Man...Justice League season 2 was AWESOME

[Monterey Jack]

I finished off the second-season set today, and was, frankly, dazzled. Comparing this season to the first is like comparing Spider-Man 2 to the original...the jump in quality is nothing short of staggering. Everything, from animation to voice work to storytelling prowess, is exponentially improved. Just wow. Some favorite parts...

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

1.) Hawkgirl's character arc throughout the season was wonderful. I found her rather one-note in season one (let's smash things...!), but the "softening" of her character this year was surprisingly well-handled, with her weeping over the death of Solomon Grundy and, of course, her eventual hook-up with Green Lantern (especially the tender final sequence of "Wild Cards", with the first view of her face sans helmet). 2.) That said, it only made her betrayal of the League in "Starcrossed" even more painful. Just too bad that every single commentary and featurette on the two season sets thoughtlessly gave this away. Without getting into more spoilers, what's next for her? Has she truly left the League forever? That last scene in "Starcrossed" part III gave me a bit of a lump in the throat.

Anyways, great season, and I'm now foaming at the mouth for seasons 3 and beyond (how many were there in total, 5?).

[Hockey Mask]

There were three more seasons of Justice League, now called Justice League Unlimted where the Justice League now comprises of around 50 superheroes.
Season 3/Unlimited Season 1 is prety hit and miss. Season 4 is probably the peak but Season 5 gives it a run fo its money. The biggest thing you need to know is that there are only 13 episodes each season, each episode is a stand alone story (for the most part). There are a a couple 2 or 3 parters. Season 4 and 5 have some great story arcs that span the entire season. The biggest thrill is seeing some rare superheroes that never get screen time...Atom, Atom-Smasher, Aztek, Black Canary, Blue Devil, Booster Gold, B'wana Beast, Captain Atom, CVaptain Marvel, Creeper, Crimson Avenger, Crimson Fox, Dr. Fate, Dr. Light, Dr. Mid-Nite, Dove, Elongated Man, Etrigan, Fire, Green Arrow, Gypsy, Hawk, Hourman, Huntress, Ice, Johnny Thunder, Metamorpho, Mr. Terrific, Nemesis, Obsidian, Orion, Plastic Man, The Question, Ray, Red Tornado, Rocket Red, Sand, Shining Knight, Stars, Starman, Steel II, Steel III, S.T.R.I.P.E., Supergirl, Vibe, Vigilante, Vixen, Waverider, Wildcat, Zatanna.

Some of these guys are only talked about, some are only seen in the background and without speaking roles, some get one shot in an episode dedicated towqard them and others are fleshed out in recurring roles throughout the series run.

Basically, you give up some story detail because of the allowed time but gain some major superheroes and even bigger fighting scenes. After Timm and Co. catch there stride in seasons 4 and 5, I thought they outdid there Season 2 work.

The other good news is because there are only get 13 episodes per season we may get the episodes quicker on DVD if they combine the seasons. Not sure if there has been any announcement on this yet.

to another Justice League fan. You will like what the future holds in DVD.

[Brikar99]

I have to disagree. Everyone kept telling me "Season 2 gets better, Season 2 gets better..." but the show suffers from the same lack of plot and character that it did the first time around. I love the idea of doing multi-part stories, but the real fact is that there isn't even enough plot to stretch over two episodes. It's pretty much just watching 40 minutes of slight variations on Superman smacking each other around.

All that said, it is somewhat impressive in small doses to watch 40 minutes of slight variations on Superman smacking each other around. Batman owns the show (when he's around). Flash is legitimately hilarious, and Michael Ironside continues to embody badass as Darkseid.

[Monterey Jack]

Sounds cool, Hockey. While I'm sure I'll miss the multi-episode story arcs, It'll also be something of a relief not to have to FF past those "previously on Justice League" recaps on every other episode. And if the remaining seasons are only 13 eps apiece, it'd be nice to see them combined into larger sets, but we all know they'll just be put into smaller, Superman-sized boxes. Anyways, I'm now very glad to have finally gotten into this series, and hope that the remainder of the seasons will be as terrific as season 2.

[Hockey Mask]

You won't be disappointed.

And personally I like the multi-part episodes. I like the filler. I loved the first season of SuperFriends because there was so much filler it was ridiculous. But I think you'll be surprised at how much story they were able to cram in one episode in seasons 3-5. They did it "justice".

[elwood731]

Season four is easily the peak of the series. However, you might want to study up on your DC Comics animated history before diving into it. They truly manage to link together every DC Comics cartoon ever made. It's fairly amazing. I'm not spoiling anything, because you really can't imagine the clever ways they come up with to do so.

Season five isn't bad, but it felt...hmm, unnecessary in a lot of ways. You'll see once you see season four. Outside of the classic Batman: The Aniamted Series episodes, season four of JL is the best of all the DC Comics animated shows.

[1138]

Agreed. Season 4 was spectacular and the last episode was brilliant.

[Hockey Mask]

Originally Posted by elwood731

Season five isn't bad, but it felt...hmm, unnecessary in a lot of ways.

