ROBOT CHICKEN DC COMICS SPECIAL

Ah, irony.  Back when the "Twisted Toyfare Theater" strips of Mego superhero action figures appeared in the magazine Toyfare, DC. Comics sued to keep their characters from appearing.  "TTT" inspired Robot Chicken, which had no problem showing DC characters in humorous or embarrassing situations.  And now there's the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, which is nothing but DC characters.  Go figure.

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is twice as long as the typical Robot Chicken episode, making the special about 22 minutes.  There are both running gags (a kickball, Bane breaking Batman's back, Aquaman finally being pushed too far, goofy real DC characters) and stand-alone bits (multiple ice-based villains robbing the same place, the show's uber-nerd getting a Green Lantern power ring).  And numerous celebrities do voices here, including Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Megan Fox, Neil Patrick Harris, and Alex Borstein.

There are over two hours of extras on the dvd (amazing, considering the main feature is less than half an hour), from deleted sketches and outtakes to the making of the special, a visit to the DC Comics offices on the West Coast, and commentaries on the sketches from both the writers and actors.  Given how brief the main feature is, I would have liked this better if they added some sketches of the DC characters from the regular episodes, as there have been plenty of them and they could have really given us the Robot Chicken take on these heroes and villains.

The special is still pretty good, though.  Robot Chicken DC Comics Special may go for the goofier or simpler types of humor, but there are lots of funny moments ("Protect me, Selena Gomez!") and things even comics fans may have never thought about (like Superman's memory-stealing kiss power from Superman 2).   This is a quick viewing -- and it's not exactly designed for multiple viewings -- but it's fun while it lasts.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch


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