Hi! Welcome to my episode-by-episode recap of, and reaction to Justice League. There will be no spoilers beyond the current episode. As is my custom with recaps, I will give you a short summary recap followed by a long and unnecessarily helpfully detailed version. My reaction will follow at the end if you just want to scroll past all of the recap.
If you want to see my prior Justice League episode reviews, click HERE:
THE QUICK AND CLEAN SUMMARY:
Wonder Woman befriends the princess of Kasnia, a jet-setting party girl who is reluctant to end her wild ways to get married. Unfortunately, her fiancé is the immortal Vandal Savage, and he already has plans for both the throne and the Justice League. Wonder Woman and Batman must stop Savage, while Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter take out Savage’s new Rail Gun satellite.
THE EXTRA DUSTY RECAP:
Wonder Woman arrives at a formal party in a long black dress. Her presence draws attention and a crowd, until she is recused by Bruce Wayne who asks her to dance. SHe does not seem to know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. We see a blonde haired party girl, with a European accent, getting a drink when a group of paramilitary soldiers dropped into the room through the glass ceiling. While we learn that she is a princess, they grab her and ascend back up through the ceiling. Batman and Wonder Woman both excuse themselves, from each other, to go help.
Wonder Woman throws something to sever the rope the princess is attached to, then flies up to catch her.
WW: Always this popular?
Princess: Yes! Though my admirers are usually unarmed.
As some of the other soldiers return to the helicopter hovering outside, the soldiers inside ask where the princess is. They are told to forget her and that they need to get out of there. Just then, Wonder Woman taps on the windshield of the chopper.
WW: You give up, right?
After, the Princess thanks her.
Princess: That’s fabulous. I’ve never seen anyone break a helicopter before.
WW: It was my first time.
WW asks her questions, trying to find out who was behind the attempt, but the princess puts her off, explaining that she still has places to go and parties to crash tonight. She invites Wonder Woman to come party with her.
Just then, the princess gets a phone call from her father blaming dissidents for the attempt, and orders her to return home. The princess requests that he let her stay and tells him she could not be any safer and that Wonder Woman will be with her. He relents, but promises to double her guard.
The princess explains to WW that she is getting married soon and wants to have fun while she can.
Princess: I’m a world class party girl. I intend to go out with a bang. Several, if it can be arranged.
We switch scenes to a robbery. Batman arrives and thwarts them. He approaches a downed robber and begins to interrogate him, asking who he works for. The man replies in a foreign language that he does not speak English, and that Batman would not understand him even if he explained. Batman ominously replies in the foreign language and tells him that he does understand and that he will answer his questions.
We see the robbers who got away from Batman, with their leader. They tell him they got the targeting device, but that Batman interfered again. Their leader believes that Batman cannot know their plan yet and that not even the Justice League can stop them now.
Woman Woman is still with the Princess, but she is reluctant to explain who may be after her. However, she eventually admits that the project her father is involved with – the international space station – is making him unpopular with the peasants at home, even if it has elevated his profile internationally. She then tells WW that she has an arranged marriage to a dreary and much older man.
She then ditches her royal guard, and with Wonder Woman in tow, they leave for one last partying adventure. They arrive at the club and WW comments on the line. The Princess walks them to the front, expecting to be recognized. The guard recognizes WW and lets them both in at once.
In the club, WW loses her at once, but after calling to her, she finds that the Princess has wrangled to large muscular men, to whom she refers as “party favors.” The paparazzi arrive and start taking pictures, which leads WW to fly them both away. By around dawn of the next morning, they are both on the Eiffel Tower.
WW: This is perfect, I can’t remember when I’ve had this much fun.
Princess: You cannot have had this much fun, darling. You’ve never partied with me before.
WW asks if she enjoyed her last night as a free woman and the princess says she rather enjoyed corrupting her. WW requests that she keep more of the embarrassing stories to herself. Princess Aubrey says she has time for one last fling, then throws herself off the Tower. WW catches her just before she hits the ground. The Princess says she was thinking they should call it a night.
When WW gets back to where she is staying, Batman is waiting on her. He lets her know that several hours ago, he captured a burglar, who was part of a team stealing classified weapons technology from Star Labs, among other places. He adds that the robber was a Kasnian special forces officer. WW says she cannot believe the Princess would knowingly be involved in that, but adds it couldn’t hurt to ask.
