♪ Christmas
♪ The snow's coming down
♪ Christmas
♪ I'm watching it fall
♪ Christmas
♪ Lots of people around
♪ Christmas
♪ Baby, please come home
♪ Christmas
♪ The church bells in town
♪ Christmas
♪ Are ringing in song
♪ Christmas
♪ Full of happy sounds
♪ Christmas. ♪ Baby, please come home
Hey, Johnny, what are you doing down here?
Well, we finally get everybody back together
to take on the ISA and...
they bench me.
Yeah, well, Starman asked me to stay behind, too,
to get the Rocket Racer ready just... just in case.
Life on the bench.
Doesn't feel good, does it, Stripesy?
Speaking honestly, it can be a little rough on the old ego,
but I trust whatever Sylvester thinks is best.
Spoken like a loyal sidekick.
Hey, nothing wrong with being a sidekick.
Yeah, but see, that's the thing.
I'm not even that.
I'm the JSA charity case.
Heck, Pat, on paper,
Thunderbolt is more powerful than Green Lantern,
Flash, all of 'em combined,
but in my hands,
it's nothing but another mess for the JSA to clean up.
♪ 'Cause I remember when you were here ♪
♪ And all the fun we had
Oh, hey, how's a little eggnog sound?
It's my dad's old recipe.
It's got a little kick too.
Ooh, I like a kick!
They got Solomon Grundy.
What?
You need backup? You got 'em.
Sorry, Pat. Just Johnny.
But, Wildcat, I mean, you know,
we're talking about the entire ISA now, right?
- Members only. - Sylvester insisted.
Hey!
You got a kid to look out for.
There's nothing more important.
Let's go.
Okay, good luck.
Thanks, Stripesy.
Hey, when I get back we'll have that eggnog, okay?
♪ Oh, please
♪ Christmas
♪ Oh, please
- Hey, boys, it's Dugan. - There he is.
- Hey! - Oh, Dugan!
Morning, Dugan.
Devin, Lutz, Marky,
it's a little early, don't you think?
Did you set your alarm just to bully me?
To get paid, paperboy.
Ah, why do you need the money, a brain transplant?
All right, that's gonna cost you extra, Dugan.
- Yeah! - Yeah.
Get 'em while it's hot!
- Ooh! - You look great.
- Thank you! - Ahh, I just love
the smell of bacon in the morning, don't you?
Smells like...
Victory!
Yeah, see, never count your winnings
before you collect, okay, Court?
The Shade has no idea who he's up against.
First of all, he's obviously very dangerous.
So I think you should definitely bring S.T.R.I.P.E.
Mom, we need the element of surprise.
S.T.R.I.P.E.'s as subtle as a tank.
Doesn't he have, like, a silent mode?
- That's a good idea. - Silent mode? Seriously?
- Or... I don't know... - Invisibility?
- Ugh, Mom, you're... - You're embarrassing yourself.
Let the professionals figure it out.
Okay, listen, here's the deal.
No one's gonna make a move
until we have a plan that everyone agrees with, okay?
- Okay. - Hey, you doing JSA stuff?
- Yup. - Ah, The Shade?
Who's this creep?
Somebody's butt we're gonna kick...
Carefully.
We're gonna do it very, very carefully,
and it's not something you need to be worrying about, Mike.
Yeah.
Yeah, whatever.
Okay, Barb, what can I get you?
- Toast and jam. - Toast and jam.
Court, what would you like?
What?
- I'm on my route right now. - Don't you hear the dog?
Okay, okay. Another customer?
I got plenty, Mr. Bloomkiss. Please just give it to Jakeem.
It'll be in better hands.
Okay. Okay, okay, fine, fine.
I'll take it.
What was it again?
210...
Come on.
Yeah, yeah, I got it.
Yeah, thanks.
Paperboy and human punching bag.
Wish I was a superhero.
What the heck?
Oh, shoot!
"So cool"?
Ah. Whoowhee!
Ah!
Whoo-ooh!
Oh, yeah!
What the heck are you?
I'm your new best friend and you don't even know it!
- Whoo-hoo-hoo! - What's going on?
What's going on is that you, Mike Dugan,
are now in control of me,
The Thunderbolt!
The Thunderbolt?
As in Johnny Thunder and The Thunderbolt!
Of the Justice Society of America!
You're so lucky.
