History Recap / JusticeLeagueS2E24To26Starcrossed

** Batman dispatches the Thanagarians in the Batcave in the same manner as Brandan’s cops in ComicBook/BatmanYearOne. On the DVD Commentary, Dwayne McDuffie points out that despite being one of the most famous then-modern Batman moments, he was a little surprised that Bruce Timm and company had never actually put it into BTAS or TNBA. McDuffie was understandably delighted to finally be the one to bring that gag into the DCAU.

* CallBack: A very subtle one to [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E2KnightTime "Knight Time"]]. Of the entire team, Clark is the only one before this episode to have actually visited the Batcave. When the Leaguers finally arrive, he's casually leaning on the Batcomputer and clearly at ease in Bruce's 'home office'.

* Calback: A very subtle one to [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E2KnightTime "Knight Time"]]. Of the entire team, Clark is the only one before this episode to have actually visited the Batcave. When the Leaguers finally arrive, he's casually leaning on the Batcomputer and clearly at ease in Bruce's 'home office'.

* BookEnds: Had this been the series finale as originally expected, ''Justice League'' would've ended the same way it began in the Pilot: With the team fighting back against another alien invasion. As it is, the Bookends still technically work, as this is the last hurrah of the original League roster and the show's original direction before the retool and rebranding for ''Justice League Unlimited''.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: When J'onn gets into a Thanagarian ship and takes a look at the controls, he comes to the conclusion that he has no idea how to drive it. The Thanagarians are just as alien to him as they are to humans after all.

** A plot point in Part 1. Batman invokes this Trope to Diana during his autopsy of a dead Gordanian: A single Gordanian scout ship attacks a major city...and the ''entire'' Thanagarian fleet coincidentally arrives to save Earth? Batman doesn't believe in coincidence and his suspicions of course are ultimately proven correct.

** A plot point in Part 1. As Batman invokes this very Trope to Diana: A single Gordanian scout ship attacks a major city...and the ''entire'' Thanagarian fleet arrives to save Earth? Batman's suspicions of course are ultimately proven correct.

* ContrivedCoincidence: The prison ship departs from the Gobi desert and when the League make their GreatEscape, the ship was conveniently flying over Metropolis.

* TheUnreveal: The outcome of the League's vote on Shayera's dismissal. However, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman's votes are either easily inferred or clearly stated, as was John’s non-vote. This only leaves the knowledge that Batman and J'onn voted opposite ways, though their votes can somewhat be inferred, as well.

** Batman dispatches the Thanagarians in the Batcave in the same manner as Brandan’s cops in ComicBook/BatmanYearOne. On the DVD Commentary, Dwayne McDuffie observed that despite being one of the most famous modern Batman moments, he was a little surprised that Bruce Timm and company had never actually put it into BTAS or TNBA.

* EndOfAnEra: Meta example. Due to the Bat Embargo that went into effect following Season Two, this episode marks Alfred Pennyworth's final appearance in the DCAU. This also makes it Efrem Zimbalist Jr.'s final outing as Alfred after over a decade of playing him since succeeding Clive Revill on BTAS.

** Batman dispatches the Thanagarians in the Batcave in the same manner as Brandan’s cops in ComicBook/BatmanYearOne.

* Bookends: Had this been the series finale as originally expected, ''Justice League'' would've ended the same way it began in the Pilot: With the team fighting back against another alien invasion. As it is, the Bookends still work, as this is the last hurrah of the original League and the show's original direction before the retool and rebranding of ''Justice League Unlimited''.

** Wonder Woman finds an imprisoned Shayera and considers just leaving her to rot after the latter betrays her and the League. Then, Wonder Woman frees Shayera and leaves.
** Shayera tearfully pleads to Hro to spare Earth and not destroy their love for each other. It seems Hro is about to stop until he smashes his axe right into Shayera before saying to his former fiancee that there's nothing between them.

** Having spent couple episodes on the fence about either siding with the League or the Thanagarians, Shayera ultimately chooses the former after learning about her people's true intentions to sacrifice Earth. Flash even lampshades that Shayera sacrificed more bloodshed on the Thanagarians to ensure their survival.
** Wonder Woman finds an imprisoned Shayera and considers to just leave her to rot after the latter betrays her and the League. Wonder Woman chooses to free Shayera.

* MythologyGag: Batman dispatches the Thanagarians in the Batcave in the same manner as Brandan’s cops in ComicBook/BatmanYearOne.

** The storyline borrows some elements from the "[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel Tower of Babel]]" story. The book's plotpoint about Batman betraying the League's trust and using countermeasures against them is transferred to Hawkgirl, and the final scene of the League debating whether to let Hawkgirl stay or not, and Shayera making the decision for them, comes from the final scene of that comic.

