Justice League – Eclipsed (Pt. 1 & 2)

When peace-keeping soldiers in the Middle East unearth an ancient hidden temple, they unwittingly release a vengeful spirit that possesses one of them. This spirit’s only goal is the total destruction of mankind, and even the Justice League is powerless to resist it.

Media by Bird Boy, Jim Harvey
Review by Vortex Infinite

Voices:
Maria Canals as Hawkgirl
Carl Lumby as J’onn J’onzz
George Newbern as Superman
Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman
Michael Rosenbaum as The Flash
Phil LaMarr as Green Lantern
Tracy Walter as Mophir
Enrico Colantoni as Glorious Gordon Godfrey
Brian Doyle Murray as Artie Bauman
Bruce McGill as General McCormick
Ted McGinley as Burns
Ian James Corlett as Sarge
Victor Williams as Snooty British Director
Lukas Haas as Private

This episode was…odd. That’s not a bad thing. I did enjoy it. I liked the comedy and it was appropriately tense. However, the pacing, the plot, and the ending had a feel that didn’t seem like Justice League. It was more like….Buffy.

This is a better Flash spotlight than "Brave and the Bold." Of all the
Leaguers, he is the most likely to cash in on his popularity. Also, the episode used his powers nicely, making him the only one to dodge the crystal shards and the only one capable of reaching "warp" speed (to quench all the arguments of who’s faster, Supes or Flash). And Flash learned a valuable lesson…awww.

Glorious Godfrey made me chuckle. He is an accurate representation of today’s sensationalist media. ("The hard truth YOU want to hear!") It makes sense that there would be backlash against the League. He also served as a nice reminder of what happened to comics in the mid-twentieth century because of "Seduction of the Innocent." A nice lesson to mud-slinging censors everywhere.

I liked Mophir. He had a nice Igor voice going on. I was kind of surprised when he managed to KNOCK OUT Flash and GL by catching them off guard. His jewel is a potent weapon and he had good sense to give it to
Flash. Throughout most of the episode I felt sorry for him. "It’s not
Mophir’s fault. But Mophir knows he will be blamed anyway." His commercial was HILARIOUS however. Way to go, Mophir!

As for the villain itself…Obviously, there was no "Eclipso." Just an eclipsing gem. And that’s where the episode feels weird. Without a central villain, it seems like something out of a different series. I did like the idea of a possessed Justice League versus Flash. However, their plan to neutralize the sun was laughable. The AFD would get vaporized just being NEAR the sun. I doubt it can actually neutralize it from the inside. Flash’s solution also seemed kind of contrived.

However the threat was one of the biggest in JL history. It was pretty tense and creepy. This season has a nice way of setting tone.

Overall, I’d love to watch it again. It was a different direction, so it distracted me from the plot. But I like how the writers are willing to experiment. Definitely not a bad result. Four stars.