Robot Chicken DC Comics Special

Last updated
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special
Robot Chicken DC Comics.jpg
DVD cover
Written by
Directed by Seth Green
Starring
Narrated by Kevin Shinick
Production
Production companies
Original release
ReleaseSeptember 10, 2012 (2012-09-10)
Related

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is an episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken and it was aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on September 10, 2012. [lower-alpha 1]

Contents

A DC Universe special, in collaboration with DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. [1] Voice actors are Seth Green, Paul Reubens, Neil Patrick Harris, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Megan Fox, Breckin Meyer, and Kevin Shinick. The rest of the cast also includes Abraham Benrubi, Alex Borstein, Clare Grant, Tara Strong, Matthew Senreich, Aaron Paul, Steven Tyler, Tom Root, and Zeb Wells. [2] It was followed by the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise , which premiered April 6, 2014.

Segments

RCDC

Robot Chicken joins forces with DC Comics superheroes and supervillains.

You Can't Fly

Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman have a laugh at Aquaman's expense.

That's Bane!

While staking out a robbery, Batman has his back broken by Bane.

Real Characters from the DC Universe

Meet B'dg, a squirrel who's a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

The Super Kiss

Parody of the scene in Superman II where Superman kisses Lois Lane to make her forget he's Superman. He decides to use his kissnesia on Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Solomon Grundy, Brainiac to make them forget why they hate him. It backfires on him when they show up at the Fortress of Solitude with flowers and candy as Superman claims that he should've thought this through.

Two-Face's OCD

Two-Face cannot stop flipping his coin to make decisions, even when he goes to the bathroom. His latest coin flip has him not flushing the toilet much to the dismay of Penguin.

Cold Villains

Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Icicle, and Chillblaine all rob a jewelry auction, causing a problem between the four cold-themed villains. The cold-themed villains noticed that they took out some load-bearing walls. The building collapses as Ice is shown outside.

Funeral in Earth-C

Superman invites Batman and Green Lantern to Captain Carrot's funeral in Earth-C, but Green Lantern can't help himself from laughing at the other members of the Zoo Crew, causing him to abruptly leave. After Little Cheese comments on Green Lantern's insensitive behavior, Batman begins to snicker at his name.

Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing tries to get his girlfriend to understand his powers.

That's Bane! Again!

While recovering in the Batcave, Bane sneaks up on Batman and breaks his back over his knee again.

Real Characters from the DC Universe Pt. 2

Meet Firestorm, a "popular" and powerful superhero.

Out to Score

Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Flash hit the bar scene to pick up some ladies. But when Superman and Green Lantern strike out, Aquaman tries to pick up a woman who turns out to be Martian Manhunter in disguise causing him to go home, get drunk and try to have sex with a dolphin.

Doom Secret Santa

At the Legion of Doom's HQ, the Legion members draw names for Secret Santa as part of team building according to Lex Luthor. Sinestro draws Leonard Snart who he assumes is the smelly worker in the mailroom as Captain Cold tells him that he's Leonard Snart. Sinestro then claims that he thinks the mailroom worker is named Glenn. Lex then introduces a new rule where the gifts must not be exploding toys. Toyman states that he's the only one affected by that rule as Scarecrow that he still has that forehead scare from Christmas 2004. When the smelly mailroom worker Glenn comes in after the names have been drawn, they all stop talking. Glenn shouts at them that it's not his fault that he has a glandular condition and that he showers every day as he passes by. Once the commercial ends, the narrator announces the bad news where Glenn killed himself during the commercial break.

Nerd Lantern

Instead of Hal Jordan, the Robot Chicken Nerd ends up finding Abin Sur and receiving his ring instead. When he is taken to Oa and begins his training with Kilowog, the Guardians begin to doubt if humans are worthy of a power ring where he engages Kilowog in strange training that involved creating a construct of Selena Gomez. The Guardians of the Universe hope that Abin Sur was given a proper funeral. Meanwhile on Earth, Abin Sur's corpse is eaten by bears.

