I agree that Wonder Woman would have been a better choice.

Just because Lex invites Superman doesn't mean that he has to show up. It doesn't mean that anybody from the JL has to show up. Lex is a political candidate and the JL doesn't get involved in politics, as Supes reminded us. I find it hard to believe that someone as cautious as Batman would encourage Supes to attend, particularly since he knew about both the Kryptonite and Superman's hair trigger temper regarding Lex. Even if he did agree to Supes attending, I find it hard to believe that Bats wouldn't insist on someone accompanying him. Also, Bats would probably be spying on Supes and have a dozen backup plans ready to go.

In other words, I think it was a big mistake to put Batman in this episode. It makes it a lot harder to believe the boneheaded mistakes.



But what did Superman think Lex was going to do? Blow himself up? Lex may be evil, but he isn't batshit crazy.

The plausability of the CM, Superman fight was such a stretch, but it was worth it just to see them smash the shit out of each other and the surroundings. JL is the first cartoon Ive seen that actually takes (what I imagine to be) the physics of these kinds of powers into account. It's so cool and hyper detailed. I knew it was a trick from the get go cause, you know, Lex. But it was still a fun episode, if a little silly.

Tonight at 10:30, check.

Does this mean we're going to see Cap Jr., Mary Marvel, and Granpa Marvel too? I had completely forgotten about Tawky Tawney and the evil, superintelligent worm. Were they doing drugs in the 40s?

Probably the same drugs they were doing when DC revived Captain Marvel and had him capture Mr. Mind by transforming the St. Louis arch into a really big tuning fork, or when Mr. Mind made a cameo appearance in a bottle of Dr. Sivana's tequila. Dang, now I wanna see Mr. Mind make a guest appearance on JLU, although he'd probably be a better fit on Teen Titans.

Well we got the Cabel in this episode I be even happy if we got Captain Nazi and had Captain Marvel Jr kicking the shit out of him. Mr. Mind would be perfect since I'm still waiting for Captain Cold to show up and fight the Flash.

I thought it was uncharacteristic for Batman not to be pissed at Superman after last night episode. A new thought just came to me after I read your post Arkham. Here's my fanwank. I think that Batman knew from the begining (maybe even for a while before this) that something is up and there might be a conspiracy against the league but don't know what the plan entail or who's behind it. When he found the Lex lock-breaking device, he probally guessed that somebody is trying to incites Superman. He let Superman loose despite the Kryptonite because if it's use to hurt Superman, then it's probally just typical bad guys stuff. If it's used as lure then it's confirm his suspicion and when Superman bite, he'll follow the line to see who's pulling the string. As Superman was making an ass of himself, Batman is monitoring communication, movement of resource, etc, and watch as the enemy's plan move one step ahead. I think at the end, Batman is smiling inside. He remembered the Superman from the Justice Lord too well and think that Superman is getting closer to the JLord Superman everyday and this would be a good lesson in humility and judging people. He also figures out who's the bad guys are and their plan so he killed two birds with one stone.

Boy, Superman really has become a dick.

Luthor played them like violins. Batman and The Question are the only Leaguers who are sneaky enough to figure out conspiracies. The rest have no clue.

If the League has only been around about three or four years, how could Marvel have looked up to them 'his whole life'?

I did like that the core seven are the ones around the table at the end, when Marvel resigns.

While the League has only been around a couple years the individuals have been around for a few decades. Plus Marvel is just a kid.

Panic in the Sky
Flash's remark to the Where's Batman question. "The Batmobile lost a wheel and Joker got away." Heh.

I can't stop watching the episode. I've watched it three times so far and I'm still just blown away.

Can someone explain to me this whole Cadmus thing? I've only watched on and off, but from what I can gather, it's some type of shadow-y organization put together to take down the JLU, but is there anything beyond that?

In the comics, Cadmus was a Jack Kirby creation - a genetics laboratory under the streets of Metropolis, run by the former "Newsboy Legion" - the tough-talking orphans who were The Guardian's sidekicks during the WWII era.

After Kirby, DC renamed the project to "Cadmus" and made it progessively darker. The comic book Cadmus was responsible for the creation of the current Superboy, who is an imperfect clone of Superman.

In the JLUniverse, Cadmus appears to be the scientific arm of the anti-hero conspiracy. It has a wide range of mad and super-scientists from the comics working on various anti-hero technology.

Rediculous! Flash's number 1 enemy is an unfrozen caveman!

