Re: Justice League Q

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 02:39:56 GMT, "Mark J. Reed" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
posted:

>Spoilers for the JL episode "Hereafter" follow
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>> "Linden Walker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>> 
>> > That said I do have some questions. Basically, I have never read a
>> > comic book and my knowledge of these characters come completely from
>> > TV and movies. Because of that I'm not really familiar with some of
>> > the characters especially the villians. Does anyone know of a good
>> > source of refrence material for backgrounds of these characters?
>> > Either a book, or website would be fine.
>
>There are various websites with information on the characters from the
>comics, but be advised that the history on the JL cartoon evidently
>differs in several significant ways from the books.  To find cartoon-specific
>info, I'd start at www.tvtome.com.
>
>> > I'm not quite sure of the history of Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl.
>
>The cartoon version of Martian Manhunter's origin was shown in the 
>first episode of the cartoon.  Basically, he was the last survivor of
>the destruction of the Martian race, awoken along with the menace
>responsible for destroying that race by a human space mission to Mars.  
>He came to Earth to help us avoid the Martians' fate at the hands of
>the same menace, and stuck around when Superman suggested the seven
>of them form a permanent team.
>
>In the comic books he was accidentally teleported from Mars by a human
>scientist and spent years living among us in secret until the appearance
>of costumed superheroes, especially the alien Superman, prompted him
>to go public.  
>
>The comic book version is more powerful, too. Besides the shapeshifting,
>density changing, flight, and telepathy, he can also turn invisible and
>shoot heat beams from his eyes.  
>
>
>> > For example, I remember it being Hawkman.
>
>In the comics there are both, and there have been several versions of
>the characters going back to the Golden Age of comics in the 1940s, but
>basically Hawkgirl is Hawkman's wife.  However, it's been established
>in the cartoon that Hawkgirl is alone on Earth; she was accidentally
>teleported from her home planet of Thanagar and nobody knows where
>Thanagar is, not even the Green Lanterns or their masters the Guardians.
>So if there is a Hawkman, he's back on Thanagar.
>
>> > Also since when can Wonder Woman fly? What happened to the invisible
>> > jet?
>
>There was a major event in DC comics in the mid-1980s called Crisis on
>Infinite Earths that reordered time and history; as a result,
>several characters' pasts changed, including those of Superman
>(who was now never Superboy, for instance; he didn't even have all his
>powers until he was older than that) and Wonder Woman.  This version
>of Wonder Woman received the power of flight along with the "speed of Hermes"
>she always had, which is logical given that Captain "Shazam!" Marvel's
>flight has been explained as a side effect of his "speed of Mercury".  
>
>> > Why isn't Aquaman in the JL?
>
>It doesn't really fit his characterization in the cartoon; he's too busy
>governing Atlantis to worry about protecting surface dwellers and 
>such. :)
>
>> > Also, what happened to the lame ass, fish
>> > talking Aquaman of my youth? How did he become this angry, bad ass
>> > loner?
>
>He was Namorized.  But his characterization in the comics has always been
>somewhat lonerish, although it's gotten more pronounced lately.
>As to the rest, basically the creators decided that they agreed with you
>about him being "lame ass" and decided to redesign him.  He
>lost the orange shirt and grew his hair out; he literally lost his hand
>and had it replaced with some nifty Atlantean-technology morphing hook
>thing.  In the comics at least, he can still telepathically communicate with
>fish, and has been shown to have more general telepathic abilities which
>J'onn has helped him with.  Don't know if we've seen any telepathy on
>the JL cartoon.
>
>> > Is Robin not in it because he is dead? I remmber a big deal in the
>> > media about them killng him off?
>
>Nope.  JL takes place in the same cartoon universe as "Batman: The
>Animated Series", in which Robin is alive and well.  
>
>There have been three Robins.  The first one, Dick Grayson, grew up
>to become a superhero in his own right instead of just a sidekick.
>He goes by Nightwing these days.  
>
>The second Robin in the comics was Jason Todd, who was killed by the
>Joker; that's the big media deal you read about.    I don't know
>if Jason Todd ever existed in the animated series.
>
>The current Robin in both the comics and the animated series is
>Tim Drake.  He's just not part of the League; heck, Batman isn't
>even a full-time member.  He just helps them out.
>
>> > Some of the villians I do know, Brainiac, Toyman etc... are completely
>> > different than I remember them.
>
>Brainiac was also changed by the Crisis; I don't know what's up with the
>TV Toyman, other than he's the same one we saw in the Superman animated
>series.
>
>> > I also don't know these other villians they've been using. I'm just
>> > curious who they match up with historically? 
>
>I don't know who this Livewire is, although in the comics
>"Livewire" is the new name of the Legionnaire formerly known as
>"Lightning Lad".  Other than that they are all from the comics;
>mostly as Superman foes, although Weather Wizard was originally
>a Flash villain.  What they all, including Livewire, have in
>common is that they all showed up in the Superman
>animated series, whence the grudges we saw in "Hereafter".
>
>Kalibak - the big guy voiced by Michael Dorn who went toe-to-toe
>with Lobo - is from Apokolips, the same planet as Darkseid ; he
>also showed up in the first JL episode of this season, "Twilight".
>
>Metallo is a super-strong cyborg powered by Kryptonite, which is why
>the other Leaguers wanted to get him out of the way before Superman
>arrived on the scene.
>
>The Weather Wizard is a guy with a device (his Weather Wand) which
>lets him control the weather.  What more do you need? :)
>
>Other villains this ep: Star Sapphire (the brunette with the purple
>version of Green Lantern's power); in the comics she was the girlfriend
>of a different Green Lantern, with a split personality disorder.
>She didn't know about her Star Sapphire identity.
>
>The sniper is an assassin known as Deadshot.
>
>The woman with the fire powers is Volcana.
>
>And the guy with the silly snake costume is Copperhead.
>
>Star Sapphire and Copperhead were in the Injustice League led by
>Luthor last year.  Volcana was featured in a prison break earlier
>this season in the episode "Only a Dream" featuring Doctor Destiny.
>
>Lobo was originally created as a joke.  He's the last survivor of the
>planet Czarnia - because he personally wiped out the rest of the Czarnians.
>He's super-strong, really good with chains (his weapon of choice),
>has a nifty space-bike, and is effectively immortal.  As indicated in
>the episode, he's an interstellar bounty hunter by trade; he and Superman
>have clashed many times.

a lobo cartoon would be hilarious.

>
>Vandal Savage was a Cro-magnon named Vandar Adg who received immortality
>and enhanced intelligence from a meteor.  He has repeatedly tried to
>take over the world.  He showed up in the JL cartoon last year having
>taken over the world by going back in time, taking Hitler's place, and
>winning WW2.  That's, incidentally, how Superman recognized the time
>machine - he'd seen Vandal Savage's design before.