Quotes
NICK: The way I hear it, he isn't even human! He's like a giant pterodactyl beast with big fangs and talons! And when he sees a bad guy, he swoops down from the sky and carries him off! Skree! Skree!
—
GUARD: The Joker! I'd better stay on my toes!
CUT BACK TO THE KIDS.
NICK: "Better stay on my toes"? He actually said that? Out Loud?
MATT: I don't know. This is how my uncle tells it.
—
50's BATMAN: Hold it right there, Joker!
50's JOKER: Eh?
HE LOOKS UP TO SEE BATMAN AND ROBIN IN THE SKYLIGHT.
50's JOKER: Batman!
50's BATMAN: We got your clue about stealing laughter, "The comedy is finished".
50's ROBIN: A famous line from Paliacci , the opera about a sad clown.
50's BATMAN: It was your twisted way of saying you'd steal the original score.
50's ROBIN: Now we're going to make our own clown cry.
—
50's BATMAN: Well done, old chum!
BATMAN AND ROBIN SHAKE HANDS.
—
JOEL: Hey! Who's talking about Batman? I love Batman. All those muscles, the tight rubber armor and that flashy car. I heard it can drive up walls.
NICK: Yeah, sure, Joel.
—
80's BATMAN: They don't even wait for an order. Kids these days. No respect.
—
LEADER: I show you who rules Gotham City!
80's BATMAN: Okay, son. Show me.
—
80's BATMAN: You don't get it, son. This isn't a trash heap.
BATMAN GRABS THE MUTANT LEADERS LEG.
80's BATMAN: It's an operating table.
THE LEADER'S VOICE SHRIEKS WITH PAIN AS A SICKENING CRUNCH IS HEARD.
80's BATMAN: And I'm the surgeon.
—
MATT: He got my signal!
BATMAN (to Firefly): I heard you were setting fires for money, Lynns. A little pressure, and your client gave up where'd you be.
MATT (disappointed): Oh.
—
MATT: See? He was just like I said!
CARRIE: What are you talking about? Did you see the way he fought!?
MATT: Yeah, but he also had that foam thing.
NICK: And when he flew away at the end, I'm telling you, he's not human.
CARRIE: Get off it, he's human.
NICK: I don't know. I thought I saw fangs. . .
Review: This episode presents three great views of the greatest hero, but only really to the die-hard fans. This episode would have been confusing to some who didn't understand the concept of the 50's Batman and The Dark Knight Returns.
While they were presented with terrific accuracy, non-fans of the comics may have thought the mini-plots, especially the Frank Miller segment, were pointless. The Joker stealing the music gave it's own little explanation, but the Dark Knight segment only truly worked if you knew what was going on from the comic book. The final representation, the animated version of Batman vs the Firefly, was short but sweet, mixing the other two types of 'Batmen' to what he is today, but it was a little lacking in excitement like the other two segments, and feels pretty low-stakes and ho-hum in comparison. When watching this episode with my friends, I had to explain things like why Batman was so chunky, why there was a female-Robin, why giant props were funny, and what the heck was Batman driving. The overall effect was lost to people who just didn't know what the producers were trying to achieve. The animation was somewhat lacking in the 'realtime' scenes with the three kids, Matt, Carrie and Nick, but the comic styles were perfect.
They captured Dick Sprang's style perfectly, with more than accurate images of Batman, Robin, and Joker. Even the thugs and guard looked as if they were drawn by Sprang himself! Miller's style was captured as well, but was simplified for the show. It still gave a perfect rendition though, and with Michael Ironside's (Darkseid on Superman) voice as
Batman, it was just wonderful. But for all the great this episode does, it also does something really distasteful, specifically the questionable scene with the clear jab at Joel Schumacher, the director of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. His portrayal here as a feminine, rubber-loving young boy is a low blow from the episode’s creative team. While most people wouldn’t have understood anyhow, the joke is still pretty tasteless and even homophobic. An otherwise really enjoyable episode is nearly ruined by something so clearly wrong. The creators should’ve known better. |
