Justice League Unlimited - Review

Justice League Unlimited was a clear continuum of the original series. It was also a highly ambitious project, one that didn’t always pay off. While its predecessor indicated that change was on the horizon after the destruction of the Watchtower and the departure of Hawkgirl, DC really has to learn that rebooting a franchise is not necessarily change for the better. Justice League Unlimited seemed to get lost in the idea of quantity over quality. It featured a much more diverse team at the expense of character development, aside from a select few, the majority of the new cast felt one dimensional and boring, lacking a lot of the charm and whimsy of Justice League.

The series ran for two seasons one comprising of 26 episodes and one shorter 13 episode season tagged on at the end. While the first season adopted an episodic format there was an underlying story arc which came full circle, the second season felt rushed and lacklustre, almost as if they were running out of ideas, not to mention Superman villains’. The show took a darker direction than its predecessor through paying homage to an interesting idea tossed around in the original series. Ultimately this ended up convoluted and unnecessary since it didn’t go anywhere new. The heroes turn up, save the day and suddenly everyone remembers why they like the Justice League! Well duh!

What was memorable about the Justice League for me, were the seven founding members, as I briefly mentioned in the previous review. This is where the series came into its own. The cast were incredibly well developed and complex throughout Justice League and played off each other wonderfully. Whereas Justice League Unlimited (as the name implies) wanted to expand the league and rapidly increase the number of characters by creating a secondary cast, an extra cast and a background cast, to varying degrees of success.

The secondary cast consisted of Green Arrow, Supergirl, Black Canary, The Question, Huntress to name a few. As reoccurring characters with relative contributions to the major plot line, these characters were fleshed out enough not to feel contrived. They were even capable of holding down episodes largely absent of the founding cast members, in particular the Birds of Prey saga. The writer Gail Simone might have had something to do with that. The extra cast were little more than the guest cast of a filler episode – Captain Marvel, Zatanna, Hawkman, Hawk and Dove, Booster Gold, and these were among the worse episodes of the series. It shouldn’t be enough to just have these characters present. The writers have to do something with them other than an extended cameo appearance. And here we reach the crux of the show; it could be downright sloppy at times. The background cast were the background, superheroes that never spoke and were never named. They were simple padding. They were a waste of animation.

The overall problem with Justice League Unlimited is that it never when far enough. It relied far too heavily on the original series to the point that very little progression was made on the already set up cast members. Opting instead to introduce as many new and unfamiliar faces as possible but rather than establishing who they were and most importantly why we should care about them, Justice League Unlimited would immediately return to its comfort zone – the DC trinity. Perhaps if the series had gone the whole route and turned each episode into a one-shot dedicated to an entirely new character, the series would have actually felt unlimited.

In short Justice League ended on a high. Justice League Unlimited began on a low and only got a little better with time. Unfortunately DC seems to be repeating their mistakes with Young Justice.

Rating: 6/10

For fans of: Justice League, Young Justice, The Avengers; Earths Mightiest Heroes 

Justice League - Review

After the success of Batman: TAS (the animated series) and Superman: TAS, DC wanted to expand its newly created “DC animated universe”. So of course the next logical step was to complete the holy DC trinity and produce Wonder Woman: TAS. Nope. Naturally Wonder Woman has yet to receive her own animated series, I imagine it will manifest sometime after her film debut (so never). Interestingly in both instances Wonder Woman has been passed over for the Green Lantern, Hal Jordon, Green Lantern. I’m sure it will surprise no one that the five DC heroes to feature in their own full length animated series were all male. Batman and Superman, unsurprisingly dominate the board. I can understand Green Lantern, but Aquaman and Static Shock? I mean why are these characters deemed a priority over Wonder Woman? Then again, considering that one of the worse episodes (in my humble opinion) centred on Wonder Woman, this was probably a wise decision.

Justice League aired in 2001 and ran for two seasons, 26 episodes a piece. Aside from a stand-alone Christmas special and three extended episodes, each story was presented in a two-part episode arc. The primary cast remained the same throughout the two seasons, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl, seven recognizable, reasonably well-known superheroes combined into one DC powerhouse. Few secondary characters were introduced but the most significant would have been Aquaman and Dr.Fate. Personally this is how a successful superhero outlet should be with a fixed main cast and a reoccurring guest cast. Considering how vast the DC universe is, focusing on only seven was no small feat.

