Warning, Today's episode contains spoilers for Amazon Primes Batman The Caped Crusader episodes one through four. Hello, my name is Jason Sepsione.
And I am Danny Fernandez, and.
Welcome back to the Extra vision of the podcast, when we dive deep into your favorite shows, movies, comics, and pop culture. Coming to you from iHeart Podcast, where we're bringing you two episodes a week, every Tuesday and Thursday. In today's episode, we're gonna be breaking down the first four episodes of Batman Cape Crusader. I'm gonna be helped in that regard by the wonderful Danny Fernandez. Danny, thank you so much for helping us out.
I am so excited to talk about our detective. Here.
Let's throw up the bat single Batman Caped Crusader on Amazon Prime Video, the spiritual and emotional descendant of Batman, the original animated series. Let's get into it. It's we start with episode one in Treacherous Waters, story by Bruce tim written by Jace Ricci, directed by Christina Soda. Danny, we have explosions going off across Gotham City. What do you think the rent is in Gotham sty like a normal studio apartment.
I felt like it's actually not bad. Renee Montoya keeps, you know, hinting how horrible, and she loves it. She loves how you know, gritty this town is, and the wealthier people should not be here. So I feel it's pretty, it's pretty cheap. I do have to say, I'm obsessed with this art in the like nineteen forties vibe. They just knocked it out of the planet.
Could not agree more So, Explosions are ripping across Gotham City. There is some sort of new gang war opening up against Rupert Thorne, mob boss extraordinaire. Of course, the Batman gets involved. Meanwhile, in the Halls of Justice, Harvey Dent clashing with Rising Day Barbara Gordon Batman wanting to find out more about why are the cops not getting involved
in the explosions, What do they know about it? Why is why are details of these explosions not reaching the news, Dabby, I think it's because the cops are corrupt.
They just might be. Yeah, that feels very Gothamy of them and something that Batman Bruce Wayne should know.
So he breaks into PD starts looking around. Then he takes a dirty cop dangles of what to find out, Oh, you know who's behind this? And he gets the name of Oswalde cobble Pot Oswalde Love Love oswalda rising criminal in the mafia hierarchy of Gotham City and also quite a talented singer, yeah in her own right, also known as the Penguin. To find out more, Bruce attends a party on Coblepots floating club. The Iceberg Lounge looks pretty swanky.
Also in attendance Commissioner Gordon. Why is Commissioner is he?
Just look at the talent? The city is incestuous. Everyone knows each other. I will say that everyone knows each other in this city.
These are the problems that the Batman has created himself to deal with. So Commissioner Gordon is there? Barbara is there? Harvey Dent? Is there? A lot of Gotham's high societies at the Iceberg Lounge. The Penguin tries to not very subtly troll Thorn, like, oh, it's crazy, all these explosions targeting your various headquarters, like what's going on? But then Thorn lets slip that actually, like I know all about it.
I know what's going on because I have an informant in the gang of whoever it might be that's coming against me, and the penguin goes fucking nuts. She figures the leak is one of her two sons. It's either Aaron, her favorite, or Ronald, the more nervous one, and of course she kills Aaron, her favorite, but of course it truth it's Ronald.
Honestly, this happening on the first episode was insane. I literally thought Batman was gonna be insane.
I was like, wait, do we just get e merge straight out a child right away?
I'm pretty sure he's like in high school. I'm like, oh my god. And also Thorn just like, yeah, I don't care what happened to this kid. I mean that was wow, Yeah.
Very very rough. Ronald fearing for his life and naturally so flees. He goes to the cops for protection. They basically laugh at him. He goes to Barbara Gordon, who he I was shocked at how hard Ronald actually had to pitch himself as an informant to the DA's office, Like He's like, I know a murders, like I know about all this crime stuff, and Barber's like, I don't really like, I don't know.
They're just doing their job. Jason. Okay, they're just doing their job.
