This is the fourth time that Bruce W. Timm and his team redesigned Batman. This version is similar to the classic Bob Kane Batman, which also is similar in design to the Batman Beyond design. Similarities between the two are the lengths of the ears on the mask, the figure and the boots having heels.
Was originally to be titled "Justice League of America" after the incredibly popular JLA comic (Revamped by Grant Morrison). However, "Justice League" was favored to give the show a more universal feel.
Beginning with the second season, episodes are filmed in widescreen. Any second season episode broadcast as full-screen actually has the sides "cropped".
Though intended to incorporate both the previously aired Batman: The Animated Series and Superman cartoon histories, the creative staff initially decided to ignore "Superman" (1996) {In Brightest Day... (#3.7)} so as to not confuse viewers with two different Green Lanterns. This plan was later reconsidered. In "Hearts and Minds", the Green Lantern introduced in the Superman series, Kyle Rayner, is briefly mentioned as being a Green Lantern Corps member and appears in "Hereafter". In "The Return", Rayner is shown in action with the Corps as a speaking part. In "The Once and Future Thing: Part Two: Time, Warped" Chronos' tinkering with space-time causes John Stewart to briefly morph into Hal Jordan, the original comic's Silver Age Green Lantern who was not previously seen in Batman: The Animated Series, _"Batman: Gotham Knights" (1997)_, Superman , or _"New Batman Superman Adventures, The" (1997)_.
The John Stewart Green Lantern was selected rather than the better known Lanterns, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner, not only because it would allow for an African-American member of the team, but the producers felt that the character's originally abrasive personality would have more dramatic potential.
As of season 3's beginning, the show's title changes to Justice League Unlimited, which is the name of the team as seen many years into the future in the series Batman Beyond. With the show's title change, each episode now is only half an hour long and tells a complete story, and utilizes a rotating cast of DC Comics characters.
Many adventures are based in Metropolis, although the city has been redesigned from the futuristic version seen in _"Superman: The Animated Series" (1996)_.
Though a founding member of the Justice League in the comic books, Aquaman was left out of the cartoon series' line-up in favor of Hawkgirl, thus providing another female character. Aquaman appears only as a guest star.
Only George Newbern (Superman) and Mark Hamill (the Joker) delivered their lines standing up. All the rest of the cast sat down.
When the series was expanded from Justice League to Justice League Unlimited, producers considered adding Batman's sidekicks, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing. However, DC Comics turned them down, because the Robin/Dick Grayson role was being used on Teen Titans.
The Riddler and the Scarecrow are the only villains from the Challenge of the Superfriends series that don't also appear on Justice League.
The character models for some of the characters in the test footage was quite different from the final product. The Superman design used was identical to the models used on Superman . Green Lantern had the same hairstyle and costume as the final design, but still possesses the dark green mask from the Superman draft model. The one with the most significant changes to his design was J'onn J'onzz. In the test footage he appears blockier, with a squarer jaw, a Kirbyesque line detailing his right cheek, and black eyes with red pupils (similar to the Joker's redesign for The New Batman Adventures). In addition, J'onn's color palate utilizes paler greens, blues and reds, and possesses none of the shiny highlights that have become a trademark of the series. Featured briefly commanding a robot that resembles the Golem (from "Batman Beyond" (1999) {Golem (#1.4)}), Similarly, Lex Luthor had a craggy, Kirby-like detailing on his face, and his design is an early take on the updated purple-and-green jumpsuit uniform, indicating that the creative team was already planning on utilizing the Silver Age "mad scientist" Luthor, rather than the "corrupt industrialist" Luthor, from Superman . Solomon Grundy looked a bit younger that on the final product and Cheetah looked more like her comic counterpart featuring long black hair.
When Developing this show Bruce Timm toyed with the idea of giving the Justice League a uniformed look to their costumes and give Wonder Woman a new hair style. When Timm mentioned it to DC president Paul Levitz he said "Not the Big 3 (Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman). You can do it to Green Lantern, you can do Flash, but not the big 3." The designs were later used for the Justice Lords costumes.
The producers felt that the early Gardner Fox stories made the characters almost interchangeable and the more recent Grant Morrison stuff was just way too dark and complicated. Therefore (with the exception of "In Blackest Night" which was based on one of Fox's stories), they decided to create their own stories. However, what Timm did use from the Morrison run on JLA was the "dysfunctional family" atmosphere for the League.
The Imperium invaders and their equipment are based somewhat in appearance to DC Comics' villains the White Martians but show a tribute to H.G. Wells's classic, War of the Worlds (General Wells, introduced here, is named after Wells.). Like the Imperium, Wells's Martians use three-legged war machines equipped with ray devices that easily overwhelm Earth's military, and a "black smoke" that blots out the sun.
