History Recap / JusticeLeagueS1E1To3SecretOrigins

** The entire premise of aliens having Superman destroy nukes could be seen as a much more realistic take on the ending for ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace''... If reality had [[SpaceWhaleAesop alien invaders as an option]].

** The entire episode is based on ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''. Both are about alien invaders from Mars who want to sap the world's resources, both feature [[TripodTerror tripod crafts]] that level major cities, and when it seems the aliens have won, they are shown to be easily defeated due to a WeaksauceWeakness set up as a ChekhovsGun in the first act. There is even a General [[Creator/HGWells Wells]], and once again the Eiffel Tower is set blaze which is a direct reference to the ending of the [[film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953 1953 film]].

** The Flash's character model has also been overhauled from the character's prior appearance during "Speed Demons". Likewise, while John Stewart's using the previously-established Green Lantern Corps uniform design from "In Brightest Day", the coloring palette has been slightly tweaked from its STAS debut.

** Also, Superman's dialogue about his hard work in earning the people's trust and General Wells' distrust of him can be seen as references to "Legacy". [[https://jl.popgeeks.com/superman/superman.htm According]] to Bruce Timm, the callback was actually originally much more explicit ("We can't entrust the world's security to one man -- especially ''him''!") before deciding it would confuse new viewers who had missed ''STAS''. As it is, the final line plays both ways for new and veteran DCAU fans. The former can see this as Wells being practical military tactician, while the latter recognizes the subtext of Wells' statements and distrust.

** Also, Superman's dialogue about his hard work in earning the people's trust and General Wells' distrust of him can be seen as references to "Legacy". According to Bruce Timm, the callback was actually originally much more explicit before deciding it would confuse new viewers who had missed ''STAS''. As it is, the final line plays both ways for new and veteran DCAU fans.

* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: When Superman talks of needing a place to serve as advanced warning of another invasion, Batman reveals the Watchtower satellite. Superman wonders how he hid THAT from Wayne Enterprise investors.

** The entire episode is based on ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''. Both are about alien invaders from Mars who want to sap the world's resources, both feature [[TripodTerror tripod crafts]] that level major cities, and when it seems the aliens have won, they are shown to be easily defeated due to a WeaksauceWeakness set up as a ChekhovsGun in the first act. There is even a General [[Creator/HGWells Wells]].

** In the climax of Part II, Batman drops the Ion Matrix Crystal before the alien soldiers surrounding him. Before shooting him, the invaders react rather strangely -- almost as if they don't know what they're seeing...or ''can't'' see Batman. Why becomes clearer in Part III's climax: Because J'onn was mentally shielding Batman so he couldn't be detected. The shielding had just taken affect, hence the soldiers' confusion.

* BloodKnight: Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl are most eager and willing to become involved in fighting the Imperium.

* TakeThat: The entire premise of aliens having Superman destroy nukes could be seen as a much more realistic take on the ending for ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace''... If reality had [[SpaceWhaleAesop alien invaders as an option]].

* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Justified. After hearing J'onn's story, Flash asks him why he doesn't make another batch of the nerve gas he used the first time he stopped the Imperium. J'onn explains that [[SimpleSolutionWontWork the gas can only be made by a rare Martian plant, and the only sample he brought with him was destroyed upon his capture]].

*** In the ending of Part II, Batman drops the Ion Matrix Crystal before the alien soldiers surrounding him. Before shooting him, the invaders react rather strangely -- almost as if they don't know what they're seeing...or ''can't'' see Batman. Why becomes clearer in Part III's climax: Because J'onn was mentally shielding Batman so he couldn't be detected. The shielding had just taken affect, hence the soldiers' confusion.

** Batman somehow changes the ionisation on the PowerCrystal, turning it against the invaders.

** The Martian commando team is shown wearing gasmasks against the nerve gas. By definition, nerve agents are absorbed through the skin as well as through breathing.

* ArtEvolution: The show as a whole has a new color palette compared to previous shows, largely finding a more middle ground between the pastel colors of STAS and the matte black of TNBA and Batman Beyond.
** Batman and Superman receive all-new character designs, Batman is slightly more-lean and his costume has dark purple highlights while Superman has a broader chest and some additional lines on his face. According to Bruce Timm, originally ''Justice League'' was going to just reuse their existing character models from TNBA and STAS. It was Glen Murakami and James Tucker who lobbied to redesign the World's Finest from scratch to help sell this was a new, completely different show.

** Also, Superman's dialogue about his hard work in earning the people's trust and General Wells' distrust of him can be seen as references to "Legacy". According to Bruce Timm, the callback was actually originally much more explicit before deciding it would confuse new viewers who had missed STAS. As it is, the final line plays both ways for new and veteran DCAU fans.