* AliensAreBastards[=/=]{{Smug Super}}s[=/=]SuperiorSpecies: The Thanagarians don't see much of humans - considering them to be a weak, primitive people - (the last bit is all the more interesting [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy given their own culture]]), and use them as slave labour for the hyperspace bypass. They don't even think much of the Justice League at first having captured them (largely thanks to Shayera's intelligence on their abilities) - one of them openly expresses doubt that any of them, even the Martian amongst them, could understand how the properties of Nth metal works; and even the protests from [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch one of their own]] to stop the project as it will kill billions of lives is met with accusations of disloyalty to Thanagar.

* ArcVillain: Hro Talak

* BenevolentAlienInvasion: The Thanagarians pretended to be this to cover their true purpose, but Batman exposed them in short order.

* BittersweetEnding: Earth is saved from destruction...at the cost of their home base, one of their members leaving (breaking up the series' OfficialCouple), and an untold amount of the Thanagarians threatening the planet. Sweetened a bit by its continuation, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'', which shows that things can be rebuilt, but even then there's a note of bitterness lingering throughout the series.

* FakeOutMakeout: Bruce and Diana in the Indian restaurant. [[ShipTease Neither seems to mind the opportunity.]]

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: There was no LastVillainStand. After the League destroy the hyperspace bypass Hro decides to give up and withdraw his forces from Earth.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Hyperspace Bypass construction has swastika-like lines around it.
* NotSoDifferent: J'onn is one of the more forgiving members of the League towards Shayera, and it's implied that this is because he empathizes with her [[YouCantGoHomeAgain now being alone in the world.]]
-->'''J'onn:''' She's a pariah to her people. We're all she has left.
* NothingPersonal: Hawkgirl re sucker-slugging her boyfriend. GL of course takes it entirely the other way.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The Unlimited episode "Hunter's Moon" reveals that it wasn't just the supers in the Justice League who are fighting against the Thanagarian invasion. Vixen and Vigilante (and possibly the rest of the future extended members of the League) mention that they were also fighting back, but it wasn't shown.

* PlotDemandedManualMode: Batman decides to ColonyDrop the League's orbital station, the Watchtower, onto the Thanagarians main base on Earth. Because the Watchtower isn't actually designed for this thing, he is "forced" to stay behind after everyone else evacuated to manually guide the descent until he passes out from the heat. He is pried out of his seat in the last second by Superman. Why he didn't just have J'onn do it, since J'onn could phase out of it, is never explained.

** By episode's end, when the remaining six League members discuss Hawkgirl's fate, it's clear that Wonder Woman hasn't forgiven Shayera and may never do so. This remains even she returns to the team until Shayera aids Wonder Woman during a trip through the Underworld.

** The storyline borrows some elements from the "[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel Tower of Babel]]" story, later adapted into WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDoom. The book's plotpoint about Batman betraying the League's trust and using countermeasures against them is transferred to Hawkgirl, and the final scene of the League debating whether to let Hawkgirl stay or go, and Shayera making the decision for them, comes from the final scene of that comic.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Before the turn, J’onn asks Paran how the shield generator is supposed to work. Paran brushes off his questions by stating it’s far beyond his comprehension, assuming Thanagarian tech to be too complicated for a Martian. When J’onn demonstrates he already holds a pretty good grasp of how some of it works, Paran glares, both annoyed that J’onn threw her ego back into her face and probably concerned J’onn will figure out it’s not a shield generator at all.

* WashingtonDCInvasion: The beginning of the episode where the League were staking out at a world conference held in Washington in anticipation of a terrorist incident, but only to be interrupted by a Gordanian ship. {{Lampshaded}} by Batman, who finds the small scale of the invasion and the convenience of the Thanagarian fleet being nearby suspicious.

* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: Flash does this to said button in the cockpit of a Thanagarian gunship... and blows a giant hole in the wall of Wayne Manor, almost killing Alfred. Batman immediately rounds on him, snarling [[PunctuatedForEmphasis "THAT'S. NOT. HELPING."]]

* OverlyNarrowSuperlative: When Thanagarian troops enter an Indian restaurant in search of Batman and Wonder Woman, they ask the owner for "a couple with dark hair." Pointing around the room (where almost everyone present has black hair), the man replies, "could you be a bit more specific?"

* WashingtonDCInvasion: The beginning of the episode where the League were staking out at a world conference held in Washington in anticipation of a terrorist incident, but only to be interrupted by a Gordanian ship.

* RealityEnsues: When J'onn gets into a Thanagarian ship and takes a look at the controls, he comes to the conclusion that he has no idea how to drive it. The Thanagarians are just as alien to him as they are to humans after all.

* ContrivedCoincidence: The prison ship departed from the Gobi desert. When League make their GreatEscape the ship was conveniently flying over Metropolis.