Justice League - Secret Origins (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	good animation, excellent story
Disadvantages:	The DVD is only 60 minutes .  We want more .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

-The Justice League-

-Is a collection of 7 of Earth's mightiest heroes
-Composed of Superman, Batman, Wonder woman, The Flash, The Martian Man hunter, Hawk Girl and The Green Lantern
-Is the new age version of the Super Friends

-Created By-

Bruce Timm
Paul Dini

-The Cast-

George Newbern - Clark Kent / Superman
Kevin Conroy - Bruce Wayne / Batman
Susan Eisenberg -Diana / Wonder Woman
Carl Lumbly - J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter
Michael Rosenbaum - Wally West / The Flash
Phil LaMarr - John Stewart / Green Lantern
Maria Canals -Shayera Hol / Hawkgirl

-Character Profile-

Superman - Superman is the most famous DC character and hero of all time. Not only that he is the world's most famous superhero. His name real name is Kal-El son of Jor-El of Krypton. Kryptonians are generally like just humans except for the higher intelligence level and advanced civilization. His home planet of Krypton was destroyed because of the planet's unstable core.

He was sent to Earth to be saved from Krypton's fate. He was then adopted by Martha and Jonathan Kent. Who raised him in a farm in Smallville. He had a relationship with Lana Lang there. Later he moved to Metropolis and became a newspaper reporter. He then went with Lois Lane.

Clark Discovered that he had gained powers because of Earth's yellow sun (Krypton had a red sun). He has the following powers - flight, ice breath, heat vision, x-ray vision, invulnerability, superhuman speed and superhuman strength.

Superman may be powerful enough to be considered a god. He however chooses to use his powers for good. He promotes truth, justice and the American way.

Batman

Batman is billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. He lost his parents to murder at a very young age. He then took the mantle of Batman and vowed to fight crime in Gotham City. Batman could be considered as one of the smartest superheroes ever because of his detective skills and powers of deduction.

Batman has a bat cave below Wayne Manor where he does his work and serves as his headquarters. Batman is the only member of the group without superpowers. He however makes up for it with gadgets, intelligence, agility and fighting skill.

Batman's standard armaments are the batarang and the grappling hook. He also keeps a host of gadgets in his utility belt. He even keeps Kryptonite there.

Wonder woman

Wonder woman was sculpted from clay by Hippolyta, queen of the amazons. It is rumored that her father is Hades who once had a relationship with Hippolyta. She lived amongst the amazons in Themyscira.

Wonder woman was trained in the ways of war and is equipped with bulletproof bracelets, a magic lasso and an invisible plane. she also has superhuman strength and flight.

Because of her origin Wonder woman is naive of many things in man's world. She also has a resentment of men. She however has learned to work with them for the protection of mankind.

Martian Manhunter

J'onn is the last of his kind. The alien parasites have wiped out a once flourishing Martian civilization. He guarded the alien parasites while in stasis mode. However, the human broke the seal and released them from this state.

The Martian Manhunter has powers of flight, superhuman strength, phasis, shape shifting and telepathy. His weakness is to fire. He longs to be with his family but knows that Mars is just a memory and learned to call Earth his home.

The Flash

Wally West is the Flash, the fastest man alive. He could run distances at the speed of light. He also uses his speed to have a combat advantage over slower beings. He also has a fast metabolism.

The Flash however is not so smart and immature. He frequently gets outsmarted by intellectual villains. Known villains of Central City are the Trickster, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang and the Mirror master.

Green Lantern

John Stewart is a marine given the power of the Green Lantern by the Guardians of Oa. The ring is telepathically controlled and could be any weapon the Lantern chooses from a fist to a mech warrior. This however needs concentration.

Through the series, Green Lantern has been involved in a love triangle between Vixen and Hawkgirl. What differentiates John from Hal Jordan is that he is flawed while Hal is more ideal.

Hawk Girl

Shayera Hol is Hawk Girl, an advance scout sent by Thanagar to monitor and study Earth defenses. She is adept in combat and wields a mace made of nth metal. It has properties that disrupt magic.

In the series she falls in love with John Stewart. Things get complicated when Thanagar invades Earth and she has to pick sides as well as lovers. Who does she pick? John Stewart or Hro Taloc?

The Story

The story begins with Senator Carter and Superman dismantling nuclear weapons. Other heroes like The Flash pitch in this noble cause. Batman also investigates Earth's defenses being compromised. Alien tripods similar to those in War of the Worlds start to appear.

The sky darkens and aliens start to proliferate the Earth. The earth is covered in darkness and it appears like earth's military defenses can't do much against the advanced alien technology.

The Martain Manhunter then telepathically contacts six of earth's mightiest heroes and they band together to form the Justice League. The heroes discover that J'Onn is the last of his kind because these same aliens wiped out the Martian civilization.

Will Earth be wiped out or will the Justice League prevail?

Superfriends vs. Justice League

-The Superfriends had a Hall of Justice. The Justice League had a satellite base.

-The Superfriends episodes were comical and didn't have depth. Justice league stories are more compelling and real.

-The Superfriends featured ideal heroes like Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. The justice League featured flawed heroes like John Stewart and Wally West.

My Experience

-I absolutely loved the animation quality. It is unlike many of the cartoons now that look like they were drawn by kindergarten kids.

-The cartoon is also suited for teenagers and adults as opposed to being a kiddie flick.
-The cartoon is a better version of the Superfriends.

-The music was very realistic.

-the characters stayed true to their character in the DC Universe.

-I recommend this to everyone.