Recap / Justice League S 2 E 19 And 20 Hereafter

Superman seems to be vaporized after making a Heroic Sacrifice. The League attempts to cope with the loss of Superman by defending Metropolis in his absence and Lobo offers to be the replacement. Superman actually wakes up 30,000 years in Earth's future with Vandal Savage, the only human left alive as the result of an attempt at world domination staged a few months after Superman’s disappearance.

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Tropes:

• 11th-Hour Superpower: Near the end, when it looks hopeless for Savage (surrounded by giant deadly cockroaches and Superman falling to his apparent death), out of the crater flies Superman, his powers restored because of the yellow solar energy from the generator cell.
• Absence of Evidence: Superman is apparently killed by Toyman's latest machine, but Bruce refuses to believe it and presents his theory to Alfred by saying the lack of evidence is what tipped him off. Toyman's weapon left no debris, so it didn't blow him up. It left no scorch marks, so it didn't incinerate him. It didn't even leave radiation, hence it didn't disintegrate him. Bats deduces that since Toyman is merely an obnoxious Mad Scientist, not a god, the Law of Conservation is still in effect and therefore Superman couldn't have just been destroyed. His conclusion: it teleported him somewhere. He is right - Superman was shunted forward in time, but the show leaves it up to the viewer whether this was a logical conclusion or if Batman was simply in denial and right by coincidence. The other heroes state Batman mourned Superman "in his own way".
• Accidental Time Travel: Everyone was led to believe that Toyman killed Superman, including Toyman himself, not knowing that the blast actually sent Superman into the distant future.
• Achievements in Ignorance: Toyman had effectively built the world's first weaponized time machine/teleporter or at least a tachyon particle beam. But he assumed that it was merely a Disintegrator Ray. The future Vandal Savage mocks him for underestimating the power of his own machine:
  Vandal Savage: That simpleton Toyman never truly understood what he had created.
• Alien Sky: Subverted; the planets have just been altered because of Savage's gravity device having Gone Horribly Right, and the red sun is because he's far in the future. After encountering the crashed remains of the Watchtower, Superman realises he's been on Earth All Along.
• Antagonist in Mourning: Lex Luthor shows up at Superman's funeral. Knowing the history between the two, Lois has every reason to slap him in the face for just showing up and says this:
  Lois: You've come to gloat! You've tried to get rid of him for years! Are you happy now?! Isn't this what you've always wanted? I hate you! I HATE YOU! [she starts sobbing into Luthor's chest, and he holds her]
  Luthor: Believe it or not, I'm going to miss him, too.
• Anti-Hero Substitute: Lobo for Superman within the League.
• The Aloner: Vandal Savage has had 30,000 years of self-inflicted isolation to reflect on his mistakes. He even gave up on his project to build a starship because he came to feel that he deserved to be stuck on the world he'd ruined.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • During the fight in Metropolis.
    Superman: Give it up, Toyman. You'll never hit me with that thing.
    Toyman: Maybe not, but what about your friends?
  • Snapper concludes his report by saying a panel will later debate the question of whether or not the Justice League can exist without Superman. Watching on the Watchtower, J'onn and Flash admit that's a very good question.
• Artistic License – Geography: Snapper Carr claims that heads of state from 400 countries are attending Superman’s wake. In real life, there are only 195 countries, and there are only 4 in-universe countries to bolster that figure, meaning that there aren’t even 200 countries in-universe (since at least some Green Lanterns are in attendance, maybe some of them are extraterrestrial heads of state?).
• Author Appeal: Rich Fogel's revealed Under a Red Sun (Action Comics #300) is one of his all-time favorite Superman stories and he'd been looking for an opportunity since Season One to finally adapt it for Justice League, though the episode itself was ultimately written by Dwayne McDuffie instead.
• Bad Future: Happens shortly after Superman's supposed death - Vandal Savage builds a Gravity Master device, murders the entire League, and then destroys the world as we know it without even meaning to.
• Beware the Silly Ones: For all the powerful members in the very brief revenge squad, Toyman was the only one to succeed at seemingly dispose of Superman.
