DC Heroes United> Episode 5 Analysis

Since I’m taking Christmas week off, I didn’t want to have to play catch-up. So here’s an extra article.

So it turns out no, this episode doesn’t come off as a part 2 of the previous episode, just another chapter of the ongoing story.

“Fear, Interrupted” contains very little fear. One of the characters shares his (or her, no spoilers in the intro) fear, and outside of what impact the choice of who shares is…not a whole lot changes. The only real changes thus far are minor story beats, not a huge difference in events. There are limits to this story’s format that make me less interested in seeing what the Batman Telltales games were like not because of the cliffhanger but because none of the choices have a major impact on events. At best it affects character relationships, but that’s not as exciting since I’m here on the sidelines watching the action. Even if I were playing I doubt I’d feel like my choices mattered a whole lot. It’s actually kind of disappointing.

Luckily the episodes themselves have been interesting, and as someone examining storytelling it is interesting to see how the losing choices would have altered character relationships, but it does nothing about the real meat of the story. I’m still enjoying the story, and there’s a lot to talk about with this episode, though when it comes to the choices this round it feels even less like they affect the narrative and more a meta interest in the story. I won’t even be doing the regular choice analysis format like usual most of the time, and you’ll see why very quickly. First, let’s watch the episode.

Most of this episode is devoted to the deleted scenes. The main episode is barely a factor, and that’s a new disappointment as a viewer. As a storytelling analysis it’s interesting, but it does make this episode less enjoyable on its own. I still hope all the chosen paths are put together into one big movie when this is done, because that would make for a better viewing experience than we got this round.

Hey, Black Canary got to visit the Batcave. Nice bit of development, even if he blindfolded her like he does most visitors not in the loop. We also get to see Alfred isn’t AI, which is nice. Still Latino I think. He doesn’t look like Alfred at any rate, but while lacking his mannerisms he does serve the same goal. It just makes me miss Alfred. DC killing him off in the comics was a bad choice. I do wonder why he still sounds like he’s talking through a speaker if he’s there in person. Maybe he is AI after all? The Batcave itself is an interesting choice. Instead of just setting things up in the cave itself there’s a building where Batman does his hanging out. Kind of neutral on that. Meanwhile, Batman shows why he is how he is. If he “bends” he thinks he’ll be less effective. This version has taken on all the weight of protecting Gotham City onto himself, and it clearly isn’t healthy. What confuses me is Black Canary. For someone trying to get Batman to accept help, she’s on her own loner kick, and that seems counterproductive. I’m not sure why the writers made that choice.

It’s also annoying that all three groups–Batman & Black Canary, Superman and Blue Beetle, and Wonder Woman and Cyborg–all seem to be on their own mission. Learning that Kaji-Dah can “hack” the Tower door, you’d think they’d contact everyone with that information and form a plan together. Try to get in without her knowledge, and if that doesn’t work have the fake Fatebreaker as a back-up plan. At the very least someone can try to find Doctor Fate while the others confront Circe. Black Canary or Blue Beetle would probably have the best chance at a stealthy examination if they aren’t going with Batman, plus Circe would expect Batman and has shown she doesn’t care about the “sidekicks”. I know it’s only the fifth episode (try telling that to whomever is titling the YouTube version of the video, listing this as episode three for some reason while Tubi has the numbering right) but they still aren’t very united.

Jaime is becoming the most interesting character for me in this story. I can relate to worrying you can’t live up, or being nervous about succeeding. It’s one of the reasons I’m not where I want to be right now, so I’m hoping seeing his arc will be inspirational. I can tell him which part to listen to. His head says listen to the scarab, his heart just wants to be himself, his gut says to take charge. What should he listen to? All three. There are times the scarab should take point while Jaime sits back and strategizes, times Jaime should serve as the conscience of the duo, and times they should both work together, plus times Jaime should just be himself. Ultimately the two need to learn to work together, as a team. Jaime and Kaji are physically united, but not mentally, and if that changes he’s going to be a great hero in this story. Superman will always be my favorite hero, but Blue Beetle III is my favorite to watch this story, and given their individual story arcs this was a great pairing.

