DC Heroes United> Episode 4 Analysis

Again with the “part 1”? “Friend Or Foe” didn’t feel like a two part episode in what’s an ongoing storyline. Will “Fear, Revealed” be the same thing? I wonder if it’s like what happened with Justice League season one, where they wanted to do an hour long show, Cartoon Network refused, so the scripts were reworked into two-part episodes…that Cartoon Network ran back to back on the same night anyway. Some shenanigans there.

When we last left our heroes they were standing in front of Fate Tower with the door open and potentially evil shadow versions of the trinity waiting to hear one of them reveal their big, dark secret. Interestingly, this episode will go back to choices that weren’t made in previous episodes in the deleted scenes, so we will see at least in part what previous choices might have done to this episode. As it turns out, not much. That should be extra fun to think about though. There aren’t a lot of new choices in this episode, but we’ll look at them and where this story could go.

And yes, I’m still calling Black Lex “Black Lex” because I still don’t understand this change, not even the addition of glasses. Like, I really don’t care about the race-swapped Steve Trevor because he’s such a non-entity at this point (outside of wondering why the cartoon made that choice when you can’t blame actors), and I promise you I’d make the same observation if they made Amanda Waller a redhead. We’re also learning this Waller may be as bad as the rest of her incarnations. It seems we only get nice Amanda Waller when she’s the head of a high school for superheroes. Anyway, let’s watch the episode.

We start right with the story branch from last episode, because that’s where the story left off. I’ll get more into this choice in the choice analyzing part, but having Batman be the one to close the door is pure fan choice, and I don’t know if it’s based on the narrative. If anything, it seems odd for him to be the one given his guarded nature at this point. Black Canary didn’t have that much influence on him. In the chosen story he just allowed her to join in. I wasn’t expecting to jump into another fan decision so soon, and we get a lot of them this episode, plus we get to see the results of Clark telling Lois his identity later on, plus Superman deciding about Lex’s job offer. Again, I’ll go over all that in the choice analysis.

Why is Jaime flying around without the mask on? Wind and other concerns aside, Kaji-Dah in other iterations was all about keeping Jaime’s secret. The New 52 version wouldn’t even let him tell his family, which ruined one of the interesting dynamics with him and his family pre-52, but that wouldn’t be dark and serious enough for DiDio, the man who said heroes shouldn’t have families.

Oh, how I could go on.

Yes, he actually said that. Not in those words, but that was the sentiment–at least for the DC heroes. Not sure if he extended that to real life. Of course, in one of the Superman choices we learn this Jaime doesn’t seem to even have a family, so that made it worse. Jaime’s support from his family to be Blue Beetle #3 was a great part of the story because if offered something different in a good way.

Clearly at some point the players will have to decide whose plan to go with. I have to totally disagree with Superman here. I know protecting innocent lives is his first priority, and right now Barbara’s one of those innocents, but he’s assuming that Circe can be easily beaten after getting her hands on a weapon that breaks your future, years or second from now. It is the riskiest one of the three. Wonder Woman wants to use it ON Circe, which could work or could backfire. Who knows what else Circe has found out about the Tower and whether or not she found something that would protect her from the Fatebreaker. I would think their best bet would be send in Jaime and/or Black Canary, since they would conceivably have the best stealth kill outside of Batman, which she’ll be expecting. Find Doctor Fate while the other heroes distract her (maybe thrown in Cyborg for the stealth and decoding but he doesn’t seem to be the sneak around type), help him and hopefully also Barbara Minerva to escape, and then have an extra ally to kick Circe out of the tower and sent it back where it belongs in space/time. Since that doesn’t seem to be an option, the fake one Batman proposes is the best of the plans they made, but at best that could distract while BB and BC get past and help Doctor Fate. We see Superman and Jaime, and Diana and Cyborg, both have the same idea, but only through their own plan. I really hope whatever the choice is and the players choose it leads to everybody working together. Remember, this is Heroes United, not Heroes Do Whatever They Want, Step On Each Other’s Toes, And The Villains Win.

I do like the scenes with Superman and Blue Beetle. Jaime is not using to having friends and neither is Superman. Both could benefit from each other. Each of the Trinity have a pseudo-sidekick: Superman and Blue Beetle, Batman and Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Cyborg. I’m glad each of the Superman/Lois paths lead to Jaime tapping Clark with the slushie bottle. It’s comedy done right, to relieve the tension before it goes too far rather than kill it before it makes an impact. I do like how the Lois/Clark scene always opens with Lois failing to get any answers from the guard who probably knows less than she does because he just runs the gate. Like with Jaime and the slushie it’s a comedic moment that benefits the story, in this case adding a sense of reality to the proceedings. Sometimes a silly moment happens during dark times, though this is clearly only for the audience’s benefit.

I’m kind of mixed on how Circe temps Barbara, and I wonder if that’s going to be a path at some point, players deciding if she accepts or not. So far all the decisions are Batman’s, Superman’s, and Wonder Woman’s, but who knows if the game will break that cycle or not? We really don’t know why this version of Barbara Minerva wants power, or why she wants to be like Wonder Woman, so it’s harder to judge if she’s been influenced by Circe’s desire for power for power’s sake or if she just distracted her while brainwashing the mythologist. It seems rather easy to convince her Diana is lying, maybe too easy. We’ll see how this play out.

