Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes: Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my countdown of the greatness that is Justice League Unlimited, and to all nine people who read part 1, welcome back! Ya know, doing this countdown has actually given me greater appreciation for this series. Apparently, my already creepy fanboyism towards it still had room to flower and grow into a monstrosity of even greater creepiness. WHO KNEW?!

But enough of this fuzziness, it's time to do this thing. This portion definitely has a lot more variety and in the storytelling. Here is the continuing countdown of the Top 15 Justice League Unlimited episodes, numbers 9-5.

9.) Episode 17: Task Force X

Starting this part off with a bang, we get a radically different episode that focuses on villains. More specifically, this is JLU's take on teams like the Suicide Squad and Secret Six; teams made up of villains attempting to shorten their sentences and repay their debt to society by being forcibly made to do the dirty work of shadowy government agencies. Here, the Task Force, made up by Rick Flagg, The Clock King, Plastique, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang, plan on breaking into the JLU Watchtower to steal a weapon of devastating destructive power (hint hint). What really makes this episode is the whole "bank heist" feel of it. Each character has a specific job and, despite their motivations being less than noble, you kinda wanna see them succeed. It's a shame that there weren't more episodes featuring Task Force X, but luckily the thoroughly entertaining Captain Boomerang shows up in another episode (and one that perhaps lands higher on our countdown?)

8.) Episode 33: Patriot Act

Like I said in part 1, Justice League Unlimited is mainly about celebrating those little-known heroes that don't get a lot of fan-fare. No episode does that better than "Patriot Act", as when none of the original 7 Justice League members are available for a parade happening in Metropolis, Green Arrow takes a group of non-powered heroes to fill in. Before long, General Eiling (a recurring antagonist on the show), shows up as an Incredible Hulk-like creature and promptly starts beating the snot out of them in an attempt to provoke Superman into showing up. Outmatched as they are, all these heroes just refuse to give up as long as human lives hang in the balance. This is punctuated by an amazing final stand by the heroe, Shining Knight, in a sequence that shows that being a hero isn't about having super-powers, and exposes the dichotomy of the attempt to prevent violence with more violence. Truly a great moment in this, the series' waning episodes.

7.) Episode 5: This Little Piggy

This is a WEIRD and hilarious episode that really needs to be seen, so I'll make the description relatively brief. This one's written by Paul Dini (genius behind Batman: The Animated Series) and unsurprisingly, it focuses on Batman. Apparently he has some feelings for Wonder Woman, but before long she's turned into a pig. No, that's not a typo. Circes the Sorceress turns Wonder Woman into a pig, and now Batman must enlist the help of a (presumably?) old flame in the form of Zatanna in order to change the Amazonian princess back. And that's how I'm going to leave this one... ridiculousness ensues, but it's really better left to your actual watching of the episode.

6.) Episode 20: Clash

The age old crowd pleaser of having Superman fight Captain Marvel is enough motivation for this episode to make the top 15. However, it actually does manage to distinguish the two characters and spin a tale of the dual nature of being a hero. Does one try to preempt crises or must we give people the benefit of the doubt? The ambiguity of this storyline and the fact that it actually makes the audience question whether or not Superman is really right in his methods is what makes it such a great pit-stop in the series. Sadly, it's the only one featuring Captain Marvel, who really could've been used to a greater extent.

5.) Episode: Double Date

What better way to close out this installment of the countdown than with some romance? To be honest, the actual villain and conflict of this episode is kinda lame (outside of some truly haunting and pretty edgy re-tellings of Huntress's troubled childhood), but what makes it is the concept of two super-hero couples pitted against one another. It's funny, mostly thanks to The Question, and it's also genuinely cute. Of course Green Arrow is in it with Black Canary, but Question and Huntress and their truly odd burgeoning romance really steal the show. Don't believe me? TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF!!

And that'll about do it for this part. Next time, we'll head into the home stretch and close this one out with the crop of the cream in the Top 4. Hopefully you'll continue to be inspired to check out this phenomenal series, and any input you may have is greatly appreciated.

Stay tuned, true believers!

Top 15 Justice League Unlimited Episodes: Part 1

Perhaps one of the most epic cartoons of its or any other time, Justice League Unlimited represents everything I love about comic books, cartoons, and cartoons based on comic books. While some might prefer Batman: The Animated Series or the original Justice League as the best of Bruce Timm's animated DC Universe, I've always maintained that JLU is the best. Essentially, the idea was to take just about every DC comics character you can think of, and putting them onto one big team and create some of the most unique stories ever told. This was 39 episodes of pure awesome, showing off characters and storylines that you didn't know needed to be given the spotlight. But man when that spotlight was shone, this series did indeed shine.

