Batman Beyond "Speak No Evil" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Today at 6 p.m. ET Cartoon Network airs the Batman Beyond episode, Speak No Evil.


http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/beyond/episodes/speaknoevil/14.jpg

Episode #45 - Speak No Evil
Original Airdate - November 4th, 2000.

Batman reluctantly agrees to aid a genectically enhanced gorilla find a vicious poacher, the killer of his mother.

Comments?

[Drachentöter]

What is the DCAU producers' obsession with apes? :p

No, but seriously...the ape angle worked much better here than it did in JL's The Brave and the Bold. Of course, if Justice League had been in its third or fourth season and had already characterized characters like the Flash, then the simian spotlight would have been forgiven...

But, I'm getting off topic. :)

My point is that, even with dealing with something with so much cheese-potential like a talking gorilla, the episode managed to pull off a pretty moving story and create a great secondary character. This single episode managed to make me care more for the environment and its creatures than all of Captain Planet combined.

The episode melded humor with action and plot perfectly. It pretty much has something for every one. I wouldn't mind seeing a spin-off series dealing with Fingers the Gorilla and his anti-poaching exploits. It would probably do better than The Zeta Project. :p

[Calico]

"He's a kindred spirit if I've ever seen one."

Finger's voice actor gets major kudos from me. He maintained a strong dignity, yet still showed an overwhelming grief. As a result this episode is not nearly as bad as it could have been. I found myself enjoying it much more than I had remembered in the past.

*** 1/2

[The Detective]

I only caught like the last five minutes and it's been a long time since I've seen it so I don't have many comments. I do agree that Fingers VA did a great job. But a gew things bothered me: First off, Batman with all his suits enhancements couldn't handle two lions but the Gorrilla just comes in and takes care of them? And the taxi-cab driver thinking the guy was in a gorrila suit was a little hard to take. Overall, I think the Brave and the Bold was a better episode. (Hmm, VI I think thats the first time in a long time that you and me have disagreed on)

[Anarky]

seems like eveyone superhero comes across an ape adversary:
Superman- Titano
Flash- Grodd
BB- Fingers
Spawn- Cy-Gor
JL- Humanite

even Spider-Man fought some gimp named The Gibbon (I think)

and I'm certain the X-Men have come across some ape-mutant thing over the past 30+ years.

I don't like ape stories. I just feel they lessen and lampoon a genre I love. It's too cliche'. Planet of the Apes is to blame for America's ape-fetish.

Aliens stories are ok because there are so many possibilites w/ aliens. But apes are pretty simple: apes gets smart, hates humans, wants to kill all humans (eh, Bender? :D )

[Simpler Simon]

For a throwaway episode that takes a stock revenge plot and grafts it to a talking ape, this had a surprisingly poignant environmental message. Finger's VA put in a great performance, and you really felt for his loss.

Minor nitpicks include a bit of odd pacing and rationale to get Fingers to the zoo to save Terry's bacon (and yes, the gorilla suit joke was a bit over the top). The latter half of Batman Beyond (and some of STAS) seem to suffer from the lack of strong rising action to the climax at the third act.

And it looks like I'm not the only one who noticed how similar the first half of this episode is to Brave and the Bold. Made me wish for a Gorilla city tie-in at one point (and had the team done JL before BB, they might have had Bruce drop Fingers off in Gorilla city at the end).

[Cortez2301]

I thought that this episode was OK. I am really sick of seeing all the "animals having human abilities" crap (with the exception of Gorilla Grodd,Ultra humanite and the original DC characters) in Tv shows as it just gets old.But I thought that the plot was executed well.The Poacher was kind of cool especially with one of his eyes missing.