JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|
Justice League: The New Frontier Justice League Animated Series (2002-2006) |
9.0 JLA on TV
Smallville
Bah! I don't watch Smallville, so I gotta dig up some info on this...
Justice League: The New Frontier
Animated Feature (2008)
On February 26, 2008, Warner Home Video will release a feature length Justice League movie based on the 2004 comic book DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke.
Also watch for a comic book follow up, on sale March 5, 2008:
Justice
League: The New Frontier Special
Written by Darwyn Cooke; Art by Cooke, J. Bone and David Bullock; Cover by Cooke
Celebrating the DVD release of the New Frontier movie comes this collection of never before seen stories including "New Frontier: The Lost Chapter," with script and art by Darwyn Cooke! This tale provides a first-hand look at Faraday's quest to outlaw masked vigilantes, culminating with the day Superman goes to Gotham to bring down Batman. Also included are two back-up stories featuring Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Sgt. Rock and others, as well as behind-the-scenes bonus material from the movie!
DC Universe | 48pg. | Color | $4.99 US
Justice
League/Justice League Unlimited
Animated Series (2002-2006)
To follow the popular Batman and Superman animated series of the 1990s, Warner Bros. finally gave into fan pressure and developed a Super Friends for the new millennium. This series combines the optimistic feel of Superman series with the somber tones of Batman. One of the biggest surprises was the producers' decision to replace two members of the comic book JLA (presumably to add diversity). Aquaman was replaced by Hawkgirl, and Kyle Rayner was resplaced by John Stewart as Green Lantern. Still, Aquaman appeared quickly in the new series.
According to producer Bruce Timm, Superman was altered a bit to make him look more rugged, masculine. Batman's ears were lengthened in homage to his creator's (Bob Kane's) original drawings. A highlight was also added to his cape. Backgrounds are also rendered in more detail.
Justice
League Adventures (comic book)
| Permanent Cast | |
|---|---|
| George Newbern | Superman |
| Kevin Conroy | Batman |
| Susan Eisenberg | Wonder Woman |
| Michael Rosenbaum | Flash |
| Phil LaMarr | Green Lantern |
| Carl Lumbly | Martian Manhunter |
| Maria Canals | Hawkgirl |
| Episodes in Brief | |||
| Guest appearances on Batman Beyond | Guest appearances on Static Shock | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Call (1-2) | 27-28. A League of Their Own | ||
| JUSTICE LEAGUE | |||
| Season One | Season Two | ||
| 1-3. | Secret Origins | 31-32. | Only a Dream (vs. Dr. Destiny) |
| 4-5. | In Blackest Night (G.L. spotlight) | 33-34. | Tabula Rasa (vs. Amazo) |
| 6-7. | The Enemy Below (Aquaman intro) | 35-36. | Maid of Honor (vs. Vandal Savage) |
| 8-9. | Paradise Lost (W.W. spotlight) | 37-38. | Hearts and Minds (vs. Despero) |
| 10-11. | War World (vs. Mongul) | 39-40. | A Better World |
| 12-13. | The Brave and the Bold (vs. Grodd) | 41-42. | The Terror Beyond |
| 14-15. | Fury (vs. Aresia, the Amazon) | 43-44. | Eclipsed |
| 16-17. | Legends (with a quasi-JSA) | 45-46. | Hereafter |
| 18-19. | Injustice For All (villains led by Luthor) | 47-48. | The Secret Society |
| 20-21. | A Knight of Shadows (the Demon) | 49. | Comfort and Joy |
| 22-23. | Metamorphosis (Metmorpho) | 50-51. | Wild Card |
| 24-26. | The Savage Time (WWII/Vandal Savage) | ||
| JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED | |||
| Season One | Season Two | ||
| 1. | Initiation (The League opens up its membership) | 1. | The Cat and the Canary (Canary saves Wildcat from Roulette) |
| 2. | For the Man Who Has Everything (The Big 3 vs. Mongul) | 2. | The Ties That Bind (with Mr. Miracle and Barda, to save Oberon) |
| 3. | Hawk and Dove (with Wonder Woman vs. Ares) | 3. | The Doomsday Sanction (Doomsday returns) |
| 4. | Fearful Symmetry (Supergirl's evil clone appears) | 4. | Task Force X |
| 5. | Kids' Stuff (Morgaine LaFey & Mordred return) | 5. | The Balance |
| 6. | This Little Piggy (Circe turns WW into a pig) | 6. | Double Date |
