"White Heat" Talkback

[Prison Mike]

Official Description:

Villainy scorches Gotham this Saturday in an all-new episode of "The Batman." In an episode entitled "White Heat," Firefly becomes even more powerful when an accident turns him into Phosphorus, a superhot villain who ultimately threatens a nuclear power plant. Jason Marsden ("Step By Step,""Boy Meets World") provides the voice of Firefly/Phosphorus in an episode directed by Vinton Heuck and written by Joseph Kuhr. "White Heat" airs October 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET/PT as part of the Kids' WB! lineup on The CW Network.

credit: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0710/10/index.htm

 

[Green Goblin 1964]

Don't like the villains :

 

[Prison Mike]

Batgirl returns in this episode.

 

[Dread]

Combining Firefly and Phosphorus is...a unique idea. If it works it will be imaginative, and if not, lame. I'll wait until after the episode to judge.

It will be nice having an episode of THE BATMAN that isn't THE BATMAN & ONE OF HIS SUPERFRIENDS for a change this season.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Hey, a female hero!
​

 

[Green Goblin 1964]

So Far this season...

Batman/Superman Story Part 1- 9
Batman/Superman Story Part 2- 7
Vertigo- 7
White Heat-?

This season started off good but then ended up boring and not as good as Season 4 so far...Hopefully tomorrow's episode will change that...doubt it though.

 

[Prison Mike]

I would rate Batman/Superman Story Part 2 higher than Part 1. But I agree that Vertigo deserves a 7 or maybe an 8.

 

[Warhammer]

Yeah...so the WB around my way decided to put it on at 6:30 a.m. WTF?

 

[Ass Assassin]

Man I wish I could see that lead suit more often. Very cool look for Bats IMO.

 

[Green Goblin 1964]

Man I wish I could see that lead suit more often. Very cool look for Bats IMO.

I agree, though we might possibly be in the minority but that suit LOOKED bad@$$...

Today's episode though is a 7/10...really wasn't anything new and some crappy one liners IMO.

 

[az824]

i thought it was really good, the characters were very fleshed out and the story was really good. 10/10

 

[Abaddon]

I thought the blowing up Gotham angle was lame.

I liked Batman's Black Panther costume.

The "hot stuff" and "heat" puns were unnecessary.

I kinda liked the stuff with Firefly and his girlfriend. 4 seasons ago, the show would've shied away from that.

I liked that Bats had half his mask blown off.

lol @ "It's Bumblebee!"

overall, it was alright. better than last week.

 

[Zombie_samurai]

I hope they show that Badass suit again.

 

[Ion Kenshin]

quick question....is there a legion of superheroes thread? wouldnt mind discussing it withe people

 

[Green Goblin 1964]

Edit!

 

[Green Goblin 1964]

quick question....is there a legion of superheroes thread? wouldnt mind discussing it withe people

Yeah, here...
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=249677&page=14

 

[Ion Kenshin]

Yeah, here...
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=249677&page=14

thank you

 

[mtd20_2000]

Some info on "White Heat" from Alan Burnett himself:

http://www.justiceleagueonfilm.com/2007/10/this-week-on--1.html

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

I thought the blowing up Gotham angle was lame.

Well, by the time Lynns had become Phosphorus, he pretty much lost it and was making irrational decisions, so it made sense.

 

[ssj wolverine]

That lead suit was cool.

Superman/Batman Story Part 1 - 8
Superman/Batman Story Part 2 - 9
Vertigo - 7
White Heat - 7

 

[Xeno Ghost]

I was unable to catch today's episode.

Anyone have a link someplace?

 

[Ratcrawler]

I didn't like what they did to Firefly and I was pretty saddened by the ending. That said, I managed to care enough about the characters to feel that way. It's a longshot, but I do hope they cure him by the season's end. The Romantic angle was cute and we got enough heartache from Riddler's backstory.

 

[Dread]

Firefly, at least in terms of THE BATMAN, could qualify as one of his A-List rogues, having debuted in his own episode in Season One, along the likes of Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Ventriloquist, Clayface, Dr. Hugo Strange, and Mr. Freeze. Sure, so did Cluemaster, but he also has gotten repeat appearences. In the world of Batman comics, however, he is a C-Lister at best. Another heat themes Bat-rogue, Phosphorus, ranks even lower. I remember some interviews with John Byrne during his ill-concieved SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER ONE series where his big idea was to "merge" some of the "radioactive explosions/incidents" in his origin revamps so they didn't happen as often. In a way, this episode has an idea that is simular; rather than Batman having two pyrokenetic menaces, why not merge them into one character? It has the advantage of allowing some more development to Firefly's storyline, and his voice actor, Jason Marsden, has always given capable performances.

