Episode 32

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A former stuntwoman gets the hots for Batman ("The Ultimate Thrill"), while the Legion of Super-Heroes visit a young Clark Kent ("New Kids in Town"). Then Batgirl dies... sort of ("Over the Edge"), Toyman creates himself a lady-friend ("Obsession") and a scorned model seeks revenge ("Mean Seasons"). [ 2:21:20 || 64.7 MB ]

The above is from: http://www.worldsfinestpodcast.com/episodes/wfp_032.mp3

[George W.]

From IMDB

This film was conceived to use the costumes and sets built both for an intended sequel of Masters of the Universe (1987) and a live version of 'Spider-Man'. Both projects were planned to shoot simultaneously by Albert Pyun. After Cannon had to cancel deals with both Mattel and Marvel because of their financial troubles, they needed to recoup the money spent on both projects. Then Pyun wrote the story Cyborg (1989). Some network television still give the film's title as 'Masters of the Universe 2: Cyborg' which often confuses many into thinking a sequel to that film was made.

[annericelover]

Hello guys, listening to the podcast and watched all the episodes last night. I'm going to skip over the emails, nothing to really respond too, except DAMN DISNEY!!! There the reason MM Power Rangers hasn't been released.

Oh, and The Penguin still has a little hair...watch the following episode.

{Gotham Knight}

The Ultimate Thrill

I love this character, Roxxy Rocket is such a great character. She's a mix of Harley Quinn and Catwoman at times. Very much out there, but not really evil, just bad. DCAU Animators hit another home run here. I enjoyed watching the animation, there are points where it could have been better(for instance, when she performs that air balloon stunt, she hardly touches anything, but lands safely, how Batman looks at the end, etc). The only thing I don't know is why is Roxxy working for The Penguin? Batman and Batgirl mention revenge, but she never actually admits her motive. Except the thrill of the chase...and why Penguin of all people? I guess, they wanted to show more of The Penguin, not fully legit. Listening to this podcast has put my mind in the gutter, Roxxy has a freaking orgasm at the end. Anyway, I must give this am 8 out of 10.

{Superman: The Animated Series}

New Kids in Town

Another great episode, this further extends the DCAU(even though, we don't see the Legion of Superheroes again until JLU). I'm not sure if it was a good idea to show Brainiac as being alive in the 30th Century, since this shows he isn't defeated at least until than. I love the scene with Ma and Pa Kent with their rifle, tough ass parents, lol. If this is in fact Brainiac from the future, being that he is a living computer wouldn't he have some indestructible technology in his body? We also get to see Clark putting on the glasses for the first time. The animation is great, love it. 7 out of 10

{Gotham Knight}

Over the Edge

Wow, what an excellent episode. The Death of Batgirl is literally very shocking the first time you watch it. You say to yourself the whole time, "Its a dream, its a dream" hoping its not real. I just love how the story is structured, how its played too. This episode clearly shows how mature this series is, especially for a Saturday morning show. A top rated episode. 10 out of 10.

{Superman: The Animated Series}

Obsession

Robot alert? I'm not sure if she is considered a toy or robot. But other than that, I don't like this episode, never did. Toyman is a character that wasn't used right, after his first appearance. In the first episode, he had a legit reason to do what he does. In this episode, its just crazy, he makes himself a sex toy perhaps. Anyway, not a favorite. 3 out of 10

{Gotham Knight}

Mean Seasons

Boring!!! Phantom of the Opera in a Batman story, with a female as the antagonist, that's how I see it. Critters is the only episode worse than this, ughhh 1 out of 10

[Missy]

Roxy wasn't working for the Penguin. He's a fence, and she sold him her ill-gotten goods. That's all.

[Koete]

Not related to the DCAU, but I echo the awesomeness of Final Fantasy Tactics. I loved that game. I might have to buy a DS now for the sequel. Does it continue the story or is it all new?

