Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Girls' Night Out

World's Finest #3 is going to be released today and is the first official team-up of *this* Supergirl and *this* Batgirl. I have been looking forward to this issue since I first heard about it.

I figured that reviewing some other team-ups of the two heroes would be fun. Last week I reviewed a Silver Age issue of Superman Family.

This week, I thought I would review the 'Girls Night Out' episode of 'The New Adventures of Batman and Robin'. My thanks to blog-friend Gene for the idea.

For those who haven't seen the episode, it is available on YouTube. Here are the links:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMV3L8jJahQ

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJKJb0XkXJY&feature=related

It's a fun episode, the first meeting between these incarnations of the characters.

With Batman and Superman both otherwise engaged, Supergirl and Batgirl have to team up to stop a trio of villains: Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Livewire.

Initially you see how Supergirl and Batgirl want to be part of the legacies of their respective families. Unfortunately, their first run-in with Livewire ends with her escaping.



One little moment I like in the show is Supergirl's response when Harvey Bullock says he actually misses Batman. Supergirl sticks her tongue out at him as he turns away.

I know ... sophomoric. But it was a small character quirk we saw Supergirl do a couple of other times in her DCAU appearances. I remember her doing the same thing to Captain Atom in the first JLU episode. Consistent character personality flourishes like this showed how dedicated Warner Brothers and Bruce Timm were in putting out a great product.


Livewire ends up running into and teaming up with Poison Ivy and Harley. The three try some petty larceny at a mall only to have Supergirl and Batgirl show up again.

While the Kara and Babs end up stopping the three from completely looting the place, they can't stop them from escaping. Babs gets a face full of severe allergenic pollen. The two heroes have to break off the attack in regroup.

While they recover in Barbara's apartment, the two commiserate a bit about how hard their lives are. It is a cute Town Mouse/Country Mouse moment although I can't imagine Batgirl ever saying she wished she has chores.



They decide to take the fight to the villains, this time with a plan. Unfortunately their sneak attack is hardly a secret. Here is Harley's response to Supergirl x-ray scan. Harley always had the best moments in this show.


Batgirl and Supergirl end up skirmishing with the three in Ivy's hideout in an abandoned fairground or animal park. Between Ivy's giant plant constructs and Livewire's lightning blasts, they are barely able to hold their own. They do work together nicely as a team.

Luckily, the villains end up doing more damage to themselves as Livewire's blasts ignite Ivy's plants. In the meantime, the destruction leads to water spilling all over Livewire shorting her out. They are able to capture the villains and turn them over to the police.

Don't get me wrong, Supergirl and Batgirl have nice moments throughout the show escaping the various traps and laying the smack down on the villains.

The episode ends with the two new friends relaxing after the battle. They are giddy when Bullock praises them on television.

It had been a while since I saw this episode so it was great to watch it again. It was nice to see the easy friendship between the two young heroes. Plus, they worked so well together on the battle field, covering each other's backs and pulling no punches.

I hope that Kara and Stephanie have the same sort of camaraderie.

And thanks again to Gene for the idea. I always like showcasing the multimedia renditions of Supergirl.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Always like their interaction, specially when written correctly.

Unfinished piece:

http://mhunt.deviantart.com/art/It-s-freefall-time-141650044

Jamal Igle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Saranga said...

OK, I know I read between the lines a lot but that was rather femme-slashy. of course, deliberate femme-slash in a mainstream book would also be welcome, sadly I don't think that day has come yet.

Is that supergirl meant to be Kara or Linda? Cos for a Kryptonian she seemed a bit inept and weak.

Am very much looking forward to worlds finest 3!

Anj said...

Is that supergirl meant to be Kara or Linda? Cos for a Kryptonian she seemed a bit inept and weak.

Definitely Kara.

I also think this was relatively early in her career so she might be a bot inexperienced.

Anj said...

Always like their interaction, specially when written correctly.

Unfinished piece:

http://mhunt.deviantart.com/art/It-s-freefall-time-141650044


Slick piece.

Jamal Igle said...

I don't think you'll be disappointed, then

TalOs said...

Good to see this particular Supergirl/Batgirl team up themed ep again.

UGH! Man I couldn't stand Kara In-Zee/'Kara Kent' till she finally lost her self indulgent, whiny (and even really bitchy at times for no reason) attitude in JLU proper come GL giving her a real good talking to where she suddenly then on matures in to the more respectful of others around her, even more heroic and still kick ass Supergirl (with a decent costume) I was wanting from the get go of the Timm DCU animated continuity. :)

Anyways, here's to WF #3 today! :D

Jason said...

This was definitely one of my favorite episodes of the animated series. I remember it. I'm excited to see how the team-up between the current Batgirl and Supergirl turns out. I think Linda (yes, I'm calling her Linda now) and Stephanie should get along very well. I have to say, I'm hoping they reveal their identities to each other, with Supergirl saying "My name's Linda" or something along those lines. Just the thought makes me giddy.

Anonymous said...

Well, the relationship ought to be "Big Sister (Babs) and Little Sister (Kara)".
Even if the script made BG & SG out to be a bit overwhelmed, the vibe was right...Notice how Batgirl and Supergirl get along famously from the git-go? They are sisters with different parents, their "senior" male partners usually were much more suspicious of one another.

John Feer

Gene said...

Anj wrote:
"And thanks again to Gene for the idea."

My pleasure Anj!

I just saw this episode recently for the first time in over ten years and got a big kick out of it. One of my favorite scenes was when the three villainess trashed the Iceberg Cafe. It was a pity they never appeared together again on another episode or in a DCAU based comic.

I think Livewire would make an excellent addition to Supergirl's rogue's gallery.

Anj wrote:
"Consistent character personality flourishes like this showed how dedicated Warner Brothers and Bruce Timm were in putting out a great product."

I could not agree more. In fact, one could make the argument that Bruce Timm & Co have been more influential in the depiction of Supergirl than anyone else in the past 25 years.

P.S. That is an excellent piece Mauricio!