Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. After its second season, it became Justice League Unlimited, and ran an additional three seasons.
History
Animator Bruce Timm, having successfully adapted both Batman and Superman into animated television programs in the 1990s, took on the challenge of faithfully adapting the Justice League comic book and turning it into an animated sequel to his two former animated series. This new animated TV series brought all sorts of new characters. Ignoring the sidekicks, pets and other extraneous elements of the earlier Super Friends show, the line-up of this new JLA adaptation was created with two things in mind: to pay tribute to the original line-up of the Justice League of America while also reflecting racial and cultural diversity. Significantly, the well-known (but much-depreciated) superhero Aquaman was left out of the lineup (although he would be used on the show) in favor of a second female on the team - Hawkgirl - and the African-American Green Lantern John Stewart, who has worked with the League in the comics before, was used rather than one of the better-known modern-era Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner or Kyle Rayner, even though Rayner had appeared as Green Lantern in the Superman animated series. (In the second season, Rayner is described as a Lantern in training under Stewart's old mentor, explaining his absence. Both Rayner and Jordan make brief appearances in Justice League Unlimited.) Gardner was never seen in either series.
The show met with significant success, partially due to loyal fans already familiar with these incarnations of the characters, and partially from a new generation of viewers. The two-part nature of most episodes led Cartoon Network to choose to air the episodes back-to-back.
According to audio commentary on the DVD release of Season 2, the second season finale "Starcrossed" was expected to be the final episode of the series. However, in February 2004, Cartoon Network announced a follow-up series, Justice League Unlimited, which premiered on July 31, 2004. Justice League Unlimited features a greatly expanded roster of heroes, usually with only a few appearing in any given episode, although there are a few featuring just about the entire roster fighting against one giant enemy.
Casting and character changes
Kevin Conroy reprised his voice role as Batman from Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995), The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999), and Batman Beyond (1999-2001). Conroy pitched his voice to a range in between the voices he'd used in the previous shows; it was deeper than the voice he used in the first two series, but still higher-pitched than the voice he used in Batman Beyond.[citation needed] In addition, Batman's uniform was also redesigned, given a mixture of his previous animated costumes. It was basically the same Batsuit from The New Batman Adventures, but had the more colorful look from the original series' costume. The mask's "ears" were also extended as a reference to the futuristic Batsuit from Batman Beyond.
Tim Daly, who voiced Superman in Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000), did some early recordings, but was ultimately unable to reprise his role due to his involvement with the short-lived remake series of The Fugitive,[citation needed] and was replaced by George Newbern. Superman was initially redesigned to have a bit of a squint to his eyes and slight wrinkles that was also meant to make him look older, in addition to having a noticeable shining streak to his hair; he was redesigned to appear larger in physical girth than in the previous series. Fans did not like the older appearance and in the second season the streak was toned down to the point of almost disappearing and the squint was removed, in essence Superman reverted to his earlier animated look. As an in-joke, Superman's Season One facial designs are used for an older Jor-El in the Justice League Unlimited episode For the Man Who Has Everything.[citation needed]
Most of the characters retained their general comic book origins and continuity, with Wonder Woman being the notable exception. In the Justice League series continuity, the premiere story arc "Secret Origins" revises the plot of Diana's competition against her fellow Amazons to be the ambassador of peace to man's world, and she is referred to as a "rookie" superhero during her first encounter with the League. (Subsequent episodes touched on her attempts to adjust to her new world). Additionally, the character of The Flash was portrayed as somewhat younger and significantly more brash than his comic book counterpart, taking on a number of personality traits of Plastic Man, who provides a similar comic relief function in the JLA comics. Major changes were also made to the Hawkgirl character. John Stewart's Green Lantern was also changed significantly from the civilian architect in the comic continuity to a hard-nosed former marine for the show.
Maria Canals was cast as Hawkgirl based on her Hispanic accent, which the producers felt would make Hawkgirl appear more foreign and alien against her team mates.[citation needed] The character of Hawkgirl became romantically involved with the John Stewart Green Lantern as the series progressed, while a relationship between Batman and Wonder Woman was also hinted by the show's creators, who disliked the fans' insistence on pairing Wonder Woman with Superman.
