Justice League Unlimited S03E13 Review: The End of All

Justice League Unlimited, Season 3, Episode 13: Destroyer

All good things must come to an end, and this episode was the final episode not only of Justice League Unlimited, but the juggernaut that is the DC Animated Universe, the house that was built by Batman: The Animated Series. Yet at the same time, it went out with a bang and not a whimper, and to this day I still really like the final episode of Justice League Unlimited. Yes, the Darkseid conflict kind of came out of nowhere last episode. And yes, a good chunk of the episode is just pure-on superhero action. But man if it isn't awesome.

Nowadays the plotline of an alien invasion invading Earth and superheroes having to band together isn't something new. The Avengers did it. The (at the moment of writing) Justice League movie did it, and to boot it's an army of Parademons, just like this one. Hell, even this cartoon has done aliens-invade-Earth twice. Three times if you count Superman: The Animated Series. But it's still pretty awesome simply because of the fact that, lack of buildup aside,  Darkseid is still a pretty awesome and terrifying adversary in the context of the show's rich history.

And yes, the main characters of this episode boils down to Superman, Lex Luthor and Batman fighting Darkseid at the center of Metropolis, but the episode is amazing enough to give many side-characters a chance to shine, even if they don't necessarily do much. We do get a brief recap at the beginning of the episode, as well as the darkly hilarious revelation that Luthor's group beat the fuck out of New Genesis's Lightray (remembered within the DCAU as 'that douche who slapped Wonder Woman's ass') and stole his Mother Box, explaining how they got to Earth so fast.

The Leaguers agree to have the villains fight alongside them (Atomic Skull is very excitable about this) and Wonder Woman shows some savviness by splitting the villains up. And it's an awesome scene as Mr. Terrific orders an 'Omega-Level Alert' and we get the montage of superheroes suiting up and being teleported into various places on Earth. That's just an awesome scene.

Darkseid and Superman fight and trash the Daily Planet in the process, while Batman and Luthor try their best to help with batarangs and laser pistols. There's a nice moment when Batman refuses to take Luthor's gun, there's the awesome moment of Darkseid echoing Superman's "let's go" line from their last stand-off, there is Batman buying Superman time to get up by distracting Darkseid and evading his Omega Beams. Metron, the plot device man, is a little strangely incorporated and I really would've liked to have an earlier episode foreshadow this, by having Metron appear to someone or something. It's one of the weaker parts of the episode, certainly, and the sudden introdump about the Source Wall, while making a lot of sense for DC fans familiar with the comics, is probably very weird for cartoon-only watchers. Metron introdumps, of course, but it's a little inelegant in an otherwise seamless episode.

And, yes, it's a bit dickish for them to leave out Wonder Woman from the final conflict, but the DCAU's backbone has always been Batman and Superman. From when they graced our televisions in their own respective series, to their first team-up in "World's Finest" (an episode I can rewatch any time, any where) to their founding of the Justice League, in terms of the DCAU Batman and Superman are the heart and soul. And as much as I adore the DCAU's version of Wonder Woman, she isn't any more prominent than Hawkgirl or Green Lantern as far as the DCAU universe is concerned. (Which is a shame -- I would totally love a Wonder Woman cartoon in the DCAU style, alas that is not to be)

Superman then unleashes a can of pain on Darkseid, delivering an epic "world of cardboard" speech that's delivered spectacularly by voice actor George Newbern, talking about how none of his fellow teammates will quit, not even when faced against insurmountable odds, transitioning smoothly into how he's always guarded his strength while on Earth, always exercised restrained every single time, even when fighting criminals, but right here, right now, Darkseid is going to feel the full fury of motherfucking Superman, and it is such an epic beatdown of Darkseid as Superman unleashes the full force of his speed and strength. Darkseid only wins by cheating, activating a pain field and a kryptonite blade at the same time... and then Luthor shows up with the thing that Darkseid wants. I feel like it's important to note that Luthor shows up in his business suit instead of any of his supervillain costumes -- he makes Darkseid a deal he cannot refuse, the Anti-Life Equation, and after Darkseid takes it, the two disappear.

Is it a satisfying end? Maybe not. Superman and Batman both get their kickass moments, but it was Luthor that saved the day, bringing his character arc somewhat full circle. Darkseid is dealt with, though the manner that he is leaves things open for a possible sequel (which didn't happen).

