After the dark, cinematic Batman the Animated Series from the ‘90’s and the more recent grim, anime-influenced The Batman (with that cool opening theme by U2’s The Edge) it was an unpredictable and gutsy move to introduce a simplistic and slightly goofy looking animated version of Batman. Right away, you sense this is a youngster friendly Batman. In this case, that’s not a bad thing at all and the risky gamble pays off in dividends of sheer fun.
In just a few seconds, anyone familiar with Dick Sprang’s classic square-jawed Batman will recognize the obvious influence his artwork has had on the look of this show. It all harkens back to a simpler, more light-hearted era for both Batman and comics in general. Surely that was intentional. Clearly the show’s art style aims to draw younger viewers but fret not old timers, you haven’t been forgotten. The simple formula still works: solid storytelling + lots of action = loads of fun.
As you might have guessed from its title, the show uses a team–up approach guest-starring a different hero fighting crime along-side Bats every week. Not only does that help keep the stories self-contained and free from continuing subplots it also opens a revolving door of animated versions of all sorts of characters from the DC universe. The show’s creators wasted no time in bringing out classic characters both old and new including Aquaman and the new Blue Beetle. It was a little jarring at first to see a 1950’s style Batman side by side with a 21st Century version of the Blue Beetle but then it just gelled and became really cool in spite of feeling somewhat anachronistic. Being just a kid, Blue Beetle idolizes Batman and defers to his experience though that doesn’t mean much once his eagerness to show off kicks in. Since the new Beetle is, in my opinion, one of the best comics currently on the market I was quite pleased to see him guest star in more than one episode already.
Other guest stars include ye old king of Atlantis, Aquaman, who in this version is not above recounting his regal exploits ad nauseum and placing himself at the center of the story. Yet he remains quite likable in spite of his conceit. Wildcat (from JSA) also makes an appearance in an episode which I found more interesting because of who the “villains” were: The Outsiders! Keeping old traditions alive, the Outsiders start out as adversaries but you know how those tales always end. However, there were only three of them: Katana (best of the three in my book), Black Lightning, and a teenaged version of Metamorpho. Utilizing only three of the characters kept it simple and focused on the action which has really been the main thrust of The Brave and the Bold.
With fast-paced, action filled stories Batman: The Brave and the Bold puts the emphasis on fun which is something that the recent The Batman, with its cool visuals and music, fell short on. This opens the door wide open to bring Batman to a newer and younger audience while keeping us old-timers happy with classic characters and that old team-up charm. Here’s hoping The Brave and the Bold sticks around long enough to showcase some classic Jack Kirby characters like the Demon, James Robinson’s version of Starman, Booster Gold, or even Vigilante.
2 comments:
I had not seen this, but now I am curious. Sounds like they've got a good thing going.
As for an appearance by Robinson's Starman, I would not object to seeing a cartoon based on that series. It was good enough to warrant such treatment. And if they wanted to do a cartoon of Leave It To Chance...well, that would be cool as well.
Last night's episode was pretty cool. A second appearance by Aquaman but this time he was more of a loveable buffoon (though my wife described him as "vapid"). Interestingly, they had the new Atom and not the classic version which is what they did with Blue Beetle (though they did a good job tying in the original Beetle with their own remimagined continuity). Also fun was the prologue featuring both Plastic Man and Elongated Man. So far an appearance in the problogue before the opening titles means the character will be featured in an upcoming episode.
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