  Toyman: Superman go bye bye!
• Big "NO!": Superman when Toyman is open to open fire on Batman and Wonder Woman.
• Brick Joke:
  • When discussing possible replacements for Superman, Green Lantern suggests Metamorpho, Flash suggests Aquaman, and Hawkgirl asks about Supergirl. In Part 2, Superman finds the crashed Watchtower and Aquaman's picture is included with the rest of the team.
  • The goods that Superman salvages from the bits of building transported with him include the energy bars the Flash was endorsing in "Eclipsed".
• Bring It: Batman to Kalibak when stalling for time.
• Brought Down to Badass: Superman doesn't have his powers for most of Part II, but he's still tough and resourceful enough to survive. Among other things, he turns a pack of mutant wolves into his personal dogsled team—mainly by defeating their leader and turning his hide into a cloak. Said wolves are saddened when Superman has to let them go.
• Burying a Substitute: When Superman is apparently killed, a full funeral is held for him, complete with a casket. A small scrap of his uniform that was left behind is the only thing actually in the casket.
• Call-Back:
  • Lobo recalls once saving Superman's life.
    Green Lantern: That's not how he told the story.
  • Savage's time machine may in fact be the very same one he used to help the Nazis win World War II in "The Savage Time".
• Call-Forward: After piling lots of cars on Kalibak, Lobo says "I can't hear you..." in a way that the Joker would say before his final death at the hands of Terry McGinnis.
• The Cameo: Alfred, Lois, and Luthor appear with dialogue, but other attendees of Superman's funeral include Tim Drake, Jonathan and Martha Kent, Kara, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Lana Lang, Bibbo, Maggie Sawyer, Dr. Fate, Orion, Hippolyta, Aquaman, Mera, and assorted Green Lanterns (including Kyle Rayner).
• Captain's Log: Superman notes that his commlink is picking up a carrier signal, but no audio. On the off chance that somebody at the other end can hear him, he explains his situation with periodic updates. Fortunately Vandal Savage picks up the signal and uses it to track him, though he doesn't try communicating until they're face-to-face for fear Superman will stop transmitting.
• Car Fu: Lobo defeats Kalibak with a few cars. While he holds another car, Hawkgirl tells him to put it down since Lobo already won. Lobo mutters, "I was gonna..." and throws the car into a building.
• Continuity Nod: When the League discuss who should replace Superman, Green Lantern suggests his old buddy, Metamorpho.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The dragonflies that Superman and Vandal used to sneak into the colony unfortunately end up mauled to death by a bunch of giant roaches.
• Cry into Chest: Lois does this with Lex Luthor of all people at Superman's funeral.
• Delayed Ripple Effect: After Superman returns to his own time, Savage waits by his memorial...until he sees people begin to appear, after which he and his devastated surroundings fade away to be replaced by a peaceful future-Earth city.
• The Dissenter Is Always Right: Superman seemingly gets vaporized by one of Toyman's weapons. While the rest of the Justice League discuss what should be done after Superman's death and who they should recruit to replace him, Batman refuses to take part (aside from attending the funeral). He alone suspects Superman is still alive somewhere, and focuses instead on finding out what happened and how to get Supes back. In truth, Superman is still alive, just blasted into the far future. Ironically, for all Batman's efforts, he plays no part in actually finding or rescuing Superman—and he's on the verge of accepting that Superman might really be dead when Superman finally does return.
• Earth All Along: Superman is transported to a post-apocalyptic planet orbiting a red sun; he only learns later on he's still on Earth in the very distant future.
• Empathic Environment: It begins to rain just after Superman is hit by Toyman's weapon.
• Exact Words:
  • Lobo promised Superman that he wouldn’t harm Earth’s people. So his solo fight has him taking on Kalibak, who comes from Apokolips.
  • He probably also justifies his return in that he's only here to help!
  • Lobo's promise was specifically "to leave (Superman) and the Earth alone" so the reason he's able to show up is because one of them is no longer part of the equation. Also explains why he takes off quick enough after Supes returns from the dead.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In light of Superman's "death", the League decide to start a membership drive. This becomes the premise of the Retool for the next season, and the candidates each of them suggested become full-fledged members.
