Justice League Unlimited: To the Finish Line

It's the final three episodes of the Justice League animated series...

• Just in time for the end of the show, we wrap up the John/Shayera storyline in "Ancient History". Hawkman/Carter Hall helps out John with Gentleman Ghost (Robin Atkin Downes) while Shadow Thief (James Remar) hides in the--uh--shadows. Meanwhile, Shayera is working out with Vixen in the League's gym. John warns her about Hawkman (he's essentially a stalker). Shadow Thief attacks John and Vixen in his apartment, and they get their butts kicked. The girls go see Hawkman in Midway City (he's an archeologist, as in the SA comics), and find John tied up by Shadow Thief--a battle ensues. Our heroes (minus Vixen) are tied up in front of the Absorbachron--a Thangarian super-computer with all knowledge.  We get the backstory on the Hawks--aliens stranded on ancient Earth, creating an Egyptian empire, a love triangle with a general (clearly John in an earlier life), advisor Hath-Set kills the lovers in Katar's name, and Katar commits suicide (rather adult for a cartoon--very Shakespearean). Turns out Shadow Thief is just a manifestation of Hawkman's dark thoughts--he gives Carter the chance to kill John, but he releases them instead, then absorbs the villain into his mind. Back at HQ, John tells Shayera about the future (he learned they have a son when he was there), but says he's staying with Vixen anyway. Shayera goes to Bruce to find out more about this son...
• We're back with the Legion of Doom in "Alive". Lex continues to work to save Brainiac. Talia uses her magic on the Brainiac artifact, and they are psychically teleported to Brainiac's world just as it was blown up. Now Lex knows where to go--he gets the Legion to turn the HQ into a spaceship. We see the regular baddies plus Merlyn, Goldface, Count Vertigo, and several others--even I don't recognize some of them. There's a great shot of Bizarro trying to put a square object into a round hole. Tala decides enough is enough, and uses the ship's launch to free Grodd. There's a mutiny and a big fight amongst the villains. It al winds up in a duel between Grodd and Lex, and the latter uses the former's mental powers against him. It's out the airlock for the ol' gorilla. The reach the coordinates, and Tala is used to track down Brainiac's parts. Metron of the New Gods (Daniel Dae Kim) warns him, but Lex won't be stopped. He reforms--Darkseid (Michael Ironside)?? He blows up the ship (but somehow doesn't kill all the villlains?). We switch to Apolkolips, where a final battle is stopped by their ruler. The villains stop by the League's HQ and ask for help, which brings us to...
• ...the final episode, "Destroyer".  We learn how the villains survived (Sinestro's ring plus an assist from Orion of the New Gods). Darkseid's army attacks Earth via Boom Tubes. The League and Legion begrudgingly team up. Everybody--and I mean everybody--checks in. We see battles in Washington, Paris, London, China, Rome, Toyko, and finally Metropolis. Clark, Bruce, and Lex go up against Darkseid. Lex jumps in, gets his butt kicked, and Bruce has to save him, leaving our two combatants fighting on top of the Daily Planet. The other heroes learn that huge drills are trying to create Apokolips on Earth, which have to be stopped. There's an old guy on the Great Wall kicking butt--it turns out to be Martian Manhunter, back for the finale. Clark and Darkseid trade blows--then Metron arrives. Lex gets Metron to tell him how to beat Darkseid,  Clark tells Darkseid how he always has to take care--"the world is made of cardboard" to him. Now, he can really let loose--we get the greatest hits ever seen on the series (shock waves and everything) before Darkseid pulls out the "agony matrix" to stop Clark. Meanwhile, Metron has taken Lex to the Source Wall (essentially God/Heaven in the New Gods universe), who manages to survive it. He returns to the battle (in a business suit) with the "Anti-Life Equation" (what Darkseid has always searched for). Both Lex and Darkseid are wiped out by the resulting explosion. The League gives the Legion a 5 minute head start to escape, and we get a final curtain call from the whole League (I'm not afraid to admit I watched this last part more than once).

I hoped you enjoyed these reviews--it gave me a chance to finally watch the series in order. If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Into the Home Stretch

We've made it to the last disc of the DVD boxed set...

• In "The Great Brain Robbery", we return to Grodd and Lex at odds with each other. Luthor wants to bring back Brianiac, while the rest of the Legion is losing confidence. Meanwhile, Dr. Fate wants to use Flash's mind to find Grodd (he once took over Wally). They end up switching Lex's mind into Flash and vice-versa. I love how Wally tries to play the bad guy--at one point "Lex" and Dr. Polaris have it out in a men's room, and when asked if he's going to wash his hands, he says no--that's how evil he is. He also has to fight off Tala's advances--they infer that that had a quick liaison. Meanwhile,"Flash" gives the League all they can handle--at one point (again in a men's room), Lex decides at least he can find out the Flash's secret ID, but when he takes off his mask, he has no idea who he is. Back with the Legion, Grodd has figured it out, but decided to watch the fun. The Legion goes on a big job, stealing a money train. In the middle of it, "Flash" calls and tells them the truth. League and Legion duke it out, but they get away. Mr. Terrific takes out "Wally" with a gravity trick, and Fate swaps them back. Back at the Legion, in the midst of a mutiny, Lex shows he can override the group's powers (of course).
• "Grudge Match" brings back Roulette, now running a much lower rent "meta-brawl". She decides to ask Lex for better talent, and he counters with all-girl matches, getting heroes involved. Huntress finds Black Canary off her game, and confides to Question (who's busy discovering the 32rd ice cream flavor). Huntress tails her and finds Canary and Fire battling each other for a crowd--Roulette has them under mental control, using their own comlinks against them. Huntress and Canary end up fighting Shayera and Vixen. The comlinks are taken out, but all four are pitted against Wonder Woman. Their fight takes out the underground arena, and the mind control signal is shut down. I don't see how the bad guys thought they could get away with this for long, especially once Diana was involved.
• We get another Legion in "Far From Home"--the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 31st century. It's a group of super-powered teenagers inspired by the Justice League. Brainiac 5 (Matt Czuchry)--don't worry, he's a good guy--goes back in time (via the infamous "time bubble") and abducts Supergirl during a training session, grabbing Green Arrow and GL in the bargain. The Legion has been captured by the Fatal Five with the exception of Brainiac 5 and Bouncing Boy (Googy Gress), and they need help. Kara is smitten with B5 (as she was in the comics)--unfortunately, the historical records say that she never returns to her own time, but they can't tell her. Emerald Empress (Joanne Walley) and the Persuader (Kin Shriner) pop in and quickly make work of our heroes, taking over their minds and grabbing GL. GA plays matchmaker with Kara and B5 while the Fatal Five make their plans. They track down GL, and the controlled Legion attack. B5 tells Kara her fate, but she is resolute--a quick kiss from Kara, and the battle is on. We get cameos (some just a few frames) from Ultra Boy, Saturn Girl, Timber Wolf, Colossal Boy, Phantom Girl, Blok, Wildfire, Cosmic Boy, Shadow Lass, and Lightning Lad. Yes, I know the names are goofy--it was the Silver Age of comics. Kara manages to keep up with the whole group, including GL.  Meanwhile, GA and B5 break into the bad guy's ship--GA amped up his arrows with 31st century tech--and stop the mind control. We cut back to the aftermath--GL holding Kara in a tribute to a Crisis on Infinite Earths cover. She's OK though, and she and the Legion take out the Fatal Five. Kara decides to stay in the future--she never really fit in the present anyway. We finish up with a Clark getting the news--and wondering who her new boyfriend is.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Season 5 Continues

Finally getting back to JLU...

• "Flash and Substance" begins in a dive bar for super-villains, with several of Flash's Rogues in attendance including The Top, Weather Wizard, Dr. Alchemy, and Mr. Element. Mirror Master (Alexis Denisof), Captain Cold (Lex Lang), Trickster (Mark Hamill) and Captain Boomerang (Donal Gibson) complain about the opening of the Flash Museum--sounds like the perfect time to strike. Meanwhile, Wally is leaving work early--he works as a CSI scientist for the police (as Barry did in the comics). He beams up to the Watchtower to get someone to join him at the opening--Bruce (?!?) and Orion (Ron Perlman) agree to go. On the way, Wally gets:
  • trapped in an abandoned skate palace--it's a mirrored disco death trap!
  • attacked by boomerangs, including a giant one (just like in the comics)
• They visit the dive bar--Pied Piper, Abra Kadabra, and the Wizard make cameos. They find The Trickster drowning his sorrows (the other Rogues don't respect him). Orion plays "really bad cop", but Wally realizes the Trickster is off his meds, and after learning the plan, gets the villain to promise to turn himself in. Off to the Flash Museum, with Linda Park (Kim Mai Guest) reporting--she's got a crush on him (they got married in the comics). The Rogues attack, and Turtle Man, the Superman/Flash race  Kid Flash (was Wally Kid Flash in this continuity?) all appear in the background. Linda falls into the mirror dimension, Wally saves her, and the Rogues are taken out.
• Deadman (Raphael Sbarge) checks in for the appropriately named "Dead Reckoning". He's former circus performer Boston Brand, murdered during a performance--now a ghost that can inhabit living bodies. We're at Nanda Parbat (mystical Himalayan site)--the Legion of Doom beams in, and a throng of young monks attack. It takes Bizarro to stop them. The "Master" of Nanda Parbat is killed, and the "heart" of the city (a mystical sphere) is nabbed, along with the souls of the monks. Boston is off to the Watchtower--he inhabits Clark and gets Bruce and Diana to help him. The Legion attacks Gorilla City to get a generator. Deadman inhabits Diana and almost kills Devil Ray before relenting. Grodd has time to set off his weapon--a wave that will rewrite human DNA to apes. It works temporarily until Super-ape rips out the weapon. Devil Ray sneaks up and almost kills Diana before Boston inhabits Bruce's body and shoots him--killing him. Boston has more work to do to balance the scales. For his duplicity, Lex shoots Grodd and takes over the Legion.
• Shades of Captain America? "Patriot Act" introduces a "super-soldier"--except one being created for the Nazis in WW2. In a great black and white sequence, Spy Smasher (Nathan Fillion) stops the evil plan--or does he? Apparently not, since Gen. Eiling (J.K. Simmons) gets hold of the formula. He meets with Waller, determined to stop the League--but Amanda will have none of it. The big guns are working in space to stop a supernova, so it's up to Mr. Terrific (Michael Beach), Shining Knight (Chris Cox), Vigilante, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Green Arrow to cover another mission--a parade in Metropolis. Meanwhile, Eiling breaks into Cadmus and takes the Nazi serum (still active)? It's turns him into, well, the Hulk. He attacks the parade--none of the heroes' weapons have any effect on him (keep in mind none of them have powers). Finally, reinforcements arrive--Crimson Avenger and Speedy (Mike Erwin)? Fortunately, the latter has a "quantum arrow". Unfortunately, it doesn't work either. In the end, it takes an old lady civilian to make Eiling realize he's the monster, not the League.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Onto Season 5

