Many fans have looked back at the last season of Justice League Unlimited with minor regret, not because the finished product failed to live up to their expectations, but because they failed to stick it through to the end and now lament having done so.

Early on, JLU appeared to be aimless, wandering from cameo to cameo with little or to no arc progressing throughout the episodes. Then everybody got caught with the show catching on fire and actually having an interconnectedness.

With this latest season of Teen Titans the writing is clearly on the wall. If you aren’t watching this show now, you should be. Period.

"Homecoming Part I" opened with an overview of The Doom Patrol, Beast Boy’s former team dedicated to defeating the Brotherhood of Evil no matter what the cost, even if it means sacrificing themselves in the process. It seems only fitting to open Part II with an overview of their opposition, The Brotherhood of Evil.

We met the Brotherhood’s leader, The Brain, and his loyal pet monkey, the equally brilliant and powerful Monsieur Mallah, last episode, as they attempted to construct a weapon of mass destruction. This time out we get treated to profiles for General Immortus, a brilliant tactician who has lived throughout the ages, and Madame Rouge, a duplicitous shapeshifter who is capable of just about anything.

The Doom Patrol makes no bones about jumping into the fray alone, and do just about everything to keep the Titans from joining them in battle. Actually, to accuse the entire Patrol is unjust; Mento is the one with a stick up lodged firmly where the sun doesn’t shine. His refusal to let the Titans into the fold forces Beast Boy to make a tough call, leaving his friends behind in order to join his original family in battle against the Brotherhood.

So much is done right in this episode that it is pretty difficult to find a good jumping off point, but here goes. First of all, the voice talent here really captures the essence of the Doom Patrol, with the ancillary members really personifying the sense of doom and dread that comprises the team. In the comics, this group constantly flirted with death on each mission, and the team was often left in recuperation mode by the close of each battle -- ultimately dying in their last one.

The team’s futility was constantly in the forefront, as their powers often proved to be their downfall as well. Specifically these perils included Negative Man’s counterpart only being able to remain outside of his body for a limited amount of time, Robotman’s brain being vulnerable inside of his metallic head, and Elastigirl often finding herself stretched into positions of great strain.

As the Doom Patrol makes their way to the Brotherhood’s evil lair, each member finds themselves in peril at some point. The vacant fatalistic stare on Robotman’s face as he sinks into quicksand, as trivial as it may sound, is a perfect example of how the little touches encapsulate the essence of the Patrol.

Another great touch is that the members of the Patrol almost never refer to one another by their superhero names, just as was the case in the comics. We must digress, as the Patrol progress into battle against the endless cadre of troops at General Immortus’ disposal, Robotman buys the team sometime by jumping on the proverbial landmine early on. Mento presses the team forward despite Beast Boy’s cries of unity and togetherness, while Elastigirl offers him advice in the form of “Don’t look back” as if it would make the pill easier to swallow.

Eventually, Negative Man and Elastigirl suffer the same fate as Robotman, each giving in to potential doom in order to prolong the mission. Down to only Beast Boy and Mento, our loveable changeling decides to call in some titanic backup before Mento destroys his T-communicator. The father figure and adopted son finally have it out with one another, with Beast Boy calling Mento out on his arrogant, bullheaded and overall bossy stature. Robin’s code of acting smarter in battle eventually wins Mento over, and he decides to listen to Beast Boy for once. Beast Boy and Mento successfully thwart Mallah and Rouge to gain access to The Brain’s latest ubër weapon, a black hole generator.

The Titans show up with the remaining members of the Doom Patrol, and the two teams proceed to put the hurt on the Brotherhood with Beast Boy taking the forefront in destroying the massive weapon set to destroy the Titans Tower, and San Francisco in the process.

Aside from capturing the Doom Patrol successfully, this episode delivers in multiple other ways as well. The action and animation are superb, with the fight sequences fast and furious, and the closing punch line sounding on a near perfect note to close out an otherwise grim arc. Finally, Beast Boy has been referred to in the animated series by his first name, and adding insult to injury, it turns out that he has managed to keep the “G” word from his Titan teammates, a fact that Raven is quick to exploit.

You had it coming, Garfield. Enjoy.

The Brotherhood is now aware of the Titans, and they mean to put an end to their meddling by hunting down teen heroes around the globe. If you can’t beat ‘em, make sure to kill off potential members and stifle team growth. Those of you with keen eyes, and Tivo, may have noticed a really cool glimpse of potential victims for upcoming episodes, including original Titans Kid Flash and Wonder Girl. Fingers are crossed for an appearance later this season.

Next Up: With Homecoming in the can, the Brotherhood is quick to start hunting down teen heroes and it looks like Hotspot and Wildebeest are first on the chopping block. Be there when the sparks fly!

Mario Anima