Friday, May 22, 2015

The New Batman Adventures - Episodes 5-8 Reviews

Second blog and this time around, we've got some unlikely team ups, a villain coming quids in and the first signs of young love in strange circumstances.

Episode 5: You Scratch My Back



One of my favourite characters returned here and with a strangely Gothic look to boot. I'm always happy to see Selina Kyle/Catwoman on the show and after the events of Catwalk, it did seem like things were more antagonistic between her and Batman than before. Of course for the most part, Selina teamed up with Nightwing (this episode being the first one to properly utilise the character) and while I didn't really dig the flirting with the pair of them, I did like that Nightwing wasn't so easily taken in by Catwoman as the episode initially led us into believing. It's a strong episode, even if Selina's look is a little too severe and different from what we saw with her in The Animated Series. 7/10

Episode 6: Double Talk



Okay, I think I need to admit - I just don't care about the Ventriloquist all that much and to be honest the preceeding series have done slightly better near redemptive episodes (like the Harley Quinn ones) that this one just didn't really do it for me. I did appreciate the use of psychological warfare on Arnold to get him to resume his role with Scarface and having Lucious Fox pop up wasn't a bad thing either but episode wise, this was a rather dull one, 5/10

Episode 7: Joker's Millions



I really loved this one. The last Joker episode we had before this one (excluding his vignette in Holiday Knights) was great but sort of lacking something and this seemed like a return to form for the character. I just love that despite being the most dangerous criminal in Gotham, even the Joker's shitless of the IRS and the fact that a former crime rival managed to dupe him into spending millions of fake money was a delicious twist as well, along with that hilarious auditioning for a replacement for Harley as well. Throw in some cameos for the Penguin and Poison Ivy and this one was a gem. 8/10

Episode 8: Growing Pains



I have to admit that while I like Tim's version of Robin, I didn't really miss his absence in the previous episodes. That being said, I actually think this might have been his strongest episode going as his connection to amnesiac girl 'Annie' actually worked pretty well along with the unexpected reintroduction of Clayface and the connection the latter had to the little girl. It was a great use for the character (even though Batman felt sidelined in this one a little) and seeing Tim's slightly darker side as well even worked within the narrative. 9/10

Next blog will cover Mean Seasons, The Demon Within, Over The Edge and Torch Song.

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