Enter the Knights (JLA: KOR Episode)

Enter the Knights is the 12th episode of Justice League: Knights of Rao.
== Characters ==
=== Featured Characters ===
* Justice League
** Aquaman / Arthur Curry
** Batman / Bruce Wayne
** Blue Beetle / Jaime Reyes (first appearance) (joins team)
*** Scarab (first appearance)
** Flash / Barry Allen
** Geo-Force / Brion Markov
** Green Lantern Corps
*** Aya
*** Hal Jordan
*** Guy Gardner
*** John Stewart
*** Kyle Rayner
*** Lana Lang
** Martian Manhunter / J'onn J'onzz
** Shazam (first appearance) (joins team)
*** Billy Batson (first appearance)
** Stargirl / Courtney Whitmore
** Star Sapphire Corps
*** Carol Ferris
*** Ruby the Red Fox
** Supergirl / Kara Zor-El
** Vixen / Mari Jiwe McCabe
** Winter Star / Caitlin Snow
** Wonder Woman / Diana of Themyscira
* Knights of Rao (first named)
** Alpha Wolf / Milo Chaves
** Black Owl / Zoe Kyle Lawton
** Blue Lantern / Collin Hill
** Catgirl / Carrie Kelley
** Emerald / Dionne Stewart
** Galaxor / Mitchell Davies
** Gear / Richie Osgood Foley
** Indigo Lantern / Amber Lang
** Long Shadow
** New Gaia / Delilah Raymond Snow
** Omega Knight / Jason Burke
** Royal Guard Patrol
*** Bishop / Lucas Blake
*** King / Cade Ferguson
*** Knight / Adam Hill
*** Queen / Sarah Falsworth
*** Rook / Karen Blake
** Star Hunter / Felix Whitmore
** Static / Virgil Hawkins
** Sun Rose / Esperanza Del Rey
** Terra / Tara Markov
** Toymaster / Hiro Hamada
=== Supporting Characters ===
* Blue Lantern Corps
** Arisia Rrab
** Brother Warth
** Oreo the Hawk
** Mala
** Saint Walker
** Solovar
** Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El
** Unnamed Numerous Recruits
* Lois Lane
* Caitlin Fairchild
=== Villains ===
* Vandal Savage
* Reach (first appearance)
** Black Beetle (first appearance)
* Lexcorp
** Lex Luthor
* Project Cadmus
** Amanda Waller
** The General / Wade Eiling (single appearance)
* Black Adam / Teth-Adam (first appearance)
* Joker (comatose)
* Harley Quinn / Harleen Quinzel
* Roulette / Veronica Sinclair (single appearance)
* Ivana Baiul (single appearance)
* Brainiac (mentioned only)
* Ferris Boyle (single appearance)
=== Other Characters ===
* Vicki Vale
== Summary ==
Terra completes her team, successfully forming the Knights of Rao, and they resume their objective to expose and humiliate tyrants, including Lex Luthor. At the same time, the Justice League team up with Shazam, who is working to forgive himself for trusting Luthor when he should not, to stop the Reach from destroying the Earth using Lexcorp Technology.
== Plot ==
Batman, Winter Star, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter and the Arkham Staff await in Arkham Asylum as the Joker is delivered inside a crate by Omega Knight and Galaxor, who claim to have "fixed him"Justice League/Teen Titans Chronicles: Dawn of Freedom. As the two of them leave, Gardner opens the box and the four find out the young trainees have "broken the Clown" (his hair was cut until it looked like Baby hair, his back was broken, his teeth was removed by "living mud", his "smile" make-up was removed from his mouth and the Joker was given a large hideous scar in half of his face and left mentally immobile by visions of his worst fears as Manhunter confirms), but spared his life. As Harley Quinn watches in horror what the young trainees have done and cries over the Joker's serious condition, Batman, Winter Star and Martian Manhunter answer a distress call by Lois Lane and leave as Commissioner Gordon inspects the remains of the crate, including a logo of Terra's team.
