A Look at Question Authority (Justice League Unlimited)
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- čas přidán 14. 11. 2022
- The Question descends into despair when he uncovers a scenario that even he can't cope with. So the answer is: murder! That'll prove to everyone who said he was crazy that they're so wrong!
"The plastic tips at the end of shoe laces are called aglets... their *true* purpose... **is sinister**" , which was one of the things he says when asked what does he know, has stuck with me for 16 years now.
Question was a wonderful addition to JLU, it made me a fan of the character, and Jeffery Comb brings him to life expertly
I blame Phineas and Ferb.
On a more serious note, it really annoys me because it suggests that either Question (or the writer) has never had to deal with shoelaces that have lost/destroyed aglets.
@@boobah5643 only other time I've ever seen Aglets mentioned was during an episode of Jimmy Neutron with the James Bond pastiche. But I've always liked this line best
And that's exactly what they want you to think!
@@FranklyImaPerson I know exactly who you're talking about, but I forget his name. I remember the Femme Fatale, but not the Bond riff.
I really wish we could have had a whole series of this version of The Question... He was just the right mix of oblivious, paranoid, badass, and hilarious.
The funny thing about Question's conspiracy theories is that he lives in a comic-book universe, so there's a fairly high chance that the things he believes in are actually true.
The Question shows why Batman likes him. Yes, he's a conspiracy nut. But someone with that kind of imagination can also see the true connections others can't.
Fun fact batman at one point said that question might be a better detective then he is.
Jeffery Combs is one of the most under appreciated actors I know of. Dude should’ve had a much bigger career.
I was really disappointed they didn't invite him to do a brief role as an alt Strange in Dr. Strange's MoM.
Having him be in a Live-Action DC property would be easy. Put an actor in the clothes with a mask and have Combs ADR.
I love character actors FAR more than the media pushed celebs!
Andrew J Robinson, Jeffery Combs, Paul Dooley, etc... all wonderful and excellent!
@@traverserthein-between9359 But that would demand competence from Warner Bros and if they had that, they would no longer be incompetent. And that would go against their brand.
@@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm I mean, it's not actually their deliberate brand. They just do so well selling at as their resulting brand.
Amazing how a D-list DC character like Question can suddenly become everyone's favourite like he did 😊
Good writing is a powerful tool.
@@bthsr7113 Good writing and a compelling actor. Jeffrey Combs definitely understood the assignment.
Question has such beautiful eyes.
I didn't appreciate Jeffrey Combs' Question until I watched Star Trek DS9, but after I did, man I love the DCAU incarnation even more and has become my favorite role of Combs.
Another favorite role is Ratchet in Transformers Prime.
@@ChaosSepher Superb crotchety doctor.
@@ChaosSepher Agreed. We needed that.
The question was such an amazing character. JLU was just "Here's how many cool characters we should make shows and movies but won't : the animated series".
Even so many years later, it is impressive how intense the Timverse shows were allowed to get in the era they came out in.
JL/JLU definitely ratcheted that up from previous Timmverse shows, even going into hard PG territory with the implied sex, language, etc. along with the level of violence and death (both on and offscreen). With the show being aired on CN instead of network TV the creators were allowed to push more boundaries.
@@wristofkings Pour one out for those days of CN..... and hope we see their like again.
@@bthsr7113 🍷
This episode is the one I like the most for showing the true colors of people. Mostly in that bit with Hamilton, because in the end, no matter what Superman MIGHT do, Hamilton has fallen so far off the path that he is just straight up evil by this point, and pretending otherwise, is...he's a villain.
For those curious where that comes from. Hamilton has a seat at the table, the big one, and thus, is aware of all the things this group gets up to. From human experimentation to attempted genocide, at least twice only being stopped from committing a war crime because someone in the League was willing to sacrifice themselves to save others FROM Cadmus.
Worse? Galatea is HIS project. She refers to him as Daddy/Father, and is the one in charge there, as he not only made her, but also STOLE Kara's genetic material to save her. He violated the trust of a friend, one who nearly died saving the world it should be noted, and did so without issue or moral complaint. He even knows she kills people, like just people, not all of which are with the League or need to die, sometimes they're just inconvenient, and he's still the one to defend her and offer her comfort.
