Tower of Babel is up there as one of the coolest Batman stories put to paper. It’s one of those stories that bleed over enough into other kinds of media that everybody who knows anything about Batman and the Justice League knows that Batman has such a tactical mind that he has contingency plans for every other member of the League. Hell, people even kind of know about this even if they don’t know exactly how they know. Everybody has taken part in a “Who would win in a fight?” conversation, and Batman wins every single time.
Justice League: Doom is an adaption of that story with most of the important, core details kept intact. A bad guy hatches a plan to steal Batman’s files and utilizes his plans to neutralize the Justice League, then neutralizes Batman himself by desecrating Thomas and Martha Wayne’s graves, and ends with a vote on whether Batman should remain a member of the Justice League. The big difference between the movie and the comics is that the comics had set a precedent for a League member becoming compromised, while the film plays it straight and in doing so makes Batman seem way more mercenary.
It isn’t strictly television, but it’s out on video and is another awesome addition to the DC Comics animated roster.
But speaking of actual television, Young Justice is back on the air after a several month hiatus. It sort of astounds me how the show managed to get signed up for a second season when it’s taken them over a year to get through the first season; a season which still has seven episodes to air before it reaches the conclusion. That isn’t an exaggeration, either. The show started up in January of last year. It has taken them 14 months – and counting – to air 19 episodes.
It’s a shame, too, because it’s still sort of good. It still has pacing problems, but that’s to be expected. There’s just too much story to cram into 22 minutes that anything the team does is going to feel rushed.
Green Lantern: The Animated Series , a show I mentioned in the past is finally debuting properly as well. This past week and next week are a rehash of the episodes they showed off a few months ago, but after next week it’ll be fresh episodes – assuming it doesn’t pick up the same lengthy schedule that Young Justice runs with.
On the Marvel side of things is something that has the possibility of being the second coolest Spider-Man cartoon to exist. Ultimate Spider-Man is a new show loosely based on the Ultimate universe, which will have Spider-man teaming up with Luke Cage, Iron Fist, White Tiger, and Nova. If that isn’t enough to pique your interest Phil Coulson will be making his first non-film appearance here, as both an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the principal of Peter Parker’s high school.
With Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series both back on the air, and Ultimate Spider-Man a mere month away it’s definitely shaping up to be an exciting time for comic nerds. And in case anybody was wondering the coolest Spider-Man cartoon to date is Spectacular Spider-Man. Nothing will beat how awesome that cartoon was.
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