It’s time for the Captain Marvel family to spend some time with Batman.
What They Say:
The Malicious Mr. Mind!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The revolving door for Batman: Brave and the Bold continues to be excellent. After the past couple of episodes that gave us Superman for an extended piece and then various interpretations of Batman, the series now brings in another round of fun characters. The pre-credits sequence is a cute little piece that has Kamandi and Dr. Canus coming back in time through a wormhole to deal with a robotic threat that can only be handled by something found in the 21st century. It’s a cute gimmick, but the fun is in watching Kamandi and the awkward and somewhat rough humor Batman employs at times, especially about leash laws when it comes to Canus.
Where the main episode goes is the best right from the start though as Dr. Sivana and the Monster Society are set to create a little chaos with superior numbers to deal with Batman while in Fawcett City. Their numerical superiority goes down the hole pretty quickly though when Billy Batson and the Captain Marvel family hears about what’s going on and they come to save the day. It’s a quick retreat for Sivana and company, but the results are where things really gets fun. Batman ended up getting reduced in age to a teenager level and the Monster Society votes in what they think is a more competent leader afterward with Mr. Mind taking over from Sivana. With him being an alien worm that originally debuted in the comics back in 1943, you’re not getting something that’s going to look all too serious. He’s pretty amusing looking in general, which really does play well in this particular series where these kinds of characters can find a new life without being retconned into something too villainous.
The episode has a lot going for it that’s really pretty cute. Batman continually gets younger and has the personality mixing into it, even as he deals with pimples and getting embarrassed when Mary Marvel praises his scientific skills. As Batman gets younger and younger, he gets even more adorable. But it’s well balanced as there is serious material playing alongside it as Mr. Mind turns the Marvel Family against each other. His plan to let them defeat themselves works ideally, though they get a little help from the Monster Society along the way with Doctor Sivana, Mister Atom, Kru’ll the Eternal, Ibac, Oom the Mighty and Jeepers the Bat doling out some attacks. They’re pretty underused overall with only Sivana and Mr. Mind really getting any serious attention.
In Summary:
The story here is pretty straightforward as we see the Marvel Family deal with the rift that Mr. Mind causes and Batman trying to patch them back together to get some help in fixing his own pint sized problem.
Grade: B
