Happy New Year
Original Airdate – April 28th, 2012
The Team takes on the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo… as a precursor to an alien invasion!
Written by Greg Weisman
Directed by Tim Divar
Review by GregX
Media by Warner Bros. Animation
Additional Images
Additional HD Images
Review:
Season One took so long to air that it actually does feel a bit like five years. Time skips are a gamble. In theory, when they are this big, I do not like. In practice? Well, I take that on a case by case basis. Did I like this one? Well, over the coming weeks I’ll find out, won’t I?Of course, this being the internet, a lot of people are already decrying it. I can understand where they’re coming from. We missed five years of our protagonists’ lives. Superboy and Miss Martian are no longer a couple. Zatanna and Rocket are now members of the Justice League. Robin is now Nightwing. Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Artemis are all unaccounted for. Am I annoyed? Yes, a little. Will everyone be accounted for? I think so. Will we find out what happened in between? I think we’ll learn what we need to know, yes. No, the sky did not fall. Of course, what I’ve found the most annoying are the people who are proclaiming that the series is going to take a plunge in the ratings because kids are too dumb to understand what is going on. Well, anyone who says that is speaking from a position of unbridled arrogance and is even dumber than the people they claim to be speaking for.
So now we have a new Team. Aside from Nightwing, Superboy and Miss Martian, we’ve got Wonder Girl, Batgirl, Lagoon Boy, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, and somebody I don’t know. I am not a DC guy, and never really have been. So, after months of getting used to and settling into the DC Universe, I am finally thrust back in having to look up most of these people so I know who I’m talking about. I’ve heard of Blue Beetle, and I am very familiar with Batgirl. I have no idea who anybody else is. But I’m sure we’ll get to know them, and I’ve always been a patient viewer. The production team has long since earned my trust.
Lobo, ugh, Lobo. I know he was introduced in 1983, but he didn’t really take off until the 90’s and, well, he’s not someone I’m ever going to like. I’m not a fan of the overly violent, over the top 90’s anti-heroes of comics, and I never will be. From the same era that brought us Venom: Lethal Protector, and Image. So, Lobo was an unwelcome sight here. But he did lead to a great near freak out shot where he tore Tseng in half and we found out he was a Skrull…. er, an alien. A tiny alien in an H.R. Giger robot suit.
In season one, I kept calling the Miss Martian/Superboy relationship shallow and hormones (like Romeo and Juliet). I did not call it that to trash it, I thought it was that by design. Then said I was wrong after the “I always knew what you were scene.” Now, it looks my initial assessment was the correct one. But, I will have to see the circumstances behind their break up first. But really, how long do most teen romances survive?
My favorite parts of the episode was when we learned that the Justice League are wanted war criminals all across the galaxy. We all theorized that Vandal Savage had them carry out something like this, but it looks like they caused the galaxy’s September 11th or Pearl Harbor. I can’t wait to see where this goes. I also loved Tim Curry as G. Gordon Godfrey, all he needed to do to become more like Glenn Beck was cry. I thought it was hilarious.
Overall, did I like it? Yes. Of course, I am also confident everyone will be accounted for. We’ll hear from Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Artemis soon enough. The Light is still out there, and still going to be a major element in the series. We’ll hear about Red Arrow’s mission to find Speedy. We’ll find out why Superboy and Miss Martian broke up. The show was not ruined, and while I understand the shock, I think all viewers with an IQ over 70 are at least keeping this in perspective, and know we’re gonna get the show we need. Either way it’s always better to write up towards your audience instead of assuming your audience is a bunch of brain dead, illiterate nitwits like Jeph Loeb’s Ultimate Spider-Man does and like the nitwits who are “speaking for” the youngsters in the audience.
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