* CanonForeigner: The Aliens of this three-parter did not come from any comic book. They do however share some similarities with the White Martians in being connected to J'onn and having shapeshifting abilities.

** Batman is still using the redesigned Batwing that debuted during TNBA (and also appeared during the crossovers with STAS).
** The Green Lantern Corps, as represented by John Stewart, is still using the Corpsmen uniforms that debuted on STAS (in "Brightest Day").

** The entire Pilot is a very loose adaptation of Grant Morrison and Howard Porter's inaugural ''JLA'' storyline (''New World Order''), from an alien invasion with links to Martian history to Batman seemingly being killed at the end of the Second Act.

* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: Superman asks Batman if his stockholders know about the newly-commissioned Watchtower, which Batman handwaves with "hidden as a line item in the Space R&D budget." Sure, that hides the funding, but says nothing about assembly either pre-launch or in orbit. (Although with Superman available, Batman at least wouldn't need a launch vehicle — or if Clark had a spare weekend, a construction crew.)

** The entire episode is based on ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds.'' Both are about alien invaders from Mars who want to sap the world's resources, both feature [[TripodTerror tripod crafts]] that level major cities, and when it seems the aliens have won, they are shown to be easily defeated due to a WeaksauceWeakness set up as a ChekhovsGun in the first act. There is even a General [[Creator/HGWells Wells]].

%% [This description was copied in violation of our Plagiarism policy. Please replace it with original writing.]
%% Stolen from here: https://dcau.fandom.com/wiki/Secret_Origins

* ArtEvolution:
** Batman and Superman receive all-new character designs, though it's also an interesting example. According to Bruce Timm, originally ''Justice League'' was going to just reuse their existing character models from TNBA and STAS. It was Glen Murakami and James Tucker who lobbied to redesign the World's Finest from scratch to help sell this was a new, completely different show.

* IgnoredExpert: J'onn J'onzz tried to warn humanity of the Imperium's invasion. Instead, the US military shot down his ship, held him captive for who knows how long and refused to listen to him. As a result, the US military is infiltrated by aliens and the world falls to alien invaders.

** Batman isn't surprised to see Hawkgirl, just to see her at the fight. Superman doesn't ask Green Lantern John Stewart where Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern he met in his own show, is.

* NuclearOption: Discussed and prevented. Superman got the UN to let him dismantling all the world's nukes...only for the Earth to be immediately invaded by aliens after humans no longer had a Nuclear Option (one of the major supporters for the move was an alien pretending to be human). Later episodes had nuclear weapons, so most likely they rebuilt them to ward off more alien invasions.

** Hawkgirl herself is a retroactive one after the revelations of Season Two and "Starcrossed" in particular. If Shayera's mind was blocked from psychic probes, how was J'omnn able to telepathically summon her?

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The heroes discuss that all the details of the Martian expedition must have been kept under wraps by a government bigwig. At the climax of the episode, it's revealed Senator Carter is a member of the invaders.

* FakingTheDead: Batman was thought to have been killed at the end of Part II, but it was actually revealed that J'onn mentally shielded him and allow him to prepare the countermeasure against the Imperium - presumably he read his mind and was thus aware of the plan (including the WeaksauceWeakness of the invaders).

* TakeThat: The entire premise of aliens having Superman destroy nukes could be seen as a much more realistic take on the ending for ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace''...If reality had [[SpaceWhaleAesop alien invaders as an option]].

* TimeSkip: It's presented that an (unspecified) measure of time has passed since "Legacy" as Superman has managed to repair the people's trust in him to some degree (whereas they seemed to near-universally distrust him after that).

--> '''Flash:''' "Dibs on the Amazon!"

Two astronauts explore an underground cavern on Mars, when one of them, J. Allen Carter, stumbles onto a large ornate door. As he forces it open, something rushes out, reaching towards him...

Two years later, Batman spies on a satellite communications facility operated by Wayne Tech and catches three employees tampering the equipment. He is taken by surprise by them, as they are not human to begin with. However, Superman arrives and forces the employees to flee. Before he and Batman can deal with them, Superman sees strange images in his mind and is rendered temporarily unconscious. The two heroes later discuss what happened in which Batman explains that this station is the latest in a series of events that has been sending strange encrypted signals into space. Superman offers his help, but Batman declines. Superman hands him a communicator to use in case he needs help.

