I Won't Let Us Forget How Good The Justice League Used To Be

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[@makothetako]

What sticks out to me after revisiting the show was how there's actually a lot of humor, but where the humor comes from is distinct for every character. Superman is still naïve underneath (gets excited over revisiting a simple burger joint, still believes in Santa), Flash is the goofball that hardly takes anything seriously (the whole episode where he switched places with Lex Luthor is GOLD), Batman takes everything TOO seriously (literally falling to his death as he nonchalantly calls for someone to save him), etc. These characters don't meld together in the writing, whereas I feel like that's a problem in a lot of the MCU where everyone seems to be making the same snarky remarks in serious moments.

[@hang_kentang6709]

Lex Luthor saying "I have no idea who this is" after removing Flash's mask is golden.

[@ChiWillett]

"now would be good"

[@collegerebel]

And Superman picking-up and hugging Batman, who remarks "Am I missing something?". I love watching those moments where Batman shows he actually cares for the others and thinking "Aw, he made friends!"😊

[@LordofSadFac]

You know, i never stopped to think how comedy in that series works so well, specially when compared to modern adaptions where everyone makes awfully timed snarky comments. The way everyone makes a joke is so rooted into their own personalities that i never, ever questioned it. My favorite example of this has to be in the Flash Museum episode, when Flash tries to passively invite Batman to the opening and after he asks when flash says "Dont ever let them call you a craze loner", and realized hes pushing it, but the cherry on top is when Orion unintentionally signs up to the opening by criticizing his "emotional weakness", and all that was needed for that was the Bat Glare.

[@queenb2450]

@@hang_kentang6709 when Batman was telling everyone's identity and Flash was like "show off" (I think) again the characters are so distinct

[@DJPrimeAmvs]

Aquaman using his son's red blanket to wrap around his cut off hand has to be the smartest censor in history

[@Muhubi]

Now I wonder if it was orginally another color, maybe green to match the atlantic color aesthetics until they realized red would work out better later. If so, that's an interesting idea on their part.

[@samuelgiraudo8748]

This show was truly special. I still remember Captain Marvel's "You don't act like heroes anymore" speech

[@leigh-anjohnson]

Wow. That was a moment

[@Alacaelum]

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN... that moment was CATHARTIC... even Batman's reveal of the situation didn't detract from the pure truth Billy said there.

[@kinahjoy6537]

It gets even more relevant when you look at Synder's version of DC

[@jermainefr]

Totally disagree about Marvel vs DC in the 90s. The Spiderman and Xmen animated shows were great. Not to say better, but I wouldn't say it was clearly DC, or that the cool kids were all DC. They were still airing a lot of the old Adam West live action show, and that never gave me the impression that DC was cool. Bang! Pow! Cake!

[@kevingriffith6011]

Every time I think about Justice League / JLU I'm just blown away about how many truly great plotlines and memorable sequences we got out of it. When I think of Green Lantern I think of John Stewart, and Hawkgirl is the one that come to mind when the DC hawks get mentioned. This is a show that made me care about Solomon Grundy as a person, introduced me to The Question, Cadmus and Captain Marvel... and I couldn't ask for a better first impression than I got from those. Hell, even the christmas episodes were good. This is the show that gave us "Am I blue?" "Got me again, Flash!" and "Give me a double!". It's a favorite of mine from my childhood and I'd *love* to see more talk about it, even though other channels have surely talked it to death themselves.

[@EpicMEF]

Dr. Moon : [shocks The Question] Tell me what you know. The Question : The plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces are called aglets. Their true purpose is sinister!

[@Sephiroth144]

And don't forget that great quote of Luthor: "I have no idea who this is."

[@omegaminoseer4539]

@@EpicMEF "A-Ha. As I suspected... 32 Flavors!" - The Question, breaking into a literal Baskin Robins warehouse to prove a point, while a woman is talking about Black Canary having an affair.

[@ChiWillett]

the fucking christmas episodes

[@leigh-anjohnson]

I haven't watch this show in years but I immediately knew every line you were quoting 😆

[@mistingwolf]

That scene with Superman comparing the world to cardboard has always stuck with me. Justice League, JL Unlimited and Batman TAS are stellar examples of great characterization, great world building, and great conflicts that don't require an ending quip to "cool down" a scene.

[@willowarkan2263]

I love that scene so much. It humanises him in a way. It's the realistic frustrations of someone that physically powerful, but who is fundamentally a kind person. So he would have to grow up learning how to not break the fragile world around him, but then he chooses a calling that puts him in constant physical altercations, so he has to constantly walk this tightrope and its understandable that the stress builds up.

[@helixsol7171]

What about Superman TAS?

[@hariman7727]

@@helixsol7171 Also excellent.