That's true. Ronald spills all the beans to the Gordons about, you know, basically how his mother, the Penguin, is creating these explosions. Basically they have like an artillery gun, like they have a mortar that they have on top of a building, and they're just like firing at whatever target they want.
So how would you not see?
How would you not see? How this is how decrepit Gotham is.
That's true.
Every day it's like someone is shelling various points in the city and we can't figure out why. We Well, the Penguin, now understanding that her son is informing, decides, well, I'm gonna shell the police station. Okay. Batman gets extremely active to foil the plan. Meanwhile, the Gordons rush to evacuate the police station. And it's a good thing too, because Batman, this is Batman. You're one Batman maybe like Batman Month three, Batman, Like.
We disagree about that?
You do tell me why you think?
Because he has a whole layer like, there's no, this is not year one Batman. He did not have that suit Okay, he was like very kick ass attire. I'm gonna say that much like even what we saw, not to spoil, but ahead of Catwoman. When I saw her outfit, I'm like, yeah, you would die like she it's like a dress with like I'm like, okay, yeah, that's her day one. This Batman, though, has figured some stuff out. He's been doing this for at least.
Two years, you think two years now.
Also his mobile, you don't have that.
Day sick rich guy, but rich guys, it's just like you just like I'll get the mobile.
Like he had like a what is something he had, like a Ferrari that he put bat ears on.
He had like a yeah, it was like a like a Porsche or a Ferrari or something. Yeah, like a Bentley that said ears. Here's my argument. Not a lot of people seem to be aware that the Batman is is out there working. The cops have yet to target him. Okay, Selena is like known as a sketchy person but hasn't gone full Catwoman yet, and they don't know each other yet personally, and so it feels, let's put it anywhere within the first two years, but it's certainly very early
in his crime fighting career. He's still getting the hang of stuff. Although to your point, has the wonderful bat caves, all his weapons, has all the weapons, has like the tactical like beat out board, and all the computer stuff, so he has like all he does have all.
The hardware preseason preseason football.
So Batman does manage to like stop the penguin, but the penguin gets a shell off levels the police station and Barbara has to tell her dad, Commissioner Gordon, that yes, the Batman is real. Bump bump, bump back home. Batman is like Alfred I failed, which she shelled the police station. I didn't catch any criminals. I did fight like a couple of hench people, and that's it. I fucked up. I love the kind of very dark, almost bittersweet tone of this episode in the overall series, where it's like
Batman kind of like fighting against the tide. It's like unclear that he's actually making a dent in any of this stuff.
Yeah, I do love that he like, you know, there's a scene where he like punches out the cops later on and they're like, are you sure you want that in the paper.
He's like sure.
I love I love morally ambiguous characters, and I love that about Batman. I love that he takes the law into his own hands, which technically makes him a villain. Whenever people I'm such a troll, I've also written for DC, so I feel like I'm allowed to say this. But whenever I'm such a troll that whenever people post, well, who is your favorite DC villain, I always say Batman and people won't get so mad. He's the best villain. He's a billionaire who has convinced you to be to
root for him. That's a villain.
I mean he is absolutely he's certainly outside of the law. Yeah, and I think definitionly, you're absolutely correct. Not only is he outside of the law, he is doing stuff because he's a psycho like. He is doing this because he is an unhinged human being. Right as this show will delve into, we continue episode one on two and be
Villain written by Greg Rucka, directed by Matt Peters. Actress extraordinaire noted scream Queen Yvonne Francis goes missing the police dragon Bruce Wayne, local billionaire, because Bruce went on a date with her, As of course Bruce did. Bruce is eager to keep the family name out of this, and money is no object. He tells Detective Montoya, who renamed Montoya currently on the case. Montoya is like, how fucking dare you? Your fucking piece of shit? Are you fucking kidding?
You're lucky I don't bring you in right now. If I didn't have a million other things to do, I'd bring you it, you fucking asshole, How dare you? Which, of course Bruce Wayne.
