"Justice League" Week: Favorite Episodes of "Justice League"/"Justice League Unlimited"?

[James Harvey]

The big screen live-action Justice League movie hits theatres this Friday, November 17th (with November 16 early screenings) so there's no better time to discuss the animated adventures of the World's Greatest Heroes! Every day, a new Justice League-themed topic will be posted, so check back and share your thoughts! Let's start with an easy one...

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What are your favorite episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited? And are there any other notable appearances from the team in any other DC Comics animated series?

(Note: An animated movie question is coming, so let's stick to just the animated series.)

Discuss away!

 

[Fone Bone]

Hereafter, Maid Of Honor, Fearful Symmetry, and the five part Cadmus finale are the high points for me. Question Authority is the best single episode.

 

[SweetShop209]

Besides the series finale of Unlimited, my favorite episodes would be "For The Man Who Has Everything" for the more serious episodes and either "This Little Piggy" or "Kid Stuff" for the more lighthearted stuff.

 

[the_joker]

"For The Man Who Has Everything"

That made Booster Gold one of my favorite DC heroes.

As for me, too many to pick. If I had to pick just one, probably "Epilogue". People generally don't like something coming to an end, and this episode's ideas can already ruffle some feathers, but it gave a reasonable conclusion for Terry to accept while still giving an ending for at least one of the show's characters. I would've liked other characters to have been given some kind of ending, but then again this episode and "Destroyer" would already confirm that the heroes would just continue being heroes.

 

[Yojimbo]

I do have a soft spot for "Divided We Fall", "Only a Dream", "The Terror Beyond" and "Legends". Those get the most replays out of me. Really great character driven episodes and at the same time expanding on the canon.

 

[-batmat-]

A lot of amazing episodes, but nothing got me so pumped up as the Cadmus arc multi part finale. I watched it for the first time being like 20 years old and I felt as excited as a 5 year old would!

 

[ShadowStar]

For Justice League, I would have to say that my favourites have always been "Starcrossed" and "Secret Society", with the likes of "A Better World", "Twilight", "Wild Cards", "Maid of Honour" and "Only a Dream" right behind them. I generally preferred season 2 to season 1 but I did love "A Knight of Shadows" too.

As for JLU, I really love "Double Date", "The Cat and the Canary", "The Return", "Task Force X", "The Doomsday Sanction", "The Once and Future Thing part 2", "Hunter's Moon", the Cadmus finale and both Hawkman episodes.

JL/JLU was such a wonderful show and it remains my second favourite animated series of all time, behind only BTAS!

 

[ToonJay723]

I really enjoy the chemistry between Batman and Wonder Woman in this show, so I liked "Maid of Honor, and "This Little Piggy". "A Better World" is another good one, as it shows how dangerous the Justice League could be if they cared more about safety over freedom.

 

[RoyalRubble]

From Justice League, I would probably go with "Paradise Lost", "Fury", "Legends", "Twilight", "Maid of Honor", "A Better World" and "Starcrossed". They all had some pretty solid stories. A nice mix of action, drama and even some comedy. The character interactions also helped make them entertaining.

From Unlimited, I'll pick "For the Man Who Has Everything", "Wake the Dead", "The Doomsday Sanction", "Flash and Substance" and the finale ("Alive" & "Destroyer"). Again, solid stories with a little more continuity between them this time.

And a special mention to the Cadmus arc. It had an intriguing story, lots of action, suspense and character moments, plus that great reveal towards its end that brought back a plot from a few years earlier on Superman: TAS. If I had to pick only one episode out of the arc, I'd probably go with "Divided We Fall".

If it counts, I would also add "The Call" from Batman Beyond. Basically the first time we see a Justice League in the DCAU. I liked that roster (complete with the elder Superman, Barda and Aquagirl).

