Justice League Animated: More of Season One / by Mark

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 (CopperheadSolomon GrundyShadeStar 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.