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Figures and Speech: McFarlane Toys’ TITANFALL 2 vs. THE WALKING DEAD’s Carl

Welcome to Figures & Speech, Nerdist’s regular column by, for, and about grown-ups who still play with their toys but might want to know more before they buy. From product reviews to informed editorials, these are most definitely the articles that’ll make you want to strike a pose. Click on all images to enlarge for detail.

Those of you who have commented that you like the somewhat random juxtapositions that occur when toy companies send me items from different licenses should enjoy this week’s column, which is the result of my asking our friends at McFarlane Toys if they had anything available that they would like reviewed. One week later, The Walking Dead‘s Carl Grimes and a Titanfall 2 Titan showed up on my doorstep. They don’t really go together at all besides coming from the same company, but they do represent somewhat opposite ends of the spectrum, in that one represents the kind of thing McFarlane does best, and the other…less so.

While I’m not much of a gamer and haven’t played Titanfall 2, I love big giant robots, especially ones with pilots inside. And while 3A Toys have created some insanely perfect figures based on the first game, they’re way out of my budget, and most of yours, I’m guessing. McFarlane doing more affordable ones sounded like a great idea, especially when the company revealed they’d come with in-scale pilots.

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Titan BT-7274 comes in a window box that showcases the figure nicely, and the back of the box also displays the 7-inch figure of Pilot Jack Cooper from the Color Tops line, if you prefer him in that scale.

You do have to cut some hard-plastic clear twist ties to free the figure from it’s plastic tray, but unlike with, say, NECA quarter-scale figures, you do not have to destroy the back insert to do it. In fact, this could be repurposed as a diorama backdrop if you wanted.

It doesn’t even have to be for Titans.

Okay, so the Titan has some pretty cool detail, as you’d expect from McFarlane…

Would you care to guess the key aspect that they missed? Think hard, and remember, this is a vehicle that comes with a pilot…

If you guessed “The vehicle doesn’t actually open to allow you to put the pilot inside,” give yourself a gold star. Jack is designed and posed to stand atop the Titan, via the small peg indicated here with a crudely drawn red arrow…

…which plugs into a hole in Jack’s foot, shown here:

Jack’s legs are stuck in that crouching pose, too. He has some articulation: cut shoulders and wrists, restricted waist, and a ball-jointed neck. But you can’t do much with him aside from the intended position.

I sometimes think Todd McFarlane must have never actually played with toys. His Lego-ish sets, cool though they are, are designed to be built one way only, and now this vehicle leaves out the key fun feature of the games. The Titan also has way less articulation than you might expect: like, you look at this leg and may think it’s going to have a cool double-jointed knee. It does not.

The arms have some range, with ball-and-cut shoulders. ball elbows, and ball wrists. But the legs have limited ball hips and ankles, and that’s it. Not even a waist joint, either.

If you just want a Titan that looks cool, you’re in business. But if you wanted one more playable, you might have to keep looking.

Carl Grimes has a bit more room to maneuver. His legs are in a weird pose that makes him require his included base to stand, but with ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles, plus a ball neck that actually works in multiple positions (thank you, McF, for learning from the first series), he has a means to gesticulate wildly. Or sullenly. Whatevs.

Carl comes with multiple accessories. First, his hat, which is technically his Dad’s, but it only barely balances on Rick’s head.

He also has a bloody alternate head and a poncho stained with walker guts. Even if you don’t know the show, they make him look a bit like some sort of J-horror ghost.

This is what McFarlane does well: blood, guts, and actor likenesses. Carl’s annoyed expression is perfect…and eminently meme-able.

I do wish he came with a gun, but they already gave him more accessories than usual. Besides, the poncho restricts his movement so he can’t really wield one with it on.

The Titan will run you about thirty bucks; CORAL closer to $18. The latter, IMO, is the better deal. If you wind up buying him, please share your CORAL photo memes with me on Twitter, as I will never tire of them.