Thanks. The one thing that bothered me about this past week's ep is, if it wasn't a bomb, then why the timer counting down? Obviously it was to fool Supes, but then once it was revealed it wasn't a bomb, did Lex give a believable reason why it was there?

It wasn't a bomb. It was an energy generator to power Lex's city. It had the timer on it to activate. It was powered by Kryptonite isotopes, hence the lead shielding around it.

Of course, Lex set it all up to make Superman think it was a bomb.

Admittedly, I haven't watched the show for a long time and it's been FOREVER since I've read the comics, but I did catch the end of the show last night and I recognized Amanda Whatsherface from Suicide Squad...last I remember from her (comics) was that she was some sort of baddie all along after masquerading as a good (though non-powered) person.

Anyone care to give her story / context in regards to the comics / show?

You know I thought this same thing on watching my second viewing of this ep.

Why would Lex, who has apparently been spending a great deal of time and effort trying to convince people that he's changed, lure homless orphans to a playground just to blow it up?? What would he possibly have to gain??

And I was thinking just on the logistics of being a Superhero, particularly one with a weakness as commonly known as kryptonite. Wouldn't it be a good idea not to go to things like that where everyone would know where and when you were going to be? WHat I mean is, forget supervillians, I'm sure there are enough just regular crazy people who would shoot Batman with a high-powered rifle from a second-story window if they knew where he was going to be at a particular time.



I think JLU is a sequel of sorts to both the Batman and Superman animated series. The heroes individually were around a lot longer, I think, before they ever formed a team.

....While we're talking about our favorite heroes, my total all-time favorite is Blue Devil (akak Dan Cassidy). Someone told me that he was in a big group shot in one episode but I never caught it. Does anyone know of him??

If he was I've missed it, but from time to time he's been shown in the opening credits rushing at the camera looking mighty p.o.-ed. So, he'll have a moment of some kind some day.

Well if it was an actual bomb, Luthor could just blame it on "terrorists" trying to destroy his city. Or pin the blame on Superman and the Justice League trying to make him look bad. Superman knows Luthor is certainly not above killing innocent people just to further his own plans.

And Luthor knows Superman knows that. So Superman played right into his hand.

And Luther wasn't planning on sticking around "after the bomb" anyway, in the conversation (with Mercy?) that Supes overheard, Lex mentioned having the escape route ready. Which isn't something you say if you're going to leave under casual circumstances, I imagine.

I'll do the comics, but I may be out of date.

Amanda Waller, nicknamed "The Wall" is a widowed mother with a will of iron. She worked her way through college, became a congressional aide by almost singlehandedly getting a guy elected, then decided to spearhead a government super agency.

The first was The Suicide Squad, a government task force made up of troubled heros and various villians attempting to earn parole. The second, was "The Agency," which later became Checkmate. Waller went to jail, got out (via a Suicide Squad parole), and eventually became a member of President Luthor's cabinet.

I don't think Waller was ever evil - she was always basically good, but ruthless.

Lex only needed to say that to set Superman off. He never needed a real bomb to ensure Superman would overreact.

So - to make text from the subtext - you're saying Superman was Lex's real bomb, and all Lex had to do was light his fuse, push his buttons, tick him off? (Naturally I agree.)

You could absolutely look at it that way, but that wasn't quite the way Luthor had it planed though.

He just suckered Superman into thinking there was a bomb, he knew Superman would over react and tear apart the reactor, (and probably get kryptonite poisoning) and Luthor would stand in front of the TV cameras and say: "See? See? You saw how crazy Superman was acting? Him and the Justice League continue to persecute me for no reason!"

Luthor would come out looking like a good guy being bullied by a bunch of super-powered thugs and thus discredit the League in front of the news media.

But Luthor didn't count on Captain Marvel showing up and starting a fight. Their fight causing so much destruction caught on film did more damage to the League's reputation than Luthor could have ever hoped for. That's why Luthor downplayed it and didn't show any righteous anger because he knew that Superman and Marvel did plenty of damage to the League themselves and it wasn't necessary for him to add anything.

Luthor played it beautifully. But then he is an evil genius you know. lol

I don't think that Luthor would have been angry even if Superman had just destroyed that power reactor. He probably would have played it the same way, showing regret and sadness to the camera. A fiery temper doesn't seem to be part of the image that Luthor is trying to portray. Come to think of it, most presidential candidates (in th real world) almost never blow their stacks. See Howard Dean for an example of how excessive emotion can destroy a campaign.

I'm with cambridgeguy here. Losing his cool would have made Luthor look worse to the public. He was gracious and even tried to accept the blame himself, knowing full well that the public already blamed Superman.

