Justice League Action - First Thoughts

Well, the first few episodes of Justice League Action have aired here in the UK, and I thought I don't talk about DC nearly enough on this blog, so I figured I'll give my initial impressions based on the first three episodes. First off, let's talk about the format. Justice League Action, unlike the original Justice League series, doesn't really have a continuous narrative. It consists of 15 minute episodes where Batman, Superman and/or Wonder Woman team up with a fellow DC Superhero and take on the villain of the week. Within these 3 episodes we see them team up with Martian Manhunter to take on Kalathoth, Hawkman to take on Lobo, and Firestorm to take on the Nuclear Family. What I like about this format is how to allows the series to constantly introduce new characters to the thresh hold without having to worry about backstory or exposition. A style that lots of children's shows have these days, rather than explain the world or characters, they just throw you straight into the fold and if you find it interesting enough then you can stick around and slowly learn who these characters are as the series goes on. Something else that this formula really opens itself to is the use of obscure characters, for example the episode with Hawkman also features Patton Oswalt as the Space Cabbie, a character so obscure even I didn't know who he was. But from this one episode I completely fell in love with him, and I can only hope this show has dozens of other weird and loveable characters like that for me to fall in love with.

However, while that style might work in some aspects, in others it just disappoints. Not to compare this too much to Justice League (Both show and comics) but I prefer the serialised storytelling. I like continuous narratives and character development, it helps us connect to the characters and make the world feel connected. If each episode goes from one to another with no sense of continuity then it can risk taking out all investment. Now, to be fair, these are still the first three episodes, there are plenty of shows out there that start off as fun short adventures and develop a complex plot later on. Hell, the best example of this would be another series airing on Cartoon Network, Steven Universe. That show started off just as fun 15 minute adventures with very subtle and minimal hints towards a bigger story that wouldn't be explored until the end of its first season. My hope would be that this show is doing the same and will become more plot driven later on.

The animation is also pleasant, it's stylised enough to make it stand out from all of the other DC Animated Series and the fast paced nature allows for good action and even better physical comedy. If I had to compare it to other superheroes shows I'd say it feels like a mix between the original Teen Titans and the original Powerpuff Girls. The voice acting too is very good, of course Kevin Conroy is amazing, but I'm also really liking Jason S Lewis' portrayal of Superman, while Rachel Kimsey's Wonder Woman...doesn't sound right. I'm not entirely sure what it is, something about the inflections or the personality don't really sound like an Amazonian princess the same way a Susan Eisenberg or Gal Gadot does. But it could just be because I'm not used to it. After all, the reason why I like Lewis' portrayal is because he acts just like George Newbern.

To recap, this cartoon shows a lot of promise, the writing is entertaining, the characters are well represented, the animation of enjoyable. Considering it's competition, within these first three episodes, this series is already 100x better than Teen Titans Go, so anyone who was drawing comparisons just because they're both comedic can go lick a cactus. It has me interested in seeing where it's going to go and I would recommend it.

-Danny