[Aaron Robinson]

It's an all new story, and it takes place in a different world. It’s not really that similar to FFT outside of the name and gameplay, and is more of a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance that was released a few years ago on the GBA. The story is less about political intrigue and more about lighthearted fantasy.

[Koete]

It's an all new story, and it takes place in a different world. It’s not really that similar to FFT outside of the name and gameplay, and is more of a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance that was released a few years ago on the GBA. The story is less about political intrigue and more about lighthearted fantasy.

Tactics Advance was the one I meant, forgot about the PS1 original. Thanks for the info.

[Aaron Robinson]

Well if you've played FFTA then I'm not really telling you anything you don't already know

I hear it's good. It's probably worth checking out the GameTrailers review if you wanted to see more about it.

[Koete]

On the contrary, you told me it was a sequel to FFTA rather than a new story, which is what I wanted to know. :happy:

[Mr. Mxyzptlk]

Pre-Episode Banter

-Looking forward to the 'Cowboy Bebop' video. Easily my favorite anime series.

-Ha, I love the story about your cruise. I remember playing handheld games a lot on important site-seeing trips.

E-Mails

-I love hearing about people getting their families into the DCAU. Even though it's sad, I think it's great that the boy had such an emotional reaction to 'Growing Pains'.

-I agree about Jax-Ur and Mala; I really can't stand them.

-I never got that the Riddler was bald in TNBA.

-Okay I don't know if anyone remembers, but in 'Pretty Poison', on Isely's ID, it shows that Gotham City is in New York. So yeah, I don't think that it's in New Jersey, at least in the animated universe.

-I personally hate all of those Marvel animated series. Give me 'The Spectacular Spider-Man' any day.

Episodes

The Ultimate Thrill- I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember it being fairly enjoyable. I also recall some pretty good animation. And yeah, the ending is awesome.

-I knew you would go crazy about the ending and sexual innuendo.

-I never noticed how many times Batman decided to save antiques instead of chasing villains; pretty strange.

New Kids in Town- I enjoy watching Clark as a teenager again. Brainiac seems to pop up quite a bit near the end of the series. He also seems to die a whole lot.

-Okay, he should be invulnerable to shotgun bullets, but it's still an awesome scene I think.

-I don't know, I think it's easy to accept that it's easy for Brainiac to constantly be resurfacing.

-Perhaps, Brainiac doesn't want to destroy the world that early on because so much knowledge that he's gained throughout the years wouldn't exist, so perhaps Brainiac was more content with killing Superman so he could finish the job in the future, where more knowledge has existed for a longer period of time.

Over the Edge- Yeah, I already know that you guys are going to gush all over this one. I personally think it's slightly overrated. The flashback within a dream sequence just seems a bit weird and out of place. And the animation was INCREDIBLE.

-Yep, here we go, I knew y'all would love this.

-This is way better than 'Old Wounds' though, but I actually prefer 'Growing Pains'.

-I think that Batman was so apathetic because the mission is more or less over. He indirectly caused Batgirl's death and betrayed Gordon's trust. Everything is ruined, so yeah, I don't think it's because of Barbara, it's because he failed.

-Well, Joker more than likely would not kill Batman if it was for Gordon's benefit. Sorry, but Joker doesn't fight. Bane fights, hence it's so much cooler watching Bane and Batman duke it out. I pretty much agree with James.

-For some reason I feel that Bane breaking Batman's back might have been just too brutal, even though I do remember there was a good spine cracking in 'Legends of the Dark Knight'.

-That's a great point about Bane's size.

-That's also a neat point about 'Apokalips...Now!' and 'Over the Edge'.

-I love the ending! I don't think it was rushed at all. I never thought of that ending as having anything to do with Gordon's keeping it a secret as a way to help the both of them were she to get caught. I thought Gordon was just subtly and sweetly telling Barbara that he approves, pure and simple.

-I don't think Batman was there at all, but I love the jokes y'all are making.

-I didn't notice any animation flaws at all.

