When it comes to comic book related cartoons there are several that have gained mainstream popularity over the years. From Spider-Man to X-Men or Batman to Superman, DC and Marvel have been fighting it out through animation for some time now. One could argue when Bruce Timm brought his talents to the Batman series DC struck gold and they have been on a roll since.

For over a decade Batman and Superman have been mainstays in the world of cartoons thanks to Timm. His unique design breathed new life into the shows that he produced and brought Batman Beyond and Justice League into the spotlight as well. While Batman Beyond may be the "most original" concept, the Justice League has technically been around since the 60s. There have been many incarnations of the superhero group over the years, though this one feels modern yet somewhat closer to original JLA. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Hawkgirl, Flash, J'onn (Martian Manhunter), and the Green Lantern (John Stewart not Hal Jordan) all come together to form this new team.

If you have been a fan of the previous DC cartoons and haven't checked this one out then you'll want to pay attention. Just about everybody from the run that started over 10 years ago is contributing to the Justice League. That's a lot of consistency and means that if Batman sounds familiar to you when you hear him it's because Kevin Conroy is still his voice. You'll also probably recognize Carl Lumbly (J'onn) and Michael Rosenbaum (Flash) from past series as well. Some of the writers have even stayed on to contribute to the project.

As is the case with a lot of productions of this nature you really need to have some basic understanding of what's going on in order to really appreciate it. In fact a lot of what goes on this season is based on the assumption that the viewer knows certain characters and histories involved with them. Unlike Batman Beyond which basically built its world from scratch, the Justice League tiptoes the type of line that could have fanboys throwing their arms up in frustration. Fortunately even though this first season is a little more action-oriented and oddly paced, it is very successful.

Since there are so many characters and most of them are familiar the series takes its time introducing them to us. This means that character specific episodes are in the mix here but some of the League's personalities don't get fleshed out as the season progresses. Most of the attention seems to be paid to Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, Wonder Woman, and J'onn. That's not to say that Flash, Superman, and Batman don't get their fair amount of screen time. It's just difficult to find a perfect balance with so many heroes to focus on.

While there isn't a lot of continuity within the episodes that are featured here the episodes themselves are like mini-arcs. Each story in the first season is split up between two or three episodes. This gives the plot more room to develop and doubles the run time. On DVD this is the perfect way to have the show, but during broadcast I found it to be rather cumbersome. There were times when I saw the first or second part of one episode, but was never able to catch the conclusion or beginning.

For the most part each episode in the first season here is pretty good though there are certainly a few so-so ones. I thought "Legends" and "War World" were probably the weakest plotlines this season. "Legends" featured Flash, Hawkgirl, J'onn, and Green Lantern being zapped into an alternate timeline where comic book heroes lived. "War World" involved Superman and J'onn being taken prisoner and brought to an alien world where arena fighting is part of the culture.

Some of my favorite episodes were "The Enemy Below", "In Blackest Night", "Metamorphosis", and "The Savage Time". In "The Enemy Below" Aquaman's character is introduced with a plot that involves Atlantis destroying the surface civilization. I always liked Aquaman and the way that he's portrayed in this episode showcased the strength of his determination. "In Blackest Night" was enjoyable as well and featured Green Lantern being put on trial for the destruction of a planet.

Probably the biggest treat for me in this season was "A Knight with Shadows". In the DC universe The Demon (Etrigan) always struck me as one of the most interesting side characters because of the ties to Arthurian legend. Imagine my surprise when Etrigan and his human form Jason Blood show up muttering about the villainess Morgan le Fay. She's looking for the Philosopher's Stone and the Justice League joins Etrigan in an effort to stop her. Well, by Justice League I mean Batman, J'onn, Wonder Woman, and Flash.

With so many characters to focus on often times many of them are left out of the loop in some episodes. It's not really a bad thing I suppose since most team-based cartoons follow this same pattern. To be honest, I was more concerned with Superman getting knocked around like a ragdoll at times. He's freaking Superman and yet in nearly every fight he seems to get knocked on his butt. While we're on the subject everybody else in the Justice League at one point or another seemingly "forgets" to use their powers at convenient times. I understand that you need to do certain things in order to push the plot forward, but come on!

I'm sure many of you are aware that this first season set isn't the first time that the Justice League has appeared on DVD. Some of the individual episode arcs were previously released singly much to the ire of fans everywhere. This marketing ploy saw a few volumes released with "Secret Origins", "Justice on Trial", and "Paradise Lost". The funny part is that they were all a part of season one which we now have a complete collection of. I hope for your sake that if you were interested in the show you held off, but I'm sure someone out there will be affected by the double dip. I personally had added "Secret Origins" to my collection against my better judgment when it was released.

Justice League is presented with its original 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio. The video quality is very good with a clean picture and vibrant colors. There were some trace amounts of aliasing at times, but they were so minor that they didn't inflict any harm on the viewing. Future seasons of Justice League were presented in widescreen so you can look forward to that as the releases continue. Hopefully they all receive as clear a transfer as the first season has.

The audio presentation for Justice League comes in the form of a 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo track. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a 5.1 mix, but you take what you can get, I suppose. The overall quality is fair enough with clear sounds and slight separation from the two channels. I didn't encounter any problems what so ever. The subtitles available on the season are French and Spanish.

A decent amount of bonus content finds its way into this collection and will definitely keep fans of the show happy. Apart from a few trailers for some other animation DVDs there is a snippet of unaired pre-work for Justice League. This was basically the pitch reel for the show. Ironically it never got used which is probably a good thing for us. "Inside Justice League" was a great forum-like discussion between most of the heads of the show. They talked about various subjects like the decisions on why they picked certain characters and how they portrayed the heroes. I always find it interesting to get into the minds of the creative talents and find out what made them do what they did.

In that regard the three commentaries that are available in this set do a great job. "The Enemy Below Part 2", "Legends Part 2", and "The Savage Time Part 2" all received great commentaries that were informative and entertaining. What's left on the set is a look at the design of the Justice League and a comprehensive and descriptive collection of storyboard sequences. Overall fans of the show will be very pleased with the extra touches provided here.

Anybody who is a fan of comic books will definitely want to pick up the first season of Justice League. It certainly has its ups and downs, but there's enough action and decent storytelling to carry the show through its weaker moments. Out of every DC cartoon series from the past decade or so, Justice League and Batman Beyond rank as my favorites. The first season here may lack the fluid direction that Batman Beyond had to some extent, but you really can't go wrong. Highly Recommended

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