Justice League(-TV Series) - Hereafter (DCAU Episode) • An Part 001

"Hereafter" is the forty-fifth and forty-sixth episodes of . It first aired on November 29, 2003.
==Plot==
A group of supervillains are gathered around and plotting to take their revenge on Superman. They arrange an ambush for the Man of Steel by attacking Metropolis. They battle the rest of the Justice League, but when Superman arrives, Toyman reveals his secret weapon: a giant toy robot equipped with a disintegrator beam. Toyman fires several times and sections of the city disappear without trace. Superman evades the beams, but Toyman takes aim at Batman and Wonder Woman. Superman throws himself in front of them and takes the blast, disappearing without trace. Shocked, the League and the Earth believe that the blast killed Superman. In anger, Wonder Woman destroys Toyman's robot and threatens to kill him, but Flash talks her out of it, telling her it goes against Superman's memory.The only person who refuses to believe that Superman is dead is Batman. He analyzes the evidence from the battle, insisting that objects can't disappear without a trace, citing the law of conservation of mass. He snubs the invitations of Alfred and the other Leaguers to attend Superman's funeral in Metropolis.At Superman's funeral, the attendants include the League (minus Batman), the staff of the Daily Planet, Jonathan and Martha Kent, several Earth leaders, and superheroes. However, everyone gasps as Lex Luthor arrives. Lois Lane is furious that Lex has appeared, as she believes he came to gloat over Superman's death, but she soon breaks into tears until Lex comforts her and genuinely admits that he will also miss Superman greatly. J'onn J'onzz pronounces a eulogy and the League ceremonially inters a coffin in a monument. As they bring the coffin to his memorial, Wonder Woman spots Batman watching the procession from the shadows.
Holding a wake for Superman in the Watchtower, the League swaps stories about him, then J'onn tentatively proposes adding a new member. Suddenly, Lobo crashes through the window, announcing that he's there to take Superman's place. When the League orders him out, he decides to "audition" by tearing the Watchtower apart and attacking them. They hold him off, then hear that dozens of supervillains are running amok in Metropolis, celebrating Superman's death in their own fashion. The League reluctantly bring Lobo along as they go to fight, mainly because they don't trust him alone in the Watchtower. However, given his unique fighting ability, they allow him to join the battle, only as long as he follows their direct orders.
Investigating another of his theories, Batman follows a trail to Superman's memorial. Finding nothing, he wonders if he's wrong and Superman really is dead. Alone, he takes this opportunity to tell Clark that, despite their differences, he has always respected him and what he taught him and that he will miss him... but his tribute is interrupted by a nearby explosion, and takes off to battle the attacking supervillains.
The League attacks, with difficulty subduing the rogue villains. Lobo makes himself useful in his own fashion, beating Kalibak into submission with a few cars, forcing him to say Uncle, and causing plenty of destruction in the process. To the already grieving League, Lobo boasts how with him on the team, Superman is no longer needed. The Leaguers bow their heads, contemplating life without the Man of Steel. Elsewhere, on a barren landscape, under a red sun and some rubble lies... Superman.
==Continuity==
*Metallo claims that he and his teammates have been wronged by Superman. This refers to all the times that each villain felt aggravated by the Man of Steel:
Villain 	Episode 	Aggravation
Metallo 	"The Last Son of Krypton, Part III"	Corben was defeated after battling Superman with the Lexo Suit and then was thrown to jail.
Metallo 	"Action Figures" 	Metallo was defeated and stranded by Superman in a volcanic island, trapped under solidified magma without his Kryptonite battery.
Metallo 	"Superman's Pal" 	Metallo tried to kill Superman using Jimmy Olsen as bait, but was bested again.
Toyman 	"Fun and Games" 	Superman foiled his attempt to kill Bruno Mannheim.
Toyman 	"Obsession" 	Superman prevented him from retrieving Darci Mason.
Toyman 	"Toys in the Hood" 	Superman interfered with Toyman's plot to build a new body for Darci, which ultimately ended with Toyman's defeat and arrest.
Weather Wizard	"Speed Demons" 	Superman foiled his extortion plan and jailed him.
Livewire 	"" 	Leslie blamed Superman for becoming Livewire. Even before that, she made a career airing her many grievances about him on her radio show.
Kalibak 	"Father's Day" 	Superman defeated Kalibak in battle, thus humiliating him in his father's eyes.
Kalibak 	"Legacy, Part II" 	Superman bested Kalibak with two swift blows, again humiliating him in front of Darkseid.
Kalibak 	"Twilight, Part II" 	Superman was partially responsible for Darkseid's demise.
*Lobo claims to have saved Superman's life once, alluding to the events of ' "The Main Man". John promptly objects that this is not an entirely truthful account, although technically it is, as Superman and Lobo saved each other once in the episode.
*Superman made a deal with Lobo in ' "The Main Man" to free Lobo from his cell if Lobo would "leave me and everyone else on Earth in peace", to which Lobo agreed. In this episode, Lobo only battles the League in the Watchtower, which is in orbit (believing it to be an audition and not intending permanent harm) and on Earth, he only fights Kalibak (who is not from Earth, but Apokolips). Technically speaking, Lobo has kept his word.
