| Justice League | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Genre | Action-Adventure Superhero Science fiction Crossover Drama |
| Based on | Justice League byGardner Fox |
| Developed by | Bruce Timm |
| Directed by | Butch Lukic Dan Riba |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Lolita Ritmanis |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Editor | Joe Gall |
| Running time | 20–22 minutes |
| Production companies | Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation[a] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Release | November 17, 2001 (2001-11-17) – May 29, 2004 (2004-05-29) |
Justice League is an American animatedsuperhero television series which ran from November 17, 2001, to May 29, 2004, onCartoon Network.[1] The show was produced byWarner Bros. Animation. It is based on theJustice League of America and associatedcomic book characters published byDC Comics. It serves as a sequel toBatman: The Animated Series (includingThe New Batman Adventures) andSuperman: The Animated Series, as well as a prequel toBatman Beyond, and is the seventh series of theDC Animated Universe. The series ended after two seasons, but was followed byJustice League Unlimited, a successor series which aired for three seasons.
Bruce Timm, who co-producedBatman: The Animated Series andSuperman: The Animated Series in the 1990s, became producer on an animated series focusing on the Justice League. The roster consisted ofBatman,Superman,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern (John Stewart),The Flash (Wally West),J'onn J'onzz, andHawkgirl.[1]
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, which premiered on July 31, 2004, and featured a larger roster of characters.
It is the first series in theDC Animated Universe to fully usedigital ink and paint, also the first to be produced in widescreen starting in Season 2.
Kevin Conroy reprised his voice role asBatman fromBatman: The Animated Series (1992–1995),The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), andBatman Beyond (1999–2001). Batman's costume was redesigned, but this time, his costume was a combination of his last three costumes. The same costume fromThe New Batman Adventures is retained, but with the blue highlights from theBatman: The Animated Series costume and the long-ears from theBatman Beyond costume are added to the costume.Tim Daly, who voiced Superman inSuperman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), was initially involved, but was unable to reprise his role due to involvement withThe Fugitive.[2] He was replaced byGeorge 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 isSusan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman,Maria Canals-Barrera as Hawkgirl,Phil LaMarr asJohn Stewart,Michael Rosenbaum replacingCharlie Schlatter as the Flash, andCarl Lumbly as J'onn J'onzz.
Several actors in previous DCAU media also reprise their roles, includingDana Delany asLois Lane,David Kaufman asJimmy Olsen,Efrem Zimbalist Jr. asAlfred Pennyworth,Shelley Fabares andMike Farrell asJonathan and Martha Kent,Mark Hamill as theJoker,Clancy Brown asLex Luthor,Corey Burton asBrainiac,Ron Perlman asClayface,Arleen Sorkin asHarley Quinn,Peri Gilpin asVolcana,Diane Pershing asPoison Ivy,Mark Rolston asFirefly,Ted Levine asSinestro,Brian George asParasite,Michael Ironside asDarkseid,Michael Dorn asKalibak,Lisa Edelstein asMercy Graves, andBrad Garrett asLobo. In the episode "Hereafter", Maria Canals-Barrera voicedLivewire and Corey Burton voicedToyman andMetallo, replacing their respective original actorsLori Petty,Bud Cort, andMalcolm McDowell.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 26 | November 17, 2001 (2001-11-17) | November 9, 2002 (2002-11-09) | |
| 2 | 26 | July 5, 2003 (2003-07-05) | May 29, 2004 (2004-05-29) | |
From 2006 to 2011,Warner Home Video (viaDC Entertainment andWarner Bros. Family Entertainment) released the entire series ofJustice League onDVD andBlu-ray, and presented in original broadcast version and story arc continuity order.
Season releases
| Name | Disc | Release date | Ep # | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season One | DVD | March 21, 2006 | 26 | Contains a set of 4 DVDs with all of the episodes from the first season as well as audio commentaries, interviews, and other special features. |
| Season One | Blu-ray | August 19, 2008 | 26 | Season One has been re-mastered and re-issued as a set of 3 Blu-ray Discs (in full 1080p and with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound) with everything included on the prior release. |
| Season Two | DVD | June 20, 2006 | 26 | Contains a set of 4 DVDs with all of the episodes from the second season as well as audio commentaries and a panel discussion involving the production team of the series (although the set packaging indicates a featurette hosted by voice actor Phil LaMarr, it is misprinted, the featurette is on Disc One instead of Disc Four). Despite the show having been produced in a widescreen format this release lacks anamorphic encoding. |
| Season Two | Blu-ray | July 26, 2011 | 26 | Warner Home Video released Season Two on a two-disc (50GB each) Blu-ray set. |
Warner Home Video also released another DVD set titledJustice League: The Complete Series. It contained all 91 episodes ofJustice League andJustice 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.