Even more? He knows about the Ultimen project. He knows that Cadmus is creating Child Soldiers, printing them in fact, and using them as tools. And that's on top of Galatea herself being not but a few years old. Camdus is an Enemy of Mankind(Hostis humani generis) under treaties and conventions that have death penalties attached to them, and he doesn't bat an eye, and in fact, seems to defend that position here.
Hamilton is the worst kind of villain. Lex knows he's a bastard, and revels in it. Darksied knows he's evil, and owns it. Even the JOKER, is a madman who enjoys every moment. But Hamilton is the type of villain to look you in the eye, and claim that he is still a Righteous man, no matter what means he has taken, wrapping himself in his twisted definition of truth and justice, and calling it the moral thing to do.
It would have been almost justified if Superman had decided to kill him, and I honestly am disappointed that he, Waller, and the General survive in this series. They are just the kinds of people that even the League wouldn't save. They wouldn't kill them, but they'd let them be executed by the authorities.
It hits harder if you watch Hamilton in Superman TAS. Dude was Supes friend there;. you could argue Supes kept the researcher at arms length but overall he did give him access to Kryptonian tech and learn more about Kryptonians. He was a trusted ally, and he shattered that trust well and good.
@@Future_Vantas And again, he took Kara, who nearly died fighting Darksied's forces, to this man to be healed. That's the thing, no matter WHAT they think Supes did during that event, Kara was someone who defended them almost to her last breath.
And in return? He violated her, in body and soul, stealing her genetic material and then keeping it, until such time as it would be useful. Remember in the prior episode, they say Cadmus is a newish organization, only a few years old, and made only AFTER the Justice League series, meaning he had to have kept that stuff for YEARS before they ever recruited him.
Again, Hamilton, for all he pretends, is a villain thru and thru, and the fact that this is the closest he ever gets confronted with it disappoints me a bit.
He took a young woman under his care, violated her trust, and from this violation produced a child he raised to hate their genetic source. There's a name for that first crime. If he ever entered a regular prison, the collective glares alone would kill him before he even got processed.
I don't have a problem with Waller; she's got the blinkered view of a life long spook, sure, but within that world view she does her best to make the world a better place. She makes a wonderful antagonist because while it's easy to see where she's wrong, you can also understand and even sympathize with her goals. She's just not genre savvy enough to understand that her methods are guaranteed to fail because of narrative causality.
@@boobah5643 And that's why Hamilton is worse. At least Waller doesn't pretend to be righteous. She's damned herself, and she understands that, but Hamilton thinks he's on the side of angels, while dancing with devils.
They did Question and the cadmus stuff soo good in this show and his conversation with superman before he goes to see Luthor has always been one of my favorite scenes
Also a more sensible use of Task Force X than either of their movies.
"...to do what seems to be his strength this week: destroy buildings"
So I guess this is the Snyderverse Superman, then.
And here I thought that the only thing Synder got from the DCAU is the Lois-Bruce romance
@@Future_Vantas well I don’t know which is worse.
This is my single favorite episode of JLU, and it all rides on Jeffery Combs' performance. The Question is absolutely the MVP of the Cadmus arc, willing to risk his own life and reputation to prevent the worst timeline from coming to pass. Plus he's always an incredibly entertaining character to watch, charming and quick witted for all his kookiness.
There were a lot of characters, but I do wish we got to see more Lois. Her challenging him on his recent action is pretty good though. Her love and respect aren't unconditional. She fell in love with the hero, not the power.
3 terabytes in the early 2000's. That's aged rather well so far.
Huntress and Question were a fun couple.
Hamilton was also on Cadmus' high board that included their token magic expert, a general who only needed a few words to initiate a green K spiked nuclear contingency, and Waller.
"White House Weenie Roast."
The Justice Lords were a mere 7 with an upgunned original Watchtower. This new one has dozens of heroes on roster and came built with WMD grade laser cannon pointing down.
The Question would let himself become a sacrificial Mad Cow.
"President!? Do you know how much power I'd have to give up to be president?" That always chilled me. Along with how this has all been to get under Superman's figurative skin.
"... like pulling the handle on a slot machine of crazy." Nice.
I do like how Superman just takes the fire and carefully slags the guns while Huntress is behind him. It shows he could devastate this place, but is trying to reign it in.
Let's not forget what Hamilton did with Kara's DNA.
