The Greatest Story Never Told
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| Justice League Unlimited episode | |
|---|---|
| |
| "The Greatest Story Never Told" | |
| Airdate: | September 11th, 2004 |
| Production Number: | 8 |
| Airdate Order: | 7 |
| Animation Services by: | Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD. |
| Written by: | Andrew Kreisberg |
| Directed by: | Dan Riba |
| Episode images (7) | |
"The Greatest Story Never Told" is the seventh episode of Justice League Unlimited, and originally aired on September 11, 2004. The Justice League is in epic battle with Mordru in downtown Metropolis, but the real story is what happens to Booster Gold while he's supposed to be on "crowd control".
Contents |
Plot 
Edit
Booster Gold is a glory-seeking showboat from the future, but despite his aspirations of attaining wealth and glory as a member of the Justice League, he can't seem to catch a break. Between getting snubbed by J'onn J'onzz for high-profile League missions and being mistaken for Green Lantern by autograph seekers, Booster is sick of being treated like a second-stringer. Ironically, this is the very reason why he's snubbed by many of the other League members; He's less motivated by genuine altruism and more interested in becoming a celebrity.
After practically begging J'onn for more work, he is dispatched with the Justice League reserves to aid the first team during a battle with the powerful sorcerer Mordru. However, upon arrival, Booster and Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man are relegated to crowd control duties by Batman. Booster and Ralph jaw for a bit about their perceived lower status just as Wonder Woman arrives asking for help—but only from Elongated Man.
Booster and his robot sidekick/cheerleader Skeets attempt to make the most of their position, however the closest thing to action Booster finds is the rescue of a child's ant farm from a burning building. His reward for this is once again being called "Green Lantern".
However, there is an accident at a local S.T.A.R. Labs facility; a young and attractive physicist informs Booster that one of her colleagues was caught in a power surge while working on an experiment. As a result, the man is now a miniature black hole. Booster is excited by a chance to save the world and maybe even get the girl, so he and Skeets agree to try and stop the black hole with a special disruptor collar. But Booster becomes discouraged as his plans go awry for various reasons:
- Booster is almost flattened by a car hurled from the scene of the main battle, miles away.
- A wild cast of Mordu's magic accidentally brings a ten-story building in Booster's vicinity to life—with an appetite.
- Skeets is sucked into the mini-black hole.
In the middle of all this, Booster somehow finds time to deliver a baby to a woman stuck in an abandoned ambulance. The new mother gratefully says, "Thank you, Green Lantern".
A dejected Booster admits to the young woman that in the future he was actually a failure, and that he essentially ran away to the 21st century in a desperate attempt to be somebody. However, with the encouragement of his "damsel-in-distress", Booster is able to attach the disruptor collar and save the world. All of the consumed matter—Skeets included—is ejected back into the world.
Naturally, no one outside of the parties involved know what happened. A few miles downtown, the Justice League has just wrapped up the Mordru situation, thanks to Elongated Man saving the day. Batman lectures Booster for leaving his crowd control post, but the would-be Justice League superstar can't put an explanation into words and instead simply sulks.
Then one voice calls out, "excuse me, Green Lantern?" Booster Gold immediately says in anger that for the last time, he is not Green Lantern; In surprise, he sees the person who called out to him was only joking, and he is greatly cheered up by the re-appearance of a certain former "damsel-in-distress", who wants to take her hero out on a date...
Background information Edit
Home video releases Edit
- Justice League Unlimited - Season One (DVD)
- Justice League - The Complete Series (DVD)
- Justice League Unlimited - Joining Forces (DVD)
- Justice League: 3-Pack Fun (DVD)
Production notes Edit
- This episode was originally going to focus on superhero Firestorm but it was changed to Booster Gold.[1]
Production inconsistencies Edit
- During the briefing at the Watchtower, Doctor Light runs off before her name is called.
- When Tracy is comforting Daniel after the collar has been applied, all of the objects are expunged back out the black hole, save for the two paramedics.
Trivia Edit
- At one point Booster Gold talks with a Superman/Batman hybrid with Wonder Woman's voice, this form resembles Composite Superman.
- Skeets' line, "My gosh! It was full of stars!" after being ejected from the black hole is a reference to a similar comment made by David Bowman on the Stargate in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- His Milton quote "They also serve who only stand and wait" comes from Sonnet XIX.
- Plastic Man is mentioned in this episode but is never seen in the DCAU. Whether his non-depiction is simply an oversight or due to legal issues is not clear. Plastic Man is merely a dropped name and a rare "name only" cameo by a DC Comics superhero.
- Skeets is voiced by Billy West, the voice of space delivery boy Fry (and other characters) on Futurama; in that series, West plays a human whose best friend is a robot; in this series he plays the robotic best friend of a human.
- Chris Cox replaces George Eads as the voice of Captain Atom.
- Lori Loughlin played Carolyn Lance, a former Black Canary, and the mother of one of the main heroes, on the short-lived Birds of Prey TV series.
- Booster says "Energize!" on the transporter pad, in tribute to Star Trek.
Cast Edit
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman |
| Susan Eisenberg | Wonder Woman |
| Phil LaMarr | Green Lantern |
| Carl Lumbly | J'onn J'onzz |
| Tom Everett Scott | Booster Gold |
| Billy West | Skeets Dr. Daniel Brown (uncredited) Transporter Tech (uncredited) |
| Lori Loughlin | Dr. Tracy Simmons |
| Jeremy Piven | Elongated Man Scientist (uncredited) |
| Chris Cox | Captain Atom |
| Kath Soucie | Young Boy Pregnant Woman (uncredited) |
Uncredited appearances Edit
Quotes Edit
J'onn J'onzz: I have never sensed such malevolent magic in one being. Unless Mordru can be defeated, I fear for every living creature on the planet. |
Booster Gold: Energize! |
Elongated Man: "We don't need two stretchy guys". This is so not fair! I mean, okay, I realize that Plastic Man is in the League too, I'm not dissing the guy's skills, but come on! I have it all over that guy! Once I disguised myself as a vase for like, three days! |
Booster Gold: Is there a chance you could stop complaining for five minutes? |
Skeets: "They also serve who only stand and wait." John Milton. |
Booster Gold: I have officially hit rock bottom. |
Booster Gold: She's beautiful, and in distress! My favorite kind of damsel. |
Tracy Simmons: (her first words upon waking) We're all gonna die! |
Booster Gold: Oh, man, we are so lucky! All I have to do is pop this collar onto Mr. Black Hole, save the world, and then it's champagne and strawberries for me and the hot doctor! |
Booster Gold: If they knew... if she knew the truth... |
Booster Gold: I blew it! |
Skeets: Sir, according to my thermal sensor readings of Dr. Simmons, you just missed a prime opportunity to... well, I believe the phrase is, "kiss the girl." |
Tracy Simmons: (offscreen) Excuse me, Green Lantern? |
Booster Gold: Squeaky wheel, buddy. Squeaky wheel. |
Footnotes Edit
- ↑ Bruce Timm at ToonZone
| Previously produced episode: "The Return" | Episodes of Justice League Unlimited | Next produced episode: "Ultimatum" |
| Previously aired episode: "Fearful Symmetry" | Next aired episode: "The Return" |
