He's more clever than a hundred criminal masterminds. He has more gizmos than James Bond's junk drawer. He's Batman, and if you have an affinity for the lighter side of the Dark Knight, the Warner Archive Collection has a new reason for you to rejoice. Making its Blu-ray debut is the second season of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the animated show that dared to be goofy with Bob Kane's brooding superguy. Contained within this set are 26 crackerjack episodes that focus not upon the Caped Crusader's gritty solo work but rather his team-ups with the strangest heroes DC Comics has to offer. The fresman season was plenty wild and offbeat to start with, but Batman: The Brave and the Bold's sophomore selection of adventures takes even more chances. They may not always be the most successful ways of keeping the formula fresh, but you can still depend on every single episode having something entertaining and weird to share.

Diedrich Bader (Napoleon Dynamite) returns once again to voice Gotham City's dark avenger. But while he's as quick with his wits as he is with his fists, there are times when even Batman has to call out for a helping hand. When the earth comes under attack by mind-sucking alien starfish or a gang of gaseous super-villains, such protectors of the innocent as Captain Marvel (voice of Jeff Bennett), Booster Gold (voice of Tom Everett Scott), and others are there to fight. But with Batman's cavalcade of colorful costumed comrades, there's an equally odd assembly of baddies just begging to be brought to justice. Whether it's the nefarious Doctor Double X (voice of Ron Perlman) splitting the Dark Knight into three beings or Gorilla Grodd (voice of John DiMaggio) planning a simian uprising, there always seems to be some scheme or another that needs foiling. But with Batman and his posse on the case, you can bet on the day being saved with equal parts quips, fast thinking, and good, old-fashioned socks to the jaw.

Like its predecessor, Batman: The Brave and the Bold's second season comes presented in a more poppy and self-aware syle than the character's other cartoon incarnations. This was done as a throwback to the vintage comic series that inspired it, specifically a time during the '50s and '60s in which there was virtually no end to the bizarre escapades crimefighters embarked upon. Boy, did this show ever run with that philosophy, covering over the course of its 26 installments such fantastic adventures as Batman visiting a world where he gets Superman-like powers and an intergalactic drag race to decide the fate of the planet. The silliness can seem like a whole lot to handle sometimes, but The Brave and the Bold creates a kind of universe where it all seems to fit. The series is coated in just the right amount of love and knowing humor, with the creative team's affection for the material never once coming off as cynical efforts to seem hip by poking fun at how lame comics used to be. There are some occasions on which the show's devil-may-care attitude can't excuse some of the more glaring inconsistencies, like near-apocalyptic events that maybe three extra heroes show up to. But for the most part, the "anything goes" approach is a success, as you're totally able to buy this as a world where -- no matter how outrageous of a threat he's facing -- Batman will always have just the right tool for the job.

But lest you think it's simply more of the same stuff you saw in season one, The Brave and the Bold shakes up the routine a bit with a few alterations here and there. Most episodes retain the structure of following a cold open with a separate, stand-alone story, though a small handful are quick to lob a couple curveballs your way. Some of those intros lead up to a two-part special in which an alien menace seizes nearly every superbeing's mind, but this arc loses some punch by taking place in the middle of the season, with no acknowledgement on Batman's part in terms of where his friends have all gone. The show's humorous style also takes a back seat in one fairly dark episode that has the Caped Crusader facing the man who killed his parents and appearing unmasked as Bruce Wayne for the very first time. It's certainly a sharp contrast to the bright and zippy heroics surrounding it, but it's an interesting diversion from the norm that doesn't interrupt the cartoon's otherwise freewheeling flow. Imagination is abundant in every episode you cue up, with more obscure characters like Kevin Michael Richardson's B'wana Beast getting their due in action-packed outings. Bader is great fun as Batman yet again, and he has the privilege of being joined this time around by Mark Hamill, Adam West, Kevin Conroy, and a host of other guest voices bringing to life both Gotham's defenders and its notorious rogues gallery.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold's first season left me with a smile on my face, and I'm glad to report that said grin was just as sizable for round two. Whether the Dark Knight is tooling about parallel dimensions or helping Scooby-Doo nab the Penguin, the series thrives on a sense of fun that more serious adaptations of the character tend to either force or simply leave out altogether. In a way, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is the perfect depiction of the Caped Crusader, in how it includes as many in-jokes and references for long-time fans as it does excitement aplenty for wee superhero buffs.
 
(Batman: The Brave and the Bold -- Season 2 is available to purchase through the Warner Archive Collection: http://www.warnerarchive.com)