''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
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...
. It is based on the
Justice League of America
The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...
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
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...
'') and ''
Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as a prequel to ''
Batman Beyond
''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...
'', 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
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...
, 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
Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. T ...
),
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, ''
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 ...
'', which premiered on July 31, 2004, and featured a larger roster of characters.
It is the first series in 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 ...
to fully use
digital ink and paint
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there was a shif ...
, also the first to be produced in widescreen starting in Season 2.
Production
Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films. Conroy earned fame for voicing the DC Comics superhero Batman in various anim ...
reprised his voice role as
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 ...
from ''
Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995), ''
The New Batman Adventures
''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...
'' (1997–1999), and ''
Batman Beyond
''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...
'' (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
James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom '' Wings'' and his recurring role as drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on ''The Sopranos.'' He starred as Pete ...
, 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
George Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC show ''Scandal (American TV series), Scandal'' (2012–2018) and Bryan MacKenzie in ''Father of the Bride ...
. 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
Susan Eisenberg is an American voice actress. She is best known as the voice of Wonder Woman in the animated shows ''Justice League'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'', a role she later reprised in several animated films and video games.
Life
H ...
as Wonder Woman,
Maria Canals-Barrera
Maria Pilar Canals-Barrera (; born September 28, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Theresa Russo in the Disney Channel series ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' (2007–2012), Connie Torres in ''Camp Rock'' (2008) and '' Cam ...
as Hawkgirl,
Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...
as
John Stewart,
Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972) is an American actor and podcaster. He is known for portraying Lex Luthor (Smallville), Lex Luthor on the television series ''Smallville'', a role that ''TV Guide'' included in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nas ...
replacing
Charlie Schlatter
Charlie Schlatter is an American actor who has appeared in several films and television series. He is best known for his role as Dr. Jesse Travis, the resident student of Dr. Mark Sloan (played by Dick Van Dyke) on the CBS series '' Diagnosis: ...
as the Flash, and
Carl Lumbly
Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for '' M.A.N.T.I.S.'' (1994–1997) and has also had television roles on '' Cagney & Lacey'' (1982–1988) and '' Alias'' (2001–2006).
He has also had roles in v ...
as J'onn J'onzz.
Several actors in previous DCAU media also reprise their roles, including
Dana Delany
Dana Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television drama ''China Beach'' (1 ...
as
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...
,
David Kaufman as
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Olsen is most often portrayed as a young photojournalist working for the ''Daily Planet''. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Superman, Clark Kent ...
,
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, originally Alfred Beagle and commonly known simply as Alfred, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Alfred is ...
,
Shelley Fabares
Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is a retired American actress and singer. She is known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom ''The Donna Reed Show'' (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitc ...
and
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph Farrell Jr. (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series '' M*A*S*H'' (1975–83). In addition, Farrell was a producer of '' Patch Adams'' (1998) starr ...
as
Jonathan and Martha Kent
Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent (often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent, respectively) are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman, and live in the rural town of Smallville (co ...
,
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...
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
Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...
,
Corey Burton
Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformers'', Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in ...
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 ...
as
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
Arleen Frances Sorkin (October 14, 1955 – August 24, 2023) was an American actress, screenwriter, television presenter and comedian. Sorkin is known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime serial ''Days of Our Lives'' and for serving ...
as
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...
,
Peri Gilpin
Peri Gilpin (born Peri Kay Oldham; May 27, 1961) is an American actress who portrayed Roz Doyle in the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' and Kim Keeler in the ABC Family drama series '' Make It or Break It''.
Career
As a child, Gilpin took drama classes a ...
as
Volcana Volcana may refer to:
*Volcana (Marvel Comics)
*Volcana (DC Comics)
See also
*Volcano (disambiguation)
A volcano is a geological landform usually generated by the eruption through a vent in a planet's surface of magma.
Volcano may also refer to: ...
,
Diane Pershing
Diane Pershing is an American voice actress, film critic, and novelist. She began her singing career as a back-up singer for Johnny Mathis and went on to appear in the show group, The Establishment, on tour and on TV. She also voiced Poison Ivy ...
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
Mark Rolston (born December 7, 1956) is an American actor and voice actor. He made his film debut as PFC. Drake in '' Aliens'' (1986), and is known for his supporting roles in films like ''Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), ''The Shawshank Redemption'' (1 ...
as
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
,
Ted Levine
Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill) in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009 ...
as
Sinestro
Thaal Sinestro () (or simply Sinestro) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is a former Green Lantern Corps member w ...
,
Brian George
Brian George (born 27 July 1952) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), th ...
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
Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known professionally as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor. A prominent character actor with over 270 film and television credits, he is known for playing villains and antiheroes, but has ...
as
Darkseid
Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first made a cameo appearance in ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #134 (December 1970), before being fully in ...
,
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon character Worf in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, appearing in all seven seasons of the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1 ...
as
Kalibak
Kal-El
Kaldur'ahm
Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope is a supervillain with photokinetic powers created by Robby Reed's villain personality, "The Master".