*John suggests Metamorpho as a team member. Metamorpho first appeared in (and was established as John's friend in) "Metamorphosis". Metamorpho would later join the league in .
==Background information==
===Home video releases===
*
*Justice League - Season Two (Blu-ray)
*Justice League - The Complete Series (DVD)
===Production notes===
*Prior to the premiere of Season 2, interviews stated that the team was to have a temporary addition. This episode, in which Superman was supposedly killed, would prompt the rest of the team to recruit a new member. Originally, the new member was to be Captain Marvel. However, legal rights prevented that appearance and Lobo was chosen instead as the least likely suspect. 
*In part I, when Volcana absorbs her fire blast, there's an explosion that is reused footage from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, when the console that the Jokerz tried to steal blows up.
===Production inconsistencies===
*John Stewart wears a green overcoat throughout Superman's funeral, including when he is a pallbearer for the coffin. However, in the final scene of the funeral, it is missing.
*The ground at Superman's memorial is all green except for his S-Shield on the ground. When Batman gets close to it, however, there's a straight pathway behind him.
*When Flash redirects a blast of fire Volcana aimed at Wonder Woman, an ATM in the background reads "MTA", indicating the background has been mirrored.
*During the fight with Lobo aboard the Watchtower, all of the Leaguers' black armbands disappear and reappear in various shots.
===Trivia===
*The attendants at Superman's funeral include:
**Hippolyta
**Aquaman and Mera
**Dr. Fate and Inza
**Alfred Pennyworth
**Tim Drake
**Jonathan and Martha Kent
**Lana Lang
**Kara
**Bibbo Bibbowski
**Maggie Sawyer
**Lex Luthor
**Lois Lane
**Jimmy Olsen
**Perry White
**Orion
**Lightray
**And a few Green Lanterns:
***Larvox
***Tomar Re
***Katma Tui
***Kilowog
***Kyle Rayner
*This episode features many characters from , such as Livewire, Metallo, Volcana, as well as Lobo.
*Due to budgetary issues, Corey Burton served as a stand in for Bud Cort as Toyman and Malcolm McDowell as Metallo for this episode. Both Cort and McDowell would reprise their roles in the final season of .
*Likewise, an uncredited Maria Canals voiced Livewire in this episode.
*Several elements of the story are similar to the comics storyline Funeral for a Friend, including Batman watching Superman's memorial procession from a rooftop.
*Part II is reminiscent of Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend and its film adaptation The Omega Man, both depicting the life of a single man on Earth after the rest of humanity is wiped out by some disaster.
*Vandal Savage's fade in Part II is similar to the way the characters of the Back to the Future trilogy do so when time is altered.
*Virgil and Richie from do not attend the funeral, despite the Justice League's guest appearances on their show.
*Although Barbara Gordon was a close friend of Supergirl, she was not seen at the funeral, nor was Dick Grayson.
*Snapper Carr appears to have been Superman's sixth pallbearer, though he can only be seen as such when the pallbearers are seen from behind.
*The plot of Superman being shunted into a barren, uninhabited Earth under a red sun in a distant future through the actions of a Superman Revenge Squad shows similarities to "Superman Under the Red Sun", the leading story in Action Comics #300 (1963).
*Wonder Woman's ceremonial dress incorporates the eagle-shaped chest plate she has worn in the comics and the Super Friends animated series.
*Despite his hatred of Superman, Lex Luthor states that he will miss him, too. This moment is somewhat similar to episode The Man Who Killed Batman where Joker mourns Batman, lamenting the loss of his archenemy. In both cases, however, reports of the hero's death turned out to be greatly exaggerated.
*During Vandal Savage's lunch, Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons plays in the background.
*Superman's car appears to be a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
*Deadshot likely killed Batman in the original timeline due to the fact he would have, had Superman not intervened in time.
==Cast==
Actor 	Role
George Newbern 	Superman
Kevin Conroy 	Batman
Susan Eisenberg 	Wonder Woman
Phil LaMarr 	Green Lantern
Carl Lumbly 	J'onn J'onzz
Maria Canals 	HawkgirlLivewire (uncredited)Watchtower computer (uncredited)
Michael Rosenbaum 	The FlashDeadshot (uncredited)
Clancy Brown 	Lex Luthor
Corey Burton 	MetalloToymanWeather Wizard
Dana Delany 	Lois LaneMaggie Sawyer (uncredited)
Michael Dorn 	Kalibak
Brad Garrett 	Lobo
Jason Marsden 	Snapper Carr
Phil Morris 	Vandal Savage
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.	Alfred Pennyworth
===Uncredited appearances===
*Aquaman
*Dr. Fate
*Hippolyta
*Inza
*Lightray
*Mera
*Orion
*Larvox
*Tomar Re
*Katma Tui
*Kilowog
*Kyle Rayner
*Bibbo Bibbowski
*Tim Drake
*Jonathan Kent
*Kara Kent
*Martha Kent
*Lana Lang
*Jimmy Olsen
*Perry White
*Copperhead
*Star Sapphire
*Volcana
==Quotes==
==References==
Category:A To Z
Category:Justice League(-TV Series) episodes