Gotham Season One: The Mask

Possible Black Mask cousin ?

The episode begins with two masked men in suits fighting each other in an abandoned office which ends with one being killed by the other while someone watches on camera. The body of the defeated is later found washed up and is investigated by Nygma, Gordon and Bullock who finds a severed thumb in the man's mouth. Cobblepot later meets with Fish to go over the terms of peace between Falcone and Maroni however Fish stabs Cobblepot in the hand which his mother notices when he visits her. Meanwhile Bruce is being sent back to school by Alfred who thinks it is best for him however Bruce is unsure, at the GCPD Bullock is disgusted by the cowardice of the police force to which Essen agrees. Gordon and Bullock later talk to a black market doctor who had a patient with severed thumb and gives them a business card the man dropped however Gordon then arrests the doctor which angers several other officers because they have deals with him.

"If you've got another riddle for this, then I swear to God....."

Gordon goes home and find that Barbara is still shaken about being kidnapped by Zsasz but he assures her everything is alright. In the morning Nygma performs an autopsy on the body while Bruce is again at school and is bullied by Tommy Elliot (Cole Vallis) however he seems to be doing alright with the girls! Liza visits Fish who wants her to steal important documents from Falcone after knocking him out meanwhile Gordon and Bullock go to Sionis Investments and immediately become suspicious because of the amount of injures the employees have. They then question Richard Sionis (Todd Stashwick) and Gordon suspects he is behind the murder but is unable to get anything out of him however they do arrest an employee with a severed thumb. Elsewhere Cobblepot brings in one of Fish's men and has him beaten for information while Bruce is beaten by Tommy which angers Alfred when he finds out.

"My maths teacher gave me a B.....lets beat him up next!"

After questioning the man with the severed thumb Gordon and Bullock find out potential employees must fight to gain a position which sometimes ends in death and Nygma has found out that similar murders have happened before. Gordon and Bullock later split up to investigate Sionis's properties to find out where they could be staging the fights however Gordon is knocked out by Sionis. Bruce then beats up Tommy after Alfred gives him his father's watch to wrap round his fist and Gordon wakes up in an abandoned office surrounded by three masked men who have to kill him for employment. Luckily Bullock manages to round up some of the other officers to save Gordon before he can be killed by Sionis, Gordon thanks Bullock for this but says he will never stop fighting corruption. Cobblepot later finds out that someone close to Falcone is working for Fish while Lisa wants out of her job but Fish convinces her to continue by spinning some BS story. The episode ends with Barbara leaving Gordon, Bruce asking Alfred to teach him to fight and Selina once again arrested by police and asking Gordon for help.

Great fight

What an episode! last one we had the arrival of Zsasz this time we have a possible reference to one of my favourite Batman villains; Black Mask. Obviously the real Black Mask wasn't in this because he has a skull mask, his name is Roman Sionis not Richard and Richard died at the end in any case. However this makes me hopeful for the real Black Mask to appear soon as maybe a relative of Richard, shame that Todd Stashwick wasn't the real Black Mask because he was really good. I liked his mask and his obsession with killing and power and the cool fight he had with Gordon using a sword. His method of hiring new staff was really interesting and maybe it is another nod at the bad economy in Gotham but anyway those fights where really cool and I laughed when Gordon said "oh crap" when Richard put 1 million on his life.

Hopefully soon Fish the Penguin's going to kill you

However if Richard Sionis really is a relative of a comic book character we at least got the introduction of a real comic book character; Tommy Elliot. I have thought for ages that Tommy would be a great addition to the younger cast because in the comics he is a childhood friend of Bruce who becomes one of his most dangerous foes. It was a good take how they made Tommy in to a bully in this and I really hope that Tommy isn't just a one time character and we see more of him. Also he was part of a good subplot for Bruce this episode; of him learning to stand up for himself and wanting to learn how to fight. Again Alfred just continues to impress me when he encouraged Bruce to beat Tommy's face in with a watch.

"I was never going to stay away for long"

Other things I liked in this was Bullock being more and more of a good guy with backing up Gordon at the end and getting the other officers to help. He was damn right; the cops in the GCPD are cowards and Gordon is a constant reminder of their cowardice because he is an honest one. I did like how all the cops did the right thing in the end and I hope that is just the start of them being good officers. Lastly Nygma is really assuming in this because it again shows how he really doesn't care much if people die because their deaths are more curiosities to him then anything else.

At least it's less painful than an interview

Now for what I didn't like and it one again involves my two least characters; Barbara and Fish. I know I mentioned that Barbara was good last episode, well she completely ruined it in this one by walking out on Gordon. Overall she has become a really weak character with no interesting subplots in this series, kind of hope she has walked out for good now since she has already done it twice. Then there is Fish and I just absolutely hate her; Liza is right she really has no reason to get more power since she already has everything. She tired to explain it with that story but that was a load of BS anyway; I just hate her plans, her character and basically everything about her. Also I have had just enough of her injuring Cobblepot and getting away with it, she just deserves to be killed off.

