The first two episodes of the “Second season” of Justice League Unlimited.
The Cat and the Canary, and The Ties That Bind.
In both cases, some more obscure characters get some face-time.
I liked them both a lot, but I’m wondering how someone who isn’t familiar with the Mr. Miracle stuff reacted to the second one…
“I wanted to be the green one.”
I didn’t like Michael Dorn’s voice for Kalibak – I think it’s too smooth for such a rough, uncivilized creature. I also really wanted to hear Harvey Fierstein evertime Granny Goodness opened her mouth.
In general, I’ve liked both – particularly the way they presented Wildcat–heck just the inclusion of Wildcat was super.
The Apokolips stuff was pretty good-- though Baron Vermin Wunderbarr is hardly a favorite of mine–he is a logical contender. How did I miss what happened to Darkseid?
Here’s my problem with JLU: They are telling bigger stories in a smaller time frame. Doing away with the 2 part story has really limited the time they have to really tell a story as well or as complicated as the one before. The return of Amaz-o for example was just dreadful in terms of story, but great and high in Fanboy – wow, cool did you see. . .?
The League is simply too big to have stories told well in less than 30 minutes. I’ll also say that if JL had been shown as regularly, I wouldn’t have missed nearly as many episodes as I did of the original run.
Still cool, but very disappointed with the story telling choices.
Look! Its the Flash and he’s doing stuff! I spoiled the episode by reading the summary on a website about five minutes before he popped up. Darn it. Even J’on got a couple good lines (“Try not thinking about where Oberon is.”).
The Apokolips stuff usually leaves me scratching my head. I enjoy the episodes, but I kinda wish I understood it better.
How cool were Canary’s fight scenes?
I liked both episodes, although I thought whoever did Big Barda’s voice was awful (she always sounded bored) and that was a little dissapointing.
I liked the bit about Black Canary’s scream being too dangeous to use up-close.
And hey, now that we’ve got Oberon and Mr. Miracle, let’s team them up with J’onn, Batman, Fire, Ice, and Booster Gold and get a JLI-themed episode.
Good to see that the Flash didn’t get walled up in the abandoned JLA Detroit basement. (“For the love of god, Bats!”)
Every time I saw the Flash get in a jam on Apokolips, I asked myself, “Does the Wally West post-Crisis Flash have the ability to vibrate through solid objects, like he did as Kid Flash pre-Crisis?”
'Cause there were several scrapes there where the ability to walk through walls would’ve been a real help.
Yes, but whatever he passes through gets agitated and blows up. But JLU Flash may not have the ability anyway.
Did anyone else thing the GA/Black Canary sparring was, like, extremely “hot” for a cartoon?
When I first heard Vermin Vunderbarr, I thought to myself “That sounds a lot like Arte Johnson. How perfect would that be?” When I heard the line, “Veddy eenterestink…but futile,” my joy was uncontained.
Yeah, I get very confused with the whole Apokolypse stuff. Supposed to be a terrifying place, but geez, you got Granny Goodness and a space Nazi. It’s funny!
Oh, the Arte Johnson riff! I’d forgotten. Yes, that got me laughing for a couple of solid minutes.
Yup. My friend and I commented that it was basically cartoon sex.
Extremely hot is right. It was FOREPLAY. Probably the most erotic scene I’ve ever seen in a cartoon not meant specifically for adults.
Oh, good. It’s not just me, then. Whew.
And Roulette’s Dress… that was hot, too, right?
Yeah it was, but at least she dressed like that in the JSA comics too (only she was a redhead, which is even hotter).
Oh, I’m quite familiar with her appearance in JSA.
Just a bit different seeing it translated to animation.
Bumping another JLU thread. >_>
Well, 2 of the characters I’ve been waiting for have shown up - Black Canary and Mr Miracle.
A couple of the others I’d like to see, I’m pretty sure there’s no hope - Jack Knight, since the Prince Gavyn Starman has shown, and Courtney has the Cosmic Rod, for instance. And I’m beginning to think the rest I’m hoping to see - Fire and Ice with some lines, for once, mainly - never will. They’re going to keep taunting me.
Specific comments about each episode:
Cat and the Canary:
‘Foreplay-fighting’ aside, the interaction between Canary and GA was cute. Things like GA letting go of her waist when she mentions Wildcat, or her pout when he’s talking about how he assumes her flirting wasn’t real made the episode for me.
Didn’t Dinah’s mom have an affair with Wildcat in the comics? Or was that Ted Knight? Er…who screwed Dinah sr, not who had an affair with Wildcat… >_>
The Wildcat/GA fight was fucking brutal.
I read a review of the episode that made an interesting point about the Metabrawl. They mentioned the meta/normal dynamic - already mentioned in Ted’s reasons for being in the Metabrawl to begin with - and made the point that the spectators - none noticably Metas themselves - were cheering when the non-Meta Wildcat kicked the everloving crap out of the Metas, and that that may be an indication of how the world at large views Metas - even the heroic ones.
I’m not sure I buy it, but it’s an interesting thought.
So my theory about Batman wanting him in the League to get some Queen Industries money in the JLU coffers and take the pressure off Waynecorp still holds. >_>
Hmm…wonder who he sold it to.
Ties That Bind:
The voices… Ed Asner as Granny Goodness was…surprisingly well chosen. I liked Arte Johnson as Virmin Vunderbar, and the ‘Veeeerry interestink’ joke physically hurt me (seriously…I snorted so hard it hurt my nose). Scott seemed to take a few minutes to get into the swing of things, but he did deliver a good performance once he did. Barda and Oberon, I liked less. I disagree with ddgryphon about Michael Dorn as Kalibak. I think he does well.
The conversation between Flash and Ralph about how the others treat them as ‘comic relief’ and ‘a teenaged sidekick’ was priceless…especially when it scrolled down and they were playing Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots (or whatever they called it…Bop 'Em Bots?). And apparently Ralph hasn’t met Sue yet.
J’onn’s ‘I wanted the green guy’ was…cute.
Oh, good, Ed Asner did reprise his role! He was Granny in the Superman Adventures episode that introduced Supergirl, as well, and I havn’t seen the episode on TiVo yet.
That was Ted Knight. EVERYBODY slept with Wildcat. Catwoman, Hippolyta, everybody female. Because, you know, yum.