Last Friday's new episode featured a lot of Aquaman--outrageous!
"Night of the Batmen!" opens on an alien planet, where Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Captain Marvel and in a big battle with Kanjar Ro.
Aquaman gets a bunch of good moments where his massive strength is highlighted, something I wish the comic books would hit on more. Here he tosses around giant boulders and smashes some of Ro's ships all by himself:
The battle is pretty even-handed, until Batman arrives--then the tide begins to turn!
Kanjar Ro is about to ignite some doomsday-type weapon, when Batman plays his trump card: The Martian Manhunter, who is undercover as part of Ro's squad of goons!
Manhunter takes out Ro, but not before he sets off his weapon, which, at first, looks like it immolates Batman! Luckily, our heroes discover Bats is still alive, but severely injured:
Cut to a short time later, and Batman is in traction at the JLA Satellite. His hero pals are there, trying to be chipper but having to deliver the bad news: he's going to out of action for a while, maybe even a few weeks!
Batman, of course, is horrified at this, sure that Gotham will descend into chaos without his presence. His pals assure Bats that his current state is a top secret, and only they know about it.
Just then, Plastic Man shows up via a viewscreen, expressing his condolences. Bats asks how Plas knows, and he mentions that he read it in Aquaman's new book, of course!:
(I love how the book cover's image has been changed in Aquaman's favor)
Embarrassed, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Captain Marvel decide to take over for Batman in Gotham--but not as themselves:
The heroes fan out and deal with various members of Batman's Rogues Gallery: Green Arrow takes on The Cavalier and Deadshot, Captain Marvel takes on Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy, and Aqua-Bats tangles with that fowl felon, The Penguin:
They do their best, but they all realize just how tough a job Batman has--Gotham seems to be crawling with super-villains!
Up in the satellite, Batman keeps trying to escape the clutches of his caretaker, Martian Manhunter. But Manhunter is adamant about his pal getting the proper rest.
Plastic Man decides to do a Bat-suit, as well, but he's a little sloppier on the disguise. He tries to apprehend Catwoman, who sees right away that this is not the real hunk o' beef Batman, whom she donned a new costume for and everything:
...I love the 70s!
Anyway, the other Batmen show up, just in time for The Joker to arrive and knock them all out. When they wake up, they are in yet another crazy Joke lair, about to be the victims of yet another crazy Joker plot to destroy Gotham.
The four heroes manage to escape their bonds, and are about to go after The Joker and his henchmen just as the real Batman (having escaped Manhunter's watchful eye) arrives!
Now five, the heroes fan out and take out Joker's thugs:
Joker, once again on the receiving end of a pummeling by his arch-foe, seems almost happy about it, just because it means Batman is back in Gotham.
Batman, locked inside a super-high-tech exo-skeleton (shades of Kingdom Come), says he will return to his patrols of his beloved city--and his pals can go back to their real identities.
Just then, a wormhole opens up, and out of it comes the half-dozen Batmen of other worlds, having heard the news a little late, ready to fill in. Batman sighs, and promises, okay, just this one time:
...the end!
Like almost every single episode of Brave and the Bold, this episode is a ton of fun. Based on Sholly Fisch's story from Brave and the Bold #13, "Night of the Batmen!" features lot of action, a ton of characters, and some good gags--I laughed heartily at the montage of Aquaman's book tour. At the same time, the Sea King gets to kick some butt and look really powerful, which is a great contrast to his comedic persona in the other scenes.
Credit Where Credit Is Due Dept.: Due to some boring technical issues, the Shrine is having a hard time recording anything off of TV, which means I don't have access to visuals for these posts. But the site World'sFinestOnline.com features timely recaps of every B&B episode, complete with stills from the show, which the Shrine has borrowed here. My thanks to them for their great work!
"Night of the Batmen!" opens on an alien planet, where Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Captain Marvel and in a big battle with Kanjar Ro.
Aquaman gets a bunch of good moments where his massive strength is highlighted, something I wish the comic books would hit on more. Here he tosses around giant boulders and smashes some of Ro's ships all by himself:
Kanjar Ro is about to ignite some doomsday-type weapon, when Batman plays his trump card: The Martian Manhunter, who is undercover as part of Ro's squad of goons!
Manhunter takes out Ro, but not before he sets off his weapon, which, at first, looks like it immolates Batman! Luckily, our heroes discover Bats is still alive, but severely injured:
Just then, Plastic Man shows up via a viewscreen, expressing his condolences. Bats asks how Plas knows, and he mentions that he read it in Aquaman's new book, of course!:
Embarrassed, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Captain Marvel decide to take over for Batman in Gotham--but not as themselves:
Up in the satellite, Batman keeps trying to escape the clutches of his caretaker, Martian Manhunter. But Manhunter is adamant about his pal getting the proper rest.
Plastic Man decides to do a Bat-suit, as well, but he's a little sloppier on the disguise. He tries to apprehend Catwoman, who sees right away that this is not the real hunk o' beef Batman, whom she donned a new costume for and everything:
Anyway, the other Batmen show up, just in time for The Joker to arrive and knock them all out. When they wake up, they are in yet another crazy Joke lair, about to be the victims of yet another crazy Joker plot to destroy Gotham.
The four heroes manage to escape their bonds, and are about to go after The Joker and his henchmen just as the real Batman (having escaped Manhunter's watchful eye) arrives!
Now five, the heroes fan out and take out Joker's thugs:
Batman, locked inside a super-high-tech exo-skeleton (shades of Kingdom Come), says he will return to his patrols of his beloved city--and his pals can go back to their real identities.
Just then, a wormhole opens up, and out of it comes the half-dozen Batmen of other worlds, having heard the news a little late, ready to fill in. Batman sighs, and promises, okay, just this one time:
Like almost every single episode of Brave and the Bold, this episode is a ton of fun. Based on Sholly Fisch's story from Brave and the Bold #13, "Night of the Batmen!" features lot of action, a ton of characters, and some good gags--I laughed heartily at the montage of Aquaman's book tour. At the same time, the Sea King gets to kick some butt and look really powerful, which is a great contrast to his comedic persona in the other scenes.
Credit Where Credit Is Due Dept.: Due to some boring technical issues, the Shrine is having a hard time recording anything off of TV, which means I don't have access to visuals for these posts. But the site World'sFinestOnline.com features timely recaps of every B&B episode, complete with stills from the show, which the Shrine has borrowed here. My thanks to them for their great work!
4 comments:
Aqua-Bat, so outrageous I can't help but love it! Plus that 70's Catwoman costume has always been a favorite; this episode was full of fan service with lots to enjoy. :)
I'm kind of surprised they didn't go for the straight Kingdom Come armor actually.
Fun episode...as usual!
Chris
I love how the batman's from TAS (both the original Bruce Timm and the later Glen Murakami ones), Batman Beyond, Justice League and The Batman are shown as Batmen from other dimensions are included. All that's missing is Plucky Duck!
This is such a great show, and gives us Aqua-fans ongoing hope and joy for more Aquaman. I hope the powers that be are able to find ways to keep this one running.
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