We're starting the final season of JLU with...

• "I Am Legion". Lex is broken out of prison by Grodd (Powers Boothe) and the new Legion of Doom (shades of the Super-Friends!). We get cameos from The Key  Starro, Atomic Skull, Parasite, Cheetah, Black Manta, Shark,  Blockbuster  Doctor Polaris, Gentleman Ghost, Bane, Metallo, Copperhead, Volcana, Doctor Destiny, Toyman, Killer Frost, Bizarro, Giganta, Sonar, Heat Wave  Silver Banshee, Sinestro, Star Sapphire, and a few others even I didn't recognize. The League calls in Aztek (obscure 90's JLA member played by Corey Burton), and they meet their new "liaison" from the feds, King Faraday (Scott Patterson). They are on a short leash after the events of last season. Back to Lex--Grodd offers him a role in the new group, but he refuses. He's also talking to himself--or someone else? Grodd offers a piece of Brianiac in exchange--that's who Lex is talking to. We switch over to an old man, who turns out to be the last remaining member of the Blackhawks. Looks like the Legion is breaking into their secret weapons stash, including a big old robot. Flash, Ice, Fire, and Shayera (Maria Canals-Barrera in a dual role) join the old man to check it out, and get attacked by robot birds. They work their way through Blackhawk Island security (flying robot sharks, robot octopi, warwheels), then find Key, Polaris, and Lex inside. The bad guys kidnap the old man, but he gets away and saves the island. The whole thing was just a test run for Lex.
• "Shadow of the Hawk" finally introduces Hawkman to the continuity--maybe DC didn't want the character used until now? In any case, the League is mopping up the Extremists (villain team from 90's comics), when archeologist Carter Hall (James Remar) strides in. He immediately starts hitting on Shayera, and amazingly, she reciprocates. Batman confirms that the artifact Cater brought with him from Egypt is Thanagarian. Back at League HQ (apparently, the Watchtower wasn't taken out of commission, as stated at the end of last season), GL is shocked when Shayera shows up in a slinky dress. Batman did some research on Carter--he looks to be a Shayera stalker. She ignores their concerns and goes with Carter to Egypt. Bats tags along in secret. Carter reveals that he is Hawkman, and they are reincarnated lovers. Shayera is incredulous. He explains that he touched another artifact--the Absorbichron (SA Hawkman concept) that apparently generates exposition. They both lived multiple lives together. He also found their ship in the crypt. Suddenly, they are attacked by--their own shadows? It's the Shadow Thief (SA villain associated with Hawkman) who can create and control solid shadows. After the bad guy threatens Shayera, Hawkman agrees to help him loot the crypt. Batman arrives (he was attacked by a shadow as well) and uses light to knock out Shadow Thief. There's a fight with mystic warriors, then Shayera uses her mace to light up the place--they corner the bad buy, but he escapes, taking out the crypt. In the end, Hawkman has waited thousands of years for Shayera, so he's willing to wait a little longer.
• In "Chaos at the Earth's Core", we start with Stargirl (Giselle Loren), S.T.R.I.P.E., and GL (Phil LeMarr on double duty) fight what looks like Gamera, the Giant Turtle in Tokyo. Unfortunately for Stargirl, Supergir (Nicholle Tom) gets all the glory. On the way back, their Javelin gets pulled into--the Earth's Core aka Skataris (mystical world in the comics). They fight some dinos and lizardmen--everything there is magic-based, which greatly hinders Supergirl. They run into Warlord aka Travis Morgan (Paul Guilfoyle)--his people need the heroes help in fighting prerequisite bad guy Deimos (Douglas Dunning). He brought in his own assistants--Metallo (Malcolm McDowell) and Silver Banshee (Kim Mai Guest). The good guys have to protect "The Great Stone" (a big piece of kryptonite). It's swords vs. lasers, with a superhero/villain battle thrown in. It ends with  an epic sword fight between Warlord and Deimos while Kara (sans powers) and Metallo duke it out. Stargirl steps in to save her. GL scares Metallo into giving up his benefactor, but is brain is zapped before he can speak. They all return to Earth, sealing up the doorway to Skataris (and the huge supply of kryptonite) behind them.
• A ship is forced "To Another Shore" where there's a huge Viking statue and ship--what's the deal? Back on the Watchtower, Diana is in her civvies, going to a global warming conference. She asks J'onn to go with her, but he wants to stay at the HQ. He's apparently tired of humanity. Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom (said in Ted Knight's voice), Luthor gives the team a progress report--he's amping up their powers with tech. Grodd gives the team an exposition on the Viking Prince, a classic DC historical character. We get some great artwork ala' Joe Kubert, who did the original comic series. The Prince was given invulnerability by the Gods, and the team is tasked to go get the body. Back to Diana, she's proving to be a lousy diplomat, threatening war to global warming naysayers at the conference that just happens to be near where the Viking ship was found. There's an explosion, and we get the classic spin-transformation sequence (created for the Lynda Carter WW show). She finds Heat Wave (Lex Lang), Giganta, Killer Frost (Jennifer Hale doing double duty), and Devil Ray (Michael Beach)--although he clearly looks like Black Manta. Was this a DC directive not to use the name? He shoots Diana with a poison dart, but King Faraday swoops in (he has a jet pack!). Diana calls J'onn, and insists he come help out--he brings GA with him. A Legion of Doom sub drags the ship out of the ice. GA flies down onto the sub with a rope arrow (singing a fanfare as he does) and gets inside before it submerges. (How does the Viking ship, still encased in ice, submerge as well?) GA is like Batman with bravado. Diana fights Devil Ray/Black Manta underwater. J'onn grabs Killer Frost and forces her to stop the avalanche caused by the bad guys. Faraday brings in 3 US subs to end the whole thing. The League is starting to put the pieces together about the bad guys. J'onn realizes he needs to reconnect to humanity. The Viking ship is hauled in space and left to drift into the Sun. This was a great episode.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Wrapping Up Season 4

