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Initial Thoughts Ever since Superman: The Animated Series and The New Adventures of Batman ended, I have been waiting anxiously for a Justice League cartoon. I was pleasantly surprised by Batman Beyond, but Terry McGinnis was no Justice League. Finally after three years of waiting, Bruce Timm and company have finally released the cartoon that everybody had been demanding. Was it worth the wait? You bet it was.
I have always been a fan of the DC heroes, but I truly became a fan of the Justice League, during Grant Morrison?s run on the JLA comics in the mid to late 90?s. He took the seven most powerful heroes, and pit them against foes that were just as powerful as they were, resulting in battles on a global scale with apocalyptic stakes.
The first episode of Justice League met my vision of global scale destruction perfectly. From the beginning they had Metropolis in complete chaos and anarchy. Something that Superman: The Animated Series only accomplished in its final episode. I wanted villains that were above and beyond Superman-level power who would be worthy opponents to not one, but seven super-powered heroes. They gave us aliens that had wiped out the entire Martian race. Everything was over the top, and a hell of a lot of fun. I got enough plot, mystery and storyline out of Batman, Superman and Batman Beyond. Now I want non-stop action, cities blowing up, and blockbuster villains every episode. Thank you, for bringing me Justice League.
I?ve heard people complain that Justice League has too much action and not enough characterization. They complain that the plots are thin, and that it?s no better than any other children?s cartoon. People claim that Batman and Superman were much better, since they focused on plot and characters. I would have to somewhat agree that so far Justice League hasn?t completely developed its characters. However, there are seven main characters and it?s going to take time to flesh out all of them. Secret Origins did a great job of introducing Martian Manhunter and his origin. Green Lantern seems like he?ll get his episodes in In Blackest Night, and I?m sure the other heroes will get their turn. I would much rather they introduce all the heroes, slowly and in detail as they did for J?Onn in Secret Origins, then to cram seven storylines into an hour and a half. Aside from a few minor complaints, Justice League is everything I wanted it to be, and then some.
Some of my complaints are:
The Intro. It?s good, but it doesn?t make your spine tingle the way that the Superman, Batman/Superman and Batman Beyond intros did. I think the music just needs to be tweaked, a little, but the animation needs to be redone. I don?t know why they went with the computer animation, but I don?t think it fits with the rest of the cartoon. The orange silhouette is one of the few things I thought worked very well?but it really only works once. They should put it at the end, and remove it from the beginning. Aside from that, each individual character?s animation was okay, but I think that they all could have benefited from drawn animation instead of computer animation. It?s not that big a deal as it?s a decent intro, but I was hoping for something that I could cheer to when it comes on. Hopefully, they can fix it for next season.
My next complainant was the ending to Secret Origins. I could see what the writers were going for, but it fell flat. It just seemed a bit cheesy. The superfriends line was funny, but the whole sequence just felt tacked on. At the end of Rebirth, I knew that Terry was in for the challenge of his life, and knew that the rest of the series was going to be awesome. With Justice League, I got a few laughs, which was good, but I was hoping for that heroic stance and evil, and instead I got a couple of heroes in a huddle. Even the Martian Manhunter and Superman conversation was bungled. It was okay, but I expect more brooding from J?Onn, and definitely not smiles. All in all, the scene wasn?t horrible; it just wasn?t the ending that I expected after seeing Rebirth.
 My major complaint centers on Green Lantern. Now more than ever, I think they should have gone with Kyle Rayner. I know the reason behind John Stewart, and I think he?s a great character, I just think that Kyle would have been an awesome character. With John we get big ray beams and bubbles. I wouldn?t expect more from him, as it fits his hard ass military style. With Kyle I know I?d get to see gigantic robot dinosaurs and huge cannons, and other crazy stuff. Don?t get me wrong, I like John?s character, I just think the animators missed a huge opportunity to draw some amazing battle sequences with Kyle.
Speaking of Green Lantern, I figure I?d go into my thoughts about the other characters.
 Batman was just about how I expected him to be. He knows he?s the brains behind the league, but isn?t cocky enough to realize that he can?t get the job done without the League?s raw power. It?ll be nice to see him bicker with Superman, and show up some of the rookie members of the league like Wonder Woman and Flash. I really liked the relationship between J?Onn and Batman in the first episode. Batman realizes that J?Onn not just some yahoo with superpowers, but a seasoned veteran who just wants to save lives, and gives him the respect that J?Onn deserves. Hopefully, we?ll see their paring in the future.
 Superman was done well, but I think he needs to assert himself as the leader more. In the first episode, he didn?t do much more than any of the other heroes. He needs to be the example that the other heroes follow, and I didn?t get that feeling from the first episode. However, in In Blackest Night, when Superman arrives and is the first one to take out the Manhunters, while everybody else on the team got their butts handed to them, I said to myself That?s the Superman I remember
 The Martian Manhunter is perfect. I probably think the highest of his character since he got three full episodes devoted to him, but nonetheless his character is written perfectly. He?s a source of wisdom to all the leaguers, even Batman. It?s sort of disappointing to see his power level below that of Superman and Wonder Woman, but it just means he uses his shape shifting and phasing powers in more a interesting ways. I?d like to see his psychic abilities used on a larger scale, but for now, the writers are using his powers in a way that distinguishes him from the other heroes.
 Hawkgirl needs an episode of her own, and she needs it fast. Out of all the leaguers, she?s probably the hardest to relate to since she not a major hero in the comics. She?s not a bad character, but she hasn?t been fleshed out enough to the point where I care about the character. Currently she just smashes things, and granted she smashes them well, she just doesn?t have much more of a character than smashing things. I?m confident that she?ll be a great character after she gets a few more episodes under her belt, but until then she remains the dark horse of the league.
 The Flash fulfills his role as the rookie and prankster of the league. I thought most of his antics were amusing, and they brought out a lot of laughs, especially the ?Dibs on the Amazon? line. However I could see how he could get annoying. Hopefully, the writers will come up with more amusing one-liners. Aside from that, the Flash needs an episode to prove that he adds something to league aside from humor. I guess in the comics Plastic Man managed to make it into the League with his humor but I?d like to see the Flash with a little more responsibility.
 Wonder Woman has probably been the biggest surprise. I expected her to be a seasoned veteran, who basically leads the team in Superman?s absence. Instead, she?s the brand new rookie who?s getting used to ?Man?s World.? It should be fun to see her interact with the more veteran heroes, but it?s going to take some time to get used to a rookie Wonder Woman. I like this interesting take on Wonder Woman, but it?s definitely not the Wonder Woman I?m familiar with.
All in all, I really like Justice League. I?ll admit that I was maybe a tad disappointed, and my reaction after seeing Justice League, was much more tame than after seeing Batman Beyond. Of course, I thought Batman Beyond was going to be crap, and I thought Justice League would be the cartoon to end all cartoons. Nonetheless, I?m still confident that Justice League will be the cartoon I hoped it to be, I just didn?t realize that it would take time to establish all the characters. So far Bruce Timm and company have done a great job. Hopefully they?ll keep it up.
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Justice League is a cartoon on Cartoon Network. Justice League is owned by DC Comics. http://www.JLanimated.com is created and owned by Timothy Wan. Please contact Tim Wan before reproducing any of the work on this site. |
