The season 2 finale and culmination of the Cadmus story arc feels less like a series of discrete episodes and more like one long movie that pays off two seasons worth of build up. Rather than an exercise in nostalgia, “Legends” becomes something akin to a Twilight Zone episode with its story, but its character interplay recalls another show. As the larger League is busy helping citizens who were displaced by the cannon blast and battling Cadmus’ Supergirl clone Galatea and her army of Ultimen, the original seven heroes go head-to-head with Lex Luthor, who has merged with Brainiac and plans on consuming Earth. It’s tough to pick favorites when discussing the Justice League animated series and its follow up, Justice League Unlimited. It all ends with Circe’s ultimate plan, as the evil mythical witch forces Batman to do the unthinkable: sing. McDuffie also knows how to create some epic moments that stand out among the DC Animated Universe. But “. He instead becomes the fourth wheel of a story where Huntress wants to avenge the death of her parents through straight-up murder and Green Arrow and Black Canary are in charge of stopping her. The beauty of “Legends” isn’t just how it lovingly parallels the JSA with these characters, but in the curveball it throws us. But “Twilight” is the first time it felt like a living, moving comic book, because it’s so steeped in its own continuity. Remember earlier when we said that Superman: The Animated Series doesn’t get enough credit? We also got General Eiling’s transformation into the Shaggy Man, something that happened in Morrison’s JLA a decade earlier. The Question, one of the heroes, is so frightened by the thought of an evil Superman that he does everything in his power to stop that from happening, like trying to kill Lex Luthor before Superman gets the chance. It’s a celebration of the compassion that lives beneath the dark frown and delivers the former Dark Knight his much-deserved reward. Justice League Unlimited Season 2 Episode 13. This is maybe my favorite Christmas episode of any show. Batman started this animated universe and this finale is a love letter to him. The only way this could have been better would be if it included the Ted Kord version of Blue Beetle for Booster to trade quips with. Flash runs to Japan to pick up a sold out toy for orphans and convinces the Ultra Humanite to stop committing a crime and help him deliver it to the kids. Cooke filled it with nods to the great Ostrander/Yale run in the comic – Deadshot and Flagg hate each other, Boomerang is a coward, Plastique is disposable. One of the biggest ways the DCAU humanized Superman was by giving him a villain so powerful and so malicious that the Man of Steel was forced to exceed his own limitations in order to triumph. —C.A. And sure, maybe they could have stretched it into a two-parter to give fans an even nerdier look at the secret interior fantasy world of Superman. There’s the Question’s plan to kill Luthor echoing Rorschach’s demise in Watchmen; Supergirl fighting her clone to the end; the joint heartbreak of Superman and Supergirl to find out that Professor Hamilton was part of Cadmus; and Waller’s “What he said.”. Stallone and Cannon Films Do Dirty Harry: Why Cobra Was So Underrated, The tragic story behind the death of Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow, All Spider-Man movies are “defacto MCU” says Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, Not for the Faint of Heart: The Most Shocking Movies of All Time, Amazon shares new poster for The Expanse season 5, LEGO Star Wars 2021 sets officially revealed, Star Wars: The Mandalorian’s Jon Favreau works in a similar way to George Lucas. And it’s glorious. is the first time it felt like a living, moving comic book, because it’s so steeped in its own continuity. Movie titles, images, etc. , some of us had very nerdy, very excited shouts. And you guys, Conroy is quite the velvet throated crooner. Show them “The Greatest Story Never Told” and you’ll not only make yourself a JLU fan, but you’ll get them wondering just why the hell this guy hasn’t joined up with the Legends of Tomorrow cast yet. “Epilogue” is a divisive episode. “The Once and Future Thing” would be on the list if it was only the Western episode, but add the revelation of a son of Green Lantern, the return of the beloved Static, and a chance to spend time with Batman Beyond, and you have an all-time classic. The Question gets a good, ahem, question into Superman after he says they’d never fight the government to which Question responds “Not even if Luthor was the government?” Its telling Superman doesn’t actually answer him. And the fights, particularly the big set piece between the Squad and Atom Smasher, Shining Knight and Vigilante, are beautiful. It was the moment that made me personally recognize just how powerful Flash could be while also emphasizing his role as the League’s heart and soul. Sidekicks hadn’t really showed up in, to this point, because most of them were in, ). In addition to Waller and the senior staff, Cadmus was allocated a small contingent of soldiers from the U.S. military. "The Doomsday Sanction" — Batman telling Superman the last time he ever inspired people when he died in Infinite Crisis is one of the most iconic comic book moments in history because there's nothing better than seeing the Dark Knight put the Man of Steel in his place. Since then, he has grown steadily, until Luthor was, for all intents … You can even argue that Hawkgirl could be Marvel’s Valkyrie! A lot of Justice League Unlimited tells self-contained stories following some of DC’s lesser known heroes, like The Huntress, The Question and Vixen, but the first two seasons still followed a large arc that built on elements from Justice League and Superman: The Animated Series known to fans as ‘The Cadmus Arc’. “This Little Piggy” is a testament to the versatility of the League and is one of the most humorous and heartfelt episodes of the, Things get even more intense when Chronos travels to the future as the Justice League meets the heroes of the, “The Once and Future Thing” would be on the list if it was only the Western episode, but add the revelation of a son of Green Lantern, the return of the beloved Static, and a chance to spend time with, This episode has the best scene in the entire series, and maybe in the entire DC Animated Universe, and surprisingly enough, it’s. That’s a good thing. What’s remarkable about these episodes, though, is that they never lose sight of the season’s central question of “who watches the watchmen?” In fact, “Divided We Fall” somehow avoids a cop-out ending and concludes with Superman acknowledging his and the League’s recent failings as Earth’s protectors and vowing to be more transparent and less godlike. Sometimes the simple things are the best things in life, and “Secret Society” is elegant in in its simplicity. Justice League Unlimited Season 3 Episode 7. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Classic Atom villain Chronos is introduced as a hen-pecked husband that just so happens to have a time machine. And so he doesn’t. The Cadmus Arc is is an important part of the DC Animated Universe, particularly for Superman. The whole episode is a loving meditation on just how compelling, cool, and unstoppable they are as their sisterhood is put to the test. But no one is more surprised than Luthor himself. Kevin Conroy sings as Batman, what else do you need to know? And you know it’s good because it’s one of the rare times that Moore allowed his name to be placed on an adaptation of his work. Part of the episode deals with the elephant in the room of any Justice League adaptation where Batman feels like less of a man due to being a human among a team of gods. “Grudge Match” is 22 minutes of fists and fury with a heart and allows DeMatteis to explore characters like Huntress and Vixen. The change to Justice League Unlimited didn’t do any favors for Flash. But this early episode gave them a break from that by temporarily transforming Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Latnern into adorable little kids. It's fun to look back on the triumphs of the DC Animated Universe, which still stands as one of the most accurate adaptations of Superman, Batman, and their many superhero comrades. Credit: We’ve had the idea that the Flash is the emotional heart of the Justice League hinted at since the Justice Lords showed up, and that’s the strongest payoff of an arc full of them.