Green Lantern and Star Sapphire visit a planet which became part of Sector 2814 and find out that Superman's Blue Lantern Corps have restored the Kryptonian twin cities of Argo and Kandor to their rightful sizes. There, they watch and listen as the Man of Steel announces the rise of his apprentice Terra's team, who had dubbed themselves the "Knights of Rao" in homage of Krypton's Sungod, as Terra promises that the World will be free from the Tyrant threat. Believing in the young heroine's promise, Hal and Carol decide to keep it quiet for a while and leave to answer Lois' warnings. The heroes meet with Jaime Reyes, who is being chased by the Reach in order to retrieve the Scarab which turned him into the Blue Beetle, Shazam, who had learned of Lex Luthor's crimes and attempts to destroy the Justice League and is willing to forgive himself for trusting him when he should not, and Lois' companion and bodyguard Caitlin Fairchild, who agree to cooperate with them in repelling the Reach. Under instructions of Vandal Savage, who is secretly working alongside the aliens, the Reach soldiers target Lexcorp, where Luthor is creating a new mark of Amazo and more duplicates of the Blue Beetle Scarab.
Meanwhile, the Knights of Rao go on a crime-fighting spree across the Earth at the same time they expose and humiliate tyrants, who also include power hungry dictators and warlords. They also foil human/animal right abuses (including wildlife smuggling, bullying, forced marriages, etc.), progressively drawing Lois' attention (when she recognizes the one who saved her life in Midway CityJustice League/Teen Titans Chronicles: Star Knights), but still hiding from Savage's eyes. Among those tyrants, they expose Wade Eiling, a former U.S.A. General and head of Project Cadmus, for becoming the threat he swore to eliminate by ingesting himself with a super-soldier formula which transformed him into a disfigurated hulking monster, Ivana Baiul (a corrupt business woman planning an outright Coup d'état with the various subjects of the new Project Genesis (the program responsible for Cailtin Fairchild's super-solider transformation)), and Veronica Sinclair (the owner of an popular casino in Los Angeles, as the masked criminal Roulette, the owner of the no-holds-barred "Meta-Brawls" featuring costumed fighters battling in a cage). Omega Knight, Galaxor, Alpha-Wolf and Long Shadow manage to defeat Eiling and depower him with Toymaster's River Styx serum while Catgirl while New Gaia subdue and apprehend Baiul an her mercenaries and the female Lanterns capture Roulette and unmask her in front of the Casino guests. Learning of what Terra's teammates are doing, Luthor, fearful of his fate by their hands, enlists the ruler of Kahndaq Black Adam to kill them, unaware that Toymaster is recording everything with one of his stealth drones.
Toymaster blackmails for the Justice League and sends his message of Luthor's hiring of Black Adam, quickly leading Shazam to go after him. Black Adam confronts the young heroes, who were ready to fight against him and slow him down long enough for Shazam to arrive and defeat him as he is convinced of the Knights' heroic nature and their intentions of ending Tyranny. The Reach scientists send their general Black Beetle to attack Lexcorp and Jaime, having formed a friendship with his Scarab, volunteers to battle him. Just as Black Beetle gains the upperhand on him and Shazam, they are aided by Superman, who uses the power of his ring to enhance Jaimes' Scarab enough to disarm Black Beetle, forcing the Reach to retreat when the Blue Lantern Corps arrive and aid the Justice League. As the Knights of Rao return to their headquarters and the Blue Lantern Corps return to Odym, Shazam has a talk with Superman and apologizes for what happened last time they met, to which Superman forgives him before leaving with his Corps. Luthor arrives and scolds Shazam for the damage he and Blue Beetle did to his factory, but Shazam only takes note of Luthor's hiring of Black Adam and coldly claims that Luthor is the true criminal, not the League members. As Luthor faces progressing accusations for his indirect involvement with the Reach's rampage (and gets banned from the great U.S.A. Community in the progress) and Savage ignores and dismisses his henchmen's warnings about the Knights of Rao, Terra and her team find themselves satisfied that their objective is becoming a success and that Mankind's freedom and Tyranny's end are assured. Superman watches with a smile the young heroes rejoice as he comments to himself: "You did it, Kent. You actually saved this girl.".