One thing I know, though, the best line in the episode goes to Luthor. Metron tells Luthor that to comprehend the Anti-Life Equation, one must be a 12th level intellect to have the slightest hope of surviving... to which Luthor gives a cocky "then I'm overqualified."

But as badass as the world of cardboard speech is, the true appeal of the episode is the huge, huge brawl between superheroes, supervillains and Darkseid's Parademons. I really wished we could've had even more cameos, with the absence of the New Gods (despite Orion appearing in the background of last episode!) and Huntress being particularly noticeable, and the fact that Darkseid's named generals like Kalibak, Granny Goodness, Kanto and the rest didn't really end up making an appearance in this episode -- despite them theoretically being more epic enemies for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern etc to take out instead of just the siege engines.

The battle against the forces of Apokolips is decidedly epic, though, and I'll try to go through the montage of awesome action scenes and briefly touch upon their significance, because, hell,  it's the last episode and I'd be remiss not to at least be more comprehensive. From the awesome teleportation montage, as well as the montage of the Parademons assaulting every single city in the world, we then cut to Hawkgirl, Atomic Skull and Commander Steel defending the white house, a scene that has Hawkgirl kick an ungodly number of Parademon ass, Hawkgirl using Atomic Skull as a portable flamethrower (and later actually pull off a heroic rescue, good job!) and Commander Steel finding his inner Steve Rogers.

We cut to great action pieces as we have Giganta swatting Parademons off the Eiffel Tower, Vigilante and Shining Knight running across the Great Wall of China like the bros they are, Green Arrow and Black Canary fighting back-to-back, Bizarro finally embracing his inner Superman as he fights Parademons in a way similar to how Superman does it usually... we've got an Apokoliptan dragon-headed war engine marching through a city, and then a bigger dragon swoops in and it's revealed to be Sinestro's construct, we've got motherfucking Question charging a swarm of Parademons on a car, and then punching one nonchalantly as it tries to grab him, we have the Toyman shooting Parademons with a Nerf gun  seemingly harmlessly before the bullets blow them up as they hit the ground, Killer Frost sliding around on an ice slide in Venice, Hawkman armouring up and then joining the fight alongside Stargirl and STRIPE, Luthor machinegunning Parademons without flinching, Batman using electrocuted gloves to kung-fu punch Parademons, Zatanna turning Parademons into birds and sucking them into her hat, before turning them into fireworks, Steel whacking Parademons with his hammer and discovering how to destroy the doomsday devices...

Green Lantern and Flash take out one of the doomsday devices by Flash creating a trench and Green Lantern making a catapult, which I thought was actually one of the low-key bits for the original seven considering how epic Hawkgirl's awesome-warrior-leader bit was. Wonder Woman proves unstoppable, literally tearing her way through warships where other superheroes deal with mere soldiers. But in one of the best moments of the episode, a random old Chinese man tells his wife that he needs to do this, walks up into the chaos as Wonder Woman, Star Sapphire and Shining Knight are fighting a gigantic swarm... before kung-fu-punching one of the Parademons, turning into a gigantic Chinese dragon, and revealing himself to be J'onn J'onzz. That is, no lie, a moment that got me absolutely cheering when I saw it as a kid, showing how much J'onn has apparently developed off-screen to be more caring. Note that he returns Wonder Woman's hug immediately and smiles more.

And yes, while the action of the final episode is still focused on the DC universe's big boys, it doesn't mean that the lesser characters are left out of the action as well. But the central Superman story in this finale is definitely told well, despite the rather deus ex machina-y solution to the problem of Darkseid. The ending is awesomely bittersweet as Batman, with a cocky grin, lets the villains have a five minute running head-start, and Wonder Woman notes about how the adventure continues, getting the last line in the DCAU.

And, of course, the adventure does. Justice League Unlimited, or the DCAU as a whole, is hardly the only good DC comic series out there. But the adventure does continue, be it in comic books, newer iterations of the cartoons, live-action movies, live-action TV shows or video games, and the DCAU itself has stayed with me for more than a decade, and has by large shaped the definite portrayal of many of these characters for me. The DCAU carved a new niche, the fact that a superhero cartoon can be fun for children while being equally thrilling for both long-time fans and adult sensibilities, a balance that I absolutely appreciate.

