BEWARE THE BATMAN “Choices” Review

Barbara Gordon fans should enjoy this fourth episode of the Toonami Beware the Batman marathon. SPOILERS.

Killer Croc (Wade Williams) is back in town, and Batman (Anthony Ruivivar) and Katana (Sumalee Montano) head after him. Unfortunately, they get ambushed and captured by the reptilian foe, and their last hope may be Barbara Gordon (Tara Strong).

The thing is, she’s on a date with a cute guy named Creed (Yuri Lowenthal). This makes helping out her costumes allies a bit difficult. Will she be able to help her comrades with her date not finding out?

This episode is a lot more humorous than most Beware episodes, but that isn’t a bad thing in this case. It gives us a breather from the serious episodes, and also gives Barbara a spotlight. She’s come along way as Oracle.

Of course, a humorous episode wouldn’t work if the humor wasn’t funny. Luckily, it works. Commissioner Gordon (Kurtwood Smith) plays the role of intimidating father well, going so far as to force two of his detectives to trail the two teens. The actual date is awkward in a familiar and realistic way, and even Killer Croc had me laughing after a certain line.

Part of me thought that the way Batman and Katana got captured was a bit too easy, but that’s a minor thing. Less forgivable was how useless they made Alfred (J.B. Blanc). Sure, he can’t beat Croc in a fight, but man! He was a punching bag!

This episode was a fun watch, and I like Barbara, so I was certainly open to her receiving an episode. It may not have been as thrilling as some of the more plot-important episodes, but it was no less entertaining.