So you can probably tell I really really like Justice League Unlimited. After watching the series through for about the third time, I think I feel fully prepared to create a countdown devoted to one of my favorite things EVER. Hell, this was supposed to be a Top 10, but because I love it so much, I've expanded it into a Top 15. So, without further ado, here are the Top 15 Justice League Unlimited episodes, numbers 15-10.

15. Episode 1: Initiation

What better place to start than... well, the start? "Initiation" introduces the audience to the idea of this giant super team of Justice League Unlimited, not to mention the awesomeness of Green Arrow. Seriously, I'm not sure which came first, my love of Green Arrow in comics or my love of him in this cartoon, but between his dry quips and tough guy attitude, he's just a lot of fun in every episode he's in. He, Supergirl, Green Lantern, and Captain Atom take on a nuclear juggernaut hellbent on destroying the non-descript Asian nation that created it. There's a good amount of emotion and cautionary tale-spinning, but what really puts this one into the top 15 is the action. Our JLU heroes get busted up pretty bad, but still manage to save the day. Definitely a great way to start a series.

14. Episode 30: To Another Shore

More Green Arrow in this episode (get used to it, because I love that guy). But really, the star here is Wonder Woman. She gets quite a few episodes to shine in this series, and this is one of her finest, and her reading of a viking poem at the end is actually really touching. Here, the newly formed Legion of Doom is attempting to unearth the corpse of the immortal Viking king, Eric, in an attempt to gain the secret of his invulnerability. This episode, too, is a lot of bang bang action, but it's good all good stuff. What really puts it over for me is the fact that Martian Manhunter actually leaves the JLU's Watchtower in this episode and throws down. The inclusion of the hokey, but thoroughly entertaining King Faraday is just the icing on this great episode.

13. Episode 34: The Great Brain Robbery

Part of JLU's charm and awesome status revolves around its humor. This is one episode that leans heavily on the laughs, and it really works. By some really convoluted means, Lex Luthor and The Flash end up switching brains. Now, each of them are stuck in the other's base and while Flash is just trying to survive his masquerade as Lex, Lex/Flash goes straight to tearing apart the JLU Watchtower. There's action, but the jokes really upstage it. It's just hilarious the way Flash thinks Lex talks in the third person, and how Lex's girlfriend, Talia, is enjoying the newfound "energy" and "enthusiasm" he is display *wink wink*. By far, the funniest line is the episode comes from Lex/Flash, though. When he's chased into a bathroom, he muses that he can now unmask the Flash and see who he is. After removing Wally's mask and staring into the mirror, Lex/Flash frowns and simply states, "... I have no idea who this is". Classic.

12. Episode 25: Divided We Fall

This makes the list simply because it's the original 7 members of the Justice League all going up against Braniac. The one negative about JLU is simply that the original 7 would only occasionally be featured and NEVER as a single unit. Here, they're all featured and kicking some ass. That's about it, but isn't that really all you need?

11. Episode 14: The Cat and the Canary

The episode that started the romantic subplot between Black Canary and Green Arrow, there's actually a lot to this episode. Besides the tension between Arrow and Canary, it focuses mainly on Wildcat, a former boxer turned superhero. Poor Wildcat feels as though his old age and lack of superpowers is keeping him out of the action, and has instead moved to taking his talents into the world of underground super-powered fights known as Meta Brawl. Now, it's up to Arrow and Canary to get him to come back to the team. It's actually a pretty heartfelt story about a man who has been fighting all his life, and can't accept the prospect that he might not be able to anymore. The way this story ends is actually really clever, and pretty unexpected.

10. Episode 35: Grudge Match

This episode actually ties into "The Cat and the Canary", as its the return of Meta Brawl. Down on her luck, Roulette (founder and booker of Meta Brawl), decides to start kidnapping JLU heroines for a brand new bloodsport called Glamor Slam. Basically, a bunch of JLU heroines get pulled in, and its up to Batman protege and all around bad ass, Huntress, to snap these ladies out of it. The highlight of the episode is a big five woman smackdown as Hundtress, Black Canary, Vixen, and Hawkgirl all face off against a mind-controlled Wonder Woman. That fight is probably the most well-choreographed, well-animated, and most thrilling fight in the entire series. It can easily turn anyone into a fan of any of these ladies.

Next time, we'll get into single digits and get into even more awesome episodes of this fantastic series. Until then, hopefully this inspires you to check out some of these episodes yourself or, if you're already a fan, to comment about your own personal favorites.

Until then...