Justice League Unlimited
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| Justice League Unlimited | |
|---|---|
 A Justice League Unlimited promotional image. | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
Justice League Unlimited is an animated television series produced by and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, it is a direct sequel to the earlier Justice League series. It debuted on July 31, 2004 at 8:30 PM on Toonami.
The series is a continuation of its predecessor, taking place soon after the previous series ended. It is sometimes considered to be the same series as the original; season 1 of Justice League Unlimited is referred to as season 3 of Justice League.
It features a greatly-expanded Justice League, in which the characters from the original series are joined by a wide array of superheroes, as well as a number of DC heroes who had made guest appearances in the first two seasons of Justice League.
Also unlike Justice League, the show also has an ongoing story arc involving the building conflict between the Justice League and a secret government agency known as Project Cadmus. This plot line was heavily built upon events that have occurred during the second season of Justice League and has affected the plotlines for most of its episodes. It was resolved in a four-part episode at the end of the second season of Unlimited. The third season story arc appears to focus on the Legion of Doom as the main villains. DCAU villians have formed a loose-knit organization to combat the increased superhero coordination of the previous two seasons.
Show
Besides the addition of dozens of new League members, the show has changed format somewhat, though keeping the same Bruce Timm style artwork. Justice League Unlimited stories are mostly half-hour episode in length, unlike stories for Justice League which routinely ran for two half-hour episodes.
Justice League Unlimited, similar to the second season of Justice League, is broadcast in the United States in widescreen. The show also features a new theme song. It has been hailed by fans as one of the best parts of the DC animated universe and is currently the only Dini/Timm show still in production, the others having been replaced by anime-inspired cartoons like Teen Titans and The Batman.
Because of The Batman, an embargo was issued over JLU preventing Bruce Timm and his writers from using any of their versions of Batman's supporting cast and/or villains while they are being used on the new series. This is similar to the 1978 season of the Super Friends produced by Hanna-Barbera which was running concurrent with Filmation's Batman animated series. Hanna-Barbera was unable to use Batman's villains in the Legion of Doom but they were able to include the Riddler and Scarecrow.
Episodes
Characters in Justice League Unlimited
The seven founding members were the original regular lineup of the League the previous two seasons. It is evident that most of the founding members have higher rank and more responsibilities than the new members of the Justice League.
- Superman
- Batman
- Wonder Woman
- Flash (Wally West)
- Green Lantern (John Stewart)
- Martian Manhunter
- Hawkgirl (Shayera Hol) - Initially absent because of events in "Starcrossed", the Justice League series finale; she rejoined in the episode "Wake the Dead".
Future Members: Batman Beyond and the JLU
The name "Justice League Unlimited" also refers to a team of superheroes roughly 40 or 50 years in the future that appeared in the Batman Beyond two-part episode "The Call" (which, incidentally, aired well before work began on the Justice League series). This team consisted of Superman (Kal-El/Clark Kent), a new Green Lantern (Kai-ro), Big Barda (Barda Free), Warhawk (Rex Stewart), Aquagirl (Merina), and Micron. Like his predecessor, the new Batman (Terry McGinnis) becomes a part-time member of the League. A connection with this team featured in Batman Beyond and the present-day team featured in Justice League Unlimited was directly evident in the latter's two-part episode "The Once and Future Thing", were active members in an alternate future were: the new Batman (Terry McGinnis), Warhawk and Static (Virgil Hawkins), and were aided by an aged Bruce Wayne. Some of these members re-appeared, along with some of the rest of future ones, in yet another episode of Justice League Unlimited, called "Epilogue".
DVD releases
- Saving the World (released February 15, 2005) - Contains Season One episodes "Initiation", "Hawk and Dove", and "Kid Stuff".
- Joining Forces (released September 20, 2005) - Contains Season One episodes "For the Man Who Has Everything", "The Greatest Story Never Told", and "The Return".
Fans of the series have been lobbying for the release of complete seasons (along with the original Justice League) rather than collected editions such as those above, and with the announced first season box set to be released March 21, 2006 for Justice League it seems likely JLU will receive similar treatment. The current releases have been criticized by fans for having too little episodes, the full-screen format falsely identified as the "original aspect ratio", the use of out-of-date artwork for the covers, and the minimal extra features, all problems to be remedied once the likely season set is released.
Episode Trivia
- The character "Edgar Mandragora" from the episode "Double Date" (Steven Mandragora's son) shows up later (in the continuity timeline) as a telekinetic in the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games". The Batman Beyond episode aired years before the Justice League episode. Mandragora himself is based on the character of Tobias Whale, a Black Lightning villain, whose name could not be used due to DC's troubles with Whale's (and Black Lightning's) creator, Tony Isabella.
- The final scene in "Epilogue" is an homage to "On Leather Wings", the opening scene in the very first episode of the first Batman animated series that the Timm/Dini team collaborated on. It is the same scene but reversed shot by shot, with the original Batman theme.
