The DC Animated Universe is one of the most iconic DC adaptations of all time. Beginning in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series, the DC Animated Universe slowly grew into what would ultimately cumulate in the massive Justice League: Unlimited of the mid-2000s.
That being said, while the DCAU is one of the most loved DC adaptations of all time, it doesn’t mean that it was a faultless adaptation. Despite poor critical reviews, 2017’s Justice League movie still did some things fairly well.
Better: Future Of The Justice League
The Justice League cartoon is part of the famous DCAU, meaning that it is part of a wider DC Universe. Unlike the DCEU, however, the DCAU carefully built up their universe over time, allowing for far more plot threads to exist in its universe.
One plot thread is the future of the Justice League, which is shown in Batman Beyond and explored across several time-traveling episodes during the show’s run. This allows for a more compelling mythos surrounding the show.
Worse: Some Costumes
While some of the costumes in the Justice League cartoon are timeless classics, such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman’s costumes, it wouldn’t be too controversial of a statement to say that their designs are, due to their classic nature, kind of boring.
The 2017 movie, despite its flaws, has some very good costume designs. While the Superman costume isn’t too great, the Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Batman costumes are all fantastic costume designs.
Better: Character Development
One of the main issues with the 2017 movie was how it introduced its characters. Rather than building up to the formation of a Justice League, the DCEU throws characters such as Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg into a movie without any backstory.
Consequently, much of the film has to be based around building these characters while also furthering the plot, meaning that sacrifices had to be made in terms of these characters. The Justice League cartoon, on the other hand, doesn’t have to make these sacrifices, allowing for more depth to its character development across 4 seasons.
Worse: Unlimited Turned Focus Away From The Main Seven
This is more of a critique of the Justice League: Unlimited show than the Justice League series, but as the two series are part of the same continuity it is still germane to include this criticism. Unlimited broadened the membership of the Justice League to include dozens of more heroes than the original seven.
While this broader cast of characters allows fans to see even more fantastic heroes, it also takes away from the stories of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the League.
Better: Villains
One of the main criticism of the DCEU has been the lack of compelling villains. Aside from Michael Shannon’s General Zod and Ocean Master, the villains in the DCEU have been a huge disappointment, with Steppenwolf and Lex Luthor being the most notable.
However, the DCAU sticks far closer to the comic book and introduces far more villains, with Joker, Lex Luthor, Ultra Humanite, and Sinestro all appearing (to only name a few).
Worse: Filler Episodes
Due to the medium of the Justice League cartoon and its requirement to release a set number of episodes per season, the writers are compelled to include filler episodes. These episodes have no real bearing on the overarching plot, existing to ‘fill time’ before returning to the main story.
While these episodes aren’t necessarily bad episodes, they do serve no greater purpose to the overall story and, generally, tend to be forgettable.
Better: Chemistry Between The Main Cast
The 2017 movie only runs for 2 hours, even if the upcoming Snyder Cut is said to be around 4 hours long, this will still be far less than the run time of Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, which ran for a combined 4 seasons.
Over 4 seasons, the audience gets to see the interaction between the Justice League, showing how the characters, particularly the main seven, grow together and form friendships.
Worse: Restricted By Censorship
The fact that Justice League is made with children in mind heavily restricts both the stories it can tell and the character interactions it can use. While the 2017 movie is still restricted by censorship, this censorship is far less restrictive than Justice League.
While the TV show certainly did well to get around certain elements, as did other shows in the DCAU, there is no denying that it was aimed to be a children’s show and this is restrictive in terms of storytelling.
Better: More Heroes
While the rule of thumb ought to be quality over quantity, the latter doesn’t necessarily contradict the former. As proof, Justice League: Unlimited’s vast cast of heroes improves its quality rather than diminishing it.
The number of heroes allows for new character dynamics to develop between different characters, such as Orion and Batman. Furthermore, a wider variety of heroes also allows for more variety in stories, with characters such as Doctor Fate and the Question allowing for magical and detective stories.
Worse: Action
While there is nothing inherently wrong with the action in Justice League it wouldn’t be a controversial statement to say that the action in the 2017 movie was far better in more ways than one.
This may simply be due to the limitations of the medium. A live-action movie with a gargantuan budget and action choreographers is certain to have some exciting and compelling fight scenes.