  • Ray Palmer is also mentioned for the first time in the series. We'll eventually meet the Atom in the following Season (during "The Return").
• Forging Scene: Superman uses a sledgehammer and some road flares to turn a metal rod into a sword.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Superman investigates the remains of the Watchtower, Aquaman is pictured alongside the rest of the League in the station database, indicating they eventually recruited him onto the team in the timeline where Superman never returned.
• From My Own Personal Garden: Vandal Savage invites Superman to lunch. The food's great because he has had 30,000 years to rediscover the principles of agriculture.
• Funeral Banishment: Downplayed example. Lex Luthor shows up to Superman's funeral uninvited, which causes a furious Lois to confront him and slap him for having the gall. But he's not actually banned, nor asked to leave.
• The "Fun" in "Funeral": After the solemn official memorial service, the remaining Leaguers (except Batman) hold a wake on the Watchtower where they share reminiscences, including a funny story about Superman containing a grenade explosion in his bare hands. Then Lobo shows up to invite himself to take Superman's place on the team...
• Gas Siphoning: Thanks to Toyman's beam not only hitting Superman but a large area around him, which also included a few cars. Superman chooses one car as his main transportation (due to losing his powers because the place he ended up in had a Red Sun). Siphoning gas from the others with the help of a jerry can and a hose, interestingly we don't see Clark doing the usual method of gas siphoning.
• Gilded Cage: Vandal Savage built up a nice piece of civilization for himself over the past thousands of years. Though it's implied to be both the result of keeping himself busy and making his self-imposed punishment as the last man on Earth more comfortable. It's telling he did build a spacecraft to leave Earth, but decided he wasn't worthy of leaving.
• Go Mad from the Isolation: Yes and no. Being alone for 30,000 years has cured Vandal Savage of his megalomania and powerlust (global domination isn't so great when it's by default because you're the last man on earth). It also left him very eccentric and detached, such as when he recounts his destruction of the Justice League as if he were describing a sporting event. When Superman calls him insane, he cheerfully says that’s true, but that doesn't mean he's not a nice guy now.
• Gone Horribly Right: Vandal Savage succeeded in taking over the world, but accidentally killed everybody in the process, leaving him with no subjects to rule over.
• Go Out with a Smile: Cease to exist, rather than physically die, but this is still Vandal Savage's reaction as it happens.
• Gory Discretion Shot: Superman kills the pack leader of the wolf-like creatures with a sword he forged, but the cutting of the blade leads into a Smash Cut.
• I Hate Past Me: Vandal Savage begs Superman to stop his past self from getting the piece of white dwarf matter and setting up the Bad Future.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Realizing that he has no powers because of a red sun, and that he needs some means of self-defense against whatever dangers may lie ahead of him, Superman fashions himself a crude sword out of an iron crowbar.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Averted with Lobo. He's as hilarious as always, but is completely missing the point with the whole hero thing.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Wonder Woman muses that Batman, in his own way, is grieving Superman's apparent death and taking it harder than the others. Though he briefly opens up at the grave, he later insists that he never believed for a second that Superman was dead in the first place.
• Hold the Line: Batman uses his martial-arts skill to hold his own against the much stronger Kalibak until help arrives:
  Kalibak: I just flattened Wonder Woman! You really think you can beat me?
  Batman: I'm not trying to beat you. I'm trying to stall you.
  Kalibak: Stall me? For what?
  (Superman lands behind Kalibak, who turns to look)
  Kalibak: Awww...
  (Superman decks Kalibak)
  Superman: For what it's worth, I don't think you could've taken Batman either.
• Hope Bringer: Superman as usual, the surprising part being that he became Vandal Savage's "second chance". Savage had a time machine, but he couldn't use it on himself, and comes to the realization that Superman can. Savage decides to help Superman and prevent all this from happening, even if it means erasing himself from the timeline.
• Irony: How does Brought Down to Badass Superman deal with the savage future? Using boy scout skills.
