I knew it couldn't last. After my increasing approval of Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network, culminating in last week's spectacular episode featuring Batman and Zatanna, they had to drop the ball eventually. And that came with tonight's episode. They get points for actually crafting a Supergirl story that couldn't just have been told with Superman or Wonder Woman. But along the way, the Question (another favorite DC hero of mine) makes his debut, and they don't even bother mentioning his name until halfway through the episode. Now, the Question is a particularly oddball-looking character, wearing a suit, hat, overcoat, and a mask that makes him look like he has no face. He's not someone you easily accept as "just another superhero" like Captain Atom or Hawk and Dove, the other superheroes who have made their Justice League debuts so far this season. I don't think he's appeared in any comics for several years, although he does have a new miniseries coming out this fall. So, effectively, this episode would have introduced him to a new audience. Except what kind of an introduction doesn't provide a name?

Funnily enough, this was a tragicomic subplot in recent episodes of Rescue Me, with Tommy Gavin dating a woman for over a month without knowing her name, only to have the truth come out when he has to introduce her to his ex-wife. But here, it's just bad storytelling. It makes the assumption that the viewer already knows who the Question is, so they don't need to waste time with little things like names or anything. The problem I have is, by making that assumption, by believing that their viewers are familiar with each and every DC Comics hero and villain, the producers don't come across like they're taking the opportunity to introduce all these heroes to a new audience. Instead, they're making a show for trainspotting nerds. And that's just careless TV.