Season 2: Episode 6 - Sidekicks Assemble

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Airdate: January 22, 2010

Aqualad, Robin and Speedy have had it with being bossed around and demand a piece of the action, but they get more than they bargained for when they find themselves facing off against Ra's Al-Ghul and his flying island!

New images and videos up at World's Finest.

http://worldsfinestonline.com/WF/bravebold/guides/reviews/32sidekicks/


My only nitpick is Batman mispronouncing Ra's Al Ghul's name. That was something only done for Timm's series to avoid putting a specific nationality, unless this was the intent.

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

I'm pretty sure I've seen an interview or heard a commentary where Denny O'Neill, Ra's creator, confirmed that "Raysh" is the correct pronunciation. I'll look up my "Tales of the Demon" paperback soon as I swear one of the stories also has the character correcting someone. Furthermore Denny O'Neill wrote the first part of Ra's two-parter in BTAS.

Anyhoo, if that 30 second clip of that awesoesauce swordfight is anything to go by, this version of Ra's appears to be fantastic. Love his look, not too different to BTAS but still has its own style, and his voice is great.

 

[Drz]

Notice that when Batman jumps over Ras' you hear a Lightsaber alike sound.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Notice that when Batman jumps over Ras' you hear a Lightsaber alike sound.

t:

 

[Temple Fugate]

looks like they made robin a lot younger since the "color of revenge"

 

[jasontodd]

Loved the episode. The future Teen Titans were awesome and loved the ending with Robin "puting away childish things"

 

[ironman29758]

Spoiler

The moment I heard about this episode I remember the comment Robin in Batman had in the Crazy Quilt episode talking about speedy and Aqualad knewing that an episode like this might come and I was also reminded of the Teen Titans animated series and the silver age Teen Titans with out Kid Flash and Wonder Girl
I love seeing superman, wonder woman(sure it was their backsides but I'll take what I get), Barry Allen Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman without his beard and the whole Silver age/Bronze Age JLA in their at the beginining then seeing Robin, speedy and Aqualad.(making me realize like the producers said these are silver age/golden age Earth 2/Earth 1 stories which were some of my favorite stories) as well as seeing the watchtower and Hall of Justice just like I loved the combo in the Batman
Surprised at how many Cacthphrases Aquaman had
Aqualad and Robin were funny fighting over
the batman/ra's al ghul fight was great and so was the te
laughed at what GA forced Speedy to get his bow from the crocidile pit
I was glad that the ending. Especially when GA looked in shock when Speedy and so did Aquaman and Aqualad told him off and like the Earth 2 Robin became Nightwing but a little mad that Dick didn't come up with the name but Batman did but it's his show and the 2nd time that Nightwing costume was shown, first being in the batman

I give this episode a 8/10

 

[signalman]

I chuckle when Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow made the sam mistake as the kids did in the teaser.
Cool to see the Hall of Justice and the JL satilight.
Good to see Ra's and Talia(Weird hair style).
Overall a decent episode, 'B-'.

 

[Drz]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! I LOVED the ending! My jaw just dropped when the epic reveal was shown! I love this show!

This episode was pretty good. I agree Talia's hair was abit weird but i loved the british-esque accent and Ras' voice was good too. Ubu showing up was cool too, and the joke especially with Speedy and GA's Bow we're outrageous.

But god damn did i scream when the ending came. So much win!

 

[Mister J]

Quality stuff. Loved the focus on the younger heroes finally getting some respect from the elders. The Hal of Justice/Superfriends nod made me giddy.

The end reveal was sheer excellence. Hope we get to see a furtherance.

Sit, Ubu. Sit. t:

 

[The Caped Knight]

Can this series get any better ? The answer is Hell Yes. This was an awesome episode full of nods (The JLA, Young Justice, Teen Titans, Robin becoming Nightwing, Super Friends , Hall of Justice , Watchtower , Batman vs. Rā's al Ghūl, Talia & Ubu ,Poison Ivy (the Venus Flytrap plant)

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

Frickin' great. The teaser was different, and could've been tiring, but thanks to all the juicy cameos I was immensely satisfied. Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Barry Allen, sweet. An interview with Tucker confirmed that's all they could get to avoid legality issues, but in the slim chance he's tricking us like he did with the Joker appearance I'll still hope for an appearance of the Trinity. First appearance of the actual league too. The villain cameos were sweet, anyone else think KILLER MOTH (YEAH!) is just dying to get his own ep? Continuity error with Crazy quilt though.

