4.01 A Matter of Family. (Discussion)

Warhammer

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Wow, this episode is great so far.

Is it me, or has Bruce gotten alot bigger.
 
This show has become much more watchable. I think this ep could have greatly benefited from being a 2-parter. Outisde of that, it was pretty good (though a bit rushed and formulaic). There was just something 'right' about seeing that last shot of Batman and Robin.

Have they turned up the violence on the show? It seems more gritty now. I like it. :up:
 
I noticed that Bats is alot darker.
 
i think bruce looks more manly and the ep was great!
 
401 - A Matter of Family

PLOT:

When the circus comes to Gotham, ruthless crime boss Tony Zucco demands protection money from the Flying Graysons, a family of trapeze artists. They refuse to pay and Zucco exacts revenge, leaving, Dick, the youngest Grayson an orphan. Having experienced a similar tragedy himself, Batman is driven to take down Zucco and in the process discovers an unexpected bond with Dick.

REVIEW:

"His parents were the family that boy had." - Alfred

"That's why I've decided to take him in. As a foster son." - Bruce Wayne

Fans were upset, yet ready to see how the idea would be approached and handled, when Batgirl appeared next to Batman in season three. Because Robin was not only the first sidekick in comic books, but he was Batman's first young partner at his side, fans wanted him in the show. Their wish was also next to their wish for a matured, darker Batman in the show. For The Batman's fourth season, fans got their wishes come true and now they have the Boy Wonder next to the dark, Dark Knight.

The whole episode's plot is basically the origin to Robin. It is like a up-to-date version of Detective Comics #38, which was the first Robin appearence. With the modern elements, like the bond between Bruce and Dick, from stories like Dark Victory. However, the idea of Zucco after the Graysons for money by force shows me that this might what will be revealed as to why they died in All Star Batman & Robin.

In the preview shown at Comic Con, and even before that with the first promotion images for ther new season, we saw that the design for Batman was changed. Animation-wise: it really shines. I was glad for this change becasue many didn't like his more "pointed" chin from the previous three seasons. Also, it shows that he has aged a little and matured. Batman right now is now dark, you can see when he arrives and delivers the first punch without delay and destroys the door to get into the club that Zucco goes to, and that is good. Not because he had to be since this was a fourth season, but if he wasn't dark then the whole idea behind the creation of Robin and why he has to be next to Batman wouldn't work nor make sense. I also liked seeing how much Batman relates to Dick and how he wants to prove Zucco did it.

I wanted to see how Robin would be handled in the show since I know, just like BTAS, that certain liberties would be issued to prevent things from the origin not to be shown on TV. Before his parents' death, Dick is shown as a happy go lucly kid that has more fun with his skills as an acrobat and is very loveable with his parents. When Zucco threated the Graysons in the beginning, he takes a stand (so does his father, I mean its the guy who voiced Batman in the DCAU) so it shows he's a hero. From that, when they die, you see his soul destroyed. And how they die is like BTAS "Robin's Reckoning" where you don't see them dying but Dick (and us) seeing them die is tragic.

When he is in Wayne Manor, he has burning hatred to get Zucco (something also Batman can relate to). Then when he finds out Bruce is Batman, he begins to understand why Bruce brought him in. When Dick and Batman see each other in the cave, I somehow saw it as Dick (like Bruce) meeting his future self (Batman). More of the connection between them. Robin is a character that when he is there with Batman, he shows humanity and at times to pull Batman away from a dark abyss. He is the light to Batman's darkness. I can't wait for him to meet Batgirl.

I think it was obivious, before we saw his design, that it would be the Tim Drake/'90s Robin costume we were going to get. Because it was modern AND Dick Grayson wore that in Batman: The Animated Series. Instead, the costume here is basically like a modern version of Dick Grayson's actual Robin costume (the pixy boot one) but modernized for today. Its actually like Batgirl's costume since that was a modern version of the costume from the '60s show. The belt is based on Tim Drake's costume, the colors of the "R" is a black R on a yellow circle, a version they made for their show since all the time its a yellow R in a black circle. And finally, the green pants and green shoes (despite looking like its one) is based on All Star Batman. At least we are giving a bit of backstory that his costume is based on his performing costume.

