Batman encounters a mysterious and beguiling cat burglar on patrol. Meanwhile, a terrorist known as Red Claw plots to unleash a deadly viral attack.
Credits
Story by S.C. Derek & L. Bright
Written by J. Dennis & R. Mueller
Directed by K. Altieri
Supervising Composer Shirley Walker
Music Composed by Shirley Walker, Harvey Cohen, Wayne Coster
Animation Services by Sunrise
Right off the bat, we get more impressive animation in this episode. These first dozen episodes have had some real rough patches but we are almost through with the AKOM era. There are still some less impressive episodes even after they are gone but the worst of the worst is mostly in the rearview.
The pan across the city that opens the episode is beautiful, and Catwoman scaling the wall is impressive, with some dynamic camera work and smooth, expressive animation on Catwoman. Kevin Altieri’s directing is great throughout this episode. The chase that follows the initial opening is stunning, and paired with Walker’s brassy and playful score it perfectly captures the chemistry between these two characters. Batman is clearly enjoying himself as he matches wits with Catwoman. Sunrise occasionally gives a little bit too much curve on Batman’s cowl and a bit too much angle on the jaw, but he still looks imposing, and their acting and action are top-notch. The crowd shots at the bachelor auction are impressive, with a lot of fun-looking and dynamic extras. The highlight from an animation perspective might be the scene where Red Claw presents her plans in front of a projector screen and walks in front of it. The projection contorts around her shape, giving a great sense of depth and volume to the scene.
This is one of the first times in the show where we see Commissioner Gordon working directly with Batman. At this point there is no Bat Signal and Batman is still on uneasy footing with the police force. I love the way Gordon retreats to an alley and talks with his back facing the shadows as Batman stands in the dark behind him. There’s a subtle implication that Gordon is risking his reputation and career talking to the Dark Knight.
For as much as I like the opening scene and the look of this episode, the pacing of this two-parter is quite strange. It plods along with no real momentum in the terrorist conspiracy, and instead spends a lot of time focusing on Selina and Bruce’s relationship dynamic, contrasting it with Catwoman and Batman’s in this first half. Red Claw’s plot and the land development deal is set up around the edges of the story. The character stuff is compelling and well done, but the Red Claw story is thin.
Read the rest of the commentary on CAT AND THE CLAW part 1 on Patreon.