14) Teen Titans Go!
Now make no mistake, Teen Titans Go! is not the problem in and of itself. In fact, the show has made an art form out of subtly spoofing, parodying and commentating on society with references as blatant and childish as toilet humor on up to staples of pop-culture past like the 1975 computer strategy game Oregon Trail.
The trouble is that society’s collective acceptance of the material has proven that this minimalist effort in everything from character development to story arcing, to the very unimpressive visuals on down to the animation itself is enough to satisfy the masses. Rather than elevate the competition to its echelon, Teen Titans Go! has proven its popularity is instead enough to drag other properties down to its level. Perhaps no more so was this witnessed than in the announcement of a similar series titled ThunderCats Roar where its debut trailer was met with severe backlash from the community. Fans of the original 1985 series and the 2011 reboot criticized the animation style, creators, and the shift to comedy, comparing the effort to Teen Titans Go!
What this tells us indirectly is that despite its popularity, Teen Titans Go! is generally regarded as an insult to the source material upon which it’s based and that ThunderCats fans are clearly fired up enough to take action so as not to see their beloved franchise become victim to similar treatment.
However, none of this tells us much about the series itself. In truth some of the gags are humorous and kids, young ones especially, seem drawn to its simplified visuals and bright color palette. The show would likely have made for a wonderful commercial bumper or end-credits background gag reel for the original show. The trouble is that it’s what DC fans the world over were given as the flagship animated property from a studio that once had Marvel scrambling to keep up with richness of story-telling, faithfulness to the comics and heaviness of emotion that was the DC Animated Universe.
Or, in simpler terms, the existence of Teen Titans Go! would certainly be far more forgivable if it served simply as the more all-ages-friendly series entry of the DC Animation catalog rather than the trend-setter for which other animated shows would aspire.
Traditionally the property has retreated to the excuse under scrutiny that it is simply children’s television and while there is some truth to this, the reality is that Cartoon Network studies prove time and again that children represent only a fraction of the overall viewer demographic. The fact that the show itself loves to integrate references to and puns on subjects that only adults would recognize only further proves that the show’s creators are fully aware that children aren’t their only audience.
And while it is easy to bag on DC, WB, CN or anyone else involved in Go!’s creation, it all circles back to the public’s acceptance of the material keeping it in the limelight. It’s not all bad - the theatrically released 2018 Teen Titans Go! To The Movies cost $10-million and took in $52-mil at the box office, proving that fans of the franchise are keeping the devotion alive. And let’s face it, these are stronger numbers than DC was able to turn in any of the “heavy hitters” of the animated comic roster in film form.
So long as one goes into the series expecting minimal character growth, plotting, faithfulness to the source material and no semblance to rationality, there are laughs and silliness aplenty. The ratings don’t lie - we are living in silly times.
Perhaps the series with the most failed potential, Justice League Action was announced to much fanfare only to quietly drop off society's collective radar by the time it actually aired. This was due in part to an early Saturday morning timeslot and minimal promotion by Cartoon Network. Of course, these are contributing factors but the truth of the matter is the public determines whether or not a series is going to survive and in hindsight, Justice League Action had a definite problem with pinning itself down and that was another strong contributing factor to its ultimate demise.
At even a passing glance, it’s clear that the show’s creators were aiming for a more kid-friendly version of the League than its predecessors with bright, simplified character models, sharp-edged backgrounds and plenty of fist-flying zooms.
The “action” portion of the namesake is unmistakable as each of the 11-minute segments (two per episode) spend very little time establishing characters, backstory, or ongoing plots, instead optioning to paint a standalone (often silly) crisis in need of fast resolve.
Much like the tradition set by Justice League Unlimited before it, Action rarely uses more than a couple of members per skit so as to keep the balance of power reasonable. Except, unlike the former, Action also makes sure the emphasis is on humor over substance. Does it work? Actually, yes it does. So long as you are okay with heavy reliance upon Booster Gold and Space Cabbie (a character dating back to 1954, where the logic of such a character still made sense), the humor comes quickly and relentlessly.
Some of the show’s finer moments, once the viewer gets into the mindset that there is absolutely no point in comparing this to the comics or any earlier incarnations of the source material, actually takes place outside the realm of crime fighting and within scenarios of sheer lunacy: Like Green Arrow hosting an annual holiday party where all of the League members show up in costume and Solomon Grundy comes uninvited or Booster Gold being left to guard the Watchtower (great idea from the onset, right?) only to have been duped into giving a tour to a group of poorly disguised secret-seeking supervillains.
In short, expect plots straight out of 1970s cartoons. However, make no mistake - there are laughs to be had here the moment the viewer resigns to the fact that there isn’t going to be a whole lot of depth and just allows the references, jokes, puns and silliness reign supreme.
Justice League Action’s greatest strength, though, comes in the form of its vocal cast. Somehow they managed to secure all of the powerhouse actors from the respective animated series to deliver the zaniness with wonderful familiarity. Kevin Conroy plays Batman, Mark Hamill the Joker, Diedrich Bader’s here (but as Booster Gold rather than Bats) Gilbert Gottfried does Mr. Mxyzptlk etc.
Unlike many of the properties comprising this, the higher end of the ranking, JLA actually managed to amass a bit of material on account of the fact that its abnormally short segments allowed for a ridiculously long single season (52-episodes across a two-year span). Keep in mind that each episode is technically a pair of shorts bringing that total up to 104 self-contained skits. As if that weren’t enough, they assembled a collection of even sillier and shorter shorts with the property called, you guessed it, Justice League Action Shorts that DC Kids dumped onto Youtube for free (as well as were included as extras in the DVD releases).
In truth, Justice League Action is yet another pretty decent franchise that was, sadly, dropped after only a single season due mostly to little more than bad marketing and handling of the property. It received nearly no promotion from Cartoon Network during its run and found itself relegated to a terrible timeslot on the channel’s programming. Given the breezy, all-ages friendly, nature of the episodes and the decent use of an incredibly large DC comic roster, it’s very reasonable to suspect that it could have been tied into a successful toy line not unlike what had been done in the 80s with the Kenner Super Powers Collection. Sadly, the show was gone before ever having the opportunity to tap into such potential.