She was originally created by two fans, Chris Lawton and Nancy Mae Lawton in 1982.
Kaleidosco ...
,
Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein ( ; born May 21, 1966) is an American actress and artist. She is known for playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the Fox medical drama series ''House'' (2004–2011). Between 2014 and 2018, Edelstein starred as Abby McCarthy in the Bravo s ...
as
Mercy Graves
Mercy Graves is a supervillain appearing in multimedia and American comic books published by DC Entertainment and DC Comics. Created for the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), she first appeared in 1996 on '' Superman: The Animated Series'' as the perso ...
, and
Brad Garrett
Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian.
Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...
as
Lobo. In the episode "Hereafter", Maria Canals-Barrera voiced
Livewire and Corey Burton voiced
Toyman
Toyman is the name of three supervillains and one adolescent superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, as an adversary for Superman.
The most well-known incarnation of Toyman is Winslow Schott, a criminal who uses toy-based or to ...
and
Metallo
Metallo () is the name of different supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an List of Superman enemies, adversary of Superman. All versions of the character are powered by kryptonite and are partially ...
, replacing their respective original actors
Lori Petty
Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1990 comedy film '' Cadillac Man'' and later starred in films ''Point Break'' (1991), '' A League of Their Own ...
,
Bud Cort
Walter Edward Cox (born March 29, 1948), known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor known for his unorthodox starring roles in Robert Altman's '' Brewster McCloud'' (1970), for which he was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award, and Ha ...
, and
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...
.
Episodes
Voice cast
Main cast
*
Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films. Conroy earned fame for voicing the DC Comics superhero Batman in various anim ...
–
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 ...
*
Maria Canals-Barrera
Maria Pilar Canals-Barrera (; born September 28, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Theresa Russo in the Disney Channel series ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' (2007–2012), Connie Torres in ''Camp Rock'' (2008) and '' Cam ...
–
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'' ...
*
Susan Eisenberg
Susan Eisenberg is an American voice actress. She is best known as the voice of Wonder Woman in the animated shows ''Justice League'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'', a role she later reprised in several animated films and video games.
Life
H ...
–
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 ...
*
Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...
–
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, ...
*
Carl Lumbly
Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for '' M.A.N.T.I.S.'' (1994–1997) and has also had television roles on '' Cagney & Lacey'' (1982–1988) and '' Alias'' (2001–2006).
He has also had roles in v ...
–
J'onn J'onzz
*
George Newbern
George Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC show ''Scandal (American TV series), Scandal'' (2012–2018) and Bryan MacKenzie in ''Father of the Bride ...
–
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 ...
*
Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972) is an American actor and podcaster. He is known for portraying Lex Luthor (Smallville), Lex Luthor on the television series ''Smallville'', a role that ''TV Guide'' included in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nas ...
–
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Barry Allen
** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
Home media
From 2006 to 2011,
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
(via
DC Entertainment
DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and is based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery which manages DC Comics characters by working with other units ...
and
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment was the family division label of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It released numerous theatrical and direct-to-video family-oriented films and television shows.
History
The division was founded in 1993 to produ ...
) released the entire series of ''Justice League'' on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
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 ''
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 ...
'' 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
''Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'' is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy horror mystery film directed by Brian Levant. It is based on the cartoon series ''Scooby-Doo''. The film reveals how the Mystery Inc. gang met and the events of thei ...
'' 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
TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...
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
WhatCulture Ltd. is a British online entertainment news website and magazine which was launched in 2010. The site offers news in the field of professional wrestling, television, films, music, video games, and board games.
History
Originally star ...
'' 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
''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
'' 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
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in 1 ...
'' 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
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 ...
, with Oliver Sava from
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
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 ''
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 ...
'' 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
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...
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 ''
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 ...
''. It was planned to reveal how
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 ...
acquired her Invisible Plane and feature the
Crime Syndicate
The Crime Syndicate or Crime Syndicate of America (CSA, with America sometimes spelled Amerika) is a team of supervillains featured in DC Comics. The team is composed of evil Multiverse (DC Comics), parallel-universe counterparts of the Justice Le ...
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
The Justice Lords are a fictional team of anti-heroes/anti-villains who first appeared in the two-part ''Justice League'' episode "A Better World", which was broadcast on November 1, 2003.
The Justice Lords were brought into DC Comics' canonical ...
.
Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television. He co-founded the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media, which focused on underrepresented minori ...
wrote the script and
Andrea Romano Andrea Romano may refer to:
* Andrea Romano (voice director)
Andrea Romano (born December 3, 1955) is an American retired casting director, voice director, and voice actress whose work includes '' Batman: The Animated Series'', ''Animaniacs'', ' ...
assembled the cast, but
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
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.
See also
* ''
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 ...
''
* ''
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths''
Notes
References
External links
* DC page
TVcomics
*
*
Justice Leaguea
The World's FinestLeague Nighta podcast reviewing every episode of the series.
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