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THE BATMAN: THE
COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON
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Oh so that’s what was missing from “The
Batman.” Superman! I hate to go on yet another Super geek rant here
folks, but “The Batman”… wasn’t good. It was watered down, bland, and
everything else. The integration of Batgirl and Robin was horrible and
added an even worse bitter flavor to the series that bordered on sheer
pre-K hijinks once the costumed brats began fighting crime with the Dark
Knight. In “The Batman/ Superman Story” we get a glimpse of the new mold
of Superman which is quite fantastic and adds an extra depth to the
Batman universe by introducing the man of steel out of the confines of
the Bruce Timm model. It’s a welcome change. Superman looks fantastic
here, and even better we get some great voice work from much of the
original cast from the Superman verse including Clancy Brown, Dana
Delany, and George Newbern. I will say this for the writers: They fit
the Superman character well but had it all mixed up by painting Superman
as this brooding loner who preferred working on his own, while Batman
was a family man who enjoyed the help from his family. No. Superman is
the family man, the every man, the all-American do-gooder. Batman is the
introvert who prefers the company of his own demons. But I don’t hold
that against them because Superman is here in his full glory with a
great classic storyline involving Lex’s attempts to control Superman
through Kryptonite, this also sets the stage for Batman to fight
Superman with his robotic suit that… fails. Obviously.
I would more than welcome a Superman show in the vein of “The Batman” or perhaps “Green Arrow” but sadly now that 4Kids has taken the kids programming from the WB, that may never pan out. However, “The Batman” finally gets entertaining and the guest spots are wonderful to watch. The two part finale is great if flawed, because the entire ploy seems weak. An alien uses robots to steal the powers of the Leaguers? The robots can be beaten and sucked of their powers by smashing their emblems? Okay, then. Either way, this two disc edition is superb and it’s one of the few releases of “The Batman” series I’ll gladly keep. In the way of extras, we have the eight minute “Team Ups” an explanation from the creators on why they decided to bring us five team ups for the final season. There’s also the eleven minute “The Batman: Justice League Profiles” which admits that Superman is a bit more alienated in this variation, but… Superman isn’t a superior being in the sense where he feels he’s better than everyone else. Superman would welcome help from Batman. He’d be intrigued by him. The profiles are great and we learn some interesting things about the creators who wanted to do something different with the Leaguers for this go around. I’m glad we didn’t get “Smallville” Green Arrow. Yuck.
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