SYNOPSIS
Arthur Brown glosses himself “The Cluemaster” and takes revenge against the people from the “Think Thank Thunk” game show for letting his opponent win several years back. Will The Batman be able to put an end to The Clumaster’s scheme and save the hostages?
REVIEW
Early on during its TV run, THE BATMAN featured many of what many consider to be Batman’s classic rogues – The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze. All of them are A-list Batman villains, no doubt.
In “Q & A,” we get a B-lister – no, make that a C-lister – Arthur Brown, The Cluemaster. Not only is this villain way down the rung of Batman baddies, his origin has been changed quite a bit from his comic book counterpart.
THE BATMAN’s version of The Cluemaster is a big fat dude who appears to be emotionally stuck at about the age of 12 (or so). He’s spent his life eating “Kremelos” (sort of like Hostess Ding Dongs I suppose) and planning his revenge against the folks who screwed him over during TV game show years ago.
While I actually prefer this particular version of the character the comic book equivalent, he’s still a C-lister at best. But I’ll give the folks behind THE BATMAN credit for being creative and making him a little more interesting.
THE BATMAN's version of The Cluemaster
from "Q & A"
I just didn’t care much for this episode. The Batman taking on an annoying and obese bad guy in a goofy costume does not appear to pose much of a challenge for The Dark Knight. Of course, it’s a match of wits, not fists in this case. But to me, the entire plot and reimagining of The Cluemaster comes off very Riddler-ish, if you will. If you’re going to have Batman match wits with a villain, I’d rather it be The Joker – or The Riddler for that matter.
In addition, the plot is rather cliché with a bit of “Haven’t I seen this before?” Maybe it’s just me, but I got a “Christmas With The Joker” (from BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES) vibe while watching.
Overall, “Q & A” is an average at best episode and the series’ first slight stumble during Season 1.
