History Recap / JusticeLeagueS1E18And19Legends

* DeconReconSwitch: The episode deconstructs the fondly-remembered "Golden Age" of comic books in numerous ways, with the most blatant examples being the casual sexism and racism Green Lantern encounters, and the artificiality of their world. At the same time, it still portrays the Golden Age heroes as ''heroes''.

* StayInTheKitchen: Parodied. Given that since the Justice Guild's world is based on the fifties, therefore it isn't considered at all awkward for the only female member of the 50's-esque team to suggest to ''[[ActionGirl Hawkgirl]]'' that they go get cookies while the "men" talk out the whole dangerous supervillain issue. Flash is amused. Hawkgirl...isn't.

* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Tom Turbine regrets that Sir Swami uses his powers for evil instead of entertaining children. Of course stealing rubies would pay better, but as Tom keeps pointing out, "In Seaboard City, crime doesn't pay!"

* InnocentBigot: The Justice Guild displays some of the less than admirable qualities of 1950's morality -- the unassuming sexism evoked by Black Siren's place among the team and the Streak calling John Stewart "[[YouAreACreditToYourRace a credit to your people]]", mainly. John is polite enough to take the condescending "compliment" in the spirit it was intended, although he does sound a mite frustrated at the same time.

** Jon and Ray are paralleled to each other in regards to their nostalgia, and in regards to how they deal with the past. John is initially ecstatic at being able to work alongside his childhood heroes, but finds himself slightly put off by their InnocentBigot tendencies. It gets worse when he finds out that none of his heroes are real, but illusions living in a perpetually static world. While he initially doesn't take it well, it's overcome by his determination to find out what's going on, and after the truth is revealed and the villain dealt with, he's saddened but ultimately able to move forward, [[RebuiltPedestal remembering the sacrifice of the illusory heroes.]] Ray by contrast was ''not'' able to let go, due to the trauma he suffered and being too young when it happened to really understand how to process the horror. As a result, [[IRejectYourReality he withdrew into a selfish fantasy]], using his powers to force others to keep the illusion going and became the villain that his own illusions would eventually have to defeat. Ultimately, he lies defeated, having lost his heroes once again, and the people he enslaved deciding to move on while having to bear the scars he left on them.

** The entire episode is a love letter to old superhero comic books, with Jon Stewart being a stand-in for the kinds of kids who enjoyed and were inspired by them to become heroes. Seaboard City is a call-back to various bits of 40s to 50s storytelling and kookiness, with strictly formula and ridiculous plots by simple and straightforward villains, opposing heroes who are nothing but the absolute paragons of good. However, it also doesn't hesitate to highlight the downsides of nostalgia, as it also shows the less than enlightened behaviors towards women and people of color of the time, as well as how off-putting it can be to those same kids once they've grown up and realized the flaws of those old stories.
** Jon and Ray are paralleled to each other in regards to their nostalgia, and in regards to how they deal with the past. Jon is initially ecstatic at being able to work alongside his childhood heroes, but finds himself slightly put off by their InnocentBigot tendencies. It gets worse when he finds out that none of his heroes are real, but illusions living in a perpetually static world. While he initially doesn't take it well, it's overcome by his determination to find out what's going on, and after the truth is revealed and the villain dealt with, he's saddened but ultimately able to move forward, [[RebuiltPedestal remembering the sacrifice of the illusory heroes.]] Ray by contrast was ''not'' able to let go, due to the trauma he suffered and being too young when it happened to really understand how to process the horror. As a result, [[IRejectYourReality he withdrew into a selfish fantasy]], using his powers to force others to keep the illusion going and became the villain that his own illusions would eventually have to defeat. Ultimately, he lies defeated, having lost his heroes once again, and the people he enslaved deciding to move on while having to bear the scars he left on them.

-->'''Hawkgirl:''' ''One word'' and you'll be the [[Franchise/TheFlash The Fastest Man Alive]] with a ''limp''.

* GeniusBruiser: Tom Turbine is an accredited nuclear physicist and inventor...he's also the Justice Guild's counterpart to Superman. [[spoiler: It's ultimately the deceased real Tom Turbine's interdimensional transporter powered by Jon's Green Lantern powers that allows the Justice League to go home, despite having been neglected for decades after the world's atomic annihilation.]]

* GeniusBruiser: Tom Turbine is an accredited nuclear physicist and inventor...he's also the Justice Guild's counterpart to Superman.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Ray created the Justice Guild to be just like the heroes he remembered from his childhood. So of course, once he's revealed as a villain, they have no trouble fighting him, even if it means their lives.