This belonged to the JSA?
Yep! You said the magic word,
and now I'm back in action.
Wait, so the magic words are "so cool"?
Word, singular.
It's pronounced "sowkewl"
in my native homeland of Bahdnesia.
- Bahd-what? - It's not on the map anymore.
Thanks for bringing it up.
Sowkewl means "set free"
"the all-powerful force upon the Earth
of the magical and awe-inspiring Thunderbolt!"
It's also a synonym for the sound on the chalkboard
that drives everyone crazy, but I like that sound.
So if I free the genie...
Your wish is my command!
- So all the wishes I want? - Yup!
Start small.
I'm thirsty. I wish I had some water.
I meant in a glass.
Rule number one: You gotta be specific.
Oh, my gosh, you look so silly.
I love it when people do that.
Uh-oh!
Human, three o'clock.
- Morning. - Nothing like a good sweat
to start off the day, huh?
Wish I was dry. Did you hear that?
Thanks. Well, you're welcome.
You're learning. You're learning.
It's never a good thing when other people see me.
Reactions range from mild amusement to sheer panic.
Sent one guy to the ER. Heart attack, yeah.
He recovered, I think. I don't know. He was old.
He probably didn't have much time anyway.
This is fun. So what else can I do for you?
I'm thinking.
Okay, I got it.
I wish I was taller.
What the hell?
What? You're taller. You gotta be...
Specific. Yeah, okay.
I wish my body was taller.
Uh-uh, sorry.
Can't wish for the same thing twice.
And be happy about that in this case.
Wishes about body transformation never go well.
Another rule?
Well, yeah, there are a few.
Let me see if I can remember them.
I mean, there are only...
Can't wish for someone to die.
Can't wish someone back from the dead.
That's important. The last guy that tried...
Okay, back to the point.
So you were a member of the JSA and so was...
Johnny Thunder, my previous master.
And you are my new one.
Super sowkewl.
You're late, Rick.
Sorry, I just had to feed the dog.
When'd you get a dog?
Well, turns out, the girl who cried wolf
was, uh, right after all.
Of course I was right.
There's a wolf in Blue Valley.
He's called The Shade,
the last member of the Injustice Society.
The Shade worked with the ISA in the past,
but he quit a while back.
I don't know what he's up to now,
but he's going by the name Richard Swift.
He's posing as an antiques dealer
and he's basically an antique himself.
There's photographic evidence of him going back to the 1800s.
So he's, like, really old?
- Pat thinks he doesn't age. - His powers...
- Are shadows. - His powers are shadows.
He can manipulate them and travel through darkness.
So why is he in Blue Valley?
To finish what the ISA started?
I don't think so, Beth.
He had a falling-out with them
after he helped them defeat the JSA, but...
I know he's bad news.
I watched him kill Dr. Mid-Nite.
Stripesy! Get out!
The Shade killed Dr. Mid-Nite?
So that means...
Dr. Mid-Nite's the only one of the JSA
that we haven't gotten justice for.
- We need to. - First things first,
we need to find out where The Shade is hiding.
All for that, but then what?
You can't punch a shadow, Court.
- Pat? - Yeah.
How does one punch a shadow?
Oh, well, yeah.
I mean, as long as you're asking,
I did see Starman incapacitate The Shade one time
- using the staff. - Yes!
S-so... so we knock out this shadowy freak.
And then what, Mr. Dugan?
I don't know yet.
I don't know.
Oh!
It's only me. I hope I didn't scare you.
- Well, yeah, a little bit. - Please forgive me.
What are you doing here, Mr. Swift?
Yes, well, your colleague, um, Charlotte?
She told me where you were,
looking into William Zarick's collection, and I thought,
"Well, why don't we have a little treasure hunt together?"
Won't that be thrilling?
You're trespassing, Mr. Swift.
Perhaps.
But sometimes breaking the rules can be fun.
I was looking into the inventory
just in case I heard from you.
Oh, well, and here I am.
Is there anything in particular
you're looking for?
Oh, I'll know it when I see it.
Is, uh, this what you're looking for?
I believe you dropped it.
It's dead.
Oh, well, that's modern technology for you.
It lets you down when you need it the most.
Find something?
Um...
Do you mind if I... If I keep this?
It's... it's just an empty box.
I don't really think I can let you.
It's part of the Zarick inventory.
Oh, dear.