== Voice Cast ==
* Ashley Johnson as Terra / Tara Markov
* Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne
* George Newbern as Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El
* Dana Delany as Lois Lane
* Grey Delisle as Wonder Woman / Princess Diana of Themyscira, Aya
* Jason Marsden as Geo-Force / Brion Markov
* Tara Strong as Supergirl / Kara Zor-El, Vicki Vale
* Robbie Daymond as Star Hunter / Felix Whitmore
* Kari Wahlgren as Night Fury / Zoe Kyle Lawton
* Wally Wingert as the Flash / Barry Allen
* Tom Kane as Solovar
* Phil LaMarr as John Stewart, Static / Virgil Hawkins
* Travis Willingham as Aquaman, Green Lantern Power Rings
* Ali Hillis as Caitlin Fairchild
* Carl Lumbly as Martian Manhunter
* Eric Bauza as Toymaster / Hiro Okamura, Knight of the Royal Guard Patrol, Blue Beetle Scarab
* Colleen Villard as Blue Lantern, Indigo Lantern
* Kimberly Brooks as The Emerald
* Yuri Lowenthal as Alpha Wolf
* Dante Basco as Omega Knight
* Mae Whitman as New Gaia / Delilah Raymond Snow
* Antony Del Rio as Blue Beetle / Jaime Reyes
* Danielle Nicolet as Vixen, Rook of the Royal Guard Patrol
* Bumper Robinson as Bishop of the Royal Guard Patrol
* Jessica DiCicco as Sun Rose
* Sam Riegel as Shazam, Kyle Rayner, Gear / Richie Foley
* Josh Keaton as Green Lantern / Hal Jordan, King of the Royal Guard Patrol
* Jennifer Hale as Lana Lang, Queen of the Royal Guard Patrol, Mala
* Jodi Benson as Star Sapphire / Carol Ferris
* James Arnold Taylor as Saint Walker, Galaxor
* Catherine Taber as Winter Star / Caitlin Snow, Arisia Rrab
* Natalie Lander as Stargirl, Catgirl
* Xander Berkeley as Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon
* Will Friedle as Guy Gardner
* Troy Baker as Black Beetle, Long Shadow
* Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor
* Phil Morris as Vandal Savage
* J. B. Blanc as Black Adam
* Kat Cressida as Harley Quinn
* John DiMaggio as Wade Eiling
* C. C. H. Pounder as Amanda Waller
* April Stewart as Roulette / Veronica Sinclair
== The Tyrant Hunt ==
Many characters who appeared in previous DC-Related animated films and TV shows appear in this episode, including villainous characters who are targeted by Terra and the Knights of Rao as World Tyrants. Those include:
* Ferris Boyle: Introduced in "Heart of Ice", a critically acclaimed episode of Batman: the Animated Series, he was responsible for Victor Fries' transformation into the Batman Rogue Mister Freeze. He is shown having been exposed for his involvement with the incident and his past with Mister Freeze and then pinned down and scarred by Black Owl at Lois Lane's presence.
* Wade Eiling: A Project Cadmus Executive and U.S.A. General, he after as a minor antagonist to the Justice League in the DCAU. He appears in this episode in his disfigurated hulking monster form being defeated by Omega Knight, Galaxor, Alpha-Wolf and Long Shadow and infused with River Styx serums to negate his powers.
