Justice League S02E19-20 Review: Superman Revenge Squad

Justice League, Season 2, Episodes 19-20: Hereafter

This episode is one of my favourite episodes of Justice League, one that was better than I thought after rewatching it as an adult, and it was a bit hard to really write down this review, hence the gap between this review and the previous one.

Superman is one of the trickiest characters to write with the authors having to juggle his godlike powers, his uncorruptible morals, his idealism, his internal struggle and having to make him interesting to read. And if multiple live action attempts have shown, very few have managed to 'nail' that perfect portrayal of Superman. Even the TAS-verse itself wasn't immune to inconsistent writing, with Superman's portrayal as slightly weaker and being somewhat war-weary in season one of Justice League being controversial. As one of the two characters with a long internal history both within and without the show, it stands that having a group of villains go out of their way to gain revenge against Superman is very believable.

And it's very cool to see several old faces from Superman: TAS -- Metallo, Toyman, Livewire, Kalibak and Weather Wizard (even if Wizard is a Flash villain, he did face off against Superman in the DCAU) -- hang out together like a bunch of cultists, reciting oaths before heading off to commit the biggest crime of all time. Murder Superman. It's a very well-done story that eclipses the comics' own attempt to kill off Superman with Doomsday that's just, well, dumb. RANDOM SPACE MONSTER KILLS SUPERMAN NOOOO! Having a group of vengeance-seeking villains apparently do the deed, and explore the ramifications of a world without Superman, is definitely the way to go.

The show does a great way showing the world without a Superman, showing how everyone believes that Superman is dead, without insulting the audience's intelligence and establishing that Superman is alive, just sent years and years into the future. But we'll talk about the adventures of Superman and his beard later on, because what's the most interesting is the scenes of the League and Superman's supporting cast regarding his death.

You see, Superman is a relic of a bygone era, yet has continued to be iconic and the number one hero and the face of DC, a position that only Batman can hope to contest. As J'onn himself says in the episode, and as Flash stops Wonder Woman from bashing Toyman's face in, even the idea of Superman, this beacon of optimistic, simple and idealistic justice, is always around and necessary. And there's even a nice and in-your-face bit of meta-commentary when Lobo shows up and forcibly inserts himself into the League. The portrayal of Lobo here might be done for laughs as the brutish ultra-violent metal-soundtracked Main Man inserts himself into the League, but it is a nice little parallel to the comic book industry where grim and gritty characters like Lobo (DCAU's Lobo is kind of more bully than psychotic, though) rise to prominence.

Superman's death causes Wonder Woman to almost immediately go enraged and go for the kill ("I'm going to punch a hole... in your head"), and honestly can you blame her? Toyman sounds absolutely terrified even with that unmoving emotionless mask, and only Flash bringing up "I'm trying to speak for Superman" stops her from going through with the deed. We go through a very sad funeral moment with various characters from Superman: TAS making cameos, and one of the best moments ever in superhero history was Dana Delany's voice of Lois Lane when she flies into a grief-induced angry rant at Lex Luthor when the bald businessman shows up at Superman's funeral. "Are you happy now, Lex?" Lois shows up very sparingly in Justice League, but holy shit, this scene just clinches both grief and anger very well, and she just sobs uncontrollably as Luthor comforts her with a hug.

Luthor is an interesting character to show up in the funeral, but it kind of makes sense. He notes how he'll miss Superman in his own way, and his delivery makes me believe it. Luthor wants Superman gone, but he wants him gone by his own hands. Having lesser villains kill Superman means that Luthor's victory over Superman has been robbed from him forever, so he's grieving in his own way.

The brief scene of the remaining members of the League laughing while reminiscing over Superman, even J'onn (who delivers one of the best eulogies during his funeral, by the way), is very bittersweet, and they even consider breaking the League up. Flash noting how he goofs around because Superman's always around to watch his back is a nice line. Batman's denial is both genre-savvy and sweet, but even the Dark Knight respects the Man of Steel enough to show up in the shadows of the building, seen by none but Diana. Even when he believes that Superman isn't really dead, he respects the man enough to show up at his funeral. And his short speech in front of Superman's grave? That was amazing. Poor Batman is confused. Is he chasing after ghosts? Is he in denial? Is Superman really dead? He regrets not telling Superman that he respects the dude, despite their differences, and yeah, Superman was the very first hero that Batman truly sees as an equal, and the only one that Batman trusts in the League.

