The Great Brain Robbery
Episode #34 - The Great Brain Robbery
Original Airdate - March 4th, 2006
A mystical accident leads to Lex Luthor and the Flash's minds being
swapped into each other's bodies.
Review by Stu
Media by Bird Boy, Jim Harvey |
Credits:
Story by Dwayne McDuffie
Teleplay by Matt Wayne
Directed by Dan Riba
Music by Michael McCuistion
Animation by Dong Woo Animation Co., LTD.
Voices:
Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor
Michael Rosenbaum as The Flash, Dr. Polaris
Phil LaMarr as Green Lantern
Powers Boothe as Grodd
Juliet Landau as Tala
Michael Beach as Mr. Terrific
Oded Fehr as Dr. Fate
Ted Levine as Sinestro
George Newbern as Bizarro
Lauren Tom as Dr. Light
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Screen Grabs
Pans
Sound Clips
"Yeah I'm just a little..." (MP3, 155kb)
"I want to punish him..." (MP3, 218kb)
"Huh? I mean, right." (MP3, 225kb)
"I, Lex Luthor..." (MP3, 190kb)
"Rest in here, darling..." (MP3, 85kb)
"If nothing else..." (MP3, 116kb)
"Repeat, he is not Luthor." (MP3, 184kb)
"You want proof?" (MP3, 165kb)
"Is that really you?" (MP3, 132kb) |
Review
A fine mix of action and comedy, "The Great Brain Robbery" succeeds
on all levels and manages to move the season’s story along nicely. The
Legion Of Doom was an idea I originally greatly looked forward to seeing
but I’ve found myself disappointed at how well the group was used.
At the beginning of the season, it seemed that the group was nothing
more than an excuse to have villains team up and perform pointless
tasks, but with Luthor now taking centre stage the story has really got
moving. I love the DCU version of Luthor, especially how much he’s
evolved since Superman: The Animated Series. He was fine in
Superman, good in some episodes, great in others but constantly in
the thorn in the side of our Man Of Steel in every situation possible,
which all unfortunately ended without much of a resolution.
He didn’t reappear until Justice League season one, but I thought
they slightly stumbled his story there, as most of his appearances were
a little too Silver Age super villainy and not enough of the smart,
calculating and ruthless Luthor we’d previously seen. Plus, he had a
really, really stupid green and purple costume. He was back to his great
self as would-be President Luthor and Brainthor and I was left wondering
how they were going to handle him in this season. He doesn’t appear to
be showing signs of madness anymore (we haven’t seen Brainiac since the
first episode) and we’ve since gotten arguably the best version of
Luthor ever. Hopefully the season’s conclusion won’t screw everything up
because it’s been a great storyline for him.
I especially liked his squabbling with Grodd. I didn’t think we’d see
Grodd again but it seems they’re using their villains wisely; it’s
especially impressive as we still take the villains seriously even
though this is more of a comedy episode than an action one.
Speaking of the comedy, there were some classic one liners here, Flash
truly was hilarious in Luthor’s body. I know a lot of people have dissed
this shows version of The Flash but he’s always been good for a chuckle
and this episode was no exception. His pitiful attempts to be evil (not
washing his hands after going to the bathroom) were the stuff of
legends. One of the biggest laughs of the season came from Luthor in
Flash though. After realizing he was The Flash, he boasts that he can
finally find out The Flash’s secret identity and promptly unmasks and
reveals he has no idea who’s face it is. Brilliant delivery from Clancy
Brown, who was utterly spectacular in both roles he played in this
episode. Rosenbaum also added a little of Lex from his Smallville
role in here, much to my delight. I know a lot of people aren’t too
impressed with Smallville, but I enjoy the show and find
Rosenbaum’s performances to be a big reason why.
Tala surprised me here, I know she’s a suck up to whoever’s in charge,
but her “oh” when Luthor was back had me highly amused. The “This isn’t
relaxing” scene did leave me laughing out loud for several minutes.
Perhaps Flash isn’t the fastest man alive, as predicted oh so many
seasons ago?
Great episode, all in all. I’m thoroughly looking forward to seeing
where this season is headed. With this many twists so far, I’m hoping
the last episode will be one worth remembering.
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