And now we get to analyzing the choices. Gamers were kept busy on this one, even if they didn’t play the battle game that they tried to show off again this episode.

Which hero will reveal their greatest fear to seal the Tower Of Fate?

• Batman: Again, totally made by the fans because they wanted to see Batman’s fear. At this point in the story I could see him telling the Tower his fear if he were alone, but with everyone standing there that doesn’t seem right for…really any of them, but the only one odder than Batman would be this version of Superman. As for Batman’s fear, it certainly makes sense. The whole reason he became Batman was to keep some other kid from going through what he did after his parents were shot. Having Dick become Robin was to be the positive outlet Bruce didn’t have, to keep Dick from becoming like him, which is why I don’t buy him grooming Tim to become Batman or treating everyone as “soldiers” in his war on crime. I wouldn’t of chosen this and by now the players should know we’d get the answer in deleted scenes anyway, but this was done for fan reasons, not story reasons. Also, this is the only one that doesn’t lead to additional information from the sidekick…unless that’s coming for Black Canary later on like some of the Clark and Lois decisions this episode. More on that in a moment.
• Wonder Woman: Have we seen that “too much compassion” on display, even in the good choices? Evidence of a compassionate side, sure. She wants to be good and with this path we would have a closer idea why. One could make the case that audience near-omniscience means we do, but doing that in the game is akin to having aspects of the story bible the audience isn’t aware of. Are the gamers thinking of the final story or what they want to see now? The odds of the majority having storyteller instincts is pretty low. They’re just trying to have fun and make what they think they want to see happen, learning the results later. They aren’t trying to make a great story. They’re playing a game, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This does suffer from knowing so little about Wonder Woman and Hippolyta in this continuity.  We also get a deeper tease that Waller isn’t what she appears to be, and her methods of “protecting our world” comes at costs that make her as bad as Hippolyta in her own way. Something to keep an eye on.
• Superman: One thing I love about these options is that we also learn a bit about the other two characters in how they respond to the spoken fear. Though that does take me back to the princess whose fear ended up coming true. Was that fate or just HER fate? Superman afraid of being alone is unique to this version, as that’s not something I’ve ever seen as a concern. Pre-Crisis Superman didn’t even seem concerned about losing another home since the Silver Age decided he somehow still had his short-lived toddler memories, or other versions having the Kryptonian version of home movies of Krypton might make Kal-El a bit more concerned about losing another home. I don’t hate this option, though like this Batman, being this open with strangers around, selfless as the Man Of Steel is, feels a bit too soon in his development. What we do lose is Jaime revealing his own story, as mentioned before.

What will Batman reveal about the Fatebreaker?

The way this is presented alongside the unchosen paths of the first choice is certainly easier to watch as deleted scenes. We could have gotten any mix of the choices. This is just the better presentation because both results show up so close to each other in the final episode.

• Give Lex a chance to come clean: I like this choice. Black Lex with glasses is supposed to be at a crossroads. Based on choices by the gamers through the main three he could be good or evil, and while Lex being evil is supposed to be important to his position as Superman’s antagonist and arch nemesis recent comics have tried (for some reason) to reform him. I don’t like it, but seeing his journey is part of the interest in this story. Giving Lex a chance to admit he has it allows him to better connect with the rest of the group. He makes the good choice rather than Batman forcing him to and while Diana isn’t happy he kept the secret…honestly, it’s not like Black Lex learned what he had until Batman confronted him last episode, and giving Circe the Fatebreaker is not going to end well, especially if Barbara goes full villain as the Cheetah like I suspect.
• Tell everyone Lex has it: Consider this the opposite. Lex would consider this a violation of trust, and the others would be more inclined to trust Batman, but not Lex. If you want to push him down the traditional bad guy route, this would be a good way to start.
• Claim he has it: Black Lex chatizes Batman for trying to get out of the blame in the other unchosen path, but this is the opposite of that since he takes the blame on himself. It does lead to Batman being 2000s Batman, noting that he was testing Superman and Wonder Woman while Lex tested the relic. It does have the same unfortunate side effect of not letting Lex stand up and earn the trust of the others, but doesn’t necessarily push him towards not trusting Batman while losing that trust. This is the “middle ground” choice.

How will Superman respond to Lex’s recruitment?

