The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 9

Love is a Croc

 

Baby Dolls is the worst villain in Batman and combining her with Killer Croc did nothing to help it along.  Somehow Baby Doll is living a normal life as a motel clerk after serving minimal time for the kidnapping and attempted murder of at least three people in her origin episode.  It makes absolutely no sense.  Is the judicial system that horrible in Gotham City, NJ?

 

Anyway, she sees on the news that Killer Croc was arrested so she decides to break out her little girl bad guy persona and bust him out of jail.  Croc is a total jerk to her and absolutely does not want to hook up with her because he rightfully thinks it’s creepy.  

 

Baby Doll decides to level up and destroy everything by blowing up a nuclear power plant which is even too much for Croc.  Batman shows up and fights Croc.  At this point Croc is all over the place.  He’s fighting Batman but doesn’t want the power plant to blow up.  Baby Doll is the problem in this episode.  Croc is just doing what he does.  

 

The show couldn’t have Batman beating up a woman who looks like a child so they are painted into a corner with an inconsistent adversary.  Croc is there to up the action and give Batman someone to punch.  

 

As we stated when she first appeared, she sucked as a villain.  Giving her another episode is just torture.  Bringing Croc back could have been fun but he’s bot even consistent from the one we met in BtAS.  It’s one of the worst TNBA which as always, a bad Batman episode is still a high bar compared to others.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 8

Growing Pains

 

Another great Robin (Tim Drake) episode.  Robin comes across a runaway with amnesia, who’s connected to a violent criminal.  Batman wants to chase down evidence while Robin wants to go looking for the girl.  Robin runs off in anger while Batman investigates clues.  

 

Robin finds the girl and names her Annie.  Robin clearly has a crush on her and as they try to outrun her father her memories start to return.  She realizes she’s part of Clayface who sent her out to investigate if it was safe for him to wander around.   Calyface has reformed thanks to chemical pollution in the water. She lost her memory and Clayface is trying to reclaim Annie as his piece of now sentient clay.  

 

He reconsumes her into himself which upsets Robin who starts fighting him.  Robin demands he bring her back but Clayface states it’s not possible.  At which point Robin starts raining acid on Clayface which can actually kill him.  Batman arrives after having determined what the situation is via his detective skills and stops Robin from finishing the job.  

 

Clayface is somehow knocked out in an explosion and as he’s being taken away in a special container.  Gotham PD lists charges against him which is robbery and stuff like that, forgetting the part where he pretended to be Bruce Wayne or the attempted murder of Roland Dagget which shouldn’t have a statute of limitation or at least one that short.  Eventually Robin utters murder should also be on the list for taking Annie away.  It’s a bleak ending and a great Robin episode.  

 

BtAS took Clayface’s character as far as it could go.  Making him a villain who pushes Robin’s story along is brilliant.  He’s truly menacing and it was the setup for a nice twist.  The best part is Annie is seen in a list of missing children images in a Batman Beyond episode.  An awesome and obscure callback that fleshes out the DCAU.

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

The Great Botchini

Watch Long Island's greatest magician premiere his skills at the Somerset Brewery in West Hempstead.

The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 7

Joker’s Millions

 

The Joker inherits a fortune from a gangster who died, buys his way to freedom, finds out he’s been tricked, refuses to admit it, tries to commit a crime to salvage his reputation, and payoff the IRS.  It’s solid Joker episode, actually more lighthearted than prior stories.  

 

There isn’t much depth to the story but anyone who likes the Joker will like this episode.  It’s got solid gags, a great scene where Bruce Wayne references World’s Finest by being tossed off a building via the Joker.  The ending is amazing with Harley Quinn in the back of the police van, torturing Joker at the end.  She probably shoved that baton up his butt…

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Red Hot Chilli Poppers 6

Another Cuculi sponsored show. The sound and lights are bad because the venue was horrible. Don’t blame the band.

