Blood Sport
Episode #18 - Blood Sport
Original Airdate - October 23rd, 1999
The Stalker, a cybernetically enhanced wild animal hunter, grows bored
with the Big Games and goes after the only challenge left in the world:
Batman.
Screen Grabs by Bird Boy
Pans by redDragon
Review by Tim "Two-Face" Leighton |
Credits:
Written by Rich Fogel
Directed by Dan Riba
Music by Michael McCuistion
Animation by Koko / Dong Yang
Voices:
Will Friedle as Terry McGinnis/Batman
Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne
Carl Lumbly as Stalker
Ryan O'Donahue as Matt McGinnis
Teri Garr as Mary McGinnis
Cree Summer as Max Gibson
Mark Slaughter as Pie Joker
Elliot Goretsky as Bellman
Sam McMurray as Burn
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Review
A game hunter, sickened with hunting "normal" prey, comes to Gotham City
to claim the ultimate prize: Batman.
Sound lame? I thought so, too. So many of the villains on "Batman
Beyond" are geared towards gimmicks rather than truly scarred psyches -
the type of attributes that makes the original rogues gallery so
difficult to compete with.
This episode plays out a lot like the BTAS episode "The Ultimate
Thrill". (I often mention this episode because I see it as the epitome
of this type of episode: all action, very little story, and, yet, it's a
helluva lot of fun to watch!) Whereas the theme behind "The Ultimate
Thrill" was "the thrill of the chase", the theme of this episode is "the
thrill of the hunt".
The villain, known as "The Stalker" (this isn't his first appearance -
interpol has a file on him) is an ex-game-hunter, on the run for
poaching. He is known for going after only the most dangerous of prey;
he himself believes that this mythical "Bat-Demon" that transcends the
ages is the most difficult being there is to be taken down. The Stalker
is up for the challenge. He'll do anything to succeed.
The Stalker has the makings of a truly warped villain; it's a pity that
this is only touched upon. A flashback sequence (which I loved - the use
of solely red and black colours made it seem very prehistoric -
barbaric, even) reveals that on one hunt in the past, the Stalker was
severely injured by a panther of some type. As a result, he went through
an excrutiating operation (I'm surprised they could show this on a kids
show) where they had to replace his spine. Really gross stuff.
Terry, aka "Batman", makes the Stalker's task even more difficult than
originally anticipated. In one sequence, he catches up with Terry at
Cheezy Dan's (where he's babysitting his brother Matt) and chases him
through the city. One plot hole: how did Stalker manage to cover Terry's
coat with that radioactive powder? I never figured out how he did that.
The Stalker returns to Cheezy Dan's and kidnaps Matt, to lure him into a
trap, where the climatic battle takes place.
Good points? Great action, good dialogue, and for a gimmick villain, the
Stalker is rather interesting. I look forward to seeing him in future
episode.
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