Ask any comic book fan and they'll tell you that Bruce Timm was the best thing that ever happened to animated heroes. From Batman to Superman and then the amazing Justice League, Timm's direction for DC's super squad brought about a new perception of what a comic cartoon should be. When it was on the air the Justice League was my favorite show to sit back and watch and I'm sure many of my comic geek brethren would agree.

While it was eventually changed to Justice League Unlimited and eventually cancelled, the first season proved to be a success. Much of the cast (voice actors and writers) was comprised of people that took part in prior series. Because of this it gave the new show a sense of familiarity despite the newer and fresh atmosphere. The original season may not have been perfect but by the time the second came out the rough patches got ironed out.

One of my complaints from the first 26 episodes of the Justice League was that the pacing was too erratic. Episodes seemed geared only to action or only to storytelling and it gave the series a lack of balance that it found in season two. Timm and company also responded on some special features about their portrayal of Superman in the first season and how much he got his butt kicked. Luckily that changed as well this time around. Superman is more like you'd expect him to be and quite frankly every character feels more like they should. Batman is crankier, Flash is funnier and J'onn is more all knowing.

The dialogue was much better in the second season as well with more fluid storytelling and greater character interactions. Yes, the creators, actors and writers finally hit their stride with this season and there is little to complain about. Wait, scratch that. There's nothing to complain about. These episodes are bigger and bolder than the previous ones. More risks were taken with the storytelling and the franchise tapped into the vast pool of DC resources. The result is a collection of the best that Timm and company have had to offer over the years and something that comic book fans shouldn't be without.

In case you are for some reason unfamiliar with the premise behind the Justice League let me fill you in. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Hawkgirl, Flash, J'onn (Martian Manhunter), and the Green Lantern (John Stewart not Hal Jordan) have all teamed up to form the JL. From their spatial fort nicknamed the Watchtower they, well, watch Earth and snuff out any threat. Old favorites like Lex Luthor and the Joker do surface from time to time, but a lot of the episodes here focus on tackling new threats and personal demons.

The way that Justice League tells its tales is in the form of two part episodes instead of stand alone adventures. The first season did the same thing and quite honestly it adds a certain amount of quality to the manner in which the story unfolds. With roughly 45 minutes to bring a plot from point A to B instead of 22 minutes things are allowed more time to flesh out and develop. Sometimes past events even come back so don't be surprised if you see some things that are referenced to an episode in the first season. In the second season there are quite a few stories worth mentioning because they are simply amazing.

One of my favorite story arcs from this season is one called "Tabula Rasa". In it the League sends Luthor packing but during his flight he stumbles across an android called AMAZO. It's a cheesy name for sure, but once AMAZO's powers are revealed he takes on a life of his own and becomes one of the greatest challenges that the JL has ever faced. His ability is to analyze and mimic the powers of anyone that he comes in contact with. As he squares off against Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, J'onn and eventually Superman he just gets stronger and stronger. The battle not only threatens to destroy Metropolis but the League as well when things get out of control.

"Only in a Dream" was cool because it showed that without Batman the League would probably have been defeated long before now. It's just ironic that despite all of the super powers that they possess it's up to Bruce Wayne and his utility belt of toys to save the day. In this particular episode an inmate becomes imbued with psychic powers and can enter people's dreams. One by one the League falls under his spell and are left in a catatonic state. Batman and J'onn have to team up to take down the bad guy and bring his victims out of their dreamland.

My second favorite adventure in this set has to be "A Better World". The story starts out in typical fashion with Superman and company taking down Luthor. The twist here is that Luthor is the president and Superman crosses the line between Boyscout and murderer. Two years later the Justice Lords dominate Earth and keep humanity in check to save them from themselves. The super dictatorship seems to be going well and good until the alternative Batman discovers a universe where our Justice League lives. Evil Batman and company capture our heroes and set out to take over their world. The most definitive moment from this episode is when Doomsday comes to town. You'll remember him as the guy that "killed" Superman in the comic books. Well, the Justice Lord Superman isn't going to put up with that so when the fight doesn't go as planned he simply lobotomizes Doomsday and takes him out of the picture completely. This plotline has everything you could ever want from a comic book standpoint and really makes the "what if" scenario shine.

Several other episodes like "The Terror Beyond", "Hereafter" and "Wildcards" all prove to be just as exciting though the crown jewel is probably the three part story that ends the season: "Starcrossed". The hawkpeople from Thanagar arrive on Earth and destroy a Gordanian battleship. They bring news of an impending invasion and form an alliance with Earth to construct a force field to save the planet. It is revealed that Hawkgirl has been a spy for her people all along and is actually betrothed to a high ranking officer. In the meantime Batman discovers that the Gordanian's aren't actually attacking Earth and that the invasion was in fact being conducted by the people of Thanagar. The League has to battle for their planet and Shayera Hol (Hawkgirl) has to figure out which side of the fence she is on. This was the perfect way to end this great season and leaves things open for Justice League Unlimited.

To say the second season of Justice League was better than the first would be a gross understatement. Everything in the show was improved for the second year and that was mostly thanks to the big risks taken by the creators. They thought bigger and out of the box and it shows once you finish watching the end result. Amazing is a word often associated with Marvel's Spiderman but I think it's fare to describe the second season of Justice League as just that; amazing.

The first season of Justice League was presented on DVD with a full frame aspect ratio but the second season is featured in widescreen. Don't get too excited yet though, the widescreen here isn't anamorphic but a fixed picture instead. The video quality is just as great as it was the first time around though with fantastic colors, smooth animation and an overall crisp transfer. There were a few points where some aliasing and compression artifacts were noticeable but in the grand scheme of things they were negligible.

Just like the first time around the audio presentation for Justice League comes in the form of a 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo track. I was hoping for a 5.1 channel mix but the overall quality was still good enough despite the lack of separation. My only complaint is that a lot of the times due to all of the action, music and dialogue things tend to drown out. Some subtitles are available for French and Spanish but sadly there's nothing for English.

As we saw in the release of the first season there are some supplemental features to take a gander at when all is said and done. Three great commentary tracks are available here for the episodes "Twilight Part 2", "A Better World Part 2", and "Starcrossed Part 3". I felt that the last two were the most interesting and offered the most information, but they are each entertaining to say the least. The only actual other feature is a behind the scenes look with some of the higher ups in the crew at the second season. They discuss the changes that were implemented and all that. Overall though the bonus material here isn't as good as it was in the Justice League's first season release.

The second season of the Justice League was leaps and bounds higher in quality than the first. The stories were richer, the atmosphere was darker and more dramatic, plus Superman was made more...super. This was the turning point that brought more fans on board and the presentation on DVD is fantastic, despite the widescreen not being anamorphic and no 5.1 selection. It's also worth mentioning that the sequence on the discs differs from the list that's printed on the packaging. A few of the episodes are out of order on the list compared to the way they are featured on the disc. Pick up this set for the quality of the show and don't let the other stuff prevent you from doing so. Highly Recommended

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