Synopsis and spoiler image time again. This week's new episode (11/03) is called "Who Am I?". Synopsis and images provided courtesy of the WB.
In order to infiltrate Imperiex¹s ranks, the Legion decide to have Chameleon Boy take the form of the villain Persuader. But in order to make the disguise complete, they must also reprogram Chameleon Boy's mind so that he believes that he actually is Persuader. Things go terribly wrong when his Legion teammates are unable to make Chameleon Boy remember who he really is. Alex Polinsky ("Charles in Charge") voices the role of Chameleon Boy. Persuader is voiced by David Sobolov ("Sabrina, The Animated Series"), and Shawn Harrison ("Family Matters") does double duty as Timber Wolf and Ron Karr. James Tucker directed the episode, which was written by J.M. DeMatteis.
Posted by Dain on :
Ron-Karr? Cool!
Posted by matlock on :
"Charles In Charge," "Family Matters" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch?" That's a bit mind-boggling. Surely they could also have found a place for a Tina Yothers appearance.
Posted by lil'rhino on :
How adorable is Cham w/those big,sad puppydog eyes?
Posted by Dain on :
quote:Originally posted by lil'rhino: How adorable is Cham w/those big,sad puppydog eyes?
Yeah, he's great! One of my faves in the cartoon. Posted by Teronna on :
Dang it! I felt sure that this was the episode where Saturn Girl would finally wake up from that all too convenient coma of hers. Who knows..maybe she'll help Cham "remember" who he is, kind of like the thing with Timber Wolf in the first season. One can only hope. *crosses fingers*
Posted by duck458 on :
LSH written by DeMatteis, how cool is that?
Posted by Novelty on :
quote:Originally posted by matlock: "Charles In Charge," "Family Matters" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch?" That's a bit mind-boggling. Surely they could also have found a place for a Tina Yothers appearance.
Haven't you heard that those bratlings want less girls, not more...
Posted by Portfolio Boy on :
quote:Originally posted by duck458: LSH written by DeMatteis, how cool is that?
If DeMatteis is near, can Dr. Mayvale be far behind?
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
I finally got in with the cool kids!
Here's the last four images to get us excited about tomorrow's episode (Courtesy of Warner Bros) -
Watch Legion on Saturdays at 11! Posted by Malvolio on :
quote:Originally posted by Novelty:
quote:Originally posted by matlock: "Charles In Charge," "Family Matters" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch?" That's a bit mind-boggling. Surely they could also have found a place for a Tina Yothers appearance.
Haven't you heard that those bratlings want less girls, not more...
I just thought of a solution to the writer's strike. Fire all of the consultants and their focus groups, and use the savings to pay the writers.
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
Not my favorite episode.
Click Here For A SpoilerWhy didn't Brainy just implant Persuader with his nano-thingies? Why send Cham at all? The mind layering seemed an altogether unneccessary risk. Hmmm. Should we be suspicious of Querl's sanity? His expression when he commented about everyone's possible evil potential was disquieting. If the presence of a Legionnaire as a spy was required, for some reason we weren't told, why couldn't Cham observe as a literal fly on the wall? This could've been an Espionage Squad episode-- with Invisible Kid's debut or a good role for Phantom Girl or Shrinking Violet.
Kudos for the Ron Karr stuff. I never thought I'd care about *that* particular character a bit! Success there. I'm now curious about his future.
Once past the shaky underpinnings, the conflict and character moments were quite interesting. Simplistic, at times, but engaging. The second inflitration was a surprise and made the episode. Again with the girl-free cast. Boo! Damn those focus groups.
Posted by Sir Tim Drake on :
I agree, this wasn't a great episode, and the complete lack of girls was annoying.
Posted by Yellow Kid on :
Echoing Mystery Lad. Never gave Ron Karr much thought before this. In the comics he's always been pretty much a blank slate, background filler, it's nice to see the series exploring little used characters for their tales. We've always said the Legion had a rich field of characters and situations to exploit for story material and it seems the writers here are having fun with it. Hooray!
Imperiex is still a two dimensional cliche but at long last Ron Karr isn't. Though to be fair there's nothing in the toon today to say the villain specifically had to be Ron Karr. It could just as easily been Chameleon Chief, the reboot's Composite Legionnaire or (heck) it could even have been a White Martian.
It's a good episode but not this season's best. I'd really like to hear what die hard Chameleon Boy fans think about this one.