Events come to a head in the final episodes of the season--

• There's a "Panic in the Sky" (another reference to a DC storyline). We learn that the Ultimen clones are under Galatea's control (they're basically zombies). Clark calls a meeting of the founding members, then tells the rest of the heroes--as a symbol of cooperation, they are turning themselves into the authorities. Bruce, unsurprisingly, doesn't buy it. Steel (Phil LeMarr) and Kara continue to argue, and then the Cadmus attack begins. Missiles drill into the Watchtower, carrying the Ultimen and Galatea. Meanwhile, Batman has a chat with Waller, warning her about Luthor. A battle royale goes on with the League vs. Ultimen (cameos from Hourman, B'wana Beast, Crimson Fox   S.T.R.I.P.E., Stargirl, Ice, Ray, Atom Smasher, Vigilante, Black Canary, Fire,  Metamorpho, Starman, Commander Steel, Dr. Light, Red Tornado, Wildcat  Hawk, Sand, The Creeper, The Atom--just assume everybody). However, the real battle is between Kara and Galatea (Kara's amped up clone). It doesn't go well. Waller figures out what's going on with Lex, and tries to scrub the mission--Galatea refuses. The Watchtower's reactors comes back online just in time for Kara to fry Galatea. Luthor, however, has had time to complete his big plan--an Amazo clone for his mind to inhabit. Bruce tries to stop him, but remember, Lex is already "super". It takes Waller and the founding League members to take him down and destroy the android. We even get a "Ta Da!" from Flash when they are revealed. Luthor turns out to be inhabited, both mentally, and physically, by Brainiac! Whew! That takes us to...
• ..."Divided We Fall". Brainiac goes into exposition mode, explaining how he took over Luthor without him even knowing about it. The League and BrainiLex duke it out, and the bad guy takes it out on Metropolis. BrainiLex gets in his ship (which looks like his own head--ego much), and the League attacks again, blowing up the ship. Bruce's prognosis--"that was too easy". BrainiLex is gone. Lex starts scamming Brainiac--being a god is only the beginning. They pick up the Dark Heart tech from Cadmus, turning them into a single entity. The rest of the League is stuck on the Watchtower, so it's just the "magnificent seven". Clark tries to talk to Lex, but it's just "business" to him--even destroying the Earth. He reforms the Justice Lords from the nanotech, and the battle is on. There's taunting a plenty, but the League takes them out. Diana throws a Javelin (the ship, not a weapon) at BrainiLex, but does no good. Flash is under Lex's gun, then runs away!!  Not really, he's just building up speed by running around the Earth. He slams into BrainiLex over and over, faster and faster, destroying the nanotech. Flash then fades into nothingness--he's gone. Clark has Lex's throat, and is about to vaporize him, but thinks better of it. J'onn realizes that Flash is still there--he's in the "speed force" (a concept from the comics). The team pulls him out of a vortex and saves his life. In the end, in front of every character ever seen on the show, Superman announces they are shutting down the Watchtower, and then tries to disbands the League, but GA vetoes him. There's a tender moment between Lois and Clark to carry us out.
• Clearly the producers thought this was it for the series--the final episode of the season is called "Epilogue". We're going back to the future--an elderly Amanda Waller (with a cane) meets Terry McGuinness (Will Friedle of Batman Beyond). He's broken into Waller's mansion (we get a flashback of Terry confronting a very elderly Bruce, as well as his girlfriend Dana--he's quitting both of them, as well as the JLU). Terry has figured it out--Bruce is his father! Terry has come to Amanda to get the real answers. Yet more flashbacks--a fight with another Royal Flash Gang. Ace (Hynden Walch) can now warp reality, not just create hallucinations. Waller gives Bruce the tech to kill Ace--the only way to stop her. Instead, he stays with her while she dies of an aneurysm. Back to Amanda--she tells him that Bruce is NOT his father--she rewrote his DNA so there would always be a Batman. How did she get Bruce's DNA? He left it all over Gotham (not what she meant--he's injured a lot). She even planned to replicate the "kill the parents in front of the kid" to copy Bruce's childhood trauma, but it didn't work out. She tells him he has free will--he can be whatever he wants to be. Terry and Bruce have a tender moment, then Terry is back on the beat.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: More of Season 4

Season Four rolls on...

• Ooh, it's a creepy "Hunter's Moon"! We get more cameos (Crimson Fox, Blue Devil) and a romantic moment between GL and Vixen (Gina Torres) before she, Shayera, and Vigilante (Nathan Fillian--hey, a Firefly reunion, and they even made Nathan a cowboy) are sent on a space rescue mission. Unfortunately, it's a trap set by Thanagarian baddie Paran Dui (Elizabeth Pena). They're ambushed and the Javelin is destroyed (how much money does Bruce Wayne have, anyway?). The Thanagarian war ended in the other guys favor, and Shayera's a war criminal. Our heroes are on the run, and after a battle, Vixen is captured. She offers up Shayera in exchange (keep in mind she's GL's girlfriend, Shayera is his ex..) It's a scam to get into the villain's ship, but she's found out. Fortunately, Vig is on the case after stealing a scout ship. Bad girl and Vixen fight it out, as do Shayera and mecha-Thanagarian (very anime). It's a rout, and the heroes return. Another slew of cameos (Obsidian, Waverider, Zatanna, Dove, Hourman, Gypsy, Vibe, Rocket Red, Red Tornado), then GL realizes the two girls have bonded--oops.    
• When a secret could destroy the League, it's time to "Question Authority". We'll get the that in a minute, but first, Clark and Lois have some "quiet time"--a picnic on top of a bridge. She questions him about the power of the League (especially in the last few episodes).  Some knowing looks, and--sorry, kids, onto the other story. The Question and Huntress are hacking records and breaking heads. A shot of the computer screen has several DC references (Multiverse, Flashpoint). The Question realizes what's about to happen (the Justice Lords, etc), and has to stop it. The Question confronts Clark, who tries to convince him it won't happen here, so he decides to take out Luthor himself--but now Lex seems to be "super" as well. The Question is tortured, and a worried Huntress contacts Clark via Jimmy's signal-watch (nice touch). They team up to spring Question from Cadmus, only to find Captain Atom is working for the bad guys(?)....
• ...which takes us into "Flashpoint". Cap and Clark have it out while Huntress gets Question out of Cadmus. Back at the Watchtower, Clark's ready to take out Cadmus once and for all, but the conscience of the League--GA and Flash--argue the point, along with Kara and J'onn. Lex is ready for the battle--he takes over the Watchtower and fires the megaweapon at Cadmus--taking out his rival and making the League look like warmongers. The President's not happy! Waller managed to move Cadmus before the attack, and advises him to get ready for the next battle. The heroes survey the damage--more and more civilians no longer trust them (although they accept their help). Waller is tired of waiting for the President to strike, so she calls in Galatea (aka Power Girl) and a whole phlanx of Ultimen. This is going to get good...

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Season 4 Continues

I made a slight error in the last JL entry--that was the start of Season 4 of JLU.  I've fixed the error.

• "Task Force X" was the previous name of the Suicide Squad in the comics--incarcerated villains who agree to go on secret missions for the government, in exchange for a reduced sentence. In this case, the team is composed of Deadshot (Michael Rosenbaum), Plastique (Juliet Landau), Captain Boomerang (Donal Gibson), and Clock King (Alan Rachins). As in the comics, Rick Flagg (Adam Baldwin) leads the reluctant team while Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder) pulls the strings. They're kept in check with explosive nanites in their bodies. Their mission- break into the Watchtower and secure a "package" (the Annihilator armor from a previous episode). It's like a Mission: Impossible episode with super-villains. We even get a cameo from the faceless lackeys that work the Watchtower. There's a great moment with GL in an elevator with two of the disguised operatives. After taking out a group of minor heroes, they have to fight J'onn to escape.
• There's a lack of "Balance" in Tartarus--classic DC sorceror Felix Faust (Robert Englund) escapes the magic mirror where he was imprisoned and takes over the Annihilator armor (ooh, a continuing story), using that to kick Hades out of power. It effects all the magical heroes, turning them insane. Hermes (Jason Bateman) arrives with the bad news, so Diana and Shayera's frosty relationship has to be put aside to set things right. Diana's power gets amped up by Hippolyta (Susan Sullivan) to give her an edge. We get a cameo from Abnegazar (a DC demon, played by Wayne Knight), and Diana uses the Lasso of Truth for the first time. Shayera's mace, along with Diana's power, takes out Faust. Hades tells Diana she is his daughter, but she doesn't believe it. In the end, Hippolyta drops Diana's banishment.
• Aww, it's a "Double Date" with Green Arrow, Black Canary, The Question (Jeffrey Combs) and Huntress (Amy Acker). Huntress has a problem with rules, especially about killing, so J'onn kicks her out of the League. King Faraday (not a real king, just a gov't agent, played by Scott Patterson) is charged with protecting bad guy Mondragora (Glenn Shadix) who's going to rat out others, and GA & BC are running security. Huntress wants the bad guy dead, so they end up fighting each other--and Mondragora escapes in the confusion. We get Huntress' origin via Question--daughter of a mob boss, whom Mondragora murdered along with her mother. After multiple fights, we learn Modragora's secret--he's trying to save his son. It's a rather dark episode, with GA providing comic relief. Both the heroic couples were items in the comics, with GA/BC eventually marrying after decades of flirtation.
• Shazam! Captain Marvel, the World's Mightiest Mortal (Jerry O'Connell) joins the League in "Clash". The League is getting it's clock cleaned by Parasite (who can drain other people's abilities). Supes is called to help, but Cap gets there first. We see him back on the Watchtower, awed by Sand, Wildcat, Stargirl, Captain Atom, Shining Knight, and Vigilante--then Supes calls him in to talk. He inadvertently endorsed Luthor for President, and called on the carpet for it. Luthor is trying to fix his image, even building a new city for low income families. Clark and Bruce talk it over during a skirmish with unnamed baddies. Bruce actually likes Cap. Professor Emil Hamilton (Robert Foxworth) warns him they stole some Kryptonite. It's all a scam to make Superman look vindictive against Lex, and it ends up in a fight between the Man of Steel and the Big Red Cheese (yes, that was one of Captain Marvel's nicknames). They manage to wreck Lex's city, which was the point. Cap quits the League, and the League ends up looking like bullies. In the end, we see Luthor and Waller are now allies.     

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Season 4 Begins

More heroes are introduced as well as a new major storyline...