-Interesting that the episode was edited in the UK. It must have been hard to rework the music so that it flowed properly.

-Thank you for pointing out the fact that it's so nonlinear.

-Yeah, I remember being so shocked at this as a kid.

-That's actually a great point about their costumes.

-My question is why would Barbara keep all this information on her computer? Why does she feel compelled to keep all of this info on a computer easily accessible by her father?

Obsession- Doesn't live up to 'Fun and Games' at all, but it's still pretty creepy and I enjoy it well enough. I'm still going to love hearing you tear it to shreds.

-That's actually a good point, although I suppose that Superman can't just let Toyman die if he can help it. But yeah, robots don't matter, except for Red Tornado.

-It is interesting though that Toyman never really did commit any crime.

-I don't remember the rope scene at all though.

-I have never seen that 'Static Shock' but I don't really care to at all.

-It can't be Toyman in the case because that would mean he's dead, even though he comes back later.

-Yeah, I thought the same thing about the life gauge.

-What? You guys don't like 'Mean Seasons'?! For shame.

Mean Seasons- Great stuff. I love the animation and I really like the satirical jabs too. The villain isn't terribly scary, but the ending is creepy. Dinosaur fight rocks.

-Okay, you guys have a lot of great nitpicks and stuff, but still, the great animation makes up for it for me.

-The TV shows were great! They were great spoofs of modern television.

-Wasn't the dinosaur just part of some set for a television show being filmed? That's where I thought it came from.

-I didn't notice the Baby-Doll parallels.

Scores

The Ultimate Thrill- You: 7 / Me: 6

New Kids in Town- You: 6 and 7 / Me: 7

Over the Edge- You: 8 and 10 / Me: 9.5

Obsession- You: 2 and 3 / Me: 6

Mean Seasons- You: 0 and 2 / Me: 8 (come on James, as the animation buff, I thought you'd at least give that to the episode)

Next week doesn't seem to have many stellar episodes I'm sad to say.

[Missy]

-For some reason I feel that Bane breaking Batman's back might have been just too brutal, even though I do remember there was a good spine cracking in 'Legends of the Dark Knight'.

Batman breaks the Mutant leader's leg, not his spine.

-I love the ending! I don't think it was rushed at all. I never thought of that ending as having anything to do with Gordon's keeping it a secret as a way to help the both of them were she to get caught. I thought Gordon was just subtly and sweetly telling Barbara that he approves, pure and simple.

Jim outright says that he can't "approve or even acknowledge" Barbara's "new job."

Mean Seasons- You: 0 and / Me: 8 (come on James, as the animation buff, I thought you'd at least give that to the episode)

I gave it a two.

[Mr. Mxyzptlk]

-For some reason I feel that Bane breaking Batman's back might have been just too brutal, even though I do remember there was a good spine cracking in 'Legends of the Dark Knight'.

Batman breaks the Mutant leader's leg, not his spine.

Really? I always thought it was his spine. I guess I have to go reread TDKR again. Still pretty brutal though.

-I love the ending! I don't think it was rushed at all. I never thought of that ending as having anything to do with Gordon's keeping it a secret as a way to help the both of them were she to get caught. I thought Gordon was just subtly and sweetly telling Barbara that he approves, pure and simple.

Jim outright says that he can't "approve or even acknowledge" Barbara's "new job."

Yeah, I suppose you're right, I just never picked up on it, really.

Mean Seasons- You: 0 and / Me: 8 (come on James, as the animation buff, I thought you'd at least give that to the episode)

I gave it a two.

Oops, better put that in there.

[George W.]

-For some reason I feel that Bane breaking Batman's back might have been just too brutal, even though I do remember there was a good spine cracking in 'Legends of the Dark Knight'.

Batman breaks the Mutant leader's leg, not his spine.

Really? I always thought it was his spine. I guess I have to go reread TDKR again. Still pretty brutal though.

Actually, you're both right. He does break the Mutant Leader's leg, but he also cripples a punk in a stairwell.

