Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008) Reviews

One weird and wonderful love letter to the Silver Age comics, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is, in its own strange way, just as expertly conceived as Batman: The Animated Series. They attack the mythology from different sides, and for different ends, but they both do it with great joy and smarts.

Forsaking the dark, grim, and brooding characteristics of many recent Batman adaptations, The Brave and the Bold instead relies upon a dry, ironic wit, sight gags, and loads of puns. There’s a tongue-in-cheek quality that makes many of these episodes quite appealing, showing off the fun and joy of superhero stories and comic book ridiculousness. This version of Aquaman ignores the tremendous pathos of the character in favor of a heavily glazed ham baking slowly. It works, and it works really well, just as a case in point.

But wait, you ask, why are you mentioning Aquaman in a show about Batman? Well, The Brave and the Bold is a team-up show, much like the comics of the same name or the World’s Finest comics. Instead of focusing on Batman and Robin, who does appear sporadically, this show places the emphasis on lesser known heroes, like the Guy Gardner and Jay Garrick versions of Green Lantern and the Flash. Superman and Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Batgirl and other well-known Batman allies appear in special episodes, but it’s more fun watching him team-up with this B-list roster, and the creators have more freedom in their interpretations of them.

While the series if openly flamboyant, even aggressively silly, it is also unafraid of going dark, or meta. The final episode, which finds Bat-Mite becoming bored with the series lighter tone and joke-a-minute pace, wanting something darker, and deconstructing the series, is a gem. It’s everything wacky and wild about Silver Age comics written in bold text, filled with exclamation points, and dynamic poses. As a comic fan, I found this series refreshing, proving that darker isn’t always better, it’s how successfully the material is handled that matters.