Batman: The Animated Series- Terror in the Sky

 "Who wants to live with a monster?"

These episodes are twenty minutes long, not a long time. So, by now quite a way into the first season, with the Animated Series no longer being new, we've seen which types of storytelling works for such short episodes. And this episode may well be the poster child for the type of episode based on a twist.

I suppose some may have guessed the twist- that this new Man-Bat figure was not in fact Kirk Langstron and- after all, we had an early clue / bit of misdirection that it had to be either Langstrom or Francine- but the most ironic candidate possible. But I certainly didn't, and found the episode to be hugely satisfying in terms both of plot and character. There's a bit of romance, a bit of intrigue, a bit of old fashioned Dark Knight Detective stuff from the Batman.

All this, and lots of great visuals in the snow, peril with a plane, and a heartwarming final scene. Great stuff.

Batman: The Animated Series- Tyger, Tyger

 "Your father was a test tube..."

Meh.

I mean, the story sort of works. A rich mad scientist has an island off Gotham where he goes all Dr Moreau and performs genetic experiments. He kidnaps Selina Kyle, turns her into a literal Catwoman, Batman has to rescue her, there exists a highly convenient antidote, there's the obligatory tragic Quasimodo/King Kong figure. Lots of these tropes are highly predictable, but there's nothing wrong with this.

But, well, where are they going with the character of Selina Kyle? She's sort of reformed- although she is at least tempted to free the tiger from the zoo at the start- so what to do with the character now? Simply using her as a damsel in distress is... not great. The series needs to think very hard at this point about what to do with the character.

I suppose it's good to see Kirk Langstrom again, just advising Batman- this sort of thing helps flesh out the setting, which is good. But otherwise... not exactly the best episode.

Batman: The Animated Series- On Leather Wings

 "I only toss butlers, Alfred..."

And so it begins.

I'm watching these in production order, as I'm, reliably informed the broadcast order ill all over trhe place. I'll do a season for now, then see how it goes, but it has to ber said this is quite my period. It's 1992, before Bane and Azrael and Tim Drake and whatnot: I know the lore pretty well at this point.

And you know what? This is excellent stuff. Confession time: I started watching the first episode of the '90s X-Men cartoon some months ago in preparation for X-Men '97, and, despite my fond memories... it was bloody awful. I may or may not try again at some point. But this, at least, is superb.

The plot is straightforward- a mysterious bat-like figure is stealing pharmaceuticals and the police blame Batman, but it's actually Man-Bat. Simple. But simple is needed, as this is the first episode and we only have twenty-two minutes to tell the story. We 're introduced tothe early '90s, slightly acerbic Bruce-Alfred dynamic. Commissioner Gordon is world-weary, plagued by politics and the delightfully annoying Harvey Bullock... and then there's a brief glimpse of the district attorney, one Harvey Dent, whom I'm sure will remain a very... singular fellow.

The characters, the dialogue, the angular animation- all are very good indeed. And it all oozes just enough of the Tim Burton style- the music, the Batmobile design, while being very clearly its own beast. And the title card at the start- it seems inspired by the movie serials.

A necessarily functional start, but a good one. Let's see where this goes.