| Review I wasn’t a big fan of Penguin’s first appearance on the show; the
show was trying to warp the character into something it just doesn’t naturally
fit into. In Oswald’s (or “Ozzy’s”) place, he was supposed to be younger,
spryer, and able to actually throw punches and fight The Batman without being
immediately slapped down. This is fine—it’s cool to see the villains actually be
able to be a challenge for The Batman instead of throwing bodyguards at him…but
when Penguin’s two Kabuki Twins last barely any time against The Batman and the
Penguin takes five or six times as long…I just don’t get it. Penguin’s not the
body type to be doing all the flying and dashing and fighting he does, but he
gets away with it anyway. That’s really my only problem with the character—I’m
all for change, but only when it makes sense. Penguin peeves aside, this episode wasn’t all that terrible. It was neat to see
more of the mansion (a study entrance that leads to the Batcave, via a clock),
the kitchen and the same painting of Bruce’s father in two (or was it three)
different areas of the house. Per usual, the episode doesn’t make a whole lot of
sense; Penguin’s character is reduced to having a grudge against the Wayne
family for a second time. His Kabuki Twins seem to have been severely
powered-down, not nearly as acrobatic and nasty as they were in “The Call of the
Cobblepot” and Penguin has a new array of umbrellas (ranging from a helicopter
to a spinning, razor-sharp “top”), but aside from that, no characters get
developed, nothing moves the story along—it’s just a generic and very pointless
episode. Unfortunately, this is what season one has seemed to be: a bunch of
clichéd plots, boring and pun-filled dialogue all wrapped up in some nice
animation. I can’t say I recommend the episode to anyone, as it did nothing. If you like
the show and what its doing, then chances are you’ll like the episode. Aside
from some nice animation and money-shots, the show is just getting redundant and
tiresome. |
