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

="twilight"=
"Twilight" is the season premiere of the second season of . It originally aired July 5, 2003. When Apokolips comes under attack by Brainiac, Darkseid has no choice but to seek the help of Superman and the Justice League. Caught between Krypton's darkest legacy and the man who nearly destroyed his own legacy on Earth, Superman is conflicted and suspects that there is more going on than meets the eye.
==Plot==
On a distant planet, a fleet of ships under the command of Steppenwolf is under attack from a larger number of ships. Unable to get out of the gravity well or boom tube themselves out due to being locked in a simbio-beam, Steppenwolf contacts Apokolips via hologram to update Darkseid his situation. Desaad realized that they might come under attack from New Genesis, but Darkseid still took the risk. Thanking him for his years of service, Darkseid orders Steppenwolf to fight on, but Steppenwolf suddenly screams as the connection breaks off. The image of Orion takes the place of Steppenwolf, then sends Darkseid "a present" by way of boom tube with Highfather's compliments: Steppenwolf's vessel, which crashes into a fire pit, causing an explosion that destroys several war machines in depot, and makes its way to Darkseid's palace, burying him, Desaad, and Kalibak in rubble. As Darkseid emerges from the rubble, Highfather himself contacts Darkseid and gives him fair warning: Break the treaty again, and Apokolips will be shown no mercy.
At the Watchtower, Hawkgirl is watching a video of some hawks. J'onn J'onzz comes in and offers some company. She says she is feeling homesick, and relates how she arrived on Earth: While chasing a pair of criminals, she stumbled into a space-time disturbance that catapulted her to another part of the galaxy. Now she is lost, with no idea how to get home.
Back on Apokolips, Kalibak is overseeing reconstruction. Desaad criticizes Darkseid's moves to find the solution to the Anti-Life Equation, and in punishment, Darkseid kills him with the Omega Beam. However, a ship of unknown origin arrives in the sky, and Darkseid realizes that "it's death."
At the Watchtower, Hawkgirl is explaining how she arrived on Earth: She tracked a group of criminals to their base, and they used some sort of particle weapon on her, sending her to Earth. J'onn sympathizes, noting that most of the Justice League's members are either exiles or the last of their kind. Suddenly, an alarm sounds in the tower. Heading down a level, Hawkgirl and J'onn meet with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Batman says that an unknown energy signature is appearing in the tower, which Superman recognizes as a boom tube. Suddenly, Darkseid arrives. Superman, enraged to see him due to their last battle immediately attacks him, but Diana and J'onn restrain him before his fight can damage the Watchtower. Darkseid explains that Apokolips is under attack by Brainiac, and that he has no choice but to ask for the League's help. To the shock of his teammates, Superman is willing to leave Apokolips to die, but Darkseid notes that Brainiac will not stop with Apokolips. As the League knows, Brainiac's true goal is to digitize the information from all planets, then destroy them, leaving nothing behind. As the League debates what to do, Batman finally convinces Superman to help, despite Superman's suspicion that Darkseid is planning something. He finally agrees, but asks Batman for a favor.
On Apokolips, Kalibak leads an attack on Brainiac's ship, but its shields are too powerful. Superman, Hawkgirl, and J'onn arrive, but they also cannot break through the shield. Darkseid, however, has another plan.
Meanwhile, Batman and Wonder Woman travel to New Genesis by boom tube, hoping to enlist Orion's help in stopping Brainiac. However, they are attacked by a massive predator. Wonder Woman is knocked unconscious and Batman is nearly devoured when someone fires a buzz-bomb into the creatures mouth. Taking the two heroes away, their rescuer introduces himself as Forager, a Bug, one of the lower class citizens of New Genesis. When they ask where to find Orion, Forager explains that all the Gods live above them—both figuratively and literally, dwelling in a city far above the plains. Heading for the city, Batman and Wonder Woman encounter Lightray who playfully spanks Wonder Woman and dares her into a flight race. After Batman breaks away and manages to trap Lightray with his cape, the Leaguers ask the captured Lightray where to find Orion. At that moment, however, Orion has found them.
Back on Apokolips, Superman challenges Brainiac to come out and fight him. Brainiac opens his shield enough to blast Superman with an energy beam, but Superman is able to withstand the energy long enough to further pry open the shield. Darkseid uses this opening to fire a powerful energy weapon at Brainiac, which damages him. The shields of Brainiac's vessel to go down and allow Kalibak's army to destroy the device trying to absorb Apokolips' databanks. Brainiac takes flight, and the Justice League pursue in the Javelin, chasing Brainiac to an asteroid field. However, once they fly over a hole within a large asteroid, they realize that they've been lead into a trap: Not only is the "asteroid" built with technology, it is also shaped in Brainiac's image.
==Continuity==
*Brainiac's ship is a new version of the one he first arrived on Earth in the episode "Stolen Memories".
*The "Just-Us League" line used by Hawkgirl is also as part of Glorious Godfrey's campaign against the Justice League on "Eclipsed".
*When Darkseid says Apokolips is under attack by Brainiac, Superman says that Brainiac was destroyed, referring to several episodes ("Stolen Memories", "Ghost in the Machine" and "Knight Time") (all of which were Brainiac's last chronological appearances). Given his firsthand knowledge of Brainiac's knack for returning, the Man of Steel's disbelief that Brainiac still exists is unexplained; however, it might be because he wouldn't think rationally around Darkseid.
*Superman himself brings up his own painful experience from the finale "Legacy" where the Man of Steel was brainwashed as Darkseid's adopted son and attacked Earth.