Loves he loves a feisty woman.
In the middle of the interview, Lucius Fox, Wayne's attorney shows up and is like, A you're talking about client, what the fuck? Shut it down? Wayne? Of course, like you know, puts a little star next to Montoya's name, knowing that maybe this is someone I can ally with in the future. Montoya brings her investigation to Basil Carlow. A love the name.
I love the name, great mouse, detective.
Love that noted actor in many horror films. And a guy who's aging. I think he looks great, but let's just put it out there right now. It's part of the plots. He's getting up there. He isn't naturally aging.
Jason. I think you're part of the plot is that he's just always been ugly to people. Okay, I think he I like, what's so funny? Yeah, back in the forties, you can't look like this. But now I'm like, oh, he could have worked. I don't know, like Alan Rickman, who I think is more attractive, but like very Alan Rickman vibes so Bori.
Basil is an ugly guy. Renee gets to Basil's apart but just nowhere just want to.
Say, It's like, yeah, only you weren't so ugly, Like that's how the whole episode is, like, like his career and his love life is like, you would be if you weren't so ugly, you would be.
The You'd be the greatest star of this, of stage and screen, Basle, if only if the folds in your face weren't so so dramatic. Renna hears him cry out. She goes in. He stabbed the death Batman chases the murderer, who is this weirdo with a mangled face under a red scarf. Murderer gets away. Elsewhere, we see that Yvonne is chained up in a luxurious bedroom and her captors are applying makeup to her horrific situation. Later red Scarf Guy kills the head of Monuscope Pictures, where Yvonne worked.
Montoya learns that the late Basle was concerned about how ugly he was, and also, I have to say, was treat like the way people talked about it about it was terrible, right.
Right, they're like gaslighting him.
Yeah, they're just totally gaslighting about it, and it's it's horrible. And desperate for better roles to be that that star that he always imagined himself to be, he went so far as to pursue some sort of experimental facial treatment that may or may not have been some sort of scam some clear if it word. Batman confronts the mass man on the studio a lot. It's clear that this
mass person has access to the studio a lot. Somehow, they duel with swords on the set and a wonderful, so incredible set piece that really like.
There was a shit where the shadows were dueling so great.
Oh, it was so cool, shades of like, uh, the the thirties.
Yeah, like Three Musketeers or Costner's Robin Hood where they yield in a little castle.
So so cool. Unfortunately, the set collapses on Batman and the man gets away. Under the set, Batman finds two of the people that Detective Montoya had recently interviewed, like less than an hour ago, and they're dead. Montoya goes to see the doctor Ellman, this seemingly crooked plastic surgeon that had been dealing with mister Carlo. Meanwhile, Batman discovers that the late mister Carlo, who has a rubber, very rubbery face, is in fact not Carlo. Is Carlo the killer?
Who is this guy? Doctor Ellman turns out to be Carlo in disguise. He takes Detective Montoya prisoner. He tells her the whole story. Ellman gave him the miracle cure, and for a time it worked, for a very it he looked great, he looked wonderful, looked incredible.
You just couldn't be in eighty degree weather.
Yeah, or his face would melt, which it quickly did. After he goes to see Yvonne to say, look how great I look, she rejects Carlo his a face. His face immediately just starts like melting and sloughing and changing shape. Carlo can now mold his face to impersonate anyone. But obviously, as we mentioned heat is heat and prolonged exposure to.
Sunlight again heartbreak apparently, Yeah, like his emotional status is a problem.
He next plans to dramatically murder Yvonne to become the villain that he believes himself that he's gonna murder her in this very Edgar Allan pope hit in a pendulum kind of way. And I love what happens next. Yvonne, facing danger and death, fucking goes in on Basil, like, no, you know what, I didn't The performance was thin, it's weak. I don't buy you as a as a villain, as a evil mastermind. I'm just not getting it. I'm not It's not there, Basil.