[@fallingpetunias9046]

My favorite was when Mongul traps him in a perfect world and seeing Superman absolutely pissed at being shown what he could've had.

[@toganium4175]

This show made me like the John Stewart Green Lantern.

[@Run1tBackTV]

This show let me know John Stewart and Wally West existed.

[@LeGoooze]

This show made me think of John Stewart as THE green lantern

[@JamCooper]

Because of this show I didn't even know there was another Green Lantern until I was a teenager.

[@thegreygoblin5165]

Fuck yeah, John is still my GL because of this show

[@nadenhwa513]

me too

[@JBroAlsoDraws]

AINT NO WAY.. I always remembered JLU Aquaman for being an ACTUALLY good version of the character in motion, and him missing a hand stood out to me but i never knew there was an episode where that happened in the show

[@kevingriffith6011]

Aquaman missing a hand was an iconic part of his character well before he showed up in Justice League, and every version of aquaman has a story for how he lost his hand. None of them, not a single one holds the barest candle to how he lost his hand in the animated Justice League show. It's that good.

[@Fifthmiracle]

@@kevingriffith6011 DCAU handled Arthur losing his hand so much better. In comics he lost his hand to piranha, all in an effort to make him edgy.

[@leigh-anjohnson]

How these children's cartoons can do more dynamic and thoughtful conflict, character and worldbuilding in 40 minutes than a three hour big budget movie does these days...

[@SuperSteph5]

To be fair story telling is way easier in animated shows with the advantage of better pacing

[@lukeyznaga7627]

yeah, but...WHY...WHY IS IT easier. Please explain. Don't dismiss this video's truth and quality.@@SuperSteph5

[@SuperSteph5]

@@lukeyznaga7627 Animation has the advantage of better and faster pacing which allows them to do more with their story.

[@moadewunmi9380]

“I just hope they get better at adapting their own freaking material.” Couldn’t have said it any better!

[@teejaykaye]

The DCAU was a foundational media for me. When it comes to superheroes nothing except Spiderverse holds a candle to it. It is a cornerstone of some of my most formative memories. I can still vividly recall the episode where Luther and Brainiac fuse together playing on our old TV right after a freak tornado struck my neighborhood. It was an awakening for me on many levels and I adored every character on some level. It has stuck so firmly in my mind that well over a decade later I started watching it again and, you’re right, it’s just as damn good. All other versions of these characters pale in comparison. It has such a stranglehold on my concept of these characters that simply seeing a version of the Justice League without John Stewart as Green Lantern or Hawkgirl as the seventh member just seems so incredibly WRONG to me. This is the definitive Justice League in my eyes. And the wildest thing? My mom misunderstood the difference between JL and JLU. So she bought us season 2 of JL and season 1 of JLU on DVD thinking they were the same thing. And yet it never felt like I was missing out. Characters were just so fully realized that they could come into play and I understood their significance, even though I’d never watched the tie-in shows like BTAS and STAS. That’s how good the writing was. You can imagine teenage me’s shock and joy upon learning there were two entire seasons of this incredible show I’d never watched.

[@timbusbee1483]

DC did some crazy stuff in the 2000's. I'll never forget the episode of Static Shock when Virgil explained to Jon Stewart how much he meant to him as another black super hero in the Justice League. 11 years old and a Saturday cartoon is teaching more about the importance of representation than my school ever did.

[@hosvet_animation]

"I am Brainiac and I will... lay the funk down."

[@lukeyznaga7627]

GREAT COMMENT, Tim!!! In comparison, look what Disney Marvel did to ruin an important black hero character Giantman or "black golaith" who was portrayed as a semi evil hero to help his daughter, GHOST in Antman and the Wasp!!

[@Klyxtor97]

Bro. You nailed it. All of these shows were phenomenal, and I also watched them with my dad growing up. When Superman said, "What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose." Is my dad's favorite scene from all of it. The first time we watched that episode, he made a menacing laugh that I will never forget. We still talk about those shows on occasion.

[@ivanbluecool]

This was how to do a giant connected universe from batman tas up to batman beyond So many call backs. Small connections. Characterization. All culminating to the final two seasons of justice league unlimited where Cadmus was a good example of how the us would try to defend themselves against super power beings and how darkseid being destoryed wasn't forgotten

[@leigh-anjohnson]

Continuity made a grouping of good shows into a great interconnected and overarching series.

[@seanmcgrady8688]

The Timmverse was incredible! Not just Justice League, but everything the DCAU attempted was brilliant. Batman Beyond is incredible. Static Shock was great. Superman was great. All-- all!-- of the Batman animations were great. I'm definitely showing them to my kids as they grow.

