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The World's Finest Presents

Untouchable
Episode #39 - Untouchable
Original Airdate - September 23rd, 2000

Batman goes up against a new foe called The Repellar, and what's his connection to WaynePower?

Media by Bird Boy
Review by J. Chen, aka The Overseer
Credits:
Written by Hilary J. Bader
Directed by Dan Riba
Music by Shirley Walker
Animation by Koko/Dong Yang

Voices:
Will Friedle as Terry McGinnis/Batman
Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne
Gedde Watanabe as Dr. Suzuki
Joanna Hulce as Irene
Miguel Sandoval as Dr. Blades
Lauren Tom as Dana Tan
Ryan O'Donohue as Matt McGinnis
T'keyah Crystal Keymah as Makeba
Victor Raider-Wexler as Muscles
Screen Grabs






Pans



Sound Clips
"Smooth." (MP3, 55kb. by Chris M.)
"Anything broken?" (MP3, 38kb. by Chris M.)
Review

HIGHS: Neat visuals, good character interactions.
LOWS: Predictable story, little villain characterization.
OVERALL: Okay, but not up to "King's Ransom".

At a high security research lab, a strange masked man enters to steal a strange new isotope. Bullets, electricity, and even Batman fail to faze him. Bruce has an idea of what could be causing this, and he and Terry go to a Wayne-Powers facility to find out. There we meet a friendly researcher who shows off a gravity generating device, the grumpy old supervisor, and a teenage girl who's lived in isolation her entire life.

That's basically the background for this episode. The whole "invincible villain" plot has been seen before elsewhere. Given this, writer Hilary Bader (ugh) tries to throw in some extra aspects to improve it. Does it work? Read on to find out.

First I have to say this...the episode looked good. The villain, who seems to be named "Repeller" according to the captions, didn't look all that special. But he produces a cool glowing aura that sparkles with energy and can be manipulated into various shapes and sizes. Also, the backgrounds here return to mostly dark colors and the animation is once again very fluid. No complaints on the visual part.

Also, the character interactions were good here, such as Bruce's chat with the uptight supervisor.

Doc: "What makes you think you can rummage through my files like you own the place?"
BW: "Because I do. Bruce Wayne."

When Terry takes a liking to the girl who lives in the facility, Bruce comprehends the situation perfectly...and tells Terry women used to throw themselves at his feet all the time. "I stepped over them," he calmly explains. Dana acts like a real bitch about Terry's predicament--there's no other way to put it. She's intolerant and rude about Terry's interest in Irene (that's the girl's name). She lives in a bubble...does Dana really need to be that concerned? It still was rather nice watching Terry and Irene have fun though, and from the looks of it Terry must really have a thing for Asians.

Now for the negative side. The villain has very little motivation for what he's doing. Apparently he's only stealing rare chemicals because someone paid him to...we don't find out who actually needs the stuff. Perhaps that will be addressed later on, but the Repeller's persona remains thin. As an apparent one-timer, more personality ought to be given in this only chance.

The story also plays out rather predictably...we get two new male characters, one mean and one seemingly friendly. Who's it gonna be? The "trick" might work on the kids, but most mature viewers could probably see the true identity coming.

This episode was entertaining to watch mostly because of the eye candy battles, not because the storyline was stellar. It's not up to the level of King's Ransom, but then again that was a tough act to follow. As far as one-shot villain eps go it's worth watching, but don't kick yourself if you missed it. Still, here's hoping for an awesome INQUELING next time!

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