Images: LYT for Nerdist

Luke Y. Thompson is Nerdist’s weekend editor and resident toy obsessive. Tweet him @LYTrules

Mr. Feeny Talks BOY MEETS WORLD and Gives Sage Life Advice

We’ve all had those favorite teachers growing up that not only helped us learn a lot, but also helped us grow as people. Whether or not that teacher stayed in our lives for years or for just one school year, we can all think back on that one teacher who helped shape the lives we have today. That person is different for all of us, of course, but there is one educator who managed to shape the lives of an entire generation of teenagers, regardless of where they lived or where they went to school.

That teacher is, of course, Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World, played by the incomparable William Daniels. In a new video from Buzzfeed, Daniels gives us a few behind-the-scenes look at Boy Meets World, the story behind his unique accent, and the creation of the character Mr. Feeny (as well as a hilarious story of being chased by a bus of fans yelling “FEENYYYYY!!!!”). But true to Feeny style, he also leaves us with that intelligent, prudent advice that we’ve all come to expect from Mr. Feeny. Take a peek:

I don’t know about you, but Mr. Feeny’s poignant charge to Cory, Topanga, and the gang to, “Dream, try, do good,” has always stuck with me (“stuck with me” just means “it makes me bawl my eyes out every time I watch that episode”). It was nice to hear that the line made a similar impact on William Daniels.

I also can’t help but smile at how proud he is that the Boy Meets World cast have become accomplished adults. It’s always great when a show that was so important to so many was also that important to the actors. Even though it’s been years since we last saw our friends from John Adams High, it’s reassuring to know that Mr. Feeny is still there, giving us advice and making us laugh.

What is your favorite bit of Feeny wisdom? Tell us in the comments!

Feauture Image: Buzzfeed Celeb/Youtube

Fan Art Friday Gets Cute with Amigurumi from FANTASTIC BEASTS and More

Pop culture plus amigurumi equals a winning, delightful combination. Cristell Justicia’s, a.k.a. La Calabaza de Jack, work features those two aspects and viewing her crocheted creatures and characters lifts my mood. Hopefully her creations do the same for you, which is why I’m including them in Fan Art Friday. She takes inspiration from television, comics, and movies and makes little amigurumi from hand without using patterns.

Exhibit A: Newt Scamander and a Niffler from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

Please note the Hufflepuff scarf.

Exhibit B: Stranger Things (look at the itty bitty Demogorgon!):

We’re so not close to being done with adorable crocheted creations. Keep on scrolling to the gallery below to see some precious Harry Potter characters, a little Doctor Strange, and more. If you need regular injections of precious little fan art into your life, then follow Cristell on Instagram, DeviantArt, Facebook, and/or Tumblr to keep tabs on her projects and to learn more about how to place an order for a lil’ plush of your own.

Do you create any sort of fan art? If so, I want to see it. Whether you focus on a specific fandom or pull inspiration from multiple stories and mediums, I’d like to highlight what you do. If you’re interested in being featured in a future edition of Fan Art Friday, get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com with examples of your work. If you’re not an artist, feel free to email me with recommendations for Fan Art Friday!

Images: Cristell Justicia

STRANGER THINGS’ Demogorgon Gets Comfy in Cosplay Friday

When the Demogorgon‘s not trying to push through walls or lurking around trees in the Upside Down, he kicks back and takes a load off. A monster deserves five minutes of rest, right? Cosplayer Capt Cash enjoyed some free time as the Demogorgon, and he should, because he spent approximately 10 hours making the mask based on the creature from Netflix‘s Stranger Things.

Make sure you take a close look at the teeth because Capt Cash made those from thermoplastic beads and shaped them by hand. He told us the mask itself started as a plain ol’ white masquerade mask, and he taped the face petals to it. He explained the rest of the process, “I covered the mouth in liquid latex thickened with flour and dyed with crimson food coloring. As the latex was drying I put the teeth directly into the latex to give it a more realistic look. The rest of the mask was fitted to my head with craft foam and masking tape, which was then covered in un-dyed liquid latex. I poked holes for the eyes in the dark parts of the mouth so they don’t easily read on camera. The saliva is just hot glue that I let dry on the mask.”

As for the Demogorgon’s body, Capt Cash started with a morph suit base. He covered it in thickened liquid latex and airbrushed it so the suit would “look as gross as possible.” I think he achieved that goal–and that’s a compliment.

Pop down to the gallery below to see Eleven (cosplayed by Tom, a.k.a. @Rushman07) and Sheriff Hopper (cosplayed by Matt) meet the Demogorgon in battle and to see them join Millie Bobby Brown for a photo opportunity. Then, keep up with all Capt Cash’s costumes (and you should because he does rad work) by following him on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter.

Do you cosplay or take photographs of cosplayers? Then I want to see your work so we can talk about highlighting your creations in a future Cosplay Friday gallery. If you’re interested, please get in touch with me at alratcliffe@yahoo.com and send photos you’d like me to feature–the more high-res the photos, the better. Be sure to provide credits for the cosplayers or photographers for each image because giving credit is good manners–bonus points if you include links to relevant Facebook pages or websites. Though I wish I knew all the nerdy franchises, I don’t, so please let me know who or what is being cosplayed.

Images: Courtesy Capt Cash

Want more Stranger Things? Here’s everything we know so far.

These Dumbass Nature Memes are Better Than Planet Earth

Is this the best meme of all time? Shut up. Don’t even answer that question. It was rhetorical. And, for the record, the answer is clearly yes. The Internet is, by all accounts, a raging garbage fire of human misery peppered with occasional bits of happiness that usually take the form of animal pictures. The latest bright light at the end of this dark, never-ending tunnel is a series of weird advertisements for natural habitats like forests, deserts, oceans, and jungles that feature photos of animals with the sort of gloriously incorrect-but-not-entirely-wrong names you’d find in a book like xckd’s Thing Explainer.

This particular dank-ass meme came to our attention via Twitter user Yarrow, and now it’s consuming our every waking thought.

idk what this meme is but i love it pic.twitter.com/q1N60EgF9q

— yarrow (@yarrrow) April 7, 2017

How about the jungle? Come for the new neon hoppers, but stay for the harmless vines!

Maybe the forest is more your speed?

Or if you like it hot, how about a desert?

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Or perhaps you think its better, down where it’s wetter, under the sea?

Hell, even the Monterey Bay Aquarium is getting in on the action:

We heard this is a thing now? pic.twitter.com/zdEjs7jPvr

— Monterey Aquarium (@MontereyAq) April 7, 2017

Now maybe you’re Sir David Attenborough, the veteran English broadcaster and calming voice behind BBC’s Planet Earth series, and you find this sort of misinformation to be disingenuous. But maybe you’re Sir David Attenborough, the veteran English broadcaster and calming voice behind BBC’s Planet Earth series, and you have a great sense of humor. And if that’s the case we need you to narrate each and every one of these ads because the world could honestly use it right now. Especially those poor little snippers. Just look at their tiny snip-snips. Are you going to say no to them, Sir David Attenborough? Good, I didn’t think so.

Featured Image: BBC

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

Will TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT Set Up the Hasbro Cinematic Universe?

For the last six years, director Michael Bay has been teasing his departure from the Transformers franchise. And with Transformers: The Last Knight right around the corner, Bay is totally serious about making this his final Transformers movie…until he changes his mind again. However, Bay has recently hinted that the future of the Transformers films is even more vast than anyone previously realized. And the secret past introduced in The Last Knight may hold the key to the long-rumored Hasbro Cinematic Universe. Today’s Nerdist News is opening the AllSpark get the answers about what’s coming next.

There are some potential spoilers ahead for The Last Knight, so consider yourselves warned!

Join host, and Targetmaster transformer, Jessica Chobot, as she examines Bay’s recent interview with MTV News. According to Bay, there are at least 14 stories in mind for future Transformers films. That’s even more movies than even Marvel or Lucasfilm are openly planning! Clearly the Transformers aren’t going away anytime soon, and Bay’s touch will remain with the franchise long after he’s gone…amusing that he actually leaves this time.

