the Brave and the Bold (mostly) Rocks

With it's snazzy jazzy score and thick designs, the opening of the newest Batman cartoon will almost surely displease fans of the "dark and gritty Batman".  however, the whole "Batman is always prepared for everything" mentality that has turned the character into the Silver Age Superman these days is quite present.

in the first cartoon he even has a bat light saber to cut up some robots.  and now his cape does every thing from turn into rockets so he can fly to become an aqualung.  well, OK, maybe not quite that, but still...

the cartoon is a lot of fun though, far better than "The Batman" and "Batman Beyond".  it's action packed and best of all, loaded with heroes for him to team up with, such as my old pal the Red Tornado, in new and unimproved costume.  this is a Christmas episode, in which we see the Tornado looking for the meaning of the season (he didn't watch Charlie Brown, apparently) and Batman being all broody because of his past.  he should get over it.  he's doing exactly what he wants to do, and that's more than most people ever would.  I mean, really, if he's all dark all the time he's never gonna have any friends.

which is completely at odds with the other three episodes of the show on this disc.  this is far closer to the real Batman, before all that "Dark Knight" stuff ruined him.  he smiles, makes jokes and actually trusts his fellow heroes.  a few episodes are done with narration which is done with a wry humor as well.

and while Diedrich Bader is no Kevin Conroy (but really, who is?) he does a far better job than some other actors who have tried to voice Batman recently, that I won't name for fear of shaming them further.  Kevin apparently does show up on the series, but I haven't seen the episode yet.  even Adam West does a guest voice.

"Batman's rich history allows him to be interpreted in a multitude of ways. To be sure, this is a lighter incarnation, but it's certainly no less valid and true to the character's roots than the tortured avenger crying out for mommy and daddy."

—Bat-Mite breaks the fourth wall in "Legends of the Dark Mite!," addressing an in-show fan who questions the tone of the show during an in-show comic-con.

 that's from wiki.  who would have thought such words of wisdom could come from Bat-mite?  and now it's time for this show to be released on DVD, at least the first season.  these dribbles at 4-5 episode suck.