| 7. | The Return (Amazo returns from space) | 7. | Clash (Captain Marvel joins then resigns) |
| 8. | The Greatest Story Never Told (Booster Gold saves the day) | 8. | Hunters Moon |
| 9. | Ultimatum (The Ultimen: Cadmus clones) | 9. | Question Authority |
| 10. | Dark Heart (An alient parasite threatens Earth) | 10. | Flashpoint |
| 11. | Wake the Dead (Solomon Grundy rises from the grave, Hawkgirl returns) | 11. | Panic in the Sky |
| 12. | The Once and Future Thing: Weird Western Tales (The League follows Chronos into the past) | 12. | Divided We Fall |
| 13. | The Once and Future Thing: Time Warped (Chronos heads to the future) | 13. | Epilogue |
| Season Three | |||
| 1. | I Am Legion (Lex Luthor joins up with Grodd's Secret Society) | 8. | The Great Brain Robbery (Luthor and Flash's minds are swapped) |
| 2. | Shadow of the Hawk (Shayera meets Carter Hall!) | 9. | Grudge Match (Roulette stages an all-female battle) |
| 3. | Chaos at the Earth's Core (a trip to Skartaris) | 10. | Far From Home (Supergirl and others meet the Legion in the 31st century) |
| 4. | To Another Shore (the Viking Prince is discovered in ice) | 11. | Ancient History (ancient origin of Hawkman and Hawkgirl) |
| 5. | Flash and Substance (Flash's rogues' gallery) | 12. | Alive (final battle with the Secret Society) |
| 6. | Dead Reckoning (Deadman) | 13. | Destroyer (The conclusion) |
| 7. | Patriot Act (Green Arrow forms seven soldiers of victory) | ||
+ Episode Guides
The following two sites have the most robust series coverage of the Justice League Animated show. They both include a thorough database of Justice League animated series, video clips and forums.
The following sites vary in completeness:
- OFFICIAL SITE: Cartoon Network
- Justice League Resource
- jlanimated.com
- Comics2Film. A news archive
JLU
Members • Gallery
• Fanfare > Articles • Justice
League Adventures comic book chronology
The TV Pilot
Catch a glimpse of this doomed project! This pilot was fully produced but never aired in the U.S. However it did, in fact, air in Brazil! (There is actually quite a DC fan base in Brazil.) The story centers around Ice's meeting and joining the Justice League. Meanwhile, a criminal uses a machine to control weather. Warner Bros. does own the copyright, but you can find bootlegs; the technical quality is reportedly very good. Try contacting Krypton Comics or Midtown Comics.
+ Summary
Frankly, this TV pilot
was a bit corny. Or the costumes
are at least a bit suspect...
Comic book characters' translations to other media always comes with a certain acceptance of the limits of reality, so all things considered, the above image is well, pretty cool! The costumes are no worse than some used in the recent Batman movies. About the characters:
- GREEN LANTERN, Guy Gardner (Matthew Settle): At first glance, his is perhaps the best costume of the bunch, althought the coloring is more turquoise than green. Notice how they combined elements of 3 Lanterns, with Kyle's mask, half of Guy Gardner's costume, and half of Hal Jordan's costume, plus the actor kind of looks like Hal Jordan. He is Guy Gardner by name but a cross between Jordan and Rayner in personality his history appears to be Hal's except that he "found" his ring. A good look at the ring itself reveals the original Alan Scott GL ring. He also appears much less powerful than in the comics. Guy is A successful nice computer salesman who lives in this amazing house with...
THE ATOM, Ray Palmer (John Kassir): A goofy, chubby geek.
This is supposedly Ray Palmer, though Ray has never really been a
short chubby guy in the comics. This Atom actually looks more like
the Blue Beetle, with some of his costume re-colored red. The costume
is VERY clunky and fake ... but maybe that's his shtick. - FLASH, Barry Allen (Kenny Johnston): Barry Allen is a dimwitted 20-something guy who has no job, can't pay his rent and is forced to move in and depend on Guy Gardner. Looks all right, though. Seems based on the Flash TV series.
- FIRE, B.B. DaCosta (Michelle Hurd): The costume is semi-faithful to the Giffen era, and she sports a touch of green hair coloring instead of a big green wig. Instead of wearing a mask, she simply has green paint under her eyes.
