Review: Beware the Batman “Reckoning”

What will Batman do when all of Arkham is unleashed onto Gotham?

I know it is in stark contrast from how our action cartoons used to be, but the long story arc may be the future of the action cartoon genre. Most anime have adopted it, and the latest is Beware the Batman. Continuing with part three, “Reckoning,” Batman has to deal with the Ion Cortex shutting down Gotham. Not to mention every villain he has put behind bars, also thanks to Ra’s al Ghul. I know a lot of people will get the pitchforks and torches for this, but Ra’s is the ultimate Batman villain, and this arc is just a small reason why.

First, I want to learn how to have Ra’s power of the backhand. First, he slaps Mr. Toad clear across the common area in Arkham’s cells, then slaps Katana so hard that she makes a small indentation in the stone. This man clearly has almost every possible scenario thought out. I say almost, because Ra’s doesn’t take into account that the villains will turn on one another for a piece of Gotham. This problem gets fixed later, when Cypher takes over Magpie and Phosphorus Rex and fights Batman with them.

The episodes leading into “Reckoning,” both the other two parts and the series in general, gives a bigger glimpse into how big the writers were planning to go. Ra’s was the first big villain, and he almost takes Batman out. If it weren’t for Lieutenant and Barbara Gordon, and every villain trying to take each other out, Ra’s would have won. However, like in almost every Batman story ever, Batman manages to use the one scenario that Ra’s doesn’t think of: Batman has help. If it wasn’t Barbara and Jim, it was the Soultaker Sword.

The way that the writers are taking Barbara is fantastic. I am glad to see that they are forgoing her time as Batgirl, and letting her settle right into her role as Oracle from the onset. She doesn’t care what she has to do, as long as she can hack her way into helping Batman. Jim, knowing that Barbara is the best person for the job, let’s her help, even if it’s pulling her right into lion’s den, so to speak. Barbara can easily be one of the coolest characters that the writers reinterpreted for Beware the Batman.

This is what makes Batman, well, Batman. The villains seem to always have Batman cornered. But Batman always seems to be able to exploit some character flaw, like Ra’s inability to see a flaw in himself. And being the world’s greatest detective, Batman uses that little kernel of information, and exploits it to save the day. Batman has done this to the biggest villains to date, as well as even Superman. There is nothing that Batman can’t overcome with some time, planning, and sleuthing.

The episode is rather wrenching, because we say (temporarily, I hope) goodbye to a mainstay to the Batman lore. “Reckoning,” as well as “Fall” and “Darkness,” make a story that is worthy of the comics. I don’t say that very often when it comes to superhero cartoons, because it’s mostly barely adapted from the comics. The writers for Beware the batman took the ball and ran with it.

Overall, “Reckoning” had me fanboying all over the place. Ra’s is my favorite Batman villain, next to Bane, because Ra’s isn’t the normal “go in and steal this thing” type of villain. Ra’s knows what he wants, and that’s either to take over Gotham, or destroy it. That’s all dependent on what story you read, of course. Again, a lot of people think Joker is Batman’s ultimate villain, and they’d be right, if Ra’s didn’t exist. I am glad to see Ra’s make it into the show, and I can’t wait to see what he does for an encore later in the series.