The beginning of the end of the legendary Cadmus arc. Good comparisons with Watchmen as there are a number of shared themes here, though Question and Captain Atom are a lot more likeable than Rorshach and Dr. Manhattan. Question is willing to sacrifice both his freedom and reputation to save the world from armageddon. On the other side we have Lex willing to spend 75 million purely on trolling Superman... and it's *working*. Though I wonder if 75 million spent on anti-metahuman media might also achieve the same effect?
Maybe, but A). He's a supervillian, meaning no small acts. And B). Spread a bunch of anti-metahuman/superhero/JL/Superman information would be effective, but I feel letting Superman level an entire town for the poor is much more so. True, it could have gone completely wrong (in which case Luthor still wins because he looks like a good person), but putting Superman in an indefensible position without even having to conjur up lies or twists truths to do so? Much more powerful in the way that allows the truth to seem more solid than a manufactured wave of hate would.
The irony is that the millions spent on anti-metahuman propaganda, if successful, wi'll probably only exacerbate tensions and lead to the very war that Cadmus is supposed to stop.
Further proof that bureaucracies are stupid.
@@cameronmcknight1525 Yeah, Luthor either gets a bleep ton of publicity and the knowledge Superman is Seething, possibly along with a borderline Company Town... or he gets to See Superman make an @r$3 of himself on live TV.
The Question should get his own film noir style show
This is one of my favorite episodes of television ever
I just wish they didn't pull the ejection seat with this on Luthor. The hint for why he's powered up is at least reasonably laid out, but I honestly would have preferred Luthor having a fair fight with Question until he managed to pull a more traditional advantage for him.
I guess you know about the Devil’s Reign in Marvel comics right?
This is one of the best arcs of this entire series.
I really respect question as someone who follows his ideals wherever they may lead. He a real one
Um, no. "Someone who follows his ideals wherever they may lead" is often the worst person to follow, because a person like that never questions themselves if their "ideals" might be _wrong._ Because all too often in history, where it led to was into despotism, into a reign of terror after a well-intentioned revolution, into religious fanatism.
Just because the Question happens to be _right_ because he's the protagonist and the writers made sure he would be right, doesnt mean you should glorify that standpoint. Too many people, esp in the USA, seem to mistake narcissism or pigheaded stubbornness to "stick to one's guns" and "stay the course" even in the face of facts to the contrary as some noble personality trait. While people who change their mind when realizing they were wrong are derided as "flip-floppers" and changing one's mind is falsely equated with hypocrits switching allegiances at the drop of a hat for personal gain.
Hamilton's actions are motivated by the events of the Darkseid invasion shown in Superman: TAS, where Hamilton was a staunch ally of Supes. However when Supergirl is nearly killed Hamilton doesn't want to treat her for fear of treason and Supes literally threatens to kill Hamilton if he will not help. Hamilton remembers, and hence his actions in Justice League.
Yeah and I wonder why Lois wasn’t charged for treason and never went to jail for breaking and entering and assault on a very respected businessman and a army general.
@@srstriker6420 correct answer is cuz nobody thought it would make a good story or remembered.
The more fun answer I think is to speculate that people in the government thought about holding it in reserve in case they needed to pressure her was more useful than having to risk Superman taking her side.
So fun fact about Question and Rorschach, in comics Question actually reads the book watchmen and tries to imitate Rorschach and gets his ass kicked for it. That comic would end up being the basis for him and Green Arrow teaming up during JLU cartoon.
Wait he got beaten...?? What was the name of that comic
@@Moon07887 Question, Volume 2, it was during the time he teamed up with Green Arrow to capture two killers.
Question 1987, the plot starts in 16, then the fight is in 17, and conclusion is in 18.
Though I would recommend reading the entire run, it is only 36 issues. Izzie was a corrupt cop, and is trying to change, the city's mayor is a drunken idiot, and vic sage is trying to save the city.
4:10
You know, one thing I didn't think about until this rewatch...where did Cadmus get that video from the other universe? It's not like Justice Lord Batman gave Batman(JLPRime) all those files, and even if he did, they wouldn't have then been shared with Cadmus, and one of the later points is that the Batcomputer is so well protected that they can't hack it.
I always wondered that too, and the best explanation I can come up with is that they managed to build the same thing the Lord Batman made to look into other universes.
@@mikegates8993 That's possible, though that would imply he can also rewind the viewer to view past events too...which was actually a story all on its own by Isaac Asimov in 'The Dead Past'.