• Guess who stars in "The Cat and the Canary"?
  • The former is Wildcat (Dennis Farina), and the latter is Black Canary, who finally gets a voice via Morena Baccarin. He's a classic character from the days of the JSA, and she was trained by him. She also has a "sonic scream" in addition to fighting ability. Of course, Green Arrow (Kin Shriner) is along for the ride.
  • Wildcat's in a jam--he's involved in "meta-brawls"--think illegal MMA with super powers. It's run by Roulette (Virginia Madsen), who's got Wildcat wrapped around her finger. He's also concerned that he's been "put out to pasture" in the League, assigned to training others. Canary asks Arrow to help--without involving the rest of the League.
  • Wildcat fights Atomic Skull (a minor DC villain), but the other two try to shut down the event, along with some other minor league bad guys. Wildcat still won't leave, so Canary agrees to fight him to secure his freedom.
  • Arrow knocks her out with a gas arrow and steps in for her. He doesn't fare so well, but that's his plan. GA is left for dead, and that makes Wildcat reconsider his life. It was all a scam, of course. Canary takes out the arena with her scream, and ends up with Arrow (of course).
• The series gets involved with the New Gods in "The Ties That Bind"
  • Mister Miracle (Ioan Gruffudd) is "The World's Greatest Escape Artist", trained while escaping from Apokolips. His girl Big Barda (Farrah Forke) was a "Female Fury" working for Darkseid before she left, and Oberon (Dick Miller) is his assistant/agent.
  • Granny Goodness (Edward Asner?) kidnaps Oberon so Miracle will do a job for her. There's a power vacuum since Darkseid disappeared, so she wants him to get Darkseid's son Kalibak (Michael Dorn) for her. Yeah, I know it's complicated--blame Jack Kirby.
  • We get some backstory about Miracle's early life on Apokolips
  • We also meet Virmin Vunderbar (Arte Johnson). The whole New Gods concept can get very silly--he even says "very interesting--but futile".
  • Hey, Flash (Michael Rosenbaum) is back! He's commiserating with Elongated Man (Jeremy Piven) about the League treating them like kids (while they're playing Rock'em Sock'em Robots).
  • The League (aka J'onn) refuses to help, but Flash offers his assistance. We get a lot of Flash mispronouncing names throughout.
  • They go through various deathtraps while Miracle has flashbacks.
  • In the end, J'onn shows up (in guise as Kalibak) and Oberon is saved. He also makes sure the balance of power in Apokolips isn't changed.
• It's "The Doomsday Sanction" for both Superman and Batman
  • We get "a day in the life" of Amanda Waller (CCC Pounder). Batman interrupts her in the shower (?), saying it's time for a talk.
  • Cadmus has been created to stop the League "just in case". Superman had to tell them about the Justice Lords in order to get Luthor's pardon.
  • They argue about who the "good guys" actually are.
  • We then cut back and forth between JL and Cadmus meetings as they make plans. One of the Cadmus experiments involve Doomsday (Michael Jai White). He's based on Kryptonian DNA and bred with a hatred of Superman. But Waller is the one that caused all his pain. He escapes and ends up near the volcano the League is fighting.
  • This sets up a big fight between Supes and Doomsday inside the volcano.
  • The military activates "Operation Firewall"--a kryptonite-based nuclear missile. Batman is off to stop it, and Waller tells the army to stop it as well, but they can't. Batman stops it at the last minute, taking out another Javelin in the process.
  • Clark throws Doomsday into the volcano to trap him. In the end, he's thrown into the Phantom Zone. Bruce says this is what the Justice Lords would have done--ooh, burn!

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: More of Season 7

We finally got the chance to watch more TNG:

• Worf passes through different realities in "Parallels". It all starts with a surprise birthday party for Worf--which he hates, of course. Cousin Oliver/Alexander is conveniently away at the time (thank goodness). Worf decides to "formalize" the relationship with Troi (making her Alexander's godmother). Worf starts to have "episodes", and things start changing around him--Worf and Troi are now man and wife! Their scenes together are rather creepy. Wesley is back as tactical officer! They figure out that technobabble quantum thingies have changed Worf--he's shifting form one reality to another. During a batte, the barriers between the realities change--thousands of alternate Enterprises start popping up. Worf stops it by sealing a quantum fissure, but not before kissing this realities' Troi. We get a quick shot of another Enterprise where the Borg won--Riker with a long beard, screaming that he won't go back. Back in the normal reality, Worf decides to move forward with a relationship with Troi.
• Riker has to deal with his old captain in "The Pegasus". There's a cute scene at the start--The Enterprise is running "Captain Picard Day" for the kids, and the actual Picard doesn't like it. Meanwhile, Riker's old captain Pressman (now an admiral, played by Lost's Terry O'Quinn) is looking for their old experimental ship Pegasus--the Romulans found it. He and Riker reminisce, then talk about "the experiment". Pressman takes Riker (but not Picard) into his confidence--he plans to perform "the experiment" again. Picard confronts Riker about a possible conspiracy--lots o' drama. Pressman orders Picard into an asteroid to get to the Pegasus--they find it "phased" within the asteroid. Pressman and Riker beam over, then find a hatch--sorry, wrong show. Riker confronts Pressman--the ship has a working cloaking device that can also phase through matter. He realizes he can't allow it to survive, or the Romulan treaty will be broken. Unfortunately, the Enterprise needs it--the Romulans have sealed them in, so they have to phase out. There's a mutiny against Pressman, and they use the cloak to get out. Pressman is court-martialed.
• Worf's foster brother Nikolai Rozhenko (Paul Sorvino--again with Worf's relatives!) breaks the Prime Directive in "Homeward". He decided to save the inhabitants of a planet, but used Federation tech to do it. Picard, of course, refuses to help him, what with the Prime Directive and all. The planet's atmosphere dissipates naturally, and the crew has to wrestle with the ramifications of the PM decision. However, we learn that Nikolai set up a simulacrum of the planet on a holodeck and beamed up the inhabitants of a village. There's arguments for and against the PM. However, Picard has little choice but to follow Nikolai's plans to move them to another planet.  The holodeck starts breaking down (as it usually does), and one of the villagers discovers the ruse--he sees a holodeck door and walks onto the ship. We also learn that Nikolai is going to have a baby with one of the villagers (how many mistakes did he make, anyway?). The holodeck starts to fall apart, LaForge whips up a storm to force them into their real tents before beaming them to their new planet (these are the most gullible life forms in the galaxy), and Nikolai decides to stay with them. The one villager who got onto the Enterprise kills himself rather than destroy his culture. Throughout most of the episode, we see Michael Dorn without the prosthetics (he had to be altered to "fit in" with the villagers). Hope Crusher got the head bumps right when it was all over...
• "Unlucky in Love" Crusher strikes again in "Sub Rosa". She's at her grandmother's funeral, and sees the prerequisite "mysterious" man. We get the battle of the hair extensions between Crusher and Troi. Crusher gets a visit from a stereotypical Scotsman (they're on a colony based on the Scottish highlands), who warns her about an heirloom candle. Her "Nana's" journal talk about an affair with a 30 year old guy (she was 100 at the time). There's a "ghost lover" event while she's sleeping in her quarters. The ghost (Duncan Regehr) drops by Crusher again at Nana's home during a storm (the weather grid is broken). We get his exposition--he's been "with" her family for generations. The ships' controls go crazy--there's fog on the Bridge--and the stereotypical Scot is killed. Crusher resigns from the Fleet to be with the ghost. Picard rides in to "save" her, but gets zapped by the ghost. Data and LaForge exhume Nana's body (a lot easier with a transporter), and get zapped as well. Crusher finally gets wise and destroys the candle, then phasers the "ghost" (actually a technobabbly being) from existence. The whole episode is like Harlequin romance/fan fiction.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Justice League Unlimited: Even More Season 3

It's Undead and the Back to the Future in this JL entry--

• Solomon Grundy and Hawkgirl return in "Wake the Dead"
  • We start off with nerds playing with the dark arts, accidentally bringing Grundy back to (un)life
  • As we previously saw, Hawkgirl has been hanging out in Fate's tower--we get a great screen with her, Aquaman, and Amazo playing chess
  • Meanwhile, GL is at Vixen's (Gina Torres) fashion show when he gets the call. Vixen can call on the abilities of any animal. Seems like GL moved on quickly...
  • The League has little luck fighting Grundy--even Superman is taken out--but Hawkgirl wants to save him (they became friends in a previous episode)
  • Unfortunately, Grundy is hyper-charged with "chaos magic" and doesn't remember her. Fortunately, her Nth Metal mace does affect him.
  • Reluctantly, she destroys him (off camera, of course)
• It's more time travel in the two-parter "The Once and Future Thing"
  • In the future, henpecked husband David Clinton (Peter MacNicol) builds a time machine, using it to steal famous objects form the past
  • We cut to another Watchtower cafeteria scene, including a quick shot of Commander Steel. Bruce and GL compare their current romances before there's an alarm--Clinton is trying to steal a utility belt. He escapes back into time, with Bruce, Diana, and GL in tow.
  • They wind up in the Old West, giving the writers the opportunity to feature DC's western characters--Bat Lash (Ben Browder), Jonah Hex (Adam Baldwin), El Diablo (Nestor Carbonell) and Pow-Wow Smith (Jonathan Joss)
  • Classic Diana, while doing the old bullets and bracelets bit: "Those are the biggest, slowest bullets I've ever seen."
  • Our heroes have to go incognito--fortunately, they run into some bushwackers that wear clothes that just happen to fit (except for the shoes, which Diana complains about). No one seems to notice that GL still has glowing green eyes. 
  • They run into futuristic weapons--a local villain stole Clinton's tech and took over the town
  • We get a western version of the JL theme during a montage
  • Robo-dinosaurs, robo-gunmen, and a tank bedevil our heroes
  • Hex mentions more than once that he's acquainted with time travel (the character spent quite a while doing so in the comics)
  • Clinton double-crosses them, and goes "back to the future"--specifically, the Batman Beyond future, taking us to part two...
  • Lots of guest stars here: heroes Batman Terry McGuinness (Will Friedle), War Hawk (Peter Onorati), and Static (Phil LaMarr); villains Ghoul (Michael Rosenbaum), Dee Dee (Melissa Joan Hart), Woof (Dee Bradley Baker), and Chucko (Don Harvey)
  • Bruce meets future Bruce and the remainder of the League. War Hawk is GL and Shayera's son, making things uncomfortable.
  • Clinton's tech supercharging the future villains with more future tech. One of the villains messes up and finds out how the dinosaurs died--in person. 
  • All this time travel is screwing up the space-time continuum--Diana disappears, and John changes into Hal, then back again
  • Classic Bruce(s), when told he doesn't know his way around New Gotham--Young Bruce: "Are villains still superstitious and cowardly?" Old Bruce: "Yup" Young Bruce: "Good enough for me"
  • They find Clinton's wife, who takes them to him--still holed up in the saloon from the Old West
  • Clinton escapes and tries to go to the beginning of time (we even get the "Hand of Creation" shot from the comics) before all is reset--and we're back in the cafeteria (what the hell is Diana eating--jello and milk?). Chronos is stuck in a loop being hen-pecked.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: More of Season 3

As Season 3 rolls on, we get Booster, Super-Friends, and creepy robots.