- It seems that Justice League Unlimited has progressed in real time. In the episode "To Another Shore", Wonder Woman comments that J'onn J'onzz has been cooped up in the Watchtower for over 2 years, which would correspond with the first two seasons for JLU. This is different than the original Justice League cartoon which seems to have taken place over several years, with a substantial gap in time between seasons 1 and 2 for the show, "Starcrossed" (Justice League series finale) and "Initiation".
- Hawk and Dove were voiced by Fred Savage and Jason Hervy, who played the bickering brothers Kevin and Wayne on the TV series Wonder Years. Ironically, Fred voiced the older, more aggressive brother Hawk/Hank Hall while Jason voiced the younger, more docile brother Dove/Don Hall, which was a complete reversal of their roles on Wonder Years. It was originally intended for Jason to voice Hawk and Fred to voice Dove, mirroring the Wonder Years relationship, but during the voice over readings they unexpectedly swapped parts and it was left that way for the episode.
- Dwayne McDuffie has gone on the record as saying that we will never see the golden shield on the back of Superman's cape and the issue of where Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker fits into continuity rarely comes up. Supergirl received a redesign because they said that the white-T design was "too 90s". The new design is described as being based on the new Supergirl from the Loeb/Churchill series with DCAU Supergirl's face and DCAU Black Canary's hair.
- All characters except for Superman and Batman received minor redesigns following the end of Justice League and start of Justice League Unlimited. Some like Green Lantern got new heads or (in the case of Hawkgirl and Supergirl) new bodies. Others like the Flash had some of their lines changed.
- The Justice League embassy in Metropolis at the start of season 5 is the former site of Lexor City and the future site of the Justice League Watchtower in Batman Beyond's time. Its current design is based a homage of the Hall of Justice from Superfriends, with its shape extrapolated as a tower and pavilion rather than a hall.
- In the original Justice League series, the Javelin was heavily damaged, but never destroyed until it was blown up during the Thangarian invasion. By contrast, the Javelin shuttles in Justice League Unlimited are destroyed with regular frequency, starting with an entire armada of them in "The Return".
- Bruce Timm has stated that the Batman Beyond episode "The Call" starring a future Justice League was a test bed for the pacing and large cast handling for the Justice League cartoon. The production staff was concerned that they would have difficulty giving screen time with such a large cast of icons while still telling good stories, and some of the more technical issues of producing a show that had such many varied designs that would need to be animated. The resounding success of that particular episode is credited by the producers as being instrumental in making Justice League happen.
- The fact that the DC Comics continuity, the DCAU JLU season 3 and Alex Ross' out-of-continuity "Ultimate Justice League" comic known as Justice are all exploring the theme of villians organizing to form an anti-Justice League of sorts (via the Secret Society and both Legions of Doom) turned out to be completely coincidental. The DC comics plans were the natural extension of Identity Crisis, the DCAU plans were the natural outgrowth of the mere existence of the 60 member Justice League Unlimited, and the Legion of Doom in Justice being Alex Ross' tribute to SuperFriends, a show he has much affinity towards. This has caused problems for several theories that the DCAU is going to have a counterpart to Infinite Crisis. The current 5th season of the animated Teen Titans series features a similar theme of villians uniting against DC heroes.
The Bat-Embargo
During production of the Justice League Unlimited series, a decision was made to limit appearances of Batman's rogues' gallery to The Batman and the Batman Begins film franchise. This decision meant that only obscure Bat-villains such as the Clock King, the KGBeast, Amygdala, the Sportsmaster, Blockbuster or Copperhead would appear in the current animated continuity.
Some fans are not happy with this situation and have started petitions to reverse it, or at least to convince Warner Bros. to allow the inclusion of Batman's archenemies the Scarecrow and the Riddler in the Legion of Doom. However, it is unclear when or if DC will end this policy, or whether or not one show will be cancelled before the other.
- Bruce Timm on the Bat-Embargo: “I don’t see the Bat-Embargo lifting anytime soon but, to tell you the truth, as much as I […] love those characters, I don’t really miss [them] all that much. It’s not like we don’t have tons of other interesting characters to play with. If I were doing an actual Batman show, and not allowed to use those characters, yeah, that’d be pretty galling, but Batman’s only one ingredient in the Justice League’s brew. The Bat-clan aren’t really essential in any way to the current show […] I mean, did you guys miss Ra’s [Al Ghul] in ‘Wake the Dead?’ Would ‘The Return’ have been a better episode if Nightwing were in it?
- “So, let’s all just take a deep breath and move on, shall we? There’s a [bunch] of mind-blowing superhero goodness coming soon on Justice League Unlimited; just keep saying, ‘The glass is half-full’ (courtesy of Toon Zone).”
- Dwayne McDuffie on the Bat-Embargo: “All I know is [that the Batman characters] they’re off-limits for the foreseeable future. If it changes we’ll use some of them but I wouldn’t count on it happening soon (courtesy of DwayneMcDuffie.com).”
Implications of the Bat-Embargo for future and past episodes
- An incomplete Legion of Doom:
- The introduction of the Legion of Doom in season three of Justice League Unlimited conspicuously lacks the major Batman villains, the Scarecrow and the Riddler, both of whom were part of the original Legion of Doom.
