Steve Presents: Reviews of Batman Animated Series and others

[Steve]

I hope the necro will be excused, but I always stated this thread would be for me to post reviews as I watched things and they came to mind.

Allow me to now make a confession: I HAVE BEEN A GOD DAMNED MORON.

I started watching the Teen Titans animated series this past week. After seeing the "Final Exam" episode years ago when it premiered after JL's "Twilight", my brother and I swore it off because of the animation style, comedic anime tropes, and other such things that we felt meant the show would be kiddy and entirely unworthy of attention (especially when that image was contrasted to JL Season 2's strong start in "Twilight".

And having seen the first season, I can say we were god damned morons to do so.

Season 1 had some awesome stuff. "Nevermore", "Switched", "Masks", not to mention "The Apprentice". I felt the first episodes of Season 1 were a bit weak compared to the latter half of the season, with "Forces of Nature" and "Sum of His Parts" being the beginning of improvement, and so as I began Season 2 I wondered if "The Apprentice"'s good momentum would be carried or not.

And so I saw David Slack's "How Long is Forever?"..... and watched them start Season 2 with a home run with bases loaded (or a 90 yard touchdown run if you prefer a different sports analogy).


The episode was simply superb. Awesome acting, excellent scenes, great music, and an endearing story. Hynden Walch takes center stage with a Starfire-centric plot wherein our cute Tamaranean Titan tries to celebrate a friendship holiday just to find her friends squabbling over petty things and ending up destroying one of the bead necklaces for the holiday, a bad sign in her culture to be doing such as it invites the drifting apart of close friends. As the pretitle sequence ends, the Titans try to assure her that they'll always be friends... and must respond to an emergency call.

We are introduced to Warp, voiced expertly by Xander Berkeley (Who has been numerous roles in both live action - a number of Law & Order appearances, 24, Bones - and a couple voice roles in the DCAU, including that of the treacherous Atlantean general Brak from Justice League "The Enemy Below"). With his technology he overwhelms the Titans while stealing an artifact, but as he tries to enter a time warp Starfire slams into him, angry with him for hurting her friends and for ruining the holiday.

As they struggle in the timewarp she damages Warp's suit and takes a piece of it, so they are both plunged into the near-future. Starfire lands into a snowbank, cold and confused, and finds the Titan Tower in disrepair and damage. There she meets a damaged Cyborg, stuck in the tower due to the need for external power, and from there she finds all her old friends on their own, friendless, and in bad state. Warp ambushes her and retakes the device Starfire tore from his suit. When she demands he fix the damage to the future, believing his actions responsible for the dismal future she's seen, Xander Berkeley's Warp voices a chilling riposte: History cannot be "damaged". It cannot be altered. He was predestined to steal the clock artifact and the future she's seen is going to happen no matter what anyone does. A shadowy figure then leaps to Starfire's aid against Warp, who slips away. Starfire recognizes the voice as Robin. He replies that he's not gone by that name in a long time, and emerges from the shadows in his new uniform, with long mullet haircut, to say he's now called "Nightwing".

Nightwing brings the dejected Starfire back to his own HQ. He'd heard of her return and had been tracking her to help her. Starfire remarks on what Warp said: that it would be impossible to stop things from turning out this way. Nightwing's remark is that it's good that it's "impossible", since they'd overcome the impossible before. He pulls out his Titan communicator, something he'd been saving for such an occasion, and triggers it. A montage with a beautiful music background shows each of the older, divided Titans responding as, for the first time in years, the various comm receivers on their suits begin blinking and beeping.

And so we see Warp repairing his suit and Nightwing and Starfire coming after him. The battle turns their way and then against them, but before Warp can seize advantage he comes under attack from other quarters. The other Titans arrive, one by one, reunited at last. Warp is about to escape anyway when Nightwing tosses a throwing weapon seemingly geared to deal with Warp's own projectiles, as it slices it in half before impacting on the critical technology Starfire had previously taken. The damaged "vortex regulator" causes Warp to de-age until he is an infant. Cyborg seizes the regulator and uses it on the wormhole just before it closes, permitting Starfire to return - though not after Nightwing takes her hand gently and hands her the clock artifact, in seeming answer to her pleas if she could do anything to prevent the future - to her own time, just seconds after she and Warp went through the initial wormhole.