This episode also gives us a break from Justice League team-ups, as Batman and his sidekicks tackle this threat on their own. SPOILERS BELOW!!

"White Heat" has some explosive visuals, some extension of a foe's storyline, and some neat vehicles and yet another Batsuit. But in the end, it is one of those middle of the road episodes to me. It isn't terrific, but far, far from being bad. It's alright. A solid B episode.

The plot involves Firefly gaining a new partner as well as a love interest in a scientist named Blaze. Their big idea is to score a large haul from a robbery to be able to leave Gotham behind and relax together overseas. Unfortunately, the radioactive isotope they steal to enhance his heat-jetpack technology goes haywire and explodes, transforming Firefly into a metahuman who gives off more heat by the second. At first mad with power, Firefly soon learns he cannot control the powers he has gained and takes on a more monstrous appearence. He even takes a new name -- Phosphorus.

Naturally, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl manage to pool their efforts to stop him. The two teen sidekicks continue to have some interplay and competition with each other; while Batman continues to allow Robin "shotgun" in the Batmobile, Batman entrusts Batgirl with doing more complicated scans and solo detective work for him. It makes sense as she is not only older, but started out as a more independant heroine; she donned her costume to save Gordon from Poison Ivy, not team up with Batman, after all. That was just a perk. Batgirl manages to get in some links with Blaze, who did care for Firefly/Phosphorus, but he grows more and more unstable and untouchable.

Most of the character focus does go on Firefly, and the impression on him is that he isn't one of Gotham's "elite" criminals. The media consistantly gets his name wrong ("Bee-Man" or "Bumblebee"), and the last time he had a major role, he was reduced to teaming up with The Penguin along sad sacks like Killer Moth (which was a cool episode, among Penguin's best, actually). On the other hand, unlike many of Batman's "Arkham freaks" as Phos put it, he isn't crazy and usually is just in things for the money, although towards the end he does seem to go power-mad, wanting to blow up all of Gotham. Of course, if I turned into a charcoal man who couldn't stop setting stuff ablaze to the point where I couldn't touch my girlfriend or even EAT, I'd be a little nutty, too. His reddsign was simple, reminded me of Charcoal from THUNDERBOLTS, but it worked.

Batman trucks out a new anti-heat Bat-costume, which looked incredibly cool; argueably one of his coolest looking alternate suits since the scuba one he used against Killer Croc (In Season 2's "Swamped"). The fight at the end is pretty good, although seen one fireball and explosion, seen 'em all. One notable development is half of Batman's mask is burnt off, but unfortunately NOTHING is made of this, so it seems like a wasted detail. The episode ends with Blaze leaving Phos and the doctor ironically noting that had Firefly heeded her advice and gone to a hospital in the beginning, he may have been saved. I wonder if we'll soon get an episode where the moral is that stopping to ask for directions IS a good idea. Kidding on the last part.

It was good seeing some romantic angle utilized with Firefly, but as this may be THE BATMAN's last season, I will say it is a shame I couldn't say the same for Batman. If there ever was an angle that Timm's show left bare, it was Wayne's love life. The most he had was the "thing" with Wonder Woman in JL/U, which ended up going nowhere. This show could have gone deeper, had Yin been allowed to develop more or even Vicki Vale allowed to reappear from the DTV, or something. Instead we got almost nothing after Batgirl showed up, and it is a lost oppurtunity.

This may have been Firefly's best episode, but the bar was raised a bit in Season 4. Still, it was an enjoyable episode that didn't rely on a Superfriends team-up and a guest rogue. LOSH is kicking THE BATMAN's rear in story quality, IMO, this season.

 

[CaptainCanada]

If there ever was an angle that Timm's show left bare, it was Wayne's love life. The most he had was the "thing" with Wonder Woman in JL/U, which ended up going nowhere.

I wish they'd done more with Wonder Woman, but since Batman Beyond had already established that Bruce ended up a paranoid old guy living alone in his cavernous mansion, there ultimately wouldn't have been much point.

 

[Dread]

I wish they'd done more with Wonder Woman, but since Batman Beyond had already established that Bruce ended up a paranoid old guy living alone in his cavernous mansion, there ultimately wouldn't have been much point.

BATMAN BEYOND also established that Wayne was holding out for Talia.