Zucco is a bad guy, in every way. And while his men have skills, probably due to this show, he is what real bad guys are. A man so currupt that he'll murder to prove he is not to be messin' with and to get what he wants. To show fear. I was glad that they didn't do anything to mess with it, like making him a colorful villian. No, he's a mob boss. And we got that. I was surprised when I heard that Mark Hamill would be Tony Zucco and Kevin Conroy was John Grayson. With Conroy's character's death thanks to Hamill's character, I guess the DCAU Joker got his wish against the DCAU Batman.

Overall, this season four opener offers to fans, both who either liked or disliked the show, more of what the characters are like from the comics. We have Robin, Batman with a dark attitude and matured personality (complete with a new chin). The problems people had with it are looking like it'll go away. A good episode.

RATING: 9/10
 
Ahh, I am glad that you gave the episode a higher rating.
Sorry for the multiple thread thing.
 
Yes, and the update to the drawing of Batman's chin is awesome, he looks much more badass... finally The Batman has come into its own, YEEEEHAH
 
damn it i missed the episode. Now if someone could hint a direct source through e-mail.........
 
After a mediocre Season 3 that seemed to seriously question all the goodwill the show earned in Season 2, THE BATMAN debuts for a 4th, and they have yet another sidekick in tow in Robin. Initially I wasn't too thrilled, as the inclusion of Batgirl last season all but erased any hope for Batman to have any romantic tension with anyone (as Yin vanished and he's stuck babysitting in front of Catwoman), plus half the episodes weren't beyond average. But this episode is easily better than about half of last season; combined. In fact, the only downside of it is that it basically seeks to do "Robin's Reckoning" in two parts, set entirely in the present, and without a lot of the theatrical music, pacing, or dialogue. Not that the dialogue was as astrocious as it is for some episodes, but it can't match some of the exchanges from Randy Rogel (the writer of Part 1 at least), Timm & Co. So naturally you're reminded of "Reckoning", which will always be better (Part 1 anyway, the second part was a bit of a downturn).

Specking of B:TAS, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill get to return to Batman animation as John Grayson and Tony Zucco, respectively. Both do a good job, especially Hamill, who had on a bit of a "Nu Yawk/Nu Joysey" accent for this part, which I hadn't heard from him, and he did well. THE BATMAN, despite the writing flaws, has always had a rock solid cast and guest-stars, and gladly recalls their roots by including a lot of actors from past Batman incarnations, from the 60's to the 90's. And the new actor for Robin/Dick Grayson actually does a good job, which is no small feat to ears used to either Loren Lester or Scott Melville in the role. Naturally the only issue is whether or not the fact of Batman taking in costumed teenagers is really in keeping with modern interpretations of him, but that debate is never had properly because the sidekicks keep coming because they've been attached to the franchise forever, and no one questions it. However, while Batgirl basically inserted herself into Batman's world without his say-so (or even his blessing for a while), Grayson's world takes a parallel to Wayne's and thus Wayne takes him in, seeing a bit of himself in the boy. Batman's design has been tweaked a bit, his chin padded out and his form a little different, to show some age progression since Season 1. I'm not sure how this show records time; he was 26 in Season 1 (having been Batman for 3 years, time he used to take out most of the mob) and this is Season 4; JLU treated every season like a year, so if this show followed suit, Batman'd be 29-30 now. However, I could be off, but I'm sure he's at least 1-2 years older now than he was in Season 1.

The themesong, unfortunately, remains a remix of HAWAII FIVE-O with some SPY KIDS thrown in, which really isn't fitting for Batman. The last shot of he, Robin and Batgirl looks nice, although one may fear that Batman is quickly being reduced to being the leader of a "team", which is a role Kid's WB has wanted for Batman for years now. True story, when TNGA wrapped in '98, Kid's WB wanted Timm to basically do a "Justice League Evolution" sort of show, with the JL as teenagers being led by an adult Batman, a premise he hated and instead went with BATMAN BEYOND in '99 to appease the teen-crazed WB (and later took his JL show to CN to escape them, which was it's own Faustian deal). THE BATMAN's producers obviously aren't as iron-willed and seem more willing to appease the network demands, at least by how Season 3 was almost a role reversal from the 2nd. Can we expect Spoiler in Season 5?

