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Justice League
“In Blackest Night” Part I
Air Date: November 19, 2001
Written by: Stan Berkowitz
Directed by: Butch Lukic
Guest Voice: Rene Auberjonois (Kanjar Ro)
If “Secret Origins” and “In Blackest Night” are any indication, there are many good things to come from Justice League. The cast is a bit smaller this week, and the producers have foregone stand alone episodes in favor of multi-part story arcs. Good choice, in my oh so humble opinion.
Batman and Wonder Woman sat it out this week, but I didn’t really miss them. Well, maybe a little. Who doesn’t love Batman? I mean, really. He’s the Dark Knight Detective. Anyway, a smaller cast is better, and we get to see some much needed character interaction. To start off, a crime has been committed, and it looks like John Stewart is to blame. This isn’t your average case of petty theft, but full scale homicide. It looks like John has to answer for three billion deaths. An alien tribunal sends out some mechanical Manhunters to fetch the wayward GL and bring him back for trial, and he isn’t exactly fighting the charges. Even his buddies from the Green Lantern Corp are turning their backs on him. Not a good day.
This definitely isn’t Superfriends. Or even SuperBESTfriends. No Seaman in sight, or Aquaman either. I can’t really explain how much I already like these characters. They’re not the cardboard cutouts that I grew up with. There’s a bit of depth to each of them. Don’t get me wrong. This is no Cowboy Bebop. Justice League is still a six color funny strip that moves, but it’s got enough of a core that even a diehard cynic like myself can enjoy it. I especially love the fact that they aren’t doing stand alone Monster of the Week storylines. They’re taking their time and developing plot. Kudos for that.
Superman’s voice isn’t irking me anymore. I don’t know if the voice actor is consciously trying to sound more like Tim Daly, but he definitely sounds better. I only wish they’d ditch that CG opening sequence. I can’t really stand watching it. The music is good, but the effects are really irritating, and somewhat sickening to look at. I’m definitely looking forward to next week’s episode. Sorry about the short review, but this is only a half hour long cartoon, and it’s only the first part of the story. Part I of “In Blackest Night’ gets:
Episode Rating: 9 out of 10
Steven “drenball” Dougherty fantasizes about Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman, but what do you expect? He’s a guy.
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