I apologize for bringing up an old thread, but this episode really struck me. I don't live in Canada but I had a chance to peep this ish a while back. A few abbreviated observations:
Temple Fugate: Whoa, definately not expecting that one.
The assistant named Vance: Anyone remember back to that Batman Beyond episode where the rogue computer program Robert Vance tried to take over the Batsuit, and eventually wanted to implant himself into poor little Bobby Vance? If it was intentional, I thought it was a cool little nod because the character model looked remarkably similar to Bobby Vance.
While the narrative twist that governed this episode has been done before many times, it was executed exceedingly well in this case. All of the characters included had their place within the context of the story, including Temple Fugate who didn't seem to be thrown in there for the heck of it, esp. considering the neccessity of being discreet versus having flamboyant villains all over the place. Task Force X had a very cool vibe to it, with the characters being either entirely sympathetic, borderline villains, or in the case of Deadshot, rogues with nothing to lose.
Finally, telling the story from the perspective of the purported "villains" and allowing us to sympathize with them brings to light one of the most important aspects of this new JLU that I actually think is one of its strongest points, something that kind of harkens back to those old BTAS villains but to a grand scale. Politically speaking, the JLU comes very close to satisfying the conditions of being its own soveirgn nation. Furthermore, the show has demonstrated that they act autonomously with many clear violations of the soveirgnty of other nations. The vigilantism / clean-up work in shows like Batman and Superman is a radical departure from the course of action that this new JLU takes.
Structurally, the JLU is almost like a monarchy invoking the principles of divine right. They pass judgment and dole out punishments without respect for due process, like in the case of Doomsday where he was basically damned to eternal torment without a fair hearing, or in the case where J'onn was inclined to wipe Vance's mind without a good reason. Generally, in order to join the JLU you have to have superpowers, something that is usually a predefined trait rather than something that the characters are in control of. There's no test to pass or democratic system for joining the JLU, you either can or you can't. With that authority alone, they're infringing on national soviergnty and determining punishments to dole out to individuals. That is why Batman finds it so important to include individuals like Green Arrow in the group, and that is why the government is scared senseless by the JLU. While the manner in which Project Cadmus is attempting to achieve their goals (consorting with criminals, etc.) is self-destructive, their intentions are just as sympathetic as that of the JLU's, and is why I was almost rooting for Task Force X or whatever. This kind of subtlety and complication is also why JLU's a far better show than JL.
