A group of college students accidentally bring Solomon Grundy back to life, who then rampages through the city. Superman, Green Lantern, and Vixen go off to stop him. They get backup in the form of Dr. Fate, Aquaman, Amazo, and a surprise appearance from Shayera, who may be the only one who can stop the super zombie.
This episode includes examples of:
- Achilles' Heel: Despite AMAZO being hands down the most powerful character in the setting ("The Return" shows him handily defeating the League, Green Lantern Corps and entering Atom's microscopic realm), it appears the one limitation is that chaos magic can feed on his power. He teleports away to devise a solution, and never reappears in the show.
- Anti-Magic: Hawkgirl's Nth Metal mace is again used to deal with a magic-related problem (while AMAZO was shown to be able to copy the mace in the past, the chaos magic that reanimated Grundy was feeding off AMAZO like a leech and he was forced to retreat).
- Attack Backfire: For the first (and only) time, A.M.A.Z.O. cannot take care of the situation. In fact, his attack only makes Grundy stronger and even hurts him.
- The Berserker: Grundy resurrects as a mindless monster that, in the words of Dr. Fate, "feels only rage and craves only oblivion".
- Bring It: At one point, Vixen is alone against Grundy, protecting an unconscious Green Lantern, knowing she's outmatched. Rather than run or cower, she pops her claws and snarls "come with it, then!". Luckily, Superman arrives before Grundy can turn Vixen into a greasy smear.
- The Bus Came Back: Shayera returns to action for the first time since "Starcrossed."
- Call-Back: Superman's belief in second chances is a subtle reminder of how his credibility was tarnished after Darkseid brainwashed him and how he eventually regained the world's trust.
- Came Back Wrong: Grundy is reanimated as a creature of mindless rage, with nothing left of his original personality. Even worse, he returned stronger than ever before.
- Deus Exit Machina: A.M.A.Z.O. teleports away due to Grundy being able to absorb his power and grow stronger.
- Easily Forgiven: Downplayed. The League welcome Shayera back into the fold (mostly) without a second thought. Specifically, John is mentioned as having recused himself from the vote at the end of "Starcrossed" and Superman broke the tie. However, not everyone forgives her for her part in the Thanagarian invasion. Superman's forgiveness of Shayera and his support also makes sense beyond just his characteristic optimism and idealism. More than any of the other founding Leaguers, Clark knows exactly what Shayera is going through. He's walked this exact same path after "Legacy" and what Darkseid did to his reputation.Superman: I believe in second chances. I believe in redemption. But mostly, I believe in my friends.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Three college students obtain a book of spells and perform a ritual to obtain the power to fight back against their bullies. Not only does this somehow revive Solomon Grundy, one of his first targets is the student who hosted the affair in his dorm.
- Hurl It into the Sun: Shayera makes a crack about Amazo doing this to Grundy.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Shayera tries to talk to Grundy. It doesn't work.
- I Shall Taunt You: Aquaman spends his chess match with Shayera insulting her repeatedly in an attempt to try and provoke her old spirit. He fails.
- I'm Standing Right Here:Aquaman: Such scintillating repartee. I get better conversation from the android.
AMAZO: ...You are aware I'm in the room? - The Juggernaut: The resurrected Grundy is a lot stronger than he was before, now capable of outmuscling Superman, and he shrugs off everything that the League throws at him. Even Dr. Fate's magic and A.M.A.Z.O.'s nigh-infinite power are useless against him. The only thing that affects him is Shayera's Nth metal mace.
- No One Could Survive That!: Vixen and Aquaman crush Grundy under a giant statue, but Superman doesn't believe for a second that would be enough to stop him. Vixen claims there's no way he could've taken that and live, just before Grundy pops out and manhandles her.
- No-Sell: The revived Grundy is immune to Dr. Fate's magic and capable of absorbing A.M.A.Z.O.'s power, which spooks the latter so much he retreats lightyears to ponder it. He is, however, tremendously weak to Shayera's Nth Metal mace.
- Not His Sled: Superman's vote for keeping a member in the League compared to his vote in JLA: Tower of Babel. In that story, he sided with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Plastic Man in kicking Batman out; here, he sided with Flash and J'onn in letting Shayera stay.
- Not So Invincible After All: After his previous appearance being virtually invincible and curb-stomping the entire Justice League, A.M.A.Z.O. is drained of energy and beaten up by a super powered Grundy. A.M.A.Z.O. is so puzzled about how this is even possible that he teleports away to try to figure it out (and out of the show for the rest of its run).
- Our Zombies Are Different: Exaggerated. Grundy already qualified, but this version of Grundy is a super-powered zombie capable of shrugging off hits from Superman.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: As Shayera rejoins the League in this episode, she begins appearing in the opening credits sequence with the other founding members from here on out.
- The Reveal: At the end of "Starcrossed", Hawkgirl left before the Justice League could reveal their decision, wishing to spare her teammates the turmoil of dealing with a traitor. Here it is revealed, both to her and the general public (as well as the audience), that she was never dismissed from the League and can return anytime she likes. It's further revealed Green Lantern recused himself from voting because of his personal attachment, with two votes for Shayera staying (likely Flash and J'onn note ) and two against (likely Wonder Woman and Batman note ). Superman broke the tie in Shayera's favor.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon realizing that Grundy is able to absorb his powers and cause damage back to him, A.M.A.Z.O. beats a hasty retreat, flying off lightyears into space to contemplate how that could be possible.
- Shoot the Dog: Shayera is forced to put Grundy out of his misery, and even lampshades Old Yeller.Green Lantern: What are you saying?
Shayera: Your favorite movie is Old Yeller, you know exactly what he's saying! - Shout-Out: Aside from the reference to Old Yeller, one of the college students has a copy of the horror movie "Wicked Scary" from the Teen Titans episode "Fear Itself", a figurine of Hellboy, and a poster with an upside-down Starfleet logo.
- Smart People Play Chess: Shayera used to beat Batman at chess regularly, but is too distracted by her own self-loathing to put in any effort against Aquaman. Then Amazo decides he wants to play, and trounces Aquaman repeatedly.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Amazo appears to have come down from his god complex during his time with Dr. Fate; not getting mad when Aquaman talks like he's not there, happily playing chess with Aquaman and complimenting his progress, and initially aiding the Justice League against Grundy before leaving to keep Grundy from feeding off his powers, explicitly doing so to protect the Justice League.
- Tranquil Fury: Aquaman is suitably upset at the apparent desecration of Grundy's grave.Aquaman: Tell me where to find those responsible, then dig more graves.
- Ungrateful Townsfolk: After ending Grundy and saving the city, its citizens throw angry remarks at Shayera as they have not forgiven or forgotten the Thanagarian takeover incident she was involved in back in "Starcrossed". She still has a long way to go towards being forgiven. That said, a woman and her child, whom Shayera saved during the battle, take a moment to thank her, showing that, while her reputation may be tarnished, Shayera's still a hero.
- The Unintelligible: Grundy only grunts and screams. This was actually always intended before the writers knew that they wouldn't be able to record Mark Hamill.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Three college students attempt a dark ritual to give themselves the power to fight back against their bullies, only to end up inadvertently reviving Grundy as a mindless monster.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Shayera takes the jeers of the Ungrateful Townsfolk lying down, remarking that she deserves it. Then, a woman and her child whom she saved in the battle push through the crowd:Woman: You saved our lives. God bless you, chica halcón.
Green Lantern: You deserve that, too.
