Comic books are a brilliant world that have been around virtually forever and have simply paved the way with enough material for television shows, feature films, and animated series spanning decades. The characters are interesting and each has their own history that is usually mysterious or unlike any other. Villains range from one end of the spectrum with those that merely wear a mask and fire a gun all the way up to those shaped like an earthball, wear a top hat, and carry deadly umbrellas. Heroes battle it out with these so-called “bad guys,” but also have to deal with their pasts which sometimes come back to haunt them. Worlds like Metropolis, Atlantis, and Gotham City are just a few of the places we’d all like to visit in hopes of one day seeing those we’ve read or heard about. Comics are an awesome way to escape real life and live vicariously through the pages of ink and paint. Sometimes though it’s fun to watch those drawn images come alive so that the voices aren’t always just in your head.
The Justice League is a team of superheroes that have banded together to fight the forces of evil and keep Earth (and the universe) safe from harm. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are the unofficial leaders of the team and rightfully so for their vast history and leadership skills. The rest of the immediate team consists of Martian Manhunter (J’onn J’onzz), Hawkgirl, Green Lantern (John Stewart), and the Flash (Wally West). Together the team would take on the tasks of keeping the world safe while dealing with mega villains as well as the people of the world who think the Justice League are just as dangerous to humans as the Joker, Brainiac, and Darkseid. Always looking out for the good of mankind though, the Justice League sets out to defend justice no matter what the cost.
As time went on, it became evident that the League needed to expand some and therefore Justice League Unlimited (JLU) was born. Superman, Batman, and other five original parts of the team were now referred to as “founding members” while numerous other heroes joined in their good fight. Together these heroes are able to take on more of the globe simultaneously and make sure that the forces of evil stay at bay. The Justice League was already extremely strong in its original form, but the addition of such names as Green Arrow, the Atom, Aquaman, Hawk, and Booster Gold strengthened the forces. New faces and powers were definitely needed though because evil knows no bounds and only got stronger and bigger in numbers.
Justice League ran for two seasons (52 episodes) before making way for two seasons of Justice League Unlimited (31 episodes). The seven main heroes almost all made some type of appearance in each episode, but the team was often broken down into smaller sets for particular missions. JLU worked in much the same way as smaller teams of heroes would battle out certain foes even though small cameos by numerous other characters was a normal occurrence. Each storyline is usually its own plot and the problem at hand comes to a conclusion in each two-part episode. There are some fantastic continuing storyline arcs in the seasons of Justice League that will take place like “Legends,” “Starcrossed,” and “Secret Origins.” You’ll actually see references to events from these episodes throughout both seasons. JLU went to a simpler approach and mostly all of their stories are done though one episode except for the amazing Cadmus storyline which stretches across a series of eight.
I really wish that comic books had been something I’d continued to be involved in after loving them so much as a child. It’s just a shame that time and life events have not allowed me to enjoy them as much as I’d like to. Not to mention that catching up with everything going on would be next to impossible. Justice League allows people like me that love those in the DC Universe to get their fill of them without having to play catch-up or remembering too much from issue to issue (month to month). This entire series takes a lot of plots straight from the comic books themselves and incorporates it in so that adults and children alike can enjoy them without ever having to pick up a single book. Let’s not forget how enticing the fantastic voice acting makes the series as well. More perfect choices could not have been made for every single character. When you hear Kevin Conroy’s voice spill forth from beneath the cowl of Batman, you’d swear that is exactly how the Caped Crusader has sound on every page he’s ever been drawn on.
Episodes
Discs One – Four: Season One
Discs Five – Eight: Season Two
Discs Nine – Twelve: Season One
Discs Thirteen + Fourteen: Season Two
In something that has been the cause of much controversy and will surely continue here, the episodes are shown in different formats. Season one of Justice League is shown in Full Screen while the second season is in Widescreen along with JLU. The series was shown totally in Widescreen format when it aired and one would expect that here, but it wasn’t meant to be. Things don’t look bad, but they could look so much better.
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and while alright; they’re also disappointing. If any animated series needed to be upgraded to surround sound then this would be the one.