All in all, Justice League Action was a nice, light take on a beloved franchise that managed to combine faithfulness to the source material with a very level blend of action and humor. They chose the title wisely, however, as Justice League Comedy simply doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Beware the Batman, like Green Lantern The Animated Series before it, finds itself at the rear of this ranking not because it wasn’t good but rather because there simply isn’t enough of the material to give viewers his or her lasting fix. It seems DC, despite doing everything right, failed to find lasting success with their CG-based series.
Beware actually took their iconic Batman into a new direction - one that would be built upon his “Dark Knight” personna without ever stepping on the toes of Bruce Timm’s impeccable Batman The Animated Series. It would do this by focusing on some of the lesser-known threads of the character’s rich and storied history. This concept alone justifies the show’s existence in a sea of Batman animated properties.
It accomplished its lofty goals by bringing to the screen many villains that had, until then, only been known by diehard fans of the comics. Additionally, we were given a much younger, more capable (bald-headed) Alfred; a character presented not only as a caretaker for Bruce Wayne but a fellow skilled scrapper and tech devotee.
Traditionally the property has retreated to the excuse under scrutiny that it is simply children’s television and while there is some truth to this, the reality is that Cartoon Network studies prove time and again that children represent only a fraction of the overall viewer demographic. The fact that the show itself loves to integrate references to and puns on subjects that only adults would recognize only further proves that the show’s creators are fully aware that children aren’t their only audience.
So long as one goes into the series expecting minimal character growth, plotting, faithfulness to the source material and no semblance to rationality, there are laughs and silliness aplenty. The ratings don’t lie - we are living in silly times.
13) Justice League Action
Perhaps the series with the most failed potential, Justice League Action was announced to much fanfare only to quietly drop off society's collective radar by the time it actually aired. This was due in part to an early Saturday morning timeslot and minimal promotion by Cartoon Network. Of course, these are contributing factors but the truth of the matter is the public determines whether or not a series is going to survive and in hindsight, Justice League Action had a definite problem with pinning itself down and that was another strong contributing factor to its ultimate demise.
At even a passing glance, it’s clear that the show’s creators were aiming for a more kid-friendly version of the League than its predecessors with bright, simplified character models, sharp-edged backgrounds and plenty of fist-flying zooms.
The “action” portion of the namesake is unmistakable as each of the 11-minute segments (two per episode) spend very little time establishing characters, backstory, or ongoing plots, instead optioning to paint a standalone (often silly) crisis in need of fast resolve.
Much like the tradition set by Justice League Unlimited before it, Action rarely uses more than a couple of members per skit so as to keep the balance of power reasonable. Except, unlike the former, Action also makes sure the emphasis is on humor over substance. Does it work? Actually, yes it does. So long as you are okay with heavy reliance upon Booster Gold and Space Cabbie (a character dating back to 1954, where the logic of such a character still made sense), the humor comes quickly and relentlessly.
Some of the show’s finer moments, once the viewer gets into the mindset that there is absolutely no point in comparing this to the comics or any earlier incarnations of the source material, actually takes place outside the realm of crime fighting and within scenarios of sheer lunacy: Like Green Arrow hosting an annual holiday party where all of the League members show up in costume and Solomon Grundy comes uninvited or Booster Gold being left to guard the Watchtower (great idea from the onset, right?) only to have been duped into giving a tour to a group of poorly disguised secret-seeking supervillains.
In short, expect plots straight out of 1970s cartoons. However, make no mistake - there are laughs to be had here the moment the viewer resigns to the fact that there isn’t going to be a whole lot of depth and just allows the references, jokes, puns and silliness reign supreme.
Justice League Action’s greatest strength, though, comes in the form of its vocal cast. Somehow they managed to secure all of the powerhouse actors from the respective animated series to deliver the zaniness with wonderful familiarity. Kevin Conroy plays Batman, Mark Hamill the Joker, Diedrich Bader’s here (but as Booster Gold rather than Bats) Gilbert Gottfried does Mr. Mxyzptlk etc.
Unlike many of the properties comprising this, the higher end of the ranking, JLA actually managed to amass a bit of material on account of the fact that its abnormally short segments allowed for a ridiculously long single season (52-episodes across a two-year span). Keep in mind that each episode is technically a pair of shorts bringing that total up to 104 self-contained skits. As if that weren’t enough, they assembled a collection of even sillier and shorter shorts with the property called, you guessed it, Justice League Action Shorts that DC Kids dumped onto Youtube for free (as well as were included as extras in the DVD releases).
In truth, Justice League Action is yet another pretty decent franchise that was, sadly, dropped after only a single season due mostly to little more than bad marketing and handling of the property. It received nearly no promotion from Cartoon Network during its run and found itself relegated to a terrible timeslot on the channel’s programming. Given the breezy, all-ages friendly, nature of the episodes and the decent use of an incredibly large DC comic roster, it’s very reasonable to suspect that it could have been tied into a successful toy line not unlike what had been done in the 80s with the Kenner Super Powers Collection. Sadly, the show was gone before ever having the opportunity to tap into such potential.
All in all, Justice League Action was a nice, light take on a beloved franchise that managed to combine faithfulness to the source material with a very level blend of action and humor. They chose the title wisely, however, as Justice League Comedy simply doesn’t have the same ring to it.
12) Beware The Batman
While there’s no denying that Batman: TAS is known for its darkness, Beware may actually trump it. While the former kept the well-known institutions of the material in the forefront and model them around a gritty and organized-crime-ruled Gotham, the latter sticks with a decidedly Asian flavor of mythology and technology to weave its tale.
Amazingly, the uniqueness doesn’t end here. Batman takes on a sidekick but you can forget about Dick Grayson, Tim Drake Jason Todd or even Batgirl on this one. Rather he teams up with lesser-known heroine Katana.
You can also plan on doing away with capes and cowls of blue and grey, this Batman stepped directly out of the 1988 film’s wardrobe. He wears black head to toe and the only interruptions to the dark motif come in the form of a yellow utility belt and the white slits of his eyes. Couple to this the lighting and texturing possible only in the CG medium and you get some pretty amazing visuals of a stalking, shadowy detective.
While fan criticisms are warranted that a lot of the c-list villians that comprise the first half a dozen or so episodes do take some getting used to, it’s a pretty safe bet that the transition into the more commonly accepted rogues gallery was on the agenda. By the end of the season we do have arcs that have developed to include (the impeccably well done) Anarchy, Killer Croc, Manbat and Deathstroke/ Slade Wilson.