[@kerry-j4m]

It's the writing and good story lines ( then add good animation and voice casting ) I've bought most of DCs animated superhero movies,they're TOO good not watch on a semi-regular basis.At one point in time of my life I wanted to work in animation because of these shows,but,chose another field of work.

[@aimanmarzuqi4804]

Me too man. They need tonknow good superhero shows like these existed

[@lovelycrimeboy8368]

I rewatched Justice League Unlimited recently too and I can confirm it is still peak storytelling.

[@jeremy1860]

The DCAU is the definitive version of the DC characters to me. The live action stuff has been great, and you'll never convince me that Christopher Reeve or Michael Keaton weren't superb in their respective roles, but this story, from Batman TAS all the way to the Fatal Five DVD movie, will forever be what I think of for these heroes 😊

[@claudiabcarvalho]

Miss that era so much. Wonder Woman helped me so much when I was a kid. My mother and I were always clashing, but people would always called me ungrateful. Watching Diana defying her mother for what was right validated my feelings so much.

[@a199719971997]

Literally on the last season of rewatching JL/JLU These shows are better than when I was a kid. Favorite episode was actually the Christmas episode where Flash has to get a toy for the orphanage. The ending scene *spoilers* where MMH is singing is a genuinely beautiful scene. These shows had heart. Genuine heart.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

The Flash literally runs all over the world looking for a DJ Quak Quak. And at the end he runs to Japan where the toys are manufactured

[@kemisomolefhi5638]

Fuck, bro! You made me realize how much I need to re-watch DC animation, all of it.

[@JamCooper]

It's on Netflix

[@matityaloran9157]

@@JamCooperThough Unlimited isn’t

[@grahamstrouse1165]

@@matityaloran9157pretty sure it is…

[@matityaloran9157]

@@grahamstrouse1165 Are you sure? Since if it is then I’ll be watching it

[@leigh-anjohnson]

I think a video on the different Superman iterations would be interesting. Imo, Superman feels very one-note in the DCEU, whereas in the DCAU or in Superman and Lois we see his moments of internal conflict contrasted with the bright optimism that the character has, and that creates the definition for his internal conflict that makes it compelling.

[@dannyphantom3090]

I swear I when I was rewatching superman the animated series, justice league and jlu last week I was shocked on how many people died and how dramatic the shows were but still had a somewhat lighthearted tone like bring back these type shows.

[@Derekivery]

The Aquaman movies were not about Aquaman they were about Jason Mamoa. They were Jason Mamoa being Jason Mamoa, and he's a really charismatic actor, and he is fun in the role, but there was no intention to make Aquaman.

[@kevingriffith6011]

I still feel like Jason Mamoa was wasted on Aquaman. He should have been Lobo.

[@alvisalendran]

This is a problem with a number of actors these days. They write the character for the actor, so the actor really is just...playing themselves in a different costume. Kind of sad honestly.

[@InSpades0]

@@kevingriffith6011 honestly felt like mamoa was cast so they could rip off hemsworths Thor. Ocean master looked way more like a proper aqua man than mamoa did. He definitely should’ve been casted as lobo.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

@InSpades0 ya know, I never thought about that. You're right Patrick Wilson(Ocean Master) would've made a great Aquaman. He can bring a good amount of intensity.

[@collegerebel]

​@@DavidMartinez-ce3lp I was literally thinking the same thing a couple of weeks ago. Ocean Master looks more like Aquaman than the guy who's *actually* playing Aquaman. Including the no non-sense demeanor Aquaman has in the comics. But let's be real: Jason Momoa got butts in seats. Patrick Wilson, for as good an actor as he is, has never had the mainstream appeal that Hollywood banks on, so people definitely weren't going to show up for him in large numbers as Aquaman, who's unfortunately been made a pop culture laughing-stock since the 70's, thanks to the damn Super Friends cartoons. Momoa was a marketing choice and it worked.

[@ProsperoCh]

DC made this decade spanning animated universe full of amazing shows, showing just how big a market there is for stuff like that, but there's never been anything like the DCAU since. And it's crazy you can go back to JLU today and see that it holds up just as well now as it did back in the 2000s.

[@TimbrrWolfe]

DCAU really was so good and I will not stop singing its praises. There's a reason why Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill /are/ Batman and Joker to me. Why when I think of Will Friedle I think of Terry McGinnis just before I think of Ron Stoppable or Eric Matthews. There were very few DC movies from any era that I held in any especially high regard. Maybe some of the Batman ones, and one or two others. But the DCAU was good from Batman to Justice League and everything in between. Static Shock is a show and character that still live rent free in my brain. I still ponder if writers are actually pulling stories from other dimensions, as discussed in that one (or two, maybe?) Justice League episode(s). It's such a shame to see DC in the state that it is instead of maintaining the gold it was putting out in the DCAU. I really gotta sit down and watch through all of it all over again.

