"Justice League" Injustice for All: Part 1 (2002)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Butch Lukic

TV Series:

"Justice League" (2001)

Original Air Date:

6 September 2002 (Season 1, Episode 18)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Arrested and terminally ill, Lex Luthor breaks out of prison to assemble a team of supervillains to help him destroy the Justice League. |

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Terminal Illness | Argument | Snake | Fire

Cast

Kevin Conroy	...	Bruce Wayne / Batman (voice)
Maria Canals-Barrera	...	Shayera Hol / Hawkgirl (voice) (as Maria Canals)
Phil LaMarr	...	John Stewart / Green Lantern (voice)
Carl Lumbly	...	J'onn J'onzz / The Martian Manhunter (voice)
George Newbern	...	Clark Kent / Superman (voice)
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Wally West / The Flash (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clancy Brown	...	Lex Luthor (voice)
Ian Buchanan	...	Ultra-Humanite (voice)
Olivia d'Abo	...	Star Sapphire (voice)
Ashley Edner	...	Trinia (voice)
Efrain Figueroa	...	Copperhead (voice) (as Efran Figueroa)
Grant Heslov	...	Doctor (voice)
Jason Marsden	...	Snapper Carr (voice)
Stephen McHattie	...	The Shade (voice) (as Steven McHattie)
Kenji Nomura	...	Lex Luthor (voice: Japanese version)
Sheryl Lee Ralph	...	Cheetah (voice)
Jose Yenque	...	Copperhead (voice)

Trivia:

Wonder Woman did appear in this part of the episode, but she didn't have any dialogue.

Quotes:

[after disabling the two guards bringing his dinner, Humanite prepares to break Luthor out, but pauses and takes the cover off his tray]
Ultra-Humanite: Salisbury Steak? Really.

Supervillain team-ups have never been better!

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I've only seen a handful of Justice League episodes, but each one impressed me with its quality. That said, this installment blows away all of the others. It opens with a bang, and then we find out that Lex Luthor, arch nemesis of the Man of Steel, is dying. So what does he do? He organizes a team of super villains to take one last crack at the League. The writing in this episode is just superb. Along with the heroes, Luthor and Ultra-Humanite are both scripted as very compelling characters. Solomon Grundy makes an excellent comic relief. As usual, Batman upstages the other heroes with his determination in spite of his injuries and his implacable toughness. The dialog crackles with wit and tongue-in-cheek humor, and the action never fails to enthrall. And then, things get even better when the Joker shows up! The Mark Hamill version of the Joker is one of the most endearing characters in animation history, and I'm so glad that he showed up in this series. He also has one of his best laughs ever at the end of the episode. If you're a Justice League fan and you haven't seen this yet, check it out, and then be sure to watch part 2!