"A Matter of Family" (THE BATMAN fourth season premiere): BEST. FREAKIN'. THE BATMAN. EPISODE. EVER.
If the rest of the season is only half this good, I'll be happy. Yeah, it hit a lot of the same beats as the "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter from Batman: The Animated Series, but that was largely unavoidable and I think that it was partly a deliberate tribute. With Robin joining the show, I see that Batman himself is becoming much more serious, leaving the puns to the kid in the brightly colored costume. Batman's fighting style was more direct and brutal in this episode, too. I liked it! The performances were outstanding. The great Kevin Conroy was perfect as John Grayson. Mark Hammill made Tony Zucco menacing and kept him from sounding too much like his Joker. Rino Romano gave us his best Bruce/Batman yet. Even Evan Sabara was terrific as Dick Grayson/Robin (it probably helps that they are nearly the same age).
I loved how Dick's circus outfit became the base for his Robin uniform (even though I was pretty much expecting it). I do wish that the costume he wore when he rescued Batman had looked more improvised. It's not to unlikely that Batman might have some domino masks just lying around, but gloves and a cape that are a perfect fit for Dick? And in the perfect colors to compliment his circus outfit? Oh well.
If the rest of the season is only half this good, I'll be happy. Yeah, it hit a lot of the same beats as the "Robin's Reckoning" two-parter from Batman: The Animated Series, but that was largely unavoidable and I think that it was partly a deliberate tribute. With Robin joining the show, I see that Batman himself is becoming much more serious, leaving the puns to the kid in the brightly colored costume. Batman's fighting style was more direct and brutal in this episode, too. I liked it! The performances were outstanding. The great Kevin Conroy was perfect as John Grayson. Mark Hammill made Tony Zucco menacing and kept him from sounding too much like his Joker. Rino Romano gave us his best Bruce/Batman yet. Even Evan Sabara was terrific as Dick Grayson/Robin (it probably helps that they are nearly the same age).
I loved how Dick's circus outfit became the base for his Robin uniform (even though I was pretty much expecting it). I do wish that the costume he wore when he rescued Batman had looked more improvised. It's not to unlikely that Batman might have some domino masks just lying around, but gloves and a cape that are a perfect fit for Dick? And in the perfect colors to compliment his circus outfit? Oh well.
