6 Reasons Why Watching Justice League Animated is a Great Way to Learn About the DC Universe.
February 13, 2014 in ANIMATION
ANIMATION – 6 Reasons Why Watching Justice League Animated is a Great Way to Learn About the DC Universe.
If you’ve been watching Arrow, enjoyed the The Dark Knight Trilogy 
Well, actually, since the New 52 reboot of the DC Universe, the comics are actually a great place to start. BUT if you want an alternate way, then watching Justice League animated along with all the other shows of it’s kinds is a great way to go.
You can watch the video below or read the article yourself. This video is different. You’ll actually see me reading this article. Usually I just get my video transcribed:
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Now, I know that the title of this post is how watching JUSTICE LEAGUE animated
The four shows are Batman: The Animated Series,
I recommend you start with Batman The Animated series Season 4, then watch Superman The Animated Series followed by Batman Beyond so when you watch Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, you can get the most out of the show.
BUT since that may be WAY too much to ask, then starting with the Justice League animated series by itself is just about as good a place to start as any.
Just recognize that the six reasons below can just as easily be applied to the other animated shows I mentioned as they can to the Justice League show. Alright then, let’s begin:
1. It Introduces You to the Core Members
The first episode of Justice League introduces you to the core members of the League, witch include: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. Everyone of the these characters that didn’t have their own animated series gets quite a few “spot light” episodes where you get to know background about them.
Mostly though, you get to know them by the way they act in high pressure and dangerous situations.
When it comes to Superman and Batman, their animated series goes into further depth on those characters than the Justice League show does. The Superman animated series is especially good in this regard.
2. It Introduces You to All the Toughest DC Villains
Right off the bat the Justice League series needed to bring out the big guns. This is the Justice League cartoon after all. They’re the best and most power heroes in the DC universe. For the story to be interesting you need to bring out the meanest bad guys the DC universe has to offer: The Manhunters, Felix Faust, Mongul, Morgaine le Fey, Vandal Savage, Dark Seid, Braniac, Despero are just some of the many villains that make their appearance in this show.
3. It Stories Takes you Through Time and Space of the DC Universe
This show goes EVERYWHERE. From Dark Seid’s planet Apokolips, to the Wild West, from the Batman Beyond future, to the Green Lantern Planet OA, from the far future Earth where the sun is Red, to Skartaris (a hidden world inside the Earth’s core). This show takes you to some amazing DC locations.
It’s pretty impressive how vast the DC universe is.
4. You’re Introduced to Practically Every Superhero and Villain in the DC Universe.
One you hit season 3 of the Justice League show called, Justice League Unlimited, the flood gates open and every superhero in the DC universe is invited to become a member of the Justice League.
For you fans of Arrow, this is where Green Arrow makes his appearance, along with Black Canary, and Roy Harper. But you also get characters like Supergirl, The Question, Booster Gold, Hawk and Dove, even Batman Beyond makes an appearance, I mean, just about every single superhero ever created in the DC Universe make, at least, a cameo.
And you can’t have that many superheroes without almost all the villains in the DC Universe showing up too. Lex, Solomon Grundy, Captain Cold, The Trickster, The Leech,The Crime Syndicate. There’s whole episodes with the Legion of Doom, swamp Headquarters and all.
It’s pretty fantastic.
Although, I will say, that if you want to get the full story of Dark Seid, the New Gods and their history with Superman, the place to go is the second season of Superman The Animated Series. You will also find the full origin of Braniac there as well.
5. The Stories From the Show Where so Good That They Influenced the Comics.
Alan Moore’s story “For the Man Who Has Everything,” is adapted into an animated episode. It’s a great one, but mostly the episodes of the show were original. They were so good in fact that, as I read comics, I saw the same stories from the animated cartoon start popping up in the comics.
There’s a whole series where the Earth Governments go to war with The Justice League because they’re afraid of how powerful they are. It’s really dramatic stuff.
There are just too many great stories to count in this show. I’m going to have to make a top ten list.
6. It Acclimates You To the Type of Action You Get in the Comics
This is something I think is important. Especially after the backlash that the movie Man of Steel got from the crazy over the top Zod vs. Superman fight at the end of the movie.
Movie audience that never pick up a comic where shocked at the destruction, but if you read the comics, that kind of damage is very common.
Watching these cartoons will help. Once you’re used to seeing that superhero action is always over the top and very destructive, when you watch the live action heroes do it, it will feel a bit more true to form.
So There You Have It
Alright, so those are the reason why you should watch Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. I still recommend you start with season four of Batman The Animated series and move on to the other shows before getting to Justice League, BUT if you only start with Justice League, you’ll be alright.
I could be completely off about this, but isn’t the series Static Shock also in this universe? I seem to remember a crossover featuring John Stewart’s Green Lantern .
Yes, you remember correctly. Static was part of this animated universe.
I Quickly just want to say thank you, I have been following your list for all the cartoons and I have been enjoying them whilst learning about these heroes and villains.
That’s great to hear. I still watch some of these cartoons, at least once a Month. I really love them.