BEWARE THE BATMAN “Broken” Review

The latest Beware the Batman episode featured a villain by the name of Humpty Dumpty. If that doesn’t grab your attention, nothing will. SPOILERS!

In “Broken“, a neurotic villain starts trapping seemingly random people in life-sized soldier statues that are rigged to explode if tampered with. But things start to get personal when James Gordon (Kurtwood Smith) becomes one of the targets. Meanwhile, Tatsu (Sumalee Montano) and Alfred (J.B. Blanc) have a little discussion about the Soultaker Sword, which might be more lethal than previously thought.

So yeah, we have two plot-lines in this episode. The “A” plot (Humpty Dumpty) and the “B” plot (Soultaker Sword). Surely, Plot A would be more important to the plot….right? No, not really.

That doesn’t mean that the A plot is bad. Not at all. The writers try to give this episode a twisted, almost horror vibe. Humpty Dumpty, voiced by Matt L. Jones, made his debut in the Arkham Asylum: Living Hell comic series in 2003. I have never read any comics with him, but he works here. Unlike previous boring villains like Pyg, Toad, and Anarky, Humpty, despite his silly name and design, can be effectively creepy, especially towards the end (the “suicide” scene almost got me). Jones deserves credit for that.

The more important plot…

Unfortunately, otherwise, I had to question the A plot regarding it’s usefulness. You see, the B plot with Tatsu and Alfred is far more interesting, and serves to further the plot a bit…more so than the main plot. Also, I have a feeling that the Soultaker Sword will get a larger role later, if the comics are any indication.

Anyway, the action scenes are pretty entertaining, the voice acting hits all the right notes, and the music succeeds in being atmospheric. A solid episode. I just wish that the main plot felt more important.