Written by Pirata Hermosa
In the many years since his creation in 1939 Batman has been through many changes. In the most recent incarnation that runs on the Cartoon Network, the caped crusader has drifted to a lighter version of his character and has taken a step back from the current hard-hitting, brooding, no-nonsense superhero that has been portrayed through the most recent films and television shows.
While he still remains one of the baddest crime fighters ever to walk Gotham City, the fact that he has a sense of humor, can smile, and even takes joy in friendly competition with his friend Green Arrow makes his overall character more human.
Each episode features Batman teaming up with a different superhero as partners. While Robin is not featured in this set, you get a variety of others, such as Blue Beetle, The Outsiders, Wildcat, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Bronze Tiger, and Green Lantern just to name a few.
There are two particularly entertaining stories that stand out. “Invasion of the Secret Santas,” is a fun Christmassy episode that pairs Batman with the Red Tornado, who is trying to experience the Christmas Spirit, while the two go around smashing evil Santa Claus robots bent on taking over the city. It’s a humorous episode filled with fun.The other comes in two-parts: “Deep Cover for Batman” and “Game Over for Owlman”. In this storyline Batman finds himself on an alternate Earth. But on this planet, all the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good. So not only do you get an extra set of heroes and villains, but you get to watch him pummel his friends. And when he teams up with the mysterious Red Hood from the second Earth to save both planets, it lifts the story to an entirely different level.
This DVD set includes two discs containing the first 13 episodes of season one. There are no Special Features included.While the new series is quite enjoyable, not everyone will like the lighter tone it takes. It still deals with the serious issue of Bruce’s parents being killed, but doesn’t dwell on it. Most of the time it does a fairly good job of staying away from being too silly, but sometimes it does dip a little too low. The overly boisterous, loud-mouthed, over-the-top Aquaman is the best example of when it goes too far. But if you really are a Batman fan, it would probably be a nice edition to your collection.
Article first published as DVD Review: Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season One, Part One on Blogcritics.