Once home, she has realized what has happened, as she tells the others "History said it disappeared. But history was wrong!" At the Tower she tells them of her experience: Beast Boy despairs at going bald to provide us some comedy after a fairly dramatic story and the others are afraid of drifting apart. Starfire points out that their friendship has already altered history and may yet change the future. Raven asks if they can still celebrate the Friendship festival and (with the comedic anime-style caricatures favored in the show) Starfire exclaims it's never too late and the celebration begins to a happy, whimsical music theme. Starfire puts one of the bead necklaces on Robin, who finishes the show with the remark "So, Nightwing huh?"


This episode is worthy of inclusion in the ranks of the greatest DCAU performances. It is a beautiful piece carried greatly by a lovable and sweet character, as we the viewers watch her struggle with a future where her beloved friends have drifted apart and become worse off for it. Xander Berkeley's Warp is a good villain for the piece, chilling in his performance (especially the scene where he proclaims to Starfire that history is on a set course and cannot be damaged; that the terrible world she sees is the future that will happen and she cannot change it, something that robs her of hope until Robin/Nightwing restores it). In the end result we can see that he is wrong in more than one way, not just that history is unchangeable, but that he was not responsible for what happened to the remaining Titans. Given that Starfire's broken bead necklace was still on the floor in the ruined Tower of the future, it would seem that her disappearance into the wormhole might very well have been a catalyst for the Titans coming apart, a disappearance that Warp made possible.

The show also provided us with some hints at Starfire and Robin being so close. Nightwing is very clearly affectionate for her and the way he looks at her at the end, taking her hand to put the clock in it and saying "there's no time", it's clear he had some things he wanted to say to her that he couldn't. I look forward to a continuance of this as I continue my way through Teen Titans' Second Season.

Finally, there is how the show portrayed the friendship of the Titans, how it strengthens and enriches their lives and how being deprived of it damaged them all in some way (Nightwing didn't seem as bad as the others, true, but he was also completely out of contact with them and losing Starfire likely reinforced the aspects of his personality that turn him into a loner, at least as the show has indicated so far.). In the end, Nightwing's use of the comm device and their response to it, the expressions they have as they see it become active, seems to reignite the spark within them to step forward again, ranging from the destitute Cyborg restoring himself enough to be independent of the tower or Beast Boy having the courage to leave his protective cage and leap into battle (his dialogue to Star made it pretty clear he had lost his courage for fighting and doing the right thing). And so, even in the cold future, Starfire does bring them together again, and in doing so their victory over Warp and Starfire returning home brings hope that the future she saw may never come to pass.

Given the beautiful musical score, the excellent scene-setting (like depicting the Titans' city in the future as being a cold, desolate, rundown place), and the good acting with Hynden Walch and Xander Berkeley carrying the dramatic load, "How Long is Forever?" is a classic.

My rating: 5/5.

Now excuse me, more episodes to watch, and more smacking myself for not seeing this show the first time around.

[Steve]

BAH. I forgot that I italicized episode titles mostly in the backup copy I put into WordPad. And of course there's no editing permitted.

[Steve]

And in an addendum to that review that I forgot: I love the animated Starfire. Really. She is such a lovable character, you never want anything bad to happen to her. And when she is struck, or smacked around, or otherwise hurt by a bad guy, you want to throttle the offender into unconsciousness.

The comic Starfire isn't a bad character per se, but she's a completely different one. She's the one who stares Lobo down in the middle of space, glowering at him after he smirks and rips her top off. I believe it was Adam Strange who remarked that "She's an alien princess, after all" on her ability to glower and dress people down. She's also, of course, one of DC's more notorious sex symbols, at least from what I've seen.

And when it comes down to it, I prefer the cute one.

[Shroom Man 777]

I agree. The comics Starfire is totally different, being a total WHORE. I prefer the animated version of ^____________________^ Starfire!

