The Main Man himself, Lobo, has returned to Earth to fulfill a contract: The fragging of Forager. Meanwhile, a playdate between the young children of the Leaguers might just receive an unexpected guest...
Tropes Featured in this episode:
- Ascended Extra: Ultra-Humanite first appeared in season one in a non-speaking role as a member of the Injustice League. Seven years later, he is now a high-ranked member of the Light.
- Asshole Victim: Lady Shiva coldly murders Ocean-Master before he can put his plan into motion. Since his plan was to murder the superheroes' spouses and children (including his sister-in-law and young nephew), he definitely deserves it.
- Back for the Dead: Ocean-Master makes his return 6 years In-Universe and 7 years in real life, attempting to kill the Justice League's loved ones out of spite only to be stopped and killed by Lady Shiva before his plan can invoke the Justice League's wrath on the Light.
- The Bus Came Back: Ocean-Master returns after being missing from Season 2. There's also a brief cameo from some Kroloteans. It's also revealed that Karen Beecher (Bumblebee) has been absent due to being VERY pregnant.
- Call-Back: M'alefa'ak and Mantis are name-dropped as potential people who would hire Lobo to kill Forager, though the actual culprit is Vandal Savage.
- Clothing Damage: Lobo's vest is burned by Geo-Force's lava, so he tears it off and goes the rest of the fight completely shirtless.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Lobo's fight against Nightwing's team is clearly in the Main Man's favor as not even Superboy can put down the Main Man for long. Even burying him in lava does zilch. To their credit, Lobo himself complements them all for faring "better than most," but he still essentially won the fight, only leaving due to being tricked.
- Doppelgänger Spin: Halo's new green aura, which creates holographic copies, is shown to be able to work on others besides herself.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Though it's more of the pragmatic variety. The members of the Light, according to Lady Shiva, are fully aware that the League's spouses and children regularly gather for playdates and are dangerously exposed. However, they avoid attacking these gatherings as doing so would provoke the unmitigated wrath of the entire League and their allies, leaving it at best a nuclear option that would lead to Mutually Assured Destruction. Even Superman could reasonably be expected to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge if such a thing happened. The Light are so afraid of this outcome, in fact, that they send Lady Shiva to order the rogue Ocean-Master to stand down when he attempts it, and then outright BEHEAD him when he refuses to comply.
- Faking the Dead: Forager throws his shredded exoskeleton to Lobo hoping for the Main Man to destroy it and leave the planet. It works. The Light sees through the deception, but they only arranged the hit to confirm the membership of Nightwing's team.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Lady Shiva decapitates Ocean-Master on-screen.
- Fingore: Lobo loses a pinky during his fight with the team. He treats it as more of an annoyance than anything, though it does make whistling for his bike a tad difficult.
- Finish Dialogue in Unison: Shiva and Ocean-Master do this, with Shiva talking about how any move against the Justice League's families would only be done in the direst of circumstances, saying at the same time as Ocean-Master that it is the Light's "Nuclear Option".
- Godzilla Threshold: It is revealed that the Light's absolute last resort against the Justice League and their associates is to kill all their families/children in a move they call the "Nuclear Option". It's called that because they know that while it will surely cripple the heroes, it would also be Mutually Assured Destruction as the heroes would then surely be driven to annihilate the organization.
- Healing Factor: Lobo's skin heals almost instantly from a lava burn. His pinky doesn't grow back, at least not immediately.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Lobo impales Halo with his hook when she tries to fly off with Forager. She gets better. Again.
- Innocently Insensitive: The moms at the play date slightly gang up on Will after Red Tornado and Traya show up and Will says he's happy there's another dad in the room. Considering Will's dealing with a lot of stuff as a single father ever since Cheshire walked out on him and Lian, Iris and the others teasing him for being happy to see another single dad comes across as a lot meaner than they intended.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Both of sides of this trope is in full force with Brion. He's in a rather foul mood due to his worry over his sister. But when it's revealed that Forager is alive after faking his death, he gives the Bug a big hug.
- Magic Pants: Lobo's vest is burned by Geo-Force's lava. His pants, mercifully, are not.
- Off with His Head!: Ocean-Master loses his head courtesy of Lady Shiva.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The Light refuses to target the families and children of the Justice League because doing so would represent a major escalation and the League would come down on them like a hammer. It's considered a nuclear option, and Shiva kills Ocean-Master for attempting it without cause.
- Revenge by Proxy: Defied. The Light is well aware that they could easily go after the heroic Justice League's families to hurt them, but doing so is the 'nuclear option' that would make the League come after them with a vengeance. Lady Shiva even offs Ocean-Master for trying to bomb the playdate.
- Underestimating Badassery: Averted by Savage. A covert team of young heroes he dismissed out of hands threw a severe wrench in his plans last season. This time, he's keeping tabs on them from the start because they're already causing trouble and will continue to do so unless dealt with.
- Wham Line:Queen Bee: Now we can be certain Grayson has established a new off the books team.
- Wham Shot:
- The maker of the Goode VR goggles is Granny Goodness. This can only mean terrible things.
- The new roster of the Light is revealed: Vandal Savage, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, and Klarion are all returning, now joined by the Ultra-Humanite, Deathstroke, and Granny Goodness. Lady Shiva is their enforcer.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Ocean-Master intends to blow up the playdate for the children of the League, more than half of which are toddlers or infants. Shiva kills him before he can do so, as the Light knows this kind of atrocity would invite major retaliation.
- The Light themselves are also willing to resort to this as a last ditch effort to cripple the Justice League. It's just not a viable option in the long run.
- Xanatos Gambit: Savage's contract on Forager is a win-win scenario. If Lobo succeeds, at least one potential threat is eliminated, perhaps several if Lobo has to kill more than one hero to do it. If he fails, Savage still learns the roster of Nightwing's team.