[@ravenflyerdoesstuff6666]

That speech to dark side is fundamental to my interpretation of Superman. I compare all other superman media to that one scene

[@Korra228]

12:17 unironically one of the hardest Superman moments I've ever seen and easily harder than any Superman moment of the DCEU

[@abigfavor]

John Stewart should have been the 2011 Green Lantern protagonist. I loved the Justice League cartoon. Live action DC had no idea what it was doing

[@borderlinecomics]

This show still makes me tear up, years later after seeing it a million times

[@Alacaelum]

To me one of my favorite moments of JLU was when Wally just sat down with Trickster and asked him what Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang and Mirror Master were planning. And another episode, that in light of a recent "event" gains a lot of significance... Task Force X... this one... this is a movie in less than half an hour.

[@Persnikity-yv3nh]

I remember watching that Justice League episode with my dad on YTV! That moment where Aquaman's trying to free his left arm and the baby is crying and the lava is looming was really intense to 7-year-old me. And when he returns to his wife holding his son but missing his hand? Unreal. I never bothered watching the Jason Mamoa movies. After they gave Snyder so many movies, I lost interest in the DCCU.

[@Guimhj]

First one is fine, you won't lose time if you watch it

[@hosvet_animation]

@@Guimhj That's a really good way of putting worth your time.

[@laurendimke967]

THAT HAWKMAN AND HAWKWOMAN SERIES OF EPISODES LIVE RENT FREE IN MY HEAD 😂❤ thank you for mentioning them because that's what i always think of when i remember watching this amazing show - these women characters were also better written than anything DC spews out nowadays (movies wise)

[@queenb2450]

If DC had any women to spew out. Same with Marvel. Hawkgirl had always been my favorite

[@dohavename6775]

When talking about good women writing, I'd rather talk about "Maid of Honour" episodes, "Starcrossed", "Hearts and Minds", or "Double Date", but anyway you are absolutely correct: women writing was great. And Hawkgirl was definitely a cutting edge of that writing. Absolutely favourite hero of the show.

[@jacobwiren8142]

"I believe that this is mine..." Chills. Every. Time.

[@t1m3f0x]

This also has a case of the DCAU doing something better then the comics. In the comics Aquaman losing his hand was something pointless that only happened so they could give him an "EXTREME" 90's redesign with a harpoon for a hand, because it was the 90's and everything had to be "EXTREME". So they had piranhas eat his hand, so they could replace it with a harpoon, just because it would look cool.

[@hoi-polloi1863]

The DC cartoons were awesome because they were cartoons... they could put in effects that movies can't afford, and since they were cartoons they could pack in all the snark, subtlety, and (let's admit it) cheesecake that they wanted. More to the point perhaps, I think the creators were having a brickton of fun doing it!

[@CaptainBadNews]

The Timmverse was peak DC. It can take credit for the Arkham series and the White Knight series. It inspired multiple generations!

[@fallingpetunias9046]

That Booster Gold episode was pure gold in exploring his character motivation and growth. He knows he's going to be a great superhero and wants that recognition now but people routinely mix up who he is in the sea of superheroes. Then he finally saves the entire world only for one person to know. Got a sweet date with a scientist out of it, though

[@MajorHickE]

Supermans monologue at the end of JLU has always stuck with me, not just because he pounds Darkseid, but because teenage me had flashbacks of the entire JL/JLU run and realized that all of that was Supes holding back.

[@ZetoTarken]

The Superman scene against Darkseid was great. And the scenes with Superman in Flashpoint really illustrate what he meant by always having to hold back. JLU Superman can heat vision people without killing them. He can control it to the point where he can precisely cut the wires of a bomb to disarm it or melt a statue around someone who can take the heat. And to juxtapose how in control Superman was of his powers, in Flashpoint, when exposed to the sun, the skinny shrimpy Superman annihilates normal humans with his heat vision. And later, he literally cuts Aquaman's arm off. Aquaman had been taking blasts from Cyborg like they were nothing. Those scenes show us is what he is capable of but when we normally see Superman use heat vision, it's fairly tame by comparison. And seeing scenes where superman goes overboard makes you realize when Supes gets knocked around like he's a jobber, it's because he's ALWAYS holding back until he knows hard he can hit someone. His default state is restraining himself.

[@DarthMatusHolocron]

This show and Unlimited after were such gems. Legit some of the best superhero storytelling. I also rewatched around when I turned 30, and was blown away that it actually had solid, grade A adult writing. I miss the days when we didnt assume kids were babyfied morons

[@leigh-anjohnson]

Oh for the days when shows didn't talk down to kids and instead encouraged them to grasp more complex concepts

[@AndreNitroX]

Aquaman cutting off his own hand to save his infant son is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen, JLU really did set the bar too high for superhero content!

