Alan Moore got his mitts on Boston “Deadman” Brand in that famous “Swamp Thing” annual 21 years ago and instantly transformed an obscure hippie-era superhero into one of the most beloved in the DC Universe.
And though he’s been subsequently revived again and again by Moore acolytes in the pages of DC Comics, I suspect this is the first time we’ve seen Deadman in a TV show.
“Solo4357,” a resident of that "Europe" place everybody's talking about, saw tonight’s episode over a month ago and offers details:
What's it called?
"Dead Reckoning"
What should it be called?
"Everything but the Kitchen Sink"
Who's responsible?
The team of Dan Riba and Dwayne McDuffie who brought us the wonderful
Cadmus arc last season.
Who's the big guest star?
Deadman!
What else?
Ok, you say you want you want high-flying monks like Crouching Tiger?
You got it! You want more villains than ever seen before? You got it!
You want to see Gorilla City and Solovar again? Okey doke. You want to
see Super-Gorilla, Bat-Ape, and Wonder-Chimp? Bingo! You want to see a
change of leadership in the Legion of Doom? That'd be telling. You want
to see gross babe-on-ape action? Almost! You want magic AND super
mad-scientist devices? BAM!
Seriously... Wonder-chimp?
Well, ok Wonder-Ape. How the outfit didn't bust, I have no idea.
All in one half hour?
It is too much, it's real rushed. Not enough time to get involved in
what's going on.
What's good?
Superman's accent when possessed. Tiny monk, kicking ass. Talia's
return. The who's who of villains. Bizarro acting like.. well Bizarro.
Him hate Luthor. Do anything for him. "Next time, ASK PERMISSION!" The
easy-going, friendly, attitudes that now seems to infuse the big three
of the League. Luthor's perfectly justified reaction to Grodd's plan.
In
fact, I'd say it not only saved the episode, it made it enjoyable.
Batman's reaction to what Deadman made him do. "That's pretty thick."
Seeing Solovar again. "Why am I in Africa?" Luthor. Luthor. Luthor.
Even
Gorilla Luthor (who's still bald?) "Obligatory!"
What's bad?
Talia's unhealthy attraction to power, even it's a big gorilla. Ick.
Deadman needs way more back story. The reaction to Deadman's perfectly
reasonable actions when in Batman's body. Grodd's totally dumb ass
plan.
It makes sense for the killer ending, but Grodd as a character deserves
better. Only three heroes, tons of Super-Villains, and only Bizarro
made
it even look close.
Overall?
Overall, it was a hell of a fun episode, but came perilously close to
the ridiculousness we put up with in the seventies with SuperFriends.
Too much in too little time makes it hard to get invested in characters
we'll probably never see again. Great ending that means big things for
the future though.
Rating: *** out of Five.
10:30 p.m. Saturday. The Cartoon Network.
!! 