Flash and Substance

This episode is just excellent on so many levels. But what stands out to me is the general take on what makes a true hero. So often superheroes or heroes of myth get relegated to punching the evil away. Even the terrific Cadmus arch of the previous season still ends with an unambiguous villian getting punched to save the day.

And while I love that kind of story, we often forget the real heroes are people who can also handle problems with empathy and peaceful means. This is excellently explored in "Epilogue" as well but that's more overt and expository.

Here we get to see why someone like Flash stands out amongst his peers. He is the unstoppable optimist and truly wants people to be happy. He enjoys being the people's hero, even doing non super hero acts of charity and kindness bc that's what he lives for.

He lives modestly and truly loves the citizens of his city. The villians in the episode are also characterized as real people who have more human motivations than just power and evil. A bunch of low on their luck crooks who happen to have super powers, with some great banter between them.

But the best scene with the trickster (I won't spoil it here). It's quick but impactful and unexpected, but mostly it shows that the Flash's greatest power is not his speed, but his kindness. And it will always be my favorite scene in the DCAU.

If you haven't seen this episode yet, I highly recommend. I decided to have a quiet night in and go through some old episodes of the Justice League Unlimited.

Although not the best episode of season 5, it definitely is entertaining. In Flash and Substance, there definitely is substance.

This episode develops deeper into one of our original 7 superhero's life. I think it is always interesting when the writers do back stories of the characters life (especially the Flash's) because he is so different than the rest of the cast of Super Hero's with his quirkiness and originality.

Season 5 definitely digs deeper into the Flash's persona and how important his personality is to the rest of the team. As was mentioned in the commentary, Flash could be one of the, and possible the most powerful hero's if he was less theatrically – but the story itself reconciles with the fact that it is not that way, and the Flash is indeed the glue that holds it all together (As was mentioned in previous story arcs) This is less serious of an episode, and more playful than the rest of the series. Like the others, it is a masterpiece of its own 8/10