* Ivana Baiul: a lesser-know but notable character in DC Comics/Wildstorm, she is introduced as major antagonist in storylines of Gen¹³ and its film adaptation. She appears in the episode as one of the Tyrants who are defeated and exposed by the Knights of Rao. She is shown being defeated by New Gaia, who uses her Metal-bending powers to disable Baiul's bionic arm and shatter it into pieces while using its wires to tangle Baiul and horribly scar her face, while Catgirl exposes Baiul for her involvement with Gen¹² and the illegal creation of anti-government super-soldiers. New Gaia neutralizing Baiul mirrors Ebony Maw torturing Doctor Strange in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War.
* Roulette: Another antagonist in DC Comics, she played high roles in Justice League Unlimited episodes "The Cat and the Canary" and "Grudge Match".
== Quotes ==
(The episode opens with Batman, Winter Star, Guy Gardner and Martian Manhunter in the Arkham Asylum, waiting)Guy Gardner: (playing with a construct based on a paddle ball) So... what are we waiting for again?Batman: What belongs to nowhere else except Arkham.Guy Gardner: You sure they're bringing the Joker back? What if they...?Winter Star: Do you think they'd let the Joker free or even kill him? I know Delilah lost temper very much since Ronnie died, but I know there's no way she and her friends would go down that level.Guy Gardner: Okay... (to Batman) Anyway... are they even...?Batman: (interrupting) They are. They're here.(Galaxor and Omega Knight fly down the area with a large crate)Galaxor: Sorry we're late, Batman. The leader said it was supposed to be a surprise.Winter Star: Well... we were all expecting you'd bring the Joker back to Arkham after you were done giving him the punishment he deserves.Omega Knight: Yes. We have fixed him. He still lives, but he will not be committing any of those atrocities he enjoyed committing for a long time against our kind.Guy Gardner: (humorously confused) Say what?Winter Star: You boys can go. We'll be seeing what kind of masterpiece you've done with the Joker.Galaxor: Good thing you will, Doc. (Galaxor and Omega Knight leave)Winter Star: Now let's see what they were up to.Guy Gardner: No problem... No sweat... (creates a crowbar-based construct and opens the crate with it. Gardner reacts stunned in disbelief with what he and the others see) No way!(Batman, Winter Star, Martian Manhunter and the Arkham staff are likewise surprised)Winter Star: My goodness!Batman: Unreal...(the Joker is shown chained in a wheelchair, physically and mentally paralytic with most of his teeth broken and ripped off from his mouth, his hair cut to look like Baby Hair, his smile make-up erased and a large snake-shaped scar burn in half of his face)Commissioner James Gordon: (enters the corridor and is surprised to see what Terra's teammates did to the Joker) Oh, boy.Guy Gardner: Is he... Is he even alive?Martian Manhunter: (reads the Joker's mind) Yes. I can still read him. And apparently, when the Olympian said "fix", he actually meant that they broke his smile.Winter Star: How did they even do it? No one has ever defeated the Joker like that. Not even Batman. (to Batman) No offense.Batman: No offense taken. J'onn? Martian Manhunter: (reads the Joker's mind) The Olympian has broken the Joker just like Batman was once "broken". The Boy-Wolf has cut his hair. Their leader erased his smile make-up and ripped off most of his teeth with 'Living Mud'.Winter Star: You mean she put dirt in his mouth? Ew. I know there are people who said he deserves the worst punishment possible. But this is crazy.Commissioner James Gordon: And that's how he's unstable like that?Martian Manhunter: It was just the beginning. The young heroes who called themselves the Royal Guard Patrol. They used some sort of mind device which caused him to hallucinate of what he feared the most.Winter Star: But what could the Joker ever be afraid of so much?Guy Gardner: (smiles) Eh. Pretty obvious one, Doc. (stares at Batman, but everyone stares at Gardner and they are not amused of his joke and he gets confused) No?Winter Star: How can the Joker ever be afraid of Batman if he's crazy enough not to be afraid of anything? Not even death, Genius?Guy Gardner: (defeated) Yeah, good point.Winter Star: (smiles) But, look at the bright side, everyone. At least he won't be causing trouble in Gotham like he used to do for a long time. Right, Batman? (Batman nods with a smile)Harley Quinn: (coming in) Hello, everybody! Harley's home! My puddin' home? I brought cake and pie just for me and him! (they stare at her silently) What?Commissioner James Gordon: Only one truth you should know, Harley. You really picked a really bad time to get here.Harley Quinn: (irritated) Are you sayin' I shouldn't buy anything for Mister J's birthday, Gordon?!Batman: No. He's just saying that you might not like to see what's become of the Joker.Harley Quinn: Just move it, you Bat-Brains! (everybody steps back annoyed) (mimicking Batman) "You won't like to see what's become of the Joker". Oh, give it a rest! I know how much you hate my puddin', but that don't mean I sho... (notices the Joker and is shocked. She drops the cake and the pie in shock) P-puddin'? (she approaches the Joker and hugs him in tears) What... what have they done to you? (stares at the others) Who did this? (angrily) WHO DID THIS?! (an officer shows footage of Galaxor and Omega Knight in Arkham) Who are they? Where are they?! I wanna kill them!Commissioner James Gordon: (the guards grab Harley) I don't know. I wish I knew. And no, Harley. We only let you out so that you can buy garbage for the Joker. But now... (the guards drag her to her cell and take the Joker to his)Lois Lane: (radio voice) Is anyone in the Justice League available? This is an emergency.Batman: (responding) We're on our way, Lois. We have to go.(they leave and Commissioner Gordon stares at the logo of Terra's teammates in the remains of the crate)Commissioner James Gordon: Hmmm... Just who are you kids?
(scene cuts to Green Lantern and Star Sapphire walking around a new planet of Sector 2814)Star Sapphire: I have to admit it, Hal. It's really very beautiful.Green Lantern: It sure is. Just like Earth and Zamaron.Star Sapphire: So... How long has it been in our sector again?Green Lantern: According to Aya, about three days after that battle between Mongul's pets and Apokolips . It was probably a dead world until Mogo brought it back to life. (he picks up a flower and gives it to Carol)Star Sapphire: (smiles) So many wonderful things a living planet can do. Specially when that planet is a Green Lantern.(they see Blue Lanterns flying in the distance)Green Lantern: The same kind of wonderful things they'll probably do.Star Sapphire: (watching the Blue Lanterns through binoculars-based construct; she sees them placing two shrunk cities (one in each field) in the ground) Are those some of the cities Brainiac collected?Green Lantern: (watching through binoculars-based construct) Argo and Kandor. Yes. The Guardians must've instructed the Blue Lanterns to place the two cities in this planet.Star Sapphire: I hope these two cities will be safe from threats like the Apokolipians or the Reach.(a large light erupts and the two cities are restored to normal)Green Lantern: A little trip on the two cities to make it worth while?(Carol nods for agreement and they go on; scene shifts to the couple flying over Kandor, which is deeply silent)Star Sapphire: Where is everybody?Green Lantern: (listens to a Kryptonian crowd celebrating cheering) Hear that? (Carol also listens) To the Center. (they make it there and observe the people of Kandor cheering on Superman and his Blue Lantern Corps) (smiles amazed) Never gets old.
(Superman, Shazam and Blue Beetle are watching as the Lexcorp facility which was taken over by the Reach is declared condemned)Shazam: Look, Superman... about the last time we saw each other... I... well...Superman: I know. You regret having trusted Luthor when you shouldn't. I understand. But you're not to blame. This isn't on you. It's on what the Knights of Rao united to stand against. It's on these Tyrants.Blue Beetle: And Terra said they'd stop them. She said the truth. Didn't she?Superman: You can trust her, Jaimie. You can trust them all. They won your trust when they helped take down Adam. Didn't they?Shazam: And also showed Luthor paying him to stop what they were doing. After all that, I prefer to let them do what they do.Blue Beetle: Yeah. So do I.
== References ==
Category:Episodes
Category:Justice League: Knights of Rao