Bruce and Terry Join Forces with a Talking Gorilla and the Justice League Unlimited as My Journey Through Batman Beyond Nears the End

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Some phrases will always get the blood pumping regardless of context. I’m talking about phrases like “genetically modified gorilla.” What’s not to love about a genetically modified gorilla? It’s a gorilla, which is great, but it’s been genetically modified to do all sorts of crazy shit! Win win.

The only thing better than a genetically modified gorilla is a talking genetically modified gorilla, because that way, the genetically modified gorilla can say what’s on its mind.

To put things in Bill Maher or Dennis Miller terms, it can rant about all of the things that would be of interest to a genetically modified gorilla. I don’t know about you but I am not interested in the opinions of straight white males these days, only genetically modified gorillas from the future.

So when I saw that “Speak No Evil” found Terry and Bruce coming to the aid of a gloomy genetically modified gorilla with the gift of gab and a whole lot of shit on his mind, I got very excited even if it sounded a little bit silly.

“Speak No Evil” is a little bit silly but it’s nowhere near as ridiculous or as comic as it should be. Creative exhaustion had begun to set in a bit by this late stage but the show was still capable of portraying a talking super gorilla as a figure of real pathos, sadness and gravity and not camp, kitsch and unintentional humor.

That the sad talking gorilla with mother issues is never even the least bit unintentionally funny is even more impressive considering that the episode is devoid of intentional humor.

Movies or television shows that never acknowledge the ridiculousness of a premise are sometimes unintentionally chuckle-inducing as a result. That’s not the case here. The show plays the idea of a talking genetically modified gorilla in the future venturing to Gotham City on a mission of vengeance more or less completely straight and pulls it off.

The episode begins with poor Fingers (voiced by the mellifluously named Malachi Throne) being pursued by scientists who have lost him. It turns out that the scientists are creeps who collaborated with poacher James Van Dyle to “splice” a gorilla in order to make it super-intelligent.

The experimental move worked too well. Fingers didn’t just become smarter and more sophisticated. He attains the power of speech as well and sets out to find his mother and get revenge on the monster who stole her from her family.

In flashbacks we see heart wrenching scenes of poor little baby Fingers in Africa being torn away from his loving mother by heartless poachers. Few things tug at the heartstrings as relentlessly as animals in danger, with the exception of baby animals in danger.

Terry and Bruce empathize with the soulful primate with the baritone growl. They go so far as to return him to Africa where he announces plans to use his human intelligence and gorilla strength to stop poachers.

Bruce doesn’t like many people. That’s kind of his thing. He’s a grump but he sees himself in the melancholy monkey with the King Kong physique and air of ineffable sadness.

Big Barda (L) Lainie Kazan

The elderly superhero in retirement ends the episode by giving Fingers his official seal of approval, remarking approvingly that Fingers is a true kindred spirit to himself and Terry.

Like them, he’s a sad weirdo who has devoted his strange life to fighting evil and avoiding happiness.

The next episode, “The Call Part 1”, is an episode unlike any other because it finds Bruce Wayne and Terry Mcginnis, who manage to cut solitary figures despite working together, joining forces with a proper superhero team, the Justice League Unlimited.

When I saw that Batman Beyond would begin overlapping with Justice League Unlimited I foolishly assumed that the Justice League Unlimited would feature the A-team: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and, if we’re feeling generous, Cyborg.

That most assuredly is not the Justice League Unlimited featured here. Terry is invited to join the gang and Superman is represented by a buff goth dude of a certain age in a black costume who goes way back with Bruce and clearly has a complicated relationship with him, on account of Bruce Wayne has a complicated relationship with everyone.

He’s a complicated guy! But the rest of the Justice League Unlimited is B, C and D list. We’re talking Micron, levitating  Tibetan Green Lantern Kai-Ro, Aquagirl and Warhawk. Oh, and Big Barda.

If you’re asking, “Who?” You’re not alone. Big Barda is of course a character Jack Kirby created whose look was inspired by a nude Playboy spread by bosomy Jewess character actress Lainie Kazan (you might remember her from her role as the ethnic mother in every movie ever) and based her personality on his wife.

The other characters are more obscure. I’m no comic book geek. I’m a jock and a stud and if I see someone in public who looks like they’re good at math or like reading comic books I consider it my solemn obligation to bully them relentlessly.

But I gotta say that I am not impressed by the low-rent likes of Warhawk, Micron and Aquagirl. Superman has a secondary reason for asking Terry to join the squad. He thinks that there is a mole within the League and wants Terry to find out who it is.

The other members of the League don’t like Terry even without knowing that he’s there to spy on them for their leader.

The best part of “The Call Part 1” underlines how at their core superhero team-up superhero stories are about the comic book equivalent of working in an office. Terry is the new guy and is consequently reflexively disliked by new peers who understandably see him as a green kid not to be trusted.

“The Call Part 1” ends on a cliffhanger, with Terry and Bruce learning that the mole at the Justice League is no other than Superman himself.

I’m not sure how I feel about this development beyond sad that the end of Batman Beyond looms in the not too distant future. The show was reportedly supposed to last another season but then they decided to go with Justice League Unlimited instead.

Getting a taste of what’s to come only makes me more certain that killing Batman Beyond so that Justice League Unlimited could live was a big mistake.

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