Justice League: Season 1

Justice League, and its successor series Justice League Unlimited, are together quite easily the best superhero cartoons ever made - or at least that I've ever seen.

Justice League has its roots in Bruce Timm's original Batman: The Animated Series, and his not quite as successful Superman series. Both shows are part of the same continuity as Justice League, as too are less well known animated programs such as Static Shock, Batman Beyond, and The Zeta Project. But in my opinion, it's the Justice League shows that are the apex of the arc.

The art is stylish yet functional, following almost seamlessly in the style Bruce Timm first defined in Batman: The Animated Series. The characters and the world they inhabit are at once sleek yet densely solid, and everything has a certain visual gravitas. This fits perfectly with the writing, for unlike so many superhero TV-shows and movies, Justice League is a show with a great deal of self-respect. I actually stole that term - self-respect - from Steven Myers' review of Batman - Mask of the Phantasm, a feature-length production from the same continuity. It is the term that, perhaps better than any other, describes what makes this meta-series what it is. Within their own frames of reference, all of the shows within it take themselves seriously. While not without their own moments of humour, here is no camp parody, and there are certainly no moments where the writers give a nudge and wink to the audience to let us know that it's time to have a bit of a giggle over the absurdity of it all.

Perhaps the most astonishing thing for many adults then will be the fact that Justice League succeeds brilliantly on this entirely serious level. As incredible as it may sound to some people, this is a really good, intelligent, serious superhero cartoon. In episodes like Legends (parts 1 & 2) there is a combination of real pathos together with a quite casual, almost incidental implied social commentary; both of which are so lightly and deftly handled as to render ridiculous even the idea of comparing this show to old seventies horrors like Super Friends.

Finally, the series is graced with a full orchestral score for both title and background music. Again, this compliments the overall tone of the show perfectly.

So where does this product, Justice League Season One, fit into the picture?

Well, in my opinion, as good as Justice League is, Justice League Unlimited (which follows on more or less immediately in the same continuity) is better. On the other hand, because this is indeed very much a continuity - a cohesive universe with its own history and cosmology - it is best to start with Justice League and watch the entire thing through from the beginning. Bear in mind that there were two distinct seasons of Justice League before the switch-over to Justice League Unlimited, and you do now have a choice as to whether to buy the two Justice League seasons individually or together. Surprisingly, at the time of writing, it is actually slightly cheaper to buy them separately. As you can see from my Amazon Verified Purchase label, this is the option I chose.

For this reason, I cannot talk to you from personal experience about the DVD extras you'll get if you buy the two seasons together. However, I can tell you that the extras you get with this product, Justice League - Season One (DC Comics Classic Collection), are superb. Both in the included "featurettes" and in the voice over commentaries, you do very much feel like you're getting a genuine insider's view from behind the scenes. You do feel like you're gaining real insight into how this show was made, and why things are the way they are in the final, finished version. Of course, I didn't always agree with the choices the writers ultimately made. For example, in the Legends episodes I mentioned earlier, I do wish they'd gone with their original creative impulse regarding the identities of certain "alternate" superheroes; I do believe that this would have greatly deepened the emotional resonance and undercurrents of the story (I won't say any more than that because I don't want to spoil things). But the point is, whether you agree with the writer's choices or not, you do come away feeling as if you've at least been privy to the discussion.

For me at least, that's what DVD extras are all about.

Theo.

I'm far from being a fan of the Justice League mainly because I don't like Wonder Woman, Flash and Hawkgirl.
BUT I do adore Batman and do enjoy Superman sometimes so I decided to take a chance and get it.

Surprisingly I fell in love with it!

The balance of action, comedy, story development and the fact that our heroes have great storylines that isn't rushed.
What I noticed the most and loved the most was the fact that many episodes were two or three parts episodes, which gives time to develop the story at a great enjoyable paste.

If you enjoyed your 1990's cartoon, pick this baby up. You will enjoy it and watch it voer and over again because it is THAT good even if you are not a fan of the Justice League.

Premiering on Cartoon Network in the fall of 2001, the Justice League has proving to be one of the most entertaining assemblies put together. The first season of Justice League is among the best that DC/Warner Animation has to offer. From the origin story to the epic 3-part finale. After buying season 2 a couple of weeks ago I ended up going backwards on purchasing season one. This first season includes some of my favorite episodes. I am not going comment on each individually episode because there are other reviewers who had done it already and has better knowledge on them then I do.

The seven members of the mightiest crime-fighting force, gives us a collection of entertaining adventures. The Justice League faces such dangerous rogues like criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, evil sorceress Morgaine Le Fey, genius primate Gorilla Grodd and the immortal dictator Vandal Savage. The episodes have likable good-versus-evil plots, refreshing characters, stimulating comic book action and colorful animation.

The episodes provided here will definitely entertain both youngsters and adults especially for fans of the Cartoon Network series. The 4-Disc set has a vibrant picture quality accompany by clear and pulsating sound that you won't get enough of.