But how does The Last Knight play into a potential Hasbro Cinematic Universe? The latest footage from the film has hinted that the Robots in Disguise have been hanging out on Earth a lot longer than anyone knew, and they’ve been openly fighting in our wars for ages. This past week, Hasbro signaled a willingness to reboot the G.I. Joe films after only two movies in order to give that franchise a modern makeover. That doesn’t mean the new G.I. Joe movie has to take place in the present. We think an ’80s set G.I. Joe film could capture the spirit of the toyline and feature a few fun connections to the Transformers.

Whether this will actually happen could still come down to Bay. According to director D.J. Caruso, the now canceled third G.I. Joe film would have brought the Transformers into the orbit of the Joes for their first live-action crossover. However, Caruso also seemed to indicate that the crossover was vetoed by Bay himself, which suggests that Bay may want to keep the Transformers separate from Hasbro’s shared universe of films. 

Do  you want to see Bay’s Transformers to tie-in with G.I. Joe, ROM, and the other Hasbro films? Transform and roll out before sharing your thoughts in the comment section below.

What GAME OF THRONES’ New Costumes Might Mean for Season 7

Winter is running a little late this year, since Game of Thrones won’t return to HBO until July. But that hasn’t stopped HBO from offering a few teasers from the penultimate season of the show. And now, we may have finally gotten the first look at several new costumes that will be worn by the fan favorite characters in the seventh season.

All of the images came from two playful HBO promo videos in which characters from all of the network’s shows attempted to recreate the signature HBO original sound.

In this version, Daenerys let her dragons do the speaking for her:

The mother of dragons and the rightful heir to the seven kingdoms has apparently adopted a more formal look in Westeros, perhaps as way of making her look the part. She certainly appears regal, even if she isn’t wearing the crown. We also love the way that a dragon was incorporated into the new design.

This is a homecoming for Tyrion, who hasn’t been back to Westeros since the end of the fourth season. Here, the Hand of the Queen is dressed for winter and he’s completely left his family’s colors behind him. Remember, as far as the people of Westeros know, Tyrion poisoned King Joffrey Baratheon before murdering his own father. Given how hated the Lannisters are, that may actually make him a hero to some.

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The new King of the North is apparently settling in at Winterfell. This isn’t a huge departure from Jon Snow’s season 6 look, but he apparently won’t be alone.

That’s right, Bran is not only warging out right in front of us, he’s also wearing a wolf pelt like all true Starks. This suggests that his reunion with Jon will occur early within the season.

Of course, Sansa Stark is already in Winterfell with Jon, and she may actually have a stronger claim to the Stark legacy, given what we now know about Jon’s parentage. It still isn’t clear how Sansa will take the fact that Jon has been declared the King in the North, but she is also wearing a wolf pelt and a necklace similar to the one she wore at the Veil. That begs the question of whether Littlefinger has finally gotten to her. Or perhaps Sansa had to make a more formal alliance with to keep the soldiers of the Veil by their side.

Arya also has a new look, but she’s missing the wolf pelt that her siblings are wearing. Perhaps that means she hasn’t yet made her way back to Winterfell, or she’s on a path of vengeance that doesn’t allow her the luxury of checking in with her family. She looks more like a warrior than ever, and Needle is still her weapon of choice.

The Hound is also sporting a new look in these promos, and Sandor Clegane doesn’t appear to be wearing conventional armor. When we last saw the Hound, the Brotherhood asked him to join their ranks and fight alongside them. But the Hound has always tended to go his own way, and we suspect that he will still be on his own when we catch up to him in the new season.

Tormund Giantsbane also makes an appearance in the new promo, and it looks like he’s got a prominent new scar on his forehead. Other than that, it’s not a drastic change for Tormund.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had a little fun with his promo, by acting as if Jaime was surprised by his own golden hand. He doesn’t appear to have rejoined the Queensguard, and we’re quite interested to see exactly how loyal he is to Cersei once he knows what she did to claim the throne.

Cersei’s new costume makes her seem even colder and remote than she was before. And while she’s left her family’s colors behind, the Lannister lion is still prominently featured in her design.

