“News, Everyone!”
A trailer for Cartoon Network and DC’s upcoming Justice League Action trailer is up. Give it a gander.
So, what do y’all think? My opinion? Well first, I don’t like to say ‘I told you so’, but….
I said that this show was going to have a heavy Brave and the Bold vibe to it, and that looks to be the case here. This show seems to be cutting right to the chase and just spotlighting the action, and I for one am OK with that. I know some people were and still are craving something along the lines of Justice League/Unlimited or Young Justice, but personally I like the idea of the heroes just getting things done without worrying about any simmering drama or angst along the way. Drama-free is fine with me.
The internet buzz on JLA seems to be pretty positive too. Of course, there are still some people who are grumbling “Teen Titans GO!”, and “This looks too lighthearted”, and to those people I say:
Can’t we just be happy that we’re finally getting a new DC superhero cartoon (on TV anyway, there’s still DC Super Hero Girls on the web, which I’m digging and also DC Super Friends, which is just OK and Batman Unlimited, which I’m personally not into since no females = no sale for me, but kids seem to like it), and that this one actually looks like it might be entertaining? The animation is better than TTGO! The stories are clearly action-oriented, unlike TTGO! (Though I contend that the idea behind TTGO! wasn’t a bad one.) Most of all, this show actually looks coherent, unlike TTGO! which is the TV equivalent of listening to a 6-year-old telling you a joke that he/she has made up his/herself: it makes no sense, rambles and falters and anything that looks like a passable gag is repeated several times, as if its’ very repetition makes it funnier. As for JLA seeming too lighthearted, after the dark and dreary glumfest that was Batman V Superman, I welcome a lighthearted approach with open arms.
Highlights:
- Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are back!
- Wonder Woman is in full effect.
- We’re getting Firestorm, and the Ronald Raymond/Dr. Martin Stein version at that.
- The animation looks good.
- Vixen will be making an appearance.
- Space Cabbie. Freaking. Space. Cabbie.
Finally, I’d like to address one YouTube uploader who described Justice League Action as a “new Batman show”.
This is NOT a Batman show. This is a JUSTICE LEAGUE show. Batman’s cool and all, but I’m sick and tired of every DC show or movie being all about Batman. This show is supposed to star and focus on the DC Trinity, and I would really like to see Wonder Woman and Superman finally start getting some love from DC and the fans.
MAKE THE DCU GREAT AGAIN!
Twin Images 
I’m interested in it, I like what I’m seeing, but I’m going to hold further judgement until it finally airs.
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This show actually looks quite good.
Personally, though, as much as Kevin Conroy is awesome as Batman, I think it would’ve been interesting if they brought back Diedrich Bader to really hammer in that “Brave and the Bold” vibe. 😉
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I like Diedrich Bader’s Batman too (heck, I just like Bader’s voice in general), but Kevin Conroy is the fan favorite, so I’m guessing WB went with him to ensure the show will get viewers, although the 6-11 year-olds that JLA is aimed at likely aren’t going to care or even notice. It’s cool if older DC fans like us tune in, but in the end, it’s not going to be our viewership that makes or breaks this show. The elephant in the room that no one wants to address is that one reason why the DC Nation shows (Green Lantern: TAS and Young Justice) went away is because those shows were more popular with older viewers than they were with young kids. The shows’ ratings among 6-11 year-olds weren’t that strong and they weren’t buying the toys that the shows depended on to keep them going. When those things happen, the show’s gotta go.
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I hope that Cartoon Network will give Justice League Action a decent run (I’m thinking that it’ll run for about 2 seasons, if all goes well). I have my doubts, though, given CN’s habit of quickly abandoning anything action oriented if it doesn’t get monster sized ratings right out of the starting gate. Case in point, how quickly CN gave up on it’s You Are Here block and on Action Flicks (although the latter was admittedly a gamble, since AF ran on Saturday nights when most teens and young adults typically aren’t at home to watch TV).
The idea of blending action and comedy is a good one, I think. I’m sick and tired of action snobs turning their collective noses up at any kids’ cartoon that dares to have jokes in it, as if having comedy somehow makes a cartoon into a kiddie show. If you honestly believe that being dark, brooding and joyless = mature, then you need to do some growing up yourself.
If the show is good and the inevitable toy line that JLA will no doubt spawn sells well, then the series should be in good shape. I remain cautiously optimistic.
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The show premieres this Friday, and CN is FINALLY promoting it.
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