I love it. All you have to do is turn down men and they crumble.
Heat and Basil, Basil absolutely crumbles. Montoya frees Yvonne as Batman shows up, defeats Basil. Montoya tries to take Batman in of course, after the end of all this, but of course he slips away once again. The Batman is free. What a wonderful episode.
I love I love the called old Hollywood.
I love it. Yeah, and the the you know, the the continuing nods to the pulpy nature of this series, which again is not a actual sequel to the original Batman animated series, but like, spiritually it feels as if, like, did you love Batman the animated series when you were a kid? Can you imagine if I was like, no, but this is like you loved it when you were a kid, and now here's this and it's grown up thematically at least with you, even though you could still like.
It's grown up thematically, but yes, you can still and that's great that. I mean, that's what I think is really nice with quote unquote like kids, Like they don't want to watch something that's made for twelve year olds. They want to watch the thing that's made for adults that there is still accessible to them and treats them,
you know, like they're intelligent. So it's a full family affair, except for the fact that Bruce Wayne has to let everyone know that he's constantly getting laid, which I'm obsessed with.
I'm like constantly talking about constantly like sorry.
It was up late with a woman last night. You just you know, I love that he's dated everybody in town. It's very ancestor to his town. It's it's it's funny because Gotham so isolated and it feels like a small like Texas town, even though it's a city. It's a full blown city, but everybody knows each other. You cannot escape. It's Hotel California.
Ye. This brings us to I think my favorite episode of this first four episodes of the season, Kiss of the Cat Woman, story by Edbrew Baker and Bruce tim written by a Dama Ebo.
And Adona, who are very good friends of mine. They're the EPs of a show that I'm developing, and they wrote two. I think they wrote two episodes. I haven't finished the full season, but I've at least seen their name twice.
Directed by Christopher Berkeley. We open it a at the museum where there is this wonderful exhibit of fine jewelry and of course suspected jewel thiefs. Lena Kyle is there, as is Bruce Wayne. They strike up a conversation, very flirty conversation. Of course, she asks him out. She's like, don't you think it's time? Like you've dated everybody else ran through this whole town.
Why has he not? I would like to know what's going on.
Uh, this incredible chemistry is interrupted when Wayne overhears a reporter making a cruel but honestly not that out of pocket remark about the Wayne's end the wisdom of sauntering into crime Ali wearing all your fucking jewelry. I do have to say this is it's victim blaming, but I guess it's victim blaming.
Yes, and this is a noted you know joke repeatedly in Batman canon and Batman movies and shows about them going into which I want to say, it's not actually crime alley is what it's the nickname for it, exus Like, why would you go into crime aalley?
It's not it was not actually crime alley Like all this, although they are.
Pretty there is an Edward e Enigma. I wonder who did it. I wonder if it's Edward Enigma. There are stuff like that in Batman. But yeah, it's not actually crime Ali, and it is victim blaming. Jason should be allowed to wear what she wants. It's correct, wherever she wants.
That's right. Bruce snaps punches the guy and has to attend court ordered anger manager because of this, so he ends up at the therapist's office, and his therapist is doctor doctor Quinzel, pre clown Harley Quinn. And these are my favorite scenes of these of the of the season so far. I just love Bruce absolutely dodging therapy, acting like he shouldn't be there. He has not like, well, I'm fine. What are you talking about? My sex life
is is popping off? Donnie? You can't meat meat problems? What?
I am fine? I am past it.
Yes, my parents were brutally slain in front of my eyes. I moved on from that. And I moved on from that, you know, by by diving into the welcoming all arms of every woman in Gotham City and rub and I'm fine, I'm fine. Later in the car ride from the office, Alfred is like, you know been. I have been wanting you to go to therapy for a while. I hope you take it. How was it? And Bruce is just like shut the flock.
He's like, drop it, drop it. Honestly, that's kind of on Alfred though he should have taken him to therapy when he was little, Like that's a little on Alfred, I will have to.
