It’s Magpie’s turn to step in to the spotlight in strong second episode to new Batman series.
Directed by Rick Morales
Written by Mitch Watson
Watch it on Cartoon Network USA @ 10:00 Saturdays!
Beware of spoilers!
Its week two in the world of CGI Batman and this week he’s facing off with a villainess who starts out struggling to step out from the shadow of Catwoman to make a name for herself.
I had the pleasure of being able to watch this episode live on TV in America as I was away on holiday for the original airdate. It was nice to be able to see the story unfold on screen before being able to be spoiled by the world of twitter.
As I have already covered some of the production aspects of this show in my review of episode one for this episode I will focus more on the story.
For a cartoon aimed at a young audience it is brilliant to see that storyline follow on directly from the conclusion of episode one. Scenes with Bruce, Alfred and Tatsu pick up immediately where they left off and events from that previous episode continue to have consequences here. The writers could easily have time jumped the show to a point where Alfred’s leg had healed from his injuries sustained at the hands of Pyg and Toad or could have dropped them completely as this isn’t an unknown tactic in children’s TV.
The continuing story will hopefully also apply to a bigger arc featuring Batman and the villains of the show as I think this would really help to set the show apart from previous versions of Batman on TV. The style of storytelling is reminiscent of recent DC animated shows like Young Justice and is a welcome addition to older viewers who will always undoubtedly tune in to this type of show.
This week’s villain is Magpie played by Grey DeLisle who is well known in the DC animation universe for appearing in many shows, DTV movies and also the recent Injustice: Gods Amongst Us video game. Just like Pyg and Toad I know very little about her history as a character and after her initial appearance on screen I struggled to set her apart from a clone of Catwoman but as the story progresses her insanity sets her apart from the the end she has carved herself a niche in this universe. Her character has enough personality and on-screen presence that she could easily slot in amongst some of the A-list villains that this show could pull out of its bag in the future.
It’s worth noting that after his brief appearance on the news in episode one Lt Gordon has a much beefed up role here and there’s even a surprise appearance by teenage daughter Barbara who is already showing an interest in the escapades of Batman. In a post BTAS world I’ve often felt that Gordon, along with other supporting players in the Batman world, hasn’t been portrayed well. The exception to that statement being Barbara’s recurring role in ‘The Batman’ season 3.
Those who felt that episode two was lacking some of Batman’s trademark detective skills will be happy to see that unlike the straight-up kidnapping in ‘Hunted’ there is an unmasking mystery at the heart of ‘Secrets’ which requires both Bruce and Batman to be on the ball. We’re seeing three different sides to the character being depicted in this show: the public side of Bruce Wayne; the real Bruce and Batman. Each has a distinctive tone to set them apart from the rest and here it continue to provide great material for Anthony Ruivivar to work with.
This series is shaping up to be a solid entry in to the animated Batman world and I’m looking forward to seeing the introduction of Anarchy in the next episode.
7/10