The past viewer item, a fishbowl like device, was so game changing, because it basically means crime and privacy are a thing of the past, because you literally can't get away with anything now, as someone could come into the room and just rewind to the point you committed the crime.
Mind, that one ends on a sour note for me, as this big conspiracy tries to kill the inventor, acting all mysterious and stuff, but then they try to claim near the end that they were doing this to preserve social order, as, again, it basically removes privacy entirely, so long as you have access to the space you want to view.
Problem for me was not only did the conspiracy START trying to kill them solely because it revealed their murder of a few political types, but they killed several uninvolved people over the course of the book, so it felt like spin doctoring...that the author agreed with for some reason.
Waller did say they made simulations.
@@ChaosSepher Yeah, but those are sims of the League vs the Government, they didn't say it was sims of him killing Luthor, the only reason to have that in a sim is just to use against Luthor as some kind of leverage. Help us, or this could happen to you, sort of thing.
@@SageofStars I guess you know about the Devil’s Reign in Marvel comics?
This is Timm making fun of Rorschach and Ditko.
What's neat is Question displays outside the box thinking to kill Luthor: Remove the source of the problem and there will be no problem. It's what Ozymandias would do.
Yeah but ozymandias only does things to feed his own ego and he won't let his reputation be tarnished but killing someone like Luther. Question did it to save the world even if it will end with him being seen as a murderer.
What Hamilton said to Superman was some heavy harsh stuff, because to say that he was like Lucifer was harsh and different. When Lucifer betrayed God and waged war in Heaven, he did it on his own Free Will whereas with Superman he was brainwashed when he attacked Earth.
No, silly. This is the JUSTICE LEAGUE
They'd only make an Authority Cartoon on HBO
If I had seen that episode in undergrad, I might have understood a few things with girls back then.
Hmm yes lore of justice League unlimited momentum 100
I wish Jeffery combs was in more things he’s such a good actor
Hey chuck! Drink hot lemon water with emergen-C it is pretty good for the voice. Hope you get well soon!
It's was great idea. To put superman and huntress together.
Have you thaut about do spawn the animate sieres
combs as question is so utterly sexy on a level i do not even fully understand! like if i had dripping wet jason momoa or mud wrestling chris hemsworth to pick from i'd still lean toward question...
i totally get why huntress falls for him and their arc is my favourite in thr series!
This is certainly better than reading about The Question & Green Arrow get into an ugly political debate as seen in that awful DK2 comic!
@SFDebrisRed Hey, are you ok Chuck? Your voice seems to be cracking in these reposts...maybe you're re-recording them?
It’s 2018
If I recall correctly, several of the recent reuploads were originally recorded when he had the flu. Hence the rough and strained voice.
To this point that Lex has gone to far to the point of being like Who shot J.R from Dallas and Who shot Mr Burns Mr Burns from the Simpsons
Hamilton does have about Superman because shouldn’t have grabbed him like that so it is definitely on Superman for doing that.
Also do you think that Superman and Lex should have a symbiotic relationship like Lex is sorta Superman’s caretaker because he is probably the only one who cleans the damages.
Better Lex Luther for President rather than Donald Trump or any other fascist MAGA Republican.
Luthor, trump and Biden are all fascists
Since after Superman Tas finale Prof Hamilton is now no use to anymore😑😠because of Superman’s actions.. only it wasn’t he by himself was only brainwashed by Darkseid and his minions that captured him and should have more to realize who he is but is now in trembling with fear of his powers Hamilton is now a villain.. 👨🏼🏫😰👿and cause Superman has Batman on his side👍 even as mortal hero who likes and trusts him in honesty now loyal friends with on the team and watch each other backs🦇🤝🦸🏻❤️👍 is a better detective than he is who jumps conclusions without proof 😂and understands better (well almost, despite of knowledgeable genius in dry humor but doesn’t know of ‘the feeling’ which is one small problem☝️of how he had to deal thru under brainwash took over his vessel had no control could not stop it and didn’t exactly explain positive to help him thru pain but instead said it in cold and taunting telling to get over it which is a Dick response😏 and not reminding him the idea of plan with before agreeing when locking bad guys away🤪) and is aware of precautions the next time it happens again, he’d figures a way to redeem to his own self from a threat taking over his 🧠😵💫🦹🏻♂️