An engineered killer's boot, stepping on Superman's face, forever

[zustifer]

So I figured I should mention that the latter (at least up through #4) seasons of Justice League (the animated series) _do_ eventually get good. The third season (really the first season of 'Justice League Unlimited'; loads of DC heroes are added to the Justice League instead of the seven usual ones focussed upon in the first series, 'Justice League') has some real clunkers (I am looking at YOU, 'Hawk and Dove'), but eventually finds its stride and does not try to cram a two-parter's worth of material into a twenty-two minute episode anymore. I was really, really discouraged, before we got to the stride-finding, to the point that I almost gave up on Unlimited. But the wise chmmr suggested we continue to give it a shot, and I am pleased that we did.

The first two seasons especially (and bear in mind that we have not yet watched the fifth and final) were just excellent, in part because each story was given two episodes in which to play out (at least after a little ramp-up time. Also needing some ramp-up is the writing of dialog for the Flash, but that really does pick up). Very well-handled. They essentially standardised the length of a story as two episodes long. Now suddenly all kinds of things can be fit in. There's fightin', there's character development, and there's some really clever letter-of-the-law evasions of the rules we're all used to from Batman the Animated Series: no blood, no dismemberment of organic beings, only trauma allowed is blunt-force (teeth can't be lost), explosive, or electrical (meaning: no disfigurement). No killing, period.

The series is especially good because it knows the rules and just - just bends them a little, every now and then. Implied blood. Frozen evil dictator. Moral ambiguity all over you screen. Sometimes, not all the time. There's a great ratio of Good Clean Punchin' to Whoa, Did That Just Happen? The context is impeccably constructed and maintained.

And for Unpleasant, Green Arrow _does_ get a part, albeit with a chunk of it in a weird episode where everyone is a complete dick and utterly unsympathetic. Wildcat's in there too. Just power through the Supergirl and stuff should improve.


(This avatar is Nivlem, scanned from an early MAD Batman parody. He's doing not just Explaining Hand, but Explaining Hand With Helpful Pointing. He's very smarmy. But it would be wrong to use my Marvelly other superhero avatars to make this post. I'm not a big DC person (outside of Batman's rogues' gallery (inside of Arkham they keep it too dark to read comics), Sandman, and Books of Magic), but Justice League does somewhat flatter me by allowing me to be all 'Isn't this guy [something something] because of his [backstory]? I THINK he might be...' and then it turns out that like any child of six, I am right. Yay.)

Comments

[foxxtail.livejournal.com]

I hearted season 5. In the episode "Dead Reckoning" the following scene takes place:

Superman: Come on, Bruce. I know a burger place in Metropolis that has the best fries on the Earth Coast. And the milkshakes are so thick… (Deadman takes him over) …I need your help.

Wonder Woman: That’s pretty thick.

(bring on the comic avatars!)

[sanspoof.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to limit myself, otherwise I'd have each New Mutant multiple times, and some X-Men, and some monsters from each, and a couple of Starjammers, and a big goofy picture of Zsasz with CUTTER written across it in a pixel font, and some Justice Lords, and crippled Barbara Gordon, and so much MAD and Cracked I'd just cry, and the picture of the guy from the package of pink-flavored earphones or whatever that was we saw this weekend at Best Buy that had what looked like a picture of Evolution Quicksilver on it.
Okay, I wouldn't really have most of that. Five will be gotten to soon enough, I hope. Maybe this weekend.

[vespizzari.livejournal.com]

So Nivlem is the alter ego of Melvin, super geek from beyond?

[sanspoof.livejournal.com]

Seems to be the way of it!