Meanwhile, J. Allen Carter is now a U.S. Senator and making headway for boldly proposing the world into total nuclear disarmament. He champions Superman as Earth's protector, believing that the Man of Steel is both reliable and more than capable of handing any threat to the Earth. Superman embraces the idea, despite protests from the military and other sources. As Superman works to disarm the world's nuclear weapons, Batman continues his investigation. He traces the three fake scientists to a warehouse in Metropolis, where he discovers the three real scientists, unconscious, inside alien-looking containers. Then he is attacked by a alien guard dog and forces him to contact Superman. Superman arrives, and manages to save Batman, but then both of them watch as a meteor comes down from the sky and crashes into the heart of Metropolis. From the crater, a massive alien war machine appears, and begins attacking. Superman and Batman throw their efforts in subduing the war machine, but more meteors containing similar machines begins landing all around the Earth.

While preparing to fight again, Superman suffers another psychic migraine; entranced, he flies away. Batman flies after Superman, tracking him to a U.S. Army base. Inside, they find a green-skinned alien being held prisoner inside. Freed, the alien introduces himself as J'onn J'onzz. Before he can tell his story, the trio are confronted by a group of army soldiers. Superman tries to explain, but soon the soldiers shapeshift into white-skinned aliens. The three are forced to run, but are pursued. Fortunately, they are assisted by the timely arrival of four more heroes: Green Lantern John Stewart, Hawkgirl of Thanagar, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. All these heroes were also summoned by J'onn J'onzz, who explains that the white aliens, the Imperium, invaded his home planet Mars thousands of years ago and all but wiped out J'onn's people. J'onn was the lone survivor of a strike mission that incapacitated the invaders, and he sealed them away in an underground chamber five hundred years ago until the astronauts released them while J'onn was hibernating. J'onn came to Earth to warn them, but was captured on arrival by the Imperium. Instead, he used his partially-blocked telepathic powers to summon the heroes together.

With their presence established, the Imperium are using factories that project an ionizing field into the atmosphere, creating a cloud cover that shrouds the entire planet from the sun, as J'onn explains that the invaders are nocturnal. The heroes agree that the factories should be investigated and destroyed, which they are split into three groups. But during one incursion, the group consisting of Batman, Wonder Woman, and J'onn discovers that the Imperium are fatally vulnerable to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Unfortunately, Batman is apparently killed by the aliens as he tries to hold them off. Meanwhile, Superman and Hawkgirl are captured by the Imperium.

The remaining heroes gather in Metropolis to rescue Superman and Hawkgirl as J'onn warns that the leader of the Imperium will be arriving to Earth soon. The heroes infiltrate the facility holding Superman and Hawkgirl, but are caught in a trap. The six heroes are held captive and are shocked to see Senator Carter appear alongside their captors. Carter is actually an alien in disguise while the real Carter perished on Mars. Using his persona, the aliens learned as much as possible about Earth's defenses, and also tricked humans into disarming their most powerful weapons. With no effective obstacles to their invasion left, the aliens signal a mothership orbiting the Earth, and receive their leader, who then begins torturing J'onn to demand his surrender for having lost everything. But J'onn lets slip that he still has a plan. Then Batman appears, surprising everyone. J'onn explains that he telepathically shielded Batman from detection until then. Batman has used the time to sabotage the Imperium's machines and [[ReversePolarity reversing the field's polarity]], exposing the Imperium to the sun. The heroes are then freed and engage the aliens while the Imperium leader hastily retreats to the mothership while leaving the Carter doppelganger to die. However, Wonder Woman lassoes the shuttle carrying the Imperium leader, which Hawkgirl further damages with her mace, and swings it into the factory, destroying both it and the Imperium. With their plans thwarted, the remaining forces of the Imperium flees into space.

Earth rejoices over the repulse of the invasion, but several skeptics stated that they are only lucky and are certain that the Imperium or a similar threat will return. A short time later, the heroes assemble aboard a large space station orbiting the Earth, built and launched in secret by Wayne Enterprises. Batman has the station to provide advance warning in case of another invasion. Superman addresses the assembled heroes, saying that the invasion has proved to him that even he isn't powerful enough to safeguard the Earth by himself. He proposes the formation of the Justice League.

* JustForFun/DyingLikeAnimals: Wonder Woman isn't impressed seeing people looting, but HumansAreBastards is averted when we see two people trying to free trapped children, helped by Green Lantern.

* HandshakeRefusal: Batman refuses to shake hands with J'onn J'onzz because as Superman describes "he doesn't trust anyone." J'onn remarks it as a wise policy.

* TakeThat: The entire premise of aliens having Superman destroy nukes could be seen as a far more realistic take on the ending for ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace''...If reality had [[SpaceWhaleAesop alien invaders as an option]].

* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Justified. After hearing J'onn's story, Flash asks him why he doesn't make another batch of the nerve gas he used the first time he stopped the Imperium. J'onn explains that [[SimpleSolutonWontWork the gas can only be made by a rare Martian plant, and the only sample he brought with him was destroyed upon his capture]].