"There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other-- [KRAKK] --hurts."

[Missy]

Right, but Mxy was talking about the scene from "Legends of the Dark Knight" that payed homage to The Dark Knight Returns.

[George W.]

He referenced both. I got confused.

[RCoehrs]

"The Ultimate Thrill" pretty much sums up the way I feel of most the DCAU. "Close but no cigar"

I will not say theyr'e is no love from the creators,writers and animators, but the great episode are few and far between and missed opprotunity is abound at most corners

Examples..well first let me mention the "Riddler rReforms" episode...which is bascially a take off of a Joker series in comics called going sane. Usinf riddler isntead of the joker was a terrible choice, and using the joker would have not just made more sense [Pun intended] but would have worked on a deeper level.

As for "The Ultimate Thrill" the episode that brings it all to head this idea of close but no cigar to me. It's obvous the villianess is just combo of three villains and blantly reeks of no creativity.Firefly worked in the movies and went to far...Catwoman walks the edge to steal, the need for a thrill...Her bubbliness is obviously harley.. This episode should have been catwoman and her need to steal, the thrill of that hunt could have easily been protrayed as a illness as it was before in earlier bat episodes and saved us from a lackluster villainess..

The reason I'm so hard on it is because the DCAU HAS created some very interesting characters...and added quirks to already great characters in moments of sheer genuis..But they are far and few between...even when the obvious stared them in the face.

OOps almost forgot the required piece of artwork with post lol

[Professor]

Two things. First, in response to an email you guys received. The emailer asked why they never did Two-Face over in The Batman cartoon. I know I heard this somewhere, possibly an earlier episode of WFP, that they basically did Two-Face when the Joker turn Ethan into Clayface. Again, I know not where I remember hearing this from, but it makes sense.

Second is about Over the Edge. We see how Batman acts when Batgirl is killed. I am just curious as to how Batman reacted when the Joker killed Jason Todd.

[GoFlash]

Aloha, all -

OK, before I start - since there was the discussion about the live-action He-Man film and covert sequels, I had come across this that I thought was interesting... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_th...orld_Connection - maybe I'll have to watch that movie again. If nothing else, Courteney Cox was cuter in her pre-Friends roles, so it won't be a total waste.

For "New Kids", my brain kind of ran away from me, so please be kind. Mike asked about where the 30th century Brainiac came from, and why shotgun blasts hurt him. Actually, they don't do much damage - they mostly just push him around (and yes, I got A's in physics. I know that a gun blast powerful enough to knock the target over will kick enough to knock over the shooter as well, but this sort of thing is rampant in TV/movies). The other thing with the shotguns is that we don't know when this copy of Brainiac activated. It may have been a month before he went back in time, and he had not the opportunity to beef up to the limit of 30th century tech.

For the first question, I made 3 sources of Brainiac tech:

1) The arm - I rechecked, and Clark just drops it on the ground. It's never shown what happens to it.

2) Darkseidiac - after all, extracting some of the Brainiac tech from him would be high on Luthor's to-do list (Wednesday: Extract alien technology from planetary despot. Kill Man of Steel. Fire peons.)

3) What about the chunk the Grodd held over Luthor in JLU Season 3? Luther had, as of Destroyer, been unable to activate it, but I don't remember it being destroyed. It may have been reactivated at a later date.

There's 3 - there's a lot more Brainiac out there. He came to Earth in Stolen Memories, and was destroyed. Some of him was in the Luthor system, and tried to make Luthor build him a body, also implanting the backup copy in Luthor (Ghost In The Machine). Some also got into WayneTech computers, and was also destroyed. Finally, the Flash destroyed the copy in Luthor, and the only remaining chunk of the Brainiac That Fell To Earth is the one that Grodd held over Luthor.