Say completely agree with you. I would say it's a lot on Alfred, who has been from the flashbags. We know a betting Master Wades diversions and his toxic response to trauma has been absolutely supporting this all the way. That said, I get it. Alfred's in a tough spot. He needs the job and he does care about Master Wade, but still he gets shut it. I mean, Bruce shuts him the fuck down. He's like, yeah, it's fucking this. This lady's trying to get in my head that I'm fine.
I'm not gonna let her in my head. Out her job, it is literally what she's there to do. He opens up his file that he got from doctor Quinzell and he get in. There's a little card in there. Basically the doc is like, you know, you know, please come back, like I think we're getting somewhere, and Bruce clearly receives this as ladies, they can't they can't stop, they can't stop coming for Big b.
Are you saying he's the guy that thinks the stripper likes him.
There's a side of Bruce Wayne and it's like, here we go again.
They're coming out, ladies.
What can I do?
I have to say, I do think that doctor Quinzel would sleep with him, so I it might happen. Her boundaries are you know she doesn't have any boundaries? What Harley.
The very skilled, But yeah, I think the boundaries or an issue. Later in Selina Kyle's still luxurious apartment, do we see that Greta, her domestic is, you know, giving her shit for back payments and the fact that the bills aren't paid and clearly money is an issue. Taking inspiration from Batman, Selena makes her first catwoman costume and then immediately goes on a fucking hot streak of jewel. Heis like knocking off places left and right. She's like
raking it in. After evading the cops on her latest heist, she finds herself face to face with Batman, who she's like, hello, I.
Know it would be hot, yeah, both of them, cause plane, yeah, are you feeling this?
Bats By the only one that's feeling this. Batman trips her with a bowlo wire and she gets arrested. Selena, it's unmasked and everybody's like, oh my god, it's Selena Kyle. We get various bat story flashbacks, which.
Is played by Christina Ricci.
Yes, Christina Ricci in a one full performance. I actually love the flashbacks to the Night of the Wayne murders. I think this is a.
Someone should make. Someone should make a montage of every time we've seen crime out, every time we see those those pearls. It's the funniest thing being a Batman for like.
Two hours long.
The second you see that, you saw those pearls and him standing across from that. At the start of the thing, you knew exactly what those were.
Here we go. I will say that I think that this show has delved into the psyche and the trauma in an interesting way that I didn't necessarily expect for this for this particular show, and I think they did it pretty well. I mean, you can't help but of course here we are watching the murder, you don't really see the murders again, but like seeing it through Bruce's eyes, I thought was pretty well.
It also, like I'm joking obviously, because we want, like like we said, the twelve and thirteen year olds and like the people who are going to be this is their first Batman show that they're gonna to be watching, they need that. But I do I do want to say I relate so much to Selena Kyle making the most like having the heels, she still has heels she has a slit up her thing. It's like every time I see capes now I think of Edna Mode. I can't not think of Edna Mode with the like wow
that you could die very quickly. I love that she still has to look hot, incredibly hot. I relate to that because I'd be like, what what matters? More like me escaping the crime or when they get my photo.
It's got to look good, you have to say in the heels not a problem for her at all, Like, yes, she is able to leap fences, she is climbing, sheer face, brick wall, she's diving. I don't want it. It's not an issue for her. If she looks great and she is great at stealing those jewels. We get that flashback and then we cut to more therapy with doctor Qrinzel and Bruce is like, again, a fucking great what Yeah, yes,
I understand my parents burned. I'm fine quick with all that, like looking as why when is this sover is there? Fifty minutes? Forty five minutes? Are we done yet? In court, Selena deftly blames the batman.
She's like, how do we know the badman didn't he was there brilliant.
How do we know that he didn't steal the jewels? Dent? I've found myself very disappointed in Harvey Dent. Not that just did this episode, but throughout the naked ambition of the man is like, you know what, there's no evidence. I got to drop the charges case.