J. Allen Carter, one of the astronauts on Mars from the premier episode "Secret Origins" is named after John Carter, Warlord of Mars from several classic science fiction novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It could also be viewed as homage to the names Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, & Carter Hall (the "Golden Age" versions of the Flash, Green Lantern & Hawkman, respectively).
The first time Wonder Woman was referred to by name.
While stalling for time at John Stewart's trial, Flash parodies Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., one of the lawyers on O.J. Simpson's defense team, with the line "If the ring wasn't lit, you must acquit". This line being a parody of Johnnie's own line, "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit".
SPOILER: Originally it was Aquaman villain, Black Manta who was hired to kill Aquaman. However it was changed to Deadshot once the writers realized it was out of Black Manta's character to be a hired assassin.
'Michael Rosenbaum' (I) based his voice for Deadshot on that of Kevin Spacey.
SPOILER: Bruce W. Timm insisted that the blanket in which Aquaman's son was wrapped had to be colored red; that way, when Aquaman uses it to wrap his arm after severing his hand, the blanket disguises the obvious fact that he is bleeding into it.
The name of the hurricane is Gardner, as in Gardner Fox, a long-time writer for Justice League comics. Also it should be noted that the girl that Wonder Woman saves and calls her sister is named Cassie. Cassie Sandmark became Wonder Girl in DC comics.
The story is an adaptation of the comics storyline "Gladiator" (Superman #28-32, 1989), in which the characters of Mongul and Draaga are the main antagonists.
Flash's hallucination sequence features several references to various covers of different Flash comics: Overweight Flash - Flash #115: "The Day Flash Weighed 1,000 pounds" (1959); Puppet Flash - Flash #133: "Plight of the Puppet Flash" (1959); The three-sided mirror/distortion - Flash #105: "The Master of Mirrors!" (1959) & Flash #136: "The Mirror Master's Invincible Bodyguards!" (1963); Big-headed Flash - Flash #177 (1968), Green Lantern #13: "Duel of the Super-heroes" (1960) & Justice League of America #7: "Fun-House Mirror".
According to bonus features, the writers, who were reluctant to pair up Wonder Woman and Superman, only started to pair Batman and Wonder Woman after seeing fans' reactions to the scene they had together here.
This episode is titled after two DC Comics characters that went by the name of "Fury." The first version was Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor, an Amazon and daughter of the Golden Age Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. The second incarnation was Helena Kosmatos, a young Greek girl whose parents were murdered by the Nazis when they occupied Greece, while her brother collaborated with them. She made a pact with the Furies to become the host of the Fury Tisiphone and murdered her brother. She fought alongside Hippolyta during World War II, who was traveling through time as Wonder Woman. Helena eventually made her way to Themyscira and was made an honorary Amazon. The character of Aresia bears traits of both incarnations.
The Justice Guild of America is a pastiche of the Golden Age superhero team the Justice Society of America. The creative team wanted to use the JSA (even going as far to first designing the team based on their JSA counterparts) but DC Comics declined as Paul Levitz (DC Comics president at the time) felt the story as written disrespected the JSA and the portrayals clashed with the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths JSA in modern comics. However, Levitz agreed to a compromise: The producers could change the names and designs just enough to make the team not quite the JSA, but still get the point across. The Justice Guild members were intended to reflect: - Green Guardsman/Scott Mason - Golden Age Green Lantern/Alan Scott - Tom Turbine - A combination of Golden Age The Atom/Al Pratt and Golden Age Superman (with slight similarities to Starman, Star-Spangled Kid, and Captain Marvel) - The Streak - Golden Age The Flash/Jay Garrick - Black Siren/Donna Vance - Golden Age Black Canary/Dinah Lance - Cat Man - A combination of Golden Age Wildcat and Golden Age Batman Likewise, the Injustice Guild is a lampoon of the Injustice Society, the rivals of the Justice Society in the comics: - The Music Master - The Fiddler - The Sportsman - The Sportsmaster - Dr. Blizzard - Icicle - Sir Swami The Wizard (with slight similarities to Sargo the Sorcerer) Ray Thompson (a homage to Roy Thomas, a DC writer who worked on 1940s and 1950s-style DC Comics such as All-Star Squadron and Secret Origins, and science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who wrote many stories dealing with nostalgia for the past compared to the harshness of the present) essentially plays the role of the Golden Age Snapper Carr, both of them being "junior sidekicks" of the Justice Society/Justice Guild.
The line of dialogue from The Streak to John Stewart "You're a credit to your people, son" (to which Stewart replied awkwardly "Uh, thanks") is a subtle racial comment referencing the racial issues of the '50s and '60s, which is the era that the Justice Guild's idealism is based. The line however, was not intended to portray any kind of negativity.
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