Frenemies Chapter 12: The Last Will and Testament of Sylvester Pemberton – Director: Jennifer Phang/Writers: Turi Meyer, Alfredo Septien
This one starts decades ago in Los Angeles, with Dolores Winters winning a movie award. Of course, we know Dolores was just a vessel for Ultra-Humanite’s consciousness, which explains why she battered a suitor to death (with the award statuette!). Professor Ito shows up and Dolores lets him know she’s found a new body for her mind … that of a giant white ape that was recently captured by the adventurer Congo Bill. Dolores figures that body will be perfect to face the Justice Society, especially since Ito has already started transforming himself into reptilian form.
In the present, Pat, Courtney, and Barbara agree that Icicle needs to be stopped but not by Sylvester alone. Artemis goes to her father’s gym to train
and vent some rage but Sylvester tells her she should let him take care of Icicle so she can go to college like her parents wanted. Rick tries taking off the hourglass, but the withdrawal symptoms are so bad he has to put it on again. Sylvester tells Yolanda and Beth that he’s going to Icicle’s place to confront him alone, since his parents and Cameron will be out of the house tonight. He urges Beth and Yolanda to pass 
on their legacies so the JSA are never forgotten. Meanwhile, Cindy, Mike, and Jakeem check out the old Injustice Society meeting room and Cindy tells them how her father experimented on her. She figures the reptilian change she’s going through is part of that, so Jakeem wishes for Thunderbolt to take them to the lab that has what they’re looking for.
Cameron tells his father that the JSA still don’t trust him, so Jordan says he’ll go after the Ultra-Humanite and bring him in to prove himself. At
home, Pat tells Sylvester he can’t face Icicle alone and Sylvester acts like an asshole, telling Pat he’s a loser—the laughingstock of the JSA—and will never be anything more than a sidekick. He even blames Pat for getting him killed. Courtney overhears and gives Sylvester shit, saying Pat is more of a hero to her than anyone. But when she tries to hold on to the Staff, it jumps from her hand into Sylvester’s and he tells her she’s not worthy of it. Courtney tells the others what happened and 
Pat says he’ll go get STRIPE to try to stop Sylvester. Cindy, Mike, and Jakeem end up at another of her father’s labs (which the Thunderbolt says is what Jakeem wanted, since he was trying to impress Cindy). At the garage, Pat finds that Sylvester has wrecked the STRIPE armour and Zeek suggests hat Sylvester has been acting like a dick to protect everyone. Pat tells Zeek they’ll have to improvise to help Sylvester.
Rick shows up at the house strung out and asking for help. Pat goes to Icicle’s house toting the flamethrower from the STRIPE armour and tells Sylvester he’s not letting him face Icicle alone, even though Sylvester thinks
it’s his destiny to face Icicle and avenge the JSA. In the lab, Cindy and the boys find Dragon King’s body with the skull cut open and the brain missing. Ultra-Humanite appears and tells them he’s got Dragon King’s brain inside him, which makes them wonder where Ultra-Humanite’s brain is. We soon find out, as Sylvester knocks Pat out and reveals he’s been working with Icicle. At home, Rick admits he can’t take the hourglass off without withdrawal pains and when he mentions Sylvester is the one who told him to remove the limiter, 
everyone realizes that Sylvester has been sabotaging them all along. Meanwhile, Sylvester has taken Pat to the woods to bury him alive, over the Staff’s protests. Sylvester reveals he’s got Ultra-Humanite’s brain and that he’s been causing problems for the JSA to keep them from being a threat. Sylvester seems to still have some of his old personality, so Pat tries to get through to him but Ultra-Humanite’s mind takes over and he finishes burying Pat.
This is a great episode that gives us a big shock, revealing that Ultra-Humanite has been inside Sylvester all along, talking to Pat’s acquaintances to get all the info he could on them. He faked the attack to gain more
sympathy and once they trusted him, he could get his hands on the Staff and bond with it. He also sabotaged the JSA to keep them busy and used Yolanda’s hatred of Cindy to make sure she wasn’t around, since he thought she might see through his masquerade. I’m not sure why the Staff can’t tell that this isn’t the real Sylvester, if it was bonded to the original. Maybe there’s a small piece of Sylvester still in there? That would explain why he almost fell for Pat’s friendly overtures while he was burying him. It might also explain why he 
sounded so sincere when asking the new JSA to pass on their legacies, mentioning various original members with and without families. As usual, there are some cool references, like Congo Bill being the one who captured the white ape way back when. Also, the guy Dolores Winters killed with her award was named Standish, which I assume is a reference to “King” Standish, a Golden Age DC hero who was a stage magician and part-time actor.
Favourite Quotes:
- “It’s pretty cold down here for a reptile … no offense.” Mike being his usual sensitive self in the underground lair.
- “Pat Dugan is my hero.” Courtney telling Sylvester exactly how she feels.