The new radio show, Batman: The Audio Adventures, harkens back to the days of yesteryear complete with a black and white radio set and. The program currently streams on HBO Max and began on September 18th. It is written and directed by Dennis McNicholas who also worked on Saturday Night Live. There are ten episodes in season one. Episode 1, “Life and Death in Gotham City”, begins with the broadcast of Gotham-1 with reporter, Jack Ryder (Seth Meyers), this feels like the old radio programs. Meyers is of course a chat show host and comic book fan. Ryder is the real identity of the superhero, The Creeper, who made his debut in Showcase #73 (1968). A car crashes in front of the host of “Gotham is Talking Live.” He then talks about the Batman becoming a “special consultant” to the Gotham police. Ryder gets the thoughts of various Gothamites, kinda funny. He finds himself covered by a gun by a woman, who calls herself Peach Fuzz, and her gang. They steal Ryder’s camera and then hear noises.
The gang is defeated. Ryder says it best, “It’s Batman!” Then, we get the intro to the show with narration by Chris Parnell. He notes that it is “February 2nd” in an office of a crimelord, a keypad is unlocked, and a man enters with a blond woman who is a native Gothamite. The man (Fred Armisen) introduces himself as King Scimitar, “The Cavalier of Crime”, his first appearance, Armisen is another SNL vet. He shows her various swords and one special one. It is sword he will use to kill Batman, and leave the pieces to his pet tigers, Dagger and Shank! She has freed the tigers and now has the sword. He realizes that she is Catwoman (Rosario Dawson)! Selina Kyle says she will take everything along with the tigers, but will leave the sword. She throws the sword and knocks him out. I like that there are other crimes that do not involve the Batman. There are some programs as the radio flips through channels including commercials like Grabbo the Birthday Clown who likes to emphasize he is not the Joker!
Then, we get the rooftop in Chinatown. There is sizzling electricity while a hostage is in a bathtub! Arguing with himself is former district attorney, Harvey Dent (Ike Barinholtz), otherwise known as Two Face! I like Berinholtz characterization of Dent with two different voices, one normal and the other gravely, like Jekyll & Hyde. He flips a coin and then is about to attach alligator clamps on the victim. Batman (Jeffrey Wright) reports to Robin (Melissa Villaseñor) who is in position and she has to take out Harvey’s thugs are with the hostages. Wright has another voice role this year as The Watcher in What If…? Villaseñor is known for SNL and also voiced Karen Beverly in Toy Story 4 (2019). He is working out a non-lethal way to take down Two Face. Then, Batman uses thermal vision to see thirty two hostages and two armed gunmen. Robin notes they are Bob and Bob, the Trigger Twins. Batman says that it is exactly two years since Dent became Two Face. Robin says, “Holy trigger warning”, funny!
Batman goes over that Dent tried to separate the hostages, but the last one was an odd number! I really like Batman talking over his strategy with Robin. Two Face is about to electrocute the victim and then we hear the whistling sound of a Batarang! The sound effects and the narration replace visuals perfectly. It hits a fuse box and Batman faces Two Face. He has a .22 gun held to Mr. Yen, Batman waits for Two Face to make a mistake, and gets his personalities to argue with each other. Batman speaks in Latin, something only the Harvey Dent personality would understand. Two Face gives the hostage another chance flipping a silver coin that comes up innocent. Robin has the hostages safe, but Bob and Bob escaped. A plane fires on the rooftop and Two Face makes his getaway. The next part has a commercial for the Iceberg Casino, operated by The Penguin (Bobby Moynihan) and a song by Stovepipe Sullivan. We get an epilogue, a waterfront of the former Amusement Mile, now abandoned. Two people enter the Fun Fair, Charlie and Rocco, they want to be henchmen. They are confronted by The Joker (Brent Spiner)! He is slick and dangerous, but goes into rants. Spiner played the Riddler in Justice League Action. The Joker takes them into his fun house. Batman: The Audio Adventures episode one is a great intro with many stories that have a fun touch that is the best of Batman!
Five Batarangs out of Five!
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