She goes to the princess, and asks, and the princess says that neither she nor her father would be involved in anything like that. She takes WW to the engagement party and introduces her to her fiancé. WW recognizes him as Vandal Savage and it outraged. She asks the Princess if she has any idea who he is and names him as a Nazi war criminal. Savage tells her that she is talking about his grandfather. The princess asks WW not to be rude. Savage says he has dedicated his life to doing good works and trying to restore his family’s lost honor.
WW: The resemblance is uncanny.
Savage: Our genes are rather… insistent.
WW confronts Savage again privately, vowing not to let him hurt the princess. He says he has never met another woman who can do the things for him that she can, and when WW replies that she does not want to hear that, he says that he is referring to her making him part of the royal family. Savage calls to a colonel to escort her out, but she flies away first. We see that the Colonel was the man in charge of the earlier robbery that Batman thwarted. After she goes, Savage tells him to make the calls and that it’s time.
We see a space shuttle launch.
Late that night, an attractive maid brings the King of Kasnia a drink. After he sips it, the king collapses. She whispers to him as he gurgles that Vandal Savage sends his regards.
In space, the Kasnian shuttle approaches the international space station. After docking, they enter while armed and take control of the station. They communicate to Savage that their plan is in place. Moments later, Savage reports to the Princess that the King has had a stroke and that he is now paralyzed.
WW calls Batman and tells him about Savage. They question whether he could still be alive, with the latter noting that if it really is him, then the pieces begin to fit. Pointing out recent events, WW notes that Kasnia now has a good cover to circumvent the weapons embargo the country is under. Just then, they both learn via the news that the King has suffered a serious stroke. WW leaves immediately to warn the princess. Batman tells her that he will meet her there.
When WW arrives, she sees a jet leaving. She follows. On board, we see Savage, the princess, and the Colonel. Savage suggests that the Colonel has a word with WW, who they notice following. The hatch of the jet opens and the Colonel flies out using a jet pack. He opens his mouth wide and a sound weapon is launched. After she avoids him initially, he successfully hits her, causing her to crash into a barn below.
The Princess assumes the rule of Kasnia in her father’s absence. Savage offers her his counsel and she rejects it.
Princess: I don’t require your counsel, Vandal.
Vandal: I beg your pardon?
Princess: The people need reassurance of the royal family’s continuity. Our wedding will take place immediately.
Savage is pleased.
WW wakes up, with Batman watching over her. He says that was a major shot she just took and explains that the princess has moved up the wedding to right now.
Batman: You go there uninvited, you’ll be breaking international law.
WW: If I get my hands on Savage, that’s not all I’ll be breaking.
In flight, she is attacked by Kasnian fighter jets. Batman joins the fray in his own jet. Together, they take out the Kasnians.
The wedding is underway, as we see the fight happening outside. The two JL members stage an even fight until finally we see WW break through the wall of the church to announce that she will not let the princess marry him. Savage pulls out some kind of laser gun and shoots her, causing her to collapse.
Savage: Does anyone else have any objections?
WW is dragged off. Shortly after, we see Savage and the Princess being introduced as husband and wife. She asks Savage what Diana could have been thinking and adds that her behavior was inexcusable. Savage suggests she put it from her mind.
That night, the princess wakes up and finds Savage out of their bed. She asks a guard where he went and is told that he is attending to a minor diplomatic matter. She then takes a walk.
She goes to where WW is being held, cuffed to a wall. She asks how dare she interrupt the wedding, and WW counters asking if she is even curious about what Savage is up to, noting that he is dangerous. The Princess tells her that she is a raving lunatic. WW says she believes Savage is responsible for her father’s sudden illness, and the princess replies that WW just crossed a line. The Princess finds Savage, who explains that he is fortifying their defenses, noting that WW violated them too easily. The princess informs him that WW just accused him of being a power mad monster.
Batman sneaks into where WW is being held, and calls to Watchtower, reaching Flash. Batman tells him that she is too well guarded for him to extract her alone. As Flash suggests grabbing “the two Johns” to go help, MM calls to Flash and Green Lantern that there is a developing situation.
We see that Vandal Savage is sending out an international announcement. The Kasnians added a weapon to the ISS. He describes it as a rail gun and then demonstrates its power by using it to blow up an asteroid. Next he fires as a US carrier group, sinking the ships. He announces to the globe that he is now the dominant military power on earth.
MM says the weapon must be destroyed, noting its destructive power is unimaginable. GL says he saw this weapon used on another planet and adds it blew an inhabited moon out of orbit. Flash asks Batman if he got all of that, and Batman tells him that he and WW will have to fend for themselves as taking that weapon out is top priority.
