“Crisis on a Couple of Earths.”
Note – this is a spoiler-free advance review of Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III.
It’s not surprising that Robot Chicken has now spawned a third half-hour spinoff devoted to the many heroes and villains of the DC Universe. Between the various DC comics, TV shows, movies and video games, there’s no shortage of material for the Robot Chicken crew to mine. The problem these specials wrestle with is that they cast a fairly narrow net in terms of who and what is actually spoofed. The third special is no exception in that regard, though it is the most cohesive and enjoyable of the bunch.
Airing Sunday night, “Magical Friendship” follows a similar formula to last year’s “Villains in Paradise.” While the episode is broken up into the usual short vignettes Robot Chicken is known for, there’s a recurring storyline that builds over the course of half an hour and eventually explodes into an epic showdown. But whereas “Villains in Paradise” focused on Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom, the emphasis here is more on Superman and Batman’s bitter rivalry. If not the most creative route this special could have taken, it’s certainly timely with the upcoming release of Batman v Superman.
As with “Villains in Paradise,” my main complaint with this DC Special is that so much of the material is focused on spoofing the Super Friends cartoon and that particular incarnation of the Justice League and the Legion of Doom. Sure, it’s an iconic piece of DC lore, and one most viewers will instantly recognize. But this approach ensures that most of the sketches revolve around the same handful of characters. How many times can these episodes poke fun at how much of a self-absorbed jerk Superman is or how lame Aquaman and Robin are before those horses are flogged to death? Rarely do these sketches expand outwards to cover things like the New 52 comics or the various live-action films and TV shows. With as many action figures as companies like Mattel and DC Collectibles pump out, there’s no reason the same dozen or so old-school MEGO dolls need to star in almost every sketch.
There are times when the writers really dig into the annals of DC lore and find comedic gold. This episode opens with a brief but hilarious sketch starring Swamp Thing and Abigail Arcane. Between that, a sketch with Doctor Fate posing as a couples therapist and the return of a certain iconic, ’60s-era Dynamic Duo, it’s telling that the most memorable material is often that which strays from the beaten path.
We want to hear it.
All that being said, this episode does build a pretty entertaining storyline out of the Batman/Superman pairing. More so than most episodes of Robot Chicken, there’s a running narrative linking most of the sketches together. What starts as a simple spat between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel escalates into a full-blown feud. Eventually that feud extends beyond the DC Universe and into the multiverse itself. This episode winds up becoming a parody of Crisis on Infinite Earths and various other inter-dimensional DC comic book storylines. That’s where “Magical Friendship” really hits its stride. If you’re going to focus on the same core group of characters, at least you can spice things up by drawing in clones and doppelgangers and the whole nine yards. The ensuing conflict is pretty epic (at least by Robot Chicken’s intentionally crude standards) and very silly.
The musical numbers in last year’s special were among the funniest sketches that episode had to offer. This year’s special only has one major musical sequence (a follow-up to the “Sexx Luthor” sketch from last year), but it’s easily the highlight of the whole thing. Between the catchy lyrics, the surprisingly intricate choreography and the sheer weirdness of it all, I’d go so far as to place it among the top 10 Robot Chicken sketches of all time.
In terms of the voice cast, this episode doesn’t deviate much from the norm. The usual suspects are present, including Breckin Meyer as Superman, Alex Borstein as Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern and Seth Green wearing several hats as Batman, Robin, Aquaman and various other bit players. Though Alfred Molina’s Lex Luthor is less a focus this time around, he tends to steal the show in any sketch he does appear in. The big news this year is that Adam West and Burt Ward are reprising their roles as the ’60s era Batman and Robin, respectively. West is a hoot. Not that there’s reason to expect anything less after his many Family Guy appearances. Ward is a bit more understated, but there’s actually a good reason for that in the story.
This year’s Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is an amusing watch despite the fact that the show continues to direct its attention towards the Super Friends-era Justice League to the exclusion of the rest of DC’s rich, colorful history. But thanks to an unusually narrative-driven approach, some top-notch voice work and clever humor that does occasionally stray from the beaten path, this episode emerges as the strongest of the trilogy.
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship airs Sunday, October 18 at midnight EST on Adult Swim.