- ICE, Tori Olafsdotter (Kimberly Oja): Not bad. Very nordic.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER (David Ogden Stiers): The face
looks all right. That's David Ogden Stiers of M*A*S*H under there.
Not a bad casting. The only "name
actor."
A weak story, but no less entertaining than the old Challenge of the Superheroes. It's obvious that they filmed more footage because there are scenes of Ice in costume, which you never see in this pilot." Supposedly, if the show had been picked up, it would eventually have had a rotating cast, as new members join, and old ones leave.
The Super Friends (1973-1981)
In 1973, Seventies animation giants Hanna-Barbera transformed the Justice League into a simpler group called The Super Friends. This series ran on ABC Saturday mornings until 1986. DC Comics also began publishing a comic of the same name, which ran from 1976-1981. There is a book with some of this information. If you can find it, these are the crucials:
Swanigan, Michael. Hanna-Barbera's World of Super Adventure, vol. 1, 1991. JA-RA Publ. (Reprinted at least one time; oversized soft cover book.)
I won't go into great detail because, alas, there are already a couple super fun sites: the Super Friends Home Page (part of the granddaddy Superman Homepage) and Seanbaby's Super Friends Page. I will, of course, list for you the "Challenge of the Super Friends" members (1978):
|
The Super Friends |
The Legion of Doom |
|---|---|
|
Apache Chief • Aquaman • Batman • Black Vulcan • Flash • Green Lantern • Hawkman • Robin • Samurai • Superman • Wonder Woman |
Bizarro • Black Manta • Braniac • Captain Cold • Cheetah • Giganta • Grodd • Lex Luthor • Riddler • Scarecrow • Sinestro • Solomon Grundy • Toyman |
Super
Friends Comic Chronology
Challenge of the Superheroes (1979)
Air dates: January 18, 1979, January 25, 1979In addition to the Super Friends, Hanna Barbera produced two 1-hour live action TV specials titled "Challenge of the Superheroes" on NBC. The first show, "The Challenge," aired 18 January 1979. It was a light adventure where the heroes had to solve the Riddler's schemes and stop the villains' doomsday device. The second, "The Roast," aired 25 January 1979. It's hosted by Ed McMahon and guest stars Ruth Buzzi.
- Roll Call, Heroes: Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward), Captain Marvel (Garret Craig), Green Lantern (Howard Murphy), Black Canary (Danuta), Huntress (Barbara Joyce), Hawkman (Bill Nuckols), Flash (Rod Haase).
- Roll Call, Villains: Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Sinestro (Charlie Callas), Weather Wizard (Jeff Altman), Mordru (Gabriel Dell), Solomon Gundy (Mickey Morton), Dr. Sivana (Howard Morris), Giganta (A'leisha Brevard).
The scripts are cornier than the Batman show (complete with laugh tracks). But two things make these shows worthwhile: (1) It's just so plain cool to see Hawkman, Green Lantern, Black Canary and Huntress in a live action show. Who would have thought? (2) Despite the low-grade production, it was extremely well cast. The villains are all perfect especially Grundy. They need almost no makeup because their features describe the characters so well. On the hero side, Black Canary is a leggy, giant-smiling bombshell, complete with motorcycle wheelies! Huntress gets little screen time, but has got the body to pull it off. Likewise, Hawkman and Green Lantern are buff! Exactly how I would picture them if they existed. And Captain Marvel is equal parts alpha-hero and cute kid. The sets include the Hall of Justice, a villain's hideout, and lots of public parks. The technical quality of the videos is not great (my copy at least); it looks like a tape that's been viewed 100 times.Warner Bros. does own the copyright, but you can find bootlegs; the technical quality is reportedly very good. Try contacting Krypton Comics or Midtown Comics.
JLA
Elseworlds • Internet
Movie Database
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967-1968)
Air dates: September 9, 1967-September 7, 1968
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was produced by Filmation Studios Animation. In addition to the headliners, the JLA made three appearances in their own adventures. Others included the Flash, Atom, Hawkman and Green Lantern. (The link brings you to an excellent Filmation page.) Some of these cartoons were released on official VHS under the banner "Super Powers Collection." Sometimes you can buy these at Amazon.com. I have seen other episodes of these for sale bootlegged on e-bay.
Justice League Episode Titles: "Between Two Armies," "Target Earth," and "Bad Day on Black Mountain." Four of these episodes were also released in interactive CD-ROM format in 1996 by Inverse Ink. They include one each for Aquaman, Batman, Superboy and Superman.