COMICS/TV STUFF-(JUSTICE LEAGUE: "The Terror Beyond")

It seems like one of those handy "parallel universe" portals swallowed up the Justice League cartoon this weekend. I tuned in expecting to see some DC heavyweights smack some bad guys around... instead I saw, of all things, an homage to Marvel Comic's Defenders series!??!

I'm not saying this was bad... just unexpected. The final product was another satisfying hour o' fun as "Justice League" continues to amaze me. This episode revolves around Solomon Grundy, making his fourth appearance on the show. Grundy is on a rampage through Metropolis' waterfront and is being harranged by a military group of... Grundy Busters!? Grundy's been coming off like DC's version of the Hulk lately, and this completely demolishes any doubt. The head of the "Grundy Busters" even bears an amazing resemblance to the Hulk's old nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross. Just when the 'Busters appear to have Grundy contained, Aquaman appears on a sea serpent and hauls Grundy away.

The Justice League's Hawkgirl, Superman and Wonder Woman arrive to investigate. Confused about Aquaman's involvement, they head down to Atlantis and gab with Mera; Aquaman's wife and Queen of Atlantis. Atlantis is mobilizing its armies, but Aquaman is away at... Dr. Fate's tower??!

The Justice Leaguers arrive at the tower and break in. If you're not familiar with Dr.Fate, his tower is a conundrum. It has no doors or windows and the inside is limitless and Escher-eque... sorta like Dr. Who's phonebooth (and NO, I don't dig Dr. Who..so don't email me saying "You like Dr. Who?!! Yes!! Brother!!"). Fate appeared in the old "Superman" animated series, so Supes has dealt with him before. Upstairs, Dr. Fate is probing Solomon Grundy's mind and recounts his origin. A 50's gangster, Grundy was left for dead in the swamp until he popped out about 30 years later as a soulless zombie. Grundy suddenly remembers everything and feels ripped off at having no soul.

The Leaguers find Solomon Grundy strapped to the floor and being zapped by Aquaman's trident and Dr. Fate's spells. The Leaguers attack, but as they square off, Dr. Fate spirits each set of opponents away. Superman and Solomon Grundy are transported to the Egyptian Pyramids, while Wonder Woman and Aquaman are shipped to Easter Island. In probably some of the most intense one-on-one fighting sequences of the series, Aquaman defeats Wonder Woman and Superman defeats Grundy. All four make it back to Fate's tower, where Aquaman wants to pick a fight with Supes. Superman sighs and decks Aquaman- flooring him with ONE punch.

Meanwhile, Hawkgirl is making progress in her fight against Fate. She also notices something vaguely familiar about Fate's chants. The other four make it back and things finally settle down as explanations are granted. Fate and Aquaman were trying to sacrifice Grundy to prevent an interdimensional invasion from "The Old Ones". Fate reveals how, thousands of years ago, Poseidon of Atlantis used his magical trident to defeat the Old Ones, but the victory caused Atlantis to sink (of course, if I was looking to 'defeat the old ones', I'd probably poke a hole in their colostomy bags, hide their remote controls and knock over their walkers). Suddenly, Icthulu,the head cheese of the Old Ones breaks through into Fate's tower. The heroes fight him off, but know that he'll be back. Superman suggests forgoing the sacrifice. Instead, he suggests they travel to Icthulu's dimensions and take him out. Fate likes the plan... and acknowledges it like it's the Most Creative Plan in the World. ("beat him up? whoa...why didn't I think of that?!")

Aquaman, being a complete weenie, could care less about Icthulu's invasion and wants to head back to Atlantis. Fate zaps him back, while everyone else hops into Icthulu's dimension. While wandering through the other dimension, Hawkgirl reveals that Icthulu was once a deity of Thanagar- her home planet. The Thanagarians "outgrew" him, abandoning all faith because he stole their souls.

