Superman on Television

Justice League Action: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episodes 15: "Hat Trick"

Reviewed by: Thomas Dreyfuss

Justice League Action 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)

5Rating - 5 (out of 5): "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.



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