[@miloofcroton1069]

I wish we had more of this Aquaman

[@TheCelticTiger32]

This show changed my life. I remember going to school one morning and switching on the tv to catch some cartoons before I went. All of a sudden, i saw these giant mechanical wheels shotting giant guns in what appeared to be a WWII setting with colorful superheros. I only got to see a glimpse of it before my mum came in and turned it off and hurried me to school. That evening when I came home I searched for what I had seen and I found it. It was no other than the epsiode "the savage time".I was hooked from then on and im basically an encyclopedia of knowledge on comic books ever since. I aspire to be a comic book writer and artist to this day

[@komlanraider91]

We had these in France too on sunday mornings in the early 2000s alongside with all DCAU and X-men evolution, it was so goated

[@mariothane8754]

You have the best of The Flash, the absolute best Green Lantern, and Ace. Remember her? I do. She was heart breaking and I always go back to that.

[@lukeyznaga7627]

YOU HAVE SAID THE TRUTH, sir. Man...never heard about your channel. REFRESHING and sadly, RARE. I instantly subscribed. Thank you for reminding us. Its been quite a long while that we had a good movie or something good to talk about in superhero comic book cartoons, TV shows or movies!! You are right. I still sometimes watch those cartoons!!

[@jhonandrews2674]

That Aquaman episode was some serious stuff man, that scene has been stuck in my head for years too, I mean the guy carved his own hand off to save his son, that’s just such a good moment of character to capture

[@Mr_Case_Time]

It’s really strange watching some older movies and TV shows. Story just seemed so much more important because that’s all they had.

[@Noveler00]

One of my favorite JL episodes were "Terror from Beyond" and the follow up from JLU "Wake the Dead" I was always a suckered from heroic sacrifices, but there was more to it in JL, and JLU with the heart wrenching choice to let go of a friend in pain. I'm tearing just thinking about it.

[@-atnx7-]

Been saying it for years, if they did movies how they did animated series they would have the Cinematic Universe in a chocked-hold

[@toromiguelangel]

This video is so on point, in many ways. Not only is WB terrible at adapting their great source material (from comic books to animated series), now their mediocrity has even reached the other things they do (i.e. their current animated movies or video games). The Crisis on Infinite Earths animated move that just was released has TERRIBLE writing. The story structure is non-sensical and shoe horns many things to the beginning of the plot of the 1985 comic book, that I wonder how these things get greenlit. That wasn't the case in the DCAU. The complexity of the themes touched in all of those shows is leaps and bounds ahead of most things shown in comicbook movies or tv shows nowadays (DC and Marvel). You want to see a great interaction between the Suicide Squad and the Justice League from the viewpoint of the villains, watch 'Task Force X' from Justice League Unlimited (ep 4 of season 2). Want to watch an interesting discussion on the use and abuse of power and how to regulate it? Watch the entire Cadmus story arc from Justice League Unlimited. It touches some of the most complex political discussions that rival things like the MCU's Civil War, Winter Soldier or fantastic comic books like Alan Moore's Miracleman, V for Vendetta or Watchmen. Yes, JLU was that good (in a 20 minute cartoon format). Probably DC would have been better by literally copy pasting most of the scripts of these shows and turning them into movies, than what they did.

[@LadyDae19]

It's so coincidental that I just finished binge watching justice league and justice league unlimited 3 days ago! I was so stunned how good it was!

[@savagebooks7482]

It's pretty fantastic!

[@kevinkingslayer2450]

I'm a 46 year old grandpa, and a STAUNCH DC fan... Let me tell you this is literally one of the best breakdowns and analysis of a show.... Well articulated and precise.... No chatGPT created scripts... Just your good old opinion... Salute my brother👍🇹🇹.... Liked and subscribed...✌🙏

[@savagebooks7482]

Thanks! Happy to have you here!

[@thechad4485]

The plot of the Aquaman movies were so similar to those episodes of the show that in Aquaman 2, I was waiting eagerly for a scene where Arthur cut off his arm to save his son. Hoping the film would have some genuine stakes. When the scene came around where they needed a blood sacrifice from the royal line, I thought it was time. But then the blood just got slapped out of him. It was very disappointing.

[@matityaloran9157]

I liked Aquaman 2 but I liked the Justice League episode better

[@mathwiz3145]

Static shock and Batman beyond need more love. Those shows were great. Those two characters did get some love from the justice league

[@ferrm1992]

Watched this show while I was in 5th grade. Then rewatched it while I was a junior in college, and it gave me the same feels. Will rewatch it again

[@Abelard4567]

I was an adult when JL/JLU came out and I loved it then and I still adore it. I find the episodes totally rewatchable and have no clue why DC can't learn from their own masterpiece.