| DVD name | Release date | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
| Justice League | April 23, 2002 | Contains all three parts of "Secret Origins". A mini-DVD version of this disc has also been released. |
| Justice on Trial | April 22, 2003 | Contains "In Blackest Night" and "The Enemy Below". |
| Paradise Lost | July 22, 2003 | Contains "Paradise Lost" and "War World". |
| Starcrossed The Movie[3] | July 13, 2004 | Contains "Starcrossed" in both widescreen and fullscreen. |
| The Brave and the Bold | October 19, 2004 | Contains episodes "The Brave and the Bold" and "Injustice For All". |
| DVD name | Release date | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
| The Justice League Collection | April 13, 2004 | Contains previous "Secret Origins", "Paradise Lost", and "Justice on Trial" DVDs |
| Challenge of the Super Friends to Justice League: | April 13, 2004 | Contains the previously released "Justice League" (Secret Origins) DVD along with twoSuper Friends discs in a slip-case. |
| Justice League - The Complete Series | June 20, 2006 | Contains Justice League seasons 1 & 2 along with Justice League Unlimited seasons 1 & 2. (Blu-ray/DVD release) |
| Justice League: 3-Pack Fun | July 19, 2011 | Contains "The Brave and the Bold" and "Injustice For All" As well as theJustice League Unlimited episodes: * "For The Man Who Has Everything" * "The Return," * "The Greatest Story Never Told," theYoung Justice episodes: * "Independence Day" * "Fireworks," * "Welcome To Happy Harbor" * "Drop Zone". |
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.[4] 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 forJustice League Unlimited as well, provided that sales of the Justice League soundtrack improve significantly and that there is sufficient demand from fans.[5][6] A second Justice League volume may also follow if fans support the existing release.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2016) |
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 ofScooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins gathered over 6.108 million viewers.
The show was aired in theRepublic of Ireland onTG4 in both Irish and English from 6 September 2002 to 2007.[7]
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.[8]Den of Geek highlighted the show’s effective team dynamics, drawing a favorable comparison toStar Trek: The Next Generation for its exploration of character relationships.[9]The Young Folks admired the show’s versatility, noting its ability to seamlessly shift between emotional, humorous, and epic moments.[10]io9.com also appreciated the charm of the heroes’ initial team-up, benefiting from their backgrounds in previous animated series.[11]
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.[12] Filip Vukcevic ofIGN agreed, pointing out uneven character development as a drawback but still finding the show entertaining overall.[13] Oliver Sava ofthe 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.[14]Indiewire ranked the show overall as the 20th best animated show of all time.[15]
The second season ofJustice League however, is considered to be one of the best seasons of the entireDC Animated Universe, with Oliver Sava fromThe A.V. Club writing "good enough isn't good enough." "That's the philosophy forJustice 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 asBatman: The Animated Series set a new standard for solo superhero cartoon excellence, Justice League season two is only eclipsed byJustice League Unlimited as the strongest superhero-team series. Everything is of higher quality this season: the direction, animation, music, sound effects, and most importantly, the stories."[16]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Television Animated Series – Sound | Robert Hargreaves, Mark Keatts, George Brooks, and Kelly Ann Foley(for "In the Blackest Night, Part II") | Nominated | [17] |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Lolita Ritmanis | Nominated | [18] | |
| Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards | TV Presentation of the Year | Runner-up | [19] | ||
2003 | Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Television Animated Series – Sound | Robert Hargreaves, Mark Keatts, George Brooks, and Kelly Ann Foley(for "Savage Time, Part I") | Nominated | [20] |
2004 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production | Paul Dini(for "Comfort & Joy") | Nominated | [21] |
| Golden Reel Awards | Best Sound Editing – Television Animated Series – Sound | Robert Hargreaves, Mark Keatts, George Brooks, Mark Keefer, Kelly Ann Foley, and Kerry Iverson(for "Twilight, Part II") | Nominated | [22] | |
2005 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Michael McCuistion | Nominated | [23] |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Animation | Rich Fogel,John Ridley, andDwayne McDuffie(for "Starcrossed") | Nominated | [24] | |
2006 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Directing in a Television Production | Dan Riba(for "Clash") | Nominated | [25] |
2007 | Gold Derby Awards | Animated Series | Nominated | [26] | |
2009 | Cinema Audio Society Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for DVD Original Programming | Edwin O. Collins, Tim Borquez, Eric Freeman, and Doug Andorka | Nominated | [27] |
Circa 2004,Bruce Timm announced that adirect-to-videoJustice League feature film was being produced to bridge the second season ofJustice League and the first season ofJustice League Unlimited. It was planned to reveal howWonder Woman acquired her Invisible Plane and feature theCrime Syndicate as the main antagonists, an idea that was originally conceived for the episode "A Better World" until the Syndicate was replaced by theJustice Lords.[28]Dwayne McDuffie wrote the script andAndrea Romano assembled the cast, butWarner Bros. finally scrapped the project.[29] In 2010, the film was repurposed and released asJustice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a standalone film unconnected to the DCAU.
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.
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