Justice League Action Blog (1/21/2017)

Hello there. I'm SofiaBlythe2014. Today, I'm going to review more Justice League Action episodes. This is how I'm going to review the series, in bomb format. Also, unlike my first article, all these episodes aired in other countries before the US. Beware spoilers. Let's start.

1. Under A Red Sun

Writers: Shannon Denton & Heath Corson

Director: Doug Murphy

Date: December 11, 2016 (UK)

Synopsis: "Superman is transported to a red sun."

You'd think immortal characters can't hold their own, but Superman says otherwise, as shown here. The episode starts with Superman, Big Barda, and Batman fighting off some para demons. It turns out that they were sent by Steppenwolf, who then kidnaps Superman, and tries to drain his power under a red sun over Apokalypse. Now he has to fend for himself while Batman and Barda come to rescue him. What does it mean to be a hero? Well, one definition of it involves being able to adapt to undesirable situations. We see Superman overcome his obstacles when he's out of element both literally and figuratively. This naturally would be inspiring when done by the Man Of Steel himself, who's a symbol of hope. There's also a light subplot with the three of them counting how many bad guys they get. It adds a nice bit of levity to the situation. That's pretty good.

2. Speed Demon

Writer: Paul Dini

Director: Doug Murphy

Date: December 11, 2016 (Poland)

Synopsis: "Zatanna gets kidnapped."

One thing I really like about the show is how it plays up the supernatural aspect of heroing, showing how it's all around us. None show it better than this. The episode starts with Harley Quinn using magic to attack the city. Batman and Zatanna discover that Brother Night gave her her weapons, and when they confront him, he uses magic to possess the Batmobile and kidnap Zatanna. Now Batman must work with Etrigan to get her back. Magic is an unpredictable force, but the show knows that dealing with magic involves strategy. Etrigan's brute force didn't completely work. Neither did Batman's force. It's when they calculate where and how to use their combined force that they're successful. That's nice. It also helps that Brother Night is a manipulative chess master, making his strategies more effective and his general behavior quite frightening.

3. Hat Trick

Writer: Duanne Capizzi

Director: Shaunt Nigoghossian

Date: December 11, 2016 (Poland)

Synopsis: "Zatanna's hat gets stolen."

I'm going to be blunt. This is pretty much 11 minute of Zatanna being awesome. What do I mean? Let's conjure up an explanation. This episode involves Felix Faust stealing Zatanna's hat so he can be young again and take over the world. She, Batman, and Etrigan must travel to Scotland to stop before things get out of hand. I describe this episode as "11 minutes of Zatanna being awesome" due to how she has a great rivalry with Felix. Whereas Felix is petty, egotistical, and selfish, Zatanna is composed, level headed, and intelligent. The fact she invented a bunny position system for her hat should say something. Their roughly equal level of magic only makes things more interesting, but he ultimately falls in the end due to a combination of everything I described about Zatanna. That's definitely quite magical.

4. Luthor In Paradise

Writers: Matt Wayne & Stan Berkowitz

Director: Jake Castorena

Date: December 11, 2016 (Poland)

Synopsis: "Lex Luthor and Circe invade Themiscyira."

It's funny how Wonder Woman is iconic, but is the least popular of the Big Three. Fortunately, stories like this show off her best. The episode involves Lex Luthor invading Themiscyira with the help of Circe. Their plan is to go to the Fallen Realm and obtain the Oculus Of Argo in order to gain immense power. Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman must stop him. The episode is pretty heavy handed with the message on how sexism is bad, but they still get it down well. Hippolyta's sexist behavior in the episode is established after Lex invades, making it more understandable why she'd be a weary of men, but she at least tries to see their side. Circe being manipulated by Lex is not because she's stupid and he's macho. It's because she was blinded by a desire for power while he's a manipulative chess master. The main trio serve as the middle ground where we see how they work together to take them down. This makes the message stronger as it shows how a person is truly strong not because of gender, but because of heart, leadership, and determination. That's pretty good with me.

5. Repulse

Writer: Jeremy Adams

Director: Curt Geda

Date: December 18, 2016 (UK)

Synopsis: "Superman is infected by Repulse."

When you have a show with well developed characters, you can take them places you never thought you could, like right here. The episode starts with Superman and Wonder Woman out on a date when it gets interrupted by a villain named Repulse, later revealed to be Lex Luthor. Superman gets infected by the Repulse nanites that cause mass destruction, and he tries to go to S black hole to use its power to get rid of them. This episode is pretty much a major launching point for Superman and Wonder Woman's relationship, and I think it works pretty well. It helps that Superman and Wonder Woman have had plenty of scenes by themselves before this episode, making their chemistry much stronger and more believable. The moral of the story: love is powerful. It works because they use their passion for each other to help get through the situation. That's actually pretty heartwarming.