They discuss some possible replacements for Superman (Batman is still not a full member, hilariously) and while Supergirl, Metamorpho and others get brought up, Lobo crashes the party and forces himself in, a nice way to insert levity to the episode because, y'know, Superman really isn't dead and is fighting in an alternate timeline and the audience knows this. Lobo is absolutely played for laughs, and the League plus Lobo has to return back to Metropolis because not all villains are as gracious as Luthor, and they're celebrating by shooting up the streets.

Meanwhile, Superman himself has been transported to the far-flung future, in a post-apocalyptic world where Superman is stuck as a vulnerable warrior in a dangerous desert, where he has to rely on his wits (and a very conveniently transported car) to survive in this strange world. He forges weapons out of random materials, he never gives up hope, he grows a beard, he fights and befriends the strange mutated creatures before discovering that, hey, he's on Future Earth! He finds the Watchtower crashed to the ground, before finding the ruins of Metropolis and the sole human inhabiting Earth. The immortal Vandal Savage, his old enemy.

And having lived for thousands of years after humanity went extinct, Savage mentions how without Superman he was able to conquer humanity, and his casual indifference at brushing off being a global dictator as one would brush a decision to get a tattoo you regretted when you were thirteen is just hilarious. "Oh yeah, I killed Green Lantern here. No, wait, maybe here." straight into "Are you coming to my house for dinner?" is just golden. This world-weary version of Vandal Savage, who is stuck alone in a deserted world for thirty thousand years, having realized that his lust of power is meaningless, is a pretty deep take on the character.

So while in the present day the JLA is fighting against scores of villain while battling depression, Superman and Vandal Savage, two badass normal people, ride flying dragonflies to venture into the nest of giant mutated cockroach monsters, where they manage to get a power core that rejuvenates Superman's powers. Vandal's presence is a nice showing how Superman inspires people, and, yes, Vandal wallowing in guilt is something he went through alone, but without Superman to inspire him, would he have gone with the idea of the suicide mission into roachland and get the power source? Vandal Savage succeeds in turning himself from a psychopath into a redeemed ally, and it's a surprising take on the character that just works so well. The final scene as post-apocalyptic Vandal Savage looks around and sees history being rewritten and his past mistakes redeemed by Superman and saying softly "Thank you, my friend" is just so heartwarming.

Superman appears in the present day at just the perfect moment, saving Batman from being headshotted by Deadshot, preventing a death that probably occurred in the splinter timeline. Lobo gets kicked out of the team quite hilariously, and while Vandal Savage possibly remains a villain in the new revised timeline, this is his last episode in the DCAU so Superman probably hunted him down and spent a long time talking to him or something.

Overall it's a very excellent episode, and we haven't even gotten to Lobo's excellent one-liners yet. Kalibak: "I'm not dead yet." Lobo: "You're right, my watch is ten seconds fast."


DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• Ray Palmer, the superhero who would become the Atom, is mentioned multiple times as being the scientist that Vandal Savage stole the white dwarf isotope that he used in his bid for power. Atom himself won't show up until next season, though.
• Metallo, Toyman, Weather Wizard, Kalibak and Livewire are all villains that fought Superman in Superman: TAS, and their little cult is a reference to the 'Superman Revenge Squad' in the comics, which feature less well-known Superman villains.
• Lobo himself has fought and teamed up with Superman before in Superman: TAS, and references saving Superman which actually happens, despite J'onn's skepticism. Superman and Lobo's deal during the events of his episode in Superman: TAS also involves him not harming anyone on Earth, and, well, technically speaking, he has kept his word, only fighting the League when he thinks it's an audition, and focusing most of his fighting scenes on Kalibak, who's a superpowereed alien that can definitely take it. Apparently during development Captain Marvel was supposed to take Superman's place for a slightly longer 'Superman disappears' arc, but legal reasons meant that this couldn't happen. 
• Superman has a box of Flash-sponsored Lightspeed energy bars, yet another reference to 'Eclipsed'.
• Superman's monument and gravestone, is, of course a reference to his gravestone after his death at the hands of Doomsday in the comics. 
• Wonder Woman dons a very fancy gilded Amazonian armour for Superman's funeral, which something that her comic-book counterpart sometimes dons in 'serious' battles. 
• Cameos at Superman's funeral include Queen Hippolyta, Aquaman, Queen Mera, Doctor Fate, Inza, Orion, Lightray, the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern, Kilowog, Katma Tui, Tomar Re, Larvox, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake (Robin), Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Lana Lang, Kara Kent (Supergirl), Bibbo Bibbowski, Maggie Sawyer, Snapper Carr, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. This marks a rare Alfred appearance in Justice League, and considering the Bat-embargo, Robin's appearance is surprising as well.
• Copperhead, Volcana, Deadshot and Star Sapphire join several members of the Superman Revenge Squad during the big rampage in Metropolis.