#third funniest is talia al ghul

[mysterycitrus]

heartbreaking! ur fave guy has experienced character assassination (assigned swiftie by fandom)

[batmanbeyondreviews]

3x5 “Out of the Past”

A figure of Bruce’s past shows up, promising him eternal youth in an episode that scratches at the surface of Bruce’s internal motivation, but doesn’t follow through, and relies too much on B:TAS backstory. 

Plot

It’s Bruce’s birthday, and he’s feeling particularly old when he is visited by Talia al Ghul, a former lover and daughter of one of his rogues, Ra’s al Ghul. Talia hasn’t aged due to the restorative properties of the Lazarus Pit, and she offers Bruce a chance to relive his lost years. Bruce agrees, but is wary, and once he’s gone through the procedure, he and Terry uncover a sinister secret that Talia has been hiding. 

Villain 

I think I’ve said it before, but in case I haven’t, I’ll say it again: I do not really care about Batman. I like Batman Beyond, but I have no real investment in Bruce or his rogues. Which means that while this episode is a treat for fans of the original caped crusader, for me, it’s a bit of a disappointment. I am sure that for people who are familiar with Ra’s, this episode is good, but for me, someone whose only real knowledge of Ra’s comes from a) Batman Begins and b) this very episode, I don’t have much to latch on to. 

Going ONLY on what this episode provides, Ra’s is a seemingly one-note villain, only concerned with being immortal but not really having any motivation for wanting to live forever. Which is fine as motivation - one of my original villains is motivated by wanting to hold on to his youth - but in this single episode, there’s not enough time to really explore that in depth. He wants to be young, but why? What does he want to do with his life? Why was his daughter so loyal to him? 

I’m sure Batman fans have the answers. Don’t @ me. I’m treating this episode as a stand-alone episode in a stand-alone series, which is how most children my age approached it when they were kids. And on that level, Ra’s is not an interesting or compelling villain. 

Character Development

Another reason this episode doesn’t grab me so much is because - as I said in my video on the Hush Beyond miniseries - Beyond’s strength is in the focus on Terry, and this episode focuses on Bruce. That isn’t to say that what’s presented isn’t compelling. We see Bruce at his lowest point; not only is he no longer the pillar of physical strength he once was, but he’s living a life devoid of love. It’s easy to see why he would want to relive his glory days, and you really do feel for him. 

But throughout, he’s adamant that he has no interest in being Batman again, and he shows second and even third doubts about undergoing the Lazarus Pit procedure. Which makes his motivation actually feel weaker, as he’s sort of wishy-washy. Nor does he learn that he’s lived a full life and that it’s time to pass the torch. He just shrugs and decides to go back to being old. The first half of the episode is rich with character development, but there’s not enough follow-through. 

Rating

Three out of five. I’m not a fan of this episode, but it’s not bad or boring. The writing is fine, average for a Beyond episode. The opening scene with the Batman musical is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life, and it’s really great to see Terry and Bruce fighting together as a team. I just don’t care enough about Talia and R’as to feel invested. And because I don’t know/care about these characters, the Lazarus Pit stuff feels at odds with the rest of the series, which is so sci-fi that the straight up fantasy narrative/setting feels weird and incongruent. Also there’s some transphobia inherent in the story in that it’s kind of a ‘trap’ narrative.