And by the way, I liked Capt Marvel's Aw, Shucks attitude. I liked him high-fiving everyone in the hallways and calling Superman "sir". Not only did it make sense for him as a character, but it was nice to see. And Batman's "We like him. He's...sunny." I laughed out loud. And I didn't even have a problem with his speech at the end. His saying "I fought a lot of bad guys, but I never stooped to their level. I always found another way." It just makes sense, given his alter ego, that he would be this way, and it's a refreshing change from the edgy, cynical characters we're used to. I hope he comes back.

By the way, to the poster who said that he tried to use the wisdom of Solomon to cheat on a test? The dictionary defines wisdom as "The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight." It's not the same thing as intelligence, or knowledge. A wise man would not cheat on a test because that's just what wisdom is, the sense that tells you not to.

Take it up with DC, the Wisdom of Solomon also gives Billy access to great knowledge. Hard to be wise when you don't know what you're talking about ...

They also call Superman the "Man of Steel" even though Superman himself is almost infinitely more durable than steel. They call him "invincible" and "invulnerable" even though it has been shown time and time again that someone strong enough can hurt him with a simple punch.

I finally watched this episode last night. And I couldn't stop talking to the TV. "Dude, why are you being such a dick?!" "God, stop being such a dick." "Why did he do it? Because he's a DICK!" Ugh, Superman. You're such a dick. (Yes, I know it's been said many times over, but in my opinion, it can't be said enough.)

shdwrlm

Anyway, can't wait to see how it all plays out, as long as they don't bring Static in to defeat Brainiac


That was a two parter on "his" show this week.




No, even alien males get SRS. Sperm Retention Syndrome.

Divided We Fall

That was good. Didn't like it as much as I liked Panic in the Sky, but it was still really good. Heh. Liked that Waller had called in an airstrike. Standard OTT respose from her. The whole Flash-Luthor bit was *great*. Good to see him used so well after being virtually forgotten the last couple of seasons. So he's finally accessed the Speed Force. And the whole talk of embassies... isn't that what lead to the short lived JL International concept in the comics? The costumes of the Brainiac Injustice League- Where were they from? Shayera was in her Thanagarian uniform, but the others? Justice Lords?

Best line: Shayera: Less talking. More hitting!

Apparently there's still one more episode. If this was the season finale, is that intended to be a series finale? Is it really over for the Justice League cartoons then?

Divided we fall:

I think those were supposed to be the Justice Lords outfits. Good episode, loads of continuity, though I thought the ending was too sunny, too pat. Just one scene with Waller rebuilding Cadmus, a shot of Luthor glaring from a prison cell, anything. Hopefully, Epilogue will make up for that.

On a side note, it looks like we may be getting a fifth season...

From Comicscontinuum.com, June 6:

They reaired Starcrossed this morning on YTV, along with the one where WW gets turned into a pig and the one where they all become kids.

The WW one was great but the kids one gets more annoying each time I see it.

That's definitely true: I think the staff is working on it now. That being said, they didn't know that when they were wrapping up the fourth (or second, depending on your POV) season, so the last few episodes are designed to feel like a series finale. I expect them to pull out all the stops without actually killing anyone.

Jusr finished tonight's ep, and all I can say is "Must...love...Vixen!" Not only is she gorgeous, but the elephant trick was the alst thing I would have expected with her animal powers. I was thinking bear or lion or something more predatory, but increased weight/density? Cruel and crafty.

I hope Vigilante's accent is part of his superheroic persona and not the way everyone from his hometown sounds, because he's only a little less ridiculous and Deliverance-sounding than Dr. Phil.

But I like that they had him as the pilot.

How did we not see the imprisonment of a League member during the Thanagarian invasion? I mean, I liked the WW/Batman kissyface scene as much as anybody, but c'mon.

I am growing progressively less fond of John Stewart.

Kinda felt like the Diana/Hawkgirl plot, except with Vixen in Wondy's place. And I was spoiled by the CN one-hour summer preview show, which showed part of the climax of tonight's ep.

Seriously...why is Vigiliante in the JLU? All he does is shoot stuff. Was there a hick-sounding quota that had to be filled?

I'm lovin' Vixen too, and I'm glad she and Shayera aren't at each other's throats over John. That would be too cliché. I think it was pretty funny that Vixen pretty much told her "When I'm done with him, you can have him back."

There were several great one-liners again. My favorite, after Vigilante asked Vixen to do some jungle-animal tactics: "What do I know about the jungle? I live in a loft in Chelsea."

