Unlimited Heroes, Unlimited Potential
Batman: “Who are you people?”
Justice League: Unlimited “Ultimatum” (Season 1, Episode 9)
Amanda Waller: “That’s a national security matter. And if I were you, I wouldn’t probe it too closely [whispers] rich boy.”
Justice League: Unlimited ended the DC Animated Universe with a bang. The series spotlighted lesser known heroes alongside the A-listers and traded monster of the week stories for darker, serialized story arcs.
We’re celebrating 20 years since its debut with Justice League: Unlimited’s Top 5 Episodes. Which made the cut? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
#5 For The Man Who Has Everything
Focus Characters: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman
Mongul: “You don’t understand. He was the only one in my way. The rest of you are already dead.”
“For the Man Who Has Everything” (Season 1, Episode 2)
Justice League: Unlimited has plenty of original stories, but sometimes it’s best to go back to the source. This adaptation sends Superman to The Twilight Zone to ask a question: What do you get for the man who has everything?
Synopsis: Batman and Wonder Woman travel to the Fortress of Solitude to celebrate Superman’s birthday. They discover that Clark is being eaten by The Black Mercy, an alien parasite that traps victims in their greatest fantasy. Alien tyrant Mongul ambushed Superman and now wants to kill his friends. Can Batman and Wonder Woman free Superman?
Why This Episode?: For the Man Who Has Everything adapts a classic comic almost one-to-one. Batman splits his time between assisting an embattled Wonder Woman and trying to free Superman. Mongul is in rare form, taking sadistic pleasure from fighting heroes who don’t match his strength.
Inside the Black Mercy, Superman envisions the life that he could have had on Krypton. He’s a farmer, happily married to a Lois Lane-analogue with living parents and a son. Kal-El knows subconsciously that Krypton isn’t real, but struggles with recognizing it.
Once freed, Superman snaps. He fights Mongul with abandon, trying to kill his tormentor. For the first time in the DC Animated Universe, we see what would happen if Superman went berserk. It paints an ugly picture, one that hangs over later episodes like the Sword of Damocles.
Fun Fact: This Justice League: Unlimited episode is one of the few adaptations of author Alan Moore’s works that he enjoys. He even permitted them to include his name in the credits, despite usually insisting that it be removed.
#4 Justice League Unlimited: The Greatest Story Never Told
Focus Characters: Booster Gold, Skeets
Booster Gold: “She’s beautiful, and in distress! My favorite kind of damsel.”
“The Greatest Story Never Told” (Season 1, Episode 7)
Justice League: Unlimited’s variety of characters is its greatest strength. Different problems require different outlooks and powers. This episode shines a spotlight on an oft-overlooked hero.
Synopsis: The entire Justice League unites to battle an evil sorcerer. Braggart Booster Gold is stuck alone on crowd control duty until a scientist flags him down. Her colleague has become a living black hole and is wreaking havoc. Booster helps her to score a date, but can he save the day?
Why This Episode: The Greatest Story Never Told trades grandiose heroics for a farce with a heart. Booster Gold is an obnoxious, self-aggrandizing hero who his coworkers can’t stand. He gets no respect from ordinary people either, even those he has saved. Most can’t tell him and Green Lantern apart, and his only friend is a reprogrammed flying robot named Skeets.
Booster’s attempted heroics often backfire, resulting in him getting humiliated, risking his life for negligible gain, and his warnings about the black hole being ignored by Batman. Despite his setbacks, Booster Gold helps many people in his effort to stop the black hole, slowly becoming the hero that he sells himself as.
#3 Flashpoint
Focus Characters: Superman, Green Arrow, Amanda Waller
Waller: “If [the League has] enough to tie you to this, they’ll head right for your doorstep.”
“Flashpoint” (Season 2, Episode 10)
Luthor: “Let them come. I’ve got a full pardon from the president.”
Waller: “Not for any new crimes, Lex. If you get arrested, We’ll disavow all knowledge of your actions.”
Luthor: “Well, that would be inconvenient, but I wouldn’t worry about The Justice League just yet. They have problems of their own. Goodbye, Mrs. Waller.”
Project Cadmus is the biggest threat ever faced in Justice League: Unlimited. The government-backed organization is willing to commit war crimes to oppose the League that they fear will take over the world. This episode escalated that conflict.