And there was I,
thinking we were getting on so famously.
I really must insist.
History teaches us that all civilizations
eventually come to an end.
But now that we're global, that changes.
We're connected.
We are one civilization,
vulnerable to extinction as so many were before...
Yolanda, you okay?
Headaches again?
- Mm-hmm. - A disease?
Or an environmental catastrophe?
How are we gonna stop The Shade once we find him?
Pat's working on it.
I don't wanna be in another situation
- like Brainwave, Court. - Let's take a look
at some of the civilizations that have managed...
I can't do what I did again.
I won't.
Courtney? Yolanda?
Care to answer?
Um...
I assume you were conferring about the topic at hand.
In 1521,
why did the Aztec civilization suddenly disappear?
- Uh... - Well,
this conquistador named Cortés,
who sounds like a total jerk, conquered the Aztecs,
so that was bad enough, right?
But at the same time, the Europeans brought over
the super plague.
So between them both,
the Aztecs didn't stand a chance.
RIP Aztecs.
Correct, Courtney.
We'll come up with a plan
that doesn't involve anything remotely like that.
I promise.
How did you know all of that?
Turns out, if you actually read the book,
history's not that hard.
How much for those cookies?
- Ooh, what's our plan here? - You will see.
$5?
I'm not paying $5 for a box of cookies.
Look, Molly, you give us three boxes of cookies
and we walk away.
Why should I?
Because we'll crush 'em if you don't.
Now hand them over.
Yeah, and none of that shortbread stuff!
- Yeah! - A little girl?
That's worse than usual.
I'm not gonna give you free cookies.
Oh, you're not gonna give us free cookies?
- Uh-huh, uh-huh! - Come on, let's go!
- Let's go! - Mom!
Thunderbolt, I wish you'd make 'em stop.
You got it!
That's great.
Look at how freaked out they are.
Whoa!
What is this?
O-okay, that's... that's good.
You can stop now.
Well, I can't until they do.
Run!
No, no, no. Aah!
Run!
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Don't worry, we're gonna figure this out.
Things are looking up from here.
Mike?
Guess who's the newest member
of the Justice Society of America?
Me.
You mean us! Ta-da!
Pleasure to meet you.
What's going on?
Sorry about the sign.
Tough crowd, right?
I knew you took the other stuff
from the JSA headquarters,
but you didn't tell me you took the pen.
- I forgot about it! - Okay, Court,
I told you it was dangerous.
Somebody could have been killed.
Well, you should've told me everything about it
in the first place.
You know, been specific.
You gotta be real specific with the wishing,
- let me tell you, pal. - No, Mike. No more wishes.
But, Mr. Dugan, if this genie really grants wishes,
maybe he could fix the goggles?
- Or find The Shade? - And stop him.
Trust me, he'd just cause more trouble.
Me?
No, not you, Mike, The Thunderbolt.
He's not exactly a living monkey's paw, but he's close.
I think he can hear you.
Also, what's this got to do with monkeys?
Okay, give me the pen.
- No. - Now!
You're saying I can't handle it.
Nobody can.
I'm sorry, all right, Mike? I really am.
It's just that The Thunderbolt, he's too unpredictable.
Give me that.
Thank you.
Hey!
Ah!
Guess he likes hanging with the boss.
Call him out here right now.
I want to speak to The Thunderbolt alone.
Sowkewl.
Still zipping around, I see.
I can't believe you built this!
If Starman had seen it, I'm sure he would have
promoted you from sidekick to, like, senior sidekick
or, you know, he would have been happy!
Yeah, well, it's not a toy.
So there's a new JSA now, huh?
Yeah, but you know how dangerous this life can be,
and even with power like yours,
Johnny died.
I remember his smile when he made that last wish
and then... he was gone.
Yeah, so what was his last wish?
That I'd find a new friend.
Mike? Why him?
You know how it works.
I can only pick someone like me to be partners with.
Someone who feels completely and utterly alone.
That's really how he feels?
Right now? Yeah.
Okay.
Hey.
So did you guys have a vote yet?
Am I in the JSA, or do I have
to go through some hazing first?
- There's no hazing. - Oh. Great.
So I'm in, right?
It's not up to me.
- Yeah, it is. - You're, like, the JSA's leader.
But Pat's your dad.
That's veto power I can't overrule.
He told you no too.
