Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited
Genre	Superhero Science fiction Action/Adventure
Format	Animated series
Starring	Carl Lumbly Michael Rosenbaum Kevin Conroy Phil LaMarr Susan Eisenberg George Newbern Maria Canals
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	39 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	21–23 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Cartoon Network (Toonami)
Original run	July 31, 2004 (2004-07-31) – May 13, 2006 (2006-05-13)
Chronology
Preceded by	Batman Beyond, Static Shock, The Zeta Project, and Justice League
Related shows	Super Friends

Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the previous Justice League animated series. JLU debuted on July 31, 2004 on Toonami and ended with the episode aired May 13, 2006. It was also the last series set in the long-running DC Animated Universe which started with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.

Overview

taking up soon after Justice League ended. It features a greatly expanded League, in which the characters from the original series—now referred to as "founding members"—are joined by a large number of other superheroes from the DC Universe; in the first episode, well over 50 characters appear. A number of these were heroes who had made guest appearances in Justice League, Batman: The Animated Series, and Superman: The Animated Series, 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 ad hoc team assemble to deal with a particular situation, with a focus on both action and character interaction.

Most episodes tell a self-contained story, but the series also features extended story arcs, the first involving the building conflict between the League and a secret government agency known as Project Cadmus. This plot line builds upon events that occurred during the second season of Justice League (which in turn built upon events in Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, and The Zeta Project),^[1] and has affected the plotlines of most of its episodes. It was resolved in a four-part story at the end of the first season of Justice League Unlimited. The second and final season story arc focuses on the new Secret Society (which is based on the Legion of Doom) as the main villains, 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.^{[citation needed]} Characters associated with Batman and those who appeared in Batman: The Animated Series (aside from Batman himself) were restricted due to the unrelated animated series The Batman to avoid continuity confusion. However, in the episode "Grudge Match", a silhouette of Nightwing can be seen in one shot crouching amongst the stone gargoyles. Aquaman and related characters were unavailable due to the development of a pilot for a live-action series featuring the character as a young man (similar to Smallville), which was not picked up. Characters from DC's "mature readers" Vertigo imprint were also not allowed. No characters from the Teen Titans animated series appeared in JLU, nor vice versa, though Speedy appeared in an episode referencing the Seven Soldiers of Victory after Teen Titans was canceled.

To compensate for this, the producers used previously overlooked DC Comics characters to focus on in the stories. These include characters like Deadman, Warlord, and an unnamed modern equivalent of The Seven Soldiers of Victory. Also, reflecting the previous series, Superman: The Animated Series' focus on Jack Kirby's modern DC characters, Justice League Unlimited similarly focused on the DC/Charlton Comics characters created by Steve Ditko.

DC Comics created an ongoing monthly comic book series based on the TV series, as part of its Johnny DC line of "all ages" comics.

Justice League Unlimited, like the second season of Justice League, is animated in widescreen. The show also features new theme music. The two-part series finale was aired in the UK on February 8 and February 18, 2006 and in the United States on May 6 and May 13, 2006.

Episodes

Main article: List of Justice League Unlimited episodes

Characters

Founding members

• George Newbern – Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman
• Kevin Conroy – Bruce Wayne / Batman
• Susan Eisenberg – Princess Diana / Wonder Woman
• Michael Rosenbaum – Wally West / The Flash
• Carl Lumbly – J'onn J'onnz / Martian Manhunter
• Phil LaMarr – John Stewart / Green Lantern
• Maria Canals – Shayera Hol / Hawkgirl

Expanded League members

• Scott Rummell – Arthur Curry / Aquaman
• John C. McGinley – Ray Palmer / The Atom
• Scott Patterson – Aztek
• Farrah Forke – Big Barda
• Morena Baccarin – Black Canary
• Lex Lang – Blue Devil
• Tom Everett Scott – Booster Gold
• Peter Onorati – B'wana Beast
• George Eads and Chris Cox – Nathaniel Adam / Captain Atom
• Jerry O'Connell – Captain Marvel
• Kevin Conroy – Crimson Avenger
• Oded Fehr – Doctor Fate
• Lauren Tom – Doctor Light
• Jason Hervey – Dove
• Jeremy Piven – Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man
• Michael T. Weiss – Etrigan the Demon/Jason Blood
• Maria Canals Barrera – Fire
• Kin Shriner – Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
• Fred Savage – Hawk
• James Remar – Carter Hall/Hawkman
• Amy Acker – Huntress
• Gregg Rainwater – Long Shadow
• Ioan Gruffudd – Mister Miracle
• Michael Beach – Mister Terrific
• Ron Perlman – Orion
• Jeffrey Combs – The Question
• Powers Boothe – Red Tornado
• Chris Cox – Shining Knight
• Giselle Loren – Stargirl
• Phil LaMarr- Steel, and S.T.R.I.P.E.
• Nicholle Tom – Kara In-Ze / Kara Kent / Supergirl
• Nathan Fillion (Michael Rosenbaum in "Task Force X") – Vigilante
• Gina Torres – Vixen
• Dennis Farina – Ted Grant / Wildcat
• Jennifer Hale – Zatanna

