The Justice League Authority

WBAnimation: Official Justice Leauge Press Release

Cartoon Network will enlist the world`s greatest superheroes, bringing them together once more in an all-new half-hour animated series, Justice League, it was announced today by Betty Cohen, president, Cartoon Network Worldwide.

The new series is being produced by Warner Bros. Animation under the direction of Emmy Award-winner Bruce Timm. Cartoon Network has given Justice League an initial order of 26 original half-hour episodes, which will incorporate an all-star roster of popular DC Comics superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter. Following the premise and storyline of the DC Comics comic books, members of the Justice League will be called upon to battle against allied villains, supernatural creatures and other powerful forces of evil determined to usurp authority over the world and to destroy the Justice League.

Justice League marks the first time in more than 15 years that these characters have come together in a television series since first uniting in Super Friends, which ran from 1973-85 on ABC and later on Cartoon Network.

"We know from our experience of airing Super Friends for years on Cartoon Network here in the U.S. and around the world, that Justice League will have a vast, built-in audience hungry for an exciting new look at these classic characters," said Cohen. "We`ve built a powerful action-adventure block on Cartoon Network called Toonami that will serve as a showcase for the new series. With Justice League, we`re strategically positioning Cartoon Network to attract an even broader audience of tweens, teens and adults who are drawn to the powerful DC Comics brand and are seeking smart, exciting, action-packed animation at its very best."

"I can think of no one more appropriate or qualified to bring the JLA superheroes to life than Bruce Timm," said Jean MacCurdy, president of Warner Bros. Animation. "As he so brilliantly demonstrated with Batman and Superman, he is passionate about creating an entertaining and dynamic series that will thrill the legions of JLA fans everywhere, as well as introduce a whole new generation of fans to these classic characters as they come together in a brand new series."

"After working on the Superman and Batman series for the last several years, Justice League is a great opportunity to develop those characters a step further and bring more of the iconic DC Comics superheroes to life," said Timm. "I am looking forward to exploring whole new realms of the superhero world."

"We`re excited to be working with the great creative team responsible for Batman and Superman," said Mike Lazzo, senior vice president of programming and production for Cartoon Network. Justice League will be a powerful addition to our Toonami action-adventure franchise."

Paul Levitz, DC`s Executive Vice President & Publisher, commented, "Justice League will literally have worlds colliding and the most dynamic action animation ever done, thanks to Bruce Timm and our friends at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network."

The Justice League has existed in some form since 1940 when DC Comics` All-Star Comics introduced the first-ever group of superheroes in a comic book series entitled "Justice Society of America," which ran until 1951. DC Comics revived the concept in March 1960, renaming it the "Justice League of America." The JLA superheroes were the stars of the longest-running television cartoon series based on a comic book via Hanna-Barbera Studios` Super Friends (1973), The All-New Super Friends (1977), Challenge of the Super Friends (1978), The World`s Greatest Super Friends (1979) and The Super Friends Hour (1980) all produced for Saturday mornings on ABC. The Super Friends series began airing on Cartoon Network in June 1996 and moved to its sister network, Boomerang in April 2000, where they continue to air. The monthly JLA comic book continues to be one of DC Comic`s best-selling titles, consistently ranking among the top ten in industry sales.



