Line #1 Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E4And5InBlackestNight


1	Green Lantern surrenders himself to robotic Manhunters to stand trial for the destruction of a planet. While Flash acts as John's attorney, the rest of the League discovers that Kanjar Ro actually helped the Manhunters frame John.
2
3	!!Tropes:
4	* AdaptationalJerkass: The present Green Lanterns in the story all growl at how John Stewart is a disgrace because of what he is accused of. In the comics, the Green Lantern Corps encourages a strong esprit de corps with its members and would ''never'' condemn one of their own so easily at least until all the facts have been examined. In fact, the Guardians themselves would have had no shortage of volunteers in the Corps to conduct in an internal investigation of the incident. Though they at least realize their mistake not giving John the benefit of the doubt.
5	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: InUniverse: The Manhunters overlooked a critical detail that results in their FrameUp being exposed: Moons don't stay in orbit if their planet gets destroyed.
6	* TheAtoner: John surrenders to make up for what he thinks is his biggest mistake.
7	* BadassCreed:
8	** "No man escapes the Manhunters."
9	** And, of course, the Green Lantern oath. John recites it in full while absorbing the entire Power Battery into his ring.
10	* BarBrawl: Hawkgirl confronts the members of the Corps who are unwilling to help John, calling him a disgrace, at a bar. This infuriates Hawkgirl and causes her to single-handedly beat up four of the five Lanterns present. Kilowog sits the fight out, eventually breaking it up after deciding Hawkgirl has a point.
11	* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: Averted. Superman and J'onn are on the barren, airless moon for an extended period. Naturally, they need to use spacesuits, but just for the lack of atmosphere.
12	* BigNo: From the lead Manhunter as John expels his essence from the Power Battery.
13	* CompositeCharacter: John Stewart replaces Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern who gets convicted for a crime that they did not commit.
14	* ConfidenceSabotage: The Manhunters make John Stewart believe he was responsible for destroying a planet which causes him to not want to defend himself.
15	* ClippedWingAngel: The head Manhunter successfully breaches Oa and absorbs all the energy in the Central Battery, growing giant...but John easily manages to stop him by merely re-absorbing all the energy (including the Manhunter himself) and sending it back to the Central Battery.
16	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Three Manhunters were able to give the Justice League a tough time. An army of them drop like flies.
17	* ContinuityCameo: Originally, the witness was going to just be some random nobody. The creative team, though, thought it would be fun to use Kanjar Ro, who was a big-time villain during the team's early days in the comics.
18	* {{Determinator}}: After the lead Manhunter claims the entire Power Battery:
19	-->'''Guardian:''' All is lost...\
20	'''John:''' Not while I'm still standing.
21	* DirtyCoward: Hawkgirl calls the other Green Lanterns cowards for insisting that they stay away from John. They did ''not'' take kindly to it.
22	* DumbassHasAPoint: Flash interrupts the trial as only he can, but one of the judges admits he has a point and that they should put to rest any lingering doubts about the case.
23	* EasilyForgiven: Averted, unsurprisingly. Also, John ''doesn't'' easily forgive [[WithFriendsLikeThese his fellow Lanterns]] for not considering his own innocence [[TrueCompanions like the League did]].
24	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Kanjar Ro claiming that while he might be a thief, "it's nothing compared to what [John] did!", which would be true if the whole thing wasn't a ruse that he was in on.
25	* EvilLawyerJoke:
26	-->'''Flash''': Don't you have any lawyers here?
27	-->'''Chief Judge''': We solved our lawyer problem a long time ago.
28	-->'''Third Judge''': However, you could speak for him if you wish.
29	-->'''Second Judge''': But be aware: If you lose, you will share the same penalty as the accused.
30	-->'''Flash''': The same penalty? You mean...That's crazy!
31	-->'''Chief Judge''': No, that's how we solved our lawyer problem.
32	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
33	** Likely unintentional, but Flash asks Hawkgirl whether there is a "Hawkboy" (if she was seeing anyone on Thanagar). Hawkgirl just smiles coyly and flies off. It turns out Hawkgirl ''does'' [[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E24To26Starcrossed have a boyfriend]].
34	** Early on, after one of the Green Lanterns calls a Manhunter “Stupid robot”, the Manhunter is about to turn and kill him, before the lead Manhunter stops him, saying “Not yet”, hinting that the Manhunters have a grudge against the Green Lantern Corps that this is meant to resolve.
35	* FrameUp: John Stewart is framed for destroying a planet as part of the Manhunters' scheme to discredit and distract the Guardians and the Corps so they can make their move.
