LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
Hmmm, I guess I just assumed Amazo, but I'll take your word for it. I did catch the Mary Marvel, but forgot to mention it. I'm not going to get too bent about the spelling of Plastic Man though. ;)
Congratulations on out-geeking me though.
“The Power of Shazam” was a fine episode, though I have to admit I was more tantalized by the pre-credits teasing of Starro and Amazo teaming up to conquer a good portion of the earth’s other mighty mortals.
Thanks to the power of TiVo, and my own geeky ability to name much of the DC universe, I will share with you the impressive list of fallen heroes who will no doubt one day face off against the Caped Crusader, and I’m assuming a small but powerful army of his own making.
A Small Portion of the Good Guy Turned Bad Guy Role Call: Aquaman, The Challengers of the Unknown, Golden Age Flash, Plasticman, Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, Speedy, Metamorpho, Mr. Miracle, Hourman, Hawk and Dove, Black Lightning, Hawkman, Black Canary, Green Lantern, and the Huntress.
Damn! That’s some heavy artillery over there. Now we have seen a (quick behind the back) glimpse of some of the World’s Finest who have yet to team up with the World’s Greatest Detective. Some of that top tier talent includes Wonder Woman, J’onn J’onnz and of course, the Man of Steel himself – Superman. Whether they will join in the fray determines to be seen. They could all be off on some outer space mission, or they could be turned into star-faced zombies or the big wigs at Warner may decide they don’t want to feature the front side of the big guns in this lighter version Batman.
And speaking of lighter, no other super powered good guy in all of comicdom is lighter and more wholesome than the Big Red Cheese, Captain Marvel. Of course Cap isn’t so all-consuming morale that he won’t occasionally use the speed of Mercury to get out of chores. To bad he won’t consider trading in on Hercules’ strength to keep the bullies at bay.
True Captain Marvel fans had to enjoy the cameo by Aunt Minerva, (or as they referred to her in this episode, Ms. Minerva.) the sweet, unassuming sharp-shooting criminal mastermind old lady who in reality runs the Fawcett City underworld.
Evil octogenarians aside, this installment was all about Caps’ two greatest enemies – Dr. Sivana (and his freakishly ugly pointy-eared offspring) and the even pointier-eared, but much handsomer Black Adam.
After a magical mystery subway tour (check out the Star of David on that subway car) Bats and Cap meet the Wizard. The wonderful Wizard of Shazam. Unfortunately for our do-gooders, the ugly Sivana family and the hunky but sharper hearing appendage are hot on their trails, and they mean to do our heroes harm. I did enjoy seeing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man come to life, but I would have expected “Laziness/Sloth” to sit this battle out.
Proving he was capable of outsmarting the wisdom of Solomon times three, Sivana takes advantage of Black Adam’s fight with the Wizard and reduces the flawed Teth to a thousand year old husk, leaving Captain Marvel to take on the newly powered Captain Sivana.
In a trick befitting Bugs Bunny, Batman dupes Captain Sivana into blurting out the magic word, thus turning him into feeble old old pointy-eared guy again, and with a flick of his mighty index finger, Cap knocks out Sivana cold.
It’s worth noting Batman, an orphan himself, helped find Billy Batson’s twin sister, and her adoptive parents were happy to bring one more mouth to the table. The economy must be brighter in Fawcett City. At least the construction field will be doing a decent business restoring all those high-rise buildings Black Adam knocked down.
Joe Oesterle is an award-winning writer and illustrator, but what he often fails to mention is that many of those awards were won on a New Jersey boardwalk. Check out some of Joe’s other writing, illustrations, animations, and photography. If he can’t get a blister doing it, Joe does it.
Hmmm, I guess I just assumed Amazo, but I'll take your word for it. I did catch the Mary Marvel, but forgot to mention it. I'm not going to get too bent about the spelling of Plastic Man though. ;)
Congratulations on out-geeking me though.
Like most episodes of B:TB&TB, this one was a lot of fun. The fact that the art of the series perfectly compliments the original style of CC Beck's Captain Marvel only made it that much more enjoyable for the comic loving audience segment. Shout outs like "Haney" Avenue (tribute to Bob Haney -- who was the writer of MANY old Brave & Bold stories back in the 70's) are always neat to catch as well.
I feel I must correct you -- especially when you specifially referred to your 'geeky ability to name much of the DC universe'. The herald acting on Starro's behalf -- is NOT Amazo. The character is known as the Faceless Hunter, a little used DC villain that actually harkens back to the Silver Age. No shame in not knowing who it was -- I had to look him up when he first appeared on the cartoon several episodes ago!
A little surprised you didn't specifically mention the sister at the end is Mary -- as in the eventual Mary Marvel.
Oh, and to be an uber geeky and anal retentive sorta fella -- it's Plastic Man, not Plasticman. Yes, I know -- it's semantics...but it would be like saying Super Man or Captainamerica.
Anyway -- great cartoon -- and I suspect I'm REALLY gonna love the next one -- Spectre & Phantom Stranger -- hooray!