Top 20 Best Justice League Episodes
#20: “Secret Origins”
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What better way to start than at the beginning? When a collective of parasitic aliens launch their attack on Earth, Batman and Superman find themselves teaming up with some fellow costumed crusaders, including the likes of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl, and the Martian Manhunter. The battles against the Imperium are certainly fun, but what really set fans’ minds ablaze was the integral moment the world’s greatest heroes decided to form their own team to better protect the planet. Hey, this was a big deal back in the day!
#19: “Comfort and Joy”
Now for something wholesome and light-hearted. A series of vignettes that display how the members of the Justice League choose to spend Christmas, each is more heart-warming than last. The Flash speeds across the world to get toys for an orphanage, even enlisting the help of the Ultra-Humanite at one point. Superman shows Martian Manhunter the joys of the season by having him spend Christmas in Smallville, whereas Green Lantern and Hawkgirl celebrate by getting into an alien barroom brawl. Okay, that last one might be a tad excessive, but it’s the thought that counts!
#18: “Kid Stuff”
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Leave it to Justice League to take a premise that should at its best be boring and at its worst downright irritating, and turn it into a macabre magical journey that even succeeds in splashing some great humor. A burst of childish rebellion leads Mordred to defy his sorceress mother and remove adults from the world. In order to counter this, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Green Lantern are turned into kids, and have to go about stopping the pint-sized conjurer with substantially reduced powers. On one side, you’ve got the adorable interactions between BatBoy and Wonder Girl. Then on the other you’ve got Mordred’s horrendous fate for going against mother dearest. Yikes.
#17: “Legends”
Both a gripping elseworld mystery along with a touching tribute to industry legend Gardner Fox, who co-created the Justice League and Justice Society of America. Teleported to a picturesque world, Green Lantern and company encounter heroes straight out of the Silver and Golden Age of comics. Naturally, not everything is as happy-go-lucky as it seems, and soon it’s revealed that this world of yesteryear is nothing more than a grim illusion brought about by suffering and trauma. Goes to show that despite their corny exterior, the classics of the genre can still hit just as hard as they did back then.
#16: “The Greatest Story Never Told”
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Good ol’ Booster Gold, always ready to help…even when it’s not necessarily wanted. While the rest of the Justice League deals with an actual threat, the fame-chaser from the future is relegated to crowd control. At least until he stumbles onto a new danger that could threaten everyone and everything…and he’s the only one available to handle it! For those who didn’t know what Booster was all about, this was a great introduction to his character - a loveable buffoon who has to learn that being a hero isn’t about the spotlight.
#15: “Clash”
It’s well established that Lex Luthor’s greatest weapon is his mind, and nowhere is that better displayed than in his manipulation of both the public and Superman himself. As his popularity in the political field rises, especially due to his endorsement of the powerful but naïve Captain Marvel, Superman becomes more and more convinced that he’s up to no good. Things turn violent when Luthor tricks the Man of Steel into thinking he’s planted a bomb, only for Captain Marvel to step in. The brawl itself is quite the spectacle, though the most painful blow of all is the reveal the whole thing was orchestrated by Luthor to increase the distrust between the world and the Justice League.
#14: “Patriot Act”
Justice League excels at a lot of things, and that includes episodes and stories that veer away from the main seven to focus on lesser known heroes, and this is one of their best! When long-running, anti-meta human, General Eiling injects himself with a serum that turns him into a rampaging monster, it falls to Green Arrow to lead a group of lesser known heroes such as Shining Knight and Vigilante to take down the hypocritical before his rampage goes too far. And yes, that is JK Simmons voicing Eiling.
#13: “Double Date”
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Not the kind of date night one might expect. The Huntress, a recently exiled member of the League, finds herself in pursuit of the man who murdered her parents, and recruits The Question to help her. Standing in their way are Green Arrow and Black Canary, who are on a mission to defend her target at all costs. While the action is thrilling, what steals the show is how each pairing’s romance blooms. Arrow and Canary are now openly acknowledging their affection for each other, while bizarrely enough even someone as eccentric as The Question earns Huntress’ adoration. Pretty smooth for a guy without a face.
#12: “The Once and Future Thing”
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Who’s ready for the obligatory time-travel episode?! This two parter was a thrill from start to finish, given that it not only saw members of the League travel back to the days of the Wild West, but also into a future filled with cameos. As time-traveling loser Chronos wreaks havoc along the timeline, Batman and company not only team up with the likes of Jonah Hex and Static, but also Batman Beyond in order to set the things back in their place. There is nothing more meta than seeing old Bruce Wayne meet Batman!
#11: “The Great Brain Robbery”
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The idea behind this episode had potential for just as many laughs as it did thrills, and it certainly delivered on both. Both Lex Luthor and the League are after knowledge that Grodd has, and so both attempt to enter his mind via science and sorcery. The result is Luthor and Flash switching bodies, leading to chaos on both ends. Flash has to avoid raising suspicion around a group of volatile supervillains, while everyone aboard the Watchtower has to deal with a superfast Luthor. On an interesting note, the Flash’s voice actor, Michael Rosenbaum, also portrayed Lex Luthor on Smallville. No wonder he could pull off the dual personality so well!
