The producers seem to finally have the hang of the 30 minute episode now, and interestingly enough, the stronger episodes seem to be written by comic book writers -- in this case Darwyn Cooke (The New Frontier).This time around we got action, some good dialog and the JLU was left with a familiar the familiar theme, "don't trust anyone."

Derek's Continuity Corner

Comics fans know who "Task Force X" really are -- the Suicide Squad! For reasons that should be obvious, even to Michael Goodson, however, there's no way that group name is going to make it on a kids' show. So Cooke and company reached back to the groups' Silver Age antecedent, one of DC's many "ordinary men and women" superteams from that era.

The original Task Force X were all military people that took on dinosaurs, monsters, aliens and the like. (As Robby Reed mentioned in the late lamented H-E-R-O, it was the sixties. These things happened all the time.) Led by Colonel Flagg, they lived up to their unofficial nickname of Suicide Squad and all died. Son Rick Flagg picked up his father's mantle and led a new Task Force X, which evolved officially into Suicide Squad in the 80's.

That series featured the concept done here -- super-villains serving their country and possibly earning parole, or at least better treatment in prison. Instead of explosive nanites in their skulls -- where would writers be today without nanites? -- they wore explosive bracelets set to go off if they disobeyed too egregiously.

It should be no surprise that Deadshot was a cornerstone of that team, and the formerly minor Batman villain became a huge fan favorite, even spinning off into a mini-series of his own (and again a few months ago). Also along for the ride and included in this episode: Captain Boomerang.

In the pages of Suicide Squad, Boomerang seemed barely competent and had the hardest time even pretending to reform. Of course, this year he died of a gunshot wound, killed by Jack Drake, Robin's father, in the pages of Identity Crisis. This week, he also has his brain briefly reanimated in The Flash. A new Boomerang has taken his place, the illegitimate son of the first.

The Clock King appeared on Batman: The Animated Series.

Plastique, though minor, did serve in the Suicide Squad and became the most effective of Captain Atom's archenemies when the quantum-powered hero had his own series. So effective, in fact, that she beat him with the one weapon that lays us all down low: love. She reformed and married him. Or at least, once upon a time that's how the story went. Recent Captain Atom appearances imply that that's no longer canon. "Task Force X" does at least open the door for that with the good Captain saving Plastique's life and definitely having some sort of attraction for her.

Two Soldiers of Victory have gotten a surprising amount of screen time this year, and it is nice to see The Shining Knight and The Vigilante look surprisingly competent.

Clearly, though, the producers want to treat Vibe as a joke. Though he has appeared in many episodes, he never does anything. Nor does Gypsy, who we also briefly see running. Both were members of the infamous Justice League Detroit, the nadir of the series that thankfully led to the Keith Giffen relaunch.

Michael Goodson