Posted by wamu2 on :
I enjoyed this episode. the stuff about identity was interesting. I especially liked the mirror scene with cham and Ron Karr.
and speaking of Ron Karr. that was a moment I did not anticipate. nicely done.
T-Wolf and Ron Karr. it was a bit distracting because the voices were obviously the same. but hey voice acting can't be an easy gig.
Imperiex: hey buddy, in the lowly 21st century we already have Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle. or MIRVs. oh well, maybe like landlines they are considered obsolete.
one complaint. were were the Durlan defense forces? no quick visit to mom and dad? I wanted to see more of Durla.
no view of next week. I guess they weren't far enough ahead to escape the writer's strike huh?
Posted by MLLASH on :
If anyone thought my calling the alleged phasing out of the LSH lasses a "prolem worsening with every episode" after last week's non-speaking cameos-only roles for the ladies was unwarranted hyperbole, I give you this week's episode and rest my case.
The episode was disappointing all around for me.
I did get a brief Grell-flashback during the "Supes picks up Brainy with one hand while about to punch him with the other" scene.
I guess I'll focus my attention on the LSH 31C comic, which I still love, until the cartoon ditches the bratling focus groups.
[ November 03, 2007, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: MLLASH ]
Posted by Portfolio Boy on :
I'm also dissapointed that we did not see more of Durla. Is the animated version anything like the 8-second war version of the Levitz/Giffin era? We may never know.
Not a big fan of Brainy as Metron in his Moebeus chair. I also wish Saturn Girl had done the mind wipe instead of Brainy. It's a natural extension of her powers, although it could have provided drama as a new effort for her, with resultant personal trauma when she proved unable to put Cham back the way she found him.
I don't mind Ronn-Kar being a shape shifter, instead of having his trandisional Flat Lad powers. However, being as he is obviously NOT Durlan, I expected some explanation of how/where his powers came from. Perhaps in this version, he SHOULD be a Durlan, which, again, would have added some extra drama over whether or not he would be willing to destroy his own homeworld for Imperiex.
Posted by Colossal Boy on :
This episode definitely didn't do it for me. It seemed too plot-heavy and very busy and disjointed. And what was up with Brainy doing an impersonation of Metron and his chair? That just seemed to be thrown into episode as something that would look cool.
So are we not getting any new episodes for November sweeps? I thought the entire season was already in the can.
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
Hey! I have an idea for an episode! Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Duo Damsel and Dream Girl can take on the Fraternity Of Criminals Under Sixteen (FOCUS) and whip their whiny, girl-hating butts.
Posted by Sketch Lad on :
Yes, it's weird that they're not utilizing the girls, but that didn't ruin the episode for me. In fact, I found it exciting and interesting.
Posted by Malvolio on :
I found it exciting, too, and I liked the spotlight on Cham, but can someone there please get, I don't know, maybe a second opinion on the focus groups?
Posted by Invisible Brainiac on :
Ditto. I enjoyed the episode, and loved the switcheroo with Superman. I thought Imperiex trusting Persuader with vital info 5 days in was fishy, but I did not see the Ronn-Karr switch coming.
But if we get three more in a row without the ladies...
I mean, come on. Tinya's only appeared in two so far, but Cos has shown up in three, and he's not even part of the "core". And they went and made Lu Duo Damsel, but that hasn't been followed up on yet.
Posted by Snakeguru Lass on :
I liked this episode a lot and i seem to get fonder of Chameleon boy every time i see the character in a new episode. I missed the lady legionnares but hopefully we'll see them again in the next new episode after the reruns.
I never noticed Ron Karr much before but he got some nice moments here. I liked that they made him to have simular powers as Cham to give him more of an edge. I don't mind changes if they're well done.
Imperiex should consider getting a PR man, i mean first Mekt leaves his army and now Ron Karr? Heh.
[ November 04, 2007, 06:12 AM: Message edited by: Snakeguru Lass ]
Posted by Dain on :
Very exciting episode. Many twists and turns, a good balance between characterization and action, a visually beautiful episode. Ronn-Kar was a plus and the music was exquisite!
Still, it seems they've taken the title Legion of Super-Heroes a little too literally. Where's the Legion of Super-Heroines? The complete lack of girls didn't spoil the episode for me, but their absence is getting a bit "loud".
Posted by Tromium on :
I applaud J.M. DeMatteis for attempting to bring existentialism to Saturday morning kid's TV. This effort wasn't as successful as his first, "Cry Wolf", but it's nothing to be sneered at, imo. I enjoyed it -- more than the Karate Kid episode, in fact -- with a couple of reservations.
