Review:
I admit to being a little curious when they announced that The
Terrible Trio would be introduced in The Batman – it’s one of the most frequently based episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and considering that we’ve yet to see the introduction of several of
Batman’s bigger villains or real fleshing out of the one’s already introduced, I wasn’t sure it was the best idea to go with this far along in the show’s run. The problem with the original Terrible Trio was that said trio were simpering twits who reeked of arrogance and had little else to them. The potential for something special was there, especially if they had been portrayed as the anti-Bruce Wayne
– rich kids who use their wealth and influence for evil, petty or personal gain instead of saving the city as Bruce vowed to – or as
Batman said himself that scum like this are worse than the Joker, he has insanity as an excuse.
To be fair to the episode, it’s not terrible. It’s actually pretty good but nothing outstanding, which seems to be the main problem with this season so far. Giving the excellent standards season four reached, it’s a bit of a disappointment to see a dip in quality, even if it’s not a tremendous one. The biggest change was with the trio themselves, who are not longer rich jerks, but depressed college students – the quiet people you know but don’t ever bother talking to, so relating the episode to Bruce Wayne is out of the question. Robin is absent from the episode for the first time since his debut (I won’t subject you to another carry on about how brilliant Robin is) and Batgirl makes her most prominent appearance of the season thus far as she knows the villains – they go to college with her. I admit to being slightly surprised that Barbara is old enough to go to college but it’s not something that will keep me up at night. Given that the show isn’t trying to relate to teenage girls anymore (thank God), there’s no reason not to age
Barbara a little. This episode is a difficult one to review – sure, it’s better than the original Batman episode but it’s not great, it’s not terrible, it’s just good. There’s some good lines (Batman’s line about the monkey being the best) the show’s usual stellar animation and a nice ending. The show has done far worse, but it’s also done much, much better. |
