Cool News
Patriot Act Scrutinized! JUSTICE LEAGUE 5.7!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Congratulations, America! Every disgusting corner of the English-speaking world gets to see “Justice League Unlimited” fifth-season episodes before you do! Here’s “Drunk Irishman” with a review of 5.7:
What's it called?
"Patriot Act"
Is it about an actual piece of legislation?
No.
Who's responsible?
Static Shock and Krypto the Superdog vet, Matt Wayne.
Who's the big bad?
Remember General Wade Eiling, voiced by the magnificent J.K. Simmons? He's back and as distrusting of the League as ever.
And what had he been up to?
He broke into a top secret military test facility and stole a serum that made him into a giant, grey Hulk-like meta-human.
And he does this why?
He still feels that the League is a threat to the World and wants to show the League that "they're not the only superpower on the block – that there's someone out there that can stop them." But, he's saved most of his personal animus for Superman who he sees as the figurehead of the League and therefore the evil it represents.
That sounds kinda familiar?
The whole episode does seem to be an indictment of America's current military policy and the general philosophy of neo-conservatism and neo-realist thought.
What?
America: good. Everyone else: bad.
America having power: good. Anyone else having power: bad.
So can we expect to see Superman?
Sadly, no. Apart from a brief scene in the beginning with Green Lantern, none of the Founding League members appear.
Then who do we get?
A bevy of un-super-powered heroes; Green Arrow, Star Girl, Mr. Terrific, Shinning Knight, Vigilante, the Crimson Avenger and Green Arrows' former sidekick, Speedy. Most of our heroes have been attending a parade to honour the Justice League.
That seems like a lot of people to send to a parade?
A point which was humourously observed by both the heroes and the crowd. It apparently takes 5 regular heroes to make up for one Superman.
Anyone else?
A reappearance by the uber-magnificent Amanda Waller, who seems to have softened her tone towards the League. And may or may not be eating liberals.
What's bad?
The storyline is entirely clichéd. If you have any knowledge of what's going on in the world today, you'll easily see that it's an indictment of the neo-conservative ideology. That's fine for people like me who disagree with it anyway, but other people who may subscribe to that way of thinking and just tune in to the show to be entertained may find themselves insulted. Had the point of the episode been to create a discussion, I would have been fine with it, but it just doesn't feel like that's what they wanted to do to me. It just felt cheap and I expect more from this show.
What's good?
Amanda Waller is back!! "I don't have superpowers, potty mouth. It's the staff". The Dirty Harry – Clint Eastwood discussion in the beginning. Green Arrows reaction to back-up arriving. "I didn't come all this way to see a stupid knight." Shinning Knight.
Rating: ** out of Five.
Herc’s Favorite DC Universe Tales Ever Collected in one beautiful 309-page $13.59 volume!!! DC Universe: The Stories Of Alan Moore!!
-
+ Expand All
-
As in the Teen Titan? Is he voiced by Mike Erwin, too? This could mean a final bookend from Teen Titans to Justice League. The first was in TT when Starfire went into the future and Robin had become Nightwing. The second was this season of TT, when Michael Rosenbaum played "Kid Flash," which of course cemented the fact that TT was a prequel to Justice League. If Speedy (Arsenal?) is, I dunno, ten years older, this could be the first time a character that originated in TT appears in JLU! Not that we'll ever see Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, or Beast Boy on JLU. Come to think of it, have we ever seen Robin or Nightwing on JLU?
-
Here's hoping that this is the sort of level of Grant Morrison-based content we're going to see on the show. Not to knock Morrison, but the only people who can comprehend World War III or Rock of Ages are Morrison and 15-year-olds on qualudes.
-
Hmm, kind of annoying that Speedy's allowed in, but we didn't get Robin for the (otherwise great) Man Who Has Everything episode.
-
Way to go, Justice League! It's always a good idea to alienate a big portion of your audience for no apparent reason.
-
Even When this cartoon doesn't hit one outta the park... when it's watered down or a bit cheesy... it's still one of the best friggin' things on tv! Just an observation.
-
Does anybody else expect to laugh when they forget how much of a depature in character Shining Knight is in Seven Soldiers to everywhere else? Including the brief cameo in the JLU cartoon?
JLU Needs more Zatanna and that is a FACT.
More Black Canary too please. -
What I love about the dude in the comics is that he's even more indestructable that Doomsday. In this episode he sadly came across as little more than a carbon copy. It was nice to see him kick some arse though. As I said to the wife, there's no way Green Arrow and company can take this guy down.
-
Jan 24, 2006 5:26:41 AM CST
Yeah, the anti-America message was about as subtle as Crash...bu
by blue1622
Seeing Eiling become Morrison's "The General", even without the Shaggy Man, was pretty god-awesome. I love Morrioson's JLA...and -speaking as one who agrees with teh NeoCons- yeah, I can do without the ham-fisted sermons, but I still dug the episode. It had Speedy -looking several years older than TT, Mister Terrific taking command, the Newsboy Legion, Waller and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. All good things.