Synopsis: Superman and Huntress battle a Cadmus-aligned Leaguer to save The Question. That betrayal is the last straw for Superman, who wants to take the fight to Cadmus. A disaster drives both organizations to the brink. Will cooler heads prevail or is a superhuman World War 3 inevitable?
Why This Episode: Flashpoint is like a Tom Clancy novel with different superpowers. Much of it focuses on the ethical debates between the heroes and realpolitik meetings for Project Cadmus. The opening brawl brings action and the episode ends on a worrisome cliffhanger.
The conflict between Cadmus and the Justice League has built up through several series. Cadmus knows of a universe where the League conquered the world and are terrified that history will repeat. Superman and other Leaguers are desperate to bring Cadmus’ leaders in, even if doing so is illegal. Both sides are ostensibly heroic, but which one is just?
#2 Justice League Unlimited: Epilogue
Focus Characters: Batman, Batman Beyond, Amanda Waller
[Amanda Waller uncases a weapon]
“Epilogue” (Season 2, Episode 13)
Waller: “When Ace goes, the psychic backlash could kill everyone in range of her powers. That’s a distance measured in miles. Take her down before she takes everyone with her.”
Batman: “…I’ll do it. I’m the only one of us Ace knows. She might let me get close enough to use it.”
Waller: “Do you understand what you’re agreeing to? The only way to stop Ace for certain… is to kill her.”
Justice League: Unlimited was built on the backs of every DCAU show that came before it. One of them chronologically came after it and was never finished. This episode sees Justice League: Unlimited bid fond farewell to Batman Beyond.
Synopsis: Batman Beyond (Terry McGinnis) breaks into Amanda Waller’s home. He’s learned a devastating secret and she’s the only one who can explain it. Terry debates retiring from the hero business while Waller tells him an allegory about one of Batman’s last missions.
Why This Episode?: Epilogue ties together several loose ends that Batman Beyond left dangling. We see a mature version of Terry and his cast while Waller has become a wise mentor. Terry’s doubts manifest in black-and-white scenes showing how Batman Beyond might react to the revelations.
The flashback scenes are some of the most tragic ever shown in a superhero TV show. Terry’s rage, an ailing old Bruce, and Waller’s perspective examine Batman’s core identity. The final confrontation with Ace is the Bat-Barometer I use to determine if a Batman actor understands the role. If any incarnation of Batman can’t convincingly recreate that scene, then they aren’t Batman.
Fun Fact: Epilogue was meant to be just that, the final episode of the DC Animated Universe. Ratings remained high, though, leading to a third and final season of Justice League: Unlimited.
#1 Patriot Act
Focus Characters: Shining Knight, The Seven Soldiers of Victory, The Newsboy Legion
General Eiling: “SUPERMAN, YOU COWARD! All your men are down and you won’t even show your face!”
“Patriot Act” (Season 3, Episode 7)
Shining Knight: He cannot hear even your bellowing, monster. As we speak, Superman rescues an entire star system a universe away. Do your worst, I’ll not let you harm another.
Writers had to work around the “Bat-Embargo” during the latter half of Justice League: Unlimited. A rival network had their own Batman show, so everyone except Bats himself was off-limits. The Bat-Embargo became a blessing in disguise, forcing them to dig deeper into DC’s lore for episodes like this.
Synopsis: Several non-powered heroes are sent to fill in for Superman in a parade. The celebration is attacked by disgraced general Wade Eiling (J.K. Simmons), who takes an experimental serum and becomes a super strong monster. Driven berserk, Eiling wants to kill Superman as a prelude to destroying the Justice League. Can the heroes stop him?
Why This Episode?: Patriot Act is the coda to the Cadmus plotline. The writers take a final swing at the Justice League’s position as an independent global superpower, framing General Eiling as a rampaging relic of the past.
The heroes are an unspoken tribute to The Seven Soldiers of Victory, a lesser-known team from the comics. Green Arrow, Speedy, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., Shining Knight, Vigilante, and The Crimson Avenger all get chances to shine as they battle the Hulk-like Eiling. Shining Knight gets the lion’s share of screen time, his chivalry used as a counterpoint to Eiling’s jingoism.
Fun Fact: Patriot Act has a bevy of superhero cameos. Eiling learns of the serum from a film reel documenting attempts to create Captain Nazi. It was recovered by WWII hero Spy Smasher. The modern heroes are assisted by Jimmy Olsen’s allies, The Newsboy Legion.
What are your top 5 episodes of Justice League: Unlimited? Are there any better than these? Tell us in the comments.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
Leave a Reply