Title: Justice League: Third
Season Premiere “Tabula Rasa, Parts 1 – 2”
Starring Of Voices Of: Kevin
Conroy, Maria Canals, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumbly, George Neuborn,
Michael Rosenbaum, Gary Cole, Jason Marsden, and Kevin Michael Richardson
Writer: Stan Berkowitz
Director: Dan Riba
Series Creator: Bruce Timm
Producer: Bruce Timm
Running Time: 45 minutes
without commercials
Media: Cartoon Network
Original Animated Series (NTSC VHS Screener)
World Premiere Saturday,
October 4, 2003, at 10pm (ET/PT)
Network: Cartoon Network
(Check your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: Not Available At
Time Of Review
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Lex
Luthor wearing a power suit that gives him superpowers is defeated by Superman
and barely escapes back to Lex-Corp where he discovers Amazo, a powerful
learning android intended to evolve and gain sentience. With its creator dead,
Lex takes advantage of Amazo by making it believe that the scientist who created
it was like a brother to him and therefore Amazo is now like a son to Lex.
Wishing to fulfill the wishes of its new father figure, Amazo goes out and
attacks the Justice League. Our heroes valiantly fight against the machine, but
the machine can adapt and mimic all of their superpowers upon site so it can
fly, move a lighting speeds, shoot energy beams, morph its hand into a mace, and
much more thus making it more powerful than any group of superheroes combined.
Meanwhile
J’onn J’onnzz has a crisis of conscience. Prior to the attacks by Amazo,
J’onn J’onnzz opens his mind and scans the people of Metropolis for signs of
where Luthor might be hiding. Subsequently he is overwhelmed by the narcissistic
psyche of the citizens and retreats into the country where he questions whether
or not he should be helping to preserve such a self absorbed race of people.
“Tabula
Rasa, Parts 1 – 2” is a fabulous third season opener for “Justice
League” because it features all seven league members in a story where they are
all able to shine and work together against one of there toughest opponents yet.
The fight scenes are spectacular with Superman and Amazo locking eye beams in a
deadlocked battle or wills. Superman clobbers Amazo with a steal girder in one
scene that is fantastic because the animators provide great detail all the way
down to the sparks coming from the friction between the metal and concrete as
the girder slides into the ground. At times the fighting can be somewhat
humorous because Amazo can duplicate and administer the super powers of his
opponent and just get totally medieval on them like when he captures Wonder
Woman within his own Green Lantern like ray and proceeds to hammer her around
like a rag doll. Some might guess as I did how this problem will be resolved,
but it is still handled in such a way as that there is freshness to it.
Overall
this is an excellent episode with plenty of action and a very well rounded
story. The Cartoon Network will begin airing the third season of “Justice
League” every Saturday night from 10pm to 11pm (ET/PT) starting October 4,
2003. So now fans will not be left dangling with a cliffhanger at the end since
they will get a full two-part adventure instead.
During this
season, members of the Justice League will be called upon to battle allied
villains, supernatural creatures and other powerful forces of evil determined to
usurp authority over the world and to destroy the Justice League. However since
superheroes often have super-egos and conflicting personalities, tensions ensue
when members of the Justice League must work together.
In addition
to providing a screener of the above reviewed third season premiere, Cartoon
Network was kind enough to deliver some details on other upcoming episodes this
October, which are detailed as follows:
Saturday,
October 11, 2003: “Only A Dream” – When members of the Justice League are
trapped in a nightmarish dream world controlled by the evil Dr. Destiny, they
are forced to confront their own darkest fears.
Saturday,
October 18, 2003: “Maid Of Honor” – After Wonder Woman befriends a
jet-setting Kasnian princess, she finds herself enmeshed in a complex plot of
intrigue and betrayal masterminded by the Justice League’s old enemy, Vandal
Savage.
Saturday,
October 25, 2003: “Hearts And Minds” – When John Stewart learns that Katma
Tui, his old girlfriend from the Green Lantern Corps, is missing in action, he
leaves Earth to try to rescue her from the clutches of the mad prophet known as
Despero.
The third
season premiere of “Justice League” entitled “Tabula Rasa” will start
new weekly adventures with one-hour episodes beginning on Saturday, October 4,
2003, at 10pm (ET/PT) only on the Cartoon Network.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.