| Review Monkeys! Who doesn’t love monkeys? Okay, so in Speak No Evil, our special guest is technically a gorilla, but close enough for me. He’s big, strong and obviously spends a decent amount of the episode smashing things, and throwing big things through windows. Naturally, it’s
Batman’s job to capture and reel this bad boy in. However, when Terry finally meets up with our hairy friend, he discovers not only does he have the brawn, but he has the brains as well. Curious, Batman decides to investigate the labs at Gotham University. In the first episode of the second season, it was discovered that Dr.
Cuvier spliced humans with Animal DNA in order to enhance their speed, strength and other abilities. The Scientists at the university were involved in animal intelligence tests and spliced human DNA with a gorilla to increase it’s intelligence. Now this freak of science has escaped and it’s up to Batman to clean up the mess. Batman manages to trail the Gorilla, and surprisingly discovers that he speaks as well as he fights. The Gorilla introduces himself as Fingers, a gorilla who was captured by some poachers and then sold to the university. Now Fingers wants to go after Van Dyle, the poacher who separated him from his mother. However, Batman convinces Fingers to let him try and bring Van Dyle to justice first. Fingers gives Batman until dawn, but when Batman fails miserably to capture Van Dyle, he gets fed up and has to save Batman from becoming lion chow. A final confrontation takes place between Fingers and Van Dyle with Van
Dyle on the receiving end of a Gorilla Chokehold, but Batman intervenes and convinces Fingers to let Van Dyle be brought to justice. At the end of the episode, Terry and Bruce offer to remove the human DNA from
Fingers, but he refuses stating: "I want to remember. I’ve been given a gift. I’m as strong as a gorilla, but as smart as a human" Notes and Analysis
Terry, Bruce and Fingers all lost one or all of their parents. "Speak No Evil" mirrors the Batman Beyond The Ongoing Comics #3. Except that at the end of the comic, the spliced tiger decides to revert back to a tiger. Like Golem, this is an episode that has a message, but is fun as well.
The environmental message is communicated without taking over the plot.
It doesn’t get corny or preachy like Captain Planet, but actually furthers the development of Fingers as a character. The ending was satisfying as well, by leaving Fingers the way he is instead of reverting him back to a Gorilla. I’d certainly feel sorry for the poacher who tries to capture him now…but not that sorry. | 