#10: “Wild Cards”
For those of you that felt like that the Teen Titans and the Justice League should have teamed up during the series run, this is as close as it gets. The voices behind the Titans lent their talents to the infamous Royal Flush Gang, a group hired by the Joker to battle the League. Not only do we get the cast of Teen Titans, we also get some classic Batman and Joker moments. The Dark Knight shows how good at multitasking he is by telling Flash how to disarm a bomb while taking a punch, all the while The Joker pulls off one of his greatest gags with the audience themselves. Oh, and Green Lantern and Hawkgirl totally hook up.
#9: “This Little Piggy”
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Batman and Wonder Woman’s blossoming romance was always one of Justice League’s most interesting subplots, and here, it’s given the attention it deserves. After Diana is turned into a pig, it falls to Batman and Zatanna to try and reverse the magic however they can. It’s certainly a more light-hearted venture, though undoubtedly the highlight is the ending – where the wicked sorceress who cursed Diana promises to reverse it if Batman surrenders a great secret. What is this secret? The fact that Batman can sing like a champion! It’s so out of nowhere and yet shockingly fits! The World’s Detective truly is a man of many talents, and it’s just another reason we miss Kevin Conroy.
#8: “Hereafter”
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What would happen if Superman were to die? After supposedly being vaporized, the Justice League mourns the death of their most valued member. Heck, even Lex Luthor is sad he’s gone. We get an especially touching scene with Batman as he says goodbye in his own way, showing just how much he respected him. Of course, not all is as it seems, as Superman has actually been sent 30,000 years into the future. Now without his powers due to an absence of a yellow sun, he has to find a way back to his own time and prevent such a dismal end. The icing on the cake? We get an appearance by the main man himself, Lobo!
#7: “Injustice for All”
It was only a matter of time before a supervillain team that rivaled the Justice League assembled itself. And wouldn’t you know it, Lex Luthor would be leading the charge. After being diagnosed with cancer due to his constant exposure to kryptonite, Luthor decides he wants to take down the League with what little time he has left. Recruiting the likes of the Joker to help enact his plan, he kidnaps Batman and plots to destroy the Watchtower with the rest of the heroes inside. What follows is not only a series of great hero vs. villain battles, but we also get to some classic Batman moments. Turns out the Dark Knight is quite the seducer.
#6: “Epilogue”
Something of an official ending to the DC Animated Universe’s Batman, fans adore this episode for two reasons. On the one hand you’ve got the return of Terry McGinnis aka Batman Beyond, who comes into conflict when he discovers his true heritage, though ultimately chooses to wear the cowl as the Second Knight. The other reason it’s so beloved, is the flashback scene between Batman and Ace, who chooses to stay by her side instead of subduing her despite her immense psychic abilities. It's depressing as can be, but it also displays that beneath all that darkness, Batman’s humanity is unshakeable.
#5: “A Better World”
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There have been plenty of depictions of DC’s heroes turning to the dark side, but few carry more weight as the Justice Lord. In a future following the death of Flash, Superman and his fellow metahumans pursue complete domination of the planet – after he murders President Lex Luthor. What’s next? Take over another reality of course. This soon leads to the League taking on the Lords in a battle of ideals and fists, where the world’s greatest heroes have to confront the truth that they’re just fallible to moral failings as the rest of us.
#4: “Divided We Fall”
The culmination of the Cadmus arc, the Justice League are pushed to their limits both physically and morally during their final clash with Luthor…who is revealed to have had Brainiac living inside him all this time. With Luthor’s wicked mind combined with Brainiac’s advanced technology, the League find themselves in an uphill battle against not only the fusion of their two most nefarious foes but also replicas of Justice Lords. Thankfully, the Flash comes in clutch to save the day, by tapping into the Speed Force and bringing an end to the battle in the blink of an eye. And this is why we love Wally West.
#3: “Starcrossed”
What can we say? Justice League knows how to nail season finales! After assisting the League in battle, Hawkgirl’s people, the Thanagarians, arrive on Earth and offer their help against an incoming alien threat that seeks to conquer Earth. This turns out to be nothing more than a ruse for total planetary domination, one that actually succeeds. Now fugitives, the Justice League have to fight against an entire empire, all the while Hawkgirl is torn between her allegiance to her people and to the League, including her newfound love with Green Lantern. To say this was a game changer that would have a radical impact on the series going forward is a colossal understatement.
#2: “Destroyer”
No one can say that Justice League didn’t go out with a bang, as this final episode gave us everything we could want. With the return of Darkseid and his armies, it takes both heroes and villains alike to stop him. Every member of the League gets a chance to shine here, such as Batman, even under threat of annihilation, refuses to compromise his principles. However, the highlight has to be Superman and his final duel with Darkseid. Not only do we get one of his greatest speeches that defines his character perfectly, but we also get the mother of all punches along with it!
#1: “For The Man Who Has Everything”
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It may not have the most bombastic action, but if there ever was an episode that fully captured the essence of the Trinity – it’s this one! Taking a story penned by the legendary Alan Moore, what starts as a simple birthday visit to the Fortress of Solitude takes a dark turn when Batman and Wonder Woman discover Mongul has infected Superman with a plant that traps him in an illusion built on his heart’s greatest desire. The camaraderie and bond between all three of DC’s greatest heroes is beautifully explored, as each rises above not only a powerful enemy, but their own selfish wants to do what’s right. No one bests the Big Three!