God, it has been so long since I last watched the Justice League Unlimited finale on a hotel room during a vacation, on a special screening by Cartoon Network as they aired 'Alive!' and 'Destroyer' back-to-back, as I sat glued onto the television screen while my parents complained about how I should get to sleep because tomorrow's a big day or whatever... but it's the conclusion of so many episodes and so many hours of superheroing, the big, epic, final conclusion. And seeing it now in HD on my laptop screen as I boot it up on my DVD, it's just an absolute blast to see that, yes, this is actually pretty fucking awesome even more than a decade down the line.

That's it, folks, for the Justice League Unlimited reviews. I may continue doing DCAU material in either finally finishing Superman: The Animated Series or Batman Beyond, having recently being super-invigorated by reviewing this series, or maybe I'll do Young Justice, an equally tantalizing prospect. As Wonder Woman says in the final line of this episode, the adventure does continue indeed.


Justice League/Secret Society Roll Call:

• Speaking Superheroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, Vixen, Blue Devil, Hawkgirl, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Steel, Metron
• Non-Speaking Superheroes: Lightray, Red Tornado, Atom Smasher, Captain Atom, Metamorpho, Dr. Light, Green Arrow, Aztek, Booster Gold, Gypsy, Crimson Fox, Crimson Avenger, Vigilante, Dr. Mid-Nite, Starman, the Atom, STRIPE, Stargirl, Question, Ice, Fire, Hawkman, Commander Steel, Shining Knight, Black Canary, Hawk, Dove, Creeper, Zatanna, Thunderbolt, B'wana Beast, Elongated Man, Hourman, Wildcat, Dr. Fate, Vibe
• Speaking Supervillains: Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Atomic Skull, Giganta
• Non-Speaking Supervillains: Bizarro, Evil Star, Volcana, Cheetah, Heatwave, Killer Frost, Toyman, Sinestro, Star Sapphire

DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• Discounting 'guest members' like Speedy, Captain Marvel or Deadman, there are a couple of JLU members that didn't show up for the finale: Etrigan the demon, Mr. Miracle, Big Barada, Orion, Waverider, the Ray, Rocket Red, Sand, Nemesis and Obsidian. Huntress, too, but she's technically not a member, and Aquaman, due to the odd embargo on Aquaman-related characters in season three.
• Superman and Darkseid refer to their previous encounter in "Twilight", paraphrasing the lines they said to each other before they fought in that episode. J'onn has been absent since "To Another Shore".
• Commander Steel launching a spinning shield (stolen from a Parademon) is, of course, a nod to the Marvel superhero Captain America, who, like Commander Steel, is dressed up in a full-body costume with a cowl based on a flag.
• Bit of a dark comedy bit, but Darkseid's comment about how Batman is the first being to avoid the Omega Beams becomes hilarious when you consider a couple years later, the comics version of Batman would be killed by said Omega Beams (well, kinda) in the Final Crisis mega-arc. Cartoon Batman > Comics Batman, apparently.
• That "why don't you just throw it into the sun" line is definitely a rib at Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, isn't it?
• The 12th Level Intellect bit is a reference to how Brainiac often refers himself to (the average Coluan is an 8th Level Intellecct) in the earlier Golden/Silver Age comics, and perhaps Luthor's brief bond with Brainiac is what elevates him into such an intelligence state and explains his survival beyond main character syndrome.
• Several groups and team-ups in the battle and the final 'run down the stairs' sequence is a nod to various affiliations of the characters in the comics:
• B'wana Beast and Metamorpho are created by Bob Haney
• The Question, Captain Atom, Creeper, Hawk and Dove are created by Steve Ditko.
• Stargirl, STRIPE, Crimson Avenger, Vigilante and Shining Knight are five members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
• Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Wildcat and Dr. Fate are all prominent members of the Justice Society of America (though why is Sand absent here?)
• Vibe, Vixen, Gypsy and Commander Steel are introduced in the Justice League Detroit era.
• Booster Gold, Fire, Ice and Elongated Man are prominent characters in the Justice League International era.
• Zatanna, Atom, Red Tornado, Green Arrow and Black Canary represent the Justice League Satellite era, but these five are also very common side-members of various incarnations of the Justice League 
• The final seven members are, of course, the seven that founded the DCAU's Justice League, with the last three heroes being DC's trinity of Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman, with Batman's symbol being the last thing to grace the camera as a reference to how the DCAU begun with Batman: the Animated Series.
• J'onn's transformation into a dragon during the fight is, of course, a reference to the opening credits of Justice League where he transforms into an oriental dragon, something he's never done until this episode.