“Justice League Action” Episode Review – S01E15 “Hat Trick”

Superman Homepage reviewer Thomas Dreyfuss reviews episodes from the “Justice League Action” Animated Series, airing on Cartoon Network.

Check out his review of the 15th episode of Season 1 in which Felix Faust steals Zatanna’s hat in order to free a massive demon and get his youth back. While Batman and Etrigan face off against the demon, Zatanna uses every trick in her arsenal to get her hat back from Felix Faust.

Originally Aired: December 11, 2016 (Poland); April 8, 2017 (U.S.)

Written by Duane Capizzi
Directed by Shaunt Nigoghossian

CAST:
Kevin Conroy as Batman (voice)
Lacey Chabert as Zatanna (voice)
Patrick Seitz as Merlin/Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon (voice)
Jon Cryer as Felix Faust (voice)

Rating – 5 (out of 5): I need to talk to you about Justice League Action. And I don’t mean this weekend’s episode (which I will get to and it so happens to be pretty good). But if you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’d like to discuss the current state of the series. JLA went on hiatus last week here in the states (where I live and conduct business) and it’s back this week with “Hat Trick”. But we won’t get another “new” episode for another two weeks and I use that term loosely seeing as several episodes including “Hat Trick” have already aired in Europe. All of that coupled with the lousy Saturday Morning at 7.00am time slot, the lack of promotion on Cartoon Network’s part, and the absence of JLA from Cartoon Network’s upfront’s has left me feeling weary. It would seem that the writing’s on the wall for JLA as the network’s efforts to bury this show before it could even find an audience have lead many to jump to the conclusion that the series is cancelled. And I… refuse to accept this.

Look, I was there when Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice were simultaneously canceled. But I was a part of the fan movement across the twitterverse rallied together to bring awareness to the ailing DC Nation. But the level of apathy on display is disturbing as the fans have accepted the inevitable without even trying to mount any kind of pressure on Cartoon Network. At this time, I remain optimistic that this intro will serve as a wake call to anyone in doubt. Heed these words, spread the message, and support your shows while they’re still on the air. It’s over until it’s over! But I digress…

“Hat Trick” pits Zatanna against Felix Faust in an epic magical duel over Zatanna’s top hat. Why? Because Faust stole Zatanna’s hat to free a massive demon called Ghast in exchange for Faust’s youth. After being a damsel in “Speed Demon,” it was nice to see Zatanna kick all kinds of ass in this episode. Lacey Chabert and Jon Cryer were great in their respective roles and the thought put into each magician’s spells felt clever.

By far the weakest part of the episode is Batman and Etrigan’s team up against Ghast which retreaded ground from “Speed Demon”. It was cool to see Batman risk his life to save civilians from Ghast’s immolation blast (because that’s what heroes do) and it’s always cool to see Etrigan use his hellfire breath (because that’s what he does), but this second team up is nowhere near as fun as seeing the pair drive around in an enchanted ice cream truck. And in the end, Batman and Etrigan can’t stop Ghast, but Zatanna conjures a spell to return the giant demon back to her hat. It’s a cool moment for Zatanna that undermines the whole Batman/Etrigan team up aspect of this episode. So while I enjoyed “Hat Trick,” I’m starting to grow a little weary of these Justice League Dark episodes of Justice League Action.

Check out the “Justice League Action – Episode Reviews” Contents page.