• Booster Gold (Tom Everett Scott) stars in "The Greatest Story Never Told"
  • Booster is a glory hound from the future with some "borrowed" weaponry. He also has a robotic assistant called Skeets (played by BIlly West). He wants to be a hero, but his reputation precedes him. J'onn won't put him on any major duties.
  • Despite his flaws, I've always enjoyed Booster. When the chips are down, he is a hero.
  • Mordru is attacking Metropolis, so the heroes are called out. J'onn calls for Aztek (had his own title for a short time, was in the JLA comic, then sacrificed himself during a meaningless crossover event) before he reluctantly includes Booster.
  • Booster ends up doing crowd control for the "real" heroes. Elongated Man (Jeremy Piven) gets the same job (Batman says Plastic Man's already on the job, and "they don't need two stretchy guys").
  • Mordru's spells are taking a toll--at one point, we see a half-Superman / half-Batman with Wonder Women's voice (a nod to a wacky 60's villain, the Composite Superman--another one of my favorites).
  • A kid asks Booster for help--unfortunately, he only saves an ant farm from a fire.  The kid's response: "Thanks, Green Lantern!"
  • He runs into a lab and finds an actual crisis--an experiment out of control, creating an artificial black hole inside a scientist.
  • After several fights and events (including a childbirth), Booster manages to stop the black hole and save the lady scientist (Lori Laughlin). The League never learns about what really happened.
• The League has a rival hero team in "Ultimatum"
  • The Ultimen (Juice, Wind Dragon, Long Shadow, Downpour and Shifter) are pastiches of heroes created for the Super-Friends Saturday morning cartoon (Black Vulcan, Samurai, Apache Chief, and the Wonder Twins).
  • They help out the League against some monsters, then stand for photos and spout platitudes about the environment--even Superman calls them "corny". Their leader/press agent is Maxwell Lord (Tim Matheson). In the comics, he created Justice League International, then became a big time baddie.
  • The Ultimen even have their own action figures, seen in their quasi-Hall of Justice
  • It turns out the Ultimen were created in a lab run by Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder). The team decides to find out what's going on for themselves--and find other versions of themselves in vats. They are only a year old, with fake memories.
  • We get a fleeting shot of a WhirlyBat--a weird solo copter Batman used in the 50's
  • Apparently, Aquaman is in the League now--I thought he hated the idea
  • The Ultimen go nuts (they're dying, and want to be remembered) and attack the League before they finally surrender--to Cadmus. Waller infers she knows Batman's identity!
• The Atom (John C. McGinley) takes on alien nanotech in "Dark Heart"
  • Finally, an original enemy not directly related to a DC character! It's written by Warren Ellis, a longtime comic book writer with credits such as The Authority, Transmetropolitan, Planetary, and Red. He also did some JL writing.
  • An alien ship lands on Earth and starts eating all matter to make lots of creepy robots
  • The whole team is called out, but has little luck. I'm wondering why non-powered heroes like Huntress are involved--attacking an alien armada with a stick? 
  • Classic Batman, after he drops "thermionic gas" missiles on the ship: Diana: "Why would you have something like that on board?" Bruce: "I needed to freeze the Gotham River once--long story."
  • To slow down the robots, J'onn transforms the Watchtower into "big fusion gun" mode, burning a huge trench around it. But as Daffy Duck once said: "I can only do it once".
  • Classic Batman II, after the Batplane is taken out by robots: "I could use some air support--since I can't fly--at all. Now would be good."
  • Clark brings in The Atom, who's working on his own nanotech. McGinley's Dr. Cox character from Scrubs comes out from time to time. 
  • Diana manages to get him to the alien ship (in her bustier), and he gives the "heart" of the ship a heart attack
  • The army is none too pleased about the JL having a "weapon of mass destruction" orbiting the Earth.
  • While the whole team is there, only a few of them actually speak. I guess they had to save on voice actor costs in order to cover all the CGI in this episode.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Season 3 Continues

We get two lighthearted episodes, followed by a big battle and a reveal.

• Morgan Le Fey and Mordred are back for "Kid Stuff"
  • I love how Mordred's playing a GameBoy before he gets a shinier toy--a magical artifact that he uses to eliminate all adults on Earth
  • We get a cameo from Blockbuster (Dee Bradley Baker) and other villains fighting the heroes before they all disappear
  • The show's opening theme usually includes shots from the episode, but they had to be careful to avoid the big spoiler in this case...
  • The adults find themselves in limbo, and Morgan (who's stuck there as well) proposes a deal--she turns Supes, Bats, WW, and GL into kids (hence the spoiler) so they can return and defeat him
  • There's a convenient set piece - an amusement park with a Sherwood Forest theme which Mordred turns into a creepy hellscape
  • The regular kids seem awfully willing to follow Mordred, at least to start with...
  • Kid Bruce has a hard time being a brooding presence--of course, he didn't have the best childhood
  • Etrigan is also there--as a baby. Kid Diana (played by Dakota Fanning) yells at him and he cries. She's acting as surrogate mom.
  • She's also not so good as a kid hiding her feelings for Kid Bruce (Kyle Alcazar)--this has been a subtext on the show for awhile. When Kid Clark (Shane Haboucha) doesn't understand, Kid GL (Marc John Jeffries) says "Man, for somebody with like 50 kinds of vision, you are so blind!"
  • Kid GL does what any kid would do with a ring that could construct anything--he makes a huge robot with multiple weapons
  • Kid Bruce tricks Mordred into becoming an adult--which sends him to limbo and reverses the original spell. It also shuts down his eternal youth--leaving him an ancient man with Morgan caring for him.
• Diana feels a bit porcine in "This Little Piggy"
  • Classic lines--Diana: "No, no dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time." Bruce: "You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues".
  • They run into Circe (Rachel York), who, as you might have guessed from the title, turns Diana into a pig
  • He turns to Zatanna (Jennifer Hale) for help. She's a real magician who does showbiz work on the side--her gimmick is speaking her spells backwards. Zatanna, in turn, goes to an old conjurer (Jack Carter) for supplies. It doesn't work, so Bruce calls in Medusa (Laraine Newman), who owes him (?!?) and finds out Circe's whereabouts.
  • We get, of all things, a musical number from Circe! It's there, apparently, to show off the voice actor's singing skills.
  • Wonder Pig escapes her leash, so Bruce calls in a tracker--B'wana Beast (Peter Onorati). Crimson Avenger, Red Tornado, and Elongated Man join the search.
  • Our little piggy ends up at a pork processing plant. Uh, oh, she's gonna end up being Wonder Ham!
  • Just in time, Batman makes a deal with Circe to lift the spell--he sings a ballad!
• Amazo's (Robert Picardo) back, and he's gunning for Lex Luthor in "The Return"
  • As an appetizer, he takes out the GL Corps and their HQ, the planet OA!
  • The League is put in the uncomfortable position of protecting Lex
  • Supergirl and Steel take him into protective custody. Lex has a better idea--he has a "safe room" far underground. He's been ready for this. He ditches the other heroes, but The Atom (John C. McGinley) hitched a ride on Lex's suit.
  • The space-capable heroes get ready in orbit, along with hundreds of Javelins (who's paying for this? Not even Bruce could cover it). The team (Clark, GL, Orion, Captain Atom, Dr. Light, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Starman) throw everything they have at Amazo, but it barely slows him down. I guess a lot of Javelin teams died that day.
  • Meanwhile, Lex and Atom furiously work on a way to stop him
  • Team 2 (Supergirl, Rocket Red, Red Tornado, Fire) and Team 3 (Flash, WW, Ice, and Steel) do little better. It's interesting that we hear no quips from Flash--Michael Rosenbaum didn't participate most of this season, so Flash is silent.
  • The GL Corps show up to help--they managed to survive the initial attack
  • J'onn and Dr. Fate argue last case scenarios on the Watchtower
  • Amazo finds Lex, and asks his purpose. Lex talks Amazo into experiencing the end of the universe--and letting him go.
  • Amazo brings back OA--he just moved it--and Dr. Fate joins him on his search for knowledge
  • In a final reveal, we learn that Hawkgirl has been hiding in Fate's magical tower since season 2, trying to get her life back together

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Unlimited: Onto Season 3

After the events closing out Season 2 of the Justice League animated series (Watchtower destroyed, Hawkgirl quits), the show gets a major reset (note the new name of the show above). DC finally gives WB Animation access to all the crayons in the box--they can essentially use any DCU character. The cast explodes--you see obscure characters like Vibe and Crimson Avenger walking down a hallway of the expanded Watchtower. For a comics fan, this is like crack.