That all said, the premire was good, even when compared to it's decade old predassessor. The rundown: The Flying Grayons are not only in charge of a travelling circus, but they're part of the star attractions. Tony Zucco and his three brothers (almost ringers for Marvel's Enforcers, as one is a burly brute, the other a whip-man, the third a juggler) come in to do a protection racket scheme. They rough up John Grayson, but Dick calls the police, and by chance (or plot convience) Batman intercepts the call and arrives first. The Zucco's escape but the whip-guy gets collared, earning Tony's ire. Batman would seek to track down the Zucco's but as Wayne he attends the next showing of the circus, and of course we all know what happens. Zucco loosens the screws to the trapeze, and Richard becomes an orphan.

Easily seeing the parallel between his own past and Grayson's, Bruce pays for the funeral and offers to take him in as a foster parent, a role that becomes muddled as he is frequently away from the mansion while he's Batman, running down leads to avenge the murder of Dick's parents by finding Tony Zucco (the fact that he never collared his own parents' killer is eating at him, and he doesn't want Dick going through the same). There are some "CSI Jr." elements, like the notion of a set of toothpicks only being specific to one of two bars, or a bag of popcorn from a run-down circus, but it's Batman so it works. Zucco, it turns out, was an ex-circus man whose life fell apart from the act, so he sort of became a mob thug, running protection rackets on circuses. Granted you have your obligatory, "You've TKO'd Batman, why not unmask or kill him, rather than simply tie him up and rattle on and on", but it would be unfair to pick on this episode for that when nearly every Batman cartoon (or Bond movie) is famous for this. Meanwhile, Grayson has stumbled into the Batcave (why Alfred put his parent's portrait so close to the Batcave enterance I'll never know; he was all but asking for Dick to get snoopy). Donning his old trapeze uniform with some add-ons, he makes his debut helping Batman out.

In a rare showing of grit, Batman seems to go "out of control" after Zucco gives Robin a thrashing, and he starts to pound away at him, chasing him up to the trapeze and almost scaring him to his death with a plunge, but naturally Robin saves him, wanting him to get "justice". Seeing eye to eye on crime-fighting and seeing no other way to spend quality time together, they decide to be partners.

Really, the only bad thing I could say about the episode, aside for it bringing up too many memories of the superior "Reckoning", was that the name "Dick" makes some lines sound "dirty" to us adults. "Master Dick is requiring more of your attention", that kind of stuff. Why not just call him "Richard"? Granted, part of this is Frank Miller's fault. Robin's design looks much sleeker in motion, I like the sleek pants and the cape that vaguely resembles wings. The episode moved a bit too quickly at times, but as they wanted this to be a two-parter, they had to cram in Robin's entire origin in about 20 minutes, which is naturally a rush. And one could argue 1997's "Sins of the Father" (Tim Drake's origin sequence from B:TNGA) was almost equally crammed.

A solid debut to THE BATMAN's 4th season and Robin. I was quite impressed and I hope the rest of the season follows through on better writing and not wasting so much time on bad Joker or Penguin appearences. Hopefully Batgirl will be less annoying, too.
 
You do knpw Penguin is in the next one, right? But with Killer Moth, the return of Bane, basically its his Injustice Gang, and finally the episode will feature Batgirl meeting Robin.

From the guide I read, there is a strong feeling Penguin will be in this episode only.
 
For what it's worth, TEEN TITANS had the best version of Killer Moth.

Debuting in a team-up episode? Eh, that didn't work out well for Ragdoll.

I'd have preferred Bane return in a solo episode, but whatever. Hopefully it'll be good.
 
Personally, I couldnt stop thinking "Robin's Reckoning" did this better. This was a decent TB ep, but when a show can only make a so-so episode from basically copying a fantastic episode, you know its got problems.

I did have high hopes for this season, but after this episode, I'm not going to start waking up with the intention of watching TB. Only ep I'm really looking forward to anymore is the Riddlers return. Thats the one character they've done consistently right (crappy design and all).
 
jaydawg said:
Personally, I couldnt stop thinking "Robin's Reckoning" did this better. This was a decent TB ep, but when a show can only make a so-so episode from basically copying a fantastic episode, you know its got problems.

