Well, I've now seen the Season Four two-part finale "The Joining" and I feel...conflicted.
Warning: big ol' spoilers ahead.
First things first, I have to tip my hat to the writers; this was a really, really good two-parter. I had had a few reservations about the idea of an alien invasion plotline, but the episodes made it work very well indeed. It was an exciting
Independence Day/War of the Worlds-style epic, with a great supporting turn for Martian Manhunter, but one that still managed to retain that Batman flavour; we had a "robot replicant" subplot was very reminiscent of the
B:TAS two-parter "Heart of Steel", some of the best usage of Robin and Batgirl yet (they made me laugh a few times here), a good introduction to Batman stalwart Lucius Fox who played nicely off Alfred, and a short but wonderful scene that sees Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD working hand in hand with Joker, Penguin and Mr. Freeze to fight off the alien forces. Overall, it was a rollocking finish to undoubtedly the show's best season yet.
And yet, I just have to mention the episode's ending, that sees Batman inivited by Martian Manhunter to join the Justice League. Within the context of this episode, it made for a nice conclusion, but I can't see how I can interpret it as anything other than a sign that
The Batman is about to be transformed into a new Justice League show, or at the very least a JL/Batman hybrid, and that's very disappointing to me. I have nothing against Justice League, and I understand that Batman has always been a part of that franchise, but the simple fact is that this is supposed to be a Batman show, and I watch it because I want to watch a Batman show. If they really wanted to make a Justice League cartoon, why didn't they just continue with their popular
Justice League Unlimited show instead of ending that and then hijacking
The Batman? ??? It makes very little sense to me...
I hope I'm just jumping to conclusions. After all, Martian Manhunter worked very well in "The Joining", so occasional guest spots for other JL characters over the course of Season Five could definitely be pretty cool, but more than that I want to see them continue to keep their focus firmly on the Batman universe, to explore their established characters further, to establish the rarely seen ones (Poison Ivy, Clayface II, Harley Quinn, Bane) further, and to offer their original takes on as yet unused characters (Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow). And if they do go down the JL route...well, good luck to them, I'm sure they'll do a great show, but sadly I'm not sure if it'll be one I'm still interested in watching...
