The pilot began with introducing Jaime Reye’s Blue Beetle to DC Animation. Actually, this was also the first cartoon to feature any of the Blue Beetle incarnations. This was only two years after Jaime was introduced, so it was certainly a big deal. Jaime also happens to be absolutely adorable — Batman Beyond alum Will Friedle plays him so sweetly and I love how expressive his Blue Beetle helmet is. My favorite from him is “Night of the Huntress” where Jaime falls for the Huntress and for some reason feels comfortable enough to ask Batman about girls. Batman’s deadpan responses are priceless.
There are a lot of small notable moments with other characters throughout the episodes. Elongated Man and Plastic Man have a fight over which one of them Batman likes best. Black Canary hits on Batman for a few episodes here and there before she gets together with Green Arrow. Batgirl and Nightwing make a few appearances although not as many as I would have wanted. Even Damian Wayne makes an appearance … although he’s now the son of Catwoman and his story turns out to be what is essentially fan fic written by Alfred. I should have guessed it wasn’t real because Damian actually seemed cheerful.
There are too many side characters to count on this show, but some of the voice talent included Wil Wheaton, JK Simmons, Henry Winkler, Alan Tudyk, Ron Perlman and even Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy! The wide selection of rotating characters was a unique aspect to the show — there was always something unexpected.
In many ways, the villains tended to be the weak link. This wasn’t the case all the time, but personally it just wasn’t as much fun to watch the villains. The Joker didn’t do much for me (although I appreciated that they went for someone completely different than Mark Hamill) and even fun characters like Catwoman seemed a little off. However, there were also insane character concepts like Babyface, the gangster with a baby’s head. Oh, and his wife has a man’s head, five o’clock shadow and everything. The villains all worked really well in a cold open involving Joker hosting a comedy roast for Batman … while Batman himself roasts on a spit in front of them. Solomon Grudy’s attempt at a joke is particularly amusing and Jeffery Ross cameos as himself.
But you know who’s the best character on the show? Aquaman. Yeah, that’s right. Aquaman is amazing in this because he’s 100% cheese and the show just embraces it wholeheartedly. He also has a total man crush on Batman and it comes back in various places. Aquaman is voiced by the brilliant John DiMaggio, who gives him an old-fashioned bravado with never-ending enthusiasm. If you need any proof of this character’s awesomeness, check out his Rousing Song of Heroism. I would also suggest checking out “Journey to the Center of the Bat,” where Aquaman is teamed up with straight-laced The Atom. Think The Odd Couple, but with more ocean puns.
“Legend of the Dark Mite” is really the series at it’s most meta (and it happens to be written by Paul Dini of B:TAS). The Bat-Mite (Paul Reubens) comes to this dimension because he’s a huge fan of Batman and ends up forcing him to do cool stuff for his amusement. At one point in the episode they actually show an alternate universe Comic-Con where Bat-Mite addresses the critics of Batman: Brave and the Bold‘s retro style. The Con also features two Joker and Harley cosplayers who look like Bruce Timm and Dini. Oh, and this episode features a parody of the B:TAS opening credits for good measure.
My other favorite episode was actually the one that got me to check out the show in the first place — “Mayhem of the Music Meister.” Tony sensation and Dr. Horrible himself Neil Patrick Harris is a music-themed villain whose technology forces people to sing instead of speak. So, a good portion of the episode is in song and I’m a sucker for musical episodes. It’s just a treat to watch, especially when Batman pulls out the Bat-Autotuner … no, I’m not kidding. He already has shark repellant, so of course he’s going to have an auto-tuner in his utility belt.
The show was at its best when it was going for the crazy concept. This is the show that had Batman and Green Arrow go back in time and save King Arthur. This is the show that had The Atom and Aquaman shrink down and travel through Batman’s body (Aquaman rides a lymphocyte like a seahorse). This is the show that had Batman go to an alternate past and save Abraham Lincoln from a cyborg John Wilkes Booth … and that was just in the cold open of that episode! Turning on Brave and the Bold meant something utterly ridiculous every time and that’s what I love about it. It might not be your thing, but I didn’t think I’d like it, either — it’s a fun show if you let yourself be open to its flavor of fun.
Oh, this is also the show that had Batman team up with Sherlock Holmes who immediately deduces he’s a wealthy vigilante from the future with a tragic past stemming from his parents’ murder. Bad ass.
And so ends Batman Month on CartoonClack. It’s interesting that this last cartoon I reviewed is the least like the Dark Knight Rises, which opens in the US in less than 24 hours. But that’s the great thing about a character like Batman — he can mean different things to different people. Even now Cartoon Network is working on Beware the Batman, coming to DC Nation next year, that looks to be totally different from the four shows I covered this month. Whether powerful and determined, older and regretful, young with a bit of a smirk, flat out silly or (most likely in the case of the Dark Knight Rises) utterly tragic, you can enjoy the many facets of the Dark Knight of Gotham and find something new every time. And that’s why he’s my favorite.
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Jul 19, 2012 @ 14:56 EST5EDT
This show also had some of the villains in the background from the old Adam West series like King Tut and Egghead.
I also liked that the series finale was very meta.