Plot summary: The Justice League go on the run amidst Thanagarian occupation, as Hawkgirl learns the truth about her people’s intentions.
For background on the creation of Justice League and info about how I’ll be covering it, check out the Series Primer.
Notes and Trivia
Episode: 51 (S2.E25)
Original Air Date: May 29th, 2004
Directed: Dan Riba (25) (P3: Lukic (27))
Written: Rich Fogel (9) (story) and John Ridley (1) (teleplay)
Animation: Koko Enterprise Co., LTD (39) & Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. (3)
Music: Michael McCuistion (22)
These episodes are almost certainly based on ‘The Tower of Babel’, given the general influence of the JLA comics on the show. In the original story it’s Batman’s countermeasures that are used against his teammates.
Kragger claims Batman is “broken.” Kragger’s voice actor, Hector Elizondo, voiced Bane, the originator of the iconic line ‘Break the Bat’.
While I’ve openly been referring to him as Wally West, this is the first time this Flash’s identity is confirmed. Surprise!
Batman officially reveals his secret identity to his teammates, though Superman of course found out quickly in STAS and Wonder Woman figured it out in ‘Maid of Honor‘. Shayera appears to have learned for herself as well as part of her spycraft, as she knows the location of the Batcave.
The Thanagarians’ plan is identical to that of the Vogons from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Recap
Hro Talak claims Earth as a temporary forwarding base of Thanagar, instituting martial law. He offers their world leaders two choices: cooperate or die.
The League are placed in personalised holding cells, with Hawkgirl having shared their weaknesses. She insists they are cared for to keep the natives happy.
Naturally captivity doesn’t take, with Diana duping a guard and then freeing Batman, who liberates everybody else so they fight their way off the prison transport.
Realising they stand no chance in costume, the group don civilian garb, with Batman, Superman and Flash revealing their identities at last, agreeing to rendezvous at Wayne Manor.
Shayera learns that Hro’s true plan is to create a series of ‘galactic bypasses’ to get behind Gordanian defences. Meaning curtains for Earth, deeply upsetting Hawkgirl.
So much so, she approaches The League in the Batcave to share the truth with them and even returning John’s ring. Unfortunately the Thanagarians planted a tracker on her…
To Be Concluded…
Best Performance
I thought Victor Rivers was bad in ‘Part I’, but then he pronounced ‘evac’ wrong and I died a little inside. He wasn’t even famous in 2004! Andrea Romano could totally have bossed him around more. ‘Act Better!’ or something to that effect. There is something to his voice at times, but his performance is terrible, especially in the heated exchange with Shayera.
On the other end of the scale it was genuinely lovely to hear Efrem Zimbalist Jr. one last time. Alfred is generally the most charming character in any given DC project, and while I’ll always have a soft spot for Michael Gough in the role, Zimbalist really has become my Alfred. Him getting to gently jab at Bruce in front of his friends was a treat, and I’m really glad they brought him back for it.
Everybody else is solid. Kevin Conroy, Susan Eisenberg, George Newbern, Michael Rosenbaum and Hector Elizondo in particular. But I can’t help but go with my sentimental pick.
Episode Ranking
John Ridley, where have you been hiding? Writing 12 Years a Slave and Three Kings, apparently.
Wonder Woman getting hold of a knife in her mouth while tied up and then using it as a throwing weapon to hit a release button with pinpoint accuracy instead of dropping it to her hands so she can cut her way free rules. It feels like Batman’s influence. Oh and look who she frees first! Cute. It’s a solid prison break scene overall, with a genuine sense of gradual success as Diana partially frees Bruce, who in turn breaks out Wally, who fully unshackles Bruce, and then they grab Clark and J’onn respectively. All the while, the Thanagarian guards prove a legitimate challenge, knocking each of them down and impeding their progression. A more boring version of this scene would have been smoother, without things like Batman getting nailed while trying to carry Superman, sending both crumpling to the floor before fighting their way back up. Or Bruce and John getting straight out of their cuffs rather than having to improvise a little. It’s also a stark improvement on ‘Secret Society‘, with them working extremely effectively in little teams, especially Wally and John. And then the whole thing is capped off by an errant shot from a laser rifle blowing a hole in the hull, providing them an escape route. All of this happens very quickly and it’s just very satisfying.