There are several reasons why I enjoy this type of format. The most important is that it allows for stronger character development. A limited cast means that there is much more room to create characters with distinctive personalities, unique powers and identifiable appearances. It also means that once the foundation is set, the characters can be expanded upon. Ultimately they can change and grow, the most prolific of which was Hawkgirl. As with any superhero team genre, the real dynamic is in how the members interact with one another and this was where Justice League came into its own. It effectively captured seven exceptional individuals who contrasted and complimented one another without having to resolve to archetypes such as (though it pains me to admit) Teen Titans.

And now time for the feminist rant. Since the team consisted of two female cast members (one of them being Wonder Woman), a girl power / straw feminist plot was pretty much inevitable. However the ‘sisters are doing it for themselves’ gimmick is not in itself a bad idea – take the episode ‘Grudge Match’ in Justice League Unlimited. It’s all in the execution, namely the straw feminist approach. For those that are not aware, a straw feminist is an exaggerated caricature of feminism (Sarkeesian, 2011) most notably represented in the media promoting radical ideas – like all men are evil. In the episode Fury, the adopted Amazon Aresia develops a plague that will wipe out the male population, leaving Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl alone to stop her. Wonder Woman immediately rejects that this is the Amazon way however Hawkgirl asserts that Aresia is just taking the Amazon dogma to its next conceivable level. At the end of the story Aresia learns that she in fact owes her life to a man but that the Amazon Queen Hippolyta never told her because she did not think he was important. Rather than just portray Aresia as a rogue Amazon with radial ideas, the show deliberately suggested that there was innately something wrong with the Amazonian society and how it devalues men.

This is a classic example of how not to write Wonder Woman because it just undermines the character and her culture. It oversimplifies the Amazons and discredits the all-female society notion as a whole. Writers are often preoccupied with turning the Amazons into a race of man-haters who existed in a world of gender equality. In the beginning of the episode Wonder Woman does help a woman from a rude male driver, but that of course does not constitute an act of sexism. As with many animated universes institutionalised sexism, racism or homophobia is non-existence. The problem of course is that Justice League is aimed at a young audience which would make it difficult to accurately depict any form of prejudice in a manner that is both effective and sensitive. It’s far easier to create a gender balanced world with crazed man-hating Amazons.

Aside from this minor lapse in judgement, the remaining episodes were consistently enjoyable even by today’s standards. Amazingly Justice League hasn’t aged at all. The animation is still wonderfully sleek and even a little reminiscent. The stories are intriguing, imaginative and well-paced, if a little goofy and corny along the way. Not to mention that it served as a platform to introduce new DC characters that might not have generated enough interest by themselves to support an entire series. The only possible downside is that they did tend to rely on Superman/Batman villain’s the majority of the time, which was a bit of shame but not to a large extent. Overall it leaves me with a positive reaction. I recall watching Justice League when it originally aired and not being overly fond of it. Ten years on and I’ve officially changed my mind.

Rating: 7/10

For Fans of: Young Justice, Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes, League of Superheroes. 

Ultimate Spider-man: First Impression

In prior reviews I’ve probably made it abundantly clear that I am a marvel girl, one hundred and ten per cent. However there is one superhero I loathe above all others and he happens to be a marvel creation, none other than Spiderman. The core problem of this franchise is that it is a singular protagonist show, unlike say x-men or the avengers. If (like me) you don’t like the primary character, if (like me) you think the explanation for his superpowers is a little far-fetched/completely stupid, then you probably should avoid the entire product.

And then along came Spectacular Spiderman. The success of this rendition was truly in its character department (ironically enough) and keeping the action as low key as possible. The decision to focus almost exclusively on the teenage life of Peter Parker and his relationship with his peers was to the shows credit, compared with other teenage heroes – x-men evolution, Teen Titans and Young Justice, in which the interaction as regular teens can be limited and sometimes entirely absent. Spectacular Spiderman chose the other rout and ultimately this made the character more likeable, it made his school-chums more three dimensional, it made me rethink my position on Spiderman.

Unfortunately Spectacular Spiderman was cancelled after a mere 24 episodes and we were then gifted with this monstrosity, Ultimate Spider-man. It’s like everything that ever was or ever could be bad about Spiderman has been squeezed into 24 minutes. Peter Parker is an annoying, obnoxious douchebag who blunders about the set, spamming the audience with the obvious and the unfunny. I mean how are we supposed to invest in a character that’s its nearly impossible to like? Take the episode Doomed for example. Spiderman = total douchebag.