Additionally, by then we’re working with Ra’s Al Ghul, the Barb Gordon/ Oracle link is established, Harvey Dent is a factor, with Two-Face’s origin was in the works, and the Commissioner Gordon/ Batman dynamic unfolding.
Perhaps most impressive is that the entire single season is a serial. It’s one ongoing tale where backstories cross over, characters grow and evolve, and the payoffs are set up well in advance.
Unfortunately, it’s not all positives. While the use of CG is very impressive in texturing and lighting, Gotham itself suffers greatly for it. The city is essentially static. It would have been great to see things like traffic, pedestrians, even just motion in the far shots. Instead, we are given what amounts to a 3D still shot of Gotham city each time the camera pulls back.
Amazingly, the uniqueness doesn’t end here. Batman takes on a sidekick but you can forget about Dick Grayson, Tim Drake Jason Todd or even Batgirl on this one. Rather he teams up with lesser-known heroine Katana.
While fan criticisms are warranted that a lot of the c-list villians that comprise the first half a dozen or so episodes do take some getting used to, it’s a pretty safe bet that the transition into the more commonly accepted rogues gallery was on the agenda. By the end of the season we do have arcs that have developed to include (the impeccably well done) Anarchy, Killer Croc, Manbat and Deathstroke/ Slade Wilson.
Additionally, by then we’re working with Ra’s Al Ghul, the Barb Gordon/ Oracle link is established, Harvey Dent is a factor, with Two-Face’s origin was in the works, and the Commissioner Gordon/ Batman dynamic unfolding.
Perhaps most impressive is that the entire single season is a serial. It’s one ongoing tale where backstories cross over, characters grow and evolve, and the payoffs are set up well in advance.
Unfortunately, it’s not all positives. While the use of CG is very impressive in texturing and lighting, Gotham itself suffers greatly for it. The city is essentially static. It would have been great to see things like traffic, pedestrians, even just motion in the far shots. Instead, we are given what amounts to a 3D still shot of Gotham city each time the camera pulls back.
The animation is, at times, inconsistent though the action sequences are quite spectacular. The combat segments cut quick and hard angles, reminiscent of a big-budget motion picture. Environments, in general, aren’t quite so fortunate. Prepare for a clean and gargoyle-less Gotham, a Wayne manor without outdoor vegetation, no Arkham Island with crashes of lightning stretching gated shadows across the narrow leaf-strewn roadway.
The scoring, however, is fantastic. What mood given up in the visual department is made up for in the sweeping score. Even the title theme is short, to the point, and fantastically appropriate.
All in all, Beware the Batman is a very underrated effort that was cut down after only a single season. Calling it perfect would be a stretch for certain but, and again like Green Lantern The Animated Series, there is an unmistakable feeling of what may have been overshadowing what’s here. It was very admirable of the show’s creators to attempt a different road with this one rather than simply rebooting Batman TAS in CG. Sadly, it seems to have largely fallen into obscurity and serves as another lesson that taking chances isn’t always rewarded.
In only a list featuring so many wonderful properties could Green Lantern the Animated Series find itself so near the back of the pack. This series serves as a painful reminder of the realities of the animated television industry and how failure to move merchandise ultimately decides what we get to watch on TV.
GL TAS is a solid show in every regard from its intricate plotting, fantastic character interactions, depth, faithfulness to the source material and attention to detail. The biggest downside to it is the one thing the market itself denied it: longevity. The program often feels as though it were only beginning to hit its stride, which is actually the case, then suddenly it’s done. Never did it have an opportunity to establish itself long-term plot threads or slow-build scenarios on account of the simple fact that its plug was pulled after only a single season.
The year was 2011 and the series coincided with the theatrical release of the Ryan Reynolds megaflop Green Lantern motion picture. The movie tanked and with it fell the extensive corresponding toy line. What this means is store shelves were littered with Green Lantern toys nobody was buying and, though the animated show was fantastic, managers were not interested in taking a risk on any other GL-related merchandise. Sad as it may be, even with backing from companies like DC and Warner Brothers, superhero cartoons still require proceeds from toy stores to survive. The movie literally cost the series any chance of success.
A secondary tragedy in all of this is that DC rarely strays from its bread and butter franchises - Batman, Superman and Justice League. It was rare, especially then, for the world to get a GL push in theaters and on TV. Because it ended the way it did, it’s very unlikely we’ll get another attempt.
In any event, none of this tells us anything about GL: TAS itself. The show ran for 26-episodes (a nice big single season, thankfully), which ended up comprising two major story threads. We are treated to the Hal Jordan incarnation of GL though some of the other human Lanterns do make periodic appearances here. Not only does the show serve as a pseudo origin for GL, it delves extremely deep into the mythology of the franchise from the roots on Oa to the colors of the various rings and the corps that represent each.
We are treated to some new characters here; a sentient AI named Aya and an angsty fallen red lantern named Razer. There are series staples aplenty; from Sinestro himself to the Anti-Monitor. Everyone is presented in wonderful depth, character interactions are realistic and plots are well developed and natural.
A two-part pilot sets the stage for the rest of the series to follow and it’s apparent immediately this is Bruce Timm territory. The eleven episodes that follow maintain a similar feel of well balanced action, emotion and humor. Surprisingly, the second half of the first season is even stronger than the first. Without being burdened by the need to delve into origins for the viewer every few moments, the show’s creators were free to delve deeper into the individual character motivations and explore much more of the galaxy in true space-opera fashion.
As stated in the beginning of this review - one gets the unmistakable feeling that the show was struck down just as it was finding its stride. What does exist here is likely the finest telling of the Green Lantern mythology that will exist outside of the comics themselves and a painful reminder to the fact that toys can make or break what we are given to enjoy on television.
The Batman takes us back to an era of iconic-feeling animation. Between its extremely polished (and stylized) look, its high-tech sound loops (even just thinking back on them all these years later makes them appear crystal clear), The Batman was certainly an exclamation point upon the character’s rich history opposed to Beware the Batman’s soft period.
In the actual hierarchy, The Batman found itself released directly behind Batman The Animated Series and, I like to think, that led to some of the richer psychological moments of the series. After all, the show had some pretty big bat shoes to fill.
However, a few deep moments aside, for the most part The Batman feels like TAS-lite. You have all of the typical trappings here; the origin story, Alfred the butler, both sidekicks by the end, the gadetry, the rogues. It’s all here again, just as it was in the series before, but with a much brighter color pallette, zippier dialog and a deliberate absence of depth.
