*Originally published on 1/8/10
Batman: The Brave and the Bold has made a name for itself by providing a lighter and brighter look at the DC Universe while still respecting the characters and telling good stories. The show brings a sense of fun that super hero stories need. While it's only in it's second season, it is because of this sense of fun that I deemed it an under-rated animated gem.
A vast majority of the episodes have been self contained, although there was a minor subplot that involved the villain Equinox. This was settled in the first season finale. This season it seems another arc is being set up. It began in the episode Revenge of the Reach. The teaser had Batman teaming up with the Challengers of the Unknown to battle a mutant that was created by the radiation emanating from a meteor that had landed nearby. After the battle is won, Batman leaves while the Challengers investigate the rock. It bursts open and several Starros leap onto the team's faces and we're left with a To be continued tag as the opening credits start to play.
For those who are unfamiliar, Starro is a long standing Justice League villain. It is a single starfish shaped entity that sends out smaller starfish shaped creatures en masse. These smaller creatures latch onto the faces of whoever they target and it latches on, allowing the main entity's consciousness to assume control and enslave civilizations. Think of it like a comic book predecessor to the Borg from Star Trek. They don't really kill anyone so much as conquer and enslave them. Often times when Starro invades, other heroes end up getting enslaved and it leads to a lot of trouble for the heroes.
When I saw that, I hoped that it would be a multi-parter that remained in the teasers and finally made it's full episode debut in the season finale. It seems that this may be the case. According to an article on Newsarama.com, the Starro arc will be a 12 parter.
The season will most likely go for another 26 episodes, as the first season did, but I have a feeling that the Starro teasers will be spread out as opposed to continuing one after the other. On the other hand, the writers did say that they were experimenting and it would be a bit obvious to save the big showdown for the season finale.
I hope that they end up assembling the whole team again as Starro really does require that much firepower. I know the show thrives on having Batman team up with one hero, but some situations really require the might of every hero available and this is definitely one of those situations.
It'll definitely be interesting to see how the roster of B and C list heroes fare against this threat.
Given the galactic roots of Starro, I wonder if the Green Lantern corps will play a part at all. We already had a Corps based episode with the aforementioned, Revenge of the Reach, but it would be interesting to see. If nothing else, hopefully we get an episode that features both Hal and Guy doing their part to stop the oncoming invasion.
I wouldn't be surprised if Batman himself got taken over as part of a cliffhanger. Whether it be before a commercial break or as an episode ending deal, I don't know, it would work both ways, but I am pretty certain that the writers will want to showcase Batman's seemingly limitless willpower by having him fight off the enslavement.
While Starro isn't a very well known villain, he does tend to leave an impression as he is a threat to the entire human populace. He looks a bit silly, but he is very much a legitimate threat and he tends to give the Justice League a run for their money every time he shows up.
I can't wait to see what happens next. If Starro is going the subtle route and gradually taking people over, by the time the heroes figure out what's going on, he'll have a whole army. The heroes will definitely have their work cut out for them and that's one of the joys of superhero stories, seeing them get backed into a corner before turning the tables and winning the day.
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