Guess who Tommy becomes

Overall the majority of this episode was really strong and I seriously hope that we get a real Black Mask soon and Tommy has more roles in future episodes. Oh yeah I am finally up to date with the UK releases of Gotham and The Flash, so now that I only have to do one review of those shows a week I'll start reviewing Arrow and more anime.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Richard Sionis's fights and possible connection to Black Mask
                   Tommy Elliot and Bruce and Alfred's subplot with him
                   Bullock and Nygma  had some great moments too

Let - Downs: Fish and her stupid plan
                      Barbara with a weak subplot

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/   

Gotham Season One: Spirit of the Goat

The episode actually starts off with a Flashback ten years ago and a younger Bullock and his partner Detective Dix (Dan Hedaya) have tracked down a man who calls himself "Spirit of the Goat" and has been abducting and killing the first born children of Gotham's wealthiest. Bullock refuses to wait for backup; he manages to kill Randall Milkie who was the Goat but Dix is seriously injured. In the present Bullock and Nygma, Gordon is busy patching things up with Barbara, are investigating a scene of a murdered girl killed in the exact same way as the Goat killings. Meanwhile Montoya and Crispus question a dock worker who says he saw Gordon shoot Cobblepot. Later Gordon and Bullock talk to the girl's parents and family doctor while Nygma tries to get the files on the old Goat killings and creeps out the file clerk Kristen "Kris" Kringle.

"Come on we've got lives to save!"

Cobblepot decides to visit his mother for the first time since arriving back in Gotham and Alfred tries to warn Bruce to leave Gotham for a while since he could be a target. At the murdered girl's autopsy they find a penny stitched in the back of the victim's neck which Bullock can't believe it because that detail was never revealed to the public. Gordon and Bullock then visit a paraplegic Dix at a medical facility who tells them he always believed the Goat killings is a conspiracy, Bullock refuses to believe that and thinks they just have a copycat. The Goat then abducts another girl but Gordon and Bullock find him in time, after learning which maintenance company had access to both victim's houses, and they manage to subdue Raymond Earl the new Goat. However while Earl is locked in the interrogation room Bullock notices something strange about him.

Finally got a villain wearing a mask

The next day Gordon is arrested by Montoya and Crispus for the murder of Cobblepot meanwhile Bullock talks to the family doctor of the murder girl. Turns out she is also a hypnotist and has been hypnotising people in to being the Goat and killing children, believing the wealthiest of Gotham needs to pay. A short fight breaks out between Bollock and her latest hypnotised victim but Bollock manages to knock him out and shoot the doctor and arrest her. At the GCPD, Montoya and Crispus prepare to arrest Bullock as well but Cobblepot then walks in which causes Bullock to lash out at Gordon.

"I sure know how to make an entrance"

I got to tell you the Flashback at the beginning of this episode could have given this a perfect score alone because we finally got some back story on Bullock and what he was really like before. I was so surprised with how much he was like Gordon; rushing in to the crime to save someone and ignoring the rule about 'no heroes'. He was just as passionate about the job as Gordon is and I think because of that he must feel that Gordon is right now because of how many times he has backed him up and kept him around. I really think the Flashback was so well done and I am glad that this episode was mostly about Bullock as well because it showed another side of him with how much he cared about the case and how he pays for Dix's medical treatment.

Great shot Bullock!

The Goat was also a great villain in this because we finally got a masked villain and the hypnotism was a good twist as well. They kind of make you think that there is some kind of supernatural element going on with the Goat, like the killers where actually possessed by a spirit that passed between them. The reasons behind the doctor wanting to kill children kind of reminds me of the recent Batman films because it addresses the issues of class structure in Gotham and how much the poor hate the wealthy.

"This rich kid should really lock his windows"

Since this episode was mainly about the Goat killings we didn't get much else but I did like that Nygma got more of a spotlight as well and I found it funny how he kept creeping Kris out. I don't know if anything will happen between them but I hope something does because I liked the interaction between them. Montoya and Crispus where of course annoying as ever, I just hate their damn arrogance and the way they kept going after Gordon and Bullock. Again I especially hate that b***h Montoya because once again she talked with Barbara but I could care less about their past, it was a bad move for the writers to do that. Lucky Cobblepot showed up at the end so hopefully now the subplot of Montoya and Crispus going after Gordon and Bullock is over. Speaking of Cobblepot he got a pretty creepy bathtub scene with his mother and Selina actually snuck in to Wayne Manor and spied on a sleeping Bruce, to bad they didn't get any interaction.

