The second half of Batman: The Brave and the Bold’s first season continues down the path it started on in the first collection I reviewed. The format remains the same: Batman teams up with a less popular and often obscure DC hero every episode, with short pre-opening title vignettes to introduce some of the more esoteric characters from DC’s catalog. Heroes like Kamandi and Dr. Fate debuted in short vignettes in the previous set, only to then star in the main stories in these episodes.
Also retained is the show’s schizophrenic treatment of the Caped Crusader, flip-flopping between the grim crimefighter and the chummy superfriend from one episode to another. Sometimes within the same episode.
The Brave and the Bold’s primary take on Batman as voiced by comedian Diedrich Bader is of the lighter Adam West variety, in contrast to the Kevin Conroy voiced uber-serious badass animation fans are used to from Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. Yet, as I’ve detailed in my review of the first set, the writers tend to slip in some references to the Bat-dick characterization from the comics and the previously mentioned cartoons.
The episode “The Color of Revenge” on Disc 1 of this set actually switches from one to the other after the opening title. The teaser is a big nod to the Adam West show, with Batman & Robin receiving a call from the Commissioner via a red telephone, changing into costume by sliding down a pole, shooting out of a cave past a retractable barricade in the batmobile and walking up the side of a building using a rope. Then it skips several years, with a grown Robin who’s moved to Bludhaven to fight crime solo after a bitter falling out with a Batman who gave him no respect whatsoever.
It’s an interesting way to call attention to the different ways one can portray a character like Batman, who has that versatility built into his very concept. Of course, Batman fans who worship the Christopher Nolan version would balk at this treatment, which is addressed in the deliciously meta episode “Legends of the Dark Mite.” This Paul Dini penned episode involving Bat-Mite has him mining from his days as a writer on Tiny Toons and Animaniacs with its delirious no-holds barred craziness. It not only references Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, the Silver Age’s Zebra Batman and even Dini’s own Batman: The Animated Series, it also takes the time to poke fun at Batman’s capacity to inspire a rabid demand for him to ignore his roots as a comic book character.
At one point in the episode, while Batman is fighting giant mutant Easter bunnies, the all-powerful Bat-Mite ponders if maybe they are too over-the-top to be his foes and pauses the action to consult a comic book/anime/fantasy/sci-fi convention full of Batman fans. One fan says that he’s “always thought Batman is more suited for gritty urban crime stories” and essentially mimics the tone of the online complaints that have been directed at Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Bat-Mite’s response to him is, for all intents and purposes, the show producers’ response to those vocal fans—and Dini makes a farce out of it in this scene without being too derogatory.
Forget about dissecting Batman’s character, though. What this show is about is pure unhinged fun that doesn’t get too bogged down with the baggage that’s usually attached to Batman more than any other superhero, and it delivers on that front. The highlight of this set is the one episode that really put this show on a lot of people’s radar when it aired. “Mayhem of the Music Meister” is the musical episode that guest stars Neil Patrick Harris as a singing supervillain. It features a hilarious premise, some pretty great songs, and a Bat-Autotune Device. What more can you ask for in a cartoon?
Voice talent includes Bader, James Arnold Taylor, Neil Patrick Harris, Dee Bradley Baker, John Di Maggio, Jeff Bennett, Kevin Michael Richardson, Tom Kenny, Greg Ellis, Will Friedle, Grey DeLisle, Tara Strong, Billy West, Paul Reubens, and Corey Burton.
"Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season 1, Part 2" is on sale March 15, 2011 and is not rated. Action, Adventure, Animation. Directed by Ben Jones, Michael Chang, Michael Goguen, Brandon Vietti. Written by Steven Melching, Todd Casey, Joseph Kuhr, J.M. DeMatteis. Starring Dee Bradley Baker, Diedrich Bader, James Arnold Taylor, John DiMaggio, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jeff Bennett.