[Majin Gojira]

As a testament to Toon-Starfire's popularity, they essentially transplanted her personality into the DCU with the character Miss Martian.

Until her head began to also house her evil future self, that is. Because DC must try to fix things that aren't broken.

[Molyneux]

I agree. The comics Starfire is totally different, being a total WHORE. I prefer the animated version of ^____________________^ Starfire!

Oh, come on. She's pretty awesome too...but I do agree, I prefer the animated version.

And if any thread is worth a necro, it's this one.

[JME2]

Until her head began to also house her evil future self, that is. Because DC must try to fix things that aren't broken.

Eh, Sean McKeever says he's has long-term plans for M'gann M'orzz and I've enjoyed his run on Teen Titans (and the Terror Titans spin-off) thus far, so I'll trust him on this for the moment. But I'd rather take what's being done with Miss Martian than the s*** Winnick just pulled with Starfire (and Dick) over in the atrocity called Titans.

[Steve]

Until her head began to also house her evil future self, that is. Because DC must try to fix things that aren't broken.

Eh, Sean McKeever says he's has long-term plans for M'gann M'orzz and I've enjoyed his run on Teen Titans (and the Terror Titans spin-off) thus far, so I'll trust him on this for the moment. But I'd rather take what's being done with Miss Martian than the s*** Winnick just pulled with Starfire (and Dick) over in the atrocity called Titans.

Titans? Just plain Titans instead of Teen?

[JME2]

Until her head began to also house her evil future self, that is. Because DC must try to fix things that aren't broken.

Eh, Sean McKeever says he's has long-term plans for M'gann M'orzz and I've enjoyed his run on Teen Titans (and the Terror Titans spin-off) thus far, so I'll trust him on this for the moment. But I'd rather take what's being done with Miss Martian than the s*** Winnick just pulled with Starfire (and Dick) over in the atrocity called Titans.

Titans? Just plain Titans instead of Teen?

DC launched a new ongoing Titans title featuring the classic Wolfman/Perez-era lineup. Winnick's hit a new low, even for him; avoid this POS at all costs.

[Majin Gojira]

Until her head began to also house her evil future self, that is. Because DC must try to fix things that aren't broken.

Eh, Sean McKeever says he's has long-term plans for M'gann M'orzz and I've enjoyed his run on Teen Titans (and the Terror Titans spin-off) thus far, so I'll trust him on this for the moment. But I'd rather take what's being done with Miss Martian than the s*** Winnick just pulled with Starfire (and Dick) over in the atrocity called Titans.

True, it had a shakey start, but his Titan's run has improved greatly.

Not enough for me to spend money on it yet, but close to it. Still waiting for Wonder Girl to remember she had a brain once and Robin to actually move on with his life--or at least finally snap.

God I miss Young Justice.

[JME2]

Until her head began to also house her evil future self, that is. Because DC must try to fix things that aren't broken.

Eh, Sean McKeever says he's has long-term plans for M'gann M'orzz and I've enjoyed his run on Teen Titans (and the Terror Titans spin-off) thus far, so I'll trust him on this for the moment. But I'd rather take what's being done with Miss Martian than the s*** Winnick just pulled with Starfire (and Dick) over in the atrocity called Titans.

True, it had a shakey start, but his Titan's run has improved greatly.

Not enough for me to spend money on it yet, but close to it. Still waiting for Wonder Girl to remember she had a brain once and Robin to actually move on with his life--or at least finally snap.

God I miss Young Justice.

True, but the Sons of Trigon, Raven going evil again, Dick rejecting Starfire once again -- this has all been done and rehashed. I just don't care. The only thing that might -- emphasis might -- draw me back in is the long-awaited return of Howard Porter to a monthly title as the new artist (he hasn't done much due to the hand injury he sustained while working on Trails of Shazam; Newsarama had an interesting interview up last week).