[@queenb2450]

I'm 28 and would watch JLU on Kids WB, Teen Titans, Batman Beyond in elementary school. Still remember how those shows made me feel. Same with Marvel - Xmen, Spiderman animated (loved that one)

[@lukeyznaga7627]

meaningful drama, good story, suspenseful plot and many other things. Man, you dont' have that nowadays in ANY of the superhero movies.

[@Gabe600]

The movies aren't based on those episodes they are both adaptations of comic storylines the first movie is cleary a adaptation of "Throne of Atlantis" from the New 52 and the whole Arthur Jr thing from the cartoon and the second movie are a adaptaion of "The Death of a Prince" with the difference that in the original comic Arthur can't save his son and he end up dying. And the whole melting the polar ice caps to flood the world is a classic aquatic villain plan, Namor had similar storylines in Marvel way before that episode

[@alex4833]

Excellent video! I love the DCAU. In 2022, I rewatched all of the DCAU shows and was impressed with how mature they were and how good the writing, character development, and story mechanics were. I agree that DC needs to take lessons from the DCAU. It has some of their best on-screen content. Have a good week 😊

[@cmp839]

Excellent analysis! It seems important to note that DC Animation leadership was a small ring of excellent storytellers led by Bruce Timm.

[@animelvr99]

Let's not forget that the Suicide Squad 30 min episode on the Justice League space base was ahead of its time and better than what we got in a 2 hr movie. Even when they got away the effects of it was still felt

[@callumcrane241]

I take Jason's Aquaman is a blend between Brave and Bauld Aquaman and J.L/J.L.U Aquaman. The perfect blend of funny and badass.

[@sclair2854]

I think the thing with the films vs the animated series is largely down to creative vision. Timm had quite a bit of creative freedom on JL, not only that but he had been allowed to create DC cartoons for YEARS at that point. So when you have a huge budget and you just demand a creative team copy Timm's storylines, but also make it new and different to compete with Marvel... Its not going to work. Its also worth noting that Timm's very early work on BTAS season 1 (Like the first few episodes) are actually kind of bad, he only managed to rise to the spectacular heights he was capable of by trying and failing, and I think it's not just studios but audiences that are intolerant of creatives failing these days.

[@DragonxFlutter]

I never directly grew up with the BTAS universe, only just seeing the toys on the shelves; but I did watch Justice League and JLUnlimited during the time my family had Netflix (just about when Netflix starting streaming services). It was _so cool._ I'm watching BTAS now, and certain episodes live up to the hype.

[@PirvateerKurei]

My favorite arc of Aquaman was when he was with his own team of rogues that had treasures from the first Atlantean King. It was a wild time, and then he went to go find his mother who also ruled a separate dimension

[@TheWaffleFactory]

Savage books back with the based takes. I fucking loooove this show! I’ll never forget the episode when they are stuck in the dimension of that psychic kid and it’s like a 1950s meta commentary on heroes comics from back then.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Yess the golden age heroes they brought back for that episode. Loved that

[@kingcobra2858]

What's sad is a lot of people dont even know these great stories in the animated shows or even the comics exist. Their idea of Justice League is the mess that has recently died.

[@crosskitelines]

That show is gold!!!

[@biguy617]

I don’t know if you realize this but Joss Whedon actors have worked with DC. Morena Baccerin voice Black Canary in JLU. Summer Glau voice Supergirl in Superman Batman Apocalypse. Amy Acker is the JLU voice of Huntress. Nathan Fillion voice Hal Jordan many times, Vigilante, and other characters. Alan Tudyk played Mr Nobody in Doom Patrol. Gina Torres voiced the evil version of Wonder Woman, Super Woman in Justice League Crisis on Two Earths.

[@MadameTamma]

Nowadays there’s a lot of kids shows that are written so that adults can watch them and get invested in them too, but there was something about the DCAU that felt like the reverse. That these shows were made for adults in mind first but made in a way that kids can watch them too. I think it was the dialogue. Go watch the JLU episode where Superman discovers his friend Dr Hamilton betrayed him for an example of what I’m talking about. Kids can watch it and understand overall what’s being said but I don’t know how many would get the biblical references the characters say. Everyone with only a few exceptions interact with each other as mature adults. Personally I really respect that because you can watch the shows years later and get a more full grasp on what the characters are talking about

[@A1stardan]

DCAU is epitome of great writing. That's been missing a lot lately.

