JLUCast : Ultimatum

Chris and Cindy are joined by their Super Friend Rob Kelly to discuss “Ultimatum”! The Justice League has competition in the form of some new, young heroes called the Ultimen. But is there a sinister secret behind their friendly façade? And what do Maxwell Lord and Amanda Waller have to do with it?

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Clip credits:

Justice League Unlimited theme by Michael McCuistion. Super Friends themes by Hoyt Curtain

24 responses to “JLUCast : Ultimatum

  1. Great episode Super Friends:

    I believe the first major film to include cloning as a plot point is actually Woody Allen’s hilarious 1973 comedy “Sleeper.” On twitter, I linked to a long thread discussing the history of cloning as a concept and in pop culture that dates back to 1903. It’s worth a read.

    I also loved this episode and its nods to the old Super Friends cartoon of my youth. I am continually amazed at the depth of the storytelling and characterization in this “kids cartoon show.”

    I wasn’t bothered by Batman’s reaction to Waller’s “rich boy” remark. I also hate the “Bat-God” persona of recent years, but I think it’s good to knock Bruce down a peg or two occasionally to reveal his humanity. He’s not as smart or mysterious as he thinks he is.

    1. It just ocurred to me that the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” could be considered a contender for this.

      “He’s not as smart or mysterious as he thinks he is.” I would love to hear Superman or Wonder Woman tell Bruce this. It fits in with Superman’s exchange from “Twilight”; “You’re not always right.”

  2. Remember the JLA has history in every version has plot spesific dislikes
    LEX LUTHOR wants to team up? Cool make sure to get coke Lex wont drink Pepsi!
    Captain Comet “oh god was Metallo busy?
    Creeper “goodie Spider-man with a mid-life crisis
    Phantom Stranger mystrey guy who gets everywhere and were NEVER SURE Why he does anything? Love him he’s a snappy.
    as to Batman I wrote a story where Joker calls him Bruce and he says “yep i”m Bruce Wayne but you REALLY THINK that’s my only form?”

  3. Very fun episode. I definitely enjoyed the Superfriends theme. It’s great seeing the original four together as the heroes this time, and the Wonder Twins and Apache Chief homages were cool. I get nostalgia from the interstitial segments you discussed from the All New Superfriends Hour, like that cool Samurai segment you play at the end. The music from the interstitial segments evokes memories from long ago of watching the show on Saturday mornings. Anyway, great episode of both JLU and JLUCast!

    1. I have the HB music library running through my head constantly Mike, so I know the feeling! Also, Spider-Man ’67, Filmation’s library, Star Trek, Batman ’66, the Monkees….

      1
  4. I like the idea that Wendy and Marvin should have been working as research technicians (or maybe janitors) in the laboratory. In addition, I think they needed to include a second cage with a monkey in it. Sorry, Rob.

    Thank you for another amazing episode.

  5. Great episode chums!

    I hadn’t watched this episode since when it came out. The script for this episode is tight and it feels like it could have been an entire feature-length film. The first discovery of cloning was in in 1885, (this is the cool part) it was sea urchins! (Aquaman – sea urchins get it? lol – I’m grasping at straws here). Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch shook a sample of two celled sea urchin cells that separated and became separate sea urchins.

    It wasn’t until Dolly the sheep was cloned that people took notice in 1997 and entered fully into the public conscience. So that runs in line of the writers being exposed to that writing (also Clone Wars etc).

    One thought I had while watching this episode how much “The Boys” comic book/show emulated this episode.

    In any case – y’all did a great job! It was so fun to listen. I look forward to listening to more episodes!

    1. I have never watched The Boys (I know, I know), but I understand it heavily touches upon the idea of “commercial” super heroes.

      Thanks for the info on the first incident of “cloning”!

        1. I read The Boys comic book when it debuted & it just wasn’t for me. I don’t consider myself a prude, but it really seemed contemptible.

      1. I watch “The Boys” only because of the special effects. To be honest when I watch it, it kind of feels depressed? I don’t know how to describe it. I can’t handle the satirical aspect of it I think. I fast forward through 80% of all the seasons.

        I rather watch Batman ’89 for the one hundred time instead 🙂

  6. The animated Justice League met an off-brand Earth-2 JSA and now off-brand Super-Friends (I love the concept), which works kind of like the Heroes of Angor or Squadron Supreme.

  7. So the entire Super Friends bit went over my head, despite watching (and enjoying) the Super Friends as a kid. I actually thought this was something of an homage to the more “weird” heroes of modern day, like those over in Image comics, but not one that seemed to strike any specific cords. As soon as you all pointed it out, the actual subtext was super obvious.

    Cindy has a great point about the JL letting Waller just get away with the whole “I’m from the government” bit without identifying herself at all. Maybe the current administration is very competent and trustworthy in the JL world at that time.

    Maybe there’s a lot of Tom Clancy books in the Watchtower, probably John Stewart’s collection. This leads me to wondering what kind of fiction the League enjoys. Classics for Superman, mixed with some modern social commentaries (and copies of the Daily Planet of course). John reads spy novels, Wally is definitely a comic book reader, likely some manga as well, and a plethora of Xanth novels lying around. Diana would likely be reading modern feminist literature and commentaries, but I also picture her enjoying something very mundane as comfort food reading. Jones, he’s 100% reading pulp detective novels. At this point Shayera is off the Watchtower, and I suspect her reading choices were quietly purged to avoid causing someone hurt. Batman just reads what the rest of the League brings, or his case files.

    No one looks into Booster Gold’s magazine collections of exclusively Sports Illustrated and Playboys.

    1. Oh, it got lost in an edit, but the inference of there being a lot of Tom Clancy novels is that this is why the League might blindly trust someone from the government.

      1. It’s okay that the SF homage went over your head, Ian. I’ve been known to slap my forehead over such things in the past.

        Wouldn’t be iroinic if Batman were a big fan of…dare I say it…the Twilight novels?

        1. Novels about a mysterious, overly intense man who can get obsessive yet distant about his love interests? And might enjoy lurking and observing them from the shadows? Oh, and he’s wealthy, has a secret he can’t share, and is well travelled…. I’m sure Bruce could find something to like in that series.

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