I’m just going to start off this review by once again declaring my unabashed love for this show. In the wrong hands, Batman, The Brave and the Bold could easily come off as childish and silly, if not just downright stupid.
It’s a tribute to this creative team that they are able to take such liberties with a much beloved character, and affectionately embrace the goofiness inherent in the idea of a comic book superhero, while still making this version of the Caped Crusader as entertaining as he is. Much like the classic Adam West live action Batman TV show of the 60’s, from which this show often reverently borrows, B&B is always respectfully aware of it’s audience, and never fails to deliver a lighter, more carefree Batman than we’ve been accustomed to seeing in the past few decades.
So as the show began, we were once again treated to yet another brilliant pre-episode wrap up – and this time it involved one of Batman’s oldest and most disturbing rogues, Two Face. As is often the case, the five-minute seemingly incongruous jump-to-the-end-of-the-action, action foreshadowed a bit of the main episode’s themes.
Ever since the acidy courtroom assault, one-time good guy Harvey Dent’s face, as well as the rest of his psyche, has been split evenly down the middle between good and ugly.
And with that particular peccadillo in mind, there could be no more fitting an introduction to this season’s final installment.
We’ve been teased off and on all season by this puzzling stranger who always seems to just barely get the better of our boy in blue, and with the season finale, “The Fate of Equinox,” his mysterious origins and motives are finally revealed to us, and of course, to Batman.
A character named Equinox has appeared before in the pages of DC comics, but this is clearly no relation to the half-fire/half-ice villain of the same name. This Equinox is, much like Two Face, obsessed with duality. Equinox however is no Arkham dropout, bent on thickening his wallet and getting the drop on Batman, flipping coins before making his grand moves. This foe’s intentions are far more ambiguous and he is a much more powerful antagonist.
The origin story was a little convoluted and soaked in more majiks and cosmic powers than I typically prefer my Batman villains, but it was still enjoyable overall.
The idea of Dr. Fate plucking out a dozen or so of Batman’s “closest friends,” sucking out all of their powers and siphoning them to ol cape and cowl has been done before in Saturday morning cartoons, but this show doesn’t mind borrowing familiar ideas.
From Aquaman’s superhuman strength, his abilities to command every creature in the sea, and his capacity to hold his breath underwater for a very long time, to Green Arrow’s really good aim, and all abilities in between, our old chum is transformed to a giant force of chaotic good, and sets off to outer space to battle the now supremely powered Equinox for the destiny of the entire universe.
Again, in lesser hands this episode would have no chance, and while it doesn’t rank among the true greats of the franchise, (see The Color of Revenge, Legends of The Dark Mite and Mayhem of the Music Meister) it was still an entertaining half hour of pure escapism.
I hope this does not spoil the episode for anyone who has yet to see it, but good conquers evil once again.
And so ends this chapter in the adventures of the tireless avenger, but fear not good citizens of Gotham, the new season will be here in a matter of weeks, and it looks like we’re going to have another all-star line-up as Bats and the gang take on that dreaded interplanetary despot, Mongol.
See you back here then. Same Brave and Bold time. Same Brave and Bold website!
Related: "The Fate of Equinox! " Image Gallery
Joe Oesterle is an award-winning writer and illustrator, but what he often fails to mention is that many of those awards were won on a New Jersey boardwalk. Pick up his latest books "Weird California" and "Weird Las Vegas" in any Barnes and Noble near you, and look for his next book, "Weird Hollywood," due out soon. www.JoeArtistWriter.com And if you enjoy stories of old-time comedians and oral sex, be sure to check out Joe’s latest article on his own blogsite, http://joeartistwriter.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/buddy-hacketts-allegeded-contractual-obligations/
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