Synopsis: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman lead the DC superheroes against their most infamous foes in adventures packed with relentless thrills, fun and action. No need to wait for the good stuff to start; each 11-minute episode jumps in with lightning-paced action and heroics. Whether defending the Earth, facing invaders from space, or battling the bizarre forces of magic, the always-rotating team of Justice League heroes are up to any challenge.
Review: It DC Comics has never seemed to have an issue with their animated projects. From short format to feature length, DC Comics has pretty much nailed down every iteration of their characters in cartoons. But, with attention spans in children waning, Cartoon Network seems to be moving more and more towards quick 11-minute episodes of their shows. This removes the narrative element from most shows which means you need to make your stories fast and furious or just plain funny. Thankfully, Justice League Action is a blend of both. Like Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go!, Justice League Action is a quirky take on DC Comics that differs from most of the previous iterations we have seen before.
In the pilot episode screened at Comic Con, the Justice League is comprised of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg. Cyborg is voiced by Khary Payton, who also voiced the same character on Teen Titans Go!. The villain of the episode is The Toymaker, voiced by Ken Jeong. Starting in the midst of a battle, the quick episode doesn’t take any breaks as it quickly introduces The Toymaker’s plan of forcing the heroes to fight in a real life video game. Spoofing classic superhero games up to Injustice, the story is resolved while making sure to get in a few teases involving the heroes spouting catchphrases. It all works pretty well but almost doesn’t seem to have enough time to find it’s footing. The idea of starting the episodes in media res is a unique one but also means the writers can never tell stories that have much more than basic plots.
The biggest plus that this new show has going for it is the great Kevin Conroy voicing Batman. Conroy has long been considered one of the best voices of The Dark Knight and here he plays the character as a riff on the recent Brave and The Bold Batman who was voiced by Diedrich Bader. Bader appears in later episodes as Booster Gold. Lacey Chabert, James Woods, and Mark Hamill are all set to play roles on Justice League Action which just means this show is going to get better and better. The animation is slick and basic, giving it a look along the lines of Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier comics. With the promise of everyone from Plastic Man, Supergirl, and Green Lantern to show up on the show, this could be an easy introduction for young fans to the world of DC superheroes.
At eleven minutes, it is tough to say if there is really any meat to Justice League Action, but with long form stories likely not part of the plan, it is hard to determine if this is going to be anything more than a show for those with short attention spans. If you like your pop culture references quick and your action frenetic, this is the show for you. If you are looking for something to develop characters and plots, you may want to go and look at one of the older Justice League series.
Justice League Action premieres this Fall on Cartoon Network.
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