Sight and Sound: "Divided We Fall"

"Divided We Fall," a pivotal installment of Justice League Unlimited, written by Dwayne McDuffie and directed by Joaquim dos Santos, aired 16 July 2005 on Cartoon Network. In this thrilling, action-packed sequence from the episode ("Less talking, more hitting," as Hawkgirl would put it), a merged Brainiac-Luthor creates a gang of mechanical warriors to bring down the world's greatest superheroes. Creatively, however, the near-omnipotent supervillain chooses to model these deadly androids on the Justice League's dark counterparts from an alternate timeline, the Justice Lords! The scarlet speedster's mirror image bears a familiar yellow and red costume; indeed, this is the closest the series would come to offering the Reverse-Flash a guest appearance. Interestingly, the deadly doppleganger attempts to taunt the Flash with insults attacking his insecurities: "Slacker! Child! Clown!" These barbs reflect Wally West's distinctive role on the team throughout this series as well as the anxieties that haunted him during his early years as the Flash. Fortunately, the monarch of motion is unmoved by such a verbal assault, and he certainly has the moves to obliterate such a foe.