- The Hugo Strange / Dr. Moon situation:
- Fans speculate that the "Bat-Embargo" may have started around the middle of the second season, due to the disappearance of Hugo Strange, formerly a prominent member of Cadmus and possibly the reason that Amanda Waller knew Batman's secret identity. His role was later taken by a uncredited character believed to be Doctor Moon, a brain surgeon who first appeared as a Ra's Al Ghul minion in the seventies, and has become the go-to villain of the DC universe when 'evil' brain-washing is required. His identity reamins unconfirmed, since his weight and ethnicity has varied every time he appeared on comics, from a fit black man, to an hunchbacked fat arabic man; but it is most likely him, since the characters signature feature are his glasses and him being foreign, and the character has gained a lot of popularity since his appearance in Identity Crisis.
- No more Joker appearences:
- The removal of the The Joker is unusual, since he has appeared prominently in earlier seasons. This interpretation of the character by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has proven to be a real fan-favorite.
- Mobsters of Gotham City:
- The Penguin or other Gotham City influential mobsters like Black Mask, Two-Face, Rupert Thorne or Scarface will not be appearing in future episodes. According to Bruce Timm, after his redesign of the character for The New Batman Adventures, the Penguin started to have a very influential role as a kingpin for Gotham City underworld, working behind the scenes a la Lex Luthor. His power and position was especially shown when he was last seen, on the Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman movie. The character has also proven to be a treat for the Justice League in The Super Powers Team, the last season of the Super Friends.
- The Batman Adventures (2003-2004) story arc:
- During Batman Adventures, the last comic book based on Batman: the Animated Series, all the rogues evolved. The Penguin became major, Black Mask and Red Hood made their first appearances, and Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Talia, and the Riddler had also major changes in their lives. Although the comics based on the DCAU stories are not canonical to it, the producers have often adapted some of the plots to the actual DCAU in the past. Especially when Timm was involved in the comic's production, like in this case. It remains to be seen if the Batman Adventure story arc will have any effect on the JLU.
- The League of Assasins:
- The long-anticipated reappearance of Ra's al Ghul and his related League of Assasins, which is already part of the DC Animated Universe continuity, won't be possible. Ra's al Ghul and the Scarecrow currently share some hype from the Batman Begins movie. In the past, every Batman movie has had repercussions on the animated series. For example, for Batman: The Animated Series, the Penguin, Catwoman, and even the Joker share some similarities in design and story with their movie versions; and for The New Batman Adventures, the Riddler was re-designed to look a little more like the Batman Forever version. Many fans would love to see the return of Ra's for the so-called "Near Apocalypse of '09", a plan where the League of Assassins attempted to take over the world and were stopped by Batman, Talia, and the Justice League, an event which was referenced several times in Batman Beyond.
- Bruce Timm's creations:
- It remains to be seen what will happen with Harley Quinn, and the rest of the bat-villains created by Bruce Timm, or Clayface, who has a different identity on The Batman.
- The Aquaman embargo:
- DC Comics has asked JLU not to use Aquaman or any of his family or characters, this is due to the recent appearance of the character on Smallville, a storyline featuring the character on the television series Entourage, and the announcement of a Smallville-esque Aquaman series.
- Dwayne McDuffie on Devil Ray #1: “You call it [‘political correctness’], in my day we called it ‘manners’ but, either way, it’s moot. We changed Black Manta to Devil Ray [who, in the comics, is African-American] and [we] removed Aquaman from this script because the rights to Aquaman were no longer available (courtesy of Television Without Pity).”
- Dwayne McDuffie on Devil Ray #2: “It’s all over the Internet that I personally insisted that ‘Black Manta’ be changed to ‘Devil Ray’ due to what knuckle-draggers call ‘political correctness.’ This is untrue—as I’ve said many times before, the change was made because the character Black Manta was unavailable to Justice League Unlimited and for no other reason. Frankly, I’d already written two drafts of the outline before I was aware that Black Manta was actually black, or even that he had a face under that helmet. If you ask me, making Black Manta a black separatist (who inexplicably has white henchmen) does seem like a pretty stupid idea, but that opinion played no part in the decision not to use him (courtesy of DwayneMcDuffie.com).”(1)
- The other heroes:
- The same happens with some of the rest famous superheroes not seen on the show. There is a list of superheroes with "rights-available"
- “Bruce Timm on the Justice League’s expanded roster: (...) I think (Nemesis) was on a list of 'rights-available' guys that DC gave to us. And he is a unique 'type,' so we said, 'What the hell, put him in the show, we need bodies.' I would much rather have had Phantom Stranger, Blue Beetle, etc, but they were off-limits for whatever reason (courtesy of DrawingBoard.org).”(1)
Things that have been done on similar situations
- Devil Ray:
- Black Manta, appeared with the name "Devil Ray", in "To Another Shore" because Black Manta was off-limits to the show for exactly the same reasons as Aquaman. But at least the character got to appear.
For other legal issues preventing characters from appearing, see here.
External links
Quotes
(1) From jl.toonzone.net