The main ep was much better, I enjoyed Aqualad as a generally fun character when not crushed under his mentor's massive ego. Speedy was fantastic too, his end part with Green Arrow was a nice indication that this version is a bit more like his comic counterpart than he seems on the surface. The teens came off as less whiny than in Robin's debut ep, still a little grating, but I'm very glad that the adults and Bats are clearly shown to have faults.

Ra's was fantastic, I didn't even notice it was Jeff Bennet (Joker, OMAC, Captain Marvel in this series) until I saw the credits. He wasn't David Warner, but much better than I expected still. His very true sexism was evident too, glad that was kept. Talia was interesting. While I like the more torn version of the character, I loved that this version of the current more evil Talia still had layers to her, such as sparing both Batman and Robin, certainly more interesting than BTAS' 2d version.

Glad to see Aquaman (and beardless too!) get a couple of "OUTRAGEOUS!"s in there, as oddly that was missing from his last few episodes. And Green Arrow provided one of the biggest laughs I've ever had watching a cartoon with his crocodile pit flashback. Seriously, it hurt a little it was that funny.

And of course Nightwing is aces and spades, glad they reigned the colar in a bit. Must say, despite hating this in the comics it really fits in and looks good here.

Also, a beautifully animated and epic swordfight with Ra's there, I think outside of Equinox he's the first villain to get away? Hopefully he'll appear again and go into his Lazarus Pit related past, though this ep definitely benefited from not having that exposition.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Ra's was fantastic, I didn't even notice it was Jeff Bennet (Joker, OMAC, Captain Marvel in this series) until I saw the credits. He wasn't David Warner, but much better than I expected still.

Was it in the credits? I hear Peter Woodward (voiced the Tiger leader in the Kamandi episode) voiced Ra's.

Also, a beautifully animated and epic swordfight with Ra's there, I think outside of Equinox he's the first villain to get away? Hopefully he'll appear again and go into his Lazarus Pit related past, though this ep definitely benefited from not having that exposition.

Catwoman has gotten away before. Even gave Batman her number.

The teaser presents the young sidekicks (Robin, Aqualad, and Speedy) fighting several villains, toying with the idea of creating their own team. Some of the villain cameos have several continuity errors, but I almost ignored this when I saw the cameos by the Justice League members. Amusing teaser.

In the main adventure, the now-teenaged sidekicks decide to battle Ra's al Ghul when he threatens to infect the world with mutated, man-eating plants. Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow don't feel they can handle the villain, but when their own incompentence gets them trapped, it's up to the sidekicks to stop Ra's, Talia, and Ubu from their plan. After everyone works together to defeat the villains, the sidekicks try to make it on their own, with Robin changing his identity to Nightwing.

Another satisfying episode of this series. It combined action, seriousness, humor, and fan nods well. I liked the Not-Teen Titans, and hopefully, we see them with new members. Also, I actually agreed with them and did not find them "whiny" or "annoying", since the adults did not treat them fairly, and them telling off their masters was well-deserved.

Ra's was fun, and I actually was amused at the Robin/Talia relationship. It pokes fun at the teenage boy fantasy of hooking up with an older, attractive woman, and stops redundancy from Batman's relationship with Catwoman.

5/5

NEXT WEEK: Spoiler:
Batman is introduced to a new crimefighting team known as the Metal Men, powerful robot creations of Dr. Will Magnus. However, Batman must quickly team up with them when the Gas Gang kidnaps Dr. Magnus.

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

Was it in the credits? I hear Peter Woodward (voiced the Tiger leader in the Kamandi episode) voiced Ra's.

I've looked up the episode and you're right Don't know how I managed to see his name then.

Embarrassment aside, the voice did sound a bit like his, but...well yeah...

 

[The Caped Knight]

I loved the duel between Batman vs. Rā's al Ghūl .

 

[Mr. Earle]

Spoiler

that Dick didn't come up with the name but Batman did but it's his show

Actually in comics its Clark that comes up with the name Nightwing. Its supposedly the name of a Kryptonian superhero and Dick asks if he could use it, with Clark of course agreeing. But they couldnt show all that here, so they came up with this. With Batman coming up with the name, it seemed as if he understood and gave Dick his blessing. I liked it.

and the 2nd time that Nightwing costume was shown, first being in the batman

Nightwing was also in BTAS, although he had the current comics suit and not the Disco-Nighwing one.

9/10 from me.

 

[Sawyer]

[YT]EQsOtP-mp9I[/YT]
Win.