In the comic books, the Martian Manhunter / J'onn J'onzz has a power called "Martian Vision" which has been shown both as a beam of pure force (an extension of the telekinesis that allows him to fly), and essentially the same as Superman's heat vision. Neither power was ever shown in the series, except in the ending of the episode Savage Time, dropped presumably in favor of his phasing power, shapeshifting and telepathy. The Martian Manhunter was only referred to by that name in one episode and otherwise called simply J'onn.
Although the series itself is animated in traditional 2-dimensional style, the opening credits are rendered in 3D with toon shading.
Reception
The show has been greatly received by fans, many comparing it to Batman: The Animated Series because of its darker tones, complex writing and storyboarding, and in-depth characterization. The show holds an 8.8/10 on the Internet Movie Database.
In January 2009, IGN named Justice League as the 20th best animated television series of all time.
Cast
Main cast
Other recurring characters
DVD/Blu-ray Disc (BD) releases
Season Releases
| DVD/BD Name |
Release Date |
Ep # |
Additional Information |
| Season One |
March 21, 2006 |
26 |
Contains a set of 4 DVDs with all of the episodes from the first season as well as audio commentaries, interviews, and other special features. In the 3 part "The Savage Time", the Nazi Swastika was replaced with an "S", most likely for Savage for the DVD release. |
| Season One |
August 19, 2008 |
26 |
Due to the success of Justice League: The New Frontier in early 2008, Season One has been re-mastered and re-issued as a set of 3 Blu-ray Discs (in full 1080p and with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound) with everything included on the prior release. |
| Season Two |
June 20, 2006 |
26 |
Contains a set of 4 DVDs with all of the episodes from the second season as well as audio commentaries and a panel discussion involving the production team of the series (although the set packaging indicates a featurette hosted by voice actor Phil LaMarr, it is misprinted, the featurette is on Disc One instead of Disc Four). |
Individual Releases
| DVD Name |
Release Date |
Additional Information |
| Justice League |
April 23, 2002 |
Contains all three parts of "Secret Origins". A mini-DVD version of this disc has also been released. |
| Justice on Trial |
April 23, 2002 |
Contains "In Blackest Night" and "The Enemy Below". |
| Paradise Lost |
July 22, 2003 |
Contains "Paradise Lost" and "War World". |
| The Justice League Collection |
April 13, 2004 |
Contains previous "Secret Origins," "Paradise Lost," and "Justice on Trial" DVDs in a three-pack with a slipcase. |
| Starcrossed The Movie |
July 13, 2004 |
Contains "Starcrossed" in both widescreen and fullscreen. A mini-DVD version of this disc has also been released with only fullscreen. |
| The Brave and the Bold |
October 19, 2004 |
Contains episodes "The Brave and the Bold" and "Injustice for All". |
| Challenge of the Super Friends to Justice League: |
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Contains the previously released "Justice League" (Secret Origins) DVD along with two Super Friends discs in a slip-case. |
Aspect Ratio Issues
Aspect ratios were altered between seasons one and two. In season one, the show was boarded and produced in full-screen, but the top and bottom parts of the frame would be cropped for widescreen airings. The cropped versions are referred to as the 'producer preferred' versions. For the series' second season, the show was produced in a true widescreen format, meaning that the widescreen airings would give the viewer more footage on the left and right sides of the frames and the full-screen airings would crop the image. When Warner Home Video announced the arrival of DVD season sets, fans were upset about the DVD's aspect ratio. Both seasons one and two would be given full-screen releases. After the release of season one, Warner Home Video announced that season two and all of the sequel series 'Justice League Unlimited' would be given widescreen releases. Though season two was released widescreen, fans were divided over their choice to release it in a non-anamorphic format(meaning that people with widescreen TVs would have to zoom in on the picture in order for it to fill the screen, causing it to blur). Though on the first season release of Justice League Unlimited, the video was anamorphic.
See also
External links
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