• Green Arrow (Kin Shriner) stars in "Initiation"
  • Bringing in GA first only makes sense, since he was the first addition to the original JLA team in the comics
  • We get an initial shot of at least some of the team--I had to hit the pause button to get the list: Shining Knight, Dr. Light, Nuklon, Hourman, Red Tornado, Obsidian, Starman, Vigilante, Mister Terrific, Gypsy, Johnny Thunder, Fire, Ice, Hawk, Dove, Elongated Man, Vixen, Huntress, Metamorpho, B'wana Best, Steel, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., Waverider, Booster Gold, Rocket Red, Aztek, The Question--plus a few I don't even recognize. Keep in mind--this is all before the new opening credits (think wailing guitar to the EXTREME!) 
  • Supes gives the initial pep talk (and exposition) to the team. Jonn's going to be the dispatcher, sending teams out as needed.
  • There's a lot more CGI on this series--necessary since the new Watchtower is IMMENSE
  • Captain Atom (George Eads) and Supergirl (Nicholle Tom) join up with GL (with GA tagging along) to check out a radiation problem in China
  • It turns out to be a nuclear-based monster--an experiment that went out of control. Captain Atom tries to drain it, but no dice (he's another experiment--a living nuclear pile held together in a containment suit).
  • None of the big guys have much luck--it takes GA shooting carbon rod arrows into in the monster to shut it down
  • At the end, GA joins the League--once he sees Black Canary for the first time
• "For the Man Who Has Everything" is a retelling of the most beloved DC stories of the 1980's from Alan Moore.
  • They stay very close to the original story--Batman and WW come to the Fortress of Solitude to give Superman birthday presents, only to find him catatonic with a strange plant connected to him
  • The plant is a "Black Mercy" which puts you in a dream state that you never want to leave. Kal's living his fondest desire--Krypton survived, and he has a normal life and family there. A wife (played by Dana Delany--Lois Lane on his series), a son, even Krypto the dog.
  • The plant is a "gift" from Mongul (Eric Roberts)--a big time baddie. Bats and WW try their best to fight him, but don't do well.
  • Meanwhile, Kal and son goes to see Grandpa Jor-El (Christopher McDonald). He starts to figure out that "it's not right". He remembers an entire history that never happened. Krypton explodes around him, and he's back.
  • However, the plant is now on Bruce--we're in Crime Alley, but Thomas Wayne stops Joe Chill--his parents are never killed
  • Superman takes on Mongul with lethal force while Diana pulls the plant off Bruce and onto Mongul--putting him in his own fantasy of ruling the universe
• Hawk and Dove, the "war and peace" superhero brothers, star in, well, "Hawk and Dove".
  • Fred Savage plays the warlike Hawk, while Jason Hervey plays the peacenik Dove.  They give Diana a hand fighting the god Ares (Michael York) and an enchanted war suit.
  • Diana's having a bad day--she's become more and more aggressive. Now she has to pick up the boys on the way to Kasnia/Kosovo. This will become a theme on the show--a "core" League member mentoring the younger members.
  • Diana checks in with Hephaestus (Ed Asner) while Dove tries to get the warring parties to talk
  • We get lots of great modern warfare footage
  • We finally learn the war suit is run by rage--so when they drop their weapons, the suit shuts down
• Supergirl has some bad dreams--or are they?--in "Fearful Symmetry". She asks Green Arrow and The Question (Jeffrey Combs) for help.
  • Kara and GA have a chat in the Watchtower commissary. We get a cameo by Wildcat in the background.
  • The Question, understandably, is a conspiracy nut. When he mentions what Kara had for dinner last night, she asks if he went through her trash. His response: "Please! I go through everyone's trash"
  • Their investigation leads them to Cadmus, a DC "mad scientist" lab, where she was recently patched up. They get attacked by black helicopters (of course), drones, and soldiers.
  • They also find Gen. Hardcastle, a recurring bad guy on the various animated series. He's retired, but knows too much, so another super girl (who looks a lot like Power Girl) takes him out.
  • She's Galatea--Supergirl's older clone. She pulls our heroes into a holographic training program, and the super-battle is on.
  • Fun fact--The Question loves teen pop music
  • There's a psychic link between Kara and Galatea--this is where the "dreams" came from. In the end, the mysterious overlords stop the fight and Galatea disappears.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: Rounding Out Season 2

The season wraps up with:

• ...another teamup. This time, it's the Superman Revenge Squad in "Hereafter". It's basically "The Death of Superman" storyline.
  • The team is Toyman (Corey Burton), Live Wire, Weather Wizard (Burton again), Kalibak (Michael Dorn), and Metallo (Burton yet again)
  • There's a big fight, and it appears that Superman sacrifices himself to save the rest of the League (Batman doesn't believe it)
  • The funeral is a huge event, of course. We get cameos from Alfred (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) and Lois Lane (Dana Delany), as well as Jimmy, Perry, Ma and Pa Kent, Barbara Gordon, every hero we've seen on the series, and Supergirl in disguise. We get the black armbands. Lex says he will miss the big guy. Bruce even says a few words. It's all very well done. 
  • Lobo (Brad Garrett) comes in to join the League, and is refused. Meanwhile, the villains try to take over--many of whom just say "arrgh" so they don't have to bring in the voice actors. Lobo gets to "help out".
  • Of course, Supes isn't dead--just sent to the far future where there's a red sun--so he's powerless. He takes a car (which was also transported), does some driving, and spends a long time there (he now has a beard). Actually, he does quite well.
  • Finally, he finds the crashed Watchtower and runs into Vandal Savage--he lived all this time. He was the one who ended civilization. The two of them finish a  time machine and Supes goes back to stop Savage.
  • There's a reference to "white dwarf matter" and Ray Palmer (The Silver Age Atom), whom Supes has to save.
  • The last shot is a future society fading into view in front of Savage.
• ...a Christmas break for the team in "Comfort and Joy".
  • It's what you would call a "very special episode"
  •  GL and Hawkgirl have a snowball fight on another world, then visit her favorite alien bar. Of course, she starts a fight there, just for fun.
  • Flash helps out some orphan kids find a special toy. Unfortunately, he runs into Ultra-Humanite (Ian Buchanan). The villain calls a truce for the holiday, and they go back to the orphanage with the toy.
  • Clark and J'onn hang out with the Kents (Mike Farrell and Shelley Fabares), who explain they had to wrap little Clark's presents in lead foil (they still do).
  • J'onn learns the true spirit of Christmas--Oreos! Oh yeah, and good will to men...
• ...a trip to Vegas in "Wild Cards". Joker's running a reality show with lives literally at stake.
  • Joker is the host of course, and Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) is the sideline reporter
  • The Royal Flush Gang, a classic DC villain team with a playing card theme, keep the League's hands busy. We even get an "up close and personal" origin story for them.
  • We see a number of "theme" hotels on the Vegas strip, all with bombs in them, which the team has to defuse. One of the hotels is the "Amos Fortune" resort (a reference to yet another JL villain).
  • Joker's has an ace in the hole - "Ace" (Hynden Walch) can broadcast insanity over the airwaves, and the big Vegas fight gave her a huge television audience. Even the League can't resist her. Of course, Joker is immune since he's already insane.
  • Batman saves the day, turning Ace against the villain--he ends up catatonic
  • We FINALLY come to some closure on the GL/Hawkgirl flirtation
• ...an epic alien battle in "Starcrossed". Thanagarians--Hawkgirl's race--show up to help when other generic aliens attack Earth.
  • The theme of the warlike Thanagarians has shown up in the DCU since the 1980's
  • We learn that Hawkgirl was a spy for them, and that she's betrothed  to their leader (Victor Rivers), who offers Earth their help
  • The other heroes try to help GL through all of this--Batman's not the best at a heart to heart
  • Batman also figures out the aliens who attacked first were actually DOA--it's a double cross! 
  • The Thanagarians quickly take over the planet
  • The League has to go incognito--as their secret identities. Flash argues against this, since they haven't exposed themselves to each other yet. Batman's response: "Wally West, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne".
  • There's a great scene when Bruce and Diana have to kiss in order to blend in. Diana: "Sorry" Bruce: "Don't be"
  • Hawkgirl finally switches sides, giving the team secret plans at the Batcave
  • After battles aplenty, Batman rams the the Watchtower into the bad guy's super-weapon on Earth and blows it up
  • In the end, Hawkgirl quits the League before they vote to kick her out--and leaves GL behind (sniff!)

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: Season Two Continues

Moving on...