Whereas the characters in Spectacular Spiderman are what made the show so special, the characters in Ultimate Spider-man are what make it so flat and one-dimensional, regardless of how many marvel cameos we receive. Also neato that we’re back to the one girl per two/three guy’s ratio, talk about progress! Hey maybe we could even have Mary-Jane and White Tiger exchange a single line with each other, wouldn’t try be edgy? And nice job stereotyping Nick Fury as the angry black guy!

As for my understanding of the premise of Spiderman, isn’t he supposed to be a lone hero, a self-taught vigilante shouldering the burden of his uncle’s death? Sure the idea of Shield offering Spidey a job/training is interesting, but so far it only uses this premise to point out what a lame pussy Spiderman is. Fuck it, I’m only watching this for Agent Coulson and the eventual Loki & Quicksilver cameos.

Initial Rating: 5/10 

First Impression DC vs. Marvel

Young Justice Invasion 

It’s no secret that I’m not a DC girl. For me, DC tends to miss the mark more often than it hits it. The same is true for their animation. Aside from Batman the Animated Series which is sheer awesome and the comedic anime-styled Teen Titans, I’ve not given DC a second glance. I do remember watching Justice League, later Justice League Unlimited as a kid and being unimpressed with the level of corniness. Then along came Young Justice and it was finally a show that DC seemed to have the right balance of silliness and maturity. Despite a relatively young cast, the show was surprisingly dark (in comparison to other superhero shows comprising of teenagers – Teen Titans or X-Men Evolution for example). The original season was clever, concise and had plenty of character development. The second series is a different matter.

Season two is set five years after the events of the season one finale (which only aired last week). Not that this is made clear as to why, it’s only briefly referenced by Batman. So in the initial episode we learn that Kid Flash, Artemis, Red Arrow and Aqualad are no longer part of the team. Wow, I mean that could be quite a kick to the teeth to their fans. Zatanna and Rocket have also left but we still do see them briefly as members of the Justice League. Replacing them are Robin (Tim Drake), Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Bumblebee and Lagoon Boy. Disappointingly none of these new characters actually makes an impression, their personalities pale in comparison to the original cast. Whereas season one gradually introduced its protagonists and even continued to expand up until the very end, season two completely jumps the shark by creating an entirely new line-up. Of course the biggest frustration is the break-up of Superboy and Miss Martian. During the original series their relationship was crucial to either character in order to gain stability and strength and ultimately to be able to accept themselves. It’s seems almost undignified that they should break-up off screen. Or that Miss Martian should be with Lagoon Boy (already top of the annoying list). I suppose the writers wanted the inevitable Superboy/Wonder Girl hook up to be less complicated.

In all, Young Justice: Invasion sure does have its work cut out. I mean in order to forgive tossing away five freaking years; it has to pull something beyond amazing out of its hat. I feel the need to explain to DC that fans get attached to characters. And fans don’t like change. We like characters with interesting personalities and experiences and we like watching them grow throughout the course of a series. We don’t like them being expendable or interchangeable.

Initial rating: 6/10

 The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Much like Young Justice, The Avengers had a killer first season with subtle hints towards an alien invasion in the next season. Unlike Young Justice, The Avengers is smart enough not to uproot its prior cast for an entire new one. Instead new characters/members are gradually introduced, notably Ms. Marvel, making her the second female to join the team, progress!

The second season spares no time in plunging the team into a new conflict with a new villain, none other than Dr. Doom. As well as introducing a new alliance, the Fantastic Four. The following episodes are primarily filler, exploring possible future story arcs, for example Maria Hill discusses superhero registration which would unavoidably lead into the notorious civil war scenario. The strength of The Avengers is in its awareness for what fans want to see. It doesn’t overload us with too many characters resulting in extended cameos, it takes its time to start on a smaller scale and build around the primary cast. This obviously allows certain characters – Iron Man for example more screen time, but more importantly is that it allows other characters the opportunity to develop within their own stories and solo adventures. For instance, Thor has not yet returned to Midgard, yet we have seen him and are aware a big bad Asgardian villain will pop up some time in the future. This is why I think Marvel has the upper hand as the creative staff seem to know less is sometimes more.

Initial Rating: 8/10