You all know that I end to give THE BATMAN a hard time. However, truth be told, I actually sort of like the show. Yes, I have problems with it -- namely when an episode gets too juvenile or silly. With that said, I’ve long maintained that THE BATMAN is well produced and has always been a very respectful interpretation of the character and the Batman mythos.

(If you think THE BATMAN is bad, go back on look at the various animated Batman series that were produced back in the late 60s on through the 70s. It'll put THE BATMAN in a whole new light.)

Therefore, when they churn out an episode that I really like, I’m more than happy to say, um, “I really like that episode!” And the latest episode of THE BATMAN -- titled “The End of The Batman” -- was one that I thought was pretty darn good.

Here’s the storyline in a nutshell…

The Batman and Robin come across their evil doppelgangers -- Wrath and Scorn. These two characters are like Bats and his young partner, except that they are bad and actually help Gotham’s criminals carry out their crimes. It seems that the pair are actually brothers, Will and Anthony Mallory respectively. They turned into the “Un-dynamic Duo” because their parents were sent to prison for their criminal activities as jewel thieves.

Like The Batman and Robin, Wrath and Scorn also protect citizens of Gotham -- it’s just that those they help -- like The Joker, The Penguin, Killer Croc, and The Ventriloquist which also are also in this episode -- are up to no good. These Gothamites are just trying to make a living too, you know?

I thought the dynamic of having an “Anti-Batman and Robin” team in Gotham was very well done in “The End of The Batman.” Think about it, they could have gone all “Mutiverse” on us and came up with an episode featuring Owlman! Sure it was a clichéd and predicable episode, but it was also well done and fun.

And you’ll be surprised when you find out who “saves” The Batman and his junior partner from the mentioned in the title “End.” It’s a little too convenient, but it’s still a nice little twist nonetheless.

Wrath and Scorn © Warner Bros. Animation

Before I go, how about a little Batman history lesson?

Wrath is not a made-up-for-the show villain. Although you may not be familiar with him, the character made his first appearance back in the great year of 1984 (The year of my high school graduation) in BATMAN SPECIAL #1. Now I wasn’t reading comics back then (I was either finishing my senior year in HS or was a freshman in college, an athelete, and “too cool” for comics), but the Wrath character seemed familiar to me when I watched the episode. So I went back and looked through my comic book collection and found that twenty four year old Wrath story, “The Player on the Other Side,” in the book BATMAN IN THE EIGHTIES.

I also discovered from doing a little research-- and I thought I’d pass it on to you -- that an updated version of Wrath will be featured in BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL’s next story arc, beginning with issue #13.

Sorry, I sort of got off on a Wrath tangent there.

Anyway, check out Batman battling his evil alternate in “The End of The Batman” as I found it to be one of the better episodes of the season.

I wonder if there is site like BOF, but lobbies for the production of bad batman films?