Come on, Court, think about it.
All the bad guys we'll be able to take down.
All the people we'll be able to save.
You and me together, brother and sister!
That sounds great, really, but...
The Thunderbolt picked me.
So I'm like you.
I was meant to be a superhero.
It's my destiny.
Please, help me try?
Pat, we've come to a decision.
Hey, this is not a group discussion, okay?
But Mike deserves to be in the JSA.
- We voted. - Just call me Mikey Thunder.
Let me handle this.
Also, that's terrible.
Mike and The Thunderbolt could find The Shade for us.
We don't have any leads on him, Pat.
And the goggles haven't found him.
The Thunderbolt, it's dangerous, Beth, okay?
You didn't want me to use the Cosmic Staff
- for the same reason. - You didn't want
any of us suiting up at first.
But together we stopped the ISA.
And Mike helped.
He stopped Icicle, if you remember.
Yeah, I try to not think about it.
We need to find The Shade, and Mike and The Thunderbolt
are our best chance of doing that right now.
She rests my case.
Okay, you can help us locate The Shade.
That's it. Deal?
My man.
All right, knowing how these wishes can backfire,
we gotta come up with one that's bulletproof
and I need all of your help.
♪ I'm on my way, I'm making it ♪
No!
Okay, but...
♪ I've got to make it show, yeah ♪
- Yes! - Okay, great, great, great.
♪ Big time
♪ I'm on my way, I'm making it ♪
♪ Big time. ♪ Oh, yes
♪ Big time
♪ I've got to make it show, yeah ♪
♪ Big time
♪ Big, big, big, big
♪ Big, big, big, big ♪
♪ Big, big, big, big
♪ Big, big, big
So...
in conclusion,
show us the location of "The Shade,"
not to be confused with a lamp or window shade,
but the last known member
of the Injustice Society of America,
hiding somewhere in Blue Valley, Nebraska,
68060, USA.
Where is he?
That's William Zarick's old house.
- That's The Wizard, right? - Yeah.
- Hey, you did it, Mike! - Yeah, you did good.
Thanks, Dad. Let's go!
Whoa! Whoa!
- You're staying here. - What?
Yeah, that was the deal, remember?
You agreed to it.
And it's safer that way for everyone.
No, no, no, no, no.
Come on, man. Don't bench me now. I...
I'm sorry, Mike, that's just the way it is.
Mike, you really did help us.
Hey, you guard the Pit Stop.
That's an important job, right?
There's some, uh, pizza bites, string cheese,
and some of those juice boxes you like.
Mikey Thunder,
riding the pine.
Okay, so let's go over this one more time.
What's the plan? Nothing fancy, Barb.
We go in, we locate The Shade.
Rick and Yolanda, they restrain him
until Courtney gets there with the Staff
and renders him unconscious, just like Sylvester did.
Okay. And then?
Beth's located a suitable device to negate his powers
until we can deliver him to the proper authorities.
Who are the proper authorities?
And what device?
Tanning bed, actually,
your old one that's out in the garage.
- Are you serious? - Yeah.
- What's Mike gonna do? - He'll be down at the Pit Stop
waiting for the play-by-play.
It's gonna be fine. Don't worry about us.
I'll call up and give you a little heads-up.
Okay.
- Approved? - Yeah.
Um, your mother thinks the plan is acceptable.
- Then let's go get this jerk. - For Chuck.
We'll restrain him, then imprison him.
- With... with caution, right? - Okay?
Okay, so what's the deal?
Blue Valley declared this a historic home
after the Zaricks... departed.
It'll be historic once I get my hands on The Shade.
- What does that even mean? - I don't know. I'm amped.
Hey, quiet!
Very quiet, all right?
Oh, my.
Quite the assembly.
I hope I have enough biscuits.
Come, come. Do sit down.
The tea is nicely steeped.
It's perfect, in fact, if I say so myself.
We're not here for teatime, Shade.
What are you doing in Blue Valley?
Pat Dugan.
It took me a moment to place the name in the diner.
By the way, I knew that was a 1967 Jag, right?
You know that?
Well, of course I do, Stripesy.
Oh, I see.
Same sidekick, different Star-Spangled Kid.
Stargirl.
Oh, absolutely.
Now, please sit.
We could do it the other way, I suppose,
all bother and perspiration,
or we could try the more genteel approach.