-
Alfred showed up in the Thanagarian invasion eps, but pretty sure that was it. I think Barbara (Batgirl) was referenced once...
Supposedly, all the Bat supporting cast and villians are off limits now, due to the other cartoon, but may the other Titans will turn up. Would be f'ing mint if they use Starfire in an adaptation of Mignola's Cosmic Oddesey (tough to do in 22 minutes, though.)
-
My three-year old has become obsesses with the Justice Leauge (especially the Big Three). Are there any episodes of the series over the last three year or so that are especially Big Three-centric. I know where to go to get them, but the few episodes I have picked up seem to have a lot of the lesser-known characters that she isnt familiar with. Any help passing on my comic book problem to my daughter would be appreciated.
-
Show her the Super-Friends instead. Seriously.
-
try for the man who has everything, or kids stuff.
-
Or two. Whenever Superman and Green Lantern go away. Thanks for the review. Even though it doesn't sound like a good one, it's too bad we have to wait forever to see this and when we do get them, have your DVRs set because you only get one shot.
-
The "Shinning Knight" would be. Some villian goes into his villian monologue, and he runs up and cracks them across the shin with the broad side of his sword.
-
I actually had to quit reading Chud, because it could not make it through a whole week with out sticking it in my Neo Con eye. I will never understand a MOVIE FAN website's desire to chase off a third of it's readership (Yes it may scare you, but there are that many of us out there.)off over political differences. The comic book industry is going that way also, so I am not surprised by a comic book based cartoon heading down the same cliched path.
-
Just ask. You don't have to peddle these geeky box sets and comic books, banking on the pittance you get served from Amazon. It's just sad, man.
-
now why didnt I think of that?
-
Too bad it's the new one and not the original guy.
-
It doesn't sound like it's anti-conservative or anti-American or whatever just from this guy's review. Unless theres more than this description gave, where's the "indictment"? Eiling going crazy and getting himself some powers is straight out of the comics. Eiling thinking the Justice League has too much power and that only he should have all the power, blah blah blah doesn't sound like anything going on in the world to me. When has America tried to take someone down just because they had lots of power? There are plenty of countries out there with WMDs that America could care less about. Britain? They're one of the good guys, so why should America care that they have nukes? We don't. If it's a swipe at conservatives, it's a pretty weak one considering that if the Justice League series as a whole (and especially season 4) resembles real-world events at all, it's the League is doing their best to protect the world from the bad guys, but they keep getting smacked down and attacked by people who should be on their side letting them do their job. So really, if anything The Justice League=conservative American policy and allies, the Legion of Doom=terrorists and despots, and General Eiling=anti-war liberal whiners. Just picture Eiling transforming into The General as an ineffectual protester morphing into bloated, loudmouth Senator Kennedy.
-
usual dose on neo-con hatred. But if you think about it, the paranoid tone has been building for awhile now.
-
I think the reviewer was projecting too much.
-
"Do you want us all to get SUUUED?"
-
...Daredevil, but it kind of falls apart when you consider the Question is a member of the League, as is the aging hippie Green Arrow. And they aren't exactly token liberals. You've got various politcial viewpoints and problem solving styles being expressed across the focal roster of the team (Superman's big on family values and traditional notions of charitable giving, Batman's a hardliner on crime and punishment but vehemently opposes the death penalty and is a strong advocate for prisoner's rights, Aquaman is a violent environmentalist, etc.). So to try and paint them with the broad brush of conservatism as it is most currently and popularly defined is simply not going to work. Conversely, the governmental conspiracy and entangling alliances of military and corporate America (themes of past seasons) have seemed to place conservative ideals in opposition to the idea or existing manifestation of the league (if not its mission). As to why a show like this might risk alienating a portion of its audience "for no apparent reason," vikingkitty, I would suggest that the artist(s) reason might be to make people look more closely or in a different way at something they've learned to look past or largely ignore. It's one of hte things art does when it's working. I'll have to actually see this episode to see if that's the case, though.
-
"you'll easily see that it's an indictment of the neo-conservative ideology. That's fine for people like me who disagree with it anyway, but other people who may subscribe to that way of thinking and just tune in to the show to be entertained may find themselves insulted." Now we wouldn't want to hurt the poor widdle neo-cons' feelings, would we? Jesus, agree or disagree with their ideas about The Way Things Ought To Work, but there's absolutely no denying their total ruthlessness in getting and holding onto power. People who smear all who disagree with them as traitorous and enemies of the state should be able to laugh off a superhero cartoon (as yet unaired in the US, even!) taking a swipe or two at them. If they can't take the heat, best to get the fuck out of the kitchen.