Audio Commentaries – Seven episodes spread throughout the series have audio commentary from different teams of voice cast and crew.
Inside Justice League – A very good feature where producers, directors, and more go in depth on the series (Justice League) as a whole. So much is talked about here including storylines, art, and why particular characters were chosen over others. It’s very cool to see into the heads of those in charge and why they selected what they did over all other things they could have chosen from the DC Universe. (9:12)
Storyboards – A quick compare and contrast look at storyboard to the finished product in episodes. Nothing much here. (7:10)
The Look Of The League – This is a short look at the animation of Justice League. Not much to this except for discussion on how the iconic characters needed to be as close to their comic book panel counterparts as possible, but some minor changes were necessary. (4:18)
Justice League The First Mission: Original Promo – The producers talk a little bit about the so-called “lost” first mission for the Justice League from 2001 before giving us all a look at it. It’s kind of interesting and complete with different looks for a few main characters, a couple additions to the group, and some overly cheesy music. (5:54)
Voices Of Justice – Voice director Andrea Romano sits down with a few members of the cast to discuss the differences between on-camera acting and voice acting. And what we get a little bit of, wishing we could have had more of it, is seeing the actors actually do the voice acting. I have always loved watching voice actors record their lines because it’s so much fun seeing them get into their roles when all they’re doing is going off a script and sometimes animated images. (10:37)
Look, Up In The Sky! – This featurette has clips from the documentary that came out in 2006 around the same time Superman Returns was about to hit theatres. Bryan Singer and Kevin Burns had put this together and it was actually really good and a fun look throughout the history of the “Man Of Steel.” Here you’ll get a short look, but you should honestly check out the whole thing. (6:29)
Justice League Declassified – A handful of the crew come together for another roundtable to discuss season two. Nothing much is said here except for how season one differs from season two and other slight changes they were hoping to get across to the fans. (8:02)
And Justice For All – One of the better special features included here where the producers get together for another discussion and go over the main differences between Justice League and JLU. It’s cool to actually hear how they made sure certain aspects were kept the same, but all else was changed up for the most part to make them two totally different series. (9:10)
Themes Of Justice – Five different themes from certain episodes showing scenes with nothing more than the musical score heard.
Cadmus Exposed – Mark Hamill and the producers discuss all that went on through the eight-episode package dealing with Cadmus. He goes into great detail here with different clips from those episodes that makes this an overly interesting featurette. (23:00)
Justice League Chronicles – Directors, writers, and other members of the crew pick out different episodes and discuss them a little further. They talk about what goes into creating them from the writing to the themes to how the conclusion will play into the next one. There’s a lot more to it but I won’t ruin it because it is an excellent feature. (33:41)
Music Only Audio Track for the Final Episode “Destroyer” – Not a bad concept, but rather dull after a few minutes. “Destroyer” is presented with nothing but the musical score.
Unlimited Reserve: Exploring The Depths of the DC Universe – A vast, but far too short, look inside the giant world that is the DC Universe. It’s a look by members of cast and crew at what they had to work with and how great it was to actually be a part of what some of them call “the greatest show ever,” Justice League. This really is good and could have been so much better had it even been given another fifteen to twenty minutes. (16:48)
There is nothing that could ever make me tell you not to pick up this set. Well, unless you’ve already purchased all the seasons of Justice League and JLU already because you’re really not getting anything new. Almost all of the special features are just imported from the season sets except for “Unlimited Reserve” which comes on a bonus fifteenth disc. Oh, and you get the awesome metal tin that the whole set comes in too. The one big problem is the video transfer which is just disappointing, but I’m still a big dork for the series so I’ll praise it anyway. Justice League is one of the most awesome cartoons in the history of animation and the complete series is the ultimate collection so you might as well pick it up now before Batman arrives at your house all pissy and forces you to get it.
Warner Home Video presents Justice League: The Complete Series. Created by: Bruce Timm & Paul Dini. Starring (voices): Carl Lumbley, Phil LaMarr, George Newbern, Kevin Conroy, Clancy Brown, and many more. Running time: 2062 minutes on 15 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: November 10, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