I would never trade a second of anything Justice League animated but Seasons 4 and 5 should have been switched (although impossible). Ending with the season 4 storyline would have definately been stronger. The Legion of Doom of Season 5 is something I have dreamt about for many years. It just wasn't quite as "mature" as sesason 4.

[1138]

Yeah, it wasn't that 5 was bad, it was just not as good as 4 and thus did feel like they should have been switched.

[elwood731]

Originally Posted by Hockey Mask

I would never trade a second of anything Justice League animated but Seasons 4 and 5 should have been switched (although impossible). Ending with the season 4 storyline would have definately been stronger. The Legion of Doom of Season 5 is something I have dreamt about for many years. It just wasn't quite as "mature" as sesason 4.

Agreed. Also, the final episode felt forced. It tried to wrap things up, but in no way the tidy package that season four's finale did. Like I said, season five isn't bad per say, but just unnecessary in a lot of ways. If it could have placed differently I might have cared more. Season four just felt like the proper end for the series.

[Hockey Mask]

Justice League Unlimted
26 episodes
October 24th!!!

Seasons 3,4 and 5 were all 13 episode seasons. It looks like we are going to get JL 3 & 4/JLU 1 & 2 and have to wait for a final release around January with the final 13 episodes. It would seem to make more sense to release all 39 episodes together or 3 seperate 13 episode releases. But this will hurry the releases along faster than the latter.

[brian]

Originally Posted by elwood731

Agreed. Also, the final episode felt forced. It tried to wrap things up, but in no way the tidy package that season four's finale did. Like I said, season five isn't bad per say, but just unnecessary in a lot of ways. If it could have placed differently I might have cared more. Season four just felt like the proper end for the series.

But season five was awesome for

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

Superman:...they have shakes so thick that.. Deadman(In Superman's body): I need your help. Random JLA'r: Wow, that's pretty thick.

[SilentBob]

I shall agree with everyone that Season 4 or Season 2 of JLU was indeed the best season out of any of them. I loved the Brainiac and Flash scene, but i loved the Batman Beyond project episode. I love the show so i was so happy to see what they did with its origin. Probably my fav episode in the series


Justice League Unlimited Cover Art (which i like)

[elwood731]

Eh...it's only got three new team members in the shot. I'd rather them have gone with the opening shot of all the others lined up behind the main team. It isn't bad,. but it isn't great either.

I also think it's weird how people discuss JL and JLU as if they're two different shows, when they obviously are not. They continue storylines from one to another. Calling this season one makes sense in some respect, but not in others.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by elwood731

Season four is easily the peak of the series. However, you might want to study up on your DC Comics animated history before diving into it. They truly manage to link together every DC Comics cartoon ever made. It's fairly amazing. I'm not spoiling anything, because you really can't imagine the clever ways they come up with to do so.

You see, that's what kind of worries me. Pretty much my only exposure to most comic book superheroes has been through movies and TV, so I'm kind of leery that I'm going to be left out in the cold, as it were, involving some of these characters. Even in the first two Justice League seasons, there were characters who were introduced without their origins being revealed (like Solomon Grundy, who's origin wasn't told until season 2), and, for comics geeks, I'm sure that wasn't much of a problem, but for a "newbie", I kind of felt left out of the joke, as it were. Just so long as JLA remains accessible as JL, I'll be happy.

[elwood731]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

You see, that's what kind of worries me. Pretty much my only exposure to most comic book superheroes has been through movies and TV, so I'm kind of leery that I'm going to be left out in the cold, as it were, involving some of these characters. Even in the first two Justice League seasons, there were characters who were introduced without their origins being revealed (like Solomon Grundy, who's origin wasn't told until season 2), and, for comics geeks, I'm sure that wasn't much of a problem, but for a "newbie", I kind of felt left out of the joke, as it were. Just so long as JLA remains accessible as JL, I'll be happy.

I was never a big comic reader. I read some Superman, Batman, X-Men, etc. when I was a kid, but that was years ago and I am fairly certain from what I hear the continuity is completely changed in all of them since. However, I was able to follow JLU fine. There are some characters you won't know the origins of, their powers, or get why their cameos are a big thing, but it will hardly impede your enjoyment of the show, or at least it didn't mine. I was more referring to knowing the backstory of the animated universe, specifically the Timm/Dini universe (Batman in all of its versions since the early 90s original, Superman).

[Hockey Mask]

I don't think there is an episode where you will feel lost if you don't know a character. Superheroes are superheroes. It doesn't really matter. You may enjoy seeing them animated more if you have known them in print form. I am not much of a comic guy. Watching the episodes drove me out to get the DC Encyclopedia which was fun to learn tha backstory with. You may want to study up on The Question if you're not familiar with him. He may puzzle you at first.

[Monterey Jack]

Well, I burned through the JLA season 1 set in two days flat (maybe a record for me), and loved it to death. My concerns about not understanding the origins of many of the new, supporting characters was pretty much moot, considering the exceptional level of creativity on every level. Timm and company were just firing on all cylinders here, and it was a blast. Highlights...