[RogueIce]

Back to the original reason the thread was updated ( ) I have to agree with Steve that "How Long is Forever...?" is a 5/5, and I love the animated Starfire. A lot of that, I'm sure, is due to Hynden Walch's suberb VAing. She delivers an excellent performance in this episode and it really sells the despair Starfire must be feeling (she's also quite good all around in TT...and of course her heartbreaking perfomance as Ace in JLU's Epilogue).

Although I came around sooner than Steve, I too was at first a bit distrustful of Teen Titans TAS. But then I saw episodes like the aforementioned Masks, The Apprentice, and season 2's Terra arc and I was turned around. Even some of their purely zany episodes were awesome as well, especially the one with the TV remote theme (forgot the title).

I would say to try and check out Static Shock if you can. They had some solid episodes as well, and the "guest appearance" ones were pretty good (especially the one with GL solo, especially when you consider it's Phill LaMarr talking to himself; FWIW I think LaMarr is an excellent VA, up there with Kevin Conroy, Hynden Walch, George Newbern, et al).

[Majin Gojira]

True, but the Sons of Trigon, Raven going evil again, Dick rejecting Starfire once again -- this has all been done and rehashed. I just don't care. The only thing that might -- emphasis might -- draw me back in is the long-awaited return of Howard Porter to a monthly title as the new artist (he hasn't done much due to the hand injury he sustained while working on Trails of Shazam; Newsarama had an interesting interview up last week).

Frak, I'm an idiot. I was refering to the Teen Titans developments with Miss Martian, not the Titans run.

My bad.

[Steve]

Back to the original reason the thread was updated ( ) I have to agree with Steve that "How Long is Forever...?" is a 5/5, and I love the animated Starfire. A lot of that, I'm sure, is due to Hynden Walch's suberb VAing. She delivers an excellent performance in this episode and it really sells the despair Starfire must be feeling (she's also quite good all around in TT...and of course her heartbreaking perfomance as Ace in JLU's Epilogue).

Although I came around sooner than Steve, I too was at first a bit distrustful of Teen Titans TAS. But then I saw episodes like the aforementioned Masks, The Apprentice, and season 2's Terra arc and I was turned around. Even some of their purely zany episodes were awesome as well, especially the one with the TV remote theme (forgot the title).

I would say to try and check out Static Shock if you can. They had some solid episodes as well, and the "guest appearance" ones were pretty good (especially the one with GL solo, especially when you consider it's Phill LaMarr talking to himself; FWIW I think LaMarr is an excellent VA, up there with Kevin Conroy, Hynden Walch, George Newbern, et al).

Oh, I've seen Static Shock, don't think I've seen every single little episode, but I've seen enough of 'em.

I really like how they let Static Shock continue the storyline of Toyman's last STAS appearance in "Toys in the Hood". Even if some of the crossover episodes sometimes seem a bit too much concentrated on Static saving the day, they usually have good plot reasons for it.

[JME2]

Back to the original reason the thread was updated ( ) I have to agree with Steve that "How Long is Forever...?" is a 5/5, and I love the animated Starfire. A lot of that, I'm sure, is due to Hynden Walch's suberb VAing. She delivers an excellent performance in this episode and it really sells the despair Starfire must be feeling (she's also quite good all around in TT...and of course her heartbreaking perfomance as Ace in JLU's Epilogue).

Although I came around sooner than Steve, I too was at first a bit distrustful of Teen Titans TAS. But then I saw episodes like the aforementioned Masks, The Apprentice, and season 2's Terra arc and I was turned around. Even some of their purely zany episodes were awesome as well, especially the one with the TV remote theme (forgot the title).

I would say to try and check out Static Shock if you can. They had some solid episodes as well, and the "guest appearance" ones were pretty good (especially the one with GL solo, especially when you consider it's Phill LaMarr talking to himself; FWIW I think LaMarr is an excellent VA, up there with Kevin Conroy, Hynden Walch, George Newbern, et al).

Oh, I've seen Static Shock, don't think I've seen every single little episode, but I've seen enough of 'em.

I really like how they let Static Shock continue the storyline of Toyman's last STAS appearance in "Toys in the Hood". Even if some of the crossover episodes sometimes seem a bit too much concentrated on Static saving the day, they usually have good plot reasons for it.

