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Justice League Unlimited Season 1 Episode 1

Secret Origins (1)

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8.7

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 11/17/01

Batman investigates a series of mysterious space signals and finds an alien conspiracy, while Superman is overwhelmed by telepathic alien messages as war-machines land and begin attacking Earth.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (13)

Batman rocks!

9.5

By li_am, Jul 11, 2009

Justice League rocks! I think the writers did a great job introducing all the super heroes and i think they did a wonderful job showing BATMAN as the first super hero shown on the episode! Hehehe! Sorry but i'm a bit partial to batman. Secret Origins has a great plot and the distribution of featured heroes are fair even though i don't like it when they show Batman being knocked out by aliens. Nevertheless batman still stole the show. he was the one who discovered the alien problem anyway and he was the one who solved it as well. Batman rocks!moreless
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Very nice. Totally entertaining.

9.1

By chippu, Jul 21, 2008

First of all it was a very cool way to start off with the Bat and Superman in the first scenes. And then there was this trill in there cause the bad creatures was just too good for both Batman and Superman. They knocked them both out. Then there was J'onn J'onzz he was a great installment to Justice League. It was so cool when Superman went off flying somewhere, i thought he was somehow mad or something, even Batman had a feeling like that when he saw Superman breaking some high military base. But then we come to know of J'onn J'onzz and then the episode continues when J'onn J'onzz tell that he telepathically summoned Superman for help and that he came to earth to warn Humans and that the military captured him...moreless
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War of the Worlds

8.0

By MovieMark, Mar 11, 2008

A fairly impressive opener, it has to be said. And although we're only introduced to Batman and Superman - DC's biggest icons - and Martian Manhunter at the episode's end, there's a lot of fun to be had seeing such heavyweights align with one another to battle those pesky bad guys.

The animation is relatively smooth, my only niggle being the oftentimes distracting mouth movement which sometimes doesn't sync up with the stellar voice-work on offer. Like with the Superman TAS and Batman TAS, the animation stays true to both series. Metropolis is given the ring-round while Batman's scenes are sprinkled with the classic style that made that particularly series so cool looking.

The bad guys - gelatinous villains, with strong whiff's of War of the World's thrown in - really highlight just how ambitious these foes in a show that will play host to some of the best superheroes around will be. The animation with regards to these things looked awesome, in a sense of scale and just downright coolness. Even to this day, it manages to look as good, if not better, than some of the current shows on TV at the moment. ~~~~~

I actually enjoyed the politics in this episode. With Superman flying around saving the day, why do we need bio-weapons? Of course, this kind of thinking comes back to bite them in the gahonys minutes after its approved. I like Flash's little cameo, too. It's a nice set-up and reason for the league to join together later on - Superman can't be everywhere at once.

My favoutie part had to be the opening attack on Waynes Corp. There's nothing really exceptional about it, but when the bad guys get up from the explosion and click their disjointed bones back into place, it gives you the first glimpse a show that's not simply for children. There's plenty of that humour throughout the rest of the series, it's part of its appeal.

~~~~~

The ending sees Superman and Batman helping out captured Martian, J'onn J'onnz only to be greeted by an army of Aliens. While it's not exactly the best cliff-hanger imaginable, it works, and will certainly keep you interested until the next episode. Overall, a fine mix between action, character and spectacle. While it's by no means a series best, it's a competent start to the show.moreless
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Aliens attack and various superheroes--Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter, namely--must band together to defeat them.

7.9

By SailorLibra, Feb 08, 2008

Not bad for a beginning, but it would have been annoying had the show continued at this level. The beginning focuses on Superman and Batman, whose personalities and lives seem to be a continuation of their recent shows, and then the focus spreads out to include the other characters. Flash is the teenage sidekick, GL is the former military man, Wonder Woman is the naive rookie, Hawkgirl the hot-headed warrior, and J'onn the alien poster boy for emoness. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile episode to watch. The action is good, and it is interesting to watch the interactions between the characters.moreless
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A great TV series with an average starting episode

5.9

By frank_a33, Mar 22, 2007

Not really the best episode but I guess it is alright for a new show. I really like justice league and I am glad that this episode wasn't the first episode I watched as I might not have gotten as into the show as I have. Everything after this episode gets better so if this show is new to you keep watching because it gets better
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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George Newbern	Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El
Carl Lumbly	Martian Manhunter/J'onn J'onzz
Kevin Conroy	Batman/Bruce Wayne
Susan Eisenberg	Wonder Woman/Diana
Michael Rosenbaum	Flash/Wally West

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Max Brooks	Howie	Guest Star
Clyde Kusatsu	Japanese Ambassador	Guest Star
Gary Cole	J. Allen Carter	Guest Star
Corey Burton	Bald Tech	Recurring Role
Jason Marsden	Snapper Carr	Recurring Role
Susan Sullivan	Hippolyta	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- We later find out the invaders are vulnerable to sunlight ... so how did the alien duplicating Carter get by for two years?
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- Why do only four heroes show up to help Superman, J'onn, and Batman? Not only are perviously established heroes from previous WB series such as Supergirl absent (and she'll feature significantly in Season 3), but all of the heroes we'll see in Season 3 are absent too. Earth's being invaded - couldn't they be bothered?
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QUOTES (4)
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- Senator Carter: (on Mars) Would you look at that? It's a little slice of Heaven.
  Astronaut: If your idea of Heaven is a barren, lifeless rock.
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- J'onn: I am J'onn J'onzz. (offers his hand to Batman who refuses the gesture)
  Superman: Don't take it personally, J'onn-–he doesn't trust anyone.
  J'onn: A wise policy.
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- Superman: Here, it's a signal watch. Call if you need any more help. (flies off)
  Batman: Right.
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- Superman: I'm expected back in Metropolis.
  Batman: Another key to the city?
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NOTES (15)
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- The episode along with "Secret Origins, Part 2 and 3" was released on DVD as Justice League.
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- The name of this episode appears during the Green Lantern sequence of the opening montage, this happens for all three "Secret Origins" episodes. All future episode titles are displayed after the opening montage.
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- Green Lantern and Hawkgirl do not have any dialogue in this episode.
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- Character backgrounds available: The Justice League, Green Lantern - John Stewart, Hawkgirl
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- Kevin Conroy reprises his role as Batman from Batman: The Animated Series, Superman, Batman Beyond, etc.
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- The two alien shapeshfiters disguised as scientists look like the two scientists who appeared in the movie Batman Forever.
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- General Wells' line about not being able to entrust the security of Earth to Superman works as a reference to the two part Superman: The Animated Series finale, "Legacy," which Superman was brainwashed by Darkseid to conquer Earth. The same can be said for Superman's line about working long and hard to earn trust.
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- The tripod war machines bear a strong resemblance to H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. Notice also that General Wells' is named in honor of H.G. Wells.
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- Despite that they are in the next two parts, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern do not appear in this part. Phil LaMarr does have a minor role as another character, however.
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- John Stewart is brought in as the Green Lantern of Earth, despite the fact that in the Superman series, in "In Brightest Day..." it was established that Kyle Rayner was the (new) Green Lantern of Earth. The producers purportedly wanted a more racially diverse cast of characters.
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- Michael Rosenbaum takes on the voice-role of The Flash, replacing Charles Schlatter, who did the role in the Superman episode "Speed Demons."
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- George Newbern takes on the voice-role of Superman, replacing