So where the hell did Brainiac come from in "Twilight"? I just rewatched that and noticed that he sent 87 copies of himself after the League. If you are a computer entity, and your goal is to gather information from every world, why do it one at a time? Why not make a bunch of copies and work in all different directions? More efficient, yeah? And certainly explains how the timeline of the Earth-based Brainiac reconciles with "Twilight". Granted, the idea of a machine intelligence wiping out organic life isn't new - everything from Saberhagen's Berserkers to Stargate's Replicators, but hey, if it's a classic sci-fi plot, where better than in Superman? Too bad they never played with it explicitly (and who knows - maybe there was a Brainiac that went back in time to killl Jor-El, and another that went back to stop Flash from getting his powers...).

Mike's right about the overly personal nature of the confrontation, though - it seemed inefficient. Just before Clark sends him into the sun, when Brainiac was boasting of being the superior survivor of Krypton? Come on. At that point, just go all the way and say what we're all thinking, "KNEEL BEFORE ME, SON OF JOR-EL!"

In "Over The Edge" Mike, I can see your Hannibal Lechter moment with the Joker coming out of the shadows, but if they had done it, I would have called foul. Too much collateral damage, and while I hate to say it, not enough threat. Joker's never really posed a huge danger to Batman himself - what makes him dangerous is that he won't hesitate to put everyone else in danger, so Batman has to put himself in danger to protect others. If you just put Joker and Batman in the ring, it'd be over pretty quick. Bane is a whole different matter, and he's much more focused, so a more acceptable risk (After all, you called foul on the Joker getting a reduced sentence for ratting out Harley, and you were right - you don't deal with Joker).

As far as the issue of Batman being willing to kill, in part that may be to save Jim Gordon and not fail the entire family. However, both Mystery of the Batwoman and Batman Beyond suggest something between Barbara and Bruce - at least from her point of view; who knows what actually happened. Some of that may have been her romantic feelings - she felt that he would be that affected by her death that he would kill, whether or not that's actually the case.

Finally, for Mean Seasons, I disagree with the comments about the B-Plot. When you called in unnecessary, my first reaction was, "As opposed to the rest of this oh so vital episode?" but on reflection, the B plot serves an important role. It takes up time that we would otherwise be forced to spend watching the A Plot - and that's good enough for me. Calender Girl clearly got the dinosaur from Lexcorp - we've already seen in universe that they make giant attack T-Rex robots ahead of time for no reason. I have to ask though - is this where the dinosaur that is such a fixture of the cave comes from? If they used an episode this blah to introduce such a classic piece of the Bat-mythos - I say take off another point for bad taste.

Chris

"Spider-Man is a costume, yah? Peter is inside it. And Starfire and Iceman are his friends." - my 3 year old daughter

"Ah...you mean Firestar?"

"Firestar, yah."

She watches Teen Titans (but doesn't care if it's in continuity or not) and Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends - sometimes, they cross over a bit.

[Mr. Mxyzptlk]

Yeah, the dinosaur was never seen in the Batcave before this episode. Fun fact is that the producers originally wanted the dinosaur from 'A Little Piece of Home' to be the dinosaur that Bruce put in the Batcave.

[annericelover]

Aloha, all -

OK, before I start - since there was the discussion about the live-action He-Man film and covert sequels, I had come across this that I thought was interesting... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_th...orld_Connection - maybe I'll have to watch that movie again. If nothing else, Courteney Cox was cuter in her pre-Friends roles, so it won't be a total waste.

I agree completely Courtney Cox looks her best in the Masters of the Universe movie. The link that you sent is very interesting, knowing what I know about the film and the DC Characters(mainly from the DCAU)it does make sense. I never heard of Blade or the leader(I forget the name). Beast Man I always thought was a live action Grizzly-Cough.

[James D.]

In "Over The Edge" Mike, I can see your Hannibal Lechter moment with the Joker coming out of the shadows, but if they had done it, I would have called foul. Too much collateral damage, and while I hate to say it, not enough threat. Joker's never really posed a huge danger to Batman himself - what makes him dangerous is that he won't hesitate to put everyone else in danger, so Batman has to put himself in danger to protect others. If you just put Joker and Batman in the ring, it'd be over pretty quick. Bane is a whole different matter, and he's much more focused, so a more acceptable risk (After all, you called foul on the Joker getting a reduced sentence for ratting out Harley, and you were right - you don't deal with Joker).

