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
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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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