2x18 World's Finest (3)

[8.5/10] A very nice send-off for an eminently successful crossover. Some of the endpoints are predictable -- the villains turn on one another, the heroes learn to work together, the Bruce/Lois relationship doesn't last -- but the way we get there is fun and exciting.

I enjoyed the opening act’s divide and conquer theatrics for our heroes. Having Superman distracted by the need to prevent a ship from capsizing 200 miles off shore, at the same time Batman is fighting one of the destroyer bots back in Metropolis, creates some extra tension. It’s also a pretty smart strategy from the Joker!

Some of it’s a little contrived. It’s a tad convenient that Batman ends up at the Daily Planet and that Lois is the only one there during the attack (though she seems to forget about the janitor she was just talking to!), but I really enjoy the sequence that follows. I don’t think we’ve had any fights set in the printing room on this show, and it’s a nice industrial setting for Batman to throw down in. The fact that one of its rollers removes his cape and cowl, thereby exposing his real identity to Lois, is again a little convenient, but it works well enough under the circumstances. And I particularly like the swerve where it seems like eBatman has won the day by tossing the bot into the machinery, only for it to break out in an inopportune moment, and allow Superman to make the surprise save.

Honestly, my favorite part of the episode is what follows -- the in between of all the fireworks. I really like the dynamic between Bruce and Lois here. (And I’m kind of sold on her as a pairing for Batman better than anyone short of Andrea Beaumont. Whoda thunk it?) This is a pretty great Lois episode. She has a sarcastic wit that’s in particularly good form here. (See: “Clark’s probably husking some corn,” “When were you going to tell me, the honeymoon?”, and “Burning, stinging, iodine.) I appreciate that she likes Bruce but is understandably bothered by the fact that he didn’t share this with her. And the fact that she’s annoyed that she can’t report this bombshell is an even bigger plus.

I also like the detente between Supes and Bats. The latter thanking Superman for saving his life, and the former suggesting a partnership, at least long enough to find Bruce Wayne’s criminal business partner, shows the kind of mutual admiration development that works in these types of stories.

I’ll admit that my attention flagged a bit during the inevitable third act action sequence, but I can’t fault the show for that, as it comes up with plenty of creative scenarios and sequences. Joker and Lex turning on one another works well as a precursor, and I particularly enjoy Joker’s motivation to show Lex what it’s like to lose everything but shooting down all of his buildings in the city.

Plus, there’s a lot of very creative setups and payoffs. I especially like Lex’s lead-lined wall coming back to aid Superman. That’s particularly nice because when Joker flew off in the Lexwing, I thought to myself “what happened to the other half of the kryptonite statue?” so it turning up duct taped to one of the destroyer bots was a nice surprise that worked with the lead wall solution. Even strapping Mercy to one those boys helped complicate what would otherwise be a straightforward stop the bad guy outing for the World’s Finest. There’s little that Batman and Superman would really be challenged by given their joint abilities and resourcefulness, but the episode does a good job of coming up with things that suitably test them and pose threats.

Threat or not, Batman flying into and infiltrating the Joker-commandeered Lexwing is a cool sequence. Granted, at some point all the extra gadgets (bat claws?) start to feel a little toyetic. But him flying away from missiles, or interrupting Joker’s flight lesson make for cool moments and images. Bats saving Harley and Superman saving Lex is a nice touch, and I particularly like Joker’s laugh-happy reaction to his own (apparent) demise.

The denouement is both strong and funny, with a nice grace note for the ongoing Harley/Mercy feud that’s wound its way through this trilogy. Lois ending things with Bruce over his secrets is fair, and preserves their chemistry. And while Batman is still more of a dick to Clark than I might like, this feels like a good thawing for them and a bit of mutual appreciation.

Overall, this is one of the high water marks of the DCAU as a broader universe and not just a series of individual adventures. The mixtures make sense, the characters interact in interesting and believable ways, and you get a real sense of there being a bigger world. Quite the achievement!

This three part story started out really good, and then became generic action with some bad creative decisions.

I really don't like Lois knowing Batman's real identity, at all. It's terrible. Their dating is rushed and her discovering his identity is a bad decision.

I really don't like the growing relationship of Bruce and Lois in the episode. One because it disrespects Clark, in his own show no less, and disrespects and underplays the future relationship of Lois and Clark (even though we're already halfway through the second season, and developments should have been happening much sooner). But also because it betrays an aspect of Batman that's not really been talked about, and which i believe is a prevalent aspect of the character.

The thing about Bruce Wayne, is that for all his flirting and dates, it's all for show. He doesn't really care about these women or forging any kind of romantic or sexual relationship, as that would interfere too much with his work as Batman, which he takes seriously. As does protecting his identity, which masquerading as a playboy billionaire helps to do and helps lessen suspicion. He cares about the women he dates as much as them being civilians, but he doesn't really care about them as people. He uses them, he manipulates them. It's one of the darker sides of Batman's behavior. This is the aspect i was talking about.

To support this, i mean look at his sidekicks. Adopted Dick Grayson as a kid or teen and raised him to be a superhero, a guy who dresses up in a costume to use violence to stop criminals. He instilled in Dick the ability to commit violence, showing him no other way of life, and so that's who Dick became, Robin and then Nightwing. Tim Drake became Robin even younger, and Batman did the same thing as he did with Dick.

In Batman's cold, calculating mind, it's about necessity. He needs to do these things to stop these great villains. Over the years he gets injured more and he gets older, so he was more likely to train sidekicks. He wants his work to be continued, if it needs to be continued.

I don't think he's entirely right, either. Raising these kids to become monsters, albeit good monsters. Monsters as in extremely tough fighters capable of dealing with all kinds of threats and escaping from the law, with access to great technology to help them in their superhero ways. I don't think i can agree with what Batman has done to his sidekicks, these children who he indoctrinates into his lifestyle.

As for Batman himself and his own mission, well... That's another matter.