while they don't all land a good majority of them do, which helps keep this episode from being a real groaner.
I love all the little Batman related Easter eggs sprinkled throughout this episode. The name of the vintage clothing store that Creeper goes to to get his "costume" is called Ditko's Vintage Clothing, a nod to creator Steve Ditko. Ryder's report on Joker mentions him starting off as a low level goon for the Valestra crime family, a call back to "Mask of the Phantasm." I always appreciate a reminder that the film is indeed canon. The Joker's origin is a callback to the original Tim Burton "Batman" and it gives the animated series a chance to do their version of Batman's original costume from the '30s.
The Creeper is a fun character but he is a creep. After "Mad Love" it is a little disheartening to see Harley again infatuated with the Joker and still being treated like shit. She jumps out of a cream pie and is tossed out on her behind. And like, seriously, I don't need anymore weird kink scenes between Harley and Joker. It's initially fun to see the Creeper actually enamored with Harley, but she is clearly not into him and he has a shaky handle on consent. He even licks her at one point and ends up passed out on her chest? Harley was rolling her eyes and so was I. Ryder ends up the recipient of a magic patch from Batman that suppresses the Creeper and the end of the episode implies that Ryder enjoyed his id running wild more than he let on. I'm curious if the show had more planned for the Creeper, but we will never know.
Grade: B
The Judge: "You are accused of murder... mayhem... manslaughter. How do you plead?"
Killer Croc: "You're nuts!"
[Dives away from the Judge]
The Judge: "You can't escape justice."
Killer Croc: "Watch me!"
There is a new vigilante in Gotham dressed like a barrister and calling himself The Judge. He is not playing around and is attempting (sometimes successfully) to kill Batman's various rogues. He has an unlikely ally in city councilman, J Carroll Corcoran, who is feeding him information. When the Judge targets Two-Face, Batman works hard to save his former friend, but will he be able to stop the Judge? And who is hiding behind the Judge's mask?
 |
| Yikes |
I have to start with this. They killed the Riddler right? They never come right out and say it, but there is no way that he survived that thing falling on him. The show just says he was "neutralized" but that is for sure code for murdered, right? That is brutal and it isn't a trigger that I thought the show would ever pull, but hey, if they were going to, why not in the final episode?
"Brutal" is the word that I would use to describe this whole episode. You get a sense of the stakes from the opening moments when the Judge goes after Penguin. It almost has like a horror movie quality to it. The Judge is Michael Myers and old Ozzie Cobblepot is the big titted slutty teenager that he is stalking. I honestly thought that when he was tossed through that wall Penguin was dead, so imagine my surprise when he was just in critical condition.
Batman is pretty commonly touted as the World's Greatest Detective and honestly, the animated series kind of shied away from all that. I get it. Detective stories are a hard sell to kids and when they did try to sprinkle some detective work in, it was usually painfully obvious who was behind it all. I submit almost all the Poison Ivy episodes into evidence. This episode, however, bucks that trend. I had never seen, to my knowledge, "Judgement Day" and I was pretty gagged at the reveal that Two-Face was the Judge. Looking back, there are lots of clues that make it feel pretty obvious but the show plays it just right. The fact that Harvey created a third personality to try to maybe atone for his life of crime is kind of sad and honestly, the final beat of the episode showing Harvey in his cell in Arkham, in a straitjacket, hearing the Judge asking for his plea and repeating "Guilty" over and over again is a pretty chilling way to end the show and the series.
The action in this episode is pretty great and, hears that word again, brutal. Whether it's the aforementioned opener, the Judge and Killer Croc going at it on the rooftops of Gotham or the Judge and Batman battling while Batman's hands and feet are bound it is all top notch stuff and the quality we've come to expect from this series over it's many episodes.
I just have to say again, this is definitely the best modern superhero animated series of all time and I doubt that anything will ever top it. It paid homage to where it came from while adding to the Batman mythos in real ways right to the very end. It's a show that I will re-visit for the rest of my life and there aren't many shows I can say that about.
Grade: A-
Series Grade: A+
We aren't quite finished though! Next up, there is a third "B:TAS" movie where Bats meets the mysterious Kelly Ripa, er, Batwoman.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on these episodes or on the series as a whole. Please flood the comments with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment