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Hey there, hi there, ho there Bat-wranglers. Because of the hiatuses for all the shows, we are a little late this week with covering last night’s Constantine. Once again, we had a big week for cliffhangers, but before we say anything we will regret, just a reminder that there be SPOILERS AHEAD.
Episode 7: Blessed are the Damned
- John mentioned that the Preacher was speaking the language of the angels, Enochian. Our Dark Knight has worked with Zauriel, an angel, within the JLA. Zauriel has proved himself a valued ally and team member.
- “The world is not all puppy dogs and rainbows” – John said this during this episode, and I can’t help but point out that our dear Detective shares the same sentiment.
Episode 8: The Saint of Last Resorts
- Batman and John Constantine both like to keep their allies in the dark about their past. Even if it could be somehow beneficial to them, they like to play things close to the chest. Zed called John out big time when he continued not to share information, when Zed requested to join him and Chaz.
- Batman, and John’s, teammates also have their own demons and secrets. Zed showed us a glimpse of her own dark and violent past. In “Identity Crisis,” Batman realizes he has memory gaps due to Zatanna erasing memories from him. The JLA covered up a teammate’s wife being raped, and subsequently damaged and punished the supervillain responsible (Dr. Light).
- John and Bats both care too much. John shared with his old flame how if he cared about every person he has to help, he’d never be able to help them. There are so many people in the world. And not having a bit of separation between himself and them is how he maintains his sanity. Bruce goes out every night, whether he saves them all or not, so that he can feel like he tried his best to save every life he could.
Episode 9: The Man in the Yellow Suit
- REVERSE FLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -Once again, Barry’s worst nightmare pops up. As a reminder, the Reverse Flash also known as Professor Zoom, is really a man from the 25th century named Eobard Thawne. He is Barry’s opposite, and he helped perpetrate the events of “Flashpoint,” when the Flash had to work with Batman (Thomas Wayne) to restore events to their original outcome.
- FIRESTORM! (just one exclamation point) – Ronnie Raymond sort of made his return in this episode. We did get to see him fly, so, there’s that, at least. Batman and Firestorm have been teammates on the JLA in several incarnations of the team.
- “Flashpoint” – I can’t help but notice and point out the glaring similarities of “Flashpoint” and the Flash show, in terms of similar plot points. Both demonstrate the importance of fixing the present/future by traveling to the past. Others may be speculating, but I’d like to be the first one to say out loud, that Harrison Wells has proven that he is indeed the Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom. He has traveled to the past for some as yet unknown reason but it centers around the death of Nora Allen. As in “Flashpoint,” the importance of Nora Allen’s fate seems to greatly affect whatever the destiny or whatever that pertains to both the Flash and the Reverse Flash. What the connection is in the show, however, is unclear.
Episode 9: The Climb
- Ra’s al Ghul, the Demon’s Head, finally made a greater appearance than a cameo. He faced off with Oliver (Holy crap, Batman would never have been stabbed that many times!). An incredibly similar duel, to the death, was held between Bruce and Ra’s in a fantastic volume of the Demon’s story called Birth of the Demon. In it, it gives the reader the origin of Ra’s, and a story in the present of Batman coming to face off for the last time with his greatest opponent.
- The League of Assassins themselves appeared, so it’s only fair to remind everyone that Ra’s al Ghul is their founder and leader of the League. It’s unclear how long he’s led them in this iteration. Batman, in the Nolan trilogy, was a member of the League of Shadows (an identical version of the League but with a different name). Batman has led the League temporarily during a book called “Son of the Demon,” in which Batman and Talia agree to marry and produce children, and for Bruce to properly become Ra’s’ heir and son-in-law. An amazing image of the two of them playing chess may be my favorite panel from the book.
- Nyssa al Ghul also made an appearance. Nyssa first appeared in “Death and the Maidens.”
- Maseo and Katana appeared again. Maseo, in the comics, never met Batman. However, Katana did. Katana was originally created by Mike W. Barr to be a member of the Outsiders, a team specially chosen by Batman. Later, Nightwing would run his own iteration, but Batman would eventually retake the reigns and the lead the team again.
- Ray Palmer popped up again, and clarified a few things that we have seen. He identified his suit as two separate designations: O.M.A.C. and A.T.O.M. He says he prefers A.T.O.M. OMAC stands for One Man Army Corps, and were a group of adaptable androids that were designed to police and take down metahumans. They were run by a computer intelligence called Brother Eye, which was created by Batman. The A.I. eventually became self-aware and performed beyond Batman’s original design. Adversely, the Atom, Ray Palmer, is a valued, intelligent, and brave member of the JLA and a good friend of Bruce’s.
- I can’t help but notice how similar this episode is to the first half of “Batman Begins.” Both begin in the present, and flashback until both the flashbacks and the progressing story collide. And both involve journeys to meet Ra’s al Ghul.
That’s all I’ve got for this week, folks. With all of the shows on hiatus now, I will see you back here in a couple of weeks when our shows return. Take care for now.
