Batman The Brave and the Bold- Mitefall

Episode 3.14

Batman has a long standing relationship with cartoons. From the days of the 1968 Batman/Superman Hour to the much vaunted award winning Bruce Timm-helmed Batman The Animated Series. Throughout Batman’s long association with animation, the character has undergone several interpretations ranging from the campy to the grimly dramatic. The latest cartoon version of the caped crusader has, in my opinion, been the most dynamic and far-reaching as it delved into the most absurd material one week and investigated some of the heaviest material ever the next. Teaming up with every superhero this side of the B’Wana Beast, Brave and the Bold has been a wild ride from start to finish, blending computer imagery and traditional animation into a colorful program the likes of which we will likely never see again.

All that said, it’s not to everyone’s liking, especially for the many fans that feel the cartoon life of the dark knight ended along with the Batman Animated Series. But the intention of Brave and the Bold is something entirely different from the Bruce Timm version. While the animated series explored the noirish world of crime, Brave and the Bold featured a hero who fought crime underwater, in space, throughout time and in other dimensions as well. This Batman was more of a cartoon character who broke the laws of logic whenever the adventure suited him.

Case in point, the opening of the final story Mitefall…

Batman and Abe Lincoln vs John Wilkes Booth

Batman The Brave and the Bold has run for three successful years with some really outrageously silly outings (“Invasion of the Secret Santas!”, “Invasion of the Secret Santas!”,”Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth!”, and “Triumvirate of Terror!” come to mind) in addition to some impressive less-absurd adventures (“Dawn of the Dead Man!”, “Deep Cover for Batman!”/”Game Over for Owlman!”, “The Last Patrol!” and “The Siege of Starro!”) along with the stand out genius that is “Chill of the Night.” In “Chill of the Night,” Batman’s soul hangs in the balance as the Spectre and Dr Fate watch our hero hunt down the man responsible for his parents’ deaths, Joe Chill.

For the finale of Brave and the Bold, the 5th dimensional imp watches a goofy adventure where Batman and Aquaman are battling Gorilla Grodd at sea. Disappointed and bored with the cartoon that used to make his Friday evenings worth waiting for, Batmite wonders why the series can’t just be more like “Chill of the Night.” What he wants is a return to the dark and edgy Batman of the Bruce Timm animated series. In order for that to happen, though, Brave and the Bold has to be cancelled.

Batmite uses his strange reality-warping abilities to make Batman: The Brave and the Bold the worst cartoon ever made. Toy tie-ins, a precocious kid and an awful soundtrack are just the first steps into the awfulness, though.

Gleefully altering the program to by relocating the series from gritty streets of Gotham City to sunny surf of Malibu. Donning swimming trunks, the caped crusader hangs ten for justice along with Aquaman, Ace the Bat-Hound… and his puppy cousin bearing a not dissimilar resemblance to a certain other cartoon pup.

Enter the meddlesome Ambush Bug, a zany comic book character capable of breaking the 4th wall. Watching the demise of the Brave and the Bold at the gym (what gym shows that on their monitors instead of CNBC? I want a membership there!!), Ambush Bug can see where all of this is headed and implores Batmite to alter his plans. But it is too late, leading to a war between the two characters as Batmite steers the program toward doom with the super sonic bat-luge just as Ambush Bug tries to save it with senseless violence.

Despite the intervention of Ambush Bug, Batmite accomplishes his goal and Batman The Brave and the Bold is pulled from the screens. Too late, Batmite realizes that he too is doomed as his reality fades away, replaced by a computer generated action cartoon starring Batgirl.

Batgirl CGi trailer (spoof)

For all of the ‘meta-commentary’ the Batgirl trailer struck a particularly strong cord as the upcoming 2012 cartoon ‘Beware the Batman’ will be the first CGi Batman series. I’m not sure if the joke was meant to be so spot on or if it’s just a coincidence, but it felt incredibly ominous.

The final moments of the program are somber and bizarre as Batman joins a farewell party already in progress in the Batcave. The obscure heroes that he had teamed up with chat and clink glasses; Woozy Winks, Kamandi, the Metal Men, the Haunted Tank crew, OMAC, Prez Rickard, G’Nort and more are in attendance, harkening back to a time when DC Comics was a colorful and inventive world of possibilities.

While the heroes mingle, stagehands deflate the Bat-computer and fold away the backdrops. In a final post-modern moment, Batman thanks the viewers for watching and gives one last clamor for justice.

The last hoorah

Batman: The Brave and the Bold could be the most unwatched amazing cartoon ever made. While The Batman was an award-winning series, it still suffered from Bruce Timm fan backlash, but at least it was still an action series. Brave and the Bold was a madcap program that embraced the possibilities of cartoons and stretched Batman’s character into realms so absurd that Dick Sprang would think it weird. It was weird, brazen and new… and it’s gone.

How sad.

Missed out? Buy the series on DVD.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season One, Part One

Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season One, Part Two

Batman: Brave & The Bold - Season Two Part One

Batman The Brave and the Bold- Four Star Spectacular

Episode 3.13
The final series of Batman The Brave and the Bold has been nothing short of astounding. The brakes are clearly off as the cartoon leads a mad foray into the realm of the absurd and uncanny. Featuring episodes with musical numbers, an international club of Jokers and even a team-up with Space Ghost, it is clear that nothing is too out of the ordinary. This week’s episode was an anthology-style adventure split between Adam Strange, the Flash, ‘Mazing Man and the Creature Commandos. Titled ‘Four Star Spectacular,’ this installment was a reference to the DC Comics mag from the late 70’s that featured an ever-changing line-up of heroes each time all in an over-sized book that was often difficult to fit in your back pocket.

