User reviews

the second half of 'Heart of Steel' hits the ground running; the machines are taking over, Batman's in danger, it's all bad. As opposed to the first half, the pacing on this is great, primarily because it moves from one fight scene to the next. But one of the great things about this is that it makes Barbara Gordon integral to the plot; not only is she the one who figures it all out, but she's also a strong female character. I'm pretty sure this episode was her series intro, and what an entrance. the other thing is that there's a good reason why the omnipotent supercomputer (and its Fox News anchor of a femme fatale) exists at all. Turns out Karl Rossum (William Sanderson) isn't really a bad guy after all. Good intentions and whatnot.

This conclusion relies on action more than the opener did, but the creepy vibe is consistent. Dark undertones, to say the least.

8/10

Barbara Gordon, the Commissioner's daughter, is center stage in this one. With the robots running the show and looking exactly like those they are replacing, Bruce/Batman haven't a clue. Once Barbara suspects her father isn't her father at all, she puts her theory out there. Once Batman is engaged, things begin to unravel for the master cylinder. Still, there are people being stored in water, and we don't know where they are being kept. Batman has a hard time, especially with the attractive robot who Bruce was going to date. Fortunately, he is able to put a monkey wrench in the machinery and save the day.

After a great first part, this conclusion of "Heart Of Steel" was a little too formulaic and just was not what I had hoped it to be. The first part featured a variety of interesting villains which came in all sizes and shapes. It included a robot disguised as a deadly briefcase!

This conclusion was still action-packed and should keep anyone's attention but was mainly just physical battles between Batman and the human clones.

It also had a very contrived part with Commissioner Gordon's daughter, who had never done anything except take her teddy bear around, turning into some unrealistic heroine. It was noble, but too much of a cliché.

I did like William Sanderson's voice. He played "Rossum," the guy who invented the computer which turned almost human and got carried away with its mission. At first, I couldn't place Sanderson's voice. Then, it hit me: he was a villain in the western "Crossfire Trail" and the crime movie, "Last Man Standing." He plays a good villain, but he's not a villain in here. Sanderson has done a lot of TV work and has a long resume. A lot of voices in these Batman animated episodes are veteran TV actors.