02.06
Leave it to the most comedic member of the Justice League to spark one of the most significant elements in the show, one that involves talking gorillas of all things.
The first act just seems like pandering to Wally West fans, showing how spectacular he can be by chasing a truck while saving civilians along the way. Then as the episode progresses, the Flash is portrayed in a more negative light as cops yell at him while even his companions hit him for his usual low wit. And as the episode crescendos toward the end, where all of Central City is now trying to kill Flash, you see how far the downward spiral has gone. Everything that makes Flash what he is has been turned against him, as something that he’d normally laugh off has become a threat to his life.
The dream sequence after Flash gets shot becomes resonating after viewing the show throughout its run, by portraying him exploding under the pressures of the brain while showing how he’s a puppet who needs its strings cut in order to be free. It might seem like nonsense initially, but it shows how the writers have been able to use cryptic references to their full extent in the future. Then you realize that it’s Flash’s thoughts that are going on. He sees himself as a puppet that needs his strings cut. His own mind foretells the idea that Flash is part of a grander plan in the series, one that needs to be stopped before things get out of hand. While unintentionally, this greatly foreshadows to a future character’s words that everything’s connected, and how he is wrong.
Effective ludicrousness begets effective ludicrousness with how Grodd stands in the show. He manages to take over a city while the rest of the previous villains, aside from the White Martians, were trumped just as they were starting. And all this despite his appearance: An oversized gorilla with a blinking yellow helmet. It should be silly. It should be laugh inducing. But yet, it isn’t. A powerful performance by Power “Cy” Boothe certainly helps.
What probably seemed like a silly idea on paper ends up becoming one of the better moments of the season. Brave & The Bold’s ability to use what would be considered over-the-top in a serious manner benefits it and the show as a whole in terms of what it can do with established comics characters that are weird even for the DCAU’s standards.
And it didn’t even have a man of steel to play meat shield.
Originally posted on December 29, 2011