Review: DC Super Hero Girls Webisodes 7-9
The ninth webisode of DC Super Hero Girls was released Tuesday on the DC Super Hero Girls website and YouTube channel, which means it’s time for the third installment of my reviews of the series, looking back at the three most recent shorts. Webisodes 7-9 are “Hero of the Month: Poison Ivy”, “Designing Disaster”, and “Weaponomics”, and we get a first appearance of a certain legendary character from the Batman universe. Keep reading for a detailed review for each of the three shorts. While there is inherently not much to spoil in videos each only about 1:30 minutes long, here’s your friendly warning that I will not be withholding information from this point forward.
Next: #7: Hero of the Month: Poison Ivy...
Webisode 7: “Hero of the Month: Poison Ivy”
I’m still really not on board with characters traditionally part of the DC rogues gallery being portrayed as heroes in this universe. The writers helped themselves a little bit in this short, because when showing examples of Poison Ivy’s heroics, she was always saving her classmates from her own plants. She clearly doesn’t have any malicious intentions, but rather she (along with many of the other characters that are traditionally villains) is written instead as a hero with characteristics of a troublemaker. There was a little bit of fan service in this one, as Harley Quinn tells the story of how Poison Ivy saved her once. Of course, in the Timmverse, they were BFFs and Poison Ivy would always get Harley out of trouble. I was also happy to see another Barbara Gordon appearance! This short gets four batarangs out of five.
Next: #8: Designing Disaster...
Webisode 8: “Designing Disaster”
Who would’ve guessed that another DC property targeted at approximately the same age group as Teen Titans Go! would retain continuity? Well, props to the DC Super Hero Girls writers, because we finally get the conclusion to Wonder Woman’s dilemma of creating a costume for Crazy Quilt’s class. She appears to have settled on a flashy pink suit, but when she is forced to test it out when a Save-the-Day drill occurs, she learns that it is not very practical in the field. She then settles on submitting her regular Wonder Woman costume for the class.
This short reminded me a little bit of The Incredibles, a movie in which the impracticalities of many super hero suits are made fun of. In addition, I appreciated the glimpse we got of Star Labs in this short. While I doubt we’ll be seeing stories taking place away from Super Hero High in the webisodes, the fact that they are putting thought into what aspects of the DC universe exist beyond the school makes me hopeful that some of those will be included in the comic book and/or novel series. This webisode gets four batarangs out of five.
Next: #9: Weaponomics...
Webisode 9: “Weaponomics”
This is probably my favorite of the nine shorts that have aired so far. Wonder Woman is in weaponomics class, and it’s taught by Lucius Fox! Of course, normally Fox would most likely have his hands too busy at Wayne Enterprises to have time to teach a high school class, but it’s the perfect class for him, and it makes a lot more sense than Crazy Quilt being a teacher. Wonder Woman is demonstrating her lasso of truth, but Cheetah sabotages the demonstration, causing the lasso to get tangled around Lucius as he spills out embarrassing things. Out of the villains at Super Hero High, Cheetah seems to be most in-character with her comic book roots, and I hope that she continues to cause problems for Wonder Woman. Finally, the big reveal is that Catwoman is enrolled at Super Hero High! She’s a character that I had been hoping to see from the time the series premiered in October, and while it’s really just a cameo in this webisode, it’s still really cool. This short gets five batarangs out of five.
Next: Review: DC Super Hero Girls Webisodes 4-6
This series keeps going strong! I don’t like it as much as the Batman Unlimited shorts series that essentially preceded it, but it’s definitely good stuff. It’s doing what it needs to do to be successful by valuing continuity and fan service, and by staying true to at least the core aspects of the characters. Keep it locked to Caped Crusades for more DC Super Hero Girls reviews and for all your Batman news!