[@ohw5306]

Long live Justice League Animated Universe. I was so happy to find it on Netflix ❤❤❤ Having this in my childhood is Peak television It was a legendary era and I proud to be a part of it

[@amylinscatalyst3458]

Part of why, I feel, things like JL/U or Thor: Ragnarok work is because the artists involved with the projects pick up story beats from old comics to tell new stories. JL/U has a more obvious focus on specific runs from episode to episode, but they are using those runs in service of the overall story being told by the series. The point of the first Aquaman episodes in JL are to establish Aquaman's presence in the universe and give audiences an understanding as to what his relationship to the League will be like. Points that were not existent in the comic runs they are based on. In accordance to my memory, please correct me if I'm wrong (it's been a while sense I read the story), but the original comic run on Ocean Master's raise was an examination as to how Aquaman balances being a King and being an established superhero. The JL adaptation took this story and said, "He doesn't. That's why he's not a mainstay on the team. He is a King first and foremost." I can't remember exactly how the original comic answered the question (pretty certain it was a situation of this question becoming something that haunts the character through multiple storlines), but the point remains that there was a question being brought up that served the story as opposed simply franchise building. You can see this with Planet Hulk influence on T:R as well. The previous story runner said, "Planet Hulk is old story Hulk is heading for. So I am placing the character there." But only the beats of Planet Hulk that were in service to T:R's story were used. Successful Marvel movies let the artists use the old stories as tools in service of the new stories, not in service to the franchise. T:R isn't keeping the elements of a slave rising to become a tyrant that were in Planet Hulk because that wasn't in service to the new story being told in the movie. Part of the reason the Aquaman movies failed to be great whereas the Aquaman episodes in JL didn't despite using the same story is because both were written with the narrative purpose to establishing Aquaman's presence within a JL Universe, but while JL/U did so on a solid foundation of knowing how their answer to that story's question would serve the bigger story of their series, the movie doesn't seem interested in how that old story can serve them beyond franchise building. A franchise that, at the time, is trying to be ongoing from a story arc that is doomed to be dropped, not allowed to be its own thing, and is also a course correction. The "maturity" of the story beats isn't the problem. The problem is that the story beats are being used to sloppily answer a banal question. "How can Aquaman be used to fix the DCEU franchise?" They want Aquaman to have his monarchal iconography, they want him to be a mainstay on the team, and they figure that they just regurgitate a popular Aquaman story without doing the work of considering why the story is popular. Thus, they are using it for the same narrative purpose as JL/U's adaptation without having any Leaguers to establish the relationship with and denying JL/U's outcome.

[@brianalambert1192]

Nevermind how Captain America The First Avenger basically stole the season 1 finale "The Savage Time" I remember thinking, even as a kid, that what I was watching was important in some way. I was ashamed that I really liked the show because I was a girl and girls weren't supposed to be into comic books. So I watched it in secret and turned it off every time my parents came into the room. And yet I felt like I needed to know these stories. It was my first introduction to Batman and I was immediately impressed by how much I was understanding this character despite him barely saying a word. I didn't know Batman's origin and the loss of his parents, but I knew something had happened based on a few lines he said. And I knew that as hard as he was, he cared about his teammates. I knew Batman cared more about saving civilians than he did about stopping the bad guy. I'm mildly amazed that for someone who only was able to watch this show in snippets that I picked up on all of this

[@lasercraft32]

I don't actually know for sure, but I think the reason both the episode in Justice League and the Aquaman movie are so similar is because they might be based on something that happens in the comics (at least that's why I assume... I don't actually know much about the comics, I just know that kind of thing happens a lot with superhero shows).

[@Cri_Jackal]

There is also a lot of examples of directors and writers of superhero movies using the shows as their reference material, operating under the assumption that everything in the show was from the comics, not realizing that a bunch of details were exclusive to that particular show. A good example is in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where Electro's powers have the exact same origin as in Spectacular Spider-Man, from being dunked in a tank of electric eels and merging with their DNA. Electro's comic origin simply has him get struck by lightning, Spectacular was the only one to involve eels.

[@SaltpeterTaffy]

"I'm an old lefty; the government must do for the people what the people can't do for themselves." -Green Arrow, in a kids show

[@AaronLitz]

The Granddaddy was _Batman._ _Justice League Unlimited_ was the culmination.

[@piratefox26]

Love that you talked about these episodes. I remember being a huge fan of the show, but I have no memory of these ones, and it was a treat to hear your analysis on them!

[@AcontheWebHead]

I was just rewatching Justice League recently, since I basically don't remember anything from it. Most clips I remember are from unlimited. It makes me miss this era of cartoons.

[@Akursedtime]

I actually thought Hawkgirl was a main primary member and when I learned it was Hawkmam instead. Man the disappointment. Admittedly its sad that she has been largely ignored in the cartoon sphere after Justice League/Unlimited.