Villains here are ridiculously one-dimensional, often driven by a singular motivation. Mr. Freeze, no longer a tragic and misunderstood character study, simply likes diamonds and steals them (ice, get it?), Penguin walks around saying, “tweet tweet” and Joker… Well he’s got green dreadlocks, glowing red eyes, is always barefoot and has a straight jacket hanging from his chest. Not to suggest the show is overly tongue-in-cheek with its delivery, but truly it’s tough to overlook the memo that Joker just may be a little crazy here.
And crazy it is - plots are often over the top even beyond superhero comic book turned cartoon standards. Penguin commits a series of robberies using trained birds. Catwoman tries to steal a cat statue. Joker develops a device that turns whatever he shoots into putty. What’s the matter with simply getting rich off royalties from patenting this thing? In any event, the point here is to keep in mind The Batman is the placeholder firmly between TAS and Brave and the Bold - in short we were collectively moving away from dark and broody in favor of bright and campy whether we realized it at the time or not.
So the show’s a total write-off then? Surprisingly, no. It does bring a few interesting elements to the table during its 5-season run. For starters, it attempted something that we would see again later on in Beware the Batman: It casts light on some of the lesser known Batman villains throughout the comic book years. Only unlike Beware, this show selected wiser and did them better. Here we get beautiful renditions of rogues like Firefly, Killer Moth and Ragdoll in between bouts with the more iconic staples like Joker, Penguin and Bane.
All in all, Beware the Batman is a very underrated effort that was cut down after only a single season. Calling it perfect would be a stretch for certain but, and again like Green Lantern The Animated Series, there is an unmistakable feeling of what may have been overshadowing what’s here. It was very admirable of the show’s creators to attempt a different road with this one rather than simply rebooting Batman TAS in CG. Sadly, it seems to have largely fallen into obscurity and serves as another lesson that taking chances isn’t always rewarded.
11) Green Lantern The Animated Series
GL TAS is a solid show in every regard from its intricate plotting, fantastic character interactions, depth, faithfulness to the source material and attention to detail. The biggest downside to it is the one thing the market itself denied it: longevity. The program often feels as though it were only beginning to hit its stride, which is actually the case, then suddenly it’s done. Never did it have an opportunity to establish itself long-term plot threads or slow-build scenarios on account of the simple fact that its plug was pulled after only a single season.
A secondary tragedy in all of this is that DC rarely strays from its bread and butter franchises - Batman, Superman and Justice League. It was rare, especially then, for the world to get a GL push in theaters and on TV. Because it ended the way it did, it’s very unlikely we’ll get another attempt.
We are treated to some new characters here; a sentient AI named Aya and an angsty fallen red lantern named Razer. There are series staples aplenty; from Sinestro himself to the Anti-Monitor. Everyone is presented in wonderful depth, character interactions are realistic and plots are well developed and natural.
As stated in the beginning of this review - one gets the unmistakable feeling that the show was struck down just as it was finding its stride. What does exist here is likely the finest telling of the Green Lantern mythology that will exist outside of the comics themselves and a painful reminder to the fact that toys can make or break what we are given to enjoy on television.
10) The Batman
In the actual hierarchy, The Batman found itself released directly behind Batman The Animated Series and, I like to think, that led to some of the richer psychological moments of the series. After all, the show had some pretty big bat shoes to fill.
Villains here are ridiculously one-dimensional, often driven by a singular motivation. Mr. Freeze, no longer a tragic and misunderstood character study, simply likes diamonds and steals them (ice, get it?), Penguin walks around saying, “tweet tweet” and Joker… Well he’s got green dreadlocks, glowing red eyes, is always barefoot and has a straight jacket hanging from his chest. Not to suggest the show is overly tongue-in-cheek with its delivery, but truly it’s tough to overlook the memo that Joker just may be a little crazy here.
And crazy it is - plots are often over the top even beyond superhero comic book turned cartoon standards. Penguin commits a series of robberies using trained birds. Catwoman tries to steal a cat statue. Joker develops a device that turns whatever he shoots into putty. What’s the matter with simply getting rich off royalties from patenting this thing? In any event, the point here is to keep in mind The Batman is the placeholder firmly between TAS and Brave and the Bold - in short we were collectively moving away from dark and broody in favor of bright and campy whether we realized it at the time or not.
Secondly, and no less impressively, it matures across its run to actually become a pseudo Justice League program by the fifth and final season. By now Batman has both Robin and Batgirl in his stable and episodes here began featuring a Leaguer team up before ultimately concluding with the foundation of the Justice League itself. It’s a pretty natural and fitting conclusion to the series as it presents the League in the same unique art style that made The Batman stand out from all of the other incarnations of the material.
In hindsight it’s easy to discount The Batman as a simple footnote in the rich animated history of DC’s second most popular hero when in fact the show did its best work when it wasn’t attempting to emulate the incredible series that came before it. It’s worth checking out for the fantastically depicted lesser-known villains alone and ends triumphantly enough to wonder what it would be like if this creative team were given a crack at the elite Justice League property. Come for the rogues, stay for the green skies.
9) The Zeta Project
At last we come to a genine DC Animated Universe property on our list. The significance of this, in case you are unaware, is continuity dear friends. What made the DCAU unlike anything that came before it (or since, save maybe the MCU) is the fact that it is a single entity, a shared universe centered on a whole groups of animated television series based on DC Comics. It began in 1992 with Batman The Animated Series and concluded in 2006 with Justice League Unlimited.
The Zeta Project finds itself nearing the end of the run with its 2001-2002 original airing and is perhaps the least well known of all the entries making up the continuity. The reason for this is simple - it is a spin off of a spin off. Zeta, a sentient infiltration robot, made an appearance in the futuristic Batman spin off series Batman Beyond before earning a show of his own.
In action the series is a bit of a contradiction. The visuals are bright and clean, the character interactions light and sometimes humorous but the underlying themes are wonderfully adult science fiction material. The show follows the titular Infiltration Unit Zeta, an NSA sythnoid that violates his core programming when ordered to kill an innocent and instead goes on the run, vowing never to kill again.
Sentient AI deciding to violate its programming in the name of justice is pretty heavy stuff for a kids show and that’s not where the depth of theme ends. The NSA sends a team out to retrieve the defective unit, convinced that it was somehow intercepted and reprogrammed by a terrorist group known as Brother’s Day.
