Batman has many nicknames: the Caped Crusader, Dark Knight, and World’s Greatest
Detective. Mystery Incorporated also has a few: the Scooby Gang and those “meddling
kids.” Frankly, Batman kind of likes the last one. They get along fairly well—maybe
because this isn’t their first meeting. The characters had crossover team-ups
in “The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair” and “The Caped Crusader Caper,” two installments
of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which was really just another Scooby TV series,
even though it pretended its episodes were movies. Their most recent on-screen collaboration
really is a movie—that even had a theatrical premiere before releasing
direct-to-DVD. Having laid the groundwork for the Batman & Scooby-Doo
Mysteries comic book that launched in 2021 (and still regularly revives
with special issues), Jake Castorna’s Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave
and the Bold airs this coming Saturday on the Cartoon Network.
Mystery
Incorporated’s unmasking successes finally convinced Batman to recruit them for
the Mystery Analysts of Gotham City. They simply had to pass a test he arranged
with the help of Martian Manhunter and Detective Chimp. Honestly, the real
mystery is why Warner Animation hasn’t used Detective Chimp more often. (His
guest appearance in Wonder Woman #16 was a delight.) Then, they gang
also must sleuth their way to the meeting, where they also meet the Question,
Plastic Man, and Black Canary. As it happens, Fred Jones is totally gob smacked
by her, which should put to rest a lot of rumors. For the record, the ascot
does not help his cause.
Naturally,
they want to help solve Batman’s only unsolved case, which coincidentally might
be related to Gotham’s latest break-in. It seems the spectral Crimson Cloak’s
theft of radioactive isotopes might be related to the unstable teleportation
device from Batman’s notoriously open case. It turns out he saved the wrong lab
assistant. The innocent one remains missing in the ether, but the other has
been remanded to Arkham Asylum, under the name The Riddler. So off to Arkham
they go, even though bad things always happen there.
Obviously,
there are a lot of jokes in Scooby: The Brave and the Bold. It is a
Scooby-Doo movie. However, it features the voices of Diedrich Bader and horror
legend Jeffrey Combs as Batman and the Question, neither of whom get the credit
they deserve for their DC animated work. Indeed, Bader’s Batman hits the right
sardonic notes, indicating he is in on the jokes, at least to the extent he is
constitutionally capable of acknowledging humor.
Arguably,
the one character who suffers from Paul Giacoppo’s screenplay treatment is
Aquaman, who comes off looking and sounding like a clumsy, obtuse meathead. Plastic
Man is the same Plastic Man from the 1979 Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show.
On the other hand, Black Canary and the Question should have seen their fandom
stock rise from their appearances in this film.
Warner Brothers could have cast Scott Adkins as Batman. Instead, they chose Ben
Affleck. They would probably never cast a real-deal martial arts star like Amy
Johnston as Black Canary either, but this DC story-arc shows why they should.
Much to the dismay of the Justice League, Black Canary, a.k.a. Dinah Lance agrees
to an MMA fight to abject surrender with Lady Shiva, the most skilled
super-villain martial artist in the DC multiverse. No holds are barred, but
superpowers are off limits, which is unfortunate, because Black Canary’s shriek
is a powerful equalizer. The bout gets bloody in Tom King’s Teen 15+ rated Black
Canary: Best of the Best, illustrated by Ryan Sook, releasing today in a
6-issue hardcover bind-up.
Nobody
understands why Lance agrees to the fight, except supervillain Vandal Savage. He
promises to provide the rare cure needed by her mother, the original Black
Canary. All she neds to do is take a dive
in the sixth round—assuming she can last that long. That will be a big ask.
Even Batman unhelpfully admits he never managed to beat Lady Shiva when he reluctantly
agrees to a sparring session.
Nevertheless,
Lance’s mother relentlessly oversees most of her training until her condition
craters into a coma. Lance can also count on the support of her boyfriend, Oliver
Queen, at least during the periods when he isn’t dead. Happily, that will be for
most of Best of the Best. Admittedly, they have a complicated relationship,
but they are making it work.
