Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Reviews 48cryfreedom

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

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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