Doctor Fate and Aquaman rescue Solomon Grundy, intent on using him to help battle an ancient evil. It's a pity they don't tell the Justice League of their plans, because when they get the story from the army unit trying to capture Grundy, they believe that Doctor Fate and Aquaman are teaming up with Grundy, and when they have to save a cruise ship from a giant octopus, they think that Aquaman wants to declare war on the surface world.
So they bust into Doctor Fate's tower, interrupt a ritual involving Grundy...and accidentally unleash Cthulhu's second cousin Ichthultu (nobody told the writers that the Cthulhu Mythos was public domain and couldn't get them sued). So now Ichthultu and his betentacled lackeys are loose, and they have a bone to pick with life in general, and the Thanagarians in particular. The Thanagarians used to worship Ichthultu, until they got Genre Savvy and turned away from the Religion of Evil.
Doctor Fate, Grundy, and the Justice League go to Ichthultu's world to fight him directly, while Aquaman returns to protect Atlantis. Wonder Woman and Superman (later joined by Aquaman) fight off the monsters streaming into the material world, eventually sealing the portal with a convenient giant boulder, and Doctor Fate, Hawkgirl, and Grundy confront Ichthultu. A comment from Hawkgirl makes Grundy think that Ichthultu might have taken his soul, and he goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge to get it back. He's able to seriously weaken Ichthultu and allow Hawkgirl to finish the monster off, but at the cost of sustaining mortal wounds himself. He dies with Hawkgirl at his side, and the Justice League give him a proper burial.
Tropes:
- Alternate Company Equivalent:
- The team Doctor Fate puts together is an Homage to Marvel Comics The Defenders, with Doctor Fate as Doctor Strange, Aquaman as Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Solomon Grundy as The Incredible Hulk. Hawkgirl fills in for Nighthawk. One could argue that Superman (a noble alien being with great powers) fills in for Silver Surfer, while Wonder Woman (an Amazonian warrior) subs for Valkyrie.
- Even the Army Commander trying to capture Grundy in Part I's Teaser bears a resemblance to Hulk archenemy General Thunderbolt Ross.
- Aloof Ally: Aquaman's sole motivation in teaming up with Doctor Fate and then the League is protecting Atlantis from Ichthultu who had once threatened it long ago. He initially refuses to go to the being's dimension with the League and Fate, instead heading back to his home to defend it from the monsters attacking it. He eventually does wind up joining them into the dimension after repelling the army of monsters and assist the League in sealing the breach between their dimension and Icthulhu.
- Ambiguous Situation: The only real indication that Ichthultu is the one that took Grundy’s soul is simply that Ichthultu once took Thanagarian souls as sacrifice and, overhearing this, Grundy just assumes Ichthultu took his. Beyond that, there’s no real evidence or confirmation that Ichthultu had anything to do with how Solomon Grundy came to be.
- Art Evolution: Mild example. Fate and Inza's character models from STAS are mostly unchanged, though Fate's coloring palette has been slightly tweaked.
- Bigger on the Inside: Hawkgirl makes her own door into Doctor Fate's home.Wonder Woman: Nice use of space.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Justice League are able to stop Ichthultu, but Grundy dies in the process. The heroes bury him and honor him as a hero.
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: The heroes do end up killing Ichthultu...but Grundy dies in the process.
- The Bus Came Back: Doctor Fate returns to the DCAU for the first time since his debut on Superman: The Animated Series. The Doctor (and Inza) will remain a recurring character for the remainder of the show's run.
- Catchphrase: "Grundy crush!" is used as a stand in for Hulk Smash.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: A belligerent Aquaman is defeated in one punch by Superman at the end of the first part of the episode.
- Defiant to the End: Hawkgirl to Ichthultu.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: As much as the censors will allow:Ichthultu: Speak to me, child of Thanagar.Hawkgirl: I have nothing to say to you. I have a gesture, but my hands are tied.
- Due to the Dead: The Justice League bury Grundy after he redeems himself fighting Ichthultu. His headstone says "SOLOMON GRUNDY — BORN ON A MONDAY."
