Season 3: Episode 55: Shadow of the Bat!

[Drz]

Well i kinda got my wish in one aspect, they made Bat-ape appear to modern audiences! God i wish this awesome minor character could make his comeback in comics, but am i alone in this?! The teaser playes with more crazy Batman adventures and we see Catwoman in a moment of despair, aww she just wants some Bat-love. :*(

The main episode is delicously dedicated to Bram Stoker's Dracula, seriously the refences we're a please we got the garden full of animal shaped grasses, we got Batman turning from mist to wolf to rats and so forth and so forth, we got Aquaman saying the O word, we got Booster Gold being awesome and more JLI greatness alongside Martian Manhunter's greatest loss reshown to him. :*( Really this episode ended up being really Neo Silver Age with the mix of modern darkness enchanced by Silver Age madness.

The sky was also red in Gotham as a nice tribute to BTAS and we did get some tribute to Doug Moench's Vampire Batman stories, but only one iconic shot from the book along with little dialogue.

So yeah not to spoil too much i will say this, someone has a crush on AQUAMAN! <3 Aww she's so cute! Loved her dialogue too.

So yeah i think i'll rate this episode 8,5/10 and gotta say again: Loved the Bram Stoker references! <3

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

This was a fantastic and wonderfully creepy episode...

The show definitely seems to be going as wacky as it can get, judging from it's final season and I say bring it on.

The story was simple but strong, with great character moments and pieces of action. The animation also seemed very strong this episode as well... with some very cool Bat-dracula moments/transformation.

HUGE shout-out to Dierich Bader for his voice performance in this once. I'm going to miss him as Batman for sure.

----

However the ending did seem a little rushed... and if it was a dream/hallucination then it was definitely a cop out. The episode could have been doing with another few minutes... but still a sold all round effort.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

However the ending did seem a little rushed... and if it was a dream/hallucination then it was definitely a cop out. The episode could have been doing with another few minutes... but still a sold all round effort.

Highly doubt it was a dream. Batman only assumed so, and wasn't supported or denied about it. Not to mention what would Batman be doing in the satellite in the first place with Jason Blood if it was all a dream?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Highly doubt it was a dream. Batman only assumed so, and wasn't supported or denied about it. Not to mention what would Batman be doing in the satellite in the first place with Jason Blood if it was all a dream?

Manhunter: ''Jason brought you here after Dala's bite poisioned you''

Batman: ''I knew that her bite wasn't lethal but I hadn't counted on the massive hallucinations''

It's basically open to interpretation, but the consensus over at Toonzone seem to be that it was all a hallucination. I'm not sure how to interpret it quite yet.

Although... what about Black Mask and the other JLI members?

Meh... i'm not fussed either way.

 

[Drz]

Yeah if it was real we'd have Black Mask and Alfred Pennyworth as vampires.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Yeah if it was real we'd have Black Mask and Alfred Pennyworth as vampires.

Exactly... either it was an hallucination or just sloppy writing.

I've asked Ben Jones anyway, see if he can shed some light on the ending.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

I thought it was better than the last two episodes, but that ending completely killed it. This ep woulda also been better served by premiering during Halloween or in October, rather than the spring.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

It's basically open to interpretation, but the consensus over at Toonzone seem to be that it was all a hallucination. I'm not sure how to interpret it quite yet.

Huh? I'm also a member there and everyone agreed that it was open to interpretation.

If it was a dream/hallucination, though.....how did Batman "see" scenes that take place with the other characters, but without him in there? In dreams, you only see "events" where you are involved or present.

As for Alfred and Black Mask, considering how late Jason arrived at the satellite, maybe he took care of them before getting to the base.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

That's entirely untrue. When I dream they play out like TV episodes. I'm not always involved in every scene, if I'm even involved at all.

 

[The Rose]

I thought it was better than the last two episodes, but that ending completely killed it.

http://www.jmdematteis.com/2011/04/bat-is-back.html#comments

Scroll down to the April 24th, 9.49am comment. It looks like the 'dream' ending wasn't part of the plan, but the network insisted that they throw it in.

For me, this confirms that it wasn't a dream and they were just trying to hide the truth from Batman so that he wouldn't be wracked with guilt.

 

[Drz]

Very interesting, yeah i guess they didn't want the story to be too dark + they would have to leave Black Mask and Alfred Pennyworth stuff get fixed behind the scene.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Very interesting, yeah i guess they didn't want the story to be too dark + they would have to leave Black Mask and Alfred Pennyworth stuff get fixed behind the scene.

I don't know. I would enjoy a spin-off show starring Vampire Black Mask and Vampire Alfred. They open their own private detective agency in Miami and solve crimes. I think this concept has a lot of "bite" to it.

 

[Drz]

 

[Robin's Holyisms]

I don't know. I would enjoy a spin-off show starring Vampire Black Mask and Vampire Alfred. They open their own private detective agency in Miami and solve crimes. I think this concept has a lot of "bite" to it.

I dunno that show seems like it would "suck".

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

I dunno that show seems like it would "suck".

But I've seen fans that are "famished" from a lack of a concept like this. They can't wait until they get their "teeth" into it.

 

[signalman]

In my opinion Bats really was turned into a Vampire.
MM and Jason Blood were trying to make Batman feel better about himself.

The teaser was all sorts of "WIN". Bat-Ape to the recuse.
Feel sort of sad for Catwoman at the end. All she wants is a little "love".

This episode is in my Top Ten for B:TB&TB.