Could it be that Hodor survived the infamous “hold the door!” incident from season 6? Kristian Nairn made an appearance as Hodor in the new HBO promo, and he definitely doesn’t look dead! But we suspect this only means that Hodor will make his return as a wight in the White Walkers’ army of the dead. The show is probably saving that reveal for the season.

Game of Thrones season 7 will premiere on Sunday, July 16.

 

What do you think about the new costumes from Game of Thrones season 7? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: HBO

GAME OF THRONES Re-Throned: “The Children” (S4, E10)

Winter is coming, but not soon enough. So to help pass the time until season seven of Game of Thrones, we’re doing a weekly re-watch of the series, episode-by-episode, with the knowledge of what’s to come and—therefore—more information about the unrevealed rich history of events that took place long before the story began. Be warned, though: that means this series is full of spoilers for every season, even beyond the episode itself. So if you haven’t watched all of the show yet immediately get on that and then come back and join us for Game of Thrones Re-Throned.

Because the next best thing to watching new episodes is re-watching old ones.

——

Season 4, Episode 10: “The Children”

Original Air Date: June 15th, 2014

Director: Alex Graves

Written by: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

One of the best parts of a show re-watch is you get to view the episodes without the burden of expectations. In the case of Game of Thrones, anticipation of a new episode usually includes wondering how they’ll adapt elements from the books (or whether they will omit them entirely). Which is why the season four finale, “The Children,” was much more enjoyable this time around than when it originally aired. At last, I didn’t have to deal with the disappointment of not getting Lady Stoneheart.

Heading into the episode way back in 2014, I would have bet all the Lannister gold in the world she’d be showing up in the last scene. When what I got instead was Arya on a boat (still an underwhelming final shot), I was so stunned it clouded my perspective on everything else that happened. That’s too bad, because this was actually a great episode otherwise.

There’s the tremendous scene featuring Jon and Mance sharing a drink to the fallen before Stannis and his forces come to the rescue. Brienne and the Hound engage in one of the most brutal fights in the entire show’s history, followed by the Hound pitifully begging Arya to kill him (to no avail). Melisandre stares at Jon Snow for the first time while they cremate the fallen brothers at Castle Black, and then he burns Ygritte’s body north of the Wall. Daenerys even makes the difficult–and ultimately wrong–decision to lock up two of her dragons after Drogon killed a child.

But there are three specific moments in the episode that might point to even bigger things to come.

The first involves Cersei and Jaime, and their soon-to-be-late father. Cersei stands up to Tywin for the first time ever, after he insists she will marry Loras Tyrell against her will, even if it requires force to make it happen. The two go back and forth, with her arguing she won’t leave King’s Landing and her son Tommen’s side, fearful for what Tywin and Margarey will do when they dig their claws into him.

“I will burn our house to the ground before I let that happen,” she says. (Of course it is her burning of the Sept of Baelor that results in the death of the very son she was trying to protect, her devotion and concern doing what she feared most of everyone else.)

When Tywin asks how she’ll do that to the family she tells him she will reveal the truth he’s been blind to for years about her and Jaime. He denies it, but she smugly tells him his “legacy is a lie” and goes off to speak with Jaime.

She finds her brother looking at the Kingsguard book, once again agonizing over his lack of notable accomplishments and deeds, and she tells him that she told their father the truth, and she wants to be with him. The two kiss, and Jaime literally pushes aside the book as he throws her on the table.

Considering the theory that Jaime might be the only one who can save King’s Landing from the Mad Queen Cersei, the ultimate act that will require him to put honor and duty over love, it’s quite the symbolic gesture here that he does the complete opposite when he tosses aside the Kingsguard book.

The second major moment is when Tyrion, freed from his prison by Jaime, decides to visit his father, the man who falsely sentenced him to death. First he finds Shae in his father’s bed, an incredible act of betrayal and hypocrisy after Tywin had long scolded him for shaming the family with whores, especially when Tyrion was acting Hand of the King. She attacks Tyrion, so he kills her before going off to point a crossbow at his father who is sitting on the privy.