It's a small town. I can tell you he's either slept this.
Woman or one he's gonna he's gonna date it.
In high school, they went to senior problem together. Okay, he she Selena Kyle has a soft spot. Selena Kyle has a song. People have a soft spot for her.
Immediately, Barbara Gordon is like, wait a second. So when the defendant is hot and rich all of a sudden, not a problem. We're just gonna like, let to go. And then Harvey denn Is like, you're wrong.
She's not right. She is hot, she's rich. See he is not shallow.
Yeah, come on, Harvey. Catwoman strikes again. Hot prowl in a high rise apartment with the people just asleep in the bedroom. Batman finds her. They they clash across the rooftops in a wonderful sequence. As she falls the heels. Now a little bit of a detriment. They catch like on the edge of the roof. She goes tumbling, He saves her life and again sparks. They kiss it. I love it. I love it absolutely.
Isn't he like you're wasting my time? I know he has a full blown boner. I know he's a full blown boner under there, he's he is so bricked up under the rubber suit.
Alfred is in the ear piece like the blood pressure spiking away. Well, he doesn't get a chance to acknowledge the boner because Catwoman tases him and then gets in her custom catmobile and speeds away. Love it. Cricket cops, Bullok and Flask go to Selina's apartment, but Catwoman has moved. She's not there anymore. She moved to a dump across town, paid a year in advance. Greta hates it because her salary has not been paid in a significant period of time.
I just have to say that that play is that she has like thirty cats, and I just know it smells like cap piss. It smells I just know she smells like cap piss.
It smells really really bad in there. Catwoman then gets the idea that to hit the museum where there are all these wonderful jewels and the jewelry, but it's leaving soon. Meanwhile, doctor Quinzelle gets conned by Bruce about how useful therapy it is. He's giving her the whole shine, like, oh yeah, I got so much out of it, so much out of it, and I feel, honestly like a more balanced person. And I have the ability now to stop those intrusive
voices from telling me to punch reporters. Hey, can you sign this slip saying that I have completed my court ordered therapy? Is that fine? She signs it, but she is under no illusions that Bruce has gotten anything out of therapy. Alfred again is like you should keep going shut door. We see Young Master the night that Young Master Bruce goes into Alfred's bedroom and says, I want to bring down criminals. I want to fight criminals Alfred, which is a crazy It's truly crazy.
That Alfred was like, okay, that's he said he was going to make them all pay.
Yeah, which is a wild thing for like a ten year old to be saying, Alfred, ok.
Yeah, little inse.
Yeah, a little scary, And we understand in that moment that Bruce is bringing all of that in cell zeal to bringing down the Catwoman. Catwoman hits the museum, Batman confronts her as a reporter from the Gotham Gazette is there O'Brien taking pictures. Catman releases a Jaguar into the museum that then fights Batman. Batman puts it to sleep with some handy sleeping glass. Gas Flash and Bullock show update will just shoot anything that moves. They shoot Selena
in the leg. Flash is about to execute her. Yeah that pretty come on, He's one hundred percent about to blow her away, and Batman saves her life. He ties up Flass, Bullock and Selena, and you know he enjoyed tying up Selena. Ed waits for the authorities to you know, get them as the reporter snaps away the whole time, bats tells the reporter just run the Catwoman pictures. Forget the Flash looks just turned the Catwoman pictures that love it.
