The Batman: The Complete Fifth Season + Teen
Titans: The Complete Fifth Season + Legion of Superheroes: Volume 3 (Warner Bros./DC Comics DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+/C+/D Episodes: B-/B-/C+
It seems
that just as Teen Titans and The Batman got to where they needed to
be the series ended. Both of the WB/DC
ventures have been an evolving process over the past 5 seasons and at first
this reviewer did not much appreciate or see the appeal of either series.
The Batman really did standout on its own
from the beginning and took the Batman character in a direction and style that
had never been done before. There were
hints of certain films, comics, and Bruce Timm’s style here and there, but for
the most part The Batman was an independent entity that evolved into a great
series that strongly adds to the Batman mythos.
The Fifth Season of The Batman once again ups the ante for
the bat and takes the series in an even more different direction than The Fourth Season did. In the Fifth Season Robin and Batgirl were no
longer used so heavily and only showed up here and there to contribute their
own bit of flare and drama to the episode.
The main focus of Season Five
was new villains, old villains, and most of all other Superheroes. The multiple appearances of a variety of DC
Superheroes such as Green Arrow, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Superman made
the series point more and more conclusively to The Justice League; by the end
of the series this foreshadowing element becoming fact. The
Fifth Season of The Batman is by
far the best to date and it is sad that once all the elements of story, style,
and cohesiveness came together that the series was over. But as they say, always leave them wanting
more.
Teen Titans in the end still needed some
work, since it continued to lean a little too heavily on the goofy, childish
side of the DC Universe with an unnecessary and ill used anime style right up
until the end. It can be said that Teen Titans, like The Batman, did evolve, but more so in the area of plot rather than
animation style. The stories in the Fifth Season gave fans what they wanted
to see with deeper, darker and more detailed storylines. An origin episode appears on this season set
and it is something that no comic fan wants to miss. Also like The Batman, the final season of Teen Titans pulls out all the stops and uses many more peripheral
characters (villains and superheroes alike) than had ever been seen in the
series before. Overall, a great way to
end a series that captured many comic fans attention as the classic Teen Titans
were taken in a completely new direction.
Whereas The Batman and Teen Titans for the most part finally reached a level of greatness
in story and style, the third series reviewed here (Legion of Superheroes: Volume 3) still has much work to be done. The third
volume reviewed here is more of first season and features the last five
episodes of season one. The series at
this point is not dark or edgy enough but does show promise. The series is more reminiscent of Teen Titans than any previous Batman or
Superman incarnation, having an immature, cartoony feel about it that does not
do the characters justice. Hopefully
season two steps up its game. To read
more about the series follow the Volume
Two link listed below.
The Batman: The Complete 3rd
Season:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5438/The+Batman
The Batman: The Complete 4th
Season:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6376/The+Batman
Teen Titans: The Complete 3rd
Season:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5472/Teen+Titans
Teen Titans: The Complete 4th
Season:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6379/Teen+Titans
Legion of Superheroes: Volume 2
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6611/Legion+of+Super+Heroes
All of
the series demonstrate very similar DVD features in that they are not
astounding, but they most certainly get the job done. The Batman and Teen
Titans are 2-Disc sets, whereas Legion of Superheroes: Volume 3 is a single
disc containing 5 episodes. All in all the releases are simple and to the
point. The picture on all three sets are once again disappointingly
presented in its uninteresting 1.33 X 1 Full Frame image and even with the crisp,
clear, and colorful images they would have looked much better in an anamorphic
widescreen. The sound on all three is a
clean Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that whereas not the best sounding animated
superhero track this reviewer has heard it gets the job done in a clear and
solid way. The sound on all three
series, however, does deserve at least a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track to
highlight the heavy action each series is infused with.
This
final season of The Batman actually
gives fans a few extras. Extras include
two featurettes that center on the Fifth
Season’s heavy use of other superheroes and the Justice League with The Batman: Justice League Profiles, Joining
Forces: The Batman’s Legendary Team-Ups.
The featurettes use the same commentators for both and are very
similar in nature, emphasizing the direction the final season took in both
story and style. Overall, there are an
interesting couple extras with a good rewatchable quality on this set.
The only
extra available on the Teen Titans
2-Disc set is a 25 minute featurette entitled Friend or Foe that explores both the heroes and the villains of the
series through the eyes of the writers and producer of the series. The featurette is well done and informative,
but like The Batman this reviewer would
have liked to see a bit more included in these final sets.
Legion of Superheroes: Volume 3 offers up no extras, but seeing
as how these are volumized sets don’t be surprised if a full season set soon
appears from WB/DC.
This
reviewer can highly recommend both final seasons of The Batman and Teen Titans,
but Legion of Superheroes, whereas
enjoyable, still needs a slight overhaul. Up, up and away…
- Michael P. Dougherty II
