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matt_zimmerI'm still trying to absorb what I've just seen. An awful lot happened in the space of 22 minutes and I still have yet to decide if I liked it or not.
First off, if Grodd IS dead I have to give it to the writer's for having stones of steel. Luthor SHOULD be in charge of the Legion of Doom and this was the best way to go about it. I actually thought that after Luthor shot Grodd he would rise up and reveal his ultimate plan was to become immortal but that didn't happen. I actually agree with Luthor that Grodd's plan to turn everyone into monkeys was a REALLY poor one after all that build-up. And I LIKE monkeys! Luthor's goal that was shown in I Am Legion is a far more sinister and dangerous one and I'm glad that that looks to be where the arc is building.
There was a LOT of cold-bloodedness in this episode especially Deadman using Batman's body to shoot and kill Devil Ray. The true irony of the situation was that Diana has been shot by him before and would have easily survived. Bruce's sanity may be gone for now though. At least I REALLY hope that this is addressed in Batman's next appearance. Considering only POINTING a gun made him give up being Batman in Batman Beyond's Rebirth there had better be SERIOUS repercussions for him for the rest of the season. Otherwise it will have seemed tacked on. I have faith that the writer's WILL follow up but I have to admit the fact that Batman shot a gun last episode with no ill effects has me fearing the worst. True, he wasn't AIMING it at anyone but still, I had assumed simply FIRING a gun would have been tramatic for him and the issue was never raised.
I don't know boo about Deadman but his accent REALLY got annoying when he was inhabitting Superman. I imagine a bunch of people are going to complain about not knowing anything about him like the rest of the new characters on JLU but the only thing I needed to know about him was that he aggravated me and that was easy enough for me to comprehend.
The villians and guest cast were as good this episode and I am really glad for most of them their original voice actors were back, especially Juliet Landau as Tala and David Ogden Stiers as Solovar. It was great seeing Gorilla City again.
Going back to the cold-bloodedness of this episode I have to admit I was shocked at what happened to the Monk Master after Devil Ray shot him. I was kinda bummed that it was retconned at the end but if I had to choose the writer's killing off the monks or Grodd and Devil Ray the latter two were the smartest choices especially considering they made sure Deadman would be sticking around. I wonder if he and Bruce were to meet again if his explaination would have ANY justification to Batman considering he had threatened to kill him earlier in the episode. No easy answers here.
Bizarro was used rather perversely in this episode. Before now he has been shown to merely be misguided but Luthor programming him with "opposite" commands (which I assume comes from the comic books) is sick on a level I have rarely seen on a kids show. It's just so twisted I can barely wrap my brain around it. I noticed when Superman was fighting him that he had a rather disgusted look on his face and I don't blame him. I rather had hoped that Superman's attitude toward Bizarro would have been touched on since he was Bizarro's FRIEND on the old Superman cartoon but the season isn't over yet. As it stands I can imagine Superman feeling a level of distaste for Bizarro similar to Batman's feelings towards Two-Face only without the sympathy.
The episode was good and well-done for the most part with a couple of snappy one-liner's which are Dwayne McDuffie's specialty. But did I actually LIKE it? I'm still not sure. It sorta reminded of some Buffy episodes I've seen (mainly from season six) that had a LOT of unpredictable twists and jaw-dropping revelations but were somewhat disconcerting to the viewers at the end. I've sure b.t. will take that as a high compliment but honestly I'm a little bit disturbed. I will probably have to give the episode **** for execution but *** for how much I actually enjoyed it. That average's out to ***1/2.
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Date: 2006-02-19 05:27 am (UTC)Comics, comics, comics...well, this reminded me of the JLApe Annuals where they get turned into apes (Solovar, who's actually Gorilla City's king, is killed).
Aside from the fact that his name is Boston Brand and he was a circus performer when he died, I don't know a lot about Deadman. I thought they COULD talk to him without him having to possess anyone. I kinda liked his accent.
Bizarro has a long history in the comics, but currently (the last time I saw him do anything significant was in a Harley Quinn a few years back), you can control him by telling him to do the opposite of what you want him to do. I kinda like them adapting it, but I wish there was more of a transition. I see Grodd having Sinestro free him from his planet and using Giganta to manipulate him, but there could've been more to acknowledge the stuff he did on Superman.