Yeah now that's very subtle

Overall this was a solid episode because it centred mainly around Bullock who got a great Flashback and more character development.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Bullock centred episode (great flashback)
                   Great villain
                   More time with Nygma and funny scenes with Kris

Let - Downs: Crispus and Montoya are as annoying as ever

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/

    

Bleach Review: 560 – 564, Mask De Masculine vs. Kensei and Renji

Now it is time for another review that I promised to do in my earlier review and that is the recent Mask De Masculine fight that was shown. The reason I am reviewing it is because besides from being a really great fight, I want to review the all fights that are coming up in Bleach but only after they have finished.

It starts off with Mask De Masculine defeating Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa and Shuhei Hisagi (along side his cheering fan James), however before he can land the finishing blow he is stopped by the Soul Reaper captains Kensei Mugruma and Rojuro ‘Rose’ Otoribashi. Kensei steps up to fight first and activities his Bankai, Tekken Tachikaze, which controls the power of wind and focuses all of the power of his Shikai in to his knuckle blades. This explosive power makes his assault seem endless and he uses it to get the upper hand on Mask, however it his then revealed that Mask’s S stands for The Superstar and the cheering from his fan James grants Mask even greater power and strength. Kensei fights back but the constant cheering from James powers up Mask too much and he is defeated.

Next Rose steps up to fight and starts by cutting James in half before activating his own Bankai, Kinshara Butodan, a music type Bankai. Acting as a conductor to direct several giants that have numerous techniques such as Sea Drift (Water) and Prometheus (Fire) and seems to overwhelm Mask. However before he can activate another technique called Ein Heldenleben, Mask figures out the weakness in Rose’s Bankai by destroying his own eardrums and thereby blocking out the music, he then blasts a star shaped hole through Rose’s chest, critically injuring him.

But all is not lost because Mask is interrupted once again by the arrival of Renji, who has just come back from his training in the Royal Realm. Mask starts off by having his eardrums healed by James, who still turns out to be alive, before charging at Renji. However Renji’s training has made him more powerful than he thought, so even after Mask changes form, enters Vollstandig and unleashes a wide array of star based moves; Renji survives them and enters Bankai. His Bankai has changed to it’s ‘true form’ has a result of his training; the head of the snake engulfs his sword arm and looks like a shield while he can control massive bone arm of the baboon, this new Bankai his called Soo Zabimaru. After overpowering Mask, Renji actives a move called Orochio, cutting Mask in half and burning him to ashes. 

Now this was one exciting fight and I thought it was very well done and there was few stand out moments for me. First was that Mask was shown to be a really powerful Sternritter, when he first appeared many thought he was just a simple minded Yammy copy but no this guy took out five Soul Reapers and was hard to kill. Mask really did grow on me during this fight and I really thought he was going to survive it so that was a shame.

Next was that Kensei and Rose got in on the spotlight and kicked some ass, sure they where defeated but they went down swinging. I think Kensei being in this repaired a lot of the damage Kubo did when he completely skipped his fight with Wonderwiess and he was missing for the rest of the Fake Karakura Arc; that was one of the biggest disappointments in Bleach. Then there was Rose, who is one of my favourite characters and we finally got to see his Bankai and it was soooo creative, one of the best Kubo has done, I really hope we see more of it.

Lastly was the reveal of Renji’s new Bankai and it is way better than his last one that was just a massive bone whip. This was looks cooler and gives Renji a ton of new abilities while the last one was just really straight forward and predictable.

However I felt that this chapter was not without and few flaws, he first being Kensei and Rose getting defeated. I know I said they still kicked ass but they are two of my favourites and since it’s been ages since we saw them last fight I thought they deserved a few victories, especially Rose who just revealed his Bankai. I really like the Vizards in Bleach but I think Kubo is just wasting them; first there was Shinji in the Komamura fight and now these two, all three seem to go down too quick for my liking and they did not even use their Hollow powers.

Next is another contradiction of the highlights I picked but I just have to say it; Renji. I admit his Bankai is awesome but it and he are now so overpowered. The Vandenreich are supposed to be the Soul Reaper’s ultimate enemy, Mask took out five Soul Reapers and he did not even break a sweat but Renji stepped in and dealt with him straight away, I just did not like that.

Lastly speaking about Mask, I did say he was growing on me but the latter half of the fight did not help. When he fought Kensei and Rose he kept calling them villains which made me think that Mask truly believed he was the good guy saving the world from the Soul Reapers, it added a bit of depth to his character. However when Renji his personality seemed to change, he flies in to a rage and even says that he is just going to kill Renji just for the sake of it. It made him out just to be mindless and cruel when I really thought he was a good person who truly viewed Soul Reapers as evil.

In conclusion this was a really great fight, one of my favourite of the Thousand War Arc so far, we got some cool Bankai action, a Sternritter with some cool abilities and Kensei and Rose got in on the fight too. But it was let down by Renji’s massive amount of over powering, the fact that Kensei and Rose are probably not going to be fighting again soon and Mask just turning in to some kind of berserker near the end.

SCORE: 7/10