In the world of animation, comics-based shows are a dime a dozen. Thus, it takes true talent for a cartoon superhero show if it can stand above the rest.
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited were just the shows to do that. Created by the almighty legend Bruce Timm, these shows took place in the same universe as Timm's Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, collectively known as the Timmverse, or DCAU (DC Animated Universe).
While Batman and Superman are remarkable, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited were these shows fully realized. Amalgamating all the DC characters they could into an entire giant universe produced a plethora of awesome animated stories to tell.
And I'm going to try to count down what I think are the best ten.
I'll be honest, this is going to be remarkably difficult. I'm picking the best ten of around 50 episodes, give or take. I'm going to have to make a lot of painful cuts.
But hopefully, through this list, I can give a proper representation of what made these shows great.
Here goes:
10. "The Greatest Story Never Told" (JLU)- The main difference between Justice League and Justice League Unlimited is hinted at in the title.
Justice League focuses on the seven main (later called the "founding") members of the Justice League: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Wally West, not Barry Allen), Green Lantern (John Stewart, not Hal Jordan), Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter.
Justice League Unlimited, however, focuses on a Justice League that has many, MANY more members, from the more famous like Green Arrow to the less famous like Steel.
In JLU, the writers select various episodes to focus on more obscure characters to give them some spotlight, and if I expanded the list many more of those kind would be on here, but with just ten I only have room to focus on one.
Booster Gold is a hero from the future who travels back in time to use his futuristic technology to become a superhero just so he can have fame and fortune, and of course, luck with the ladies.
However, due to his ever-present ego, he's never really seen by his colleagues or by the rest of the world as nothing more than a blowhard.
In this episode, he's assigned to crowd control while other League members are handling a threat, but he gets more action than he bargains for when a scientist's invention starts losing control.
Booster has to learn how to shove aside his ego and focus on the task at hand in order to save the day, and the episode does a really good job of detailing this character transformation, helping to create a likable hero from an annoying show off.
I'm a sucker for a good bildungsroman, and while this is only a bildungsroman in an episodic sense, it still lives up to the name by making good character development for a character most children haven't heard of.
And of course the lesson here is good: to be a hero, one must have the attitude of a hero, which means, even if your heroic acts may still go unnoticed, it's more important the right thing was done.
And you know, be humble and stuff.
9. "The Enemy Below" (JL)- Aquaman is a character that has been, well, laughed at over the years.
Many critics have stated that his abilities are really useless above water and that talking to fish, even below water, is kind of silly.
Therefore, to include him in the show was a bit of a gutsy move by Timm and the gang. However, they knew that they had to make some changes in order to include Aquaman in the show. They had to show the kids a new, improved Aquaman, to shake off his lame status.
Their solution? Make him as hardcore as possible.
In the DCEU (that's the live action movie universe), Jason Momoa has been casted as Aquaman, who appears to be going the buff route that the DCAU took the character.
I would like to take this moment to say that Bruce Timm did it first, and hopefully the films will do just as good a job as the DCAU did.
Aquaman's design got a major overhaul, giving him long hair, a beard, and an earring, along with a gruff, intimidating voice.
His character was altered too. He changed from a helping hero to a fierce defender of his homeworld of Atlantis, willing to fight whomever he thought posed a threat, including the Justice League. Thus his role in the series became more of an ally than a member.
In this episode, we get to see the new improved Aquaman in full display, and we find a king who is willing to do anything for his people, which the episode shows that by anything, he means ANYTHING.
Aquaman's character is on full display, and he is painted as both a misguided protector and a sympathetic father and king. We see that Aquaman only does what he thinks is right for Atlantis and his family, which is both a sympathetic and noble goal.
Maybe it's just the testosterone speaking, but trust me, this is a GREAT episode full of action, drama, and character. And hardcore awesomeness courtesy of the new hardcore Aquaman.
It's awesome, trust me.
8. "Only a Dream" (JL)- Every show has a creepy episode, and this one certainly takes the cake for creepiest Justice League episode.
It all starts when a jail inmate uses a breakout to hook himself up to an ESP machine (why they would keep that in a prison I don't know) in order to give himself powers to take out the Justice League.
When he wakes up he finds he has the power to invade people's dreams and keep in there while giving them their worst nightmares.
Unsettling, right?
Branding himself Dr. Destiny, he proceeds to torment each Justice League member when they go to sleep, except for two: Batman, who fights throughout the episode to stay awake, and Martian Manhunter, who doesn't appear to need any sleep.
We see each sleeping member's worst fears fully realized in their dreams, and it's up to them to overcome their fears in order to escape their nightmare.
Martian Manhunter provides some help, but the fate of the dreaming members lies in their hands, so we get to see some interesting character realizations and development along the way.
Combine that with a creepy foe and you get one of the most memorable Justice League episodes ever.
Hope you sleep well after that.
7. "Eclipsed" (JL)- I said that "Only a Dream" was the creepiest Justice League episode, but this one takes a close second.
When a military unit is hunting down a terrorist in the Middle East, they come across a strange cave with a strange diamond in it guarded by a strange man. After they overpower him, one of the members of the unit grabs the strange diamond, starts humming a strange tune, and then strangely tries to kill his unit.
Strange, isn't it?
The diamond begins to change hands and each person holding the diamond tries to take out all human life, while humming the aforementioned strange tune. It soon becomes a race to track down the diamond and destroy it, with it even changing hands among the Justice League.
However, when the entire League except for Flash become possessed by the diamond, it's up to the team's most immature member to face his entire more combat experienced friends in order to save the day.
I decided to place this episode over "Only a Dream" because the stakes were higher, what with the entire League possessed and all, and it gave Flash a chance to prove himself, which helped assert himself on the show as a capable member.
So the next time you hear someone humming a strange tune, just tuck it and run as far away as you can.
6. "Wild Card" (JL)- It's a fact of life that every syndicated series has its own sort of formula, and Justice League is no different.
We start with a glimpse of what the threat is, we see the League fight the threat, the League wins, credits.
However, just like any other show, some of the most memorable episodes are the ones that shake things up.
And really in this episode, the only thing that's really different is the execution.
The Joker has placed 25 bombs across Las Vegas and it's up to the League to diffuse them, all while taking on The Royal Flush Gang, a group of villains taken in and trained by Joker.
However, all of this is displayed on Live TV by the Joker himself, who provides narration and backstory to the audience and emcees the entire episode, providing segways to the differing points of action.
He even displays a timer that keeps going throughout the whole episode. I like little touches like that.
It's an interesting way to give Joker the spotlight, which is something we all like, let's face it, but it's also one of the most entertaining Joker plots ever, with the pressure becoming really palpable.
In the end, I really like this episode for it's unique way of presenting itself. With a nefarious plot and different delivery, "Wild Card" really stands out among its lineup.
TO BE CONTINUED