I'm undecided on the Batman firing a gun, thing. Batman doesn't like guns, we know that, but I'm sure he fired flare guns before "Flash and Substance". Heck, his BTAS grapple was very gun-like. But this episode was...quite different. Ah, one more month until BB DVDs...
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Date: 2006-02-19 05:38 am (UTC)Of course, it COULD just be that the show is on too dang late and I'm too sleepy to properly enjoy it.
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Date: 2006-02-19 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-19 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-19 09:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-19 11:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-20 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 02:00 am (UTC)Batman and guns: I don't see why anyone would have a problem with Batman's flare gun in Flash and Substance. Batman only has problems with real guns. Other, non-weapon guns he doesn't mind. He used tranquilizer guns in BTAS. And those even seriously looked like real pistols. Batman has his convictions but he's not so sensitive that he's bothered by things that are "gun like" but not actually guns.
As for this episode, it was about what we can expect. Having heard Superman's explanation that it was really Deadman, Bruce doesn't know how to take it. In Batman Beyond, after all, he didn't quit being Batman right on the spot. He went back home before making that decision, processing it. I'm sure that it will cause him some soul searching, but he's gotta ultimately decide to still be Batman. After all, Batman is a logical being and will accept the logic here that it truly wasn't him doing it. He'll feel more like he was raped than that he betrayed his ethics.
Grodd's Master Plan: Loved it. Loved it and Luthor's reaction too it. Perfect. Grodd's plan... It was so very Superfriends. (And when I say it, I don't say it the way fans would usually say that. When fans usually say that, they mean that the plot was corny and simple, and because Superfriends was corny and simple, therefore Superfriends would do a plot like that. This ofcourse ignores how Superfriends actually worked. It's not a dumping ground for all one dislikes. No, when I say it's "So Very Superfriends," I mean I'm reminded of an actualy episode of Superfriends whereing Grodd commandeers the whole Legion of doom just to invade Gorilla city and have his own petty revenge, something the other Legionaires weren't exactly happy about. I'm convinced Dwayne McDuffie saw that episode and was intentionally homaging it.)
Also, it gives Luthor a nice little off-hand Bad-ass moment. I really hope this isn't retconned either. I don't want Grodd to have a bigger master plan. The fact that all he wanted to accomplish was the cheesy goal of turning everyone into apes much to the chagrine of his Legion of Doom tickles me pink. After all, inspite of all his preening, he is a Flash villain...
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Date: 2006-02-27 10:19 pm (UTC)And yes, I don't like it when Dwayne McDuffie does the "explain the thing later on the message board" thing either although I can't quite remember the last time he's done it. I don't need EVERYTHING laid out for me but some things should be explained.
Grodd turning everyone into monkeys WAS the best part of the episode and I don't see any reason why people should complain it was lame. It was SUPPOSED to be lame and it was also funny and totally something he would do.
As for Luthor's moment at the end, I hope it isn't retconned either but the previews at the end of Patriot Act don't give me a lot of hope.
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Date: 2006-02-28 05:05 am (UTC)------
Fans: Why is it Devil Ray and not Black Manta?
Dwayne: The name "Black Manta" is racist.
*cue loud chirping as fans who know a little bit about the character's history know that Black Manta wasn't always and isn't always portrayed as Black, and the name predated that "revelation."*
Dwayne: Alright, fine. He'd Devil Ray because we couldn't get the rights to Black Manta. There. Are you happy?
Fans: Always happier with the truth than a lie, Dwayne.
(Okay, that's not the best example, but one that proves he's not always "on the level." The next one is much more pertanent.)
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Fans: Hey, these Flashbacks in "Epilogue" really make Terry seem whiney. And they don't even have internal continuity! What's going on?
Dwayne: Spluh! They're not "Flashbacks," they're what Terry was imagining he wanted to do. I mean, we made them black and white and Letterboxed! How much more obvious can we make it?
Fans: Oh. Gee. Black and white usually means "Flashbacks" in cinematic language. But wow, that's what Terry was thinking about doing huh. Gee. How could we have missed that?
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Date: 2006-02-28 04:22 pm (UTC)The problem with the Bizarro thing is that like the fantasies in Epilogue it really NEEDED to be explained. I mean Bizarro is a well-loved character in the DCAU and seeing him act so strangely was REALLY jarring. I hope we get an explaintion in a future episode but I'm not going to hold my breath.