Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe took over movie theaters and the Arrowverse ruled over TV sets, there was a pocket universe that fans lovingly called the Timmverse. Built around the DC animated series that were overseen by Bruce Timm, which included Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, and the two Justice League shows, generations of fans were introduced not only to some of the biggest heroes and villains in the DC Universe but some lesser-known figures as well.
The final two series of the Timmverse, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, really brought everything together, and the changes that happened between the two series helped mark a new way that superhero stories would be told outside of the comics, both good and bad.
10 BEST: There Were No Forced Two-Parters
A big part of Justice League was that every story was two episodes. Each story was so massive that not only would it need the greatest heroes in the universe to come together, but it also couldn't be contained to just a single 22-minute episode. What this ended up creating, though, was a fair amount of episodes that felt too long. Justice League Unlimited did away with the automatic two-parters, which allowed for single episode classics like "For the Man Who Has Everything," "The Ties That Bind," and "Patriot Act."
9 WORST: The Seasons Were Shorter
Sadly, along with doing away with the automatic two-parters from Justice League, Justice League Unlimited also cut the lengths of seasons in half. Where each of the two seasons of Justice League was 26-episodes, Justice League Unlimited saw its season counts cut to 13-episodes.
Considering the overall quality of Justice League Unlimited, it is more than a little selfish to complain about the shorter seasons. However, with fewer episodes, JLU didn't have a chance to focus on some of the characters as much as fans may have liked.
8 BEST: There's A Larger Cast Involved
Speaking of characters, where Justice League focused on just seven heroes, Justice League Unlimited opened the doors to dozens of characters. Suddenly, new and young fans were being introduced to characters like Hawk and Dove, Mister Miracle, and Captain Atom.
For die-hard fans of DC, seeing so many characters brought to animation was amazing, especially since no one knew that in just a few years, superheroes would reign over live-action as well. And for collectors, Justice League Unlimited's action figure line brought about a number of new toys to buy up.
7 WORST: There's Less Focus On Some Characters
For fans of Justice League, it was a treat to see so many new characters, but it also meant that some of their favorites would get less screentime. Suddenly Green Lantern and Flash weren't showing up as much anymore. While the JLU episodes that focus on them - most notably "Flash and Substance" from Season 3 - are great, the lack of some of the bigger characters for long stretches can feel odd. Even odder was how often the original seven would be shown together, choosing instead to put them with different characters, which stalled growing friendships.
6 BEST: It Put A Spotlight On Lesser-Known Characters
And while it was sad for many fans to see their favorites from Justice League fall out of the spotlight for long periods, there was no arguing that getting to see so many lesser-known characters shine was a blessing for DC fans. From episodes like "The Greatest Story Never Told" which revolves around Booster Gold, to the majority of the Cadmus storyline that makes up Season 2 focusing on The Question and Huntress as they work to uncover a government conspiracy, fans are given so many new heroes to fall in love with. And in introducing these characters to a new young generation, they are given new life in ways no one would have imagined.
5 WORST: There Are Some Incomplete Stories
As the last series in the Timmverse, Justice League Unlimited was used to close out some remaining storylines from both Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, but it didn't get a chance to bring every piece together. Due to the focus on the larger team, secondary characters like Lois Lane rarely showed up, which meant viewers never got to see Superman and the reporter finally become a real couple. Along the same lines, the budding romance between Batman and Wonder Woman was all but abandoned early into JLU, upsetting some fans.
4 BEST: The Stories Are Larger Than Before
With so many more characters to play with - both heroes and villains - Justice League Unlimited found itself in the position to get really big with some stories. Along with the previously mentioned Cadmus arc, Season 3 puts a great amount of focus on the Secret Society of Supervillains, including Season 3's "Alive," an episode where no heroes appear. Both Season 2 and Season 3 are essentially formatted as season-long arcs, allowing things to percolate and bubble up when ready, leading to huge season finales that capture everything wonderful about the DC Universe.
3 WORST: There's A Loss Of Intimacy
With so many characters running around, Justice League Unlimited rarely has the chance to really focus on any of them. Because of this, some of the characters from Justice League, most notably Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, end up having no real room to grow as characters.
Character growth isn't necessarily the most important part of a good animated series, but with characters as rich with history as these, it is a shame to see them pushed to the side and almost lost in the mix.
2 BEST: There's A Wide Variety Of Episodes
While Justice League stuck to a heavy action format, Justice League Unlimited crafted a more diverse style of storytelling. Episodes like Season 3's "The Great Brain Robbery," which saw Lex Luthor and Flash switch bodies, kept fans laughing, while Season 2's "Task Force X" created a heist story set on the Justice League Watchtower. Season 1's "This Little Piggy" even had a musical number sung by Batman.
The ability to create different types of stories helped make almost every episode of Justice League Unlimited stand out and showed off just how different every character in the DCU can be by playing up what makes them all so special.
1 WORST: Hawkgirl's Costume Isn't As Iconic
In Justice League, Hawkgirl wears a costume similar to her Golden Age look, with a hawk-shaped helmet and a green and yellow outfit. The look was iconic and helped make her stand out from the rest of the team, especially since she was the least recognizable to anyone who wasn't already a fan of the comics.
But for Justice League Unlimited, the choice was made to have Hawkgirl do away with the helmet and wear a yellow sweatsuit that showed off her midriff. By losing the iconic costume, Hawkgirl didn't stand out as much as she did before. While part of that was to go with her overall character arc, it was still sad to see the character lose her look.
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