I remember liking "The Big Leagues", the first appearance of Bats on the series. Also gave us some fun Hamill Joker lines:

"How droll. But since we're so anxious to get this over with...let's get this over with!"

"You won't see that at the auto show!"

"Oh children?! Uncle Joker needs you!"

[Steve]

To summarize further opinions without giving specific episode reviews (don't have any yet).

I heartily approve of the Terra arc. It was to Teen Titans what Cadmus was to JLU. Actually, perhaps, a bit of the Cadmus arc and a bit of the John/Shayera arc. It was some excellent chance for Greg Cipes to do very good VAing and for Beast Boy to get some good characterization beyond being the wacky comedic relief.

The Brother Blood arc was not as good, but not out of anything done wrong, it simply didn't hit at the same level as Terra's arc did while still being an excellent story (especially Blood's obsession with how Cyborg was resistant to his mind control).

As for zany episodes, "Revolution" simply won bigtime. Malcolm McDowell is awesome as Mad Mod and the whole art-style of turning the city into cutout bits of black-and-white London with the sky made into a Union Jack was a stroke of genius (not to mention other homages to popular British stuff, like Mad Mod appearing in one sequence similar to "God" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

"Betrothed" was one of the few episodes I remembered from its airing, and that was only because I remember the commercial for it and the whole "Starfire has to marry a green blob alien" the commercial featured. But to see it as an episode centered around Blackfire's long-delayed revenge for the events of "Sisters" was cool, if not entirely unexpected. It did give Blackfire at least some of the menace of the comic book Komand'r (Who is far nastier just by her appearances from Rann-Thanagar War and JSA Classified/Hawkgirl, the post-IC storyline when Hawkman and Hawkgirl had to tangle with her, not counting what her wiki article says about her). Plus it provided a nice juxtaposition to "Date With Destiny". And Robin and Starfire do make such a cute couple.... (And better than what Winnick is doing to them in "Titans", yes JME, I've caught up with that too).


I've now watched up to Season 3's end, two seasons to go. Though as I expressed to Rogue over IMs, I wonder what would be necessary to integrate TTAS in any way into DCAU? (Not entirely, since the direction they took stylistically does diverge strongly from the rest of the DCAU).

[CaptainChewbacca]

In the Static Shock/Batman crossover, Batman said that someday soon Static would be a good addition to the Titans.

[Steve]

In the Static Shock/Batman crossover, Batman said that someday soon Static would be a good addition to the Titans.

Yes, but that crossover was before they decided TTAS would be in a seperate continuity. Given how the show goes and the fact they picked Dick instead of Tim to be their Robin, not to mention the style, I think it's clear TTAS is a seperate continuity from the rest of the Timm DCAU.

[Steve]

I've finished the run of Teen Titans, everything save Trouble in Tokyo. Now I'm looking through World's Finest's reviews of the episode (which make me want to smack the writer in the head more often than not: Season 3's plot arc might've been the weakest of the five, but it was still okay, and "Cyborg the Barbarian" was one of the best episodes of the damned fourth season - it was about time Cyborg got some real character moments).

If I had to rate them, I'd say that Season 2 had the best plot arc, the Terra arc narrowly better than Season 4 with Raven/Trigon, with Seasons 5, 1, and 3 in the final three places (Seasons 5 and 1 can be considered close competitors for third.) And "Things Change" was an excellent finale for Season 5, which was Beast Boy's season IMHO. Maybe a more team-centric finale would've been better for the series, but I'll take this one.

[Molyneux]

I've finished the run of Teen Titans, everything save Trouble in Tokyo. Now I'm looking through World's Finest's reviews of the episode (which make me want to smack the writer in the head more often than not: Season 3's plot arc might've been the weakest of the five, but it was still okay, and "Cyborg the Barbarian" was one of the best episodes of the damned fourth season - it was about time Cyborg got some real character moments).

