This February, a smorgasbord of excellent DC content will be hitting HBO MAX. The Burton’s Batman films, Aquaman, but most importantly, DCAU’s Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Static Shock.
The DCAU, which started with Batman: The Animated Series, remains in my opinion the ideal and superior DC universe adaptation. Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Mitch Brian in 1992, the 85-episodeBatman: The Animated Series blended the dark noir elements of Batman, with keen writing for the baddies which crafted a lasting definition of them that, in some cases, leaked into the comics themselves, as it did with Harley Quinn.
From there we got Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, the underrated Zeta Project, and finally Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Each of these series holds a special place in my nerd heart but let’s focus on the ones relevant to this particular piece.
I’ve spoken about Static Shock in the past and I think it would be easy to dismiss the allure of the series as just representation, but it goes beyond that.
Writer and producer Dwayne McDuffie was invested in highlighting Black American culture and people in a way that hadn’t been done before. The show boldly tackled social issues including racism, but also kept a strong sense of humor that highlighted the importance of Static as a hero. He was a normal teenager who was corny at times, trying to find his place and protect his family.
Despite being nominated for a Daytime Emmy, the low toy sales helped push the series towards cancellation. It was available to stream on the now-defunct DC Universe app, but there is no denying it will get a bigger audience and the attention it deserves on HBO Max.
Justice League and Unlimited helped make me a DC fan growing up and was my first introduction to Black Canary. The series stands out to me because it wasn’t afraid to make its heroes flawed (save for Batman who is pretty much infallible and somehow dodges Omega beams something I will die mad about). Wonder Woman’s sometimes narrow-minded warrior thinking, Superman’s pettiness, Hawk Girl’s double-cross (a powerful story arc that made the whole series even stronger), The Flash as the sweet emotional glue of the team by letting Wally be best boy, and the steady bravery of John Stewart and J’onn J’onzz. It questioned our heroes and challenged us to see them as both ideals to aspire towards, but ultimately humans who could be wrong even when trying to do the right thing.
When the modern DC live-action and comic worlds leave me wanting more, I have been able to turn to these series as a way to remind me what makes DC Comics great: its characters. I look forward to streaming these series over and over as whatever nonsense February brings comes over us all.
(via CBR, image: Warner Bros.)
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Published: Jan 29, 2021 11:44 am