Review: Beware the Batman "Instinct"

First and foremost, this was a filler episode. And you know what? That's not automatically a bad thing. On the one hand, it gives me less to review because the overall story and character arcs were put aside to have Pyg and Toad return for an episode. On the other hand, Pyg and Toad returned for an episode.

This was absolutely a great episode. The detective work was well handled, and the clues were nicely obscure without being indecipherable. The lines were funny, and Pyg and Toad are quickly becoming the show's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The threat was nice and large, but not overdone, and everyone in the show was portrayed as competent, both the heroes and the villains. Katana and Batman are finally gelling into a buddy duo, and their chemistry is really starting to work.

Quite honestly, if this entire show were just unrelated one-episode stories, I'd be fine with that. Some of the best stuff I've seen from this show so far came when the main League of Assassins plot was put on hold.

Now, allow me to change gears for a second. When I originally recapped this episode last year, these were my final words in the Recap....

"If the rest of the show is like this, this show will probably be remembered fondly by many people. Let's see if they can have a hit next week, too! See you then!"

Yes. I said "next week." Sadly, this ended up being the last episode regularly broadcast.The next episode premiered on DVD, and the rest of the series got dumped onto Toonami at 3 am alongside TV-MA anime earlier this year, with the last few episodes all airing the same day so Cartoon Network could abandon this show as quickly as possible. Because Cartoon Network didn't just dislike this show, they freakin' hated it with a passion that most reserve for people who talk at movies.

What I can't get is this. Cartoon Network cancelled a Batman show. Probably the DC superhero who sells the most toys, and they cancelled his show before any toys but the McDonald's line could be made.

To those people at Cartoon Network that failed to realize that Batman is a cash cow franchise, I give you this one message: You're idiots.

Anyway, next time, Magpie returns for the last pre-Toonami episode. See you then.