| Justice League Unlimited | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Superhero Action |
| Based on | Justice League byGardner Fox |
| Developed by | Bruce Timm |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Michael McCuistion |
| Composers | Kristopher Carter Michael McCuistion Lolita Ritmanis |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 39(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | |
| Producers |
|
| Editor | Joe Gall |
| Running time | 21–23 minutes |
| Production companies | DC Comics (season 3) Warner Bros. Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Release | July 31, 2004 (2004-07-31) – May 13, 2006 (2006-05-13) |
| Related | |
| Justice League | |
Justice League Unlimited (JLU) is an American animatedsuperhero television series produced byWarner Bros. Animation withDC Comics (in season 3) and aired onCartoon Network. Featuring a wide array ofsuperheroes from theDC Universe, and specifically based on theJustice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the previousJustice League animated series and picks up around two years after it.JLU debuted on July 31, 2004, onToonami and ended on May 13, 2006.
It is the eighth and final series of theDC Animated Universe, serving as the conclusion to a shared universe which began withBatman: The Animated Series. Notably, it is the most continuity-heavy show of theDC Animated Universe, and weaves together characters and plot lines from past series.Justice League Unlimited received critical acclaim.
According to producerBruce Timm, theseries finale ofJustice League, "Starcrossed", was possibly meant to be the final episode of the series; however,Cartoon Network ordered the production of season 3 and 4. The network wanted the show to be rebranded, including changing the episode format, so instead of two-part episode stories, the standard half an hour format was used.[1] Additionally, alongside the name change, the show features a greatly expanded League, in which the characters from the original series—now referred to as "founding members"—are joined by many othersuperheroes from theDC Universe; in the first episode, well over 50 characters appear. A number of these were heroes who had made guest appearances inJustice League, but many heroes and other characters made their first animated appearances in this series. The general format of each episode is to have a small team assemble to deal with a particular situation, with a focus on both action and character interaction. This extension of theJustice League was originally planned to be explained in aplanned direct-to-video feature film, but the project never materialized.
Justice League Unlimited features both episodic and serialized episodes, the first major overarching story arc involves the growing conflict between the League and a secret government agency known asProject Cadmus. This plot line builds upon events that occurred during the second season ofJustice League (which in turn built upon events inBatman: The Animated Series,Superman: The Animated Series,Batman Beyond,Static Shock, andThe Zeta Project), and would go on to affect the plotlines of most of its episodes. It was resolved in a four-part story at the end of the second season ofJustice League Unlimited.
The third and final season story arc focuses on the newSecret Society, a loose-knit organization formed to combat the increased superhero coordination of the first season. Towards the end of the series, certain characters became off-limits to the show, particularly characters associated with Batman, were restricted due to the unrelated animated seriesThe Batman andChristopher Nolan's live-actionThe Dark Knight Trilogy, to avoid continuity confusion, thus leading to the popular term known as "Bat-embargo".Aquaman and related characters were unavailable due to the development of apilot for a live-action series featuring the character as a young man (planned to be a spin-off ofSmallville). To compensate for this, the last season focused their stories on previously overlookedDC Comics characters and mythos. These included characters likeDeadman,Viking Prince, andWarlord.
The series, along with the entire DC Animated Universe, was originally planned to end after the second-season finale "Epilogue", which concluded the story ofBatman Beyond and thus the entire DCAU chronologically. But a third season was greenlit by Cartoon Network. The third season started in 2005 with the episode "I Am Legion" (which was written before the announcement of a third season) and ended in 2006 with the episode "Destroyer". Stan Berkowitz, a member of the production team, left the show later for the TV seriesFriends and Heroes, and writer Matt Wayne was contracted to replace him. According to Wayne, if the show had been renewed for a fourth season, he would have liked to write more episodes focusing onSuperman andWonder Woman.
DC Comics created an ongoing monthly comic book series based on the TV series, as part of itsJohnny DC line of "all ages" comics, which did not have the same restrictions regarding character appearances.