Luthor's Warsuit

Lex Luthor steps into the perfect Superman-killing machine until the scientist's son kicks a ball that hits Lex in the face.

That Tickles

A criminal shoots Superman, but when he notices the bullets are bouncing off, he fires at his crotch, which continues to deflect the bullets, much to Superman's confusion.

The Punctuation Posse

After taking a break from the Legion of Doom, Riddler forms the Punctuation Posse which consists of Comma, Quotes, and Exclaimer which is quickly beaten up by the Justice League.

That's Bane! Thrice!

At the Hall of Justice, Bane sneaks up on Batman and breaks his back over his knee once again while Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern watch.

Sinestro's Final Moment

In the Legion of Doom bathroom, Riddler and Mirror Master tease Sinestro into shaving his mustache. As soon as the razor touches his lip, it starts gushing blood, causing Riddler and Mirror Master to run off in disgust.

That Is It

Aquaman's had enough of the lack of respect after Superman and Wonder Woman both mock his powers, Robin uses his trident to unclog the toilet, Martian Manhunter cooks his lobster friends, and he slips on a puddle and gets mocked by the other heroes.

Real Characters from the DC Universe Pt. 3

Meet Mister Banjo, a supervillain who steals top secret information and plays Morse code about it on his banjo. Suddenly, an enraged Firestorm bursts in and refuses to be in the same category as "Fatty Arbuckle". When Mister Banjo claims that his banjo costs him some money, Firestorm uses his powers to turn the banjo into metal and then beats Mister Banjo. When he asks where B'dg is, the narrator quotes "Down the hall. First dressing room to the right". Firestorm heads there as B'dg can he heard introducing himself as Firestorm beats him up with the metal banjo.

Aqua Doom

Aquaman visits the Legion of Doom HQ and asks to join after getting by Giganta much to the annoyance of Black Manta. At first, they refuse. But when he tells them he's got security access codes to the Hall of Justice, they let him on the team.

Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy finds out he was actually born on a Tuesday and that his real name is Solomon Gruesday, much to his anger.

Aquaman Appreciation Party

Aquaman leads the Legion of Doom into the Hall of Justice in a Trojan cake, where the heroes are revealed to have thrown Aquaman a party. After Aquaman cuts into the cake with Toyman getting stabbed in the process, the Legion of Doom is revealed, leading to an epic final battle between the Justice League and the Legion of Doom.

As Penguin's leg is asleep, Mister Banjo plays his banjo as the Justice League and the Legion of Doom fight in various ways:

The fight ends with Superman, Lex Luthor, and Aquaman remaining. Aquaman punches Lex Luthor while Superman is hit by the Kryptonite.

By the final scene, all of them are attending Glenn's funeral. When Jimmy Olsen notes about how this ending didn't reveal how Superman survived, Superman states that he won't remember this as he kisses him and does the same thing to the viewer.

Voice cast

Writers

Home media

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special was released on DVD and Blu-ray, on July 9, 2013.

Sources and influences

The logo for the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is a modification of that for the Super Powers Collection.

The opening sequence of the special parodies that of the Challenge of the Superfriends albeit with the Legion of Doom substituted with Robot Chicken original characters Chicken, Mad Scientist, Nerd, Humping Robot, Composite Santa, Gummy Bear, the Unicorn, and Bitch Puddin'.

Most of the figures used for the special are from the Mego World's Greatest Superheroes!, Mattel DC Universe Classics, and EMCE Toys/Mattel DC Retro Action Superheroes toylines. Brainiac and Lex Luthor would see both DC Universe Classics and DC Retro Action Superheroes versions (though, of course, the DC Retro Action Superheroes Brainiac figure was an original piece).

The graphic for the "Real Characters from the DC Universe" is very similar to the Challenge of the Superfriends title graphic.

The Hall of Justice is from the Super Powers Collection but is white rather than yellow to be in line with its appearance in Super Friends.

The use of Mister Freeze, Captain Cold, Icicle, and Chillblaine as a group of cold-themed villains is an ongoing theme from DC Comics seeing previous versions including a team-up by Captain Cold, Icicle, and Minister Blizzard in Justice League of America #139 (February 1977), the Cold Warriors in Justice League Adventures #12 (December 2002), the Ice Pack in Super Friends #16 (August 2009), and Icicle, Icicle Jr, Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, and Killer Frost in Young Justice "Terrors".

Notes

  1. Adult Swim lists the special as premiering on September 9, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. (24:00) EST/PST, which is effectively September 10.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legion of Doom</span> Group of super villains in the DC universe

The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in Challenge of the Superfriends, an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Universe, appearing in comics, as well as further animated and live-action adaptations, and also video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brainiac (character)</span> Supervillain in the DC Universe

Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, and debuted in Action Comics #242. He has since endured as one of Superman and the Justice League's greatest enemies. The character's name is a portmanteau of the words brain and maniac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime Syndicate of America</span> DC Comics supervillain team

The Crime Syndicate are teams of supervillains from one of DC Comics' parallel universes where they are the evil counterparts of the Justice League. The original team was specifically known as the Crime Syndicate of America and is sometimes abbreviated as CSA. This first superpowered Crime Syndicate team appeared in Justice League of America #29 in August 1964. The primary successive incarnation, known as the Crime Syndicate of Amerika, first appeared in the 2000 JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Age (DC Comics)</span>

"Silver Age" was a twelve part storyline that ran through a series of one shot comic books published by DC Comics in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Powers Collection</span> 1980s Kenner Products action figure line based on DC Comics characters

The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.

<i>Justice</i> (DC Comics) Comic book limited series by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger

Justice is a twelve-issue American comic book limited series published bimonthly by DC Comics from August 2005 through June 2007, written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with art also by Ross and Doug Braithwaite. Its story involves the superhero team known as the Justice League of America confronting the supervillain team the Legion of Doom after every supervillain is motivated by a shared dream that seems to be a vision of the planet's destruction, which they intend to avoid.

<i>The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians</i> American TV series or program

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes that ran in 1985. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

<i>Challenge of the Superfriends</i> American animated television series

Challenge of the Superfriends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9 to December 23, 1978, on ABC. The complete series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics and created by Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. It was the third series of Super Friends cartoons, following the original Super Friends in 1973 and The All-New Super Friends Hour in 1977.

DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection is an action figure line based on the highly popular Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Though it was based on the show(s), the line has continued well beyond it, and has been re-branded in 2008, as a Target exclusive. Mattel announced in February 2011 that the line would come to an end later in the year with the final figures being released on the Mattel website including the final two three-packs, a seven-pack as well as the three exclusive Con three-packs being made available to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Universe (toyline)</span>

DC Universe is a toy brand manufactured by Mattel. It has five sub-lines – Classics, Fighting Figures, Giants of Justice, Infinite Heroes, and the reintegrated Justice League Unlimited line.

<i>Blackest Night</i> Limited DC comics crossover series

"Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. Blackest Night involves Nekron, a personified force of death who reanimates deceased superheroes and seeks to eliminate all life and emotion from the universe. Geoff Johns has identified the series' central theme as emotion. The crossover was published for eight months as a limited series and in both the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps comic titles. Various other limited series and tie-ins, including an audio drama from Darker Projects, were published.

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise is an episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken and it was aired as a half-hour special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on April 6, 2014. It serves as the sequel to the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special that focuses more on the Legion of Doom and is followed by Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship.

<i>Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom</i> 2015 American film

Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom is a 2015 American animated superhero comedy film based on the Lego and DC Comics brands, which was released on August 25, 2015, on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. This is the fourth Lego DC Comics film following Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite, Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered and Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League.

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special III: Magical Friendship is an episode of the hit TV show, Robot Chicken and aired as a half-hour special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on October 19, 2015. It is the third and final special in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Specials series, following Robot Chicken DC Comics Special and Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise.

References

  1. "'Robot Chicken' Guys Ready To Skewer DC Comics Superheroes For New Special". Deadline Hollywood . April 25, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  2. Minovitz, Ethan (May 25, 2012). "AS Announces Largest Programming Schedule Ever". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.