Armory

  A laid-off weapons expert becomes a free-lance thief.
  Original Airdate: March 12, 2001
  Episode # 31
  Rating: * * 1/2

"Big Jim Tate," he's called in the credits, as though he were being played by John Wayne. And the comparison isn't far-fetched. Like Wayne, Tate is a big man, and strong, in the way that men can be strong without being particularly athletic. He has huge appetites (for money, status, and the admiration of those around him) and huge emotional currents (pride, desperation, and anger, expressed hugely and without histrionics). He also has huge insecurites, and when he wallows before his wife, begging for forgivness, it's like watching a puppy grown to the size of an elephant getting its nose slapped with a newspaper. And, like the Duke at his best, he is immensely ambiguous—a man driven by pride and honor to protect and nuture the ones he loves, but also too vain and ignorant (and honorable) to be legally fastidious about it. Batman has always thrived on the ambiguity in its characters (be they heroes or villains) and Big Jim Tate is a marvelous (and marvelously subtle) addition to the pantheon.

How did they come up with this character, who redeems the otherwise pale and uninvolving "Armory"? Dorian Harewood's baritone suggests deep-chested caverns (and psychological cavities); McCann's script touches the right notes without an overly heavy hand; did Kyoung-Won Lim study Red River? None of these seem sufficient, which suggests that Big Jim developed and escaped out of some unintentional collision of talents.

Related Episodes
   * Spellbound
   * Shriek

What Others Are Saying ...
"The action sequences in this episode were diverse and exciting, mainly due to the variety of Armory's weapons. Batman's method of fire extinguishing, though low-tech, was resourceful." –Zanna for World's Finest