Justice League Unlimited, like the second season ofJustice League, is animated inwidescreen. The show also features new theme music and intro (nominated for an Emmy).[2] The two-partseries finale was aired in the UK on February 8 and 18, 2006, and in the United States on May 6 and 13, 2006.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 13 | July 31, 2004 (2004-07-31) | January 29, 2005 (2005-01-29) | |
| 2 | 13 | February 5, 2005 (2005-02-05) | July 23, 2005 (2005-07-23) | |
| 3 | 13 | September 17, 2005 (2005-09-17) | May 13, 2006 (2006-05-13) | |
Justice League Unlimited received overwhelming critical acclaim and is listed as one of the best animated television shows of all time.IGN namedJustice League/Justice League Unlimited as the 20th best animated television series of all time.[3] Similarly,IndieWire also ranked the series as the 20th best animated show of all time.[4] James Whitbrook, editor ofio9, wrote "Justice League Unlimited is simply the greatest superhero show of all time", further stating "it embraced its source material wholly, and was unafraid to be the wildest, biggest, comic-book-iest show it could be."[5] Producer Bruce Timm has stated that amongst all the shows he has worked on, this show is his favorite.[6]
From 2006 to 2007,Warner Home Video (viaDC Entertainment andWarner Bros. Family Entertainment) released the entire series ofJustice League Unlimited on DVD. The series is presented in original broadcast presentation and story arc continuity order. The series was also released on Blu-Ray.
| Name | Release date | Ep # | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season One | October 24, 2006 | 26 | 4 DVDs. Contains all episodes of Seasons One and Two from the original airing. Featurette: And Justice for All: The Process of Revamping the Series with New Characters and a New Creative Direction, Themes of Justice: Choose Your Favorite JLU Musical Theme Audio Tracks, Creators' Commentary on "This Little Piggy" and 'The Return.” Episode 21 – "Hunter's Moon (AKA Mystery in Space)" – is placed out of order between episodes 22 ("Question Authority") and episode 23 ("Flashpoint"). |
| Season Two | March 20, 2007 | 13 | 2 DVDs. Actually Season Three from the original airing. Cadmus: Exposed: Mark Hamill and the Series Creative Personnel Discuss This Popular Series Story Arc, Justice League Chronicles: Series Writers, Producers and Directors Discuss Their Favorite Moments Among Final Season Episodes, Music-Only Audio Track for the Final Episode Destroyer. |
| Justice League: 3-Pack Fun | July 19, 2011 | 11 | 3 DVDs. Contains "For The Man Who Has Everything," "The Return," and "The Greatest Story Never Told," as well as the two-partJustice League stories "The Brave and the Bold" and "Injustice For All,” and theYoung Justice episodes "Independence Day," "Fireworks," "Welcome To Happy Harbor," and "Drop Zone.” |
| The Complete Series | November 10, 2015 | 39 | 3 Blu-ray discs. Featurette: And Justice for All: The Process of Revamping the Series with New Characters and a New Creative Direction, Creators' Commentary on "This Little Piggy" and 'The Return,” Cadmus: Exposed: Mark Hamill and the Series Creative Personnel Discuss This Popular Series Story Arc, Justice League Chronicles: Series Writers, Producers and Directors Discuss Their Favorite Moments Among Final Season Episodes. Episodes are shown in the correct order. |
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. The same episodes were later sold as a 10-disc set without the bonus documentary.
La-La Land Records released a 4-discJustice League soundtrack on July 29, 2016.[7] A potentialJustice League Unlimited soundtrack depends on how well theJustice League soundtrack sells.[8]
DC Comics published a series of 46-issue numbered comics based on the television series, between 2004 and 2008.
It is a sequel comic toJustice League Unlimited, written byJames Tucker andJ.M. DeMatteis with art byEthen Beavers. 7 numbered issues were published by DC Comics between 2021 and 2022.
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