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Justice
League Unlimited
Ancient History
Original U.S. Airdate - 04/29/06
The
first few notes of Taps are playing for Justice League
Unlimited, but that doesn't stop Green Lantern from
chasing The Gentleman Ghost through the city streets. Just
as the English apparition is about to make his escape, Hawkman
swoops in to lend GL a hand. The tension between the two
is palpable, given their shared history with Hawkgirl, and
they awkwardly bid adieu.
Neither
one of them knows that at that very moment they are being
watched by the Shadow Thief who just happened to be hiding
under the right car in the right parking lot at the right
time to see the encounter.
Back
at their nookie pad, GL helps Vixen out the door with her
luggage. She's off to a photo shoot (remember she's a model
by day and a Vixen by night) but not before she spies the
Shadow Thief sneaking in to their apartment. A fight breaks
out and John is knocked unconscious. Shadow Thief tells
Vixen to stay out of his business with Green Lantern and
Hawkgirl, not realizing the irony of the statement.
As
women often do, Vixen gets Hawkgirl on the phone and the
two of them pay a visit to Hawkman's museum to seek his
counsel. In another amazing coincidence, the museum is where
the Shadow Thief is keeping Green Lantern hostage. Geez,
that Shadow Thief seems to be following Hawkman all over
the place!
Another
fight breaks out with the Shadow Thief getting the upper
hand on Vixen, Hawkgirl and Hawkman. Using the mystical
Absorbacron, Shadow Thief reveals the ancient love triangle
between Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Hawkman that began 8000
years ago in ancient Egypt.
Katar
(Hawkman) and Shayera (Hawkgirl) were Thanagarians stranded
on Earth. They helped to build an empire in the desert and
were honored as gods by the Egyptians. While Shayera wants
to settle down and have a child, Katar wants to bring peace
to the world first (by conquering it.)
So
Hawkgirl seeks comfort in the arms of General Ashari (Green
Lantern) but their affair is observed by Katar's high priest,
Hath-Set. After Hath-Set tattles on the lovers to Katar,
he poisons them hoping to win Katar's favor. Heartbroken,
Katar kills himself in a tragic tale worthy of story and
song which will be performed by Derek McCaw later on in
this review.
Back
in the present, the Shadow Thief reveals one final secret;
that he is the disembodied "dark half" of Hawkman created
by Carter Hall's first encounter with the Absorbacron.
Now,
acting on Hawkman's darkest desires, the Shadow Thief has
delivered the opportunity for Hawkman's vengeance against
Shayera and Ashari for their affair all those centuries
ago. It starts with Hawkman decapitating Green Lantern.
Ancient
History covered a lot of ground this week, with numerous
flashbacks detailing Hawkman/girl's origin. While it differs
from the regular DCU continuity in a lot of way, it makes
a logical sense within JLU continuity.
While
the characters featured are not necessarily my favorites
(where's Batman?) I was entertained for the full 30 minutes.
The chemistry between Green Lantern and Hawkgirl is still
enjoyable even to a crabby cynic like me. With only two
episodes left, it doesn't look like long time Justice
League fans will get to see it resolved. We know that
the Ross and Rachel of the WB DCU hook up eventually, but
we may never learn how.
Maybe
we will find out on Hawkman's new sitcom, Hawky.
Derek's
Continuity Corner
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