New ‘Justice League Unlimited’ Comic Pays Tribute to Classic Animated Series

As far as DC’s comics are concerned, the biggest and most important team in that aspect is the Justice League, which can be compared to Marvel’s Avengers in terms of importance. While DC has other groups as well, the Justice League is undoubtedly the most important one, and in that aspect, we can understand why they are so popular.

Recently, there have been claims that the Justice League surpassed even the Avengers as the prime superhero group in mainstream American comics. While we can debate about that, there is no doubt that the current Justice League comic book is moving forward, and a lot of fans will be happy to see the current state of things.

Namely, as it turns out, the upcoming Justice League Unlimited #1 will pay tribute to a legendary animated iteration of the Justice League franchise, and we are more than happy to confirm that we will provide you with a proper report on the topic, which will probably make a lot of fans happy.

The Justice League Unlimited animated series, also known as JLU, is one of the most popular animated series that DC ever produced.

It has been favorably compared to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and is still regarded as one of DC’s best animated outings, by far. The series originally ran on Cartoon Network from July 31, 2004, to May 13, 2006, and while it consists of just 39 episodes (and three seasons), it became a cult classic loved by many.

The guys at DC Comics obviously wanted to pay tribute to the series and its overall influence, and the comic book readers will be able to properly enjoy it in the upcoming Justice League Unlimited #1, which is out on November 27, 2024. Check out how they decided to do it:

In case you don’t see it immediately, here it is:

The similarity is obvious, despite the fact that the characters involved are different and it is clear that the comic book artists decided to honor the legacy of the JLU animated series.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash are the same characters, while Martian Manhunter is missing from the comic book panel, where we can see Black Lightning and Star Sapphire.

The series will be penned by the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and Absolute Power creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora, and in light of the upcoming release, Waid said the following:

One of the things that comes out of Absolute Power is the heroes deciding that this whole event probably wouldn’t have happened had the Justice League not disbanded and they were still properly communicating with each other.

So now it’s not a matter of the traditional JL working together, it’s a case of enlisting everyone who has powers and wants to be on the team. There’s space for the Justice Society, for the Titans, and it will be Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman knowing based on any oncoming threats who is best to take that threat on.

Having the largest Justice League roster ever makes it “virtually impossible to keep it all together. For example, the lists I have for Absolute Power and trying to make sure who’s in prison and who’s not—I think we ended up with 92 heroes in prison at some point. Same with Justice League. With such a big cast, I get trading cards to help visualize who I have in play wherever I need them to be.

If I didn’t have that visual in front of me, it’d be much harder to keep track of them all. But Dan loves these characters and loves the chance to get to draw them all, very much like George Pérez in how he wants to draw everybody.

Source: ComicBook.com (via DC.com)

The new series is certainly going to be exciting, and as a warm-up before its upcoming release, here is the official synopsis:

The planet Earth has long been home to individuals with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal humans. Now Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and more have united to offer sanctuary, resources, and leadership to all heroes across the galaxy. From high in Earth’s orbit in their Watchtower base, the world’s greatest super heroes unite to confront the threats too powerful for any single hero to face. They are the JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!

Liked this article? Join us on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!