Episode 62: Grant Lawson

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Hello and welcome to another episode of The Animation Nation. We take a look at animation cross-multi-to-fandoms today. We're jumping back into the Batman from 2004. We're talking about season two now. Episodes one and two, the cat, the bat, and the very ugly and riddled. And we're doing this later this week. Listeners, as we got 150 to 160 centimeters of snow, we've been in the last couple of days. And we have flu here as well. And day here is closed. So I unfortunately did not get a chance to do anything yesterday or the day before as I was doing Dad duty. And over the weekend we had a massive snow storm. So yeah, I had to record this the day of. So I will be editing this later and putting it out and getting it out. So it's just going to come later today instead of the normal 4am that it usually hits. So apologies there listeners, but I still will make sure to episode gets out today. That is a promise. So we're here to talk about two episodes. One and one. A little disappointing to be honest with you as I thought that it was going to be a lot more to it. And that wasn't the case at all. It was still disappointing waiting to see this character, this villain, and it was a dud. But before we get into all that, let me get the network plugs in the way. So we are part of the geek ultimate lives with six shows in total. And Mondays is Ranger Alliance. And Tuesdays is a walk through the motherverse. And Wednesdays is the animation nation. And Thursdays is Star Wars Alliance. And Friday is Maribol Alliance. And on Saturdays is the sea alliance. Star Wars Alliance goes live in the geek versus YouTube channel Wednesdays at 7pm Eastern time Maribol Alliance goes live Thursdays at 9pm PM Eastern time. And DC Alliance goes live Fridays at 7pm Eastern time. All three of those shows also have their own podcast feed. Search DC Alliance Maribol Alliance and Star Wars Alliance. And we just want DC content Maribol content or Star Wars content only. 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This cat relic and this bird relic and these are these two relics from like Egyptian times that end up using the power of raw. Which is not good. We'll see. I do love the little bit of magic mystic element to this episode. So yeah, she goes to take it, but paying one is there to stop as well. She has his two Edward Siserhand women to fight for for him actually. And catwoman smartly kind of tries to use her feminine ways to basically in tight penguin to let her join and they're going to team up. She obviously has plans to steal both off of him. He needs her to steal the other one. So she can keep the cat one if he can get the bird one. So I do love this too because after they go and the police are investigating Batman shows up and you know working with Batman gets her gets all of them to leave all the other cops and she chats. Well, she lets Batman investigate a chat later, but Batman finds a little sample. He go back to the back cave and find a blast to a bird. He obviously bird penguin fan knows immediately. He's like it's got to be penguin for sure. And he does a little bit more detective work. He realizes there has to be two people realizes that catwoman is the other one and they're teaming up to steal a pair of pair of them. So there's two statues, not just one and then we get Batman realizes this and realizes the other really missing Gotham. We flashed over to penguin and catwoman and catwoman is flirting with penguin and penguin basically shoes away his two twins. He's just like listening to her. He and penguin's bases like a broken down old ship as well. I do, do, do, going over to job. How do I go into get it done. And yeah, so he has, did we flash after they talk about it, we flashed to the breaking the crows pick out and knock out the power and surveillance and then they drop little small gas pods and knock out the guards. And they get the relic Batman shows up at the same time of course and they fight Batman back and forth to them. They get the better of Batman and then catwoman looks to betray penguin of course and nope does not work that way at all penguin has been ready for this at all. But the whole time he's one that's going to betray her the twins come back they kick her butt easily and then he ties he will he attaches her and Batman together using like a super duper handcuff will call it like a like a trick to hang off. And penguins only one that got key of course and then before he leaves he smashes something causes all the things to go off to get them stuck together. Batman first obviously he's going to try and open it up and get it open but unfortunately he like basically kicks in and causes the timer to go. And I'm pretty sure there's a bomb in there as well that will blow up he stops it at the last second and he realizes yeah only the keys the keys the only thing they managed to get away from police but when they're driving the bat mobile the way penguin has their hands lock catwoman must drive as Batman is on the passenger side and he can't drive or she be outside the bat mobile so she has to drive and one of the cops see catwoman and Batman together. And essentially Ian is starting to think like is Batman legit is like am I trusting the right person like may I leave my whole career over this. She calls him a couple times and first he tries to pretend like he doesn't know who catwoman's partner is and then she's like yeah well people are saying it's you and her. And Batman's like I'll get back to you