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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
All of Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton's reviews
of the new-style BTAS episodes and BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links,
which link to "Two-Face's Tower of Tranquility and Terror":
NOTE: Amazingly, I never got around to reviewing
this episode yet. Well, that time has finally come. Enjoy!
<BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES>
OVER THE EDGE
Written by Paul Dini
Directed by Yuichiro Yano
Animation by TMS
Original air date: April 28, 1998 - UK exclusive
Original air date: May 23, 1998 - North American date
My rating: ****1/2
WOW.
What can I say about this episode? It was
certainly the best of the new batch, and one of the finest ever.
The episode opens with Gordon, Bullock, Montoya,
and the GCPD SWAT Team chasing Batman and Robin through the Batcave, guns
blazing. To prevent an escape, the Batmobile is nuked. We hear Gordon address
Batman as Bruce Wayne before he fires again - of course, we know that
something is terribly wrong. Batman and Robin hide behind Two-Face's giant
penny (from "Almost Got 'Im"), and to make their getaway, they roll
it at the cops - they scatter and this buys the dynamic duo just enough time
to drop down to the lower cave where the Batboat is.
Just before Batman and Robin make it to the
Batboat, Gordon has a clear shot at Bats' head - just before he's about to
fire, Alfred runs out of nowhere and tackles him, and is immediately arrested.
Batman and Robin get away in the Batboat; as soon as they sail into the ocean
a police boat careens into them and after one warning, starts shooting
missiles at the Batboat;
Nightwing comes onto the scene out of nowhere on a skidoo, blows up the police
boat and escorts Batman and Robin to his hideout in downtown Gotham.
Just minutes into the episode, there has been a
tremendous amount of action, and even some extensive CGI work - not as well
done as in Sub-Zero, but very good - this CGI work makes the battle on the
high seas very real. And this work now raises many questions - such as,
"What the hell is going on?"
Back at Nightwing's lair, Bruce, Dick, and Tim,
still in costume, discuss what has happened, to bring their crusade to an end.
Batman begins to tell the story...
A night or two earlier, the Scarecrow had taken
Mayor Hill hostage at City Hall. While Batman and Robin take care of his
henchmen, Scarecrow escapes to the roof, and Batgirl follows. Once there, she
tackles a Scarecrow dummy, and, in shock, dumbfounded that she could be
tricked that easily, the real Scarecrow, in complete silence, creeps up out of
the shadows, whacks her with the stick hard, and she slowly teeters and falls
over the edge of the building...
Gordon and Bullock are in a squad car on the
street below, and after a couple seconds of silence, Batgirl smashes through
the windshield and flops onto the pavement. Above, Scarecrow lets out a
blood-curdling laugh, and Batman, seeing what he has done, beats the living
crap out of him.
This has got to be one of the most chilling scenes
in any Batman story ever. The level of graphic violence shown here is
unprecedented in any BTAS show. The fact that it happens to a woman makes it
all the more chilling - I must say that I'm suprised the censors didn't change
this - but I'm glad they didn't. Scarecrow is as chilling as always, and the
fact that he says nothing in the entire show besides his laugh makes him all
the more menacing.
Gordon quickly rushes over to Batgirl, and after
she mumbles out "Dad, help me...", he whisks off her mask and
discovers the secret his daughter had been hiding from him all these years. He
holds her, cries, and she goes limp in his hands.
Batman quickly rushes down (did Scarecrow get
away???) and sees Gordon clutching his dead daughter. Gordon immediately
blames him for the death, and is infuriated that after all these years of
working together, he never told him that his own daughter was part of his
vigilante team. Bullock steps in, and is about to arrest Batman, before Robin
shoots the gun out of his hand and they get away. Gordon knows they can't
catch him by chasing him (such as in Mask of the Phantasm), so he lets him get
away for now - he covers up the dead Barbara Gordon with his overcoat and the
scene changes.
Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce, Tim, and Alfred mourn
over the loss of Barbara in the study. The phone rings. Bruce answers and
Gordon tells him that he knows who he is now - he searched on Barbara's
computer and it revealed all of the secrets of the Batcave and its members.
Bruce tries to level with him, saying that his parents were taken the same way
- by fate - and Gordon, showing no mercy, virtually declares war on Wayne
Manor. The SWAT team busts in with a battering ram, and the three in the den
hide in the Batcave. This brings us back to the present.
Another great point about this episode is that
Commissioner Gordon's character is finally being developed some more. His
relationship and interaction with Batman in this episode is superb and the
emotions he feels are very real. Who wouldn't go to the ends of the earth to
seek revenge on someone who had a hand in killing their child? While most
wouldn't, the wanting to would still exist.
Now that all of their secret identities have been
blown, Batman and Robin hide in Nightwing's lair while Nightwing goes back to
his apartment to get food and supplies so they can survive. As soon as
Nightwing enters his apartment, the cops pop out of nowhere - they were
waiting for him. Nightwing escapes to the roof, where he meets a police
helicopter, and it starts shooting wildly - everything fades out.
Well, sadly, Nightwing didn't die. If he did, the
episode would be all the more brooding. Another brief note is that since
Nightwing and Batgirl were like boy-girlfriend with each other, why didn't he
mourn her death more? Oh well. Just a minor point. Nightwing is arrested and
thrown in jail with Alfred. Two heroes down, two to go.
Batman, knowing that he's got nothing to lose now,
tells Tim to run away - no one would blame a kid for what happened. Tim turns
and runs away without looking back.
