REVIEW: STARGIRL - SEASON 1.6: "The Justice Society"
Courtney Whitmore, AKA Stargirl, has been on a recruiting spree as of late. Knowing the Injustice Society has been operating covertly in Blue Valley, she's doing her best - despite Pat's instructions - to assemble people for a new version of the JSA. She has already gotten outcast Yolanda Montez to become the new Wildcat, and just nabbed emo-Rick Tyler to take over for his late father as the new Hourman, while Beth Chapel, who'd discovered Yolanda and Courtney's secret ID's, has been tagging along with Dr. Mid-Nite's goggles. Meanwhile, the Gambler, and Fiddler hijacked a truck with a special satellite for the Icicle to implement his plan of taking over the nation with his plan he calls "New America".
Meanwhile, Pat is upset that Courtney made off with the JSA gear...and feels she is in over her head.
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We have our team! This was the first time we had the Justice Society assembled together....and BOY did they get their butts kicked! We got to see that these are simply KIDS learning on the fly on how to be heroes...and they have a LONG way to go! But...we DO have a team...a team that will have to grow up quickly after this episode, and realize that the hero business is no fun and games.
We also got a tad more in depth with Artemis Crock and her parents: Larry "Crusher" Crock, the owner of the gym Pat visited, and Paula Brooks Crock...one of the teachers at the school. They are both secretly the villains called, appropriately, Sportsmaster and Tigress. They are watching Artemis, who just happens to be the star quarterback on the Blue Valley High School football team. One of the players happens to hit Artemis after a play in practice, and she decks the kid. The coach benches her, despite her protest, and it upsets her parents greatly. So, later on, they pay the coach a visit, and warn him to play their daughter, but the coach isn't intimidated by them. Sadly, he pays the price, as the criminal couple end up killing him. We then see Jordan Mahkent waking up in an empty bed, missing his wife obviously. He gets a call from Anaya Bowin, who says that the couple have been acting up again. Jordan meets the couple in the woods, where they're burying the body of the coach, and he tells them to cool it....considering it's the third coach they've had to replace within the last couple of years. The duo are tired of the suburban life, and want some action. Jordan tells them that they're lucky, he's got a job for them.
Stargirl returns home to a VERY upset Pat, who is unhappy Courtney stole the JSA equipment, and handed it out to her friends. She says that they're supposed to be in this together, and he says they are, and she reiterates that they need help stopping the ISA. He informs her that they have no idea what they're doing with everything, and that they could get hurt...just like Joey Zarick did. He wants her to collect the equipment and return it. She also takes the time to inform him about Principal Bowin, and Rick Tyler's real identity. Pat says he'll handle Rick, she needs to get the Wildcat suit and the Dr. Mid-Nite goggles. Courtney reluctantly agrees.
We get a little of Mike Dugan this episode, as he's buildling a chocolate volcano for his science project. Pat wants to attend, but Mike feins him off, as to not want to look dorkish with this parents there. Barbara is interested in showing up, but she has to work late. We later catch up to him at the Middle School, where he's looking lonely, because all the other parents are with their kids, and he kept his away. However, Barbara does show up, to his surprise, and he sets off the volcano...to her enjoyment. Courtney heads to school in order to talk to the girls and get the JSA gear back from them. She first approaches Yolanda, who shows her clips of Ted Grant - the original Wildcat - and his last fight. She's inspired by him, and wants to be like him. Courtney is trying to ease her way into asking for the suit back, but she can't come up with the words, especially when she sees new life in Yolanda. She then later approaches Beth in the library, who has been using the goggles to talk to the McNider A.I., and downloading books. Beth almost blows Courtney's secret ID, and, again, is about to ask Beth for the goggles, but Beth feels like she's found a kindered spirit...a friend, really...in the goggles. Courtney walks off, unable to ask for the equipment back.
Pat confronts Rick about what he did to his uncle's truck, and takes him to his garage, and tells him about how his dad never abused the power of the hourglass, and that he created it with only giving him a hour of power at one time. He shows Rick his dad's diary, and wonders whether or not he can decipher the formula written in it. Rick can't, but he'll try to work on it later. Pat wants him to leave the hourglass and diary behind, but Rick refuses. It belonged to his dad, and he's taking it. Rick knows how his dad died, and wonders how long Pat's held onto that diary, and couldn't figure out what the ISA has been up to. He calls Pat out, and wonders what kind of partner to Starman he was.
Courtney corners the girls at lunch, and eventually fesses up that there will not be any missions, because Pat found out, and he wants the equipment back. Yolanda says that being Wildcat has given her a new lease on life, and there is NO WAY she's giving it up. Beth also confesses that she's also found a place having the goggles. Courtney tries to reason with them, but they refuse. Rick shows up, and says that he isn't giving up what his father left behind, and that what if Pat had asked for the Cosmic Staff back from Courtney, would she give it back? She realizes that he's right...she wouldn't. Before they get any further into the discussion, Beth's goggles give off a warning---Dr. Mid-Nite's old enemy, Steven Sharpe, the Gambler, is trying to hack into a telephone tower to get satellite coordinates to help complete Icicle's master plan. The three of them convince Courtney that they can take this guy down. She agrees, and says that they need to stick together on this, and they go to suit up.
Earlier in the day, Sharpe meets up with the Crocks, and gives them their mission - to help him secure the coordinates for the satellite. It's here that we see some tenstion between the married criminals and Sharpe...there's obviously no love lost between them. They later inform Artemis that they're having "date night", and she smells something is up, but they just pass it off, and tell her to do her homework and her workouts, and they take off.
We get a quiet moment with Jordan and his son Cameron at a diner, as they mark the birthday of Wendy Mahkent. Jordan asks Cameron to make a wish, and he blows out the candle, and does so with icy breath...indicating that he, too, has ice powers.
The new JSA team arrives at the communications company, while the Gambler is busy hacking away, looking for the codes. Stargirl reminds them to stay close, grab the Gambler, and then interrogate him as to what the ISA's plans are. However things go awry in a hurry, as the Gambler starts hearing noises, and prepares himself with a gun in hand to shoot whomever comes through the door. The team then bumps into Sportsmaster and Tigress, and, despite Stargirl's orders, Hourman and Wildcat chase after the evil duo. Hourman starts mixing it up outside, where Sportsmaster is easily getting the better or the inexperienced hero. Wildcat, however, seems to hold her own slightly better against Tigress. Stargirl heads out front to help out Hourman, who's taking a pounding, and she begins to fight Sportsmaster off fairly well. Dr. Mid-Nite follows Wildcat, and ends up helping her when she's downed by Tigress by using a fire extinguisher. The battle spills out front into the parking lot, all the while the Gambler, only distracted by the cat outside his hotel room, manages to hack into the system and download the codes. With the mission accomplished, the sinister twosome decide to test the mettle of the team of youngsters. They manage to get the upperhand, and Sportsmaster shoots a puck bomb onto Stargirl's staff. The Staff, instinctively, flies up, and the bomb goes off, taking the staff briefly out of action.
Just as everyone's about to engage in fighting once more, S.T.R.I.P.E. shows up to even the odds, and the baddie husband and wife team decide to beat a retreat, blinding the heroes to make their escape. Not thrilled they went into battle, Pat marshalls the team back to the garage. There, the team realizes they still have a ways to go, but are in awe of the robot Pat built. Courtney complains to Pat about them not listening to her, and them frustrating her because they didn't pay attention to the plan. Pat agrees with her sarcastically, and she realizes the point he's making. She apologizes, and says if he wants the stuff back, she understands. He realizes that this is the team...but they're going to need SERIOUS training.
Back at ISA headquarters, Icicle realizes they now have a threat on their hands. It was bad enough Stargirl was on the scene, but now a revival of the Justice Society. They have no idea who they are, and he suggests that they begin to find out, because while they got the codes for the satellite, they cannot initiate the plan without Brainwave. Sportsmaster mocks Fiddler for not being able to wake him up, and Icicle quells the argument. So, he suggets they investigate to uncover WHO this new JSA is.
This episode was one of the best yet, as we finally got our first glimpse of the new JSA fully assembled (though the shot of the team we got is the same one we saw in Crisis), but it was a great moment, nonetheless. We also see how each character feels like they're BETTER, now that they have some sort of new purpose or outlet to get past their hang-ups. And I have to say---Yolanda's boxing and skills allowed her to hold her own against Tigress, but she still needs to fine-tune her combat skills (as does everybody), and Courtney has truly become much more adept with the Staff, as well as using it in combat. Rick is still got his rage issues to work out, but with practice, he'll learn to focus his power better....but the kid can take a beating with the Hourman powers. And Beth---she's the weak link right now, but with the goggles, will be able to provide information when needed---but she will MOST DEFINITELY need combat skills. But the team is there, and they look GREAT.
It was also awesome to see Tigress and Sportsmaster in action, as well as The Gambler in his element. Now, I have to course correct here...this whole season I've been referring to the Gambler as Icicle's brother---he's not. It was mistaken identity for me, and that's MY bad! But, now that I got a firm grasp of the members now, I won't make the mistake again. Sportsmaster and Tigress proved to be more than what the newbies can handle at the moment, but they know this new batch of youngsters are a threat to their plans. Now...where Artemis will fit in is another issue. She's got MORE than enough ability to be a supervillain and join dear old Mom and Dad, just as Cindy Burman has been trained by Dragon King, her father.
We got to see some bonding between Barbara and Mike this week...which is good, beause they're CLUELESS as to what Courtney and Pat have been up to. It's good, we get the switch in the family dynamics, and will bring them closer together in the long run. But it's a tad bit of character growth for Mike...who tries to come off as too cool for school, but really wanted his family there to support him...and Barbara stepped up.
We also got a different angle in this episode: Jordan Mahkent's constant pain and reminder of the death of his wife. It still haunts him to this day, and is the leading motivator as to WHY he's initiating this plan into action. You have actually been given a door into his private life, and see HIS heartache, and it almost makes you think of him as a sympathetic character...while his son, Cameron, IS a sympathetic character. It's nice for the writers to give the head villain a lot more depth, for it helps deepen the reasoning behind his motivations.
The show has found its footing. This episode had a bit more of a somber tone, and a bit more drama, but it isn't overbearing or weighing the show down. The kids DID get their first taste of combat, but also death...when they saw the security gaurd shot to death. It was a sobering moment for them, and they will learn that the stakes are high. And we haven't even gotten GRUNDY yet! Either way, the show is continuing to impress me, and I enjoy all the characters, and I am deeply invested. It's like they lept off the page.
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Until next time....Keep your eyes on the stars!
