The second season of Justice League picks up squarely where the first season left off. Well written and loyal to the source material, it actually surpasses the first season in that it delves deeper into each of the Justice League members, giving each character at least one episode that focuses on them. It fleshes out each character, and does so even better at times than years worth of comics – something of an amazing thing considering this is essentially kids fare.
The writers did a fantastic job coming up with complex storylines as well. The majority of the season is smart and fun, combining elements from the comics as well as stuff invented for the show. As with season 1, it’s the perfect amalgam that should satisfy comic fans and those uninitiated into the world of DC comics.
The writers used a wide assortment of DC villains for this season. Copperhead, Giganta, Shade and Eclipso are featured, along with mainstays like Lex Luthor and Joker. It’s a great mix. It was a lot of fun seeing some of these classic DC characters on screen for the first time. We also get a few new heroes like Dr. Fate and Lobo, as well as the return of Aquaman.
The slowest and most uninteresting episode of this season
is the first. Twilight - parts 1 and 2 revolve around
Darkseid and the New Gods, creations of comics legend Jack
Kirby in the 1970s. It isn’t so much that this isn’t
a good episode. It is. For me two things stand out. One, the
New Gods, which in general I find to be pretty boring, and
two that it seems like a competent episode from season 1.
That’s not a put down, it’s just that it doesn’t
stack up to the episodes further along in the season.
The fan favorite episodes A Better World - parts 1 and
2, where we are introduced to the Justice Lords, an alternate
universe version of the League who are the overlords of their
earth, is here on disc 2. It’s a really fun episode,
if for no other reason than to see the great costumes for
the Justice Lords.
Three episodes shine from this season:
The Terror Beyond - parts 1 and 2, where we see
Aquaman, Dr. Fate, and Solomon Grundy team up, eventually
combining forces on their problem with the League, is a very
good episode for a couple reasons. First we get to see some
more heroes in action. We also get some good interaction between
the League characters. What makes it standout is the use of
Grundy. Throughout the show, Grundy is often portrayed like
the Hulk, dumb but powerful. Here he’s given personality
and ultimately he’s integral to the story. I won’t
give away the ending save to say he is used to his fullest,
and is a completely realized and somewhat heroic character
by the end.
 The
second is Hereafter - parts 1 and 2. It deals with
the death of Superman. He isn’t really dead, just transported
to the future, but the rest of the League thinks he is, except
Batman. It’s nice because we get to see Superman in
some solo action, but it also does a great job in asking a
question still unsettled in the comics - what is the League
without Superman? We also get to see the rest of the League
and their affection for the Big Blue Boy Scout.
Probably the single best episode to me is, surprisingly,
the Christmas themed episode called Comfort and Joy.
Batman and Wonder Woman are absent in the episode, the only
one-parter in the season, but everyone else shines. We see
a humble and caring Flash, we see a romance start between
Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, and most importantly we see Superman
take Martian Manhunter home for Christmas to the Kent farm.
It’s emotional but never smarmy, as Flash helps orphans,
Green Lantern and Hawkgirl show each other some fun, and Manhunter
learns about human families and Christmas. I had never seen
the episode before and dreaded it because too often Christmas
episodes fail by heaping on the schmaltz. Comfort and
Joy instead ends up being funny and yeah, even a little
touching.
This season is the end of the seven-member League, as starting with season 3, the show was renamed Justice League Unlimited, and essentially started using the entire DC universe. To some degree that’s cool, because we get to see characters like Shining Knight and Green Arrow, but it’s also a shame because season 2 was such an up close and personal season with the seven main Leaguers.
As with season 1, my son enjoyed these episodes as much as I did. The series does a wonderful job of walking that line.
Disc Presentation
The sound on the set is great. It’s clear and balanced. There are no problems here at all. There is no setting other than Dolby 2.0, so it isn’t an impressive sound that you can vibrate the neighborhood with, but it certainly serves the material just fine.
The visuals hold up, too. In fact, this set looks fantastic.
The episodes are maybe even nicer looking than when they were
shown originally. The colors are clear, and contrast right.
It’s essentially perfect in my view. No artifacts or
scratches. Great care was taken in presenting these, and it
shows.
Disc Extras
Here is where the set fails for the price. It has three commentary tracks (though only on one part of a two-part episode), which are nice, but I would have liked to have had a commentary on both parts for each one. There is also one behind the scenes feature. I would have liked more. A LOT more. The show is recognized as one of the better shows Cartoon Network has put out, but we don’t have anything on that here. We also don’t have anything on how the show relates to the comics, or to the characters and their traditions. Not mining the comics in relation to the series is a huge mistake since there is so much there to work with. We don’t have anything substantial on making the show or the animation, production, or anything, really. Considering you’re probably paying $35 for the set, it really should have had more. This is the only thing holding it back from being a five-star release.
One minor note - a couple of the episodes on the packaging
are listed out of order from the presentation on the disc. Secret Society - parts 1 and 2 are on disc 3, and Hereafter is on disc 4.
The Bottom Line
Even better than season 1, more action, better stories and definite attention paid to the characters. A must buy for comic or superhero fans.
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