Poor Gregor: "Gregor brain hurt! Must have Shayera blood! BLOOD SHAYERA!"

It was alright.
Like Daisy above, I too am liking John Stewart less and less.



Lots of Vigilante entries in Who's Who. http://www.dcuguide.com/whoswho/V.php

(edited because I shouldn't repeat myself.)

My current theory is that the league is recruiting everyone who calls themselves a super-hero/vigilante, without checking for credentials, to give them all some sort of legitimacy. Unfortunately, it ends up making them look kind of daft.

Still, it'd be cool to know why he's a vigilante instead of the more logical route of going legit. As it stands right now, it's a little suspicious.

Uggh, don't remind me. As I've expressed in another thread, Static is great in his own right, but I just can't stomach the thought of him actually being more capable than the Justice League. Honestly, when the giant Brainiac Head showed up during "Divided We Fall," I was afraid Static really would come in and save the day.

Speaking of "Divided We Fall," I loved every minute of it. Some of the animation in the episodes leading up to the finale was really quite shoddy, but this one had some absolutely gorgeous scenes. Decent dialogue, great interaction between the original members (though J'onn got the shaft quite a bit), and FLASH! Not seeing Flash for a whole season was entirely worth it to see the "Speed Force" in action. Bringing him back so soon was a bit cheesy, but really, I love me some Flash so I wouldn't have wanted him to stay dead for long anyway.



Whoa, I've gotta disagree! My favorite line was still from Shayera, but it was: "I think you enjoyed that a little too much."

But Vigilante wasn't a League member during the invasion; the League was expanded as a result of the invasion and that's when he joined.

Well that has to be one of the least subtle things I've ever seen. Yawn. I don't see why Vigilante was selected for this mission. How was a cowboy real help in a space rescue mission?

My interpretation of the final Vixen-Shayera comments wasn't that she could have him back when Vixen was done, but more 'may the best woman win'.

Divided We Fall

Meh. That was pretty good, but John's facial expression after the decapitation-by-mace... gold.

I agree it made little sense to have both Vixen and Vigilante on that space mission, but damn it was fun to have Gina Torres and Nathan Fillion doing the space adventure thing again. A number of Vigilante's lines sounded as if they could have come from Mal Reynolds.

That was my interpretation of it as well. Of course, John (and Batman) already know the end result since they both met Warhawk. I'm a little surprised that the two haven't discussed it at some point, but it looks like John is getting the shaft this season with regards to screen time and development.

Oh, and did you guys see the previews for next week? Looks like everyone's favorite nut is in for a very bad time.

Dangumhorsestealingaliencontrolpanelthatain'tNOBODYcanfigureout!

It seemed like Vixen and Vigilante were sent because it was expected to be a milkrun, and both of them were light on space-based missions and flying the javelin, so it was good practical experience.

Plus it's becoming clear that the producers were BIG Firefly fans, and picked Vigilante to have Fillion play him, and thus have him together with Torres.

I missed the ep where Bats and GL when to the future. What happend? I know the clock king was involved right?

They saw a future incarnation of the justice league. We saw old Bruce, new Batman, Warhawk, and Static.

What was said about the future? Did they reference a war or anyone getting killed.

They mentioned they had a really bad day where they lost a lot of people and the Watchtower.

I hate to say it, but that episode felt really weak to me. I unfortunately have to place a lot of blame on Gina Torres - I don't find her voice very expressive compared to Maria Canals. I like her work elsewhere, but the variability of her voice is not her strong suit - it seems to go from "soft sex kitten" to "moderate sex kitten".

I was also not very fond of Nathan Fillion stuffing his voice to the back of his throat - dude, you're playing a guy who's 6' and over two hundred thirty pounds. He's a friggin' linebacker - give some bass and lungpower to the man! (sigh) Nathan's got a gorgeous voice - too bad someone told him to not show it.

I think the scene with Vixen and Shayera seemed misplaced at the end of this episode. Shayera had just found out that Thanagar lost the war because of her actions, and I think that news would be foremost in her mind, and her coming to terms with it would be the most important issue at this point in her character arc, whereas the ending makes it seem like the episode was really all about the love triangle.

Also, I assume from J'onn's comments that all of the core members are supposed to be leading missions (except maybe for J'onn himself, since he rarely leaves the Watchtower). So now I feel ripped off because they haven't shown any Justice League missions led by the Flash. The Apokolips episode doesn't count because it wasn't an official mission and the Flash wasn't exactly in charge.