But of course, I really liked pretty much every episode from JL/JLU, so choosing favorites was kind of hard.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

For Justice League season 1 I'd have to say "Secret Origins", "The Enemy Below", "Injustice For All", "Paradise Lost", "War World", "Legends" and "The Savage Time". I like season 1 more than most as you can tell, especially after a recent re-watch.

Season 2 is near-perfect all-around, but stand-outs are "Twilight", "A Better World", "The Terror Beyond", "Hereafter", "The Secret Society", "Wild Cards" and "Starcrossed". Easily one of the greatest single seasons of any show I've ever seen, let alone a DCAU series.

Justice League Unlimited is my single favorite animated series of all time. Nearly every episode gives me great joy and pleasure to watch. This series is the definition of the word EPIC. I can't give this series enough praise, it's simply impossible to top for me.

My stand-outs for all 3 seasons are "For The Man Who Has Everything", "Initiation", "Fearful Symmetry", "Kid Stuff", "The Return", "Dark Heart", "Wake The Dead", "The Once And Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped", "The Cat And The Canary", "Doomsday Sanction", "Clash", The Cadmus arc, "Epilogue", " I Am Legion", "Dead Reckoning", "Ancient History", "Alive!" and "Destroyer".

I'll be doing a re-watch of JL season 2 and all of JLU soon, so I'm sure the list will change, but overall, I simply can't give enough praise to Timm and co. for what I consider to be the best of the best in their awesome DCAU.

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

"Hereafter" is my favorite DCAU episode of all time. I just felt the attention to detail in that episode was really good, and Vandal savage was great. I think I do have a soft spot for stories of old, withered guys in power who struggle to find satisfaction in life.

"Starcrossed" is probably the best episode. I always try to make a distinction between my favorite vs. the best. I think it just does a lot to advance the DCAU mythos, and does it with high quality.

On the Unlimited side, I don't think I really have a favorite. I remember liking "Doomsday Sanction" a lot when it first aired, but being less impressed on second viewing. "For the Man..." is a very good episode, but much in part because it stays pretty close to source material and I almost feel like that's cheating when evaluating for best episode. I tended to think the Cadmus arc, while good, was a bit overrated. I guess as of writing, I don't have a favorite Unlimited episode the way I have a favorite OG series episode, but if I had to pick, I'd say which was most epic in scope and say "Divided We Fall."

 

[AnotherRandomGuy]

"A Better World" and "Legends" might just be some of favorite DC stories period, neither actually leaving me since I first watched them years ago.

But to be throw a bit of a curve ball, "Comfort and Joy" is another one of my all time favorite JL stories, due to it stripping away all the cape and cowl stuff and instead focuses on each character's 'humanity', showing behind the masks they're really just people who have their comforts, desires, and loved ones.

Something both the fandom and the writers tend to forget most of the time is that so-called 'superheroes' are really just people too, who get tired and bleed like everyone else, hence why stories like this and "Mask of the Phantasm" are so great, because they really get a chance to showcase that. Plus it really paints a picture of what they're fighting for are actual people and not just paper cutouts that can scream every once in awhile.

 

[hobbyfan]

I'd have to say as far as the Unlimited series goes, it'd be, in this order:

"This Little Piggy"
"For The Man Who Has Everything"
"Kid Stuff"
"Hawk & Dove"

For Justice League:

"Secret Origins"

 

[Dusty]

Seasons One Top Picks...
The Enemy Below, Knight of Shadows, The Savage Time, Secret Origins, Paradise Lost, Injustice For All.

Sason Two Top Picks...
Twilight, Hereafter, The Terror Beyond, Comfort and Joy, A Better World.

Season 3/JLU Season 1 Top Picks...
For The Man Who Has Everything, Darkheart, The Once and Future Thing Parts 1 and 2.

Season 4/JLU Season 2 Top Picks...
The Ties That Bind, Divided We Fall.

Season 5/JLU Season 3 Top Picks...
Flash and Substance, Dead Reckoning, Patriot Act, Far From Home.


Dusty.