Lost in the world of humans and on the run, Zeta encounters a fellow runaway, a 15-year-old human girl named Rosalie “Ro” Rowan who manages to both be his guide and get herself into situations requiring his rescue.
In hindsight it’s easy to discount The Batman as a simple footnote in the rich animated history of DC’s second most popular hero when in fact the show did its best work when it wasn’t attempting to emulate the incredible series that came before it. It’s worth checking out for the fantastically depicted lesser-known villains alone and ends triumphantly enough to wonder what it would be like if this creative team were given a crack at the elite Justice League property. Come for the rogues, stay for the green skies.
9) The Zeta Project
The Zeta Project finds itself nearing the end of the run with its 2001-2002 original airing and is perhaps the least well known of all the entries making up the continuity. The reason for this is simple - it is a spin off of a spin off. Zeta, a sentient infiltration robot, made an appearance in the futuristic Batman spin off series Batman Beyond before earning a show of his own.
In action the series is a bit of a contradiction. The visuals are bright and clean, the character interactions light and sometimes humorous but the underlying themes are wonderfully adult science fiction material. The show follows the titular Infiltration Unit Zeta, an NSA sythnoid that violates his core programming when ordered to kill an innocent and instead goes on the run, vowing never to kill again.
Lost in the world of humans and on the run, Zeta encounters a fellow runaway, a 15-year-old human girl named Rosalie “Ro” Rowan who manages to both be his guide and get herself into situations requiring his rescue.
The pair are on a quest to locate Dr. Eli Selig, Zeta’s creator and only hope of respite from the pursuing NSA agents looking to capture and shut him down.
At the risk of providing what may be a spoiler, whether or not the two ever make it into the care of Dr. Selig remains a mystery as the show’s plug was pulled before resolve. It lasted only two seasons, which is especially disappointing considering it was a serial with an ongoing story arc.
Despite how it may appear in summation, the show manages to maintain an upbeat, adventurous tone, shedding light (both figuratively and literally) on the dark and shadowy world of its host series (Batman Beyond).
The Zeta Project is a program that literally couldn’t exist today. We live in a time where material is kept as simplistic as possible so as to appeal to kids who will pester for corresponding toys. In the late 90s and early 2000s, superhero animation, particularly DC, went through a sort of renaissance. Shows weren’t afraid to delve into moral and philosophical concepts and oftentimes had no affiliated toy lines whatsoever. That is exactly how Zeta came to be; a result of a narrow window in time when the medium was used for so much more than action figure advertising.
Sadly, like most projects that take chances and exist only to tell their own tale, Zeta lasted only two seasons and never received a solid conclusion. It represents the dark horse of the DCAU catalog but is worth looking into even all these years after the fact.
8) Batman The Brave And The Bold
The concept of Silver Age comic book sensibilities working in modern day dark and broody climes was every bit as unlikely in 2008 when Brave and the Bold debuted as it is today and yet the results were somehow remarkably successful.
Unlike The Batman before it, which shared in such pleasantries as a bright color pallette and a more upbeat incarnation of the lead character, BatB took everyone’s favorite billionaire vigilante about as far away from “Dark Knight” territory as possible. In fact, and as the title insinuates, BatB was a team-up show where Batman himself is the only constant in essentially a Justice League program that gave each member a weekly spotlight rather than lumping the group into a Watchtower.
Given that the Silver Age comprises the mid 1950s on up the 70s, one would expect a brighter, cleaner DC universe and that is exactly what this show delivers. However, rather than let this work against them, the show’s creators used it as the springboard for loving homages for all things DC, Batman, pop culture and comics. There’s a warmth here that is apparent no matter how far from traditional trappings the narrative tends to wander.
8) Batman The Brave And The Bold
Unlike The Batman before it, which shared in such pleasantries as a bright color pallette and a more upbeat incarnation of the lead character, BatB took everyone’s favorite billionaire vigilante about as far away from “Dark Knight” territory as possible. In fact, and as the title insinuates, BatB was a team-up show where Batman himself is the only constant in essentially a Justice League program that gave each member a weekly spotlight rather than lumping the group into a Watchtower.
Diedrich Bader takes on the role of Batman in this incarnation in a fashion that somehow combines dry frumpiness with humor so smoothly as to almost be subliminal. When asked if he’s hit a lady by a male criminal clearly in drag he responds, “The hammer of justice is unisex.” This about sums it up.
Of course like all things humorous, thin is the line between just enough and too much and sadly, BatB crosses that line often - sometimes acting as if it never existed. Aquaman, played by the always overzealous John DiMaggio, for example can be a bit much to take. Or when Plastic Man leads a musical episode that could make an early Disney movie buff blush and you can’t help but wonder how deep the silliness pit really goes.
However, every time something silly comes along, the show sneaks in an equal bit of depth or origin story or emotion. Bruce Wayne confronting Joe Chill, Equinox presenting a valid argument to the idea of good and evil as black and white, Batman slipping through a rift in the space time continuum; these are all subjects presented across the 3-season, 65-episode run.
Of course, you can never get too comfortable with either extreme in this case- after all, this group’s latest outing comes in the form of a team up with Scooby-Doo in a full-length animated feature. If your definition of Batman coincides with Bruce Timm’s vision, you may not find BatB to be your proverbial cup of tea.
All in all, Brave and the Bold is a bit of an anomaly in the hierarchy of animated Batman franchises. It’s as deep as it is silly, as funny as it is serious, it’s as modern as it is antiquated. It boasts a vibrant color palette and centers on one of the darkest heroes of all time. In short it works better than it should in every regard.
Boasting the unique distinction of being Bruce Timm and company’s follow-up effort after the wildly successful Batman the Animated Series; Superman TAS represents the DCAU’s earliest foundations as a singular connective entity.
In a lot of ways the shows are contrasted as the characters themselves. Batman carries the mantle of dark, psychological case studies (both internal and external) where investigation and intelligence overcome the villains. Superman, by comparison, is the bright and ideological backdrop where equal parts strength and perseverance win the day. Entire case studies have been done comparing and contrasting these two; with differences as subtle as the fact that Clark Kent is in fact Superman’s disguise whereas Bruce Wayne makes use of the more common superhero trope of donning a mask to keep his true identity secret. We won’t get into all of that here but will instead focus on the fact that the show’s creators were clearly very in tune with what makes the two properties unique.
