Aside from one teaser this summer, it’s been over a year since the last new episode of Justice League aired. Last night “Tabula Rasa” finally kicked off their second season.
And it’s going to be a good one.
The artists on the show must have been working very hard in the last two years. The artwork, which had leaned more toward the style of Superman, has taken on some of the grittier air of the older episodes of Batman. The backgrounds have a strong level of detail and there’s a much greater use of motion.
I love seeing Lex Luthor as a Silver Age super villain. His current comic book persona as sly businessman turned President of the United States is genius, but watching him run amok in a green power suit with the Justice League in hot pursuit is fun. Combining this to make a Frankenstein’s Monster story out of Amazo was just great. They made a wise change in Amazo’s from this to a plain grey morphing monster (images from Toonzone). Even more impressively, the power absorbing robot succeeds in being a serious threat to the entire league. There are moments when you can actually believe that they might not win this one.
On top of some very good widescreen action, “Tabula Rasa” also features a good side plot featuring Martian Manhunter. While the resolution of his character development in the episode ends up being a little bit cheesy, it works and I bought it.
I can’t wait to see what Bruce Timm’s team has in store for us for the rest of the season.
(New episodes air Saturdays at 10pm on Cartoon Network.)