Justice League Unlimited is the Perfect Post-Superman Watch

It’s the Summer of Superman. And with James Gunn‘s highly anticipated franchise-launcher finally in theaters, you may be wondering just where to look next once you’ve got your fill of the film our reviewer David Crow called, “a zippy and lighthearted self-contained adventure.” I chose that quote in particular as it was in the context of just how much Superman feels like a dynamic and already evolving and existing world, much like the experience of dipping into your favorite Saturday morning cartoon and joining a random collection of heroes as they save the day.

Of course that is perfectly in tune with my reason for being here today: encouraging you to watch or revisit Justice League Unlimited as a post-Superman treat. 

Launched as a sequel to the original Justice League cartoon, Unlimited was created after an unexpected two-season renewal, which would eventually become the fan fave animated show shaped by the late and legendary comic book creator, Dwayne McDuffie.  The original show was relatively intimate with your classic JLA lineup taking center stage, but just like Superman (2025), Justice League Unlimited marked a turning point where an adaptation could dig deep into the comic book canon short boxes to put previously lesser known heroes at the forefront alongside DC’s Trinity.

There was also still John Stewart Green Lantern (Phil LaMarr), J’onn J’onzz, aka Martian Manhunter (Carl Lumbly,  Michael Rosenbaum as Wally West/the Flash, and an unforgettable Maria Canals-Barrera as Shayera Hol’s Hawkgirl. It’s the kind of lineup that would get any comic book fan excited and it also seems like it was an influence on Gunn and his new DCU. 

At an early screening on the Warner Bros. lot, Gunn spoke about how his wish for Superman was to replicate the feeling of opening a random comic book and just reveling in the world’s sprawling cast of characters and adventures. That translates to the screen in his finished film, which recaptures the childhood wonder of reading an issue of Superman, or jumping into your fave animated series. When revisiting Justice League Unlimited, it’s clear that this is a fun, frantic, colorful, and hopeful series that feels of a piece with Gunn’s Superman, whose most punk rock trait is simply being kind and making sure that kids feel safe to ask for the help they need. 

Although audiences previously met Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman during his scene-stealing turn in the ill-fated Black Adam near the tail-end of the now defunct DCEU, we never got to see anything from the last cinematic DC Universe pop like when Isabela Merced stuns as a shrieking Hawkgirl. She’s definitely too young for Hodge, but his exclusion does open up another potential Justice League Unlimited fan fave pairing of Hawkgirl and none other than John Stewart. The chemistry between the pair in the animated series is off the charts, and we know that Aaron Pierre has been cast as Stewart in the upcoming Lanterns TV series, which will connect to the wider world of the DCU. This could be a fun fresh romance that we’ve never seen in live-action, and if it sounds up your alley already, then there’s no better time to check into JLU and find your new favorite ship. 

If you’ve read my writing or listened to me talking about this stuff on X-Ray Vision, you’ll know that I think most Green Lanterns are unimaginative and can rarely think of something to fight crime with outside of a giant fist or gun. But Justice League Unlimited delivers a John Stewart who is a canny will-imagineer. He’s constantly crafting mech suits, getaway vehicles, and more.

It’s one of the best portrayals of the hero and their ring-powered skills. As viewers who have already watched Superman know, the film has a unique Lantern of its own in Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion). Though he’s hardly got the stoic charm of Stewart, the film does bless us with some truly unique Lantern constructs. From giant kitchen mittens on a kaiju to immense hands throwing the bird, if you enjoyed watching Guy get into it then you’re gonna adore John Stewart. 

In the third episode of the show’s debut season, “Kids’ Stuff” they threw viewers into some of the weirdest and wackiest JLU shenanigans ever when Mordred, the son of from Arthurian legend, eradicates all adults from the world. Soon the super team are kid-sized and must fight their way through a medieval minefield to beat their new nemesis. It’s the kind of wild swing that Gunn takes with Superman, assuming that the audience will be able to follow and understand a world that already completely exists and is filled with strange characters. 

We are able to do just that thanks to shows like Justice League Unlimited and its massive revolving cast of some of the most high-profile and least known DC characters, and of course the comics that inspired it, which taught us how to fearlessly follow stories to new places. So as you’re looking for your next watch to keep Superman Summer going, this is a perfect pick.