History Recap / JusticeLeagueS2E24To26Starcrossed

** Subverted with Batman, who goes down by conventional means (and whose capture is what sets off the Betrayal Insurance). However, knowing by this point in the series just how dangerous and sneaky Bruce is, Shayera would almost certainly have warned her people to beware the Batman. Whether or not they had any contingency prepared for Batman becomes moot once he was discovered and captured aboard Talak's flagship.

** Batman, i.e. the CrazyPrepared Leaguer, ironically is the ''only'' teamamte who doesn't have such a contigency prepared for him - - or at least he's the only Leaguer who goes down by conventional means. Shayera would almost certainly have warned her people to beware the Batman, but whether or not they had any such contingnecy became moot once he was discovered and captured aboard Talak's flagship.

* SecretSecretKeeper: Batman reveals he already knew the identities of the League.

* HeroicSacrifice: Batman's intens to drop the Watchtower on the bypass with him as pilot, but he is saved by Superman.

* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: After accidentally exposing themselves, Bruce and Diana get to hide in a restaurant thanks to a friendly owner and his patrons. When the soldiers in pursuit ask the owner for the fugitives giving a vague description, the owner unfazedly retorts that he has to be more specific, since everyone inside fits the description.

* HeroicSacrifice: Batman's intention of dropping the Watchtower on the bypass with him as pilot, but he is saved by Superman.

* LetsSplitUpGang: Justified; once they change into civilian clothes, the Justice League split up because the Thanagarians will be looking for a group of six people.

* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: The Thanagarians occupy the Watchtower. Later, the Batcave is also compromised.

* {{Fingore}}: When John is trying to destroy the force field controls, he was open to Hro's sneak attack, who then [[WreckedWeapon destroys John's ring]] and injuring him in the process.

'''Batman:''' The crew of this ship was dead long before the Thanagarians shot them down. I think we've been set

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Wally, the one possibly closest to Shayera besides John, is just as angry at her as the rest of the League for her betrayal, and he's even the one to point out the verious offenses the Thanagarians (including Shayera herself) committed against them. At the end, however, it's shown that he has forgiven her.

** Hawkgirl being LockedOutOfTheLoop for what the Thanagarians are actually on Earth for, and later when she gives away the League's whereabouts not knowing that kragger put a tracker on her.

* SignificantAnagram: the ArcVillain's name is an anagram of the Silver Age Hawkman's identity.

* UnwittingPawn: The League get fooled into helping the Thanagarians until Batman learns the truth.

-->'''Shayera:''' But if we open a hole in hyperspace, it will [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroy this entire planet]].
''Hro:''' Sadly yes. For Thanagar to live, Earth...must die.

After Earth is attacked by a Gordanian battleship, the Justice League is aided by an army of hawkmen from Hawkgirl's home planet of Thanagar. The Thanagarians offer to help Earth build a shield to defend against the Gordanians, but Batman discovers that this is just a ruse. Hawkgirl finds herself torn between her allegiance to Thanagar and her commitment to the League, as well as between her betrothal to the Thanagarian commander Hro Talak and her deep budding romantic love for Green Lantern, John Stewart.

* BatScare: When the Thanagarians invade the Batcave, Batman sets this trope on them.

* CallBack: A very subtle one to [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E2KnightTime "Knight Time"]] in Part 2. Of the entire team, Superman is the only one before this episode to have actually visited the Batcave. When the Leaguers finally converge on Wayne Manor, Clark's casually leaning on the Batcomputer and is clearly at ease in Bruce's 'home office'.

** 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''.

** Superman abandons the big fight in order to go save Batman's life during the ColonyDrop.
--->'''Superman:''' Always have to be the hero, don't you?\\
'''Batman:''' ''(smiles)'' Right back at you.
** Batman being the one to do the ColonyDrop at all is hero syndrome on his part. J'onn could've easily done most of the piloting, then simply phased out of the ship as it got close, without putting himself at risk at all.

** The DVD commentary reveals that the writers were split on whether they liked the line or thought it was silly. Bruce Timm broke the tie.

* HeroicSacrifice: Batman intends to do this but is saved by Superman.

* KickTheDog: Shayera smacks John with her mace during the first fight between the League and the Thanagarians. He brings it up in the Batcave later.

* 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.

* ShootTheDog: Hawkgirl helps the Thanagarian invasion force defeat the League and conquer the Earth, because she believed the occupation of Earth was necessary to defeat the Gordanians, which was in the best interests of both her home planet Thanagar and Earth. (Though she draws the line at destroying Earth to save Thanagar, and she turns on her brethren upon discovering that they intend to do exactly that.)

* StarCrossedLovers: The fate of the relationship of the Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Though really, it could have been called "[[IncrediblyLamePun Planetcrossed]]" just as easily.

*** Similarly, with her mission as a spy and infiltrator, it's likewise unsurprising that Shayera uncovered Batman's secret identity and home base (to say nothing of how to infiltrate it undetected).

* TrashTheSet: After being the League's headquarters through the series, the Watchtower is destroyed when Batman [[ColonyDrop drops]] it on the Thanagarians' bypass generator. The Batcave and Wayne Manor likewise take their share of damage during the Thanagarian strike team's assault in part 3 (though of course they'll be repaired before ''Batman Beyond'').

** Wonder Woman finds an imprisoned Shayera. Still bitter about the latter's betrayal, she considers just leaving her to rot. Then, Wonder Woman frees Shayera and leaves.

* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: {{Averted|Trope}}. Batman throws his batarangs right at some Thanagarians but they doesn't seem to harm the bird men.

'''Batman:''' Wait for it. ''(Hundreds of Bats fly out and attack the Thanagarians)''

'''Batman:''' Wait for it.
''(Hundreds of Bats fly out of the cave and attack them)''

'''(Hundreds of Bats fly out of the cave and attack them)'''

* YoureNothingWithoutYourPhlebotinum: Kragger comments that Green Lantern is "nothing without his toy", referring to his power ring. He's wrong, naturally; John still pulls his weight during the escape scene, and defeats Hro even after his ring is destroyed by tricking him into slamming his axe into a piece of machinery, electrocuting him into unconsciousness.

** Given his paranoia and detective skills, it is completely unsurprising that Batman had figured out the Flash's secret identity at some point during the previous two Seasons.

* TrashTheSet: After being the League's headquarters through the series, the Watchtower is destroyed when Batman [[ColonyDrop drops]] it on the Thanagarians' bypass generator.

** Batman identifying the Flash as "Wally West" in Part 2. Up to this point in the series, and even going back to STAS and "Speed Demons", it had been unclear if the DCAU Flash was meant to be either Wally or Barry Allen. There was enough evidence to go either way and "Flash and Substance" will later clarify that the DCAU Wally is a composite of both Comics Wally ''and'' Barry.

** Batman identifying the Flash as "Wally West" in Part 2. Up to this point in the series, and even going back to STAS and "Speed Demons", it had been unclear if the DCAU Flash was meant to be Wally or Barry Allen. There was enough evidence to go either way and "Flash and Substance" will later clarify that the DCAU Wally is a composite of both Comics Wally ''and'' Barry.

* WhamLine: When Wonder Woman watches [[ProperlyParanoid Batman]] peform an autopsy on the pilot of the Gordanian ship:

'''Batman:''' The crew of this ship was dead long before the Thanagarians shot them down. I think we've been set up.

* DeathSeeker: The DVD commentary points out this is the second time this season that Batman purposely pulls a move that might get him killed to take out the threat, personally piloting the Watchtower to land on the bypass.