Due to his involvment with a team of vigilantes,
one of which being his own daughter, Commissioner Gordon is fired from the
GCPD. But he is still thirsty for revenge, so he takes a trip to Blackgate
prison and hires its most infamous inmate to kill Batman.
Batman watches over Barbara's funeral - yet
another very moody scene. Seeing stuff like this in a kids cartoon just
doesn't seem right - it's very uneasy to watch, and that's what makes it so
good. Gordon knows that Batman would be watching too, so he set up a load of
snipers in the area to shoot Batman if he is seen. One sees him, gunfire
follows, and Batman escapes to the roof, where he runs into the new, improved,
"I'm still a really tough guy after you pull out my venom tube"
Bane, the one whom Gordon hired. A huge fight ensues, and even more CGI work
is used. Batman throws Bane onto an adjoining roof - the roof of Police
Headquarters. Gordon arrives to watch the show, and tells Bane to keep him
alive so Batman can be locked up in Arkham; Bane refuses, throws Gordon over
the edge of the building, and steps on his hands to send him to a grave
alongside his daughter. Batman throws Bane into the Batsignal and shatters it;
Batman cuts his venom tube, ties it to one of the livewires from the shattered
signal, and electrocutes Bane. Batman rushes over to grab Gordon and just
before he does, Bane uses his last ounce of strength to hurl the entire
Batsignal at the two, and collapses, dead, after Batman and Gordon fall to
their deaths...
Soft moaning and a loud scream break through the
night and next we see Barbara waking up in the Batcave - it was just a
nightmare, brought on by Scarecrow's fear gas. I was happy to see that this
wasn't just a lame "Oh, it was just a dream" type ending - we see
that Barbara's worst fear is keeping her vigilante life secret from her
father. Also, the dream provided us with a great Dark Knight Returns type
story - the final Batman story. A great "what if" story - and it
showed everything, in a brutally realistic fashion. The final scene with
Barbara and her father, about to tell him her secret, is a nice touch too.
The only part that I thought was completely out of
place was the scene where Harley Quinn, Mad Hatter, Riddler, and Ventriloquist
appear on a talkshow, saying that Batman drove them to insanity. Having this
segment thrown in totally spoiled the mood and broke up the story - and none
of the villains even had a good appearance in it. This is the only reason why
I didn't give the episode a five-star rating. Harley was acting stupid and
Riddler and Ventriloquist didn't say a word. Mad Hatter's appearance was OK -
we get to see his new elf-like design, but I'd still have prefered this
segment to be thrown out, because it has nothing to do with the core story.
Now, if villains with more intense relationships with Batman - Joker, Catwoman,
and Two-Face, namely - were shown, it may have been better. (Coincidentally,
it was these three villains that appeared in Frank Miller's "THE DARK
KNIGHT RETURNS", another tale about Batman's "final journey".)
But as it stands, this talk-show segment was poor, especially since it ruined
the mood. Harley's part was the worst - she wasn't even funny here. (I'm sorry
to be picky but must Harley be in every Dini episode?) I think having only the
fearful villains here - Scarecrow and Bane - would have been fine. Oh well -
so this was just one little segment that sucked, in an otherwise great episode
- I can't complain.
Overall, this episode is fantastic. An instant
classic. (Of course, we all know that it wasn't real - we know that Batgirl
will live on for another 50 years to become Police Commissioner in Batman
Beyond, and mentioning Scarecrow at the beginning hints at the fact that it's
all a hallucination, much like in "Perchance to Dream". Awesome,
awesome, awesome. Just don't expect to see much of the villains in this one -
the story revolves around the heroes for once - but Scarecrow and Bane still
do a lot of cool stuff. Mr. Dini, my hat goes off to you - awesome work,
except for the little part I just mentioned above...but I loved the episode. I
knew I would. Awesome story, characterization, animation, music, sounds,
everything. As Mr. Burns would say, "Excellent."
;-Y
Mr. Tindall was unable to submit an article to us
by the printing of this newsletter. Fear not,
he will return very soon.
_____________________
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where
I get to boggle the minds of all our readers!
*EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal
with ANY aspect of
the show or comics based on the show. Remember, answer the questions WITHIN
THE CONTEXT OF THE
ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun - let's see how well you do! Answers are
provided below.
Yet more craziness from the woodwork,
everyone...I'll think of a good theme sometime soon. I
just need some of that divine inspiration, is all...
276. What is the first name of the
"nerd" that starred in "TERRY'S FRIEND DATES A ROBOT"?
A: Howard
B: Willy
C: Peter
D: Paul
E: Mario
277. What was the first BTAS two-parter that made
it to air?
A: FEAT OF CLAY
B: TWO-FACE
C: THE CAT AND THE CLAW
D: HEART OF STEEL
E: ROBIN'S RECKONING
278. Which of the following initials are those of
a villain's civilian identity on BATMAN
BEYOND?
A: IB
B: HD
C: MH
D: PI
E: MW
279. It would seem that Veronica Vreeland has once
dyed her hair blonde. In what episode/comic
issue was this?
A: HARLEY'S HOLIDAY
B: BIRDS OF A FEATHER
C: MASK OF THE PHANTASM
D: SUB-ZERO
E: CATWALK
280. Which of the following characters have yet to
be introduced into the "animated" continuity?
A: Nightwing
B: The Huntress
C: Azrael
D: Anarky
E: Wonder Woman
______________________________________________
AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)
Answer to #276: A
Answer to #277: C
Answer to #278: A, E (Spellbinder, Ten)
Answer to #279: D
Answer to #280: C, E
