''Justice League'' is an American

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

which ran from November 17, 2001, to May 29, 2004, on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

characters published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. It serves as a sequel to '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (including '' The New Batman Adventures'') and '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as a prequel to '' Batman Beyond'', and is the seventh series of the

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...

. The series ended after two seasons, but was followed by ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'', a successor series which aired for three seasons.

Overview

Bruce Timm, who co-produced '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' Superman: The Animated Series'' in the 1990s, became producer on an animated series focusing on the Justice League. The roster consisted of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

( John Stewart),

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

( Wally West), J'onn J'onzz, and

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' ...

. 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, ''

'', which premiered on July 31, 2004, and featured a larger roster of characters. It is the first series in the

to fully use digital ink and paint, also the first to be produced in widescreen starting in Season 2.

Production

Kevin Conroy reprised his voice role as

from '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995), '' The New Batman Adventures'' (1997–1999), and '' Batman Beyond'' (1999–2001). Batman's costume was redesigned, but this time, his costume was a combination of his last three costumes. The same costume from ''The New Batman Adventures'' is retained, but with the blue highlights from the ''Batman: The Animated Series'' costume and the long-ears from the ''Batman Beyond'' costume are added to the costume. Tim Daly, who voiced Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'' (1996–2000), was initially involved, but was unable to reprise his role due to involvement with '' The Fugitive''. He was replaced by George Newbern. Both Newbern and Daly have voiced the character in different DC projects outside the DCAU, with Newbern becoming the longest-running actor to portray Superman. Alongside Kevin Conroy and George Newbern as Superman, joining the rest of the main cast is Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Maria Canals-Barrera as Hawkgirl, Phil LaMarr as John Stewart, Michael Rosenbaum replacing Charlie Schlatter as the Flash, and Carl Lumbly as J'onn J'onzz. Several actors in previous DCAU media also reprise their roles, including Dana Delany as Lois Lane, David Kaufman as Jimmy Olsen, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred Pennyworth, Shelley Fabares and Mike Farrell as Jonathan and Martha Kent, Mark Hamill as the Joker,

Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...

as Lex Luthor, Corey Burton as Brainiac,

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

Clayface Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them are List of Batman family enemies ...

, Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, Peri Gilpin as Volcana, Diane Pershing as

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

, Mark Rolston as Firefly, Ted Levine as Sinestro, Brian George as

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

, Michael Ironside as Darkseid, Michael Dorn as Kalibak, Lisa Edelstein as Mercy Graves, and Brad Garrett as Lobo. In the episode "Hereafter", Maria Canals-Barrera voiced Livewire and Corey Burton voiced Toyman and Metallo, replacing their respective original actors Lori Petty, Bud Cort, and Malcolm McDowell.

Episodes

Voice cast

Main cast

* Kevin Conroy –

* Maria Canals-Barrera –

* Susan Eisenberg –

* Phil LaMarr –

* Carl Lumbly – J'onn J'onzz * George Newbern –

* Michael Rosenbaum – Flash

Home media

From 2006 to 2011, Warner Home Video (via DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) released the entire series of ''Justice League'' on DVD and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

, and presented in original broadcast version and story arc continuity order. Season releases Warner Home Video also released another DVD set titled ''Justice League: The Complete Series.'' It contained all 91 episodes of ''Justice League'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' on a 15-disc set with the 15th disc containing a bonus documentary. This was later re-packaged and sold as a 10-disc set without the bonus documentary. ;Individual releases ;Boxsets

Soundtrack

A 4-disc soundtrack of musical highlights from both seasons of Justice League was released by La-La Land Records in July 2016. It is a limited edition of 3000 units and can be ordered at the La-La Land Records website. The set includes tracks from fan-favorite episodes like A Better World, Hereafter, Wild Cards and Starcrossed. La-La Land are hoping to release a soundtrack for ''

'' as well, provided that sales of the Justice League soundtrack improve significantly and that there is sufficient demand from fans. A second Justice League volume may also follow if fans support the existing release.

Broadcast history

The series premiere on November 17, 2001, set a Cartoon Network record with over 4.114 million viewers. This made it the channel's highest rated premiere ever, a record it would keep until September 13, 2009, when the world premiere of '' Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'' gathered over 6.108 million viewers. The show was aired in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

on TG4 in both Irish and English from 6 September 2002 to 2007.

Reception

''Justice League'' Season 1 received acclaim for its portrayal of the superhero team and its engaging storytelling. '' WhatCulture'' praised the season for its exceptional execution, and highlighted the series' mature handling of themes such as relationships, trauma, and loss, which contributed to its broad appeal across different age groups. '' Den of Geek'' highlighted the show’s effective team dynamics, drawing a favorable comparison to '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' for its exploration of character relationships. ''The Young Folks'' admired the show’s versatility, noting its ability to seamlessly shift between emotional, humorous, and epic moments. ''io9.com'' also appreciated the charm of the heroes’ initial team-up, benefiting from their backgrounds in previous animated series. Despite its strengths, the season faced some criticism. ''CBR'' noted that the storytelling in Season 1 often felt superficial, with deeper narratives and character development emerging in later seasons. Filip Vukcevic of

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

agreed, pointing out uneven character development as a drawback but still finding the show entertaining overall. Oliver Sava of '' the AV Club'' countered this view by praising the expansive nature of the series and its multi-part episodes, which he felt contributed to a strong iteration of the Justice League. Indiewire ranked the show overall as the 20th best animated show of all time. The second season of ''Justice League'' however, is considered to be one of the best seasons of the entire

, with Oliver Sava from The A.V. Club writing "good enough isn't good enough." "That's the philosophy for ''Justice League'' season two, according to producer Bruce Timm on the DVD commentary, and this two-part season opener is the perfect example of that new attitude in action. Just as ''Batman: The Animated Series'' set a new standard for solo superhero cartoon excellence, Justice League season two is only eclipsed by ''

'' as the strongest superhero-team series. Everything is of higher quality this season: the direction, animation, music, sound effects, and most importantly, the stories."

Accolades

Cancelled film

Circa 2004, Bruce Timm announced that a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

''Justice League'' feature film was being produced to bridge the second season of ''Justice League'' and the first season of ''

''. It was planned to reveal how

acquired her Invisible Plane and feature the Crime Syndicate as the main antagonists, an idea that was originally conceived for the episode "A Better World" until the Syndicate was replaced by the Justice Lords. Dwayne McDuffie wrote the script and Andrea Romano assembled the cast, but Warner Bros. finally scrapped the project. In 2010, the film was repurposed and released as '' Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths'', a standalone film unconnected to the DCAU.

Adaptations

''Justice League Adventures''

DC Comics published a series of 34-issue numbered comics based on the television series, between 2002 and 2004. However, while the comic would use the style of the animated show, it would often ignore its continuity and use backstories and personalities for characters based on the mainstream DC comics instead. * #34 (2004-08-04): Guardians Against Darkness!

Compilations

* ''Justice League Adventures: The Magnificent Seven'' (2004-01-01): Includes #3, 6, 10–12.