Teaming Up To Fight Crime
The Brave And the Bold is more of a children’s version of Batman than the original Animated Series, but it still offers some solid cartoon entertainment for adults. In Volume 2, viewers once again follow Batman and his various team-ups as they battle a variety of criminals.
The first episode, “Day of the Dark Knight!” has Batman working with friendly rival Green Arrow. Batman and Green Arrow are on the planet of the Green Lantern Corps when a prison outbreak occurs. The duo begin to repel the rebellion, but they’re warped to another dimension and come face to face with the magician Merlin. An evil sorceress manages to get Batman turned into a slave demon, but the effect is only temporary. With the help of Merlin and Green Arrow, Batman is able to recover his consciousness and stop the evil sorceress.
Episode two, “Enter the Outsiders!” features The Outsiders, a group of teenagers who have special powers. The Outsiders are rebelling against society’s cliques and social structure by destroying music stores and malls. Batman confronts the trio that includes Katana and Black Lightning, with the help of Wildcat, and old superhero. At first, it’s two on three, but eventually the Outsiders team up to fight against a common enemy. By episode’s end, The Outsiders have a different attitude and outlook on life.
“Dawn of the Dead Men!” pits Batman against the Gentlemen Ghost, who is determined to raise an army of undead so that he can take over Gotham. Batman gets buried alive in a graveyard and uses a Tibetan mediation technique to step outside of his body. He meets a “spirit,” that teams up with Batman to fight and stop Gentleman Ghost before he’s able to resurrect the undead army, and before Batman’s air capsule runs out.
The fourth and final episode of Volume 2 is “Fall of the Blue Beetle!”. In this episode, Batman and Blue Beetle tag team to take on creations from the old Blue Beetle on Science Island. Batman combats dozens of robotic bugs as he and Blue Beetle make a desperate escape from the island before it blows up.
Throughout each episode, the animation looks great. Some 3D animation is mixed in with the 2D, but the show is primarily done in 2D. Colors are vibrant and distinguished, and the sounds are also good. Other than a few trailers from other WHV or Cartoon Network DVDs, there are no extra features.
To the summary…