Selena gets arrested, this time rock solid case she's going away. Greta sells all of Selena's stuff, which I agree with, as she should because you gotta pay your people. What the fuck is this? Selena? Come on Are you kidding Me? Batman now feels like he's really making an impact and again refuses to talk to Alfred about the therapy. Wonderful episode that brings us to episode four nine of The Hunters by Ed Buriker, directed by Christina Sada. Batman's fame
is growing? Is he a crime fighter? Is he a vampire? Is he the source of the terrific street violence tearing apart the fabric of Gotham City. The Mayor gives a strident anti Batman speech and tells the DA and the police get me the Batman. Gordon doesn't love it. He doesn't love the new direction because like Batman's the only cleaning up the streets. But he puts Montoya in charge of the task Force, which, of course good old Boy's flaccid bullock fucking hate a woman. Really, that's who we're
gonna listen to. Montoya's plan, at least initially involves a lot of fake muggings, fake robberies in order to draw the Batman out. Batman sniffs out most of these pretty easily, but he does get lured in by a very realistic armed chase. He shows up in the Batmobile, but it has too many tricks up his sleeve, and guess what, they cops don't get him. Harvey Dent here he is, he's got a hard on for city hall and he's saying, can the mayor handle this shit? You know who can
handle it? I can. I'll catch the batman, not the mayor. Vote for me. Harvey Dent working late at night, Gordon is like, you know, workaholic. He's at his desk. He's like, let me take one more look at the batman. Walks over to the task force, you know, briefing room. Who does he find? I love this batman just standing there, just like reading all the stuff. They're like, come eye
to eye. Shocked, batman makes a run for it. Gordon goes chasing after him, goes to shoot him in the back several times that I'm.
Like, you can't shoot at someone when they're fleeing. He's like, he didn't do anything.
Never forget, Never forget. I am Jim Gordon. I came up through the ropes in Gotham City, like I am a Gotham cop. After all that, he goes to fucking just murder the batman in gold boot uh. He then tells Montoya we gotta try something else because the Batman is makings look fucking terrible. Well, that new something else is let's hire doctor Quinzel as a consultant, which is actually I think pretty smart to do some like analysis on who is this guy? Who is what's his psyche?
She puts her finger on it right away. This guy hates criminals, he's punishing them. Look for somebody who is punishing criminals, and you know what else, how about utilize this new emerging class of costume criminals as Flassen and Bullock love it. They pull Firebug out of jail without telling anybody. They just are like, let's pull this guy out of jail. Barbara Gordon, also Firebugs lawyer, is like, hold on a second, you kid, what's Firebug doing in
the back of your squad car? And they're like shut up. It's like, well, she goes to tell her dad what's going on because clearly they're operating off books. Firebug bricked up to start fires again. Cannot wait. He's like, is this my lucky day? Are you kidding? Flasten Bullock fake like an escape. He Firebug immediately starts burning down buildings in the area. Can't wait to start fires, Gordon and
Montoya speed to the scene. Batman arrives in the area, Flash and Bullocks spot him and they tell the SWAT team, Okay, Batman's here, kill Batman. And also if you see Firebug, kill Firebug. Just kill whoever is around, kill him Batman. I love bat Man fighting cops, as I think most people do. Batman here fighting cops through the burning buildings while trying to save citizens from the flames. Meanwhile, Gordon and Montoy are trying to find Flash and Bullock before
these guys just commit various police shootings. Yeah that they will then say or justified. The dirty cops get the drop on Firebug and they fucking murder him.
That was insane in front of the press. Yeah, that was actually this was actually one of the saddest episodes.
I agree.
This is a guy he was an Arkham, right, so he was mentally ill. They like used him mentally ill guy murdered him in cold blood.
Truly, truly, fucking terrible. It's insane that Flash and Bullock have a job, to say nothing of the fact that they are actually thriving in the police department. But here it is they murder a man in cold blood in front of the cameras of the press that are flashing away. Firebug goes falling out of a window to the street below, and O'Brien of the Gazette actually fucking loves it. He loves everything he's getting, which I will say, I am a little I don't love the depiction of the press.