*Batman speaks from experience as Brainiac took over the Dark Knight's mind to exploit Wayne Enterprises's resources in episode "Knight Time". Seeing as how Batman put his own painful experience behind him and moved on, he expected Superman to do so as well. The message was received as Batman's lecture did indeed motivate Superman into action.
*Brainiac references to Superman of Jor-El's failed attempt to stop him in the pilot "The Last Son of Krypton".
*Superman asks Batman and Wonder Woman to find Orion, referring to Superman's previous encounter with Orion in the episodes "Apokolips... Now!".
*Batman travels through a Boom tube for the first time chronologically, explaining his dislike for boom tubes which he reveals to his successor in the episode "The Call".
*Before their fight, Darkseid mentions all of his previous encounters with Superman (i.e. several episodes ("Tools of the Trade", "Father's Day", "Apokolips... Now!" and "Legacy") as proof of the former's superiority over the latter.
*Although Batman believes Brainiac is destroyed, the episode "A League of Their Own" reveals there's still a piece of the supercomputer left.
*Brainiac references this episode while teaming up with Lex Luthor in the episode "Divided We Fall".
==Background information==
===Home video releases===
*
*Justice League - Season Two (Blu-ray)
*Justice League - The Complete Series (DVD)
*Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths (2DVD, Blu-ray only)
*DC Comics Super-Villains: Superman - Worlds at War! (DVD)
===Production notes===
*As of this episode, Cartoon Network started to air the second season two-parter episodes back-to-back, without Part I's end credits or Part II's beginning credits.
*This two-parter's title was also listed in some digital cable guides as "Twilight of the Gods".
*Bruce Timm has stated in the commentary that Darkseid was given a subtle, more "Kirbyesque" redesign from his appearances in .
*Starting with this episode, Superman and Wonder Woman have been redesigned without cheekbone lines.
*Designs for Mister Miracle, Mark Moonrider, Beautiful Dreamer, Serifan, and Big Bear were supplied by Tommy Tejeda."Forever People" - Vibrational Frequencies: The Art of Tommy Tejeda (Jun. 26, 2010)
===Production inconsistencies===
*After Batman and Wonder Woman capture Lightray, Batman's chest symbol resembles the era Batsuit.
*In this episode, Forager belongs to the lower class "Bugs" of New Genesis' inhabitants and he is promoted to a higher rank only at the end. However, the episode "Apokolips... Now!, Part II" shows he had been seen among the New Gods "upper class" that deterred Darkseid's invasion of Earth. In the prior episode's commentary, the creators acknowledge this goof.
*When Wonder Woman lassos the large creature on New Genesis, the creature's movements make her lose her grip on it. But after she is carried off to safety and wakes up, it is back on her belt.
*When Brainiac's symbol first appears on Superman's head, it is upside down.
===Trivia===
*The Flash and Green Lantern do not appear, but they are mentioned by Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman, respectively.
*This is the only two-part season premiere or finale of (which led to the only stand alone episode to bring the episode count up to 26) and the only premiere or finale to not feature all seven members of the League.
*Rene Auberjonois takes over Robert Morse's role as Desaad's voice. Auberjonois already played Desaad in 1984/85 in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.
*The episode Twilight is the same name of movie, Twilight which is based on fantasy novel.
*Ron Perlman replaces Steve Sandor as Orion's voice.
*Part II was nominated for a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television Animation.
*When Superman is about to tell Brainiac to go to hell, he is cut off for censorship reasons. This is the second of four times that this has happened (see also "A Knight of Shadows, Part I", "For the Man Who Has Everything", and "The Balance").
*When Superman stands up to Darkseid before their fight, the theme plays.
*This is Highfather's first and only speaking appearance in the DCAU; he is voiced by Mitchell Ryan, recently known as Greg's upper-crust father on Dharma & Greg. Incidentally, his wife in that series is played by Susan Sullivan, Hippolyta's voice actress.
*In the Superman/Batman comic series storyline "The Supergirl From Krypton", Batman is likewise eaten by a giant "New God" creature and manages to escape on his own (hurting it in the process), but does so on his first visit to Apokolips and not New Genesis.
*In the comics, Desaad has been killed by Darkseid's Omega Beams numerous times. However, Darkseid has consistently resurrected him after some time. There remains the distinct (though remote) possibility that Desaad survived.
*On Part II's DVD commentary, Bruce Timm explained that this story's original draft actually had Darkseid break Orion's back with a bear hug during their brief fight. After which, Superman was going to confront Darkseid and simply say "Murderer" before their long-awaited rematch. Timm wanted the dialogue expanded to where Superman and Darkseid trash-talked each other first to express the personal hatred and contempt they had built for one another by this point.
*Also on Part II's DVD commentary, Bruce Timm jokingly suggested that the line "You know something, Bruce? You're not always right." (which is the last thing Superman says to Batman in this episode) is a phrase that he himself has heard from time to time during his DCAU career.
==Cast==
Actor 	Role
Maria Canals 	Hawkgirl
Kevin Conroy 	Batman
Susan Eisenberg 	Wonder WomanStarkiller crew (uncredited)
Carl Lumbly 	J'onn J'onzz
George Newbern 	Superman
Rene Auberjonois	DesaadSteppenwolf (uncredited)
Corey Burton 	BrainiacForager (uncredited)
Michael Dorn 	Kalibak
Michael Ironside	Darkseid
Rob Paulsen 	LightrayHelmsman (uncredited)
Ron Perlman 	Orion
Mitchell Ryan 	Highfather
Tara Strong 	Sera
===Uncredited appearances===
*Beautiful Dreamer
*Big Bear
*Mark Moonrider
*Mister Miracle
*Serifan
*Vykin the Black
==Quotes==
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Category:Justice League(-TV Series) episodes