-The return of Hawkgirl (or Shayera), and her gradual acceptance back into the League. I liked how she had to struggle with her betrayal of both Earth and Thanagar, and how she and Wonder Woman finaly managed to bond again. Plus, she's an absolute knockout without her helmet.

-Holy continuity, Batman! It really was amazing how well the series managed to keep such tight hold of dangling plot threads from the previous Batman and Superman shows (particularly the definative final word on Batman Beyond in "Epilogue").

-Just seeing so many new heroes was terrific fun. I especially enjoyed Green Arrow and The Question.

Things that left me a bit cold...

-New theme music: LAME (and who's bright idea was it to stick episodes spoiler clips in the opening credits? ).

-Not enough Flash in the first 13 eps. Was Michael Rosenbaum busy, or something?

Otherwise, this is easilly some of the best animated superhero stuff ever done. I can't wait for the last batch of episodes (even if I'll be sad when I watch the last one ).

[Brikar99]

JLU: Season 1 was definitely the high-point of the "Justice League" shows so far. The first disc or so was pretty lame, too much focus on C-list characters I really don't care about in the slightest (Booster Gold gets a whole episode and Flash barely even appears in the first two discs? Please.) There were some gems in there, though, like the Superman's birthday episode.

But once the whole Cadmus deal picks up and the interesting characters finally return to the fold, it easily trumps the weak previous seasons. The animation was definitely a notch above the previous seasons, as well - much more fluid.

And yeah, what in the hell is up with that theme song? It *might* have worked if the show was made in the 1980s...

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by Brikar99

And yeah, what in the hell is up with that theme song? It *might* have worked if the show was made in the 1980s...

WB EXEC: Hey, kids today love rock music. Can we put some in "Justice League"?

I mean, the synth scores for the first two JL seasons weren't great, but its just plain wrong to hear squealing electric guitars underneath Batman and Superman. You'd think there'd be enough money in the show's budget for the lavish orchestral scores from the Batman and Superman shows. Even Batman Beyond managed to mix acoustic intruments in with the rock/techno tracks (especially in the terrific Return Of The Joker score). You have these slick, kinetic superhero battles, and the musical accompaniment consists of a wall of keyboards and 80's metal guitars. It's the only element of JL that doesn't match up to the previous Dini/Timm shows.

[1138]

Originally Posted by Brikar99

There were some gems in there, though, like the Superman's birthday episode.

Womderfully done adaptation of an Alan Moore comic. I remember they previewed that fight scene at the SD Comic Con and the crowd went absolutely nuts for the "Burn!"

[Hockey Mask]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Well, I burned through the JLA season 1 set in two days flat (maybe a record for me), and loved it to death. My concerns about not understanding the origins of many of the new, supporting characters was pretty much moot, considering the exceptional level of creativity on every level. Timm and company were just firing on all cylinders here, and it was a blast. Highlights...

-The return of Hawkgirl (or Shayera), and her gradual acceptance back into the League. I liked how she had to struggle with her betrayal of both Earth and Thanagar, and how she and Wonder Woman finaly managed to bond again. Plus, she's an absolute knockout without her helmet.

-Holy continuity, Batman! It really was amazing how well the series managed to keep such tight hold of dangling plot threads from the previous Batman and Superman shows (particularly the definative final word on Batman Beyond in "Epilogue").

-Just seeing so many new heroes was terrific fun. I especially enjoyed Green Arrow and The Question.

Things that left me a bit cold...

-New theme music: LAME (and who's bright idea was it to stick episodes spoiler clips in the opening credits? ).

-Not enough Flash in the first 13 eps. Was Michael Rosenbaum busy, or something?

Otherwise, this is easilly some of the best animated superhero stuff ever done. I can't wait for the last batch of episodes (even if I'll be sad when I watch the last one ).

Sounds like you enjoyed JLU as much as I did. The next Season 2 that has yet to come out is not quite up to par but it will kill you when you the last episode is ove. This show could have gone on for years. So much material to draw from. It's too bad.

[Monterey Jack]

Well, devoured JLU season 2 over the past two days, and enjoyed it greatly, even if it paled slightly to the epic "Cadmus Arc" in season one (which truly felt like a series finale). While this final season had plenty of great moments, the whole "Legion Of Doom" arc was kind of wasted. Honestly, all that ominous setup with various Legion members getting their brains fried to prevent them from giving up Gorilla Grodd's master plan, and it turns out to be...trying to turn the whole world into apes? The ressurection of Darkseid in the two-part series finale was apt, but rushed, and I was sorely diappointed that we didn't get any definative closure to the Shayera/John relationship. Yeah, the flash-forward revealing their future son last season meant they were "destined" to be together, but still, just give us a few lines of dialogue, a meaningful glance, something. Also not digging the "new" Supergirl costume. Oh well, it was still a great watch, even though I'm very sad that the Dini/Timm-verse has now come to an end. Still, 300+ episodes over four shows is nothing to sneeze at.

[Hockey Mask]

Glad you liked Season 2. I seem to like it more than most people did.
Now you can move on to THE Justice League cartoon...SuperFriends!!