I did have high hopes for this season, but after this episode, I'm not going to start waking up with the intention of watching TB. Only ep I'm really looking forward to anymore is the Riddlers return. Thats the one character they've done consistently right (crappy design and all).
I think in that one case, Riddler's design matches his voice well. If it was anyone else, it'd stink.

And I do agree with you about "Reckoning", that this episode was a lessor attempt at that, in one part, without the theatrical (or more, shall I say, naunced) dialoguea and writing that B:TAS was known for. But to be honest, I am starting to realize that most new cartoons of the past few years just aren't geared towards that "all ages" sort of thing to try to hook adults and seem geared towards kids, who apperantly means stooping a little lower and being fluffier or less eloquent with dialogue. JLU and TMNT were the last stabs at the "old ways" of animation sparked in the 90's and both are gone (at least in their original incarnations).

During Season 1 of THE BATMAN I was obviously very angry about that and really hated the show, but once I saw some episodes that didn't suck and had a break I eased off. Now with a slew of other shows with the simular attitudes, I blame the writers less and just see it as a shift in the industry. Just look at FANTASTIC FOUR or LOSH or most of TEEN TITANS. At least it's not as bad as the 80's in terms of violence and content, but it's not B:TAS or TMNT time again. We may just have to wait until, and if, that pendulum switches again.
 
Does someone know where I can watch it online, like Youtube? Right now I'm in China, and the only place I can see it is in this dirty Internet cafe. It would be great if someone could help, coz I really wanna see this episode.
 
See Now this is what i'm talking about, Badass BATMAN [Kickass first, asks questions later.] This is What I wanted to see from the beginining of this series, I'm glad we finally have a more darker less campy version of BATMAN. I also like that Robin is finally on the series, It's about time the Dynamic duo appear [screw batgirl]. I have to say it was a really treat to have Kevin conroy as John Grayson [dick's father] althought i would've prefered him to be Bruce father, it was still a amazing to see kevin still very much conneted to BATMAN legacy in animation, it was also good to hear Mark Hamill , he really was awesome a Zucco .

this was a great episode , and a great start to a New Beginining of BATMAN's legacy .
 
Didn't get to see it--was at the Phoenix Comic-Con--is there any links to it on the internet? :)
 
MaskedManJRK said:
Didn't get to see it--was at the Phoenix Comic-Con--is there any links to it on the internet? :)

I didn't get to see it either, since i don't have cable aymore, im just being patient enough that somebody will upload it on youtube. oh & Dread its on how you take it. if a word or a context seems written with adult words, like Dick grayson. then its up to us vewiers in how we take the refrence or syllable.

so if you look at it in a pervertaed way, then the feedback will be pervertedness. & if you take it intelligently, then the feedback you recive will be insightful, & vise versa & so on.
 
Rowen said:
I didn't get to see it either, since i don't have cable aymore, im just being patient enough that somebody will upload it on youtube. oh & Dread its on how you take it. if a word or a context seems written with adult words, like Dick grayson. then its up to us vewiers in how we take the refrence or syllable.

so if you look at it in a pervertaed way, then the feedback will be pervertedness. & if you take it intelligently, then the feedback you recive will be insightful, & vise versa & so on.

Uh...last I checked the WB stuff is on the regular stations. :huh:
 
MaskedManJRK said:
Uh...last I checked the WB stuff is on the regular stations. :huh:

i don't have any of the regular stations, my cable got turned off, so i have to rely on watching programs on the computer.
 
Rowen said:
i don't have any of the regular stations, my cable got turned off, so i have to rely on watching programs on the computer.

So, you can't even get stuff on the TV? I mean, I never got cable until I was 13 and still I got stuff like NBC, and WB. :o
 
Rowen, Have you tried changing your TV from CATV to TV in your menu from the remote?

Every TV (at least in the last 15 years) has a second function that allows basic channels to be used, as long as the cable is plugged in, regardless of having regular cable.
 
MaskedManJRK said:
So, you can't even get stuff on the TV? I mean, I never got cable until I was 13 and still I got stuff like NBC, and WB. :o

Same with me, except I was 9 when I got my cable.
 

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