Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series) Showdown (1995) User Reviews

Hex gets his due

[Mr-Fusion · 8/10 · 4 February 2017]

As a teenager, 'Showdown' served as my intro to Jonah Hex, the infamously scarred bounty hunter of the DC universe. And back then, an old west episode felt odd, but it all gels quite nicely. The story's told in flashback, it's got that great pulp Western vibe, and (here's the key) it's a brilliant use of the Ra's al Ghul legend to tie us back into the days of the frontier. There's plenty of action, explosions and a believable set piece onboard a hydrogen airship. Care has been taken with this story, and it shows.

And as an adult, I get a kick out of seeing David Warner and Malcolm McDowell reunited ("Time After Time").

This one's a winner.

8/10

Fascinating and plausible.

[goreilly40 · 10/10 · 29 July 2017]

This was one of the most fascinating episode's of any series I've seen. It would be wrong to describe this as a crossover as Jonah Hex doesn't actually share any screen time with Batman and Robin, they're only listening to his story which Ra's Al Ghul left for them to find when they try to stop him from doing a kidnapping. The western aspect of the episode is the best I've seen in an animated setting, the story was actually captivating and although a tad complex it gripped me right to its conclusion. The ending is touching as Batman and Robin realize that Ra's Al Ghul actually had noble intentions and simply let him go. All in all this episode is great, the plot and the animation are very realistic and plausible, and the story line was one of the most intelligent and compelling I've seen in any animated series. One of my favourite episode's.