Finally got caught up with the show after a long break. The two-part season finale starts this weekend. With that, it's time to take a look at the season that WAS Justice League Unlimited before throwing it to you guys to add in your own thoughts.
Highlights: AMAZO~!: The writers didn't disappoint when they said "The Return" would blow people away. Without a doubt, the best episode of the season saw a rejuvenated Amazo make a universal beeline for Lex Luthor and completely annihilate any and all Leaguers in his way (including Red Tornado, who's now scrap metal). Also notable for the first appearence of The Atom and the surprise return of Hawkgirl at the episode's conclusion. Makes me wonder what they could have done with the old hour-long format (which we'll get into later). I won't even deduct points for throwing in that putz, Kyle Rayner.
The Question: As far as I can tell, his only superpower is SUPER-REASON, but The Question was easily one of the highlights of this season, as he had great chemistry with Green Arrow. The "conspiracy-theorist" of the team was so well-liked by others besides myself, that he's been confirmed to return for Season 4. His battle of wit with Tea, his conspiracy wall, and his meticulous method of breaking in (ponders for a few seconds, hums to himself, and then proceeds to toss a potted plant through the glass door) all make this episode worth seeing.
Green Arrow: Made a believer out of me. This season not only introduced Ollie, but also cemented him as a badass. From laying out Brimstone to taking out an army of robots, Green Arrow was not just one of the highlights of this season, but I now start to wonder why Ollie wasn't included in the series from the start. Bonus points for tossing in the Black Canary to keep up with DC continuity.
Lowlights: Only 30 minutes?: The first two seasons of Justice League saw hour-long episodes, which allowed a semblance of flow to settle in. Stories were able to be told, origins were revealed, battles felt more epic. With this season's half-hour format, everything felt thrown together and rushed. Episodes like "The Return" and "Waking the Dead" could have become true classics if they were just given a little more time to develop. And if we're spotlighting a team boasting more than 30 DC heroes, how can they possibly be featured if their timeslot is cut in half?
Government conspiracies?: As a one-time deal with The Question, the government conspiracy thing was cute. But as a lingering season-long storyline, it reeks of cliche. Sure, it makes the heroes look more human, but it doesn't really strike me as truly original.
This will lead into this weekend's two-part season finale, which should be something to see. Time-travel usually makes my head hurt, but guest shots from future Batman Terry McGinnis and the adult Static will make this one worth catching.
I actually like the government conspiracy angle. I suspected in Marvel with the X-Men, Avengers and the sort, but not DC. So, it was interesting to see them throw out the whole truth, justice and the AMERICAN WAY!!! out the window. Also, its realistic, espically after the Warren Ellis' nanotech episode with Atom when they used the Death Star laser. So, I wouldn't be too shocked to see Luthor behind it all in the end. Since I was hearing rumors about them using him runnig for President angle coming soon. I wish Cartoon Network would give this show a nice marathon on Sunday, so I can catch-up for the finale.
"All faith reguires is giving into the possibility of hope."
Sadly, there's only one more season to go. They are ending the series at the close of the fourth season.
It's a shame, because they can do so much with this series unlike the past ones, like Batman, Batman Beyond, Superman, and Teen Titans. A Justice Laegue series can have any DC universe character thrown in, where as the others are tied down to the single character stories. (Even though the Jonah Hex episode of BATMAN: The Animated Series was the single greatest cartoon moment I ever sat through. Jesus Christ that was done better then 9/10's of the crap you see anywhere else.)
Cerebus: RIP 1977-2004.
"What do you think it's like being created by a manic-depressive, paranoid schizophrenic, hypochondriac, misogynist with delusions of grandeur and a messiah complex?"
Any indications on a DVD box for JL? Superman volume 1 and Batman volume 2 are due out in a couple weeks and I'd rather not have to buy Titans piecemeal, but will to replace the VHS.
I've only sporadically been able to catch JLU this season. That episode with Wonder Woman being transformed into a pig was really fun for me due to the ending.
Originally posted by HairRaiserAny indications on a DVD box for JL? Superman volume 1 and Batman volume 2 are due out in a couple weeks and I'd rather not have to buy Titans piecemeal, but will to replace the VHS.
I've only sporadically been able to catch JLU this season. That episode with Wonder Woman being transformed into a pig was really fun for me due to the ending.
Nothing beats the novelty that is BATMAN: LOUNGE SINGER!