Man, I should have remembered that and called Mike out on it.

[SuaveStar]

As you mentioned the X-men getting released on region 2 DVD i went out and found a link to the amazon page hope this helps anyone who wants it, it's just season one that's being released so far and does not say if it has any extras.

[Missy]

The link doesn't work.

[SuaveStar]

The link doesn't work.

Oh, well try this one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/X-Men-Season-Part-...xgy_d_h__text_b

Edit: just tried this one, it should work, I tried the last one as well, and your right that didn't work.

[Erin B.]

Excellent podcast as always, gentlemen.

You've brought this up before: How can someone listen to all episodes of World's Finest Podcast in a week's time? Well I put this to the test. It is possible, but only if you listen to it during your working day and the commute to and from the workplace. Luckily I have a job where I work more or less on my own and listening to old episodes of the podcast helps get me through the day, though my co-workers look at me weird when I start laughing for no apparent reason. But I did it. I listen to all 32 episodes in a week's time (not counting the weekend). I hope that answers the question

In addition to your comments on the episodes covered in Episode 32, I have a few of my own to share:

Ultimate Thrill:

-"This is coming out of your allowance Master Bruce." -Alfred, after Batman brings home a damaged Bat-wing. This one of my favorite Alfred lines. Just thought I share.

- Yes, sea lions are that dangerous, especially if you invade their territory (Male sea lions in particular since each male can have a beach full of females available to mate with. If anyone saw Alaska week on the Discovery Channel, you know what I mean. On a side note: don't be stupid and try and repeat half of what went on during Alaska week on the Discovery Channel. You'll only get yourself killed. Take it from someone who lives in Alaska.)

- Who would rent hanger space to Roxy Rocket? She's a criminal for God's sake! Her face has no doubt been on the news and she used to work in the film industry. She's known! The owner of that hanger must had his common sense glads removed.

- Henchgirls crash a plane into a water tower and live?

- How many rockets does Roxy have?

- "I love a man with staying power." -Roxy Rocket. Don't we all, girlfriend.

- Roxy's costume gets ripped and Batman's stays intact?

Over the Edge:

-Sorry. Could not bring myself to watch it. I saw it as a kid on TV, unedited, and it traumatized me for life. I have not seen it since. Maybe one day, I'll be able to, but not without a box of tissues and a lot of chocolate to comfort me.

Mean Seasons:

- The ides are on the 15th of March, May, July, and October as well as the 13th of all the other months (Happy Ides of July everyone!). They were feast days in the Ancient Roman calendar in honor of Mars, god of war and had military parades to go with them. It would have made more sense if the April calendar that Calendar Girl had left had April 13th circled instead of the 3rd. As far as the "Beware the ides of March" thing, I think they were trying to be clever and quote Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

-Bruce was checking for wrinkles. :laugh:

-Did anyone notice that Calendar Girl stole Oddjob's hat throwing move?

New Kids In Town:

- "You asked for heroes. You didn't say anything about sanity." -Chameleon Boy. Just a fun line I wanted to share.

- OH MY GOD! Brainiac killed Kenny! You Bastard!

- "Don't be foolish. You'll need something better than a shovel." -Martha Kent. You go Ma!

Obsession:

-"Cover some fashion show. It's why I became a reporter Jimmy." -Clark Kent. You just keep telling yourself that Clark.

- In reference to Toyman's robot henchmen (cowboy, knight, and astronaut): Where are the rest of The Village People?

- Anybody notice that Barbie...I mean Darcie goes all Chucky when she's chasing Lana? It certainly looked like a Chucky reference from where I'm sitting.

Anyway, that's all for now. I may have more when we get to episode 33 of World's Finest Podcast.