Tywin does his absolute best to allay his son’s fears that he was really going to be executed, and tries to smooth talk his way out of the situation when Tyrion says he always wanted him dead. Tywin doesn’t try to deny it; he knows Tyrion is too upset and too smart for that. So he turns it around and says that while true, Tyrion’s perseverance made him admire and respect Tyrion. It doesn’t work, and Tywin grows more desperate, repeatedly telling Tyrion, “You’re my son.”

But this is the entire point for Tyrion. He was always treated this way by his own father, a man who did everything he could to kill him. Hearing, “You’re my son” only makes him angrier.

And once Tyrion shoots him with the crossbow, and there’s nothing left to hide, Tywin’s final words to Tyrion suddenly change: “You’re no son of mine.” Those could be the bitter words of a dying man, but considering the amount of evidence pointing to one of our favorite theories, that Tyrion is really the son of the Mad King, it feels like a deathbed (death toilet?) confession from Tywin.

Which means Tyrion, who will be the one to free the dragons Daenerys locked up in this very episode, could be the third head of the dragon that makes up the House Targaryen sigil.

But it’s the third moment that might mean even more than anything that happens with House Lannister or House Targaryen in this episode. After the world’s longest hike through the snow, ending with a quick jaunt through a field of killer skeletons at the end, Bran, Meera, and Hodor (but not Jojen, dammit) meet the lost Children of the Forest and the three-eyed raven.

We won’t see any of them again until season six, but the final words from (the bearded version) of the three-eyed raven might be the biggest clue of them all to how the great war with the White Walkers might be won, with him saying who might be the only person who can actually stop them.

He tells the warg Bran, who is so powerful he can enter not just animals but other humans, “You’ll never walk again, but you will fly.”

The Mother of Dragons can’t fully control her children, whose dragon flame would be the single greatest weapon against the army of the dead, and the tree man who can see through time says that crippled Bran Stark, who can enter the body of any living creature and control it, will one day fly. You don’t have to be a maester to see what that might mean. (Though we bet even the maesters expected Lady Stoneheart to show up at the end of this episode the first time around!)

But what do you think? Will Jaime be the hero Gotham needs? Is Tyrion really a Targaryen? And will a dragon-warging Bran be the one to save the day? Tell us your best theories in the comments below.

Images: HBO

The latest Game of Thrones teaser drops five big clues

THE BABADOOK Soundtrack Gets a Suitably Creepy Vinyl Release

The 2014 Australian film The Babadook is easily on the creepiest and most compelling supernatural thrillers of the past several years. At its core, director Jennifer Kent’s movie is a psychological drama about a mother and her young son dealing with grief, but there really is no denying that the film also just works as a super effective horror movie that gets under your skin in a big way. And that the titular creature is one of the scariest on screen monsters — one that we don’t really ever actually get to see onscreen all that much (but which will give you nightmares just the same).

Half of the creepiness of The Babadook comes from the film’s sound design, and its super creepy score from composer Ted Kurzel. Now, thanks to the folks over at Pitchfork, we have learned that Kurzel’s soundtrack for The Babadook is finally getting a vinyl release.

The soundtrack officially arrives May 9 via Waxwork Records, and the deluxe package comes with 180-gram “black with red haze” colored vinyl. The coolest part however is that the album comes with a recreation of the film’s Mister Babadook pop-up book, with artwork by Jessica Seamans, and liner notes by Kurzel. You can see images of the packaging in our gallery down below.

You can also get a listen to two tracks from Ted Kurzel’s soundtrack (“The Babadook Theme” and “The Babadook End Credits”) as well. But I heartily recommend not doing either right before bedtime, unless you’re a fan of giving yourself the willies and totally creeping yourself out. You can check them both out down below.

Are you excited to see this soundtrack finally get a proper vinyl release? Let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Entertainent One / IFC Films

Let’s talk more creepiness!

BATMAN Reanimated – Robin Goes Through ‘Growing Pains’

One thing I’ve always loved about the Batman work of Paul Dini is that he isn’t afraid to go way, way out there with his ideas. These out-of-the-box concepts would often lead to the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, and later The New Batman Adventures. While I didn’t really care for last week’s episode, “Joker’s Millions,” I do concede that it was an episode like they’d never done before, and that’s almost always a good thing. This week, Dini co-wrote the story with Robert Goodman and it’s one of the weirdest episodes they ever did…and I kind of love it. It’s “Growing Pains.”

