La Ligue des justiciers

I knew this was going to be a good show, given the fact that Bruce Timm and the same team responsible for the WB/DC animated shows were doing it.

Even so, this show TOTALLY blows me away every time I watch it. EVERYTHING about it is dead on PERFECT. Kevin Conroy, as always, is great as Batman, as is George Newbern as Superman. Hawkgirl is a great addition, and boy can she hold her own!! But the character that has emerged as my favorite is J'onn J'onnz, aka Martian Manhunter. I love the character design and animation of him, and I don't think they could have gotten a better actor to voice him than Carl Lumbly (who played Stalker in a few episodes of Batman Beyond).

The composing team also does a great job with the music, and I REALLY hope that somewhere down the road, they release a CD of this music.

I'm absolutely delighted that Cartoon Network airs JL in letterbox format as well as full-frame. I, for one, prefer letterbox as it gives the show a more epic and cinematic feel.

Simply put, JUSTICE LEAGUE rules. Period.

By thy side,

Figaro

There hasn't been a show featuring these mighty heroes since 1985, but this show ain't no Super Friends. Like the Superman and Batman shows of the 1990s, Justice League has action, humor, creativity and terrific animation. Justice League acts more like the current comic book incarnation. The show stars the most powerful and well known characters from those comic books. Other familiar characters are bound to pop up from time to time. The characters have separate and distinct personalities, which can lead to some conflict and disagreement. That's good since it would be very boring if all the heroes agreed on everything and got along.

Congratulations to Bruce Timm and his team. This show is sure to be a winner.

YTV in Canada has been re-running "Superfriends", the Wonder Twin era crap, at 1am (PST). I decided to watch it for old times sake and was wondering why no one had taken the time to do it right - the "Batman:TAS" approach? Suffering from insomnia, and not wanting to watch "Thunderbirds" I surfed for a half hour and went back to YTV to see what they had on next and I was NOT disappointed.

"Justice League" is what I always wanted "The Superfriends" to be. No lousy sidekicks, no space monkey, no ludicrous plots involving Martian brain creatures. It was like watching the comic book. I like the way they have presented the characters and the fact that there is tension - they maybe friends, but those relationships get strained. A powered down Superman, excellent had to be done. A stand-offish Batman, perfect. Jon J'onzz? Yeah... great character, perfectly voiced too!

However, I was happy to see that used the John Stewart GL- the DC universe's karmic kicking bag - and the Wally West Flash instead of using Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. Hal and Barry (especially Barry) were just too perfect too much of the time. I like them and they always have a special place in my comic book memories, but Stewart and West (as flawed heros) are better characters. In fact, I'd like to see them with their own shows someday. Wally West is a great character if you go in depth, rather than just leaving him as comic relief.

I hope Warner Brothers keeps this up, superlative job!

This version of Justice League is much better than the now very dated Hanna Barbera cartoons of the 1970s. The way the characters are drawn are more faithful to the golden age comic books. Also, the Wonder Woman on this show is beautiful and rates second on my list to Lynda Carter's portrayal of the heroine. I'm surprised Lynda didn't add her voice to the show as Queen Hippolyte. As for the other characters, perhaps Batman is a bit of a know-it-all and The Flash is perhaps a few pumpkins short of a pie, but still this is the best cartoon to show up here on Canadian TV in a long time!

JUSTICE LEAGUE, WE SALUTE YOU!!!

Rating: ****

I watched it when I was 11-12 years old. Now I'm 28 and it continues to be the best heroes series out there. Two seasons of pure joy! :)