In action Superman TAS isn’t only brighter environmentally, it is free to stretch its proverbial legs geographically as well. Superman’s struggles often take him around the world and sometimes deep into space as well where he clashes with intergalactic bounty hunters, omnipotent aliens, a Terminator wannabe, and of course series staple criminal mastermind Lex Luthor.
Lois Lane is presented as a strong, independent professional here with equal parts razor-sharp tongue and penchant for getting in over her head. Thankfully, while she finds coworker and deliberately exaggerated country bumpkin Clark Kent somewhat of a pest, she has nothing but admiration for his alter ego and welcomes his endless succession of rescues. If ever there were a reoccuring theme to be found in the show, it would have to be Superman’s ability to show up and rescue Lois from peril at the critical moment. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
However, every time something silly comes along, the show sneaks in an equal bit of depth or origin story or emotion. Bruce Wayne confronting Joe Chill, Equinox presenting a valid argument to the idea of good and evil as black and white, Batman slipping through a rift in the space time continuum; these are all subjects presented across the 3-season, 65-episode run.
7) Superman The Animated Series
In a lot of ways the shows are contrasted as the characters themselves. Batman carries the mantle of dark, psychological case studies (both internal and external) where investigation and intelligence overcome the villains. Superman, by comparison, is the bright and ideological backdrop where equal parts strength and perseverance win the day. Entire case studies have been done comparing and contrasting these two; with differences as subtle as the fact that Clark Kent is in fact Superman’s disguise whereas Bruce Wayne makes use of the more common superhero trope of donning a mask to keep his true identity secret. We won’t get into all of that here but will instead focus on the fact that the show’s creators were clearly very in tune with what makes the two properties unique.
Lois Lane is presented as a strong, independent professional here with equal parts razor-sharp tongue and penchant for getting in over her head. Thankfully, while she finds coworker and deliberately exaggerated country bumpkin Clark Kent somewhat of a pest, she has nothing but admiration for his alter ego and welcomes his endless succession of rescues. If ever there were a reoccuring theme to be found in the show, it would have to be Superman’s ability to show up and rescue Lois from peril at the critical moment. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
Given the age of the source material, Superman adapts to modern sensibilities surprisingly well. It’s clear that his strength and abilities have been wisely muted here as many of his adversaries simply wouldn’t offer a challenge to the suped up Superman of varying comics incarnations. However, never is he stunted to the point of viewer frustration. The theme of keeping powers in reasonable balance for solid storytelling would end up becoming a trademark of the DCAU and much of this nuance can be traced back to here.
Arguably one of the most memorable moments of the show’s 3-season run came in the form of the 2nd season episodes World’s Finest; a title paying homage to the DC comic of the same name, in which Batman crossed over to team up with Superman to take on the combined threat of Joker and Lex Luthor. In the multi-part story (later released as a stand alone animated movie) Bruce Wayne begins dating none other than Lois Lane, creating an additional side to the love triangle of Lois, Clark and Superman. Looking back on it now, headlining character interaction was a bit less fluid than the well oiled machine that would follow in Justice League but there’s little doubt the wheels were already in motion concerning the possibility of getting all of the heavy hitters together in one show.
Superman/ Clark Kent is voiced by Tim Daly for the duration of the series run and while Kevin Conroy seems to be more consistently regarded as the official voice of Batman/ Bruce Wayne, Daly is no less perfectly cast here. He brings a warmth to the character(s) that hints of confidence without being arrogant, naivety without ignorance. While an equally competent George Newbern took over as Supes for Justice League, it was certainly not for lack of talent on Daly’s interpretation of the character.
All in all, Superman The Animated Series represents a strong entry into the DC Animated Universe. While it lacked the staying power of its predecessor (Batman TAS), it remains a staple piece of the continuity while injecting a degree of brightness and optimism that were lacking in the former. Because of this, the two shows work well in parallel even to this day - two sides of the same fantastic coin.
Despite being produced by Bruce Timm initially and having been developed by Glen Murakami, the original Teen Titans series was not a part of DCAU continuity. During its 2003 debut, the DCAU was firing on all cylinders with Justice League, making Teen Titans a sort of “little brother” DC team dynamic; one in which a group of B and C-list heroes battled lesser-known villains of the same universe in an epic struggle for the fate of the world.
Superman/ Clark Kent is voiced by Tim Daly for the duration of the series run and while Kevin Conroy seems to be more consistently regarded as the official voice of Batman/ Bruce Wayne, Daly is no less perfectly cast here. He brings a warmth to the character(s) that hints of confidence without being arrogant, naivety without ignorance. While an equally competent George Newbern took over as Supes for Justice League, it was certainly not for lack of talent on Daly’s interpretation of the character.
6) Teen Titans
To further differentiate the two properties, Teen Titans integrated a heavily anime-influenced art style and animated charm, often cutting into segments of super-deformed characters engaged in shouting matches of floating exclamation points, five way split screen action, still-shot character action atop backgrounds of motion lining etc. Even the theme song came to us from Japanese performers Puffy AmiYumi in an alternating pattern of original Japanese lyrics in one episode and American translation in the next; in fact, this would become a series staple indicator of tone with episodes beginning with the Japanese lyrics serving as a silly, oft-standalone episode with English openings coming before more serious themed serial thread episodes.
Nowhere is the lack of polish in attempting such a tricky balance clearer than in the first season. The initial episodes feel almost like a pitch (perhaps that’s precisely what they were); an experiment never really intended to form the foundation of a long-running series so much as a showcase of the type of art style, characterizations and merging of western and eastern animation philosophies the producers were trying to get green-lit. As such, you can forget about a pilot episode chock full of backstory and instead expect to be dropped literally in the middle of a scrap with Cinderblock; a villain with, you guessed it, a cinder block for a head.
Many of these complaints followed the show through its entirely television run but one thing for certain is the quality of the storytelling certainly improved with each subsequent season. Long-building story arcs like the slow-burn reveal of villain Slade Wilson and Raven’s dark and tortured past prove what heights the show could achieve when it kept its focus. Of course, sprinkled within these fantastic threads are dozens of throw-away episodes that do little more than serve as filler between the meat & potatoes serials.
Compared to the nonsense that would follow (Teen Titans Go!), this, the original series feels remarkably mature, more focused and at times subtle. The irony in all of this is that critics lambasted it when it originally aired for being far too silly, juvenile and shallow when compared to the catalog of DCAU magic that came before it. Perhaps sometimes the false hope of good things to come eclipses our appreciation for the here and now. Or, in this case, the there and then.