EDIT: Read an interview with Dwayne McDuffie, giving details into season four and the season finale. Details include: -JONAH HEX~! and Bat Lash have also been confirmed for the season finale. Also promised one major surprise. -Once again, The Question has been confirmed for season 4. -Mr. Miracle, Vixen, and Black Canary will be featured prominently in season 4. -No Plastic Man for season 4. Couldn't speculate on details. -Captain Marvel WILL be featured next season, which should be huge! -Confirms that the government conspiracy angle would conclude in season 4. Wouldn't confirm the end of the show itself, but also noted that Cartoon Network hasn't given any hint regarding renewal. -Possibly the most distressing piece of news is that the Batman villains are now off-limits due to the WB's new crappy version of Batman, meaning Mark Hamill's career as the Joker is effectively over.
JLU is really disappointing. There are a ton of cameos but the characters don't really do anything except that they are really useless in those large scale battles the Justice League always seems to get in. Hawk And Dove was by far one of the worst episodes ever for a DCU animated series. And what happened to the Flash? He's a founding member but has become a total non-factor the entire season, and no lines of dialogue to speak of. The character development on this show is just terrible. What they should have done is just scale it down to about 12-15 members, with a few reserves just to mix and spice things up.
"Don't compare my arm...to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
More highlights: 1). When I read the preview for "Ultimatum" with the Ultimen, it sounded incredibly lame. I was surprised with that episode, and liked how it re-worked some of the old SuperFriends exclusive-to-TV heroes. Juice= Black Vulcan, Longshadow= Apache Chief, Downpour and Shifter= Wonder Twins and Wind Dragon= Samurai.
2). Return of the pseudo-Defenders! Dr. Fate, Aquaman, Hawkgirl and Grundy. That particular episode started out awful, with the D&D nerds...but after the intro it picked up and was one of the more memorable episodes. The "Old Yeller" ending was well-done.
3.) Like you mentioned, The Question was fun. The scene where he breaks in and hums... I expected him to say "hrrrmmmm", cuz' he seemed more Rohrshach than Vic Sage.
4.) B'wana Beast! Over a year ago I said "wow, Justice League is so well-done, I'll bet they could make B'wana Beast cool". That was my biggest mark-out moment of the entire series.
5). Despite the big cast, subplots are still lingering. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, Batman and Wonder Woman, stuff from Superman's "Legacy" episodes, plus Luthor. They even touched on previous show continuity by bringing back Morgan LeFay, the Demon and Grundy.
Low-lights: 1.) The whole "super duper hero army" is kinda' lame. EVERY hero available is suddenly hanging out in the JL watchtower...but it speeds up the plot in that new heroes don't have to be introduced. It's cool to have Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary, Red Tornado and even Vixen around... but do we really need Crimson Avenger, Vigilante, Fire, Rocket Red, Starman and the rest? Most of the new characters have been simply background filler. They're making sure to animate EVERY DC hero, but it doesn't help the plot.
2.) The Booster Gold episode. The team already has a self-centered jerk: the Flash. The main story wasn't anything spectacular and the background story trivialized the League too much. Like it was saying "heroes and supervillains fight in the city 'cuz THAT'S WHAT THEY DO".
3.) The background techno/rock music. Ehh, doesn't work for me. I'd say it's the video game influence that made them go for it.
EDIT: According to Cartoon Network's site, the two-part finale begins on Jan 22. "Wake the Dead" (the Grundy episode) is scheduled for Jan 16.
(edited by estragand on 10.1.05 2336) -ES Visit ES online- it's "Internet Entertainment"!
I'm glad I'm not the only one watching this show (for awhile I thought I was).
- I too, thought the one hour format was better. But other than the "Dove and ______" (I even forget the guys name, it was that lame) episode, all the rest were really well done and flowed well. - They did cement Green Arrow as a badass, and I thought they did a great job with Batman too. - One of my favorite episodes is the one where they get turned into kids. "I'm the kid with laser beams coming out of his eyes!". "Dude, your girlfriend is bossy"....."Shut up!".
Originally posted by The Vile1And remember, the show no longer has a self-centered jerk in The Flash because he's a total non-factor on the show now.
For our resident Flash fans like The Vile1...
Originally posted by The Dwayne McDuffie InterviewBM: Why hasn’t the Flash had a prominent role this season? Was Michael Rosenbaum not available?
DM: Michael Rosenbaum is available and still playing the Flash. Look for Flash to figure prominently in an episode called "The Ties That Bind," coming up very soon. Actually, Michael's also playing several other characters in the upcoming season. So he’s still doing stuff with us, which is great, because he's unbelievably talented.
You guys might not be amazed by this, but I found out today that there's SEVERAL Justice League cross-overs in "Static Shock". I flipped by Cartoon Network today and saw Green Lantern and Sinestro on there.
If you'rw reading this on Monday, before 6:00 EST, you might wanna' know that a special 2-part Justice League show is scheduled to air at 6:30.
I've been a Justice League freak since the show debutted, so I'm amazed that I've completely missed the "Static Shock" team-ups.
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