Logo courtesy DCU Animated Line up profiles courtesy of Batman-Superman.com and DCU Animated News courtesy of Comics Continuum, WF News and The Animation Archive News	The Justice League Authority at the Warner Bros. Animation Archive Complete coverage of WB Animation's newest project!
		The Crew: Bruce Timm - Producer, Character Designer Rich Fogel - Writer Stan Berkowitz - Writer Bret Blevins - Storyboard Artist Glen Murakami - Character Designer James Tucker - Character Designer Kevin Conroy as Batman Studio - Warner Bros. Animation Network - Cartoon Network Episodes ordered: 26
WBAnimation: Official Justice Leauge Press Release Cartoon Network will enlist the world`s greatest superheroes, bringing them together once more in an all-new half-hour animated series, Justice League, it was announced today by Betty Cohen, president, Cartoon Network Worldwide. The new series is being produced by Warner Bros. Animation under the direction of Emmy Award-winner Bruce Timm. Cartoon Network has given Justice League an initial order of 26 original half-hour episodes, which will incorporate an all-star roster of popular DC Comics superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter. Following the premise and storyline of the DC Comics comic books, members of the Justice League will be called upon to battle against allied villains, supernatural creatures and other powerful forces of evil determined to usurp authority over the world and to destroy the Justice League. Justice League marks the first time in more than 15 years that these characters have come together in a television series since first uniting in Super Friends, which ran from 1973-85 on ABC and later on Cartoon Network. "We know from our experience of airing Super Friends for years on Cartoon Network here in the U.S. and around the world, that Justice League will have a vast, built-in audience hungry for an exciting new look at these classic characters," said Cohen. "We`ve built a powerful action-adventure block on Cartoon Network called Toonami that will serve as a showcase for the new series. With Justice League, we`re strategically positioning Cartoon Network to attract an even broader audience of tweens, teens and adults who are drawn to the powerful DC Comics brand and are seeking smart, exciting, action-packed animation at its very best." "I can think of no one more appropriate or qualified to bring the JLA superheroes to life than Bruce Timm," said Jean MacCurdy, president of Warner Bros. Animation. "As he so brilliantly demonstrated with Batman and Superman, he is passionate about creating an entertaining and dynamic series that will thrill the legions of JLA fans everywhere, as well as introduce a whole new generation of fans to these classic characters as they come together in a brand new series." "After working on the Superman and Batman series for the last several years, Justice League is a great opportunity to develop those characters a step further and bring more of the iconic DC Comics superheroes to life," said Timm. "I am looking forward to exploring whole new realms of the superhero world." "We`re excited to be working with the great creative team responsible for Batman and Superman," said Mike Lazzo, senior vice president of programming and production for Cartoon Network. Justice League will be a powerful addition to our Toonami action-adventure franchise." Paul Levitz, DC`s Executive Vice President & Publisher, commented, "Justice League will literally have worlds colliding and the most dynamic action animation ever done, thanks to Bruce Timm and our friends at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network." The Justice League has existed in some form since 1940 when DC Comics` All-Star Comics introduced the first-ever group of superheroes in a comic book series entitled "Justice Society of America," which ran until 1951. DC Comics revived the concept in March 1960, renaming it the "Justice League of America." The JLA superheroes were the stars of the longest-running television cartoon series based on a comic book via Hanna-Barbera Studios` Super Friends (1973), The All-New Super Friends (1977), Challenge of the Super Friends (1978), The World`s Greatest Super Friends (1979) and The Super Friends Hour (1980) all produced for Saturday mornings on ABC. The Super Friends series began airing on Cartoon Network in June 1996 and moved to its sister network, Boomerang in April 2000, where they continue to air. The monthly JLA comic book continues to be one of DC Comic`s best-selling titles, consistently ranking among the top ten in industry sales.
		The Roster: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl. Other heroes - such as Aquaman and Atom could make appearances. Superman: Portrayed as a natural leader. He's a bit of a boy scout, but without being cheesy about it. Batman: The show will play up the Dark Knight's detective skills as opposed to the brooding, somber creature-of-the night take that's been used in the other animated shows. Wonder Woman: The Amazon princess angle will be emphasized. Wonder Woman is new to man's world. She sometimes displays a condescending attitude towards others. The Flash: The Flash is Wally West under the mask. The character is more a mix of West and Bart Allen/Impulse. The Flash is seen as a fun-loving, impulsive guy. Green Lantern: This Green Lantern is John Stewart. He's been hand-picked by the Guardians to be the Green Lantern for this sector. Stewart has spent