- Eldritch Abomination: Ichthultu is a classic example, being an expy of Cthulhu.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Grundy fights against the Eldritch Abominations alongside the League and strikes up a friendship with Hawkgirl. He gets mortally wounded fighting Ichthultu and indirectly rescuing Hawkgirl. She comforts him in his final moments. Hawkgirl still considers him a friend in the much later episode "Wake the Dead".Grundy: Bird-nose help Grundy? But Bird-nose and her friends hate Grundy.Hawkgirl: Grundy help Bird-nose, Bird-nose help Grundy, okay? Excuse me, Hawkgirl smash.
- Foreshadowing:
- Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl are noticeably abrasive with each other, with Hawkgirl lamenting Wonder Woman’s oft-repeated catchphrase and Wonder Woman taking Hawkgirl to task for her rudeness and aggression, particularly while dealing with Mera. Hawkgirl also digs into Superman's tendency to give Aquaman the benefit of the doubt, which Superman is initially unamused about. This is one of the few indications that the League is rubbing against each other the wrong way which comes to a head in "Secret Society."
- When Hawkgirl realizes Fate is using Thanagarian runes in his ritual, she becomes very agitated and demands to know what he knows about Thanagar. This is a subtle hint that Hawkgirl is worried her cover as a Thanagarian spy will be blown which is revealed in "Starcrossed".
- Given Name Reveal: After two seasons of being Only Known by Their Nickname, we find out that Hawkgirl’s name is Shayera Hol.
- Kill It with Water: A non-lethal variant is used by Aquaman when Wonder Woman start to win their fight on land by dragging her down underwater and keeping her there until she runs out of air.
- Let Them Die Happy: Hawkgirl comforts a mortally-wounded Grundy, putting aside her own (non)beliefs:Grundy: Do you think Grundy's soul is waiting for him?
Hawkgirl: Grundy, I don't believe...
[Grundy smiles. Hawkgirl tears up.]
Hawkgirl: Yes. It's waiting for you.
Grundy: Then Grundy gets his reward. - Lovecraft Lite: While the monsters are certainly dangerous and Ichthultu is a terrifying Cosmic Horror, it isn’t so beyond that the Justice League is incapable of kicking its ass.
- Nay-Theist: Hawkgirl, and Thanagarians in general, renounced Ichthultu, and they no longer bow down to any higher power. She believes in Ichthultu, though—enough to smash his brain in with her energy mace.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl find Doctor Fate and Aquaman seemingly torturing Solomon Grundy. Fate doesn't even try to explain what he's doing, so the Leaguers stop him by roundly kicking his and his friends' butts. At which point Ichthultu rips a hole between dimensions and starts wiggling its tentacles at the League. Quoth Dr. Fate: "I was trying to prevent that."
- Overused Running Gag: Hawkgirl gets annoyed at Wonder Woman's "Hera, give me strength" catchphrase.
- Prongs of Poseidon: Long ago, King Poseidon gathered nearly all of the planet's mystical energy to build a trident powerful enough to destroy Ichthultu's minions and stop Ichthultu from entering Earth, albeit Atlantis sunk when the trident wound up absorbing the magic that kept it afloat to start with. In the modern day, it has lost none of its power and Aquaman is able to nearly single-handedly rout an army of Old Ones using it before once again sealing the breach that Ichthultu meant to use to access Earth.
- Poor Communication Kills: Doctor Fate's group refuses to explain anything to the Justice League. Aquaman, in particular, is very belligerent, and Mera won't even explain why sea monsters (so far as anyone can tell) are attacking ships while Atlantis itself is clearly prepared for war, which isn't helped by Hawkgirl being overly aggressive about the issue. Superman and Wonder Woman were perfectly willing to give Aquaman the benefit of the doubt while Hawkgirl definitely would have understood with an explanation, meaning the entirely conflict rests on people outright refusing to say anything in their defense.
- Shout-Out: Suitably, the episode begins with a Hulk-like battle between Grundy and an army.
- Unwanted Revival: Grundy, upon learning his own origin and the fact that he has no soul, wants nothing more than to get his soul back. It was implied that this happened after he died fighting Ichthultu. However, he is later revived again by Chaos Magic in "Wake the Dead", in which he's really ticked off.
- Visible Sigh: Superman lets out a frustrated sigh as Aquaman leaps into battle against him...right before Superman knocks him out with one punch.
- Writing Around Trademarks: Interestingly when Justice League writers created Ichthultu, they only did this because they were unaware that Cthulhu was a Public Domain Character.