As I’ve already said about a million times already in this column, I do not enjoy the uber-kiddie version of Robin in New Batman. They just made him too young, too whiny, and too precocious. Now as an adult, I can’t really stand this version of Tim Drake. However, if any episode thus far has made me like Robin, it’s this one. Not because he isn’t whiny–he certainly is–but because we get to see his almost obsessive desire to help orphans, which stems from the fact that he basically is one himself. If the show’s going to force a kid on us, then making that kid the champion of other kids is the best way to go about it. And in an episode that’s flatly nuts, you need to have faith in your ostensible lead.

While out on patrol with Batman, Robin spies a girl about his age, running away from some thugs. He runs after her and she seems scared–terrified even. He tells Batman about her, but Batman says they can’t do anything for her if they don’t know who she is or where she’s going. The next day, Tim is lamenting being treated like a kid (HA!) to Alfred in the town car, and spies the girl in an outdoor marketplace. He quickly puts on the Robin costume and runs after her. The weird thing about this is that nobody seems to even look in the direction of the child vigilante running through a mall in the middle of the day. He eventually catches up to her, and finds out she has amnesia and that she’s running from some scary guy. He decides to call her Annie after seeing a Raggedy Ann doll.

The guy she’s afraid of catches up to them and Robin attempts to fight him, but does literally nothing to the massive dude. When Batman arrives (having tracked Robin via device), Robin and he split up to look for the burly bruiser, but they can’t find him, or Annie after she scarpers off. Batman finds some residue and wants to go back to the cave to analyze it, but Robin defiantly goes off to look for Annie on his own, saying he doesn’t have time for Batman to study dirt. But he should have, because Batman very quickly realizes that the “dirt” is actually the villain…

Yep! The big, brawny man is actually Clayface, and as Robin and Annie run away, they learn the truth: Annie is ALSO Clayface. Following his last encounter with Batman, Clayface was left a pile of amnesiac gunk. In order to ascertain where he was and if it was safe, he created a small, separate being out of part of his own physical matter, made it look like a little girl, and sent his goop-child off into Gotham. Once he regained his memory, he wanted to re-engulf Annie to make himself whole again. Robin tries to save Annie–even knowing what she is–but eventually, Clayface succeeds just in time for Batman and the Commish to show up and arrest him. Robin then heads off, believing one of the charges against Clayface ought to be murder.

WHAT A WEIRD PREMISE! It’s fascinating. I know Clayface’s whole bag–at least in the cartoons-is that he can turn himself into whatever shape and solidness he wants, but I’m fascinated that he could create a fully sentient portion of himself that somehow doesn’t remember that it’s part of him. How bonkers! Nutter butters, even.

What makes the episode really work for me, though, is the direction by Atsuko Tanaka, an animator with a very esteemed oeuvre including the nightmare fuel that is Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland and Hayao Miyazaki‘s Princess Mononoke. (He later went back to Studio Ghibli to work on Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle as well.) That anime influence is present during the episode’s large sections of dialogue-free visuals and its much more fluid sense of movement. Parts of “Growing Pains” (like the GIF above) look like they were animated for TAS and not the much more rigid, angular New Batman Adventures. This series employed quite a few anime directors and animators, and those episodes are usually much better-looking than the rest.

For a Robin episode, “Growing Pains” is quite good, and we’ll maintain that trajectory in next week’s episode, “Mean Seasons,” which was directed by another anime person, Hiroyuki Aoyama, who’d directed three episodes of Superman: The Animated Series. What anime credits does he have? Oh, just being a key animator on Akira, four Studio Ghibli movies, three Mamoru Hosoda movies, and freakin’ One Punch Man. We’ll get into it next week!

What’s your take on “Growing Pains?” Tell me in the comments below!

Images: WB Animation

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He’s written the animation retrospectives Batman: Reanimated, X-Men: Reanimated, Cowboy Rebop, and Samurai reJacked. Follow him on Twitter!

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