"Totally Schway" Re-Watch: "A Touch of Curaré" & "Ascension"

 Batman Beyond

It is time to wrap up the first season of "Batman Beyond" and fid out what Blight is going to do. Let's get into it.

Terry McGinnis: "So, you and Dick Grayson, like, dated?"

Barbara Gordon: "In college. Puppy love. Later on, we just never talked about it."

Terry McGinnis: "People should communicate more."

Barbara Gordon: "Dick finally got fed up living in Batman's shadow. He decided to leave. He was hurt when I chose to stay behind with Bruce."

Terry McGinnis: "As his partner?"

[she stays silent]

Terry McGinnis: "His girlfriend?"

[she takes a silent sip of coffee]

Terry McGinnis: "Whoa."

Barbara Gordon: "On the street, it was like ballet. We were the perfect duo. But for Bruce - Batman - there was nothing but the street. Eventually that gets old. Time comes when you gotta hang up the cape. But Bruce wouldn't. Or couldn't. So, I left, and never looked back."

Barbara Gordon and her husband, D.A. Sam Young, are attacked by a silent assassin called, Curaré. She escapes after a scuffle with Batman. Bruce reveals that she is part of a group of assassin's that don't stop until the job is done. Barbara appears in the Batcave to reveal that Curaré is after her husband based on testimony that he's going to give. Barbara tells Bruce and Terry to stay out of it, but Batman is remaining on the case.

Moonlight Knight?

I have a lot of complicated feelings about this episode. If you know me at all, you know that I am a huge fan of Batgirl, particularly the Barbara Gordon iteration of the character. So, I'm always happy that she is included in "Batman Beyond." And, I love that Stockard Channing is the voice of Barbara in the show. She does an amazing job. She lends the gravitas that a character like Barbara Gordon deserves. When she's talking about her past with Bruce and Dick, you can hear the weight of all that history in her words. She's no nonsense. She's definitely not a damsel. Throughout the episode, she's right in the thick of things. She's determined to save her husband. I love her in the Batcave, checking out her old suit on display. Terry connecting the dots to her connection with Bruce as Batgirl. At the end of the episode still showing that she knows how to toss a Batarang. That is probably the end of list when it comes to what I enjoy about Babs in this episode.

I've never really understood the decision to make Barbara police commissioner. It never really made sense to me. It doesn't seem in line with her character. Sure, she's Batgirl, but she was never really super keen on following in her father's legacy, so it seemed. I appreciate them trying to keep a legacy through line in the series, but couldn't they have done that another way? Something that felt more in line with what Babs would actually do. Not to mention, she talks about wanting to leave the vigilante life behind and she goes from that to police work? It just doesn't really resonate with me.

Then there is the revelation that Babs and Dick broke up because Bruce and Barbara became a couple. And oh boy, do I fucking hate that. I'm not sure if anyone remembers the animated film adaptation of "The Killing Joke?" Prior to it coming out, they said that they were going to try to give Barbara a little more agency in the film and how did they do that? By putting her in a sexual relationship with her much older mentor, Batman! That is skeevy and gross and I just hate when they go to that well. It honestly kind of makes Bruce look like a predator. There is an imbalance of power that is messed up. And this is just not something Batman would do. Pursue the daughter of his close friend and a young woman who sees him as this larger than life mentor and let's be real, pseudo father figure. No. And I'm not saying that this couldn't happen, but it wouldn't happen with Batman. It kind of sours the rest of this episode for me.

Which is too bad, because otherwise, I kind of liked this episode. I think Curaré is pretty cool aside from her questionable ethnic design. I think the assassin group that she works for is interesting and I kind of wish we could have gotten more focus on that. I would have liked to see maybe a little bit more from the leadership and how it worked.I liked them going after Curaré at the end, and I'm hopeful that we see mre of her or more of them as the series progresses.

The action in this movie is pretty great. It's hard hitting which makes sense when you realize that you are dealing with a trained assassin. I'm always kind of surprised when I see blood on these shows and there is quite a bit in the final confrontation between Batman and Curaré. Also, did anyone notice how many cops probably died during that chase towards the end. She was tossing them off elevated trains left and right and that is wild. There is no way that Batman is following along behind and grabbing them. So, they are going splat on the pavement. I'm not saying that's good or bad, I'm just pointing it out.

Grade: B

Batman: "You made a bad enemy tonight."

Paxton Powers: "What are you going to do? Testify against me in that mask?"

Batman: "Oh, I wasn't talking about me. I'm the least of your worries."

Derek Powers isn't doing great. He's running out of the synthetic skin that he uses to conceal his affliction as Blight from the general public. He brings in his son, Paxton, to help him run the company while he is in seclusion, but Paxton decides to try to work this to his advantage. He initially tells Batman that he wants to help his father, but he plans to double cross them all. And is Batman so blind to his desire for revenge against Derek Powers for murdering his father that he is going to fall for Paxton's obvious trap?

Dude. Your face.

We talked about Barbara Gordon and now we need to talk a little about Derek Powers aka Blight. I am all for animated series like this having a sense of continuity. Having a sort of spine for the season, something to come back to and this should have been a good one. Powers is responsible for the death of Terry's father. He, in a way, is responsible for Terry's journey to becoming Batman. But it feels like it never really comes together. There isn't a lot of Blight in the season. He comes and goes so much that you forget about him. He never feels important to Batman's journey and he never gives you like a Lex Luthor vibe or a Joker vibe. There is this sense that we should care about what is going on here, that it is something that will be impactful, but as a viewer, you just don't feel what the show is trying to impress on you. 

Now let's talk about our new Batman. I think this has been kind of an up and down season for our Terry. Overall, I really like Terry. I like that he is the antithesis of Bruce. He's not the world's greatest detective. He has more street smarts. He relies a little more on brute strength. He's kind of a dummy. And that can be good and bad. In the plus column, it is kind of nice to have a more everyman Batman. Yes, he is still benefitting from the fortune, tech and smarts of Bruce Wayne, but here is a little bit of wish fulfillment going on here. When I was a teenager, watching "Batman Beyond" it was easier for me to picture myself in Terry's shoes, than I ever could Bruce when I'd watch "Batman: The Animated Series."

The downside is that sometimes you're watching the show and you are almost yelling at the TV things that should be obvious to Terry. In this episode for instance, it is so clear from the very beginning that Paxton is going to double cross Batman. And Terry should see that. He should account for that, but he doesn't. And it just sort of makes you roll your eyes. You want Batman to be above this kind of like transparent chicanery, but Terry isn't and at this point in his career he should be. This finale should kind of feel like his final step into the mantle of the Bat and it just doesn't. And that kind of disappoints me on this re-watch.

The rest of this episode is kind of a middling finale. Setting the final battle on that boat was a bad choice. It's not really exciting. Paxton Powers is worse than his dead and it feels like we haven't seen the last of either of them, which is not something that is super exciting for me.

That being said, I think there is a lot here to be excited for season two. Hopefully more exciting new villains and deepening the ones that we have already met and hopefully us finally seeing Terry come into his own as the Batman of the future.

Grade: C

Season Grade: B

Next up, splicing is taking over Neo-Gotham and soil creatures are terrorizing a friend of Terry's.

What did you all think of this first season? How's Terry shaping up? Were you satisfied with Blight? What did you think about Bruce and Barbara boning? Let me know in the comments.