JUSTICE LEAGUE - FURY

Women, huh? You can't live with them, and you can't stab them in the head with a monkey. Well? You know the old saying, don't you? The one about 'Hell hath no fury, yadda-yadda-yadda? What? No? You don't? If I was you then, I'd have a look at this very colorful cartoon made in 2004 that lasts for 40 minutes. It'll be good for your health. Trust me.


Justice League - Fury


THE STORY:

Amazons. Amazons. Amazons. Why in the world is the Justice League running into Amazons all of a sudden? Firstly, Batman confronts' one of this creed, when she and the Injustice League rob a science lab. Then, Hawkgirl gets captured by a group of them, when she travels to Themyscira to investigate matters further. Moreover, Superman is overpowered by the same one Batman confronted, when she and her gang rob a jewelers and dowses him with poisonous gas!

Oh boy! What in Hera's name is Amazonian, Wonder Woman, going to do about all this, huh? With Superman out for the count, who else can she turn to for help? Green Lantern and the Flash, perhaps? No. Afraid not. They both catch what Superman's got. So maybe Batman then? Because he does save Wonder Woman from a speeding bus! THUMP! Nah. He succumbs to this gas poising like the rest of the male heroes not so long thereafter.

OK, so who can help Wonder Woman? What hero is on their feet to explain what in hell is happening to the planet?

Well, simply put -- Hawkgirl -- when she returns from Themyscira and explains to 'Diana' that the person behind all of these shenanigans is none other than Aria -- a stray refugee come Amazon that is planning to kill off all of the men with some poisonous gas she's devising.

Ah-ha! Then that's most probably why what next transpires all comes into play when women's lib turns menopausal. As mothers get a fright - women finally unite - ladies can't help but fight - and at the end of the day a cure and an explosion makes everything alright.

Burp! Or maybe not.

THE REVIEW:

Now before I relay my stuff and nonsense to you about 'Justice League - Fury', I would like to impart a conversation I had with a lady friend of mine on the internet first, about the subject of female superheroes.

PRINCESS69: Come on, admit it, they all look like street walkers! Why do comic book artists insist on making characters like Wonder Woman look like porn stars?

ME: Maybe artists are a bit randy, princess? Or then again maybe it's all to do with perception?

PRINCESS69: What do you mean by that?

ME: Well, it's simple if you think about it. Comic books are marketed at the young. So it only makes sense on a financial level, for the publishers to make their 'products' look appealing to the youth. Why else would Wonder Woman be wearing a bodice, huh?

PRINCESS69: Oh! So that make's it alright then? Just so long as the 'money men' make some more money?

ME: No. I am not trying to say that at all. I'm saying that this is most probably one of the key factors why Wonder Woman looks like she can take on more than one man at the time -- if you get my gist.

PRINCESS69: Ha! You clown.

ME: Yes. Yes I am a clown. And on top of that, I am also someone who looks behind the image. If somewhat wants to toss over Hawkgirl or Batgirl -- fair enough -- let their hand drop off. But you have to remember that their are some of us comic book fans that learn a lot from their female heroes too -- and get to understand what is going on behind the bra.

PRINCESS69: So what you are you trying to say? That not all female superheroes are eye candy? And that the only reason they look good is to get their points across? 

ME: No. Not at all. Listen, back in the day, one of my all time favorite women in comic books, was a tubby fat black lady called Amanda Waller -- who ran the Suicide Squad. She wasn't any porn-queen wannabe by any stretch of the imagination. No Sir-re. She was a person first, and a gender second. Plus let's not forget that for this character to be created, women had to evolve in the comic book marketplace first, because...

OK, I best stop myself there I think. Because what I then went on to say would be much better illustrated in bullet point form. Here, check out these facts to see what I mean. (1) In Wonder Woman's first appearance -- December, 1941 -- she took the notes for the Justice Society of America in a meeting they were having at the time. Presently, she is a stoic Amazon Goddess who doesn't take any crap from anybody. (2) Batwoman, Kathy Kane, has gone from a colorful acrobat who once pined after Batman, to a lesbian who now pines after justice and some stability in her life. (3) One of the first women in comic-dom, was a lady called the 'Phantom Lady' -- aka Sandra Knight, cousin to Hourman. She was, and maybe still is, a member of the 'Freedom Fighters' with very ample cleavage. Although when last seen, the cleavage in question belongs to someone else -- name unknown. (4) Black Canary is one of the only female hero's that has had a miscarriage, married then divorced Green Arrow, and was once her own mother too -- pre-crisis of course. (5)  The physical appearance of New God, Big Barda, was based on the sixties playboy model, Lainie Kazan. Now it isn't. (6) Supergirl went from Superman's cousin -- alternate earth doppelganger -- Egyptian discovery -- hippy chick -- and all the way back to Superman's cousin again. I think. (7) The first patriotic comic-book female hero ever devised was called 'Miss America'. When she was last seen in the pages of the 'Freedom Fighters', she became the cosmic hero named 'Miss Cosmos'. (8) At one time or another, the mantels' of Robin, the Vigilante, the Flash, and Red Bee, were all held by women. The same can be said for Wonder Woman also -- just remove the 'wo' from 'woman'. (9) Fury is like the foster child of the DC Universe; because depending what version you read, she's either Wonder Woman's or Hawkman's daughter, or a clone made by Lex Luthor. 

   

Hey! Before I get carried away on this subject too much, I'd best tell you what I thought about 'Justice League - Fury'. Huh?  Well, as a cartoon goes, this one wasn't that bad really. I liked the way that the overall tale built up in stages, and I really did get a kick out of that scene where Wonder Woman was at the department store -- that was a right hoot. Also, on a much deeper level, I thought it very apt that Aria was the person who sealed her own fate -- inadvertently symbolizing that she became a product of her own making, and not visa versa.

However, on the reverse site of this equation, I wasn't too sure about that woman who wore the blind fold -- she came across as too new for new sake. Plus I would have liked to have seen Superman putting up more of a fight than he did -- because his battle with Aria was a mite too cosmetic in the execution.

Still, all in all, this was one great slice of animation -- and is well worth a watch for anyone who listens to female superheroes rather than tossing off to them.

Nuff said

THE RATING: B+