You murdered Dr. Mid-Nite.
You don't deserve the genteel approach!
My dear young lady...
And I mean this in the nicest possible way...
You don't know what you're talking about.
Now, sit.
I implore you.
All right, kids, let's go ahead and have a seat.
Wonderful.
Thank you.
Try anything, and I'll see how many teacups
I can shove down your throat.
Don't you teach these children any manners, Stripesy?
So I'm just gonna ask you again, Shade,
why are you here?
We won't let you hurt our town.
And whyever would I do that?
Because you were a member of the Injustice Society.
Our interests aligned for a moment,
but birds of a feather we were not.
Jordan Mahkent and his merry band
were no friends of mine.
Icicle was a lunatic.
If there's one thing worse
than a man who wants to rule the world,
it's a man who wants to save it.
Though seeing the way your generation's going,
I expect you'll end humanity for good.
Okay, just because you gave up
and only looked out for yourself
doesn't mean we're ever going to.
We're never gonna stop fighting to protect the world
from people like you.
Just to reassure you,
I have no dark design on Blue Valley.
Stay out of my way,
and I'll be gone before you know it.
Why are you here?
Young lady, I'm not being coy.
It's just better that none of you know.
Now, please, try the tea.
Thunderbolt,
I wish you'd zap the villain known as "The Shade,"
not to be confused with a lamp or window shade.
As you wish, my friend.
Whoo-whee!
Ow! Ooh!
Ow! Aah!
Mike!
Mike, Mike!
I'll say it for the last time.
Stay out of my way!
- You okay? - Yeah.
Hey, Mike.
You okay?
No.
No, not really.
I thought I could help you guys,
but, you know, I blew it.
Do you ever feel bad about what happened?
You know, with Icicle and all?
Yeah, about that.
Truth is, I was hauling ass, you know?
Look up, Icicle's in the middle of the road icing up, and bam!
He was ice cubes before I even knew it.
It was an accident?
Well, yeah.
Yeah, I guess it was.
I'm no hero.
We looked for him everywhere.
He's gone.
Okay...
I know I should've listened, but...
You didn't!
I didn't either in the beginning.
Courtney.
This is the beginning for Mike, Mom,
with The Thunderbolt.
Even if Mike hadn't shown up, The Shade was way ahead of us.
You saw, Pat.
No.
No, I screwed up.
Thought this pen was my ticket into the JSA,
but now I kind of just wish it was in better hands.
- No! - Thunderbolt?
Jakeem, Mom wants you to take out the trash.
But I got a high score.
On your one-player game?
Get some friends that aren't Pac-Man and Luigi.
Move your butt, Jakeem, before I call your father!
You know what Dad's gonna say...
What everyone does: You're a loser!
I am a loser.
Yoo-hoo!
What?
Where did you come from?
- Is Mike okay? - He's okay.
Court's upstairs with him.
You know...
The Thunderbolt told me that he chose Mike
because Mike felt so alone.
I mean, that's on all of us if it's true.
Yeah, I mean,
the kid, he just wants to be a part of the team,
and I get it.
He is, though, pen or no pen.
I mean, we both are,
even though we don't have costumes and code names.
I think I found something.
- What? - Well, I was looking through.
Zarick's inventory logs,
and the empty box Swift took,
it contained a diamond.
- A diamond? - Yeah.
It said "costume jewelry" on it.
Maybe a magic prop. It was black.
It was no prop, Barb.
That's the black diamond.
What's the black diamond?
It's something very, very bad.
Ugh!
It's still not working!
It's okay.
We'll get Chuck back.
No.
It's useless, Rick.
I'm never getting Chuck back,
and we lost Dr. Mid-Nite's killer.
Everything's falling apart!
What's going on?
Beth?
Hey, you can... you can talk to me.
Pretend I'm Chuck.
I think my parents might be getting a divorce.
What?
Did they say something?
No.
- I found some papers. - Okay.
Well, papers are just papers.
You should talk to them.
I would talk to mine, if I could.
- Hello? - Chuck!
Chuck?
Chuck!
Chuck, I can hear you!
It's me! It's Beth!
You have to listen.
Whoever you are, you need to know...
- What? - You're in danger.
Eclipso...
Chuck?
- What was it? - What did Chuck say?
He said we're in danger.
He said Eclipso is here.
He's gonna kill those children.
Greg, move your head.