5) Static Shock
Visually, the show marks the DCAU’s completed transition from strictly hand-drawn cell animation to smoother flowing digital scan work and it shows here via a rich color palette and wonderfully consistent texturing and shading throughout.
All in all, Static Shock represents a very unique and memorable edition of the DCAU’s rich and storied run. While it packs plenty of action and offers up a very unique cast of villains, perhaps its greatest strength comes in the form of dedication to family and friendship. The glorification of superheroism never outshines the things that really matter in life and rarely is this balance so well fleshed out in any medium.
Sadly, the show’s ultimate demise had nothing to do with poor ratings but rather again fell victim to the sad reality that animated television is yet tethered to the toy industry. Static Shock was ultimately cancelled due to low production of associated merchandising products; a tragic ending to a solid four years of entertainment.
Proof of the DCAU’s confidence in itself cannot be more definitive than 1999’s Batman Beyond. When the time came to begin considering a successor to the vastly successful Batman The Animated Series, the decision to break away from the DC comic book library so as to invent an entirely new franchise was certainly a risky one. However, spend a little time in Batman Beyond’s playground and it quickly becomes clear that this wasn’t a shoot from the hip and hope for the best production so much as a calculated follow up effort that played upon the strengths of the series that preceded it while introducing just enough freshness to keep it from feeling like a retread.
Interestingly, Batman Beyond is technically the tale of two Bats; the centerpiece here working on the concept of a teenage Batman struggling with all of the normal trappings of a high schooler - dating, exams, curfews and the fate of the world in his gloved hands. Given the brooding, tragic nature of the Bruce Wayne backstory, it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to picture how many ways this could have gone wrong! Thankfully, Bruce Timm and company knew better than to just accelerate the mythos so that a younger Bruce would fit the demographic they were after and instead advanced the canonical timeline so that we glimpse into the life of an elderly Bruce Wayne and a new generation of criminals lurking the streets of futuristic Gotham.
With tones of Blade Runner/ cyberpunk and just a dash of Back to the Future, Beyond is set fifty years after the events which transpired in Batman The Animated Series and finds a teen named Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle) taking up the mantle of the Dark Knight from a begrudging and stubborn Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy).
4) Batman Beyond
With tones of Blade Runner/ cyberpunk and just a dash of Back to the Future, Beyond is set fifty years after the events which transpired in Batman The Animated Series and finds a teen named Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle) taking up the mantle of the Dark Knight from a begrudging and stubborn Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy).
Running from January 1999 through December 2001, the show consisted of 52 episodes spanning three seasons. Interestingly, it marks a period of technological advancement in the animation process and it actually shows in the viewing. Roughly the first half of the show’s run still made use of hand painted cells captured on film (the same process used to create Batman The Animated Series).
As such, things like actual background paint brush strokes and even dust on the lens/ glass plates show up in the finalized cut. Midway through Beyond the process changed to video capture whereby art was scanned and transferred directly to upscaled tapes for the masters. It’s literally the stepping stone advancement between the gritty look and feel of early shows like Batman & Superman TAS and the cleaner-looking DCAU efforts that followed (Zeta Project, Justice League etc.)
3) Young Justice
Much like Teen Titans before it, Young Justice plays around with the concept of what would happen if superhero sidekicks were to form a team of their own. In this case, the covert operation group in question is referred to simply as 'The Team', making the term Young Justice the series title only; signifying that it is essentially a young counterpart to the renowned adult team, the Justice League.
Young Justice aired on Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block from 2011 to 2013 based on the concept of a cross between the Teen Titans and Young Justice series of comics but was not an adaptation of one or the other. What it was, however, was an examination of the stronger elements that made the original Teen Titans series so popular coupled to richley plotted seasonal arcs that managed to pack surprising emotion and depth.
In terms of scope, the show gives nothing up to the DCAU’s finest efforts with emphasis placed on smoothly integrated character backstories, realistic interactions and balance between the members (no enviable task).
After only two seasons, the second of which ending on a cliffhanger I should add, Young Justice had managed to earn a passionate fan following - so much so that when the show was canceled, once again due to lack of merchandising success rather than ratings, fans took action. Petitions were drawn up and signed, emails and letters composed. Some fans even started a crowd-funding page to try and raise capital to pay for show production costs. WB would eventually shut down the campaign as its hosts were unable, legally, to collect revenue on a WB-owned property but the efforts weren’t in vain.
Some 5-years after the show was canceled, it was announced that Young Justice would be coming back for the 3rd and 4th season (Outsiders and Phantoms, respectively), this time on DC’s exclusive streaming network DC Universe. Reviews for the newer entries haven’t been quite as favorable as were those of the original pair of seasons but the entire situation proves that the fans have more clout in determining the fate of a beloved franchise than is commonly accepted. Additionally, streaming services (like DC Universe) have the ability to tilt the revenue balance so that merchandising isn’t the lone determining factor in a series’ longevity.
Young Justice is a success story on many fronts - both fictional and in the real world. The series was oft-praised for its ability to tackle mature and complex storylines without sacrificing any of the action and adventure that fans of the DC universe expect in animation. Justifiably, during its airing, it was one of the highest-rated shows on Cartoon Network.
It is difficult to add fresh praise to a show so well received and influential yet Batman The Animated Series’ mark on comic book animation cannot be understated. Considered by many, even to this day, to be the finest telling of the many intricacies comprising Batman’s incredibly rich mythos, TAS didn’t simply do the character justice, it changed the very landscape of superhero animation in the process. Presented cinematically in terms of scope, mood, composition and theme, Batman TAS showed the world that neither comic book superheroes nor cartoons themselves were relegated to the domain of children.
In 1992 when Batman TAS hit afternoon airways on FOX, nothing like it had existed prior. Animated incarnations of comic book superheroes was nothing new, of course, but existed as bright, campy, Saturday morning cartoon fair. Bruce Timm and company created what was, for all intents and purposes, a continuation of the 1989 live-action incarnation of the franchise but with the freedom to explore much, much more of the rich history of the character. From the impeccable translations of the rogues gallery origin stories to the interplay of Bruce Wayne’s own guilt fueled code of ethics/ eventual decision to take on assistances like Robin and Batgirl, no stone is left unturned here.
