Sight and Sound: "Trials of the Demon!"

"Trials of the Demon!," a recent installment of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, aired 20 March 2009 on Cartoon Network. The episode was written by Todd Casey, directed by Michael Chang, and features Andy Milder as the voice of Jay Garrick. In the episode's festive teaser sequence, the caped crusader teams-up with the fastest man alive to defeat some frightening Halloween hijinks planned by the Scarecrow and Scream Queen. I never miss an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The series is refreshingly light-hearted, clever, creative, and irresistibly fun. This episode was no different. I've been waiting a long time for the scarlet speedster to guest star on the series, so it's a delight to see the ever-affable Jay Garrick facing off against one of my all-time favorite supervillains, the scaremongering Scarecrow. I'm particularly fond of the peppy soundtrack provided for these tales by Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis. This installment may also be historically significant, as Kelson Vibber has observed. Believe it or not--discounting a flickering nod in the opening credits of Justice League: The New Frontier--this would appear to be the first time that Jay Garrick, the first Flash, has appeared in animation.