obviously so penguins back in his hideout and he they find well they go back to penguins hideout sorry and they find some he's been working on find out that he's going to basically use the right the power to destroy Gotham and he sends the GCP the basically heads up that yeah I want a million dollars by done or. I'm going to blow up Gotham he blows up a building and I do it is hilarious they don't they don't believe in first their scaff and had it and he blows up that ability he blows up like a. memorial thing that's a front. And he's like, money for some rise or the next one's going to be full civilians. And he anonymously gives Batman a call. And she's like, I know that you're the cat one's partner. And Batman's like, yeah, no, that's not the case. And I was complicated. And she's like, she basically tells him, yeah, I know where Penguin is. And that he's at the lighthouse. So they go there, obviously. And as they're climbing up the lighthouse, the birds swoop in. And they put them in a little bit predicament. But Batman gets catwoman up and then he uses the sonic inhibitor Auguste McCulloch that he got and clicks it. And then the sonar like, bells out and scares all the birds away. And then we get the twins arriving and fighting Batman and catwoman. Catwoman, Catwoman and Batman eventually get to best of them and get to Penguin. And he's going to destroy Gotham's children hospitals. The first thing he says, which is pretty dark for Penguin. Batman and Catwoman managed to like change the direction. And it basically points it up up in the sky. And then we get a big fight back and forth here. I'm still very annoyed at how good Penguin is at fighting and how much he kicked Batman's butt at times. He should never even come close to Batman. And that's what I did love about Batman and I made a series. Penguin was using his umbrella for stuff. But like, there's no, like, he's not beating Batman in the fight. I don't know. I look at this penguin. I never would think he would be Batman in the fight either of me. And then two of them are there with both the relics and they're trying to get him and Batman puts the handcuffs on both of them. And it looks like they're done for, but Penguin and Catwoman team up one more time is they use penguins umbrella, which I loved them doing and flying away together with it. And he essentially gets both relics in. He lets you know, yeah, this is not the best get together. So here you keep one and I'll keep one. And she tells them, yeah, I trust you. You know what to do, which is really good for their relationship. Like shows how how far they've gone in this short little time, but that that Ethan that whole everything with Ethan really did that. But this was just an okay episode. I didn't really enjoy this much. There was a couple things like the mystical element of this and some of the Batman returns that. But I would get it just like a 6.5. This is just a very average episode and very sad for opening the season that way listeners will take our only ab week of the evening and we'll get into the final episode featuring the penguin. We're an ad support network. We don't pick the ad or volume. I'm going to be a quick 3k to adjust your volume and we'll be right back in 3, 2, 1. And we're back. Okay guys, one final episode of the night riddled the debut of Ridler, which not gonna lie. This was very meh for me. Very meh. Our tactics was going to be amazing. And nope, I know I have been told that other riddled appearances are quite good. So yeah, bam, we get essentially showing the police out of air and they're at City Hall and Ian and another cop are basically trying to diffuse a timer that got a whole bunch of bombs all connected to it and they got a riddle. And we know who that what that means. Roehme is there telling her like get everybody out of here. And she tells the other cop to leave knowing that Batman's there. Batman solves the riddle and diffuses the bomb. And then skiries away from the screen and Ridler shows up on the screen and congratulates Ian. And like you done a great job. You are you qualify to take this challenge essentially. And basically a little spotlight shine. And tells Ian the steppian and Batman's they're like watching in the background. And he would he tells her yeah, only you, no cops, no anything else, no he's going to be listening to the police speeds or Gotham loses essentially his matter there. And he gives her a riddle into your own way. And I'm going to be asking you I don't think I'm pretty sure. Hold on. I didn't write down any riddles that he even said that I thought they were so I will say the one thing I did enjoy about the riddle from Batman and Ian. And seriously it was like almost like pop up books half the time and they were really intricate. These are just like hearing words out of page telling me what it is. I don't know. I just and it's not grungy. This is if I didn't see the Batman movie there's what we were like, well look at this grungy taking on the riddle. But no, not nearly that kind of grunge. Yeah. So she's she's going to take the challenge. And basically tells her like you got to go right now she gets into car and drives away. And essentially he's not letting do anything Batman has to stay away because it's riddled or sees him. He's going to explode everything. Batman's like don't worry we can talk here. This is frequency he can't crack like my private frequency. So she sees the riddled or man obviously. And anyhow to see that kind of stuff I think about our game. So I'm like call my god those riddles. Those are