Non-speaking members

• Atom Smasher
• Commander Steel
• Creeper
• Crimson Fox
• Doctor Mid-Nite
• Gypsy
• Hourman
• Ice
• Johnny Thunder
• Metamorpho
• Nemesis
• Obsidian
• Ray
• Rocket Red
• Sand
• Starman
• Thunderbolt
• Vibe
• Waverider

Future League (Batman Beyond era)

• Christopher McDonald – Superman
• Jodi Benson – Aquagirl
• Will Friedle – Terry McGinnis / Batman
• Farrah Forke – Big Barda
• Lauren Tom – Green Lantern (Kai-Ro)
• Wayne Brady – Micron
• Phil LaMarr – Virgil Hawkins / Static
• Peter Onorati – Rex Stewart / Warhawk

Villains

• Michael Ironside – Darkseid
• Michael York – Ares
• George Newbern – Bizarro
• Corey Burton – Brainiac, Sonar, and Key
• Donal Gibson – Captain Boomerang
• Sheryl Lee Ralph – Cheetah
• Peter MacNicol – Chronos
• Rachel York – Circe
• Efrain Figueroa/Jose Yenque – Copperhead
• Michael Rosenbaum – Deadshot and Doctor Polaris
• Michael Beach – Devil Ray
• Michael Jai White – Doomsday
• John DiMaggio – Dreamslayer
• Robin Atkin Downes – Gentleman Ghost
• Jennifer Hale – Giganta and Killer Frost
• Edward Asner – Granny Goodness
• Powers Boothe – Gorilla Grodd
• John Rhys-Davies – Lord Hades
• Heat Wave
• Mark Hamill- Joker and Trickster
• Michael Dorn – Kalibak
• Clancy Brown – Lex Luthor
• Alexis Denisof – Mirror Master
• Eric Roberts – Mongul
• Olivia d'Abo – Morgaine Le Fey and Star Sapphire
• Juliet Landau – Plastique and Tala
• Stephen McHattie – The Shade
• Kim Mai Guest – Silver Banshee
• Ted Levine – Sinestro
• Bruce Timm – Solomon Grundy
• Bud Cort – Toyman
• Arte Johnson – Virman Vundabar
• Peri Gilpin – Volcana

Recurring/other characters

• Robert Picardo – Amazo
• Nestor Carbonell – El Diablo
• J. K. Simmons – General Wade Eiling
• Adam Baldwin – Captain Rick Flag Jr., Jonah Hex, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
• Will Friedle – Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
• Robert Foxworth – Professor Emil Hamilton
• Edward Asner – Hephaestus
• Kim Mai Guest – Katma Tui, Linda Park
• Dennis Haysbert – Kilowog
• Dana Delany – Lois Lane
• Ben Browder – Bat Lash
• Tim Matheson – Maxwell Lord
• Daniel Dae Kim – Metron
• Dick Miller – Oberon
• David Kaufman – Jimmy Olsen
• C.C.H. Pounder – Amanda Waller
• Robert Forster – The President
• Scott Patterson – King Faraday
• Jason Bateman – Hermes

DVD releases

DVD Name	Release Date	Ep #	Additional Information
Season One	October 24, 2006	26	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". Contains all episodes of Seasons One and Two from the original airing. Episode 21 - "Hunter's Moon (AKA Mystery in Space)" - is placed out of order between episodes 22 ("Question Authority") and 23 ("Flashpoint").
Season Two	March 20, 2007	13	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	Contains "For The Man Who Has Everything," "The Return," and "The Greatest Story Never Told," as well as the two-part Justice League stories "The Brave and the Bold" and "Injustice For All", and the Young Justice episodes "Independence Day," "Fireworks," "Welcome To Happy Harbor," and "Drop Zone".

See also

• List of Justice League episodes
• Justice League: Worlds Collide, a canceled Justice League DTV feature.
• Justice League Unlimited toyline

References

1. ^ "Key DCAU Episodes That Tie Into the Cadmus Conspiracy". Jl.toonzone.net. http://jl.toonzone.net/cadmus/cadmus1/cadmus1.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 

External links

• Official website
• Justice League Unlimited at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Justice League Unlimited at the Internet Movie Database
• Justice League Unlimited at TV.com
• Justice League Unlimited at The World's Finest
• Justice League Unlimited Figures
• Justice League Unlimited on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki