Animation and Anime

Learn How JUSTICE LEAGUE Ends!!

Published at: Feb. 18, 2006, 10:45 p.m. CST by staff

I am – Hercules!!

To recap. The episode of “Justice League Unlimited” that aired this weekend was 5.6. This review is for 5.13, believed by most to be the series finale.

Don’t ask me why, but the Tequila-swilling Irish seem to get to see these final episodes before everyone else. Which is why “Drunken Irishman” disseminates the details on the grand finele.

What's this episode called?
"Destroyer"

Who's responsible?
Dwayne McDuffy for the writing and Joaquim Dos Santos directed.

Who from the League appears?
Almost everyone who has ever played a part in the series appears but only a select few have speaking roles.

Alright, so who speaks?
Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman (back at last), Flash, Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl and Jonn.

Jonn is back?
Indeed he is and his return is both amazing and unexpected.

What's he been doing?
Building a life for himself on earth. He's been living as an old man and he's involved with someone. Say it with me now, 'awwwwwww.'

And who are the bad guys?
Well, as we know from the last episode, Darkseid returned and Lex Luthor and the rest of the Secret Society of Super Villains arrive at JLU headquarters on earth telling the League that 'we have a little problem.' His plan is to unite with the League just this once to defeat Darkseid. Understandably, the League, and especially Superman, are wary of Luthor but they recognise that in order to defeat Darkseid, they will need all the help they can get. The SSoSV members who speak are Luthor, Giganta and Blight but we do see more others.

Why is Lex so pissed at Darkseid?
Apparently, he destroyed Brainiac. Luthor complains that he can no longer hear Brainiac in his head.

Ok, so what is Darkseid planning?
He's sent an armada of vessels and warriors to destroy Earth. His plan is to use giant drills to dig deep into the Earths core and create a crapload of 'fire pits' and it's up to the League to stop then any way they can. Oh, and he also wants to kill Superman, the other League members and every living thing on the planet.

And how does the League plan on stopping him?
To quote Batman, the plan is "to take out the small fries (the warrior demons) until the big fish (Darkseid) attacks." And they don't have to wait long. Darkseid is back and stronger than ever and doesn't want to waste time letting Kal-El know about it.

So is the episode largely concerned with
Superman and Darkseid knocking the shit out of each other? Not really. There's plenty of action all round. And they're not just confined to Metropolis or Gotham or Edge City. We see fights in London, Paris, Rome, Washington and on the Great Wall of China as well.

And are these fights good?
Not just good, outstanding. Particularly the battle between Darkseid and Superman. There's a fight scene on top of the Daily Planet building which results in the building being pretty much totalled that will totally blow your mind. But if Darkseid is so powerful, how will the League defeat him? Superman barely survived their last encounter! True, but Superman finally decided that he's held back on using his powers completely for far too long. To this end, he's gonna open a big can of whoop ass on Darkseid. But, they are going to need more than simple brute force to defeat Darkseid.

Meaning what?
Metron appears and may seem to know a way to defeat Darkseid by using the 'Anti-Life Equation' that Darkseid has been searching for. But it can only be retrieved by someone who is a '12th Level Intellect.' (How very Dungeons and Dragons) and may or may not involve a sacrifice?

And who would that be? Superman? Batman? Jonn? And what kind of sacrifice?
What, and ruin the whole ending?

What's good?
Oh, where to begin. "Oh come on, it's Lex 'Flippin' Luthor." Green Lantern using his ring to make a catapult. "Doesn't look like it quite made escape velocity." Flash finally got some action, and not the bad kind. The Daily Planet building being destroyed. The seemingly Matrix-inspired fight between Superman and Darkseid. Jonn returning in a most unexpected form. "Sorry it took me so long, I had to go put on my power suit." Batman finally getting some screen time again. Wonder Woman's reaction to Jonn returning. The fact that the fights were worldwide rather than localised to one city. That we get to see almost everyone who has every appeared on the show before. "Don't you have a tall building to go leap?" Superman showing Darkseid just how powerful he is. The surprising ending.

What's bad?
Wave good-bye to one of the best animated shows to ever grace our screens.

How does it end?
"And the adventure continues."

Rating: *****1/2 out of Five.

The extra-cheap “Buffy” slimsets (all the episodes and extras at a fraction of the price) ship May 30!!

“Buffy” pricing if you must have your season-sets now:
$29.99 The Complete First Season
$44.99 The Complete Second Season
$44.99 The Complete Third Season
$44.99 The Complete Fourth Season
$44.99 The Complete Fifth Season
$44.99 The Complete Sixth Season
$39.96 The Complete Seventh Season

“Buffy” pricing if you can order now but wait three and a half months for delivery:
$27.99 The Complete First Season
$27.99 The Complete Second Season
$27.99 The Complete Third Season
$27.99 The Complete Fourth Season
$27.99 The Complete Fifth Season
$27.99 The Complete Sixth Season
$27.99 The Complete Seventh Season

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