GL, MM, and Flash argue about how much effort should be gone to, to save potential hostages on board the ISS. GL says the weapon is top priority, but the other two say saving lives is also the mission. The ISS attacks their javelin jet as it approaches, causing them to crash.
Princess: Vandal, what do you think you’re doing?
Savage: Destroying the Justice League, building a rail gun, assuming total dominion over the nations of the earth.
When she says he is ranting like his grandfather in an old news reel, he laughs and tells her that WW was right all along. She says that’s ridiculous and that he’d have to be over 100 years old. He answers that he’s far older than that.
He explains that over 25,000 years ago, an asteroid landed on earth. While his fellows cowered in fear, he approached the strangely glowing rock. He slept next to it, not knowing what its rays were doing to his body. However, he tells her that he stopped aging. She says he has delusions of grandeur when he explains that his destiny is to rule. He admits that he poisoned her father and that he married her so that he could rule.
She slaps his face, clawing it, but to her shock and horror the claw marks heal immediately. She is dragged away against her will at his order.
GL, MM, and Flash float along in space, protected by GL’s ring, and they approach the ISS and enter it.
While WW is held captive, we see a batarang with an explosive land in the wall near a guard. It explodes, creating a diversion. He uses the distraction to sneak in and free her. Before he succeeds, more guards arrive.
GL, MM, and Flash secure the ISS control room and seek to free the hostages. One of the Kasnian soldiers opens a hatch that creates a vacuum which sucks Flash into space. Batman is able to get WW’s arms free. Once free, she is able to take down the guards.
WW and Batman find the Princess and free her.
Savage is upset that the nations of the world have not acknowledged his rule quickly enough, so he plans to destroy Paris to teach them a lesson. We see the rail gun loading up while we also see GL pulling Flash inside from space.
Flash, freezing, gets a measure of revenge by knocking out the Kasnians who work for Savage in an instant.
Batman attacks Savage’s control room in Kasnia. WW fights and confronts the Colonel who attacked her previously. We see that his sound save attack this time fails because she has plugged her ears. She punches him out and breaks his voice weapon.
Neither the JL in space, nor Batman, are able to turn off the rail gun. However, Batman changed its coordinates to his own location in Kasnia and announces as much to everyone in the building. As everyone flees, we see it destroy the building with Savage inside. GL removes the rail gun from the ISS, with his ring, and takes it deeper into space.
Savage emerges from the rubble just in time to be apprehended by the Princess’s guards.
Savage: Do your worst child. I’m immortal. I can’t be killed.
Princess: We’ll see.
As the episode ends, WW and Batman are alone together. She comments that they never got to finish their dance. He says he doesn’t know what she is talking about.
WW: If you say so. But you’re still taking me dancing.
REACTION:
This is a story where it’s a little convenient that Superman is apparently not around. No offense to everyone else, but I suspect he could have dealt with that rail gun in about 2 seconds.
Savage is an interesting bad guy. It’s like having a Highlander villain in the DC universe. His big bad guy edge is thousands of years of accumulated knowledge. He’s not all that different than Luthor, actually, just older (and maybe insane due to that age.) Who wants to live forever, amiright?
The story here is just okay. Savage (via Kasnia) sneaks a weapon onto the ISS and gains “the high ground” over the rest of the world. The problem is that I think Savage’s plan for the JL is woefully underbaked. I have no idea how you can think you’re going to conquer the earth without a *really* good plan for dealing with Superman in particular. He didn’t even have a good plan for GL, MM, etc.. They took down his weapon relatively easily. I guess that’s why Savage is kind of a minor villain.
This two part story is interesting and notable because 1) it builds on the “WW is naive but learning” arc about her, and 2) it builds a romantic tension between Batman and Wonder Woman. And the latter really works. Superman seems like the more obvious pairing for her, but Batman works a lot better. She and Supes are too similar. She and Batman have a balancing effect on each other. He’s worldly and edgy. She’s naive and mostly wholesome. She is super-powered and he’s not. She’s hot-headed and he’s permanently cool. She’s a hypothetical girlfriend he doesn’t have to worry about and he’s someone she *does* have to worry about – something I think she needs.
Anyway… on the whole this is pretty good, even if the bad guy plot needed some more work.
It does seem likely that Superman is in high demand. If I was him, I’d be a one man rescue team and there is always someone in need of that around the world, but I do agree, Savage needed a much better plan for when Supes had a free moment. For the record, I do want to live forever. My “to be read” list of books is several pages long and I have another list with my online library account, and both are growing faster than I can check the titles off, because I also find other books I want to read, too.