• It Has Been an Honor: Exchange between Superman and Future Vandal, as the former is about to depart for the past (and the latter likely to be erased from existence if the mission is successful)
  Superman: What happens to you?
  Vandal Savage: Redemption if I'm lucky. Don't worry about me. Return to your friends. Do what you do best, what your are born to do. Save the world.
  (Firm handshake before Superman jumps into the wormhole.)
  • Again, at the very end of the episode::
  Vandal Savage: (as he is fading away as consequence of Superman correcting the past mistakes) Thank you, my friend.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: When it becomes apparent that the villains are up against the whole League rather than just Superman, Livewire suggests calling off the attack. It's too late for that, though.
• Lampshade Hanging: Wonder Woman stopped a lightning attack with her metal wrist bracers.
  Flash: There are so many reasons why that shouldn't have worked.
• Last of His Kind: Vandal is the last human left alive in the Bad Future.
• Legion of Doom: The Superman Revenge Squad.
• Literal Metaphor: Vandal comments that the world belongs to the cockroaches now. He's not kidding.
• Little "No": Superman when he comes upon the wreckage of the Watchtower and realizes he's been on Earth the entire time.
• Loophole Abuse: When Superman asks Future Savage why he abandoned work on a new Time Machine, Savage states it was pointless. The technology prevents Savage himself from traveling to any time period where he already exists. Superman has an epiphany, and points out, that limitation doesn't apply to him because, of course, he 'died' 30,000 years ago. Savage immediately realizes he's right.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": The reaction to Superman being seemingly vaporized.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: The future Vandal Savage accidentally threw the entire solar system for a loop with his gravity-control machine. As a result, he's now the only human left alive thanks to his immortality.
• Mood Whiplash: Constantly. It starts with a typical lighthearted battle; Superman is killed (by a toy-based villain, no less), and the world mourns him; Lobo shows up for his usual Boisterous Bruiser comedy, then the League mourns; then it's straight up adventure with Superman: At Earth's End; it then ends with a Heartwarming/Tearjerking conclusion with Savage, and the League returning to the status quo.
• Morality Chain Beyond the Grave: When Toyman (apparently) disintegrates Superman, Wonder Woman grabs him intending to put a fist through his head. Flash runs up to stop her:
  Flash: We don't do that to our enemies.
  Wonder Woman: (enraged) Speak for yourself!
  Flash: I'm trying to speak for Superman.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Vandal's attempt at world domination disrupted the gravity of the entire Solar System, destroying mankind in the process. He's had 30,000 years alone to think about it.
  Vandal: "I've got issues, what with my destroying the Earth and all."
• Mythology Gag:
  • The end of the world was caused by Vandal Savage stealing a piece of white dwarf matter from a scientist named Ray Palmer.
  • "What did you always call it, Clark? The never-ending battle?"
• No Conservation of Energy: Averted, in that Batman's whole basis for believing Superman wasn't killed was that the First Law of Thermodynamics seemed to have been violated (matter cannot be destroyed, just converted to energy).
• Not Worth Killing: After Savage explains what happened to the League and Earth, Superman attacks him and is poised to crush his skull with a rock. Savage is unconcerned because of his immortality, but Superman ultimately can't go through with attempting to kill him, anyway.
• Pass the Popcorn: Savage admits that, at the time, he greatly enjoyed Superman's funeral. He even bought the DVD.
• Phlebotinum Battery: Savage's zero-point energy generator, which is the only power source strong enough to make the time machine work. Unfortunately, it was stolen by mutant cockroaches who use it to incubate their eggs. Superman asks why Savage can't just make another one, but he explains that it won't be finished for another 50 years. While that long might not mean much to an immortal like Savage, Superman doesn't have that kind of time to wait around.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner
  • From the first big fight in Part I:
    (A batarang knocks Weather Wizard's wand out of his hand)
    Batman: Maybe you should get a strap for this. (decks him)
  • From the second big fight in Part I:
    Kalibak: I'm not dead yet.
    Lobo: You're right. My watch is about ten seconds fast.
• Premature Eulogy: J'onn delivers a public eulogy for Superman at his memorial service; Batman makes a personal statement of what Superman meant to him when he begins to believe that he really is dead.
