I am – Hercules!!


The DC superheroes return to Saturday morning this week after a long summer hibernating in their caves and fortresses and upside-down rocket-ship clubhouses.

“The Batman,” which garnered four daytime Emmys in four seasons, saw the caped crusader invited to join the Justice League in the big fourth-season finale penned by “Buffy” greats Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie.

So will Batman forget about the League in season five so he can just continue hunting down the likes of Riddler and Scarecrow? Not so much, according the folks at Warner Bros.

The two-part season premiere, titled "The Batman/Superman Story," teams the Caped Crusader with the Man of Steel -- again and for the first time -- when Lex Luthor begins hanging out with the Gotham City villains.

Over the course of the fifth season, The Batman will team with other members of the League, including Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman and the Martian Manhunter J’onn J’onzz. (Non-League DC icons Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin will continue to lurk about as well.)

With guest heroes come guest villains, so fans can expect – beyond Luthor and his hot henchwoman Mercy – the introduction to the series of Metallo, Toyman, Sinestro, Count Vertigo, Mirror Master, Black Mask and Scarface. (More traditional Bat-menaces like Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Clayface, and Mr. Freeze will be on deck as well.)

George Newbern, Dana Delany and Clancy Brown, who played Clark, Lois and Lex on “Justice League,” supply voices to “The Batman” this season. Others joining the cast or reprising roles from earlier episodes include Patton Oswalt (“Ratatouille”), Peter MacNichol (“24”), Louis Gossett Jr. (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Dorian Harewood (“Full Metal Jacket"), Daryl Sabara (“Spy Kids”), James Remar (“Dexter”), Miguel Ferrer (“Bionic Woman”), Gwendoline Yeo (“Desperate Housewives”), Jerry O'Connell (“Crossing Jordan”), John Laroquette (“Boston Legal”), Charlie Schlatter (“Diagnosis Murder”), Mitch Pileggi (“The X-Files”) and Diedrich Bader (“Office Space”).

“The Legion of Super-Heroes,” meanwhile, brings big changes to its sophomore season.

“Legion’s” two-part season premiere, "The Man From the Edge of Tomorrow," centers on a 41st century Superman quasi-clone named Kell-El who travels back to the 31st century to get help with the near-omnipotent galaxy-crushing 41st century threat Imperiex. (In the funnybooks, Imperiex was a 20th century threat who wound up killing Maxima and Wonder Woman’s mom.) The worse news is Imperiex follows Kell-El and brings the fight to the Legion’s era, Terminator-style.

The Imperiex threat will form the arc of the entire second season.

The original 21st-century Clark Kent Superman, if you're wondering, returns to the 31st century older, wiser and generally more Superman-like, and gets to meet and fight beside his clone.

Other Legion members will discover old and lost relatives.

Those said to join the Legion this season include Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Karate Kid and Dawnstar.

Yuri Lowenthal plays both Supermen. Imperiex is assayed by the great Phil Morris, who played J’onn J’onzz on “Smallville” and Jackie Chiles on “Seinfeld.”

“The Legion of Super-Heroes”: 11 a.m. Saturday. The CW.
“The Batman”: 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The CW.

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