Justice League is an American
animated television series which ran from 2001 to 2004 on
Cartoon Network. It is part of the
DC animated universe. The show was produced by
Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the
Justice League of America and associated
comic book characters published by
DC Comics. After the second season, the series was replaced by
Justice League Unlimited, a successor series which aired for three seasons.
Animator
Bruce Timm, who co-produced
Batman: The Animated Series and
Superman: The Animated Series in the 1990s, became executive producer on an animated series focusing on the Justice League. The roster consisted of
Batman,
Superman,
Wonder Woman,
Green Lantern (
John Stewart),
The Flash (
Wally West),
Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz), and
Hawkgirl.
According to audio commentary on the DVD release of Season 2, the second season finale "Starcrossed" was expected to be the final episode of the series. However, in February 2004, Cartoon Network announced a follow-up series,
Justice League Unlimited, which premiered on July 31, 2004 and featured a larger roster of characters.
Kevin Conroy reprised his voice role as
Batman from
Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995),
The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), and
Batman Beyond (1999–2001). Batman's costume was redesigned, but this time, his costume was a combination of his last three costumes. The same costume from
The New Batman Adventures is retained, but with the blue highlights from the
Batman: The Animated Series costume and the long-ears from the
Batman Beyond costume are added to the costume.
Tim Daly, who voiced
Superman in
Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000) was initially involved but was unable to continue his role due to involvement with
The Fugitive (a short-lived remake of
the original 1963 TV series), and was replaced by
George Newbern. Superman was initially redesigned to have a bit of a squint to his eyes and slight wrinkles that was also meant to make him look older, in addition to having a noticeable shining streak to his hair; he was redesigned to appear larger in physical girth than in the previous series. Fans did not like the older appearance and in the second season the streak was toned down to the point of almost disappearing and the squint was removed, in essence reverting Superman to his earlier animated look. As an in-joke, Superman's season one facial designs are used for an older
Jor-El in the
Justice League Unlimited episode "
For the Man Who Has Everything"
Most of the characters retained their general comic book origins and continuity, with
Wonder Woman being the notable exception. In the
Justice League series continuity, the premiere story arc "Secret Origins" revises the plot of Diana's competition against her fellow Amazons to be the ambassador of peace to man's world, and she is referred to as a "rookie" superhero during her first encounter with the League. (Subsequent episodes touched on her attempts to adjust to her new world). In an interview segment on the Season One DVD, Bruce Timm stated that he initially ran into some legal issues in using the Wonder Woman character, but was adamant that she be used in the series. Additionally, the character of
The Flash was portrayed as somewhat younger and significantly more brash than his comic book counterpart, taking on a number of personality traits of
Plastic Man, who provides a similar comic relief function in the
JLA comics. Major changes were also made to the Hawkgirl character. The character of Hawkgirl became romantically involved with the John Stewart Green Lantern as the series progressed. A romantic relationship between Batman and Wonder Woman was also "shown" (hinted at but never "official" unlike Hawkgirl/Green Lantern) by the show's creators, who disliked pairing Wonder Woman with Superman despite fan requests.
Robin is not paired with Batman in this animated series like he was on
Super Friends. Although the series itself is animated in traditional 2-dimensional style, the opening credits are rendered in 3D with
toon shading. The intro is a "stock" intro used throughout the series until
Justice League Unlimited premieres.
