Heading into the latter half of this second season, there was some surprise alliances, betrayals and oh, a little bit of Christmas cheer to boot.
Episodes 39-40: Eclipsed
Ah, Eclipso. If you wanted someone to bring out the worst in nearly all of the Justice League, then he's the guy to do it. Trapped in an ancient lunar crystal called the Black Heart, it's discovery led to Eclipso's freedom and various Justice League members being possessed by him. Of course, The Flash managed to be resistant to his charms and it was the Flash that also saved his teammates from a weapon that would destroy both the Sun and the Earth. It's a pretty solid story. 6/10
Episodes 41-42: The Terror Beyond
The first in a series of unlikely team ups, this two parter had Solomon Grundy working with Doctor Fate and Aquaman. The latter two need Grundy's help in taking down an ancient evil and Grundy's willing to go along with it for his own reasons. On the opposite side was Superman, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, who didn't like the idea of Grundy being used for Doctor Fate and Aquaman's plan. It's a strong story for Solomon Grundy, who's made into a more layered character with a poignant sacrifice to boot. 7/10
Episodes 43-44: Secret Society
Gorilla Grodd had his moment back in the first season going up against the Justice League and now he's assembled a team. His team comprising of Giganta, Killer Frost, Sinestro, Parasite, Shade, and Clayface. They formed the Secret Society and they were also successful in capturing a quarrelling Justice League. I do find it interesting that throughout the series, we've had various takes on a bad Justice League with Shade being a consistent member in an ever changing team up. Grodd made for a good team leader before the Secret Society were inevitably defeated. 7/10
Episodes 45-46: Hereafter
Death of Superman, anyone? Yes, we're doing that but not quite. For the majority of this story, it was assumed by the Justice League that Superman has perished. This was after a new supervillain team composed of Metallo, Kalibak, Livewire, Weather Wizard, and Toyman. Instead he ended up in a different time zone where he teamed up with a reformed Vandal Savage to get back to his own time to reunite with his team and stop Savage in the present day. On the other hand, we almost had Lobo as a new Justice League member and he was rather fun in this story. 8/10
Episodes 48-48: Wild Cards
If Lex Luthor could get a returning villain story, then I guess Joker could too. Teamed up with Harley Quinn and the Royal Flush Gang, this story took place in Las Vegas where Joker's planted a lot of bombs over the Las Vegas Strip for good measure. There's a reference to an infamous Conrad Veidt movie that should make Joker fans smile as well as a nice attempt to give some backstory to the character of Ace. Honestly though, it felt like an idea that never got made for Batman: The Animated Series and was slightly retooled to work for here. 7/10
Episode 49: Comfort And Joy
I do love a good Christmas episode and I really, really loved this one. It's that time of year when even the Justice League are allowed to be off duty and as a result, we got three very satisfying stories. First of all, there was Hawkgirl and John Stewart choosing to relax by going to an alien bar and getting into a brawl. There was also snow fights and a kiss between the two of them. Then there was The Flash who wanted to get a popular toy for the kids in a children's home. This resulted in a rather team up with the Ultra-Humanite where the latter discovered his Christmas spirit. As for Superman, he brought Martian Manhunter home to Smallville and that contained two of the best scenes. The realisation that Superman still believed in Santa Claus and Martian Manhunter's singing at the end. I do wish we had gotten a Batman and Wonder Woman story but overall, this was a beautiful episode. 9/10
Episodes 50-52: Starcrossed
The show started with a three part story, so it was fitting that it would end with one as well. It also started with an invasion, so ending with one would also be fitting. This time around, it was the Thanagarians with Hawkgirl's betrayal being revealed to the team. Hawkgirl has never been as prominent as she was in this story. There was her conflict in betraying the family she's made on Earth for the one she was born into. There was her burgeoning relationship with John Stewart and her past one with Hro Talak, who was pretty bad. As for the gang, they were captured, escaped, revealed their civilian identities, defeated the Thanagarians but also banished Hawkgirl. A bittersweet ending of sorts for the show. 8/10
I will hopefully get around to tackling Justice League Unlimited at a later date.
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