Top 10 Justice League Unlimited Episodes!

 Alright! Today I've written up a list of the ten definitive Justice League Unlimited episodes. One of the best animated shows ever made and the definitive version of Justice League and maybe DC itself, the show had a lot of good episodes. But ten of my favorites? Ah, they're the best of the best. 

This list contains some of my all-time favorite episodes of television as a whole. I mean, this is some really good stuff. And, if you're interested, here are my Top 10 Batman: The Animated Series episodes, Top 10 Batman Beyond episodes, and Top 10 Static Shock episodes. Yes, I know. Another "Top 10" list. They suck, I know. But they're fun to write and easy to mass-produce. 

10. Double Date - Season 2, Episode 6

Double Date works best because the four leads of the episode - Green Arrow, Black Canary, Huntress, and the Question - are all incredibly compelling scene stealers in other episodes. The tension between Arrow and Canary is just a highlight between the off-kilter Huntress and Question shipping. But despite its romantic banter and comedic timing, perhaps the greatest strength of the episode is the terribly tragic backstory offered up for Huntress, and the theme of vengeance that the episode resultingly carries. 

9. Clash- Season 2, Episode 7

Clash is (Unfortunately) the only time Captain Marvel appears in the show. The episode is a good example of the subtle but complex differences between Captain Marvel and Superman. While Superman has doubts about Lex Luthor's altruism, Billy believes him at face. This clash leads to Billy realizing that the League is too set in its ways, even telling them they don't act like heroes. Doubly so more impactful when you remember that Billy is but a child who gets to fight alongside his idols. 

8. The Greatest Story Never Told - Season 1, Episode 7

One of the ways Justice League Unlimited shined brightest was by letting the popular characters like Superman and Batman take the backseat while the newbies drove. The Greatest Story Never Told is the prime example of that. The entire episode centers on background character Booster Gold, a phony hero from the future seeking glory and fame as he regulates crowd control. Just seeing this incredibly fun character lead is enough, let alone that the episode is an interesting look at the technicalities of city-destroying events.

7. Ultimatum - Season 1, Episode 9

Ultimatum features a group of newbie heroes, the Ultimen, who are, plot twist, funded and created by Maxwell Lord. This episode's a lot of fun because it shows heroes with even more altruistic cheese than the Big Blue Boy Scout turn take a hard left turn and try to destroy the Justice League. It's an episode wholly devoted to existential crises and how to secure a legacy. 

6. Flash and Substance - Season 3, Episode 5

Flash is an immensly enjoyable character in general. The comic relief is normally the child's favorite character, but rarely are they an actual developed character. Flash and Substance was a good example of how to flesh out your comic relief. Give him a museum, see how he handles the newfound fame. Give him villains who aren't too competent or vicious and show him handle them with kindness, jsut like a hero would. 

5. Destroyer - Season 3, Episode 13

I had my fair share of issues with the third season of Justice League Unlimited (Namely the drop in animation quality and the loss of momentum from an amazing season two). And while Darkseid's return wasn't really built up too, DC's most terrifying villain returning is always cool. But this episode gets the brownie points for Superman's incredible world of cardboard line. 

4. Panic in the Sky/Divided We Fall - Season 2, Episodes 11/12

The two-part season finale is some of the finest DC content out there. I remember being little and being absolutely horrified and crying during it. You guys don't even know how terrifying the body horror of seeing Luthor and Brainiac merge was. But the best part of the episode - and maybe the entire series -  easily comes when the Flash runs around the world to literally punch the Brainiac out of Luthor. This is the jaw-dropping scene that has you realize how powerful he really is, and then the emotional clash between Luthor and superman after it. It's all perfect.

3. Question Authority/Flashpoint - Season 2, Episodes 9/10

What I like best about the penultimate episodes to the end of season two is their terrifyingly calm nature. The "Oh no" rising action that's far too compelling to watch. This is more or less the payoff to an entire season debating if the Justice League is too powerful - with a resounding yes. The whole thing more or less follows the Question as he tries to stop a future apocalypse where Superman kills Luthor... by killing Luthor before Superman can. It's brilliantly written and the Question's brilliant character and dynamic with Huntress just elevate everything. 

2. Epilogue - Season 2, Episode 13

Epilogue is a surprisingly downtrodden and "adult" end to season two. Meant to be a one-off to finish the entire DCAU as a whole before a third season was ordered, this is the perfect ending. The artistic merit of the episode alone gets it on the list - three different storylines told, one following Batman, one black and white and following Terry McGinnis destroy his own life to be Batman, and one following Terry confronting Amanda Waller - it's all perfect.

Especially perfect is the storyline with Bruce Wayne's Batman. Here he's told to euthanize a child who's destroying reality as she dies. And instead of doing it, he just sits down and talks to her until her time comes naturally. It's an episode that answers the question "Is Batman really a hero?" Yes. Yes, he is. 

1. For the Man Who Has Everything - Season 1, Episode 2

Probably my favorite episode of any TV show ever, For the Man Who Has Everything, adapted from the Alan Moore comic of the same name, is the singular biggest reason I realized Superman is my favorite superhero. This episode gives him the one thing he truly, deeply wants and loves - a farm on the planet Krypton, settled down, and with a son who he loves. And then all that comes crashing down when Batman removes him from this catatonic state, forcing him to say goodbye to his son.

It's an already heart-wrenching comic, but the episode just improves on it. The parting lines between Kal-El and his son are just... you can't make it through this episode and not cry. It's impossible.