First, I couldn't figure out when the Superman/Ronn-Karr switch was made until I rolled it back a few times. The key revelation that it happened during the fight on Imperiex's ship (when the Legion rescued Cham/Persauader) went by so fast and was so slurred, I missed it. I can't be the only one.
I'm happy Superman-X got some of his edgy impatience back in this episode, but the "real" Superman is deteriorating into a one-dimensional Boy Scout with every episode. Cham was supposed to the "Eddie Haskell" of the group -- here he behaved like The Beaver (when he wasn't being the Persuader). Timber Wolf and Lightning Lad are fierce and effective soldiers, but when they speak, it's mainly for exposition purposes and very little of their unique personalities shine through. I especially miss the wiseass Garth of Season 1, and I almost wished asshat Cosmic Boy was there to shake things up. At least Brainy looked cool and slightly sinister in the Metron chair.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't want the characters becoming too "nice" or idealized and lose the internal conflict that makes team dynamics so interesting. It goes without saying they are poorer for the absence of the girls to play against, for the lack of romantic tension if nothing else. Ronn-Karr becoming the second villain to go good in the last three episodes (Mekt being the first) is also a tad worrisome to folks like me who love the bad guys as much as the heroes, so I hope the trend ends here.
Having said all that, it was still the most enjoyable thing I watched on TV this week. I still can't get over the absolute thrill of seeing the Legion of Super-Heroes on the small screen.
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I thought the episode was a complete waste of time (like Mystery Lad, I was wondering why they didn't just put implants into the real Persuader)... up until the Ron-Karr twist, which actually made it kind of interesting. Still, this wasn't one of the better episodes of the season. Probably the weakest since the first, imo.
Posted by lm8 on :
The episode looked better in the coming attractions than actually watching it. Brainy didn't seem at all like first season. He seemed much more sinister (echoes of Brainiac) and Cham even looked frightened by his suggestions at one point. As someone pointed out, Brainy's statement at the end was kind of chilling. Actually, the whole realization the group had at the end came across as rather simplistic. You'd think they'd realize there's good and bad in everyone by now. Ron Karr's switch to the other side seemed to come a bit too easily. Could see Mekt wanting to do what's right for his sister. (Guess they didn't figure out the moral of the story in that episode.) The only reason I could see for Ron Karr's switch was that he was insulted by Imperiux saying he shouldn't think for himself. He never did get a chance to really bond with Cham (a fellow shape-shifter) and want to help him out for friendship reasons. Ron Karr did seem very upset about overriding someone's personality though. His almost punching out Brainy when Ron Karr appeared as Superman seemed totally out of character for Superman. Guess that means some of Ron Karr's character came through despite the reprogramming. Might have been more interesting and more of a motivation if the bad guys had forced Ron Karr to take on someone else's personality without his consent and then shown him rebelling against Imperiex saying peons shouldn't think. No wonder Imperiex has an army mainly of machines. He can't seem to inspire anyone else. Also felt like Superman X has kind of settled in like he belongs already and we really didn't get to see any adjustment period or how he learned to deal with the others and start acting more like a team player. Would have been fun to see more conflict between him and his teammates, such as having him challenging Brainiac 5 more about his role as remembered by the 41st century and Brainiac 5 learning from that, instead of Brainiac 5 acting more like what Superman X was warning about.
One thing that's bothering me about the various shows this season is how they decide who's in what episode. They seem to be throwing characters together, probably based on what works for the plot, rather than any logistical reasons that make sense such as who's where when they're fighting the war. One episode, Cosmic Boy and some of the Legion we hardly ever see is on the cruiser with Superman X. The next episode, Superman X is there with the regulars. Someone may be on the ship one week and off the next. The only explanation we had was when Cham mentioned Superman, Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5 and some of the others were off fighting the war with the Dominators or when Brainy said Superman was off on the other side of the Galaxy fighting during the episode with Shrinking Violet. Might make more sense if there was more than one cruiser for them to be on too. It would be nice if they didn't just move characters around the universe for whatever was convienent for the story of the week and actually had who was fighting where and when make some logical sense and have a real continuity. So far, I like first season as a whole much better than second season. Although, I did see some hints of interesting plotlines this season that could use some following up or fleshing out.
Posted by Malvolio on :
To answer the first criticism in the previous post, maybe they're foreshadowing Brainy losing his mind (again). I'd rather see that than have him suddenly go nuts out of the blue.