• Wonder Woman stars in "Maid of Honor" (although Batman lends a hand)
  • The episode begins with WW at a Paris party (she's trying to get out more), and who shows up? Bruce Wayne, in town for some "business".
  • She runs into another princess--Audrey of real-sounding county Kasnia (Dorie Barton). She's a party girl, and shows Diana a few things (think clean thoughts). 
  • Audrey is sowing her last wild oats before she marries--Vandal Savage? In this continuity, the League doesn't know he's immortal, so he passes himself off as the Nazi war criminal's grandson. We do get his origin story, though (it involves a Cro-Magnon and a meteor).
  • There's a whole plotline about stolen weapons and a takeover of the International Space Station (Kasnia is funding part of it)
  • There's also a new villain General Vox (Larry Drake) who can throw out sound wave blasts
  • There's a wonderful scene with Bats and WW breaking through resistance to stop the wedding, while all we hear is the wedding ceremony going on
  • Yet again, we have heroes who can fly unassisted in space (GL, J'onn), and yet attack the space station (now with a rail gun) in the Javelin ship
• The GL Corps is back in "Hearts and Minds" fighting alien despot Despero (Keith David)--yet another classic JLA villain. He's got a third eye that controls minds.
  • John Stewart goes off to save his old mentor, Katma Tui (Kim Mai Guest). Since he and Hawkgirl are becoming something of an item (even Flash sees it), that's going to be a problem.
  • Huge alien GL Kilowog (Dennis Haysbert) and Flash make quite the comedy team
  • We get a precedent for the "Crayola Lanterns" in the current comic storylines--different colors based on different emotions. Here, a purple light means hate. 
  • GL ends up leading the resistance, with Katma Tui undercover in Despero's harem
  • There's a reference to "that Rayner kid" sent to be trained by Katma Tui. Kyle Rayner is yet another GL.
  • We end the episode with an inexplicable Earth Day message--the planet's life force was being controlled by the bad guy
• Superman crosses the line in "A Batter World", creating an alternate reality where the League takes over the planet
  • There's a very creepy opening where President Luthor is vaporized by Superman in the Oval Office (Luthor was briefly President in the comics around that time)
  • They become "The Justice Lords" and start wearing dark clothing--it's not clear why the rest of the team just goes along with it
  • Lois and Lord Superman have become a bickering couple
  • Lord Flash was killed in the alternate reality---so their team lost their conscience
  • Lord Batman manages to find the normal dimension, and proposes they go "help" our normal heroes by replacing them
  • We get an alternate version of the Superman/Doomsday battle (you know, where Superman died)--in this case, Kal lobotomizes the monster
  • Our Flash manages to outwit Lord Batman--who would've though it?
  • We see an Arkham with a lobotomized Rogue's Gallery--Joker, Two-Face, Poison Ivy--and a group of Superman robots that quote the namby-pamby Superman from Season One
  • The two Batmen fight--and Lord Batman seems to convince Batman by saying "no 8 year old should lose their parents", but it's just a ruse
  • We get a great matched hero/Lord battle--and our Flash turns the tide with Kal vs. Kal
  • In the end, our Superman crosses the line--by making a deal with Luthor to help out in exchange for a pardon. Think this will come back to bite him later?
  • Was the whole episode is a commentary on post-9/11 America, with the loss of civil liberties? Well, they were editing this episode just before the US invaded Iraq...
  • The storyline in the alternate reality will be referenced quite a bit over the next several episodes

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: Season Two Begins

Moving onto the second season...

• "Twilight" brings in the whole New Gods continuity to the series. Brainiac (Corey Burton) attacks Apokopils, and the League is forced to ally themselves with Darkseid (Michael Ironside).
  • I guess the producers decided to toughen up Superman--at first, he wants the League to write off Apokolips
  • Force fields, laser guns, sci-fi battles, a massive head-shaped asteroid--this episode has everything
  • Again--why does Superman need to fly in the Javelin ship?
  • Of course, Darkseid double-crosses the good guys (he allies with Brainiac) and the bad guys (he double-double-crosses Brainiac)
  • Classic line: Batman: "Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me--real hard!"
  • Classic line 2: Superman: "You know something, Bruce--you're not always right!"
  • We get some cameos from the Forever People and Mister Miracle
• Luthor (Clancy Brown) brings us the classic JLA villain Amazo (an android with all the powers of the League, played by Robert Ricardo) in "Tabula Rasa"
  • We get a great appearance from Lisa Edelstein as Luthor's chauffeur/assistant Mercy Graves
  • There's a great visual when J'onn does a psychic sweep of the city to find Luthor
  • Another great effect is how Amazo's form changes as he duplicates the League's powers
  • As usual, Batman is the most effective hero--it helps when you carry a piece of kryptonite with you (when Amazo duplicates powers, he also duplicates weaknesses)
  • There's a "very special" B-story with Martian Manhunter, who learns how great humanity is
• "Only a Dream" brings us yet another classic JLA villain--Doctor Destiny (William Atherton), who can control dreams.
  • BTW - Doctor Destiny predates Nightmare on Elm Street, with his first appearance in 1961
  • A minor convict is used in ESP experiments, and gets the powers during a jailbreak
  • The jailbreak also includes mainstays Solomon Grundy and Coperhead, along with villains Volcana (Peri Gilpin) and Luminus (Nicholas Guest) from the Superman animated series and Firefly (Mark Rolston) from the Batman animated series (he's a classic Batman villain as well)
  • Destiny takes over the League's dreams
    • Flash is stuck in a world where everyone is frozen
    • GL is stuck in a world where no one can understand him--language has become gibberish
    • Superman can't control his powers, torches Lois Lane, and crushes Jimmy Olsen (Dana Delany and David Kaufman, reprising their roles from the Superman animated series)
    • Hawkgirl gets her wings clipped and she falls into a casket (she's claustrophobic, we learn)
  • Martian Manhunter goes into their dreams to save them
  • Batman takes down Destiny by concentrating on a children's song

 JL biography: Flash

• aka Wally West, the Scarlet Speedster 
• 1st appearance in the comics: Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (1986
• Nephew of the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen)
• Got his powers from lightning striking a shelf of chemicals in front of him (just as it had his uncle)
• A later retcon (retoractive continuity) gave him the power from the mystic Speed Force
• Powers: Near infinite speed, wackiness
• Voice Actor: Michael Rosenbaum (who also played Luthor on Smallvilla)
• Main events in the comics while the series was on the air (2001-04)
  • Geoff Johns revitalizes the character and his "Rogue's Gallery"
  • Marries reporter Linda Park and has two kids
  • Member of JLA until it's dissolved due to the events in Identity Crisis

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: Finishing Out Season One

Let's discuss the final episodes of the first season...

• "A Knight of Shadows" introduces the "dark ages" DC characters, such as Jack Kirby's Etrigan (Michael T. Weiss) and Morgaine Le Fay (Olivia d'Abo)
  • DC always took the Arthurian legend mixed with ideas of their own--Le Fay living into the modern age, Merlin cursing Jason Blood with the rhyming demon Etrigan
  • In a recurring theme on the series, Martian Manhunter gets whammied  when he tries to read the bad guys' mind. I guess if they didn't do this, it would be easy for J'onn J'onzz to win every time.
  • There's a great scene at a masquerade party at a faux Playboy mansion (Dave Thomas does his Bob Hope impression as the quasi-Hefner). There's also a number of poor DC hero costumes in the crowd. 
• Next is "Metamorphosis", where we meet Metamorpho, the Element Man (Tom Sizemore). Basically, he's a guy who can change himself into any element.
  • He's got his own supporting cast--Simon Stagg, the wealthy and deceitful industrialist who creates the aforementioned hero (Earl Boen); Java, Stagg's huge bodyguard (Richard Moll); Sapphire, Stagg's daughter and our hero's love interest (Danica McKellar).
  • There's a great train crash scene with GL trying to stop it--very dynamic. GL and Metamorpho are old Marine buddies.
  • The local police have rocket launchers in the car? I guess you would need it in the DCU.
  • In a nod to another DC character, Stagg accidentally creates a synthetic green monster that looks a lot like Chemo
• "The Savage Time" takes us into alternate history--where the Nazis win WW2. Of course, immortal villain Vandal Savage (Phil Morris) is the cause.
  • The "Nazis win WW2" bit is old hat to DC - they even had a separate Earth for it at one time
  • I guess they weren't allowed to have swastikas in the episode--they used a lightning bolt instead
  • Classic dialogue: Hawkgirl: "Who's hand is that?" Flash: "Sorry"
  • In this alternate timeline, Batman runs the resistance
  • To fix things, they go back to WW2, where we get a lot of great battle footage, on land and in the air--and cool mega-weapons created by Savage
  • In a great shot, we get - Hitler On Ice!
  • DC war heroes Sgt. Rock (Fred Dwyer) and Blackhawk (Robert Picardo) have cameos
  • We also meet Steve Trevor (Patrick Duffy), whom Wonder Woman saves and then falls in love, of course. After all is set right and they return to the present, she visits an old age home to meet Trevor again.
  • Of course, "setting things right" is relative, since Vandal Savage still was Fuehrer in WW2--at least for a while. Wouldn't someone in Germany had studied the fantastical weapons and duplicated them?

 JL biography: Green Lantern

• aka John Stewart, the Emerald Warrior 
• 1st appearance in the comics: Green Lantern #87 (1971)
• Ex-marine, architect
• Guardians of the Universe choose him as Hal Jordan's backup GL
• Powers: Magic ring lets him create green physical constructs and force fields, communicate with others, get info from a galactic database
• Voice Actor: Phil LaMarr
• Main events in the comics while the series was on the air (2001-04)
  • Member of JLA until it's dissolved due to the events in Identity Crisis
  • Shares GL duties patrolling Earth's sector with Hal Jordan

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: More of Season One

Moving on...

