Batman Beyond 3.08

The Call - Part Two

Batman shares with Barda, Aquagirl, Green Lantern, and Warhawk what he learned about Superman. The team confronts Superman and wind up fighting with him. They don't get the answer they are looking for and Superman flees when the going gets tough.

The team follows Superman to the Fortress of Solitude. They get there via Barda's mother box which creates a boom tube. They find Superman and another fight breaks out. This time they subdue him using the Kryptonite that Batman brought with him. When Superman's shirt is removed they see a very large starfish attached to his chest.

The starfish is from another planet and the last of its kind. It was captured by The Preserver. Superman later brought it and other creatures to the Fortress of Solitude. He didn't know what else to do with them so he kept them there in his zoo.

The team is trying to figure out how to remove the starfish when they discover dozens more starfish. Everyone except Batman is quickly subdued by starfish. Batman escapes from the Fortress of Solitude and winds up fighting with Superman without the Kryptonite. He manages to get the starfish off Superman by hitting it with a large dose of electricity.

Superman and Batman then return to his secret hideout and help to free the others from the alien starfish. The episode ends with Batman turning down permanent membership in the Justice League and returning to Gotham.

Thoughts

Christopher McDonald was the voice of Superman in this story. He was the voice of Jor-El in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. This is the only story in which he was the voice of Superman. He was also in one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 3.15 (Yesterday's Enterprise).

Starro was the large starfish. This story is the only significant appearance of Starro in the DCAU. Starro also appeared in some cartoons post-DCAU, Young Justice 1.26 (Auld Acquaintance) and Brave and the Bold 2.03 (Revenge of the Reach).

The Preserver also appeared in two episodes of Superman: The Animated Series: 1.09 (The Main Man - Part One) and 1.10 (The Main Man - Part Two). It has been probably over 15 years since I last watched that story but I remember enjoying it. It also features the first appearance of Lobo in the DCAU. Superman's conflict with the Preserver in that episode is shown in flashback in this episode but Lobo is not mentioned or shown.

I like this episode a lot more than Part One. There's a lot that happens but it doesn't feel quite as rushed as Part One did.