6. Rage Of The Red Lanterns

Writer: Ernie Altbacker

Director: Doug Murphy

Date: December 18, 2016 (UK)

Synopsis: "Lobo upsets the Red Lanterns."

They often say that you're not that different from your own enemies. Well, here's some proof of that. This episode involves Lobo seeking refuge from the Justice League after upsetting a group of Red Lanterns. It turns out that they're just trying to get their rings back, which Lobo stole. As such, the Justice League temporarily work with the Red Lanterns to get them back. The moral on temporarily working with enemies is pretty obvious, but one detail makes it stand out here. The Red Lanterns are usually portrayed as being rather hateful and vindictive. While still present, we see their more reasonable side show up, and how they're generally fine when they have what they want. The Justice League use this to their advantage to help them out against Lobo, which is pretty smart. It also helps that the Lobo is actually really crafty and manipulative, giving the plot more weight.

7. Freezer Burn

Writer: Duanne Capizzi

Director: Jake Castorena

Date: December 18, 2016 (Poland)

Synopsis: "Mr. Freeze and Killer Frost plan to take over Gotham."

We have twice the cold for twice the awesome. What do i mean? Let me explain. This episode involves Mr. Freeze and Killer Frost teaming up to freeze Gotham City. Firestorm is sent to stop them, until he develops a crush on Frost, and then discovers that she's being manipulated by Mr. Freeze. While Frost is still definitely a villain, you can't help but feel bad for her here. She's being exploited by a guy she looks up to, all for the sake of fueling an ego. That's pretty sad. It also helps that we see a softer side to her, which even Firestorm clings to. The ending is also well done. While she does stand up to him, Frost does not reform even if she is generally nicer. It just goes to show that while not everyone can be fully good, they can forge their own path to figure it out, which is definitely inspirational.

8. Trick Or Threat

Writer: Paul Dini

Director: Doug Murphy

Date: December 24, 2016 (UK)

Synopsis: "Batman, Zatanna, Constantine, and Zatanna are turned into kids."

We have a Halloween episode airing on Christmas Eve. It's just a nitpick though. If you want something that brings a sense of excitement, then this definitely delivers. The episode starts with kids dressed up as Batman, Dr. Fate, Zatanna, and John Constantine going around trick or treating when they stumble upon the House Of Mystery. It's later revealed by Klarion The Witch Boy that he turned the adult League members that we saw into 10 year olds in order to get Dr. Fate's helmet and trap them in the house. Now they have to escape before midnight. I find this episode to be a great commentary on what it means to be a kid. Even before the reveal, we see how competent the kids are in defense despite their size and limitations. It's actually a nice message encouraging people to see how kids should not be underestimated. Anything with a message like that is a plus in my book. Also, this episode is as scary as it is alluring.

9. Plastic Man Saves The World

Writer: Heath Corson

Director: Shaunt Nigoghossian

Date: January 7, 2017 (UK)

Synopsis: "Plastic Man must help defeat Brainiac."

One of the major keys to any good show is having a strong cast of characters and giving them humanity. Justice League Action delivers in that regard. This episode involves Brainiac attempting to shrink Metropolis to add to his collection of shrunken worlds. Plastic Man tries to prove his worth by sneaking aboard Brainiac's ship and turning off the device, but it's harder than it looks. We have the classic underdog story. It may be an overdone story, but it's still a well done one. Considering Plastic Man is a bit of a care free slacker with a strong sense of justice, it definitely helps to add some layers to his rubbery skin. What also helps is how quick he is on his feet and his mistakes come from being excitable, not stupid. The whole episode gives off a nice Superfriends vibe, leading to a well executed moral on acting smart in the face of danger with a dash of confidence to boot. It's pretty good.

Here is the cast for all the episodes.

Kevin Conroy - Batman

Jason J. Lewis - Superman

Rachel Kimsey - Wonder Woman

Troy Baker - Hawkman, Jonas Glim

P.J. Byrne - Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond)

Lacey Chabert - Zatanna

John Cryer - Felix Faust

Dan Donohue as Brother Night

John de Lancie - Brainiac

John DiMaggio - Lobo

Julianne Grossman - Hippolyta

Peter Jessop - Steppenwolf

Jasika Nicole - Vixen

Trevor Devall as Cain

Noel Fisher as Clarion the Witch Boy

Damian O'Hare - John Constantine

Khary Payton - Cyborg

Laura Post - Big Barda, Circe

William Salyers - Virman Vundabar

Patrick Seitz - Etrigan/Jason Blood

Dana Snyder - Plastic Man

Peter Stormare - Mister Freeze

Tara Strong - Harley Quinn, Ember, Kid Batman

Erica Lutrell as Kid Dr. Fate

Dayci Brookshire as Kid Zatanna

Paula Rhodes as Kid Constantine

Mena Suvari - Killer Frost

Fred Tatasciore - Brainiac Robots

Stephen Tobolowsky - Professor Martin Stein

James Woods - Lex Luthor