Batman: The Animated Series- I Am the Night

"A weary body can be dealt with. But a weary spirit... that's something else."

The title of this episode reminds me of Audioslave's "I Am the Highway"... but I digress before there's anything to digress from. Anyway, contrived though Batman's depression may be, this is a good episode. And contains another instance of homages to creators as cops refer to the "corner of Adams and O'Neil", a nice touch.

It's the anniversary of the murder of Bruce's parents, so he's already out of sorts, but then we have the double whammy of Jim Gordon being badly hurt while Batman is elsewhere and... well, for me, the contrived nature of it all doesn't work. This kind of depressive episode seems out of character for someone like Batman who, while I'm certainly no psychiatrist, just doesn't seem the type to doubt his purpose.

Regardless, though, it's a good episode for developing Bruce's relationships with those around him- Alfred, Robin, Lesley Thompkins, Jim and Barbara Gordon, and it gets away with its flaws. It's just that I suspect this is a highly popular episode... and, for me, it isn't quite up there.

Batman: The Animated Series- Heart of Steel, Part II

 "I'm getting too old for this kind of thing."

Part two continues the story in the vein we'd expect, and it's a very topical one in 2025, with the AI apocalypse clearly imminent: today, Chat GPT. Tomorrow, Skynet. And it's all cleverly done, with Mr Rossum revealed to have started all this for the very human reason of mourning his daughter, but the machines taking over... literally. I wish I knew more about R.U.R., the original play: no doubt there are references that go over my head.

It's not just Jim who gets a robot duplicate this time: Mayor Hill, even Bullock. Yet it's not Batman who gets the suspicion something's wrong- it's Barbara Gordon, who knows that that is not her father. She also does some rather effective investigating, and may even save Batman's life at the end. One might almost think, given her evident relish for this sort of thing, that she might be auditioning for the role of another flying rodent themed nocturnal crimefighter...

A satisfying conclusion to a highly effective two-parter, and a great showcasing of Barbara Gordon.

Batman: The Animated Series- P.O.V.

 "I guess Batman must have gotten a second wind after Detective Bullock dragged him out, because he was in rare form!"

I'm increasingly enjoying not only the subtle '40s style of this series but the fact that the titles being shown on screen is clearly intended to evoke movie serialds. There's a lot of clever stylistic touches thatI'm increasingly coming to appreciate, and the animation continueas to be superb.

But... Batman: The Animated Series does Rashomon. In twenty minutes. And it's superb.

I love how Bullock's low level dodginess is contrasted with the earnestness of Montoya and her fellow rookie but, more than that, with the depiction of Batman as he appears to these overawed young cops. At first I wondered whether Batman would get to speak at all but, of course, he does, as he and Montoyatake down the baddies together.

I simply love the mood of this episode- very noir. This is, let's admit it, not a good day- the next American president is going to be a terrifying fascist, not good for Ukraine and by extension Europe, for the climate emergency, for the very notion of the "West", for decency or, indeed, the freedom of the orange fascist's own country. But good art has its consolations and so, in its small way, is the case here.