Graced with a uniquely square-jawed art style and gritty environments that coined the phrase “dark-deco” and a theme from none other than Danny Elfman, BTAS wasted little time demonstrating the seriousness of its chops. No longer were the rich and oft-tragic tales of the comics dumbed down for mass-appeal; here viewers were taken along for the ride whether gruesome, heart wrenching, heart warming or deranged. We were given a Gotham city run by mob bosses and organized crime syndicates, a police force overloaded and a new breed of criminally insane with a penchant for breaking out of Arkham Asylum; in short, prime conditions for the rise of a masked vigilante of the billionaire persuasion.
The show ran an incredible 109-episodes from 1992-1999 (though it is often broken up into two unique segments simply because of a name and time slot change): Batman The Animated Series (85 episodes, 1992-1995) & The New Batman Adventures (24 episodes, 1997-1999). It also spawned several animated films, video games and crossovers galore. Perhaps most notable of all, however, is it formed the framework for what would become known as the DC Animated Universe - a single shared continuity between DC animated properties that ran well into the mid 2000s.
In terms of scope, the show gives nothing up to the DCAU’s finest efforts with emphasis placed on smoothly integrated character backstories, realistic interactions and balance between the members (no enviable task).
Some 5-years after the show was canceled, it was announced that Young Justice would be coming back for the 3rd and 4th season (Outsiders and Phantoms, respectively), this time on DC’s exclusive streaming network DC Universe. Reviews for the newer entries haven’t been quite as favorable as were those of the original pair of seasons but the entire situation proves that the fans have more clout in determining the fate of a beloved franchise than is commonly accepted. Additionally, streaming services (like DC Universe) have the ability to tilt the revenue balance so that merchandising isn’t the lone determining factor in a series’ longevity.
2) Batman The Animated Series
Graced with a uniquely square-jawed art style and gritty environments that coined the phrase “dark-deco” and a theme from none other than Danny Elfman, BTAS wasted little time demonstrating the seriousness of its chops. No longer were the rich and oft-tragic tales of the comics dumbed down for mass-appeal; here viewers were taken along for the ride whether gruesome, heart wrenching, heart warming or deranged. We were given a Gotham city run by mob bosses and organized crime syndicates, a police force overloaded and a new breed of criminally insane with a penchant for breaking out of Arkham Asylum; in short, prime conditions for the rise of a masked vigilante of the billionaire persuasion.
The show ran an incredible 109-episodes from 1992-1999 (though it is often broken up into two unique segments simply because of a name and time slot change): Batman The Animated Series (85 episodes, 1992-1995) & The New Batman Adventures (24 episodes, 1997-1999). It also spawned several animated films, video games and crossovers galore. Perhaps most notable of all, however, is it formed the framework for what would become known as the DC Animated Universe - a single shared continuity between DC animated properties that ran well into the mid 2000s.
Visually, BTAS represents a bygone era in animation technique with individual hand drawn cells having been placed upon painted backgrounds and the resulting image photographed directly to film for transfer. As such, nuances like brush strokes and glass plate dust being present in the capture is all a part of the charm. Much like the crackling of a vintage record, these things can be corrected digitally now but represent a mark of authenticity to the era that produced them. Of course, beginning with the first season and traversing the entire run is akin to watching the evolution of animation technique progression. The show simply ran through a period of near-constant advancement in the way animation is done.
All in all, Batman The Animated Series is constantly praised for the reasons stated above (among others) and while it is easy to become disenchanted by any property upon which so much hype is praised, the simple fact remains that had the show never existed, the entire landscape of comic hero storytelling would be different today. It literally came out of seemingly nowhere and showed the world what comic book aficionados had known about covertly for decades. It did such justice to the characters within the mythos as to still be considered by most to be the definitive telling of Batman to this very day.
1) Justice League
The first season is, arguably, the weakest - as it was clear the writers were testing out the limitations of their roster’s breadth but by the second things were remarkably polished. Interestingly, it was looking like after two seasons, JL had run its course until a late request from the network ordered up a successor. What resulted were the final three seasons of the show, which now wore the Unlimited moniker, and possibly some of the very finest moments in DCAU history.
In addition to beefing up the roster to include essentially a limitless DC roll call, the story arcs became less standalone by nature and instead built season-long threads of spectacular intrigue - the Project Cadums arc which places the League against a powerful secret government agency assembled to represent humanity's last hope against metahumans and the foundation of a Secret Society of villains represent animated storytelling at its pinnacle.
Visually, the transition to more modern scanned art and high definition transfers had been complete by the time the first Justice League season aired so expect crisp lines, a bright color pallet and vocal performances from actors who had played their respective characters long enough to have their every inflection on lock.
The show ran for a total of 91-episodes across 5 seasons (airing from 2001 - 2006) in the process capping off a continuity that began back in 1992 in Batman The Animated Series.
In addition to beefing up the roster to include essentially a limitless DC roll call, the story arcs became less standalone by nature and instead built season-long threads of spectacular intrigue - the Project Cadums arc which places the League against a powerful secret government agency assembled to represent humanity's last hope against metahumans and the foundation of a Secret Society of villains represent animated storytelling at its pinnacle.
Visually, the transition to more modern scanned art and high definition transfers had been complete by the time the first Justice League season aired so expect crisp lines, a bright color pallet and vocal performances from actors who had played their respective characters long enough to have their every inflection on lock.
The show ran for a total of 91-episodes across 5 seasons (airing from 2001 - 2006) in the process capping off a continuity that began back in 1992 in Batman The Animated Series.
While there are a number of episodes that never excel beyond “average” territory, the body of work as a whole is a feat worthy of the abundant praise heaped upon it. IGN named Justice League/Justice League Unlimited as the 20th best animated television series of all time while WatchMojo.com ranked Justice League/Justice League Unlimited as the fifth best superhero show in their top 10 Animated Superhero TV Series.
The DCAU is a regularly praised institution in the hierarchy of superhero animation; DC in particular but perhaps rightly so. Given that the last episode of JLU aired back in 2006, it could be argued that no more definitive a telling of any of the properties they brought to life has existed since. Theirs is a dominance of the arena not by force but by simple mastery of the nuances that make the characters so enduring in the first place.
The DCAU is a regularly praised institution in the hierarchy of superhero animation; DC in particular but perhaps rightly so. Given that the last episode of JLU aired back in 2006, it could be argued that no more definitive a telling of any of the properties they brought to life has existed since. Theirs is a dominance of the arena not by force but by simple mastery of the nuances that make the characters so enduring in the first place.