* ItsWhatIDo: The Justice Guild contemplate that defeating the enemy will, in fact, kill them as well. The immediate reply The Streak gives is essentially this.

* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Tom Turbine regrets that Sir Swami uses his powers for evil instead of entertaining children. In fairness stealing rubies would pay better (of course as Tom keeps pointing out, "In Seaboard City, crime doesn't pay!")
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: The Flash mutters this when he sees the imperiled BusFullOfInnocents. Just to drive the point home, the passengers are shown to be all nuns, calmly crossing themselves as they careen into danger.

* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Tom Turbine regrets that Sir Swami uses his powers for evil instead of entertaining children. In fairness stealing rubies does seem to pay better (except as Tom keeps pointing out, "In Seaboard City, crime doesn't pay!")

* DepthDeception: In the ColdOpen, a giant Green Lantern appears to fall to the ground in front of several normal sized people. Turns out GL is just closer to the screen than these bystanders, and this RevealShot is followed by the [[HumongousMecha actual giant]] that knocked Green Lantern to the ground.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Justice Guild's distinctly 50s/Golden Age-based world is out-of-date to both the 2000s-based Justice League and any younger viewers, with cliches and routine elements of that era played for laughs. In a less humorous sense, they're also all {{Innocent Bigot}}s.

* NostalgiaFilter: The episode deconstructs the fondly-remembered "Golden Age" of comic books in numerous ways, with the most blatant examples being the casual sexism and racism Green Lantern encounters, and the artificiality of their world. At the same time, it still portrays the Golden Age heroes as ''heroes''.

* DepthDeception: In the ColdOpen, a giant Green Lantern appears to fall to the ground in front of several normal sized people. Turns out GL is just close to the 'camera' than the bystanders, and this RevealShot is followed by an actual giant, a HumongousMecha.

* PiratesWhoDontDoAnything: The ice cream man drives his truck around town all day and waves at everyone he passes, but he never actually sells any ice cream. After a while, Green Lantern gets suspicious about this.

* PsychopathicManChild: Ray has kept the form of a child for ''forty years'', [[BodyHorror though you can hardly blame him]].

* RetroUniverse: Seaboard City, which feels like it came straight out of the 1950s...because the real one did, and Ray wouldn't allow the fake one to advance.

*** His first name is more than just being a letter off either, its is also a reference to renowned sci-fi writer Creator/RayBradbury whose work often had nostalgia as its theme.

* SincerityMode: The survivors tell the Justice League to not apologize for defeating Ray; they said that Ray kept them in a virtual prison that didn't allow them to rebuild. Everyone smiles and thanks them.

* SpottingTheThread: Even before the discovery of the graves, The League notices several small hints that something is wrong, though they don't come up until TheReveal (the ice cream truck that never stops, the entire town only having two cops, the way danger just conveniently pops up whenever someone starts asking too many questions).

* PiratesWhoDontDoAnything: The ice cream man drives his truck around town all day and waves at everyone he passes, but he never actually sells any ice cream. After a while Green Lantern gets suspicious about this.

* PsychopathicManChild: Ray has kept the form of a child for ''forty years'' [[BodyHorror though you can hardly blame him]].

* TragicVillain: Ray was heavily irradiated by nuclear bombs which killed his idols. In his insanity he created an illusion of a pre-war world and used his abilities to trap the survivors of the fallout into resuming their routines before the bombs dropped. He was seemingly killed when he overused his powers to maintain the illusion and defeat both the Justice League and Justice Guild.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: The Guild was re-created by Ray but rather than live out this falsehood and enslavement of other survivors, the Guild turns on him to kill him, setting the world free at the cost of their own lives.

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: The Flash mutters this when he sees the imperilled BusFullOfInnocents. Just to drive the point home, the passengers are shown to be all nuns, calmly crossing themselves as they careen into danger.

* FateWorseThanDeath: How one of the survivors describes being trapped in Ray's false world, a perfectly reasonable viewpoint seeing as he was forced to be an ice cream man nonstop for ''forty years.''

* TownWithADarkSecret: Seaboard City is actually a war-torn wasteland but the residents always smile because they're scared to mess with [[TheDreaded Ray's]] fantasy.

'''Ray:''' You can’t! I made you!

'''Ray:'' You can’t … I made you.

'''Tom Turbine:''' In Seaboard City, crime doesn't pay.

* OfficerOHara: Complete with red hair. It's later revealed he is one of the survivors Ray brainwashed into becoming this role; he's among the crowd thanking the League when everyone is free.

* VerticalMechaFins: The HumongusMecha at the beginning of the episode features these, befitting of the ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' homage.