In print, Four Star Spectacular was partly composed of reprint material but the animated homage was all new wall-to-wall action.

The first part starred Adam Strange, that star-faring Earthman who spends half of his life on the planet Rann, home of his beloved Alanna. Using the Zeta Beam, Strange is transported to Rann where he leads the life of an adventurer and hero to an alien culture. When the radiation wears off, he returns to his life on Earth. In ‘Worlds War,’ the bizarre Zeta Beam radiation that enables Adam Strange becomes a problem as it strikes random objects, transporting them to some foreign planet as he anxiously tries to reach Rann to celebrate his anniversary with Alanna. Finally hitching a ride on a Zeta Beam, Strange learns that the interplanetary pirate Kanjar Ro is attempting to use the beam to transport a bomb to Rann.

Picking up an ally in the unusual form of a puppy, Strange battles Ro across several alien worlds as they are transported via wild Zeta Beams, fists flying. In the end, the four legged friend defeats not only Kanjar Ro but serves as the ideal present for the shapely space vixen.

A celebration of the sci-fi comics of the 1950’s and 60’s, this installment was lots of fun. Oddly, it featured Batman only in a fleeting glimpse as the two planet-hopping combatants traversed the various realms of the cosmos. I quite like Adam Strange and this installment reminded me why he is so great. A few years ago, a magnificent modern take on the character surfaced by Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry, but you can also enjoy the classics in a black and white Showcase Presents collection.

Adam Strange: Planet Heist

Showcase Presents: Adam Strange

I am a big fan of the scarlet speedster, so I was especially happy to see that the second part of the four star spectacular centered on Barry Allen, the Silver Age (and current) Flash. In ‘Double Jeopardy’ we see the dark knight facing the cur known as Captain Boomerang. Even enamored by the Batman’s batarangs, Captain Boomerang is a murderous foe and driven to kill Batman with his own signature weapon. Before the killing blow can land, the human whirlwind arrives, two minutes late.

Feeling the need to explain the lack of an instantaneous reaction, the Flash weaves a tale of his battle with the Mirror Master, the Scots version (created by Grant Morrison). I weep for comics fans who cannot appreciate the genius of the Flash as he has the most bizarre rogue’s gallery this side of Batman or Spider-Man. The Mirror Master has developed a new ‘gimmick’ that allows him to create solid mirror image doppelgangers which he sets against his ruby foe. In the midst of his battle, Abra Kadabra arrives from the far future, gleeful that he will soon bear witness to his arch enemy’s death. Showing Allen a newspaper from the future depicting the Flash’s death, it all seems to be set in stone.

The ‘inevitable death’ trick has been used in comics for ages, no matter what the discouraged modern fan thinks. In each case it is shown that death is inevitable and each time our hero evades the reaper’s grasp. This is no exception and a great homage to the writing stylings of Bob Haney, that mad architect of the B & B comic book series.

The Flash Archives, Vol. 1

The Flash by Geoff Johns Omnibus, Vol. 1

The third part of the four part omnibus stars a hero that I must admit ignorance of. I recall seeing ads for the ‘Mazing Man comic book but as it arrived at the pinnacle of grim 80’s comics, I had no interest in a wacky comedy series. Shame on me, really, as the animated version is lots of fun.

An addle-brained miniature superhero, ‘Mazing Man takes up cat sitting and nearly destroys the entire dwelling of his clients through the course of a single night. It’s straight-ahead vaudeville done with pitch perfect humor. I must learn more about this character.

My favorite moment could be when our hero wonders to himself what his idol Batman would do upon losing a cat and imagines the caped crusader freaking out like a loon.

Despite the high quality of the first three segments, the final part of this episode is by far the best as it involves the Creature Commandos (enjoying a Renaissance of sorts in the pages of Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.). Targeting an island populated by dinosaurs, the Commandos fight a War that Time Forgot. A squad of experimental mutants, the Creature Commandos are a weird secret weapon in DC Comics’ WWII era. Criminally uncollected in any format, your only chance of reading about these characters is to hunt down the issues at a comic con or steal them online. Honestly, DC and readers alike are missing out on some big money by not collecting these rarities.

I’m sorry, but if a werewolf, vampire, gorgon and Frankenstein’s Monster versus dinosaurs doesn’t stoke your fire, you’re dead inside.

The segment gets more complex when Batman enters the fray against the body-swapping villain known as the Ultra-Humanite. Inhabiting the body of a T Rex, the Ultra-Humanite’s plan is to use mind control technology in a mad dream of world conquest. Using monster teamwork, the Commandos are able to strike a killer blow against the Ultra-Humanite’s plan, forcing him to reject his host body and crawl away like the brain in a jar that he is.

Showcase Presents: The War That Time Forgot

Frankenstein Agent of Shade #1

Immensely inventive, madly entertaining and unpredictable… there is no cartoon like Batman The Brave and the Bold. The world will be a poorer place when it concludes next week.