REVIEW -- Beware The Batman - Episode 9: Control

I apologize if it seems like Beware The Batman is taking over this blog as of late. It's the only show that I happen to be watching regularly that interests me other than professional wrestling that I'm able to consistently write about without it taking a lot of time away from everything else going on in my life at the moment.

All that I ask is hold out a bit as this season is almost over with this being one of the last three episodes left before the season finale in October. Those of you who are fans of the show like myself, I hope you continue to enjoy these write-ups on the last remaining episodes in this first season.

Episode Synopsis (Spoilers): 

After failing to capture Dr. Jason Burr in order to gain access to the Ion Cortex, the League of Assassins sends another one of their agents to steal the information from Burr’s mind: a wall-crawling computer-assassin named Cypher. Batman and Katana try to stop him, but Katana inadvertently gets herself captured. Now, Batman must find a way to take down Cypher, while he is in control of both Burr and Katana!

The Verdict: 

I knew it was going to happen eventually and this week marks the first episode in this series' run where we have run into a DC Comics villain that I'm not familiar with in the least. From what I have read on message boards and other articles on the show, it seems that the Cypher in this series was a re-imagining of a villain Batman and Robin has faced in the comics who has the ability to mesmerize and hypnotize his victims using his precise voice. His mind-control in conversation can only command the victim to sleep, but if his voice is heard passively (via being held against one's will), he can gain full control of the victim and force him or her to do his bidding (Comicvine). In other words, they simplified his powers by making him a cyborg working for the League of Assassins.

Cypher proved to be an interesting adversary as I personally got the vibe of him being like Spellbinder from Batman Beyond from how he toyed with his victims' minds like it was his own plaything. One thing I couldn't help but wonder is why Cypher didn't probe Katana and Batman's minds and take their darkest secrets rather than just controlling them like puppets. I thought it would have been easier for him just to extract the information that he needed the dispose of his "puppets" after he got what he wanted. That's what he did to the victim shown at the start of the episode, so why didn't he use that method later when he got hold of Jason Burr?

Speaking of Jason Burr, I was surprised that they are still doing something with this sort of "romance" between him and Tatsu Yamashiro. Too bad Cypher had to ruin their "date." It looking like Jason is going to end up being Tatsu's weakness as Batman has already heavily expressed to leave her emotions at the door. Since he is making a habit of doing this for two episodes in a row, I can't help but think that Jason is going to have a big part to play when the League of Assassins finally do get their hands on the Ion Cortex and the Bat-family comes head to head with them once again. It's evident that Jason's mind has been corrupted by Cypher from the tease at the end of this episode, so I'm going to guess that's what's going to push Jason over the edge into becoming a super-villain like his comic book counterpart of the same name. When push comes to shove, Tatsu might not be able to do what's necessary when she has to face Jason as an enemy.

My favorite part of this episode had to be when Tatsu fought off Batman like it was nothing. Unlike during their training session at the start of the episode where she was obviously was blinded by her emotions, she showed little to no remorse to wailing on Batman. My assumption on that was maybe that she knew he could take it and given the abuse he gave her in their training sessions, I honestly wouldn't have held back either given that opportunity to say you got to beat up Batman.

I did enjoy the brief introduction with Batman and Lt. Gordon doing their iconic exchange as Gordon doesn't see Batman sneaking his way in. You can't deny Batman's incredible detective work at the scene of the crime as he instantly identified the clues on the victim's body at the scene of the crime.

I have to wonder though - did the Batmobile crash after Batman unhinged the other trains to corner Cypher? He did leave it on autopilot maintaining the same speed behind the train. I know, I know... I think too much on this stuff to say it's a kids' cartoon.

"Control" proved to be another piece in the puzzle in the ongoing plot between the Bat-Family and the League of Assassins. With two more episodes left in this season, only time will tell what damage that Cypher left on Jason Burr will come back to haunt Batman and Katana before this season comes to a close. I'm giving this episode a 3.5 out of 5.