-
Like he's climbing up a goddamn tree? Or he whacks villians below the knee and above the ankle? Which is it? Tard.
-
Some are reading too much into this. Isn't this episode a re-telling of an old dcu story? Would it have had the same relevance then as some are trying to proclaim now? Not everything is a commentary on World Events ya know
-
I don't have a problem with them making an "indictment of the neo-conservative ideology". So i will not "get out of the kitchen" I just have a problem with using a cartoon on a children's network to do so. Writing a book or paper on it is one thing, using a cartoon (that many children will see) seems deceptive. I don't know maybe i am wrong. But i like the debate to be out in the open. Not hiding behind flashy colors and iconic superheros.
-
JLU or the General? I'm still not buying that this particular episode is expressing a political message.
-
Jan 24, 2006 5:23:33 PM CST
"The whole episode does seem to be an indictment of America'
by rickslamu2
AND THIS IS BAD..... HOW????????
-
It's bad because it's a really one sided attack on the way many (myself included) believe. You know, the same school of thought that has kept America free of attacks since '01, the same that has kept Israel alive despite being surrounded by homicidal a-holes who want to annihilate it...
Don't agree with me? It's a complex issue, and intelligent people can disagree...but presenting such a biased, dumbed down, straw man-ly take in an entertainment program is gonna isolate a chunk of your audience. If you want to raise an issue fine...at least acknowledge that there's another side. -
Jan 24, 2006 5:45:33 PM CST
able -watch the episode. It gets as preachy as Crash, towards th
by blue1622
Watch it, and decide for yourself, though...
-
What a shitty end to an already shitty episode. The Shining Knight speech was the best thing it had to offer.
-
Jan 24, 2006 7:15:36 PM CST
"an indictment of America's current military policy and the
by delete me
Neoconservatism is the opposite of neorealism, dumbass. Neoconservatism is Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle; neorealism is Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski. There's plenty of the former in the current administration and none of the latter. Please know what you're talking about before you pontificate.
-
...children's cartoons hadn't been unabashedly patriotic and pro-war for decades. Was THAT political content inappropriate for a children's cartoon or show?
-
...what, precisely, do you believe kept America free from attacks between 1941 and 2001? You're assigning undue significance to something that really is a coincidence. Especially when you consider that the 2001 attacks happened while the minds behind the school of thought you espouse were already in power.
-
Jan 25, 2006 5:06:02 PM CST
Fuck the NEO CONS! Go Justice League. Teach those kids while t
by r.c. the "wise"
-
Am I the only one that caught the "golden age" group of non-super kids running amok in this ep? (geez, and I didn't start collecting comics till the late 70's - makes me feel old). Very cool to see the Newsboy Legion in action (sans Guardian), and even cooler to see (the unamed in the ep but named in the credits) Speedy. Coolest was that they used the Teen Titans version of it. Perhaps we could see some other crossovers should we get another season?
-
Comics Continuum et al. has confirmed that Cartoon Network will start airing the new episodes starting February 11, 2006. so...Patriot Act should air 2/25/06 in the U.S.
-
5.8 has aired. I'm sure that maybe there's a way you can see it if you want to, since cartoon network isn't trying to make it very easy on us. So where's the talkback for that one?
-
I've found 305,306 and an incomplete 308 on alt.binaries.multimedia.cartoons, but no sign of 307 anywhere. That seems strange to me...
-
All torrent search engines are not created equal. I put my trust in the wrong one for a while...
-
And if I'm not mistaken, a very high profile one in the current administration.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Quint sees some DJANGO UNCHAINED footage at CANNES!!! -- 257 total posts 257 posts
- A Fire Definitely Rises In The New DARK KNIGHT RISES One Sheet!! -- 179 total posts 178 posts
- "I Don't Remember An Episode." The Teaser For THE MASTER Is Here!! -- 143 total posts 143 posts
- "Some Men Are Coming To Kill Us. We're Going To Kill Them First." Teaser To SKYFALL! -- 239 total posts 122 posts
- Charlize Theron thinks it is pretty badass to be in a Ridley Scott Space Movie! PROMETHEUS featurette -- 79 total posts 79 posts
- UPDATED!!! TWO Teasers For ANCHORMAN 2 Are Online And On Top And Filled With Cream!! -- 85 total posts 73 posts
- Peter Weir Will Enter THE KEEP! -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- Tonight Brings The Last HOUSE Ever!! The NBC Premiere Of AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR!! More Stern On AGT!! And More!! THE LAST MONDAY OF SWEEPS!! -- 95 total posts 60 posts
- The Infamous Billy The Kidd Chats With Director Joe Carnahan About THE GREY And His Vision For DEATH WISH!! -- 57 total posts 57 posts
- Tom Cruise Saddles Up For A Remake Of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!! -- 59 total posts 57 posts