Hello again, cartoon fans! Warner here with your animated assessment of this week’s heroes. Hal Jordan has his first (and maybe last!?) run-in with the Anti-monitor, Aqualad tricks…EVERYONE, and Raphael learns how to control his temper in this week’s addition of Super Saturday!
The great thing about having a Green Lantern animated series is the vast roster of characters that the Green Lantern mythos contains. They could have a new character on every episode for years and still only scrape the surface of great GL characters. While we haven’t seen any of the other Lantern colors in season two yet (like the Blue and Red in season one), the first two episodes have given the viewers some really great new Green Lanterns, and this week is no exception. Tomar Re and Ch’p join the ranks this week expanding the Green Lantern cast by two. These two seem less likely to be regulars (as I am hoping Guy Gardner will be), but they still are cool to see for fans of Green Lantern comics. While I like all the new character additions, I am worried that the show could get a bit “busy.” There are three Green Lantern comic book titles right now about different characters and they STILL get too busy from time to time. I guess as long as the show stays focused on Hal I won’t be upset.
This episode continues Hal’s mission to discover what is causing the Manhunters to reactivate. The Lanterns hit a snag on along the way when they realize that the Guardians are planning to dismantle their robot friend Aia. The Anti-Monitor is reveled to them as the big bad guy (as we viewers already knew) and they battle. The episode ends on an amazing cliff hanger that will leave you wanting next Saturday to be here NOW! Over all a fantastic episode with enough action to keep the episode moving while still having a “meaty” story.
Last week I mentioned that Young Justice uses a long form story telling method that builds on things from past episodes and sets up plots for the future in such a way that sometimes the big picture is hard to see. This week’s episode is ALL about that! The team is attacked by their former colleague and friend, Aqualad, who Nightwing and Kid Flash “know” is actually a double agent for them. Everything that Aqualad does makes him seem more and more like a true villain until he does something so terrible, so unjustifiable, that Wally (Kid Flash) starts to believe that maybe he really has gone to the dark side – that perhaps he is actually a TRIPLE agent! It’s plots like that that make me LOVE this show. Young Justice is so layered and the characters are so complex that it makes me wonder if anyone under the age of ten could actually follow this show. This episode ends, feeling like a season finale even though it is not. I cannot wait to see what happens next as I honestly can’t think of how it will all play out.
Last, but far from least, is the ridiculously popular, freshly revived, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The new TMNT is fantastic and the ratings show it. With over 12 million viewers in its first weekend, the Turtles have already been renewed for a second season. The second episode continues to live up to the hype as the Turtles continue their hunt for April’s father and the evil Kraang aliens. This episode focuses on Raphael (my favorite Turtle) as he struggles to control his anger after an outburst get’s him and the other Turtles caught on camera phone. The grumpy old man who records them refuses to give the phone to them which results in some hilarious banter between Raph and the old man. Splinter has another shining moment this week when he tells Raphael his own heart breaking story about how anger cost him the love of his life. He then tells Raphael that he must learn to control his temper before he can go on anymore missions. While Raphael trains, the others go out to find the Kraang. Donny, Leo and Mike find the Kraangs talking with the old man before trying to get the video. When the turtles confront the aliens, chaos ensues. The turtles are easily outnumbered, they are distracted by the video phone, and a new mutant is born. Just when the brothers are looking defeated, Raphael saves the day. If the show keeps going the way it is, we may find ourselves right back where we were in 1989 with TURTLEMANIA. I have already noticed the new action figures flying off of store shelves! The episode was firing on all cylinders for the second week in a row. I would love to see this show have a near perfect first season with no duds!
That’s all for now but tune in next week! Same Pendragon Time, same Pendragon place!
