The Brave and the Bold

Just watched the first episode of the new Cartoon Network series BATMAN-THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD and I must say that, while I enjoyed it, I was rather confused. Mainly, because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how, in the wake of THE DARK KNIGHT, this thing ever got greenlighted! To be fair, lead time being what it is, this has probably been in the works for quite some time. Still, this is not your father's Batman...or rather, it IS your father's Batman! The Caped Crusader of this series is a popular super hero to citizens and is known for his teamups with other super-doers (in the tradition of the long-gone original BRAVE AND THE BOLD comic). Kids have pinups of him on their wall (including the one seen here--with obscured Robin--which I myself once had on my wall!), he seems equally at home with campy super-villians like the Clock King or in outer space. In short, this is the early sixties Batman! He wisecracks, he mentors, he smiles (!), he's prepared for every unlikely thing and yet, at least for this die-hard silver age fan, it all worked!
The first episode is a simple, tight script in which the new Blue Beetle, who has obviously already encountered Bats, teams with him to stop a meteor from hitting what appears to be the JLA satellite. This plot then disappears as the pair ends up on the other side of the galaxy fighting old JLA foe, Kanjar Ro (looking more like a skinny, off-model Darkseid here until he actually becomes the Blue Beetle himself!) with an army of Proty-like aliens. After the inevitable victory, they return to their original mission and we end on a freeze frame. Seeing them actually do it isn't even important. We just KNOW they will! How was never the point!
Don't ask how this series fits in with the great Bruce Timm BATMAN cartoon or even the lesser THE BATMAN animated run. They MAY try to shoehorn it into the continuity of the recent JLA cartoons but I doubt it would be a good fit. It doesn't matter, though. BATMAN-THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD is fun, pure and simple--nothing too deep, lots of action, a simple moral and the good guys winning and KNOWING they will! There is even an absolutely marvelous opening title sequence! The art is better than in THE BATMAN but fairly simplified. The writing is, at least in this episode, clever and genuinely funny. With Plastic Man, Aquaman, and Red Tornado all announced in advance for this series, it'll be interesting to see how it all progresses.