36	* FriendshipMoment: After being rightly upset at his fellow Lanterns for not having faith in his true character, John sincerely thanks the Leaguers for believing in him even though he himself didn't believe in his own innocence.
37	* HeroAntagonist: The League find themselves fighting the defense forces when they arrive on Ajuris 5.
38	* HeroicBSOD: As John believes he is guilty of destroying Adjuris 4, he turns himself in to the Manhunters to brought Adjuris 5 for his trial, and doesn’t even try to defend himself to prove his innocence. He snaps out of it, when the Justice League proves the planet was never destroyed.
39	* HumanAliens: Hawkgirl forgets for a moment that Superman isn't human. He takes it as a compliment.
40	* JawDrop: When the League proves in court that the planet was never destroyed in dramatic fashion, everyone, especially the prosecutor, is agape for being played for fools.
41	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The Lanterns for not trusting John, if their reaction to being snubbed is anything to go by.
42	* ThePowerOfFriendship: The Leaguers do everything possible to prove John's innocence.
43	-->'''John:''' You believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself.\
44	'''Flash:''' Hey, what are friends for?
45	* PragmaticAdaptation: This episode is loosely adapted from a 1977 two-part story that ran in ''Justice League of America'' #140-141, titled "No Man Escapes the Manhunter" and "No World Escapes the Manhunters".
46	* ProperlyParanoid: Superman in particular questions the evidence and has a hunch that things aren't what they seem. He and J'onn end up proving the planet was never destroyed.
47	* RejectedApology: When John Stewart is proven innocent, the other Green Lanterns admit they should've known better than to view and treat him as an outlaw like everyone else did. In response, John coldly agrees and walks off.
48	* ShoutOut: Flash's attempts to stall the trial involves making one to Johnnie Cochran during the OJ Simpson Trial.
49	-->'''Flash''': If the ring wasn't lit, you must acquit!
50	* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: The Manhunters were assumed to be barely Type 3. The heroes later find out that they're smart enough to at least betray the Guardians and frame Green Lantern John Stewart for genocide. One even attempts to be a DeusEstMachina.
51	* SpottingTheThread: Superman and Martian Manhunter notice something very important while investigating -- if John destroyed a planet, why is its moon still in orbit?
52	* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: John returns to his old neighborhood and encounters Mr. [=McGee=], his old history teacher. Seeing the old man has a grandson now makes John realize he's been away for a long time.
53	* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: The ability to destroy a planet goes beyond that shown by other heroes in the same series (to the point that an explosion worth several Kilotons was considered dangerous even for Superman), and although the destruction turned out to be a lie, the fact that that Green Lantern can destroy a planet is not in doubt.
54	* SurpriseWitness: The irony wasn't lost on Flash, who introduced Kilowog as a "surprise witness". When asked which sort of witness he was, Flash came with a joke about Kilowag's size. He winds up as a character witness.
55	* TrialOfTheMysticalJury: An alien court accuses Green Lantern of blowing up an entire planet. The Flash offers to be GL's lawyer.
56	* TrueCompanions: Green Lantern realizes that when the chips were down, when even he believed in his own guilt, it was the Justice League who backed him.
57	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: The Manhunters were built by the Guardians of Oa as a precursor to the Green Lanterns. Their inability to discern morality led to the Guardians stripping them of their original role, relegating them to lesser duties. The Manhunters resented this demotion and the entire trial was a ruse for them to invade Oa and kill the Guardians.
58	* UnconventionalCourtroomTactics: Flash stalls time by offering to be John's lawyer.
59	* WhamLine: "I did it. I'm guilty."
60	* WhatTheHellHero:
61	** Hawkgirl condemns the other Lanterns for not even trying to give John the benefit of the doubt or trying to help him, leading to the brawl. Kilowog (who sat out the resulting fight) admits she's absolutely right and tries to help John.
62	** When the other Lanterns finally admit they were wrong and should've known better, John indignantly says, "Yeah, you should've," and walks off.
63	* WrittenInAbsence: Heading down to Earth, J'onn notes Wonder Woman is busy with another case and that Batman would just say he's too busy to help right now. Subverted with Superman, who's said to be busy with an earthquake but shows up anyway because "It was just a 4.0."
64	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: The Guardians praise John Stewart for saving Oa, stating that they chose wisely for giving a lantern ring to him.
65	* YouExclamation: John yells this out before attacking Kanjar Ro for framing him.

Context Recap / JusticeLeagueS1E4And5InBlackestNight