a number of years in space and only recently returned to Earth. He sees himself as a very experienced cop and tends to look down on the rest of the JLA as amateurs. He has little understanding or tolerance for earthly prejudices and petty injustices. Martian Manhunter: The last survivor of an underground Martian race. Martian Manhunter is the only one who lives in the JLA watchtower full time. Hawkgirl: A member of the Thanagarian police. Hawkgirl is transported to Earth by a mysterious beam (we're told it's not called a zeta-beam in the show, but it's basically the same concept). She has deductive skills that even Batman is impressed by, but also has that warrior woman side to her. The aforementioned JLA Watchtower is a satellite that is in geo-synchronous orbit with the Earth. Aquaman will be included in one of the early stories, but not as a regular member of the team. The Manhunters will also make an appearance early on. Our source was unsure about the villains of the piece. Despero and Vandal Savage may show up in the series. (source: Comics2film.com) The pilot features Green Lantern John Stewart, which is based on an old Hal Jordon story about him being accused of a crime he didn't commit , which leads to chaos. This whole series will be action oriented, but will have alot of characterization becuase of the story arc lenght. Majority of the episodes will likely be multi-part episodes. Censors not as heavy becuase of the different age focus. It is not known what continuity this series will be set in. It also appears that the Green Lantern in the series will be the John Stewart version of the character, although that has not been confirmed. A new unnamed voice actor will be voicing Superman, becuase Tim Daly is busy with his CBS show 'The Fugitive'. The show will probably, since it's too early to tell, consist of big story arcs, lasting 2 - 3 episodes. There will be huge, intense, action, as well as indepth characterization. The voice actors have just finished recording their second episode. Stan Berkowitz and Rich Fogel has written episodes so far, but since production has just begun, it's too early to tell who else will be joing the fray. The show will air this fall on the action block Toonami. The Writers strike won't effect the show, but there's a chance the Actors Strike will. There will be various celebrity voices, including James Remar for one. Batman Beyond will air on Kids’ WB with reruns for the 2001-2002 season, and then most likely find it’s home at Cartoon Network along side Batman, Superman and Justice League. At this point, the only possible way to releive the series would be for Cartoon Network to greenlight. Berkowtiz, Timm, Tucker, Murakami, Fogel, and Geda are on JLA, Goodman is on Zeta, and the remainder of the crew is working on Static Shock or other projects. As for another direct-to-video Batman Beyond feature, Paul Dini has some ideas kicking around, but there has been no go ahead. Jean MacCurdy is pursuing the option of releasing ROTJ unedited. WB will order another season of The Zeta Project if the ratings are encouraging, this is the only way we will see new episodes featuring Batman Beyond. Justice League Commentaries Bruce Timm, Producer: "After working on the Superman and Batman series for the last several years, Justice League is a great opportunity to develop those characters a step further and bring more of the iconic DC Comics superheroes to life," Timm said in a release. "I am looking forward to exploring whole new realms of the superhero world." Betty Cohen, President of Cartoon Network Worldwide: "We know from our experience of airing Super Friends for years on Cartoon Network here in the U.S. and around the world, that Justice League will have a vast, built-in audience hungry for an exciting new look at these classic characters. We've built a powerful action-adventure block on Cartoon Network called Toonami that will serve as a showcase for the new series. With Justice League, we're strategically positioning Cartoon Network to attract an even broader audience of tweens, teens and adults who are drawn to the powerful DC Comics brand and are seeking smart, exciting, action-packed animation at its very best." Jean MacCurdy, president of Warner Bros. Animation: "I can think of no one more appropriate or qualified to bring the JLA superheroes to life than Bruce Timm. As he so brilliantly demonstrated with Batman and Superman, he is passionate about creating an entertaining and dynamic series that will thrill the legions of JLA fans everywhere, as well as introduce a whole new generation of fans to these classic characters as they come together in a brand new series." Paul Dini: "It's not my show," Alan Burnett, supervising producer of Static Shock and The Zeta Project: could not be reached for comment Glen Murakami, producer of Batman Beyond: could not be reached for comment. Rich Fogel reports that Murakami has created a slick new look for the Justice League Rich Fogel, writer for Justice Leauge: "I just finished writing the pilot, and we think this is going to be an amazing, eye-popping show, filled with big action, epic adventure and gripping suspense. In developing the pilot, I've worked closely with Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami and James Tucker, who have developed a slick new look for the Justice League. This isn't Super Friends. Nothing quite like it has ever been attempted, and I don't think the fans will be disappointed."