[@WillofD18]

Thank you for bringing me down memory lane. I've always been a marvel stan but JL/JL:U were goated back in the day!

[@Chocolatenigma]

“Patriot Act” remains the single greatest 30 minutes of television I have ever seen

[@briannahendrickson7746]

I remembered discovering Justice League show and fell in love with show. They became my Justice League. There are many versions of the Justice League like the 52 version, but every time I think of the Justice League, I think of this show. Each character in the show feel like real people and they mesh well together. I wish DC would remember what made their older stuff so great.

[@nuyabuisness7526]

I could enjoy Justice League and JLU as both a kid and an adult. There is genuine nuance takes of present day and timeless themes worked in and told as tightly as a 22 minute cape show would allow.

[@JadeRabbit-je4gd]

I just feel sorry for all the kids that will never grow up with the DCAU. They have no idea what they're even missing.

[@lincolnhannibal7720]

That why we must introduce these great classics to them.

[@hansdykstra3869]

Watching Aquaman sacrifice his hand for his son impacted me so much as a kid. Its part of the reason I want to be a father today

[@MR-hk2qu]

Last year, I bought Batman the Animated series, Batman beyond, Teen Titans, and Justice League as DVD/BlueRay boxes so that i coud rewatch them whenever i want. While not every episode holds up now that I'm over 30, but most do.

[@Yesnomu]

A little older than you and I absolutely loved the 90s Batman series! I have also been worried about it holding up in a rewatch, but it sounds like I don't need to.

[@jim-bob3093]

This show cemented the Wonderbat ship in so many kids

[@jacklansdale77]

quite often the writers of the DCAU/MarvelAU went on to write for their life action movies, as they had evidently extreme success writing a media form of the movies and they may have been pulling from the same comics run. Idk if this story has a comic it was based on but I do know many movies and episodes are based on comics, which if a movie and episode call on the same comic they come out with the same plot beats.

[@kathrynvincent1563]

I only got into it through those “greatest quotes of X”. And I got hooked on Huntress, Question, Black Canary, and Green Arrow to name a few. And since then I’ve wanted to watch The Animated Justice League

[@kiplingslastcat]

First time watching this channel. I could listen to this dude read a phone book.

[@savagebooks7482]

haha thanks

[@ianyoder2537]

I don't care what you say about Super Friends. This is the Aquaman I grew up with and he was and will always be the most badass dad I've ever seen on tv. Man fought Cthulhu, I will hear no arguments.

[@TrippleBPlays]

THe DCAU defined all the DC Comics characters for me growing up. Any time a DCEU movie was disappointing to me I am grateful that I have this great shows to look back on.

[@knightshousegames]

JL was so ridiculously good, and JLU especially really felt like it tied the whole DCAU together in such a cool way And yeah, it had such amazingly mature stories, I remember how they used Cadmus for a really cool commentary on The Patriot Act and government overreach, which...were pretty hot topics to say the least in the mid 2000s...And WAY above the heads of any kid watching at the time. But the other thing I loved was that when people died, they REALLY died. Like when Lex kills Grodd, theres no doubt about it, he absolutely humiliates him, then ices him. It wasn't like every other cartoon out there even in the DCAU where you were like "...but no one is ACTUALLY gonna die, right?" but no, people got GOT in that show. One of my favorite moments in that show was the episode where they basically did an epilogue for Batman Beyond inside of JLU,. I loved the scene specifically where they show Batman consoling Ace before she dies. Instead of doing a big, action packed showdown, they show the true quality Batman's character, sitting with a dying girl in her final hours. That shit STILL kills me. And it felt like every character got the respect they deserved. Superman felt like the Superman we remember, Batman felt like the Batman we remember, Flash got to have cool moments, Wonder Woman got to have her moments, GL got to have his moments, etc. it never felt like anyone got overshadowed, they felt like a real team. Like people get so shocked when I tell them theres never been a good Live Action Batman, and that I don't even particularly like the Nolan Trilogy, because it doesn't touch anything DCAU was doing.

[@doro626]

That Booster Gold episode is EPICALLY AWESOME!!!

[@autobotproductions1244]

I loved Green Lantern in that episode

[@THEAdmiralXizor]

The "Throne of Atlantis" OVA is strongly based on the Justice League episodes too...

[@melodylake18]

Such a great analysis! DC cartoons were foundational to me, and they still hold up. I’ve been watching Young Justice on Max which is like a mix of Teen Titans and JLU, with impeccable plotting and storytelling. Highly recommend to everyone who is looking for incredible storytelling with new and familiar characters.

[@iantaran2843]

Justice League and Unlimited were... F**kin masterpieces

[@CatotheE]

9:20 Fun fact, but they originally intended for the assassin to be Black Manta instead of Deadshot.