• "The Brave and the Bold" teams up Flash and Green Lantern against Gorilla Grodd (played by Powers Boothe, a super-intelligent ape from a futuristic gorilla society--yeah, I know--it's comics)
  • We get a really great scene showcasing Flash's origin, his powers--and his wackiness. There's a huge number of Silver Age Flash comic book references included.
  • Flash is framed for a crime by Grodd, and GL tries to clear his name
  • The security chief of "Gorilla City" is Solovar (voiced by David Odgen Stiers), who helps out as well
  • Grodd takes over Central City (Flash's HQ) with his mind control, and threatens the Earth with nuclear weapons. In the end, Flash takes down Grodd, and the rest of the team takes out the weapons
  • Favorite line - "Flash--don't heckle the super-villain!"
• In "Fury", renegade Amazon Aresia (voiced by Julie Bowen) brings together a group of villains (Copperhead, Solomon Grundy, Shade, Star Sapphire, and Tsurkuri--created for the series) on a crime spree
  • There's a great scene with Diana in a mall, trying to figure out "man's world", then helping a woman out of a traffic problem
  • The crime spree is a ruse--she's getting components to build a "bio-weapon" to kill all men--the male League members are affected, so the gals take over
  • There's a Kosovo-type origin for the Amazon villain, which is why she's a manhater
  • Hawkgirl does some reconnaissance on Paradise Island, gets captured for her trouble, then teams up with them
  • Of course, the episode climaxes with a fight between Diana and Aresia
• In my favorite storyline from the first series, "Legends" sends four Leaguers into an alternate dimension--essentially Earth 2 from the comic books, where the Golden Age heroes form the 1940's live.
  • It's very bucolic--too bucolic...
  • There are too many Golden Age comic references to cover, but here goes...
    • We meet Tom Turbine, Green Guardsman, Streak, Catman, and Black Siren--The Justice Guild. They are from comic books John Stewart read as a kid.
    •  We also meet the bad guys--Music Master, Sportsman, Sir Swami, and Dr. Blizzard--The Injustice Guild
    • The reference to different Earths "vibrating at different speeds"
    • Sgt. O'Shaunessey is the local cop
    • They have a kid sidekick/mascot (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris)
    • The Leaguers are given Justice Guild decoder rings
    • The heroes break up into teams from both groups--just like the JLA/JSA team-ups
    • A villain disappears via a phone booth
    • "Holy Hijacking, Catman!" "I've got you, old chum"
    • Green Guardsman's ring has no power over aluminum
    • A bus full of nuns vs. a truck filled with TNT
    • A hot phone under glass
    • Puns, puns, puns
  • It turns out that the sidekick is a mutant who can control reality--the world was actually destroyed in a war. Rather like the Billy Mumy Twilight Zone episode where he wished people into the cornfield.
  • The Justice Guild gives their lives (again) to stop him. After a wacky episode, the end is rather poignant.
  • The episode was dedicated to Gardner Fox, the creator of the JSA and later the JLA

JL biography: Wonder Woman

• aka Diana Prince, Princess Diana, the Amazon Princess, 
• 1st appearance in the comics: All Star Comics #8, 1941
• Amazon queen makes figure out of clay, infused with powers of the Gods, puts on swimsuit to fight crime
• Powers: Powers of the Greek Gods, magic lasso, sex appeal
• Voice Actor: Susan Eisenberg
• Main events in the comics while the series was on the air (2001-04)
  • Diana visits Batman's city in "Gods of Gotham"
  • She goes for short hair in 2003--it doesn't last

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: Season One Continues

For some reason, the Justice League DVD box set does not go precisely in series order--we'll go with the DVD order.

• It didn't take long to get to the Legion of Doom--"Injustice for All" brings us Lex Luthor and a whole group of bad guys
  • Lex is dying from cancer (he's been hanging on to kryptonite too long)
  • So he brings together Ultra-Humanite, Cheetah, Copperhead, Solomon Grundy, Shade, and Star Sapphire to destroy the League--Joker even joins in, who manages to take down Batman. I love Mark Hamill's Joker.
  • Even while tied up, Batman manages to get the bad guys to fight among each other, he seduces Cheetah, and pays off Ultra-Humanite to double-cross them
  • There's a Wonder Twins reference during a big fight
  • In the end, Luthor gets his battle suit which saves his life
• "Paradise Lost" showcases Wonder Woman, as she returns to Paradise Island.
  • Classic JL foe Felix Faust (voiced by Robert Englund) attacks, turning her Amazon sisters into stone. Per his modus operandi, he forces her to find magic trinkets.   
  • The intro includes a reference to "Hurricane Gardner" - ha!
  • The League forms small teams to collect the trinkets
  • Batman figures out the deal about Faust. There's a great shot where Flash plays with a trinket that explodes, Batman warns him to put it down, and the others quickly put back other items
  • We get a hieroglyphic-based history of the Amazons
  • Faust is double-crossed by Lord Hades (John Rhys-Davies), who does the same to him
  • In the end, WW is kicked out since she brought men to the island
• Superman and Martian Manhunter are taken prisoner on "War World"
  • Mongul, a 90's DC villain (played by Eric Roberts) is in charge, and runs gladiatorial games with the prisoners that are rather like a reality show--it's all scripted. It's the whole "bread and circuses" thing.
  • There's a B-story about GL and Hawkgirl searching for them, with a "good cop-bad cop" bit. There's also foreshadowing to their future relationship
  • Our heroes powers are being affected by the atmosphere there--this was an issue for Superman in the comics at the time, and considering how wimpy he is in this series, it's particularly bad
  • This is a "big message" episode about honor and heroism

JL biography: Batman

• aka Bruce Wayne, the Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight
• 1st appearance in the comics: Detective Comics #27, 1939
• Parents murdered, vows to avenge their deaths, buys lots of gadgets, builds a cool cave
• Powers: Money, paranoia, grimness
• Voice Actor: Kevin Conroy, who played the character from 1995 to today
• Main events in the comics while the series was on the air (2001-04)
  • Dark Knight Strikes Again, by Frank Miller
  • Jeff Loeb introduces Hush as a new Batman villain
  • The Gotham Central title is introduced, where Bats is just a die character--the GCPD are the stars

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Justice League Animated: The Series Begins

We're covering the first episodes of the Justice League animated series...

• We start with "Secret Origins". This is a pastiche of two DC stories (White Martians and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace) with a dash of War of the Worlds, intended to introduce the team.
  • Love the "Snapper Carr" reference - he was the "mascot" of the original Silver Age JLA. Jason Marsden voiced the character.
  • It's established that the Martian menace is bigger than the World's Finest team can handle
  • Like most JL stories, the group splits up into teams to take out the bad guys. This never works--the teams get their butts kicked.
  • However, once the team is reunited, they take out the alien menace
  • We are also introduced to the JL Watchtower--the orbiting satellite HQ. It had already been used in the comics (JLA #4, 1997) as a base on the dark side of the moon, and a satellite predecessor goes back to the Silver Age (Justice League of America #78, 1970).
• "In Blackest Night" continues the cosmic theme you'll see a lot in the series. Green Lantern is captured by the Manhunters (big robots that predated the GL Corps--think space cops--in the comics) for the crime of destruction of a world.
  • This is a take on a large John Stewart story where he actually caused the destruction a world (Cosmic Odyssey).
  • Of course, it's a scam from classic JL villain Kanjar Ro (voiced by Rene Auberjonois).
  • We get a view of various GL Corps members--this may the first time we see them in animation
  • We also get the first appearance of the Javelin--their plane/spaceship, necessary since at least some of the members couldn't fly
  • The Guardians also appear--they're the GL Corps' bosses and immortal blue midgets
  • The Manhunters rebel as expected, but the League stops them in the end
• "The Enemy Below" introduces Aquaman (voiced by Scott Rummel) to the continuity. As in the comics at the time, he's essentially an eco-terrorist fighting the rest of the world. 
  • Superman seems to spend a lot of time on the series hanging out in the Javelin--why is he inside? It's like when he had the Supermobile.
  • Meanwhile, we see Batman--the only one without powers--showing up the rest of the team. Keep in mind Batman was the most popular character at the time (and arguably still is).
  • We also get an appearance by Deadshot, DC's sniper vigilante, voiced by Michael Rosenbaum (who also played the Flash). He takes the League on a merry chase. 
  • Aquaman is Mr. Hubris--he's duped by his brother Orm (this happens on a regular basis). We even get Aquaman chopping his hand off to save his son (I'm surprised he has any limbs left in the comics).

JL biography: Superman

• aka Kal-El, Clark Kent, Man of Steel, Man of Tomorrow, the Action Ace 
• 1st appearance in the comics: Action Comics #1, 1938
• Considered to be the start of the Golden Age
• A copy was sold in 2001 for $2.16M
• Last survivor of the planet Krypton (at least until Supergirl, Krypto, et al)
• Powers: Just about any with "Super" in front of it
• Voice Actor: George Newbern
• Main events in the comics while the series was on the air (2001-04)
  • Lex Luthor becomes President of the US (it doesn't last)
  • Superman: Return to Krypton storyline by Geoff Johns
  • Superman: Red Son graphic novel by Mark Millar - Baby Kal-el's rocket lands in Mother Russia 
  • Mark Waid's Birthright resets the Superman origin again
  • Superman / Batman series begins
  • Superman: True Brit one-shot by John Cleese

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.