Even the scene that follows – The League sneaking through the occupied streets to try and find somewhere to regroup – has a welcome level of attention to detail. John is still cuffed because their exit was abrupt. When Superman frees him (with great effort because he’s still not fully recharged after a dose of Red Sun energy), John makes sure to catch the cuffs rather than letting them clatter on the floor. They even bother to conceal their location by dragging a dumpster in front of the door. And the Thanagarians eventually uncover their tracks anyway by scanning for the cuffs! I’m not saying the show is ordinarily sloppy or anything, but if every episode were this carefully plotted I’d be in heaven.
From here we get the touching display of trust as the three with secret identities finally ditch their costumes. Flash’s hesitation despite being the silliest one meshes nicely with Batman being the one to flippantly recite all of their names despite being the most paranoid one. It subverts each character, while also letting Bruce look cool for having figured out Wally is the Flash (the others don’t need to know how he learned about Clark.) I liked that Diana complimented Wally’s hair, too. I read it as her trying to comfort him given his anxiety about revealing his name and face, Wally reads it as a chance to flirt, and apparently Bruce does the same as he aggressively stamps out the moment because that’s his crush, bruh. And guess who just so happen to be standing next to each other when they’re split into pairs? Bruce and fuckin’ Diana, man! God, that they even thought to split up instead of thinking putting on disguises and walking around as a group of six is blowing my mind a little.
You’d think things would go smoothly from there and the tension would be gone, but no, Bruce & Diana blow their cover by not being able to stand by as civilians are harassed by the Thanagarians. Well… Bruce is willing to, but then a couple are about to be crushed to death, and Diana literally flies into action. And you bet your ass they evade detection by making out. Clark & J’onn creating a distraction so Wally & John can board a train is cute too, but come on folks, it’s WonderBat!
The Thanagarian stuff is the least interesting, because it was pretty clear from the start Hro Talak had ill intentions for our planet, but there are is at least a sincere attempt to sew in a compelling argument between him and Shayera. It’s written well, but Victor Rivers sucks the air out of it. Solid weasel henchman stuff from Kragger though.
As you can tell, I loved this, so much that I’m moving the episodes into the top 10, knocking on the door of my favourites in the show. Individually this has an argument as the best piece of writing in the entire show. If ‘Part III’ can just ‘land the plane’ then we can have some very serious conversations.
- Wild Cards
- The Savage Time
- Legends
- Hereafter
- Only a Dream
- Twilight
- Starcrossed (↑)
- Hearts and Minds
- Injustice for All
- Paradise Lost
- In Blackest Night
- Tabula Rasa
- The Terror Beyond
- The Enemy Below
- Secret Origins
- A Knight of Shadows
- A Better World
- Fury
- Maid of Honor
- Comfort and Joy
- Secret Society
- Eclipsed
- War World
- Metamorphosis
- The Bold and the Brave
Rogues Roundup
The Thanagarians (Victor Rivers/Hector Elizondo/Elizabeth Pena) (second appearance)
Hro opens the episode delivering a firm directive to humanity, but at least claiming nobody has to die if they all just cooperate… and then we learn he actually plans to destroy the entire planet. He seems slightly regretful, but that may just be for Shayera’s benefit, but the reveal of his extensive scarring acquired in a Gordanian prison camp does seem to have been an attempt to provide a semblance of sympathetic backstory. Though he does go along with slave labour and whatnot…
I would call Kragger testing Shayera’s loyalty by offering her the chance to kill her former comrades cliched, but I really like the way the scene was played, particularly his wry smile after she refuses. He’s banking that for later, because he’s a worm. Likewise his broaching of the idea Shayera knows where The League may have gone to ground, rewarded by being punked out. He caps it all off by planting a bug on Shayera to find the Batcave. Dastardly!
Perhaps their strongest outing is as a larger collective though, with the various guards and patrolmen deployed extremely effectively. Seeing them rough up civilians and demand to see ID is a classic shortcut to evoke fascism, and this is one of the better ‘occupying forces’ we’ve seen in the show.
- The Joker
- Darkseid
- Dr. Destiny
- Lex Luthor
- Despero
- Vandal Savage
- The Injustice Guild (and Brainwave!)
- Amazo
- Solomon Grundy
- The Thangarians (↑)
- The Injustice Gang
- The Imperium
- The Royal Flush Gang
- Brainiac
- Hades
- Draaga
- The Ultra-Humanite
- Aresia
- The Superman Revenge Squad
- Deadshot
- Gorilla Grodd
- Harley Quinn
- Orm
- Simon Stagg (and Java!)
- Colonel Vox
- The Secret Society
- Felix Faust
- Ichultu
- Eclipso
- Morgaine le Fey
- The Manhunters
- The Justice Lords
- Kanjar-Ro
- Mongul
- Doomsday
The Matt Signal 
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