• Pretender Diss: After Lobo declares that he's come to take Superman's place in the League:
  Wonder Woman: You're no Superman!
  Lobo: The ladies say different.
• Properly Paranoid: Batman was right. Superman didn't actually die.
• Pun-Based Title: A subtle example, according to episode author Dwayne McDuffie — Superman is presumed dead (the "hereafter") but has actually been transported to future Earth ("here, after").
• Pyrrhic Victory: Vandal Savage destroyed the Justice League and conquered the world...and wiped out the rest of mankind in the process.
• Ragnarök Proofing:
  • The Watchtower stayed in orbit after Vandal Savage destroyed the Earth, only crashing down seventy-five years before Superman's arrival. And the security system still recognizes Superman when he finds it. Vandal lampshades, "They don't build 'em like this anymore."
  • The ruins of Metropolis, the artifacts strewn about Savage's Gilded Cage, and even the self-help books he reads are in surprisingly decent condition for being 30,000 years old. Vandal handwaves such by remarking how, archeology is one of his hobbies and that he's been keeping himself busy.
• Redemption Equals Death: Vandal Savage says his erasure from history will, if he's lucky, be the outcome of sending Superman into the past to save Earth and is pleased when it happens.
• Rewind, Replay, Repeat: Batman repeatedly watches a tape of Superman being disintegrated, determined to prove (or rationalize to himself) that he's not really dead.
• Ride the Lightning: Livewire tries to get away by traveling along an electrical wire when things start going south for the villains. Flash races ahead of her and dunks one end of the wire into water, forcing her to emerge and shorting out her powers.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
  • What prompts the Villain Team-Up between Metallo, Weather Wizard, Toyman, Livewire, and Kalibak. They all have a score to settle with Superman. Then again, all incarnations of the Superman Revenge Squad have followed the trope.
  • After Superman is apparently killed, Wonder Woman nearly kills Toyman before Flash talks her down.
• San Dimas Time: Of a sort. Future Savage's future remains intact even after Superman is sent back even though it exists long after the point where Superman would have stopped Past Savage from engaging in the plan that destroys the world. At the episode's end, he's seen some time after sitting at the Superman Memorial before he slowly vanishes away, Back to the Future-style.
• Sand In My Eyes: When Superman returns, The Flash sniffs and says there's something in his eyes. Green Lantern notes it's tears and they all feel the same way.
• Secret Circle of Secrets: Played with in the opening scene, but the Superman Revenge Squad quickly remove their hoods and make no secret of their identities, at least their supervillain ones.
• Self-Imposed Exile: Savage had planned to leave the Earth to explore the universe with a spaceship as seen in his back yard, but tells Superman he gave up on the idea believing that after destroying the Earth, he deserved to be punished.
• Shining City: Metropolis once Superman has Set Right What Once Went Wrong. Even as Vandal Savage fades out of existence, he's perfectly content with this.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Lobo wants to join the League because it's an opportunity to bust some heads, and isn't interested in being told that there's more to it than that:
  Martian Manhunter: The Justice League is about more than physical power. It's about ideals, caring, helping...
  Lobo: Buy me a ticket to Pukesville.
• Simple Solution Won't Work:
  • When Superman finds out that Vandal Savage has a time machine, he asks the latter why he never used it to stop his past self from destroying the world. Vandal explains that he can't travel to a point in the past when he existed. Fortunately, since Superman was flung to the future during that time, he's able to go.
  • When they discover that the only power source that'll keep the time machine active long enough is a zero-point energy generator that was stolen by some roach-men, Superman asks Vandal if he can make a new one. Vandal reveals that he's already working on one. It'll be ready in 50 years.
• The Slow Path:
  Superman: How did you get here?
  Vandal Savage: The old-fashioned way. I'm immortal.
• So Much for Stealth: Superman says this word for word when an unusually alert roach notices them and roars, waking up the entire nest.
• Stab the Picture: The cold open ends with the Superman Revenge Squad all stabbing the emblem of their hated enemy as they vow to destroy Superman.
