CREDITS: Written by Hilary J. Bader and Alan Burnett; directed by Butch Lukic.
REVIEW: So Curaré survived the Society of Assassins and is killing, or rather mind-wiping, all the other members before they get to her. There's even one guy who keeps a plane in the air at all times so she can't get to him (one longer-than-usual pit stop and he's a goner). And then she goes after Terry in one crazy sequence which destroys an interesting-looking museum showroom. Good on her, even if she is the bad guy here. And nope, still no clue as to what she hides behind the veil. Unfortunately, she never appears again (maybe the comics will help?). But let's face it, a character with a super-sharp sword is excessively difficult to do in a kids' show. Though the episode fakes us out several times with shadows, making it look like she's stabbed someone (usually Max), they always have to reveal she missed, hit an object, or was pulling out some other, less gory weapon. Katana had the same problem in the Outsiders.
She more of a force of nature than anything, and the real villainy is that of Botha, the last remaining assassin on Curaré's list. It's Tim Curry (even the physical casting suggests it), but his Euro-trash accent is excruciating, a mangling of several different countries' at once. I should be enjoying his performance, but I'm just annoyed by it. He eventually succumbs to Curaré's biological agent, but that means the codes to stop the bomb he's set in Gotham to procure Batman's help are wiped. And because Curaré is an unstoppable force, there's no reasoning with her while the ticking clock element is resolved.
With Bruce out of the country, it's up to Max to partner with Terry, more or less in the Oracle role. Or so he wishes! She's too much of an action woman to sit at home and work the computer, and once again (see Hooked Up), gets into trouble. But though the threat to her life has an effect - she's crying after her encounter with Curaré, not shrugging it off - she just has to help Terry find and disarm Botha's bomb. It's not the best resolution, or at least it's great until the heroes run out of options and then it's just a matter of luck and pulling the bomb out of its socket to magically disarm it, but it's a good role for Maxine. At the end, Terry sees her as more of a true partner, not just someone who has to keep his secret. Now if she can only stop calling him Terry when he's on the job...
SOUNDS LIKE: The assassin Mutro Botha is played by Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Addams Family movies), as indicated above. Victor Rivers, who plays the Master Assassin previously voiced the Invulnerable Man, while the airplane captain is the voice behind the DCAU's Doctor Fate, George DelHoyo.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - A good Max episode, with at least one cool animation sequence, but the plot has problems
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