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Cry Freedom Fighters!
Original Airdate - November 12th, 2010
When an alien race tries to invade Earth,
Batman, Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters
(led by the Uncle Sam) race to their planet to
stop them.
Written by Steven Melching (script), Thomas
Pugsley (story)
Directed by Ben Jones
Review by Andrew
Media by Warner Bros. Animation |
Cast
Diedrich Bader as Batman
Tom Kenny as Plastic Man
Hope Levy as
Stargirl / Phantom Lady
Jason Miller as Doll
Man / Black Condor
Peter Renaday as Uncle Sam
Wade Williams as Supreme Chairman / Mantis
Music
Theme Written and Performed by Andy Strumer
Music by Michael McCuisition, Lolita Ritmanis,
Kristopher Carter
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Media
Video
Clips
Review
The teasers throughout the two seasons have been
frequently used to introduced upcoming major characters
and story arcs, and it seems that once again this is the
case. Introducing the first of Jack Kirby’s fan-cherised
New Gods is the goofy looking Mantis, whose appearance
seems to solely suggest that more is coming. His fight
with Stargirl, also a first appearance for Brave and the
Bold, is a pretty well done fight even if we don’t
really have any idea as to what they’re fighting for -
or why they’re in a residential neighborhood. Despite
the diversity of the newbies for the teaser, the real
shining moment comes from Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes).
Obviously he’s been featured very prominently throughout
the show, but his appearance here is something special
as it places him in the position of veteran hero rather
than lighthearted apprentice. What really sells it
though is simply that it’s not dwelled on; he’s not
constantly pointing out that he’s no longer a budding
hero. Instead, he actually focuses on the task at hand
and that really is the best way to depict that he’s
matured.
Going in a completely unrelated
direction from the teaser, the main story introduces us
to another Golden Age team that has been mostly lost in
obscurity but lives on in the hearts of their devoted
fans - and now in animated form. Much like the Metal Men
and the Doom Patrol, we’re introduced thoroughly to the
team’s roster of heroes, although fortunately in a way
that doesn’t take up too much time. The Freedom Fightes
are a patriotically-themed group of heroes that,
honestly, may not sit well with most people at this time
with patriotism becoming something of a dirty word.
Regardless, it’s very simple to look past the saturated
theme as the episode’s writer does a fantastic job with
actually staying away from political commentary. There
might be something of a subtle message to take away from
the plot of the episode, but if there is then it is
incredibly subtle and could even be that you’re looking
too deeply into it.
Although we had plenty of
Plastic Man featured at the start of this season, it’s
nice to see him back after something of a break. He
continues to lack the ability to grasp onto the
seriousness of a situation, but it’s written well enough
that it’s simply fun and fitting to the character
without going out of the way to be funny. The same can
be said for the comedy throughout the entire episode, as
it all feels natural and well placed. Most notably is
Plastic Man’s parody of Yankie-Doodle Dandy, which
garnered a bit more of an “uh…what?” reaction, but it
didn’t take too long and the lyrics themselves made it a
very clever parody. The Freedom Fighters themselves were
very enjoyable, and as I said, thoroughly introduced.
Their unique personalities were even clearly depicted
without ever seeming overbearing to the scene as though
forced in at the last minute.
Overall, I was
worried that introducing a team of potentially
politically over-burdened characters wouldn’t come off
very well, and leave something of a bad taste after
viewing. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find
this episode to be completely enjoyable with humorous
dialogue, a new team I had no previous knowledge of, and
the unexpected animated cameo of President Barack Obama.
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