TV Verdict

In its original form, Justice League was primarily a team-up of Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and the Flash, with lone wolf Batman lending a hand from time to time. With the exception of “Comfort and Joy”—a novelty Christmas episode late in Season Two—the show is a series of epic two- and three-part adventures. The stories are dense, action-packed, and serious—a far cry from the various Super Friends series produced by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s and ’80s. The League is formed in “Secret Origins,” a three-part premiere that finds our heroes joining forces to battle aliens out to conquer Earth. Subsequent episodes feature the Justice League monitoring Earth from their orbital Watchtower base. Over the course of the two seasons, they take on a seemingly never-ending supply of extra-terrestrial invaders as well as high-profile DC villains such as Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Brainiac, the Joker, Gorilla Grod, and Solomon Grundy. They occasionally team with second-tier heroes like Aquaman, Doctor Fate, Etrigan the Demon, and the Blackhawks. Action-packed, intelligently written, and artfully animated, the show is made to appeal to comic book newbies and DC fanboys alike.

Read Dan Mancini’s full review on DVD Verdict