While the heroes confront Icthulu, a Monster Invasion Force has been sent to Atlantis. Aquaman and his troops are there to hold them off. Back in Icthulu's dimension, the Leaguers square off with all sorts of weird creatures. Hawkgirl has a face-to-face with Icthulu until Grundy hears the line about "stealing souls". Icthulu's a big squid headed skull thingie, so Grundy jumps on top of him and pounds his way into Icthulu's... umm, brain? Gross.

Grundy is able to weaken Icthulu and with Hawkgirl's help, wipes out the big squid. Grundy is mortally wounded in the process and dies in Hawkgirl's arms. Grundy is happy because he belives he will be reunited with his soul. Meanwhile, Aquaman has repelled the invaders and plugged the dimensional hole with the help of Superman and Wonder Woman. The heroes then head home, where they bury Grundy.

Overview/Dumb Comments
You may not have caught it, but their were ALOT of "Defenders" connections. I half-expected to see that fricking ELF make a cameo! The Grundy/Hulk connection was pretty obvious ("Grundy CRUSH!"), but if you look closer there were a few other similarities. The original Defenders were called the "Titans Three" and consisted of Sub-Mariner, Dr.Strange and Hulk. Here, we had Aquaman, Dr. Fate and Solomon Grundy. Plus, Grundy called Aquaman "Fish-Man" and Dr. Fate "Stupid Magician"...the same nicknames Hulk used for Sub-Mariner and Dr. Strange, respectively. Grundy even called Hawkgirl "Bird-Nose"... Hulk's old nickname for the Defenders' Nighthawk.

I suppose Wonder Woman filled the role of Valkyrie, but not sure who Superman's counterpart would be (maybe Silver Surfer, but that's really stretching it).

At first glance, Icthulu reminded me of Dr. Strange's Dormammu... but then I kicked myself for not catching the H.P.Lovecraft influence. Icthulu...Cthulu....duh! I've never thoroughly read "Call of Cthulu", but I remember something about Cthulu being this big underwater squid feller. So go pop in side two of "Ride the Lightning". Regardless, Icthulu was like a freaky monster that you'd find in old issues of "Defenders".

The subplot about the Thanagarians' lack of faith was somewhat thought-provoking. It's established that Hawkgirl is an atheist, but after seeing Grundy's solace in death, she's reconsidering. Mature theme, and something you wont find on any crappy Yo-Yo-Makanushi anime garbage.

Before you email me, thinking you've uncovered another nerdy reference, concerning Dr. Fate's chants--- DON'T. Fate's helmet has ALWAYS been the "Helm of Nabu". Not "Naboo" and it wasn't a Star Wars reference, chester! Man, if yer' gonna be a nerd, don't half-ass it!

One thing that bothered me was Dr. Fate's voice. He sounded like a dweeb at the Renaissance Fair-- pouring too much into his lines and over-acting. Also, I couldn't see the reason why Fate and Aquaman needed Solomon Grundy for their sacrifice. Maybe because he was already dead and, in their minds, it wasn't as evil as having to sacrifice a real person? The whole idea about Grundy trying to "get his soul back" didn't really work for me, either. He heard the word "soul" and that's his motivation for destroying Icthulu? I know he's supposed to be an imbecile, but to me the basis was weak.

The Defenders homage was great, and the last thing I ever expected to see on "Justice League". Well, next to E-man or Judge Dredd. An amazing thrill for comic fans, but this series is becoming VERY thick in continuity. But, with Cartoon Network's constant weeknight re-runs, I'm sure the casual fan can always get caught up. My dad's even caught some of these episodes...and its sold him on concepts like Gorilla City and Themyscria. Sadly, it looks likes there's only two more new episodes on the way. In roughly two seasons, "Justice League" has completely dismantled the stigma of "Super-Friends" and has raised the bar for all future superhero cartoons. I guess I kinda' like it...

Comment about this article. Contact The Asshole Who Wrote This!

Back to TV stuff Index