Incidental Lovecraft–Finding the Old Ones Where You Least Expect It

Some of you may recall the animated version of DC Comics’ Justice League which ran in the early 2000s. It was a semi-staple of Cartoon Network’s programming, but never truly had a home, being shuffled around from time slot to time slot, but eventually becoming a true classic of animated television.

It’s important to note that, while it’s most fondly remembered by long-time comics fans, the series was rated Y7 in the US. For those unfamiliar with American TV ratings, ‘Y7’ simply meant that guns fired bolts of light instead of bullets, and blood was rarely if ever shown. Other than that, on Justice League, it seemed that pretty much anything else was just fine.

Episodes 15 and 16 of Season 2 were entitled “The Terror Beyond.” In this story, written by comics legend Dwayne McDuffie, the heroes (Hawkgirl, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman) and Solomon Grundy (a Hulk-esque, simple-minded criminal born from voodou) team up with Doctor Fate (DC’s gold-helmeted magician) to stop ‘the Old Ones’ from breaching our world. It’s a bit of a shock to the casual viewer to realize that the entire story is based on Lovecraft’s Cthlulu Mythos. True, here the Great Old One is called Icthultu, but otherwise everything’s ripped straight from ol’ H.P. The creatures that invade our plane are enough to give anyone nightmares, and that’s just how any young, budding Fortean would like it.

The mythology is directly addressed at the 3 minute 56 second mark, if you don’t want to watch the whole clip.

The story, while having plenty of good old fashioned superhero action, becomes a meditation on faith and the nature of belief. I won’t go into the details of the story here, but suffice to say that the subject matter is really, really heavy and emotional for what was ostensibly a children’s cartoon.

When watching a PG-13 Marvel movie, it’s no surprise that things can get a bit dark at times. When watching a children’s cartoon, we expect things to get neatly wrapped up at the end of the two-parter, with a joke and a smile and the bad guys vanquished for another week.

“The Terror Beyond” goes beyond all that. It’s smart, intelligent television, based in part on Lovecraft’s writings, and grounded in characters who display great depth of intellect and emotion. It’s definitely not what I expected, and I found myself fighting back tears by the end.

To bring that kind of gravity to something rated for children’s viewing is both to acknowledge that good storytelling transcends the age of the intended viewer, and that children are smarter and more capable than we think.

It’s brilliant, really.

Where can I watch it? Streaming on DC Universe with a membership and for sale on Amazon, both on disc and streaming.