It's a little hack, like we need them right now. I understand that this is if it bleeds, it leads kind of stuff, but we got to put it out there that the PD is corrupt, and O'Brien is doing it. I don't love his methods, but he is doing it anyway. Gordon gets the drop on Batman, just as the Cape Crusader is like saving children from the flames. Gordon is like, I know this, this is my beat. I know how he get out of here. We get out of here through the through the laundroom. They get out, and Gordon
is like, haha, I'm gonna Batman disappeared again. Gordon is a he calls Flash and bullok In is like, you, guys, you've committed murders, to say nothing of the fact that East Side Flats burned down because of you. I am pulling you off the task for But then Mayor Jessup calls and he's like, hey, Gordon, I love the moxie, a flash of Bullock. I love the way they just kill, kill, kill, without any compunction. They are in charge of the task Force.
Now what I know, Commissioner Gordon was demoted.
And this is why we need Batman, sadly, Danny because of this is this, how this is like how this is how Gotham City works.
Gotham is really corrupt. Batman has taken taking it and there is no law. When the law is corrupt, then you have to take it into your own hands.
Yeah. Something that came up while I was watching this, it's like, why do we love Batman? Like early Batman stories so much? Batman just starting out pre Robin getting his feet wet, the emergence of the of the Rogues Gallery seemingly as a response to Batman. Why why is it that we love these stories? Why do we have to like we there's a reason that we have to
see crime Alley in the Pearl. Seemingly every Batman story there's maybe no hero or villain that is more directly connected to the reason they do.
The thing.
In the way that Batman is why do you think we love stories like this so much?
Well, he's also very complex, and I feel like this is his I feel like we relate to his need for control. Something horrible happened into his life that is completely out of his control that he can never change ever, ever, ever again, this is his control. And he also I think what doctor Quinzel was pointing out is he's like punishing himself in some way and he does so. He's incredibly complex and introspective and yeah, dealing with trauma in a way that that is helping him cope.
Yeah, I agree with you, Like he is putting himself in these situations where he's getting punched, he's getting kicked, he's getting a beaten up, and on a certain level, like he feels like he deserves it, which is is so it really is a really complex psychological picture for a hero that kids love. Like That's one of the things I love about Batman is the more you think about Batman, the more he changes and becomes deeper, more complex, more weird, more troubled.
So he's just living hero, you thought, Yeah, he's living out his childhood fantasy. No child should have to go through that. He grew up with superheroes. I also think like with the age that they picked, it's like the Golden era of comics is what's being represented here in the like forty and like no child should have to go through that. So he is literally being the superhero
that he should have had. You know, every kid thinks that someone's going to swoop in and save them and they didn't, and so he's just replaying that cycle again and again and again.
Yeah. I think the thing that affected me maybe the most throughout these episodes was that first flashback. You see Bruce the murderer just happened, and the detectives are talking to him and in this very kind of like ham fisted way trying to like reach him and soothe what has happened, and they just have no ability to do so.
Yeah, especially back then.
Yeah, they don't have the language, they don't have they don't have an idea about what's happening to him, and they just can't do it. And he's like so unreachable. It's very very sad.
I think this show is great. I think this is so so good. I think it's like number one right now in Amazon.
Number one on number one on that platform.
Yeah, it's so great. My hat really goes off to the animators, the voice actors, the writers, directors, like, it's just I can't stop watching it. I'm on the second to last episode and I'm kind of like savoring it because I don't I don't want it to end. It's phenomenal and I'm glad that they did like a nod to the Batman animated series and made it their own. That's so difficult to do.
It's very very difficult to do. Yeah, making it less a sequel and more spiritual kind of insinuation was very very smart, and they the tone is time period. They just stailed it. It's great. Well, we can't wait to continue to talk about Batman Kate Crusader in continuing episodes. That's it for this episode. Thanks for listening. X ray Vision is hosted by Jason Gitspsune and Rosie Knight and is a prettyduction of iHeart Podcasts. Our executive producers are
Joelle Smith and Aaron Kaufman. Our supervising producer is a Boo Zafar. Our producers are Carmen Laurent and Mia Taylor. Our theme song is by Brian Basquez.
Special thanks to Soul Rubin and Chris Laude, Kenny Goodman and Heidi Our discoord moderator,