Posted by lm8 on :
If they're going to have Brainy go nuts in a future episode, they can always blame that on the Coluan Alignment again. No foreshadowing necessary. Just a thought.
Posted by kidflash2fan on :
i don't think they would do that the coluan alignment made him act like he was bipolar not evil and even if they wanted to use that as an excuse they could easily fix it with the "magic rock" the only real problem there would be getting some of it and they could split teams up for that one team to keep brainy busy
if they wanted to make brainy evil the best way would be to have a dormant program of some sort that they can't get rid of it only build firewalls to hold it off
i didn't notice the lack of girls in the previous legion eps. but i noticed it in this one almost as soon as i saw the hole team together that as a girl annoyed me.
I felt there was no real reason to have 2 supermen in one eps.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
The Good: The Superman/Ronn-Kar switch. Never saw it coming.
The Also Good: Cham is shaping up (pun intended) to be an interesting and fun character. I like him as an eager-to-please rookie who is not very skilled as a fighter.
The Bad: The plot was contrived and predictable. How convenient that Cham was miraculously healed of his Persuader complex once Ronn-Kar revealed himself.
The Ugly: NO GIRLS!!! GRRRR! (I hate it when Lash is right. )
Posted by lm8 on :
Couple of other things about this episode... When they went after Cham as Persuader, I kept thinking they would go after the real Persuader pretending he was Cham to get him out of there and let Cham finish his mission. Guess they were more concerned over Cham's safety. They certainly had no problem telling the difference between the two Persuaders. As to the switch, it was awfully quick. They had to pre-program Ron Karr to act like Superman, know Superman was in the vicinity (not off on some other mission) and know Superman would show up in the Cham rescue. It was very convenient of Persuader to escape and give an excuse to retrieve Cham. If Cham had been extracted in another way or Superman hadn't gone on the mission to get him, the plan would never have worked. They had to have all that ready ahead of time before the teleporters kicked in and Superman was replaced by Ron Karr. How were they holding Superman anyway after the swap? That didn't look like Kryptonite they were using on him, but maybe some was around or maybe they put him under red sunlight. There was a lot that wasn't explained. A spy in the Legion's ranks before the swap (as suggested about last week's episode) would have made more sense to make sure the plan came together. There were a lot of factors involved that could have gone wrong.
Also, have been mainly mentioning things that bugged me about this episode or that left me with some questions. Didn't want that to come off sounding as all negative comments. I do think Legion is one of the better shows on the air this season. Would just like them to keep getting better.
Posted by Seth Gaterra on :
quote:Originally posted by Portfolio Boy: I'm also dissapointed that we did not see more of Durla. Is the animated version anything like the 8-second war version of the Levitz/Giffin era? We may never know.
Considering that they were describing Durla as a major hub of the space travel routes (not exact quote, but that basic idea?) -- I'd say not. Or at least that if they had the war, that these Durlans did agree to terraforming procedures to get their world safer for the other UP members?
I know that during the 80's, Broadcast Standards and Practices didn't allow any mention of nuclear power and weapons. That was the explanation for why the Decepticons had to go raiding dams or oil fields instead of nuclear power plants. Whether that rule's changed, I've no idea how to check? Posted by He Who Wanders on :
quote:Originally posted by lm8: A spy in the Legion's ranks before the swap (as suggested about last week's episode) would have made more sense to make sure the plan came together. There were a lot of factors involved that could have gone wrong.
Funny thing is, when Superman was revealed to be Ronn-Kar, I initially thought he had *always* been Ronn-Kar, since his first appearance in episode two of this season. That would have been totally unexpected and would have made Imperiex an even more formidable adversary.
Posted by Colossal Boy on :
quote:Originally posted by Seth Gaterra: [QUOTE]Originally posted by Portfolio Boy: [qb]
I know that during the 80's, Broadcast Standards and Practices didn't allow any mention of nuclear power and weapons. That was the explanation for why the Decepticons had to go raiding dams or oil fields instead of nuclear power plants. Whether that rule's changed, I've no idea how to check?
But what about Firestorm appearing on the last few seasons of Super Friends? He was the "nuclear man" afterall.
Posted by Reader on :
I felt that is episode got a very good plot line. Very few shows can surprize me. My only promblem is
WHY DOES TIMBERWOLF LOOK LIKE A GORILLA AND SOUND LIKE PANTHER
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
This effort wasn't as successful as his first, "Cry Wolf", but it's nothing to be sneered at, imo. I enjoyed it -- more than the Karate Kid episode, in fact -- with a couple of reservations.