Merry Christmas, Batman!

I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of the new Batman cartoon, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. When I heard that they were adopting a campy aesthetic, it scared me. But the final product has actually been quite funny. It's a very interesting contrast to THE DARK KNIGHT, and I like it.

However, as fun and light as this show may be, I was shocked by this week's episode, entitled INVASION OF THE SECRET SANTAS. It starts off harmlessly enough, but then takes a turn for the sick and twisted, revealing what may be the darkest Batman origin in history.

SPOILERS:

The premise of the episode is that Red Tornado is attempting to feel the Christmas Spirit. But seeing as how he's a robot, things aren't going too well. Over the course of the show, he tries out various activities, such as decorating and caroling.

Batman, on the other hand, is not a big fan of the holiday. He chooses to distract himself with work. But when Red Tornado gives him a present, the memories of Christmas past start to haunt him.

Through a series of flashbacks, we see little Bruce Wayne under the Christmas tree with his parents as they give him what he's sure is the swashbuckling action figure that he desperately wants. But when he opens the present, he finds a nutcracker instead. He gives his parents a look like, "What the frack?" and then Thomas Wayne, his dad, explains to him that this nutcracker belonged to Bruce's grandfather, who gave it to Thomas when he was Bruce's age, and now Thomas is passing it downto Bruce. Bruce is not amused. In a fit of rage, he hurls the nutcracker across the room where it hits a wall, and shatters into pieces. Thomas looks understandably disappointed.

Later that evening, Bruce and his parents exit a movie theater showing THE MARK OF ZORRO. You can see where this is going. Thomas explains to Bruce that since he couldn't find the in-high-demand swashbuckling action figure that Bruce wanted, he thought that the next best thing would be to take him to see a swashbuckling hero on the big screen. Bruce makes it clear that this is not an acceptable substitute, and again, Thomas looks disappointed to have let his kid down. Then the family walks together into the blackness of a dark alley, and shortly thereafter, two gunshots can be heard.

Now tell me that's not some fracked up shit!