I Finally Saw the Banned Episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold
When I began my rewatch of Batman: The Brave and the Bold — now available, like so many other DC properties, on HBO Max — I had one big question: do they have THE episode? I didn’t bother to look ahead and find out. I just worked my way through each episode in order until finally, this February, I got my answer. That answer is a resounding yes.
Rewind with me, nerd friends.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold debuted in 2008 on Cartoon Network. It takes its name and inspiration from the classic comic The Brave and the Bold, which featured crossovers between heroes — often Batman and a plus-one — who don’t normally hang out together (this is the series where the Teen Titans debuted in 1964). The cartoon remained true to its Silver Age roots by presenting fun stories about lesser-known characters.
I love love LOVED this series and watched every single episode…except one.
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“The Mask of Matches Malone!” should have aired on October 15, 2010, as part of the show’s second season. Written by fan-favorite creator Gail Simone, the plot involves Black Canary, Huntress, and Catwoman teaming up to save Batman, who, after a blow to the head, believes himself to be the titular gangster. At one point, they follow Bat-Matches into a crooks-only nightclub where, to keep their cover and try to snap Batman out of it, they perform a musical number.
That number is why the episode never made it to air. Why? The entire thing is one long double-entendre about the male heroes’, ahem, powers. Or rather, the lack thereof. One choice line — “Flash’s foes, they finish last / Too bad sometimes he’s just too fast!” — even drew a smirk from Bat-Matches’ henchwoman.
Evidently, it was all too much for the American censors of 2010, because the episode only aired in Australia. According to this hideously colored interview with series producer and co-lyricist James Tucker, the lyrics might not have been the main problem, as they planned to replace a shot of Huntress waggling her finger while deriding Aquaman’s “little fish” and then air the episode later. That didn’t happen, and the episode wasn’t available in the U.S. until it debuted on iTunes in 2011.
So, how’s the rest of the episode? Pretty fun! Two-Face plays a surprising and hilarious role in the proceedings, and Catwoman is appropriately catty in only the best ways. “The Mask of Matches Malone!” fits right into a season that, despite still being silly, got surprisingly dark, with multiple heroes dying, the Spectre…Spectreing, and Batman confronting his parents’ killer. In a bit of black comedy that will be brutally echoed in “Emperor Joker!” two episodes later, we see Bat-Matches die repeatedly after stealing an artifact that grants him nine lives.
The only sour note is the inclusion of Blue Beetle in the song lyrics, which is creepy because a) he’s barely college-age, and b) Huntress’s alter ego is a professor at his school. Ew.
I know for a fact that there would be no problems getting this episode to air now. Case in point: back in the day, the only part I could watch was, ironically, the offending song, which was illegally posted to YouTube. Today, not only is the whole episode streaming, DC itself has posted the uncensored number — naughty finger and all — online.
Honestly, I don’t think it should have been banned to begin with. The innuendo isn’t subtle, but it’ll probably go over kids’ heads. If it doesn’t, you have bigger problems than a Batman cartoon.
