Episode 5: DAY OF THE DARK KNIGHT

I feel like a broken record, but my enjoyment of team up shows (comics) depends on who’s involved. With The Brave and The Bold it really matters because of the super kiddy feel of the show. Well this episode was a double check for me. The cold open team up featured Guy Gardner, my favorite jerk off Lantern. I have to admit my first reaction was, why the hell is Batman on Oa and why the hell would the Guardians ask an outsider to help keep their Lantern in check?  With that odd bit out of the way I settled in and enjoyed seeing Kilowog and a bunch of other Lanterns (Good old Salaak) show up.

This little opening dealt with Gardner’s attitude getting him into trouble when he tosses a cup of coffee on a small alien that turns larger when in contact with liquid. Of Course Batman saves the day and makes Gardner clean up the mess. Now we get to the main story, with Batman and Green Arrow stopping a jail break out. Much like the opening story to the first episode, Green Arrow and Batman are super competitive over everything. All that stops when a certain long bearded man casts a spell and Batman and Green Arrow are taken to the King Arthur’s time. The bearded man of course reveals himself to be Merlin and tells Batman he’s supposed to take the sword from the stone and stop Morgan Le Fey and Etrigan. Green Arrow gets upset that everybody thinks Batman’s so great and they argue.

It was cool to see Etrigan, who no matter what show he shows up in looks exactly the same. Actually that character has not changed in look since the day he first showed up. I’m a sucker for King Arthur stories and all those characters so I just enjoyed this episode from start to finish. The competitive stuff with Batman and Green Arrow did start to grate on my nerves a bit towards the end but it was supposed to, being that Merlin got sick of it and sent them back to the present once the fight was done. The message I got  from this episode was that working together is best and being overally competitive isn’t good, although of course Bats and Green Arrow get right back into it at the end.

CHARLES’ GRADE: B+

PROS: MERLIN, ETRIGAN, MORGAN LE FEY, GREEN ARROW, GUY GARDNER

CONS: THE COMPETITIVE STUFF KINDA GOT ANNOYING TOWARDS THE END