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On TV Today's Date:

Justice League
The Terror Beyond

Original Airdate - 11/15/03

(Editor's Note: Yes, we're missing a review of Eclipsed. We're trying to get a copy to watch and review, but it may be a while. Anybody have any solutions?)

Somewhere in the dark of night, the military is hunting Grundy, Solomon Grundy. After much smashing and blasting, they finally knock Grundy down for the three count. Suddenly, on the back of a giant purple sea serpent, Aquaman comes to Grundy's rescue. Aquaman swoops Grundy up into his arms and they ride off into the sea.

It was so romantic.

Down in Atlantis, Aquaman introduces Grundy to Dr. Fate and his wife, Inza. They have plans for Grundy, but first they need to learn about Grundy's origin.

Cyrus Gold was a bank robber killed by his fellow mobsters. His body was buried in a mystical swamp after being cursed by voodoo. The two magicks did not mix and the swamp gave birth to Grundy, a soulless creature always seeking something but never knowing why.

Meanwhile Hawkgirl, Superman and Wonder Woman get the scoop on Aquaman and decide they need to go pay Fish Boy a visit. Along the way they stop another enormous sea creature from attacking an ocean liner full of people. To Superman's surprise, the creature is able to wound him, which means it is magical in origin.

Not enough writers exploit Superman's weakness to magic. Is it because the realm of magic and what is and is not possible is so vaguely defined or do people just not like magic stories? If I pull a rabbit out of a hat, can that rabbit bite Superman? Can I choke him with a scarf I pulled out of my mouth? Enquiring fanboys want to know.

Eventually the Justice League trio breaks into Dr. Fate's house and start demanding explanations for Aquaman's actions and Grundy's involvement. Grundy, Aquaman and Dr. Fate are involved in some sort of incantation and rather than say "hey, give us a sec, we're trying to save the world," they demand the Justice League make like a tree and get lost. Soon, the ritual is interrupted by fighting! We'll break this down Chairshots style:

Wonder Woman vs. Aquaman on Easter Island
There was no doubt going into this match that Wonder Woman was going to beat The Chicken of the Sea. She's way better looking, a better fighter, has terrain on her side and doesn't smell like kelp. Unfortunately for her, the fight happened to take place near a body of water and Aquaman cheated by nearly drowning her. You just can't trust people with gills.

Superman vs. Grundy in Egypt
We've seen this match more times than Triple H vs. Mick Foley but these two can still mix it up. Both guys looked weaker than they have in previous bouts. Grundy was using Hulk's move set in his last appearance, but those gamma claps and power punches have been replaced with a more Rock 'em Sock 'em robot style. Superman's punches caused shock waves when he fought Lord Superman in A Better World but they barely cause a ripple here. Superman wins with little effort, as predicted.

Dr. Fate vs. Hawkgirl in the spirit world
Who knew that mace of Hawkgirl's had so many uses? It smashes, bashes, deflects magic blasts, soaks up electricity and can still pulverize a tomato. It really is a little overpowered, but I'll chalk it up to being made out of Nth metal and leave it at that. Hawkgirl, who refers to herself as Shayera Hol, holds her own against Dr. Fate until a run in from The Terror Beyond.

Okay, The Terror Beyond looks like H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu, has a name that rhymes with Cthulhu and has minions similar to Cthulhu. That said, I'm calling him Cthulhu.

Anyway, Dr. Fate, Aquaman and Grundy explain to the Justice League trio that they were trying to prevent Cthulhu from unleashing hell on Earth and thanks to them, everything is screwed.

If this episode has a major fault, it's that the main plot could have been entirely avoided if anyone had just taken two seconds to explain to the Justice League why they needed Grundy and what their goal was. Sure, Hawkgirl has a short temper and Superman can be gung ho for a fight now and then, but Wonder Woman is a diplomat. Wouldn't it have been in her nature to try and talk things over before bashing heads?

Regardless, The Terror Beyond was an enjoyable episode. It was jam packed full of locations but none that the plot didn't justify. Atlantis, Dr. Fate's House, the spirit world, the deep sea, Metropolis and Cthulhu's brain were all pretty cool. The episode also gave us Solomon's Grundy's back-story, a history of Atlantis and some Thanagarian history.

Dwayne McDuffy scripts are usually the most consistently enjoyable. Only three of the Justice League members were used this week, but it was for the best as most of them would have been out of place. Even Superman and Wonder Woman were just standing around with little to do at times. The fight scenes were good and the dialogue was snappy. Both Hawkgirl and Grundy's characters evolved over the course of the hour and that's the key to good story telling.

Derek's Continuity Corner:
Solomon Grundy started out as an enemy of Alan Scott -- a super deadly one, as being basically a body made out of wood, Grundy can resist the golden age Green Lantern's ring. It took a few decades before somebody (Alan Moore) noticed that he has a similar origin to the Swamp Thing, and thus it was decreed that Grundy was meant to be an earth elemental, but then it all went wrong somehow.

Later, James Robinson added that everytime Grundy gets destroyed, he reforms somewhere else with a different personality -- usually evil, but in rare instances noble.

Since the Dr. Fate used here has a wife named Inza, this must be the original, Kent Nelson. The current Dr. Fate in comics is Hector Hall, the son of Hawkman and (the original) Hawkgirl, Shiera Hall. He has also had the costumed identities of The Silver Scarab and The Sandman.

A tip of the hat to Carr D'Angelo for pointing out that this week's guest-stars are actually a super-secret cameo of the greatest non-team ever: The Defenders. Dr. Fate = Dr. Strange, Aquaman = Namor, and Solomon Grundy = The Hulk, even without the gamma clap.

Next Week
"Secret Society" Gorilla Grodd forms a group of villains to destroy the Justice League. RUN! MONKEYS!


 

Michael Goodson

 

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