• Stab the Scorpion: Superman suddenly slashes at Savage. Savage ducks, and the sword takes out the monster behind him.
• Subverted Catchphrase: While he's tearing up the city, Kalibak says this is a job for Superman, only he's dead! Cue Batman arriving to launch a missile into his chest.
• Survivor Guilt: Vandal Savage during 30,000 years of being alone on a dead Earth.
• Taking the Bullet: Superman intercepts the Toyman's beam as it's fired at Batman and Wonder Woman, which is what sets off the plot.
• Talking to the Dead: Batman insists that he doesn't believe Superman is actually dead, but his attempts to confirm his suspicions lead nowhere, and his confidence seems to waver in a visit to Superman's memorial:
  Batman: I've got some things to say. I should've said them when you were here, but...despite our differences, I have nothing but respect for you. I hope you knew...know that. You showed me justice doesn't always have to come from the darkness. I'll miss...
  (an explosion goes off in the distance)
  Batman: What did you always call it, Clark? "The never-ending battle?"
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork
  • The League very reluctantly aceepts Lobo into their ranks.
  • Superman working together with Vandal Savage to look for a way to go back in time, although the hostility is more on Superman's part, at least in the beginning. By the time they part, they have become Fire-Forged Friends.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Toyman when Green Lantern shows up first instead of Superman. Livewire concurs, fully expecting the rest of the League to show up.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill:
  • Flash talks down Wonder Woman when she's ready to put a fist through Toyman's head, pointing out that Superman wouldn't want that.
  • Superman momentarily seems to have abandoned this rule when Vandal Savage infuriates him by casually describing the deaths of the Justice League, but he satisfies himself with slamming down a heavy rock next to Savage's head. (Also, it wouldn't have actually killed him anyway.)
  • Supes also has no problem with killing the giant cockroach creatures, which may or may not be intelligent beings. He also kills the leader of the wolfpack. It is possible Superman suspended his oath because here, he was not a superpowered being, and therefore wasn't abusing his powers in a life-and-death situation.
• Time-Passage Beard: Superman grows a beard while making his way to the fallen Watchtower, indicating that the journey takes several months. When he returns to the present, Wonder Woman approves of his new look, but in a nod to Status Quo Is God, Superman refutes any idea he might keep it.
• To Absent Friends: After the Meaningful Funeral, the Leaguers (sans Batman) gather on the Watchtower, laughing and having orange juice, while wearing black armbands and sharing stories about their comrade. They then raise their toast in honor of Superman.
• Victory Is Boring: Vandal Savage learned the hard way that being ruler of the Earth is meaningless if there's no one to rule over (save giant insects).
• Villainesses Want Heroes: Livewire observes that Batman is "kind of cute."
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Discussed. While at Superman's grave, Batman acknowledges how they often disagreed, but that he always respected him.
• Was It Really Worth It?: Vandal Savage won, killed the Justice League, and finally rules the world...and accidentally killed everyone else on the planet. He's had 30,000 years to think about his actions and ask himself this question, and long since decided...no, it wasn't.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: This marks Vandal Savage's last appearance in the DCAU, even though it was only the Bad Future Savage that redeemed himself; no word has been said of his present counterpart.
• Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: Inverted. While the information conveyed to Superman is part of this trope, Savage isn't trying to be ironic with his delivery and isn't trying to be sadistic nor sarcastic at all. Savage recounts how in his bid for world conquest, he acquired tremendous power, and proclaimed himself "master of the world". Superman retorts that the Justice League would have never allowed it, and Savage confirms that they stood in his way, then rather matter-of-factly recounts how he killed them. Even so, while he is just genuinely telling Superman what happened without Evil Gloating, it's still fairly chilling:
  Vandal Savage: Green Lantern was the most difficult. I killed him right here. (points towards a spot, then walks towards another) No...it was over there.
• You're Insane!
  Vandal Savage: True, but that doesn't mean I'm not good company. (Beat) Say, you wanna come over to my house?
  Superman: (gives an "are you kidding?" look)
  Vandal Savage: Like you've got something better to do.

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