Doctor Fate’s back. That’s probably the other voice Superman heard arguing in the tower. How did he escape and how will he help the heroes? Will he be able to? Will be have a new title or will this be “Fate, Interrupted” part 3, which at least involves interrupting Doctor Fate in keeping Circe at bay? We’ll find out in the next episode.

Now we get to the choices and how they impact the story. In the overall view, not much. I’m going to break the previous format of going over each choice individually on this one because of that. We do see the results of previous actions, but it doesn’t change the events as much as I would like to make the choices worth it.

What will Wonder Woman do with the A.R.G.U.S. communicator:

I decided to look it up. A.R.G.U.S. apparently stands for Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans in the comics, and if that’s what they’re using here they chose the wrong woman to lead it. She isn’t uniting anyone except to dislike her. So no matter what you chose, Wonder Woman still shows up to help. The question is more how long it takes her. Without the tracker, the one player majority voted for, it’s the Tower going crazy again that draws her, with only the call telling her whose responsible. I’m not even sure it worked. Without the communicator she still comes because of the Tower, but later, while if she kept the tracker she shows up sooner, but manages to lose a bit of Superman’s trust. It’s not a very deep impact, is it? The result is the same in the moment, but whether or not losing part of Superman’s trust means anything to the story we’ll have to wait on. Either way, they do make a cool team during the fight, and I’m guessing this is how this version of Superman learns about his vulnerability to magic.

How will the heroes respond to Circe’s demand to hand over the Fatebreaker?

This was the most disappointing. Whosever plan they go with mostly results in which sidekick gets blasted. Personally I don’t think either of them are dead. It’s not unlikely for a TV-14 series, as Tubi rates it, while YouTube still rates it a kids show and thus has all the kids show restrictions that have nothing to do with what got them in trouble with the government in the first place. However, killing either of them breaks the story and the potential for any of their character arcs. Batman’s is the winning choice, try to trick Circe, which leads to Black Canary’s death. That ruins any chance of Batman learning to trust others or not wanting to endanger others, which is usually one of Superman’s weaknesses. Go with Wonder Woman’s plan and just attack Circe and it leads to Cyborg getting blasted, the one voice that would keep her from becoming like Waller and supposedly her mother, though we still lack details there. Chose Superman’s plan of hoping to take Circe down after rescuing Barbara Minerva and it leads to Blue Beetle getting blasted, though yelling “Team Superman!” while attacking her is kind of a bad idea.

In fact all three sidekicks get it because of a bad choice not involving the players. Wiping out Jaime means not only losing his arc, the only sidekick shown to have their own story arc, but he isn’t really part of Superman’s since he has Lois for his issues. That would be the biggest mistake, but because of all that I’m assuming Black Canary is just out cold.

What gets me, and I know it’s partially due to the needs of keeping certain moments consistent for story flow, is that Luthor brings the real Fatebreaker even while Batman is there with the fake one. Why would you do that if you were going with Batman’s idea? Where did Black Lex hide that so Circe wouldn’t know it was the fake? It’s an unintentional plothole for the same of the process and it shows a flaw in this system.

I can guess what the last choice will be: how will Diana deal with Barbara…or rather Cheetah now. Cheetah is Wonder Woman’s enemy in the comics but here they started as friends, making it a bit harder for her. I’m not sure what the Batman/Black Canary choice is, judging by the silhouettes. It doesn’t seem like a Batman choice and the choices thus far have been what members or the Trinity are going to do since they’re the main heroes of the story. I’m guessing Superman’s choice involves what advice to give Jaime when it comes to Kaji-Dah, and I already gave you my answer. That’s another point for Black Canary not being dead. If they’re involved with story choices, that choice becomes irrelevant if Black Canary or Blue Beetle are dead, and while Cyborg doesn’t factor into any choice at this point in the story, that should lead to his plot armor protection as well.

Next episode will air Friday, but I’ll be back from Christmas hiatus to return this to the Tuesday slot as we see what happens to heroes.