[8.6/10] Let’s be real. Clock King is king of a lame villain. I suppose in the abstract he’s no more silly than a villain obsessed with plants or coin-flips or birds, but he’s just something of a lesser light in the Batman canon.
And yet, leave it to the B:TAS team to make him an incredibly compelling antagonist. I like how this one gives us a villain backstory that isn’t sympathetic precisely (like Two-Face or Mr. Freeze), but which is still understandable. Opening with a seven-years-earlier to the time that Temple Fugit (corny name) was told by then-counselor Hill to set aside his rigidly timed schedule for the day, and telling the story of how it leads to his downfall, is an inspired move. You immediately get a sense for Fugit’s exacting punctuality, and there’s a bitter irony to the one day he tries to relax leading to a series of chance mishaps that, through the law of unintended consequences, leave him utterly ruined. We understand both Fugit’s chronophilic demeanor and his reasons for wanting revenge.
But things are still really cool once we jump to the presence and his revenge scheme kicks off. Beyond Batman’s other qualities as a crime-fighter, one of his most distinctive is that he’s uber-prepared. He may have gadgets and detective skills and practice martial arts, but he’s just so prepped for any situation that it gives him an edge. What makes Clock King formidable here is that he can match, and even best Batman on that front. His knowledge of the inner workings of the city’s gears and pulleys let him have the upper hand in foreseeing what will happen and planning accordingly. It makes for some good set pieces and a legitimate challenge for Batman.
I also like Fugit’s method for revenge. Time/efficiency related plots like making the traffic lights malfunction or trains show up when they’re not supposed to make Mayor Hill look like a putz is a pretty smart scheme from a baddie. And while the whole “tied to a giant clock’s hands” thing is a little Perils of Pauline, it works as some nice poetic...well not justice exactly, but vengeance, given that it’ll crush Hill at the same time he told Fugit to move his coffee break. And the fact that Mayor Hill worked for the opposing law firm adds an interesting wrinkle as well, because it helps add fuel to Fugit’s persecution complex.
The episode also puts together some really cool set pieces. I love the bit with Clock King trapping Batman in the vault and foreseeing all the ways in which The Bat would try to escape. Batman resorting to a Walter White-esque improvised escape plan, one using Clock King defense mechanisms against him, shows some real resourcefulness and intelligent on the part of The Bat, and the editing and score help hold the tension.
By the same token, Batman and Clock King’s fight within a giant clock tower is a real visual treat. The two darting and dashing on giant gears and the like makes for some thrilling sequences, and Fugit’s relative calm compared to Batman’s strain at everything helps sell the bout between them and make Batman’s victory and rescue feel earned. Hell, I even like the design for Clock King, with the 3:15 glasses, pendulum cane, and constant upright posture that subtly sell who this guy is.
My one real beef is that all the clock/time puns get a bit tiresome after a while, but that’s a minor gripe. Overall, this is B:TAS taking a C-list villain, giving him a strong motivation, and making him a worthy foe of Batman. There’s a great degree of difficulty in that feat, but this show pulls it off with flying colors.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-10-19T17:55:22Z
[8.6/10] Let’s be real. Clock King is king of a lame villain. I suppose in the abstract he’s no more silly than a villain obsessed with plants or coin-flips or birds, but he’s just something of a lesser light in the Batman canon.
And yet, leave it to the B:TAS team to make him an incredibly compelling antagonist. I like how this one gives us a villain backstory that isn’t sympathetic precisely (like Two-Face or Mr. Freeze), but which is still understandable. Opening with a seven-years-earlier to the time that Temple Fugit (corny name) was told by then-counselor Hill to set aside his rigidly timed schedule for the day, and telling the story of how it leads to his downfall, is an inspired move. You immediately get a sense for Fugit’s exacting punctuality, and there’s a bitter irony to the one day he tries to relax leading to a series of chance mishaps that, through the law of unintended consequences, leave him utterly ruined. We understand both Fugit’s chronophilic demeanor and his reasons for wanting revenge.
But things are still really cool once we jump to the presence and his revenge scheme kicks off. Beyond Batman’s other qualities as a crime-fighter, one of his most distinctive is that he’s uber-prepared. He may have gadgets and detective skills and practice martial arts, but he’s just so prepped for any situation that it gives him an edge. What makes Clock King formidable here is that he can match, and even best Batman on that front. His knowledge of the inner workings of the city’s gears and pulleys let him have the upper hand in foreseeing what will happen and planning accordingly. It makes for some good set pieces and a legitimate challenge for Batman.
I also like Fugit’s method for revenge. Time/efficiency related plots like making the traffic lights malfunction or trains show up when they’re not supposed to make Mayor Hill look like a putz is a pretty smart scheme from a baddie. And while the whole “tied to a giant clock’s hands” thing is a little Perils of Pauline, it works as some nice poetic...well not justice exactly, but vengeance, given that it’ll crush Hill at the same time he told Fugit to move his coffee break. And the fact that Mayor Hill worked for the opposing law firm adds an interesting wrinkle as well, because it helps add fuel to Fugit’s persecution complex.
The episode also puts together some really cool set pieces. I love the bit with Clock King trapping Batman in the vault and foreseeing all the ways in which The Bat would try to escape. Batman resorting to a Walter White-esque improvised escape plan, one using Clock King defense mechanisms against him, shows some real resourcefulness and intelligent on the part of The Bat, and the editing and score help hold the tension.
By the same token, Batman and Clock King’s fight within a giant clock tower is a real visual treat. The two darting and dashing on giant gears and the like makes for some thrilling sequences, and Fugit’s relative calm compared to Batman’s strain at everything helps sell the bout between them and make Batman’s victory and rescue feel earned. Hell, I even like the design for Clock King, with the 3:15 glasses, pendulum cane, and constant upright posture that subtly sell who this guy is.
My one real beef is that all the clock/time puns get a bit tiresome after a while, but that’s a minor gripe. Overall, this is B:TAS taking a C-list villain, giving him a strong motivation, and making him a worthy foe of Batman. There’s a great degree of difficulty in that feat, but this show pulls it off with flying colors.