one of the worst things ever. The doors open up and riddlers there on the screen just basically saying like here's the like the pimes are rigged in the bridge going to explode and you got to answer this riddle and you get the chief and another cop slinging up and riddlers not happy about that. So he sits up the car and just drives away because they're not supposed to do that. Batman just for it flies away. Batman throws in a battery which is a camera battery and then he flies away because he's in his jetpack which it's awesome. I'd love to see more of that. So he can see he helps Yin get the answer for this riddle and the man basically doesn't stop and just drives off the bridge and is going to explode but Batman unlocks the man and gets Yin out of there and drops her and riddled is a little bit surprised at this point. I'm surprised you're still joining us and he gives her another riddle and he has bound place all over the concert and again we get Batman helping Yin get another riddle and yeah it would like just keep going really quickly. There wasn't much time for the riddles or to think about things and poor Yin the internet would go with the riddles at all and then there's another riddle out of train. It's all bombs everywhere to blow up and that one is stopped as well. Ah with Batman help and then there's another riddle. Well I think it's the old riddle. Yeah it's the old riddle that Roe Haas is looking at and he's like how did she get this out of that? How did she get museum out of this? It was the old like she's already done this riddle and he's like I don't even understand how she got that from this. Really really showing you in a great light there chief and we get riddlers final riddle now and Batman is there helping her solve it and Batman realized that riddler doesn't really care like he gave up this game. He doesn't like he's using this time to do other things because this riddle doesn't have an answer. That was the thing about this riddle and all the other bombs are not real. Batman deduces this and realizes all this was a distraction and he's like why why would he try and it goes back to the first when they were at City Hall. It was a play and get them out and go and go and go. Basically riddlers trying to get all the information from City Hall's database and computers and that he can then have anything he wants from that. He basically says he knew that Batman was helping Ian and he has henchman that he that I can't even remember what he calls him like something like riddles or real lives or something like that riddler didn't while they're fighting his henchman dolesism with sleeping gas and now they're trapped. He's going to unmask Batman with a series of yes no questions, 20 questions if he lies to the lie detector up to Batman and Ian gets shocked if it does and these I will say the first time he gets shocked Batman says his identity is Ethan Bennett and he gets shocked that Lee Jyn gets shocked and her scream is very brutal it's very it does make it and it basically says any time every time you get shocked every time you answer another question right I'm going to go up and go up and yeah he just asks, "Are you Blonder Brunette? Are you a Blonder Brunette?" policeman and then Batman essentially tricks Ridler into getting it standing in front of Yinn and then answers a question wrong on purpose again to get Ridler shocked. And yeah, they're defeating them pretty easily and Ridler's all wrapped up. And that's why I was, this was just okay. Like, Ridler looks at Rojas and says that Gian is working with Batman and Rojas doesn't even believe it. You're like, "What? You wouldn't even second guess that?" Like, "No." And yeah, that was, I was shocked at that too. It just was, it's wrapped up so quickly. I'm sorry, but if you were going to have to Ridler especially like this, he should've been in a two-parter, two-start. This was just an average episode as well. Like, to pay off the ending was just, "Okay, yeah." All right, Ridler's gone to Giana. Like, it shifted from what he was trying to do to our mass and the Batman in a couple seconds and you're just like, "What? Why?" So, yeah, I was just, I was a little disappointed by this one not going to lie and I don't know. I hope going forward the Ridler's appearance says, "I'll be a little better." So yeah, no explosions, not one bomb blew up. This was just so dull and I'm going to be asked with you, like, beware the Batman that came out after this and they didn't have any Ridler and stuff like that. And I would prefer that if you're going to do this kind of stuff where, like, Ridler's cool and sunburned, but you're not consistent and like, he, it's like he keeps his, like, takes the eye after prize, like, the whole thing he was doing, like, it's just a couple, like, about faces that I just didn't appreciate. So, yeah, very average couple episodes here this week. I would probably give this one a seven out of ten. This is a bit better, but again, still, I would hope that it was a bit more. So next week, we have two new episodes. We have JTV, which looks like a Joker episode and those are usually pretty enjoyable. And swamp is the next episode. Personally, I would guess, just reading the thing, swamp thing, but looking at the thing here when I Google swamped the Batman, it's showing me Killer Crocs. So I can't wait to get into Killer Crocs, especially considering these two episodes and Joker. So we'll jump into those next week until then listeners. See you later, everyone, and hopefully you don't have to shovel any stuff. Cheers.