The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 6

Never Fear

 

The amount of awesome in this episode is exponential.  Batman gets hit with a toxin by Scarecrow which removes his fear.  Since he’s Batman it doesn’t put him in peril.  He’s an ultra badass whose danger meter is off the charts.  

 

When he first gets hit with the gas he runs into a lake filled with viscous alligators and you think he’s dead but in fact he killed those alligators with his bare hands.  He then recruits Robin to investigate where the scarecrow is and what his plans are.  He flies like a psycho through Gotham which freaks Robin out.  It also serves to sell a bunch of toys for the new Batwing.  During Batman’s interrogation of a Scarecrow goon, he almost kills the guy.  This sets off Robin’s alarms.  

 

Robin immobilizes Batman and decides to stop Scarecrow on his own.  Batman almost talks Robin into letting him go but over plays the part.  At which point Robin is in a cave/subway system sneaking onto a train as Scarecrow plans to administer the gas to commuters during rush hour.  He sees an inhaler cure and attacks Scarecrow and almost takes him down until a goon sneaks up behind Robin and knocks him out.  

 

Batman of course, has busted out of his bonds, shows up, and is kicking everyone’s ass.  He makes his way to Scarecrow and the fight is pretty rough.  Robin finds the inhaler and uses it on him.  Batman gets his fear back.  He tells Robin to get off the train which about to run off a cliff (in an underground cave…) and promises to save an unconscious Scarecrow.   The episode wraps up with Batman telling Robin he made the right calls and that a little fear is a good thing.  

 

It’s one of Tim Drake, Robin’s best episodes.  He’s magnificent in the story.  All his decisions are spot on.  He makes tough choices and saves the day in the end.  DCAU has made a worthy successor to Dick Grayson, perhaps a better character in some respects.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Red Hot Chilli Poppers 8

Another Cuculi sponsored show. The sound and lights are bad because the venue was horrible.  Don’t blame the band.

The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 5

You Scratch My Back

 

The Nightwing centric episode.  It’s actually really well done once you get to the end. Without the ending the episode would be really crappy.  Nightwing (the original Robin) doesn’t want Batman’s help when busting bad guys.  Catwoman pops in and is manipulating Nightwing for her purposes.  We are made to think Nightwing is a stubborn douche who is putting himself in danger. Well it turns out it was all a scam to bust the bad guys and Catwoman.  Way awesome twist.  Nightwing welcomes the help from Batman and Batgirl and they are a happy crime fighting team.  The character development is spot on.  The entire episode is a nice vibe in the end.

 

The best moment is when Nightwing is chasing a thug and the thug bumps into Batman and scares the crap out of him.  Batman is just standing there and lets the thug go knowing Nightwing wants to do it on his won.  The pure fear the bad guy feels when seeing Batman is brilliant.  The entire animated sequence is done so perfectly from the scare, to the hesitation, and eventual running.  TNBA might have made mistakes on character design but they could still tell an amazing story with just visuals.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Red Hot Chilli Poppers 7

Another Cuculi sponsored show. The sound and lights are bad because the venue was horrible.  Don’t blame the band.

The DCAU Weekly Review – The New Batman Adventures

 The New Batman Adventures

Episode 4

Double Talk

 

He had to make an appearance and as far as episode choices go it could have been worse.  The Ventriloquist is deemed sane and released from Arkham.  He gets a job at Wayne Enterprises (because Bruce Wayne believes in rehabilitation).  Scarface’s old gang wants their leader back and starts harassing The Ventriloquist until he has a mental break and Scarface returns.  Antics ensue and The Ventriloquist flips out killing Scarface himself.  

 

Batman is truly a side character in this story, which always crafted some of the best BtAS episodes.  It’s probably the best Scarface episode.  Since we’re not fans of the characters we’re glad this was his last featured appearance.  He does pop up again in the DCAU but it’s in an alternate universe in a Justice League episode and actually a welcomed sight to see a bunch of Batman’s rogues.  

 

Written by
Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President
“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®
ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com