If I had to rate them, I'd say that Season 2 had the best plot arc, the Terra arc narrowly better than Season 4 with Raven/Trigon, with Seasons 5, 1, and 3 in the final three places (Seasons 5 and 1 can be considered close competitors for third.) And "Things Change" was an excellent finale for Season 5, which was Beast Boy's season IMHO. Maybe a more team-centric finale would've been better for the series, but I'll take this one.

They got a more team-centric finale; it's called "Trouble in Tokyo".

[Steve]

I've finished the run of Teen Titans, everything save Trouble in Tokyo. Now I'm looking through World's Finest's reviews of the episode (which make me want to smack the writer in the head more often than not: Season 3's plot arc might've been the weakest of the five, but it was still okay, and "Cyborg the Barbarian" was one of the best episodes of the damned fourth season - it was about time Cyborg got some real character moments).

If I had to rate them, I'd say that Season 2 had the best plot arc, the Terra arc narrowly better than Season 4 with Raven/Trigon, with Seasons 5, 1, and 3 in the final three places (Seasons 5 and 1 can be considered close competitors for third.) And "Things Change" was an excellent finale for Season 5, which was Beast Boy's season IMHO. Maybe a more team-centric finale would've been better for the series, but I'll take this one.

They got a more team-centric finale; it's called "Trouble in Tokyo".

I've yet to see that.

[Molyneux]

I've finished the run of Teen Titans, everything save Trouble in Tokyo. Now I'm looking through World's Finest's reviews of the episode (which make me want to smack the writer in the head more often than not: Season 3's plot arc might've been the weakest of the five, but it was still okay, and "Cyborg the Barbarian" was one of the best episodes of the damned fourth season - it was about time Cyborg got some real character moments).

If I had to rate them, I'd say that Season 2 had the best plot arc, the Terra arc narrowly better than Season 4 with Raven/Trigon, with Seasons 5, 1, and 3 in the final three places (Seasons 5 and 1 can be considered close competitors for third.) And "Things Change" was an excellent finale for Season 5, which was Beast Boy's season IMHO. Maybe a more team-centric finale would've been better for the series, but I'll take this one.

They got a more team-centric finale; it's called "Trouble in Tokyo".

I've yet to see that.

I know, you mentioned that in your previous post - just remember that you haven't quite seen the real finale of the series yet, is all.

[Steve]

.....wow.

I saw Trouble in Tokyo.

5/5 rating. 'Nuff said.

[Steve]

And now for a show that some of you may not even remember or knew existed....

In 1995, Ruby-Spears and Ashi Productions joined forces to produce a TV series that would last twenty-seven episodes based on one of the most iconic video game protagonists of all time: Mega Man.

Mega Man had already featured as a character in Captain N but here was provided with his own show, voiced by Ian Corlett (Cheetor from Beast Wars), with Scott McNeill providing double-duty as the lead antagonists: Dr. Wily and Protoman (who is portrayed as being programmed by Wily to be loyal to him, though that doesn't stop Proto from mocking, teasing, and insulting Wily while engaging in a personal rivalry of his own with Mega Man.

Though such a series had enormous potential, it was sadly lost in the fact that Mega Man was written more like a cartoon from the 1980s; 2D character presentation, simplistic and formulaic plots, contrived occurrences to maintain the status quo (after all, nobody attempts to capture Wily no matter how severe his defeats). It's a bit ironic given that we were already seeing the signs of a new style of more complex character creation and storytelling in cartoons with the success of Batman: The Animated Series and Disney rolling out "Gargoyles"; FoxKids would to some degree permit similar developments to effect the X-Men and Spider-Man animated shows they had. Ruby-Spears opted to go the conservative, old school route, and a show that was full of possibilities for advanced story-telling was permitted to be a cheap cartoon series more in line with something from '85 than '95.
On this note, I argue that we could consider BTAS to perhaps be the harbinger of a new "division" of American animation, or perhaps more accurately, a subgenre in American animation. A show that eschewed the traditional story and character limits of the "cartoon" and chose more serious writing that could appeal to more than kids, heralding the arrival of the "animated series".

