Sorry for the lack of entries lately--life got in the way for awhile, plus the new TV season began, so time has been limited. We're at the halfway point of the second season...- If it's a black diamond, Eclipso can't be far behind. The classic DC villain stars in "Eclipsed". He has the ability to invade minds and take them over.
- In this case, an army unit finds the diamond, and one of them is quickly taken over. He goes rogue and tries to take over some nukes--then it takes over a general. He's got a lot of power--but the Justice League looks like a better weapon for Eclipso.
- We get a great Flash Rogue cameo, with Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, and Heat Wave (yeah, I know the names are goofy--it was the Silver Age). However, it's an ad for "Lightspeed Energy Bar"--Flash is cashing in. Brian Doyle Murray plays his agent. He's even got a van (why does the Fastest Man on Earth need a van?). He also makes a Hard-Traveling Heroes reference (GL and Green Arrow did a "discover America" drive in the 70's).
- We also see Glorious Godfrey (Enrico Colantoni) as a political commentator a la Fox News. Wally gets sucked in, as you would expect. He also has a special guest--Dr. Frederic, the author of "The Innocent Seduced" (Dr. Frederic Wertham was the instigator of Senate hearing on comics books in the 50's, which just about shut down the industry).
- Classic line from WW: "What's wrong with the way I dress?"
- Speaking of Diana--she's the first of the team to be Eclipsed, and soon they don't know whom to trust. Unbelievably, Flash saves the day.
- There's some lovely animation (CGI?) as they jumpstart the Sun.
- Aquaman, Grundy, and Dr. Fate(Oded Fehr)? It's "The Terror Beyond".
- Fate needs Grundy for an incantation to save Atlantis, and Grundy wants his soul back in return
- We also meet Inza, Dr. Fate's wife, played by Jennifer Hale.
- The League wants answers, but it doesn't go well. Fate sends Grundy and Supes to Egypt, while WW and Aquaman end up on Easter Island, while he fights Hawkgirl. Battles ensue, and they all return to see Fate again.
- Unfortunately, all this delay has stopped Fate from Cthulhu entering their world
- We get both Atlantean and Thanagarian history, and then a debate on whether Grundy is competent
- The whole group (minus Aquaman, who goes to fight for his kingdom) go to the the Cthulhu dimension
- Grundy gets quite the sympathetic role as joins the heroes, then dies fighting for his soul
- We've got a new "Secret Society" of Super-Villains
- The new group includes Sinestro (Ted Levine), Giganta (Jennifer Hale), Parasite (Brian George), Shade (Stephen McHattie), Gorilla Grodd (Powers Boothe), Clayface (Ron Perlman), and Killer Frost (Jennifer Hale again)
- They're training together, as are the League (they both apparently have "Danger Rooms"). Batman balks at training, of course.
- They end up in a big fight, and the League does a lousy job. The Society is actually quite impressive.
- The League does a lot of bickering afterwards, and the group disbands! It turns out Grodd's been influencing them.
- They all end up in another fight in the League's Danger Room, and the Society prevails
- The Society decides to finish them off at the Super Bowl halftime show, but Martian Manhunter saves the day. We get yet another fight, and apparently the League needed a crowd to win. They all make up and move on.
If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.