• Accept only if Lex offers a job to the others: It’s very much Superman for him to act that way. He already knows Cyborg would jump ship in an instant and we know Cy doesn’t trust Amanda Waller one bit. Lex also has a point that nobody else would sign up, and apparently Black Canary and Blue Beetle aren’t even thought of. It’s like a Lex to only think of the three most powerful heroes in the group, but I still say you’d think he’d love to get Cyborg on his team like he did Barbara, who is also former ARGUS that he won away. If anything, I’m surprised Black Lex took it as well as he did. That’s another reason I make the distinction. Black Lex has a number of differences from the usual bald former redhead Lex we all know and loathe.
• Reject the job offer: The look on Lex’s face when Superman leaves says it all. Combine this Batman with telling the others Lex has the Fatebreaker would surely lead down his villain path, especially as he’s usually more power-hungry than Barbara. (Jury’s out on Waller.) Perhaps avoiding this one will lead to better attitudes for Black Lex down the line.
• Accept the job offer: There’s not much to read in this one, but a lot to speculate. Since this Lex has yet to be shown to be evil, the way we’re slowly seeing from Waller, this isn’t a redemption story or Black Lex hoping to use Superman to push a villainous agenda whatever his motivation. It could lead to Superman’s nobility affecting Lex, or Lex’s more negative impulses doing the same for Superman, especially when Lois seems to be further and further out of the picture as a counterbalance and we don’t know if the Kents are here for adult Clark, which has gone either way depending on the continuity even in the main DC universe.

What will Wonder Woman do with the ARGUS communicator intended for Superman?

• Disable the tracker first: Possibly the best choice. Even this Diana knows that following Superman around means a lack of the trust she’s hoping to build with him, her way of attempting to recruit him, and you have to wonder if she isn’t at least starting to see Cyborg’s point about not trusting Waller. I see her potentially cutting ties with ARGUS leading to problems with her and Steve, and I really hope they aren’t pushing for Superman/Wonder Woman. That’s a relationship choice based on genetics, not how the characters act as people. Meanwhile, they can still keep in touch with their new ally. The only problem here is that we need the branch choice text to tell us that she disabled the tracker instead of being shown it. If this is reworked into a regular video with all the choice stuff removed, future audiences won’t know she did it unless it’s brought up later.
• Destroy the communicator: This one is all meta and speculation. Superman doesn’t know that’s a communicator, with or without the tracker. That does mean that they won’t be able to contact each other later, which would have been a problem down the road. We’d have to see later how Waller would react to either choice (interesting that there’s only two for this one, when “leave the tracker and give him the communicator” would have been an option), but while this does get Cyborg’s attention, it doesn’t do anything for Superman outside of advice that could just as easily be about Black Lex as it is Amanda Waller.

And now for the new results of last week’s decision for….

How will Superman respond to Clark not being there when Lois interviews him?

• Admit he’s Superman: Not listed in the episode like the others, but that choice is just part of current events. Personally I wish that scene ended with Lois telling Clark “But when this is all done…we’re going to have a long talk about…everything. Just be Superman right now. Focus on saving the world. I’m not going anywhere yet.” I don’t want them breaking up, and in every path we get the same story about how Clark got closer to Lois. She admits she knew he was doing it to flirt with her, but is surprised with Clark still holding on to the bottlecap (nice easter egg with the cola name).
• Stand up for Clark: Okay, anyone else notice the animation mistake to get the scenes realigned? Unless Clark has teleporting glasses. I said that this would be the most Superman of choices, but they added in Lois picking up on Superman’s mistake of mentioning Smallville. Apparently that’s the best way to lose Lois for good, so in hindsight it’s probably better that wasn’t the choice. On the other hand, I have to call out the writers on that one. It’s the only choice that actually leads to an interview so she could pick up on that. Otherwise, none of the players would have guessed this outcome whether they wanted it or not. It reminds me of my first attempt to play Mass Effect. On two occasions I made choice whose results I wasn’t expecting. One was on me. I thought I was being humble but ended up refusing to sign an autograph and lost a potential teammate. I wasn’t planning on that, but it does make sense and I goofed. The other was on them, as I thought I was going to calm a guy down…which Germain Shepard (clever?) decided meant he should punch the dude’s lights out, which was absolutely not my intention. So on this the writers messed up and we’re just lucky the majority didn’t fall for it.
• Agree Clark is at fault: I stand by my statement that “Superman” came off as too antagonistic to “Clark”. It’s probably the one that would have led to the best potential to keep Lois with Clark, outside of that look on her face when she mentioned “no secret would change how I feel about you”. Probably not the best way to state it, Clark. I wonder if Lois shows up again in this story?

So that’s it for this episode since the final path is just for the “EveryHero Project” game. Next time, which plan will our heroes go with…and will it be the right one? Or will they each play their own game and screw everything up? I really hope this series, unintentionally or not depending on how many jerks are playing and how many poor decisions are made, doesn’t lead to evil winning or the heroes not forming the Justice League. That would be the bad ending for sure. Also want to see if “Fear, Revealed” part 2 reveals more fears or if like “Friend Or Foe” part 2 I end up wondering why this was a part two instead of just the next chapter in a continuing story with its own title.

Since these episodes drop too late on Friday for me to do a proper review and I’m taking next week off, I’m hoping to do a special edition on Sunday rather than try to review this on Christmas Eve, when I don’t expect a lot of readers due to spending time at parties. This of course depends on whether or not the show takes a holiday break. I’m taking next week off just because there’s half a week gone for holidays and another medical test, so it’s a good time to try to take a breather. Still, I don’t want to be too far behind so hope to get a Sunday version out this Sunday. If I don’t, prepare for two installments on my return.