This brings us back to Mega Man. Mega Man falls firmly on the cartoon side of this equation. But there were still some fun episodes, especially for those of us who remember the Mega Man games fondly (no matter how frustratingly hard they were!).

One such episode should reveal the clear interest in it just from the title: "Mega X".

One of the last episodes of the series, "Mega X" was the only episode to incorporate, in some way, the Mega Man X timeframe story into the TV cartoon. It begins with Wily making an unsuccessful assault on a plasma power station where Dr. Light is keeping a new alloy he's helped invented, Lightanium, critical to the production of raw plasma and offering a revolution in energy production. Wily returns to his fortress in defeat, where he and Protoman are soon faced with visitors. An emerald energy vortex forms and out step Spark Mandrill and Vile, sent by Sigma to claim Lightanium which, in their time, is sparse and very expensive.

After cowing Wily and taking the plans to the power station from him, Mandrill and Vile launch an assault on the power station and handily dispatch of Mega Man, Roll, and Rush. As we return from commercial break to find Vile about to put an end to Mega and Roll, he is distracted by another time vortex forming. A humanoid form steps out, we see a left hand retract into a blaster module, and a bolt of blue energy nearly hit Mandrill and Vile as they dodge. A rock guitar riff begins playing as Mega Man X walks into the scene. And this ain't the pacifist X of the games, but a determined warrior who shows complete disregard for collateral damage as he barrages the Mavericks with blaster shot after powerful blaster shot. A concerned Mega Man is unable to prevent X from blasting away until there is an explosion in which Vile and Mandrill disappear, leaving a frustrated X to explain things to Mega Man and our other heroes.

Vile and Mandrill have meanwhile been aided by Wily, who plans his own renewed attack to acquire the Lightanium. They break a dam to flood the plant and disable the security systems despite an attempted intervention by Mega Man and X, permitting them to steal the Lightanium. X and Mega Man chase them and arrive before a new time portal is created but after Wily has gotten his plasma-using "Super blaster" going, which he uses to attempt to destroy them. Naturally he misses and the two survive, beginning the climax. As Mega Man delays Vile and Mandrill, attempted to pull the Lightanium on an anti-grav cart into a time portal, X smacks Wily's bots around and absorbs Snake Man's weapon to destroy Wily's blaster cannon. He and Mega Man successfully delay Vile and Mandrill, one of X's shots knocking the two Mavericks into the cart and causing the Lightanium to fall off. X gives a "good to work with you" remark to Rock and grabs the anti-grav cart, using it to push Mandrill and Vile into the fading time portal. Mega Man commends that it's good to know that there's a "real hero protecting the future" (Rush agrees in his annoying "Scooby Doo" voice) and the show ends.


As with a number of Mega Man episodes, the show's simplistic production values cost us some of the potential of the story, but I've already remarked upon that so I won't further dwell on it. It was probably in the upper half of episodes in story quality, actually, and what Mega Man mythos fan can not like the idea of the original Blue Bomber and his Reploid cousin working together to stop an unholy alliance of Sigma's Mavericks working with Wily? Granted, as mentioned, X is certainly nothing like the video game X, who was developed as a pacifist in later games who was generally reluctant and disliking of committing violence.

Ultimately Mega Man was produced past its time, a show in the 80s style done just as Bruce Timm and team were about to start up Superman, turning their Batman show into a franchise that would spinoff two more shows beyond Superman and form a mythos stretching 14 years, and Disney was raising their own bar with the production of Gargoyles. The show works if you're willing to enjoy the simple stories and action and not think too much on the series. And "Mega X" particularly works in this fashion.

I therefore award it a 3/5. I might've made it a 3.5 if they'd let X or Mega Man actually absorb Spark Mandrill's weapon, or showed Zero and more of the X timeframe.

[CaptainChewbacca]

On the subject of BTAS, I recently saw 'Batman: Sub Zero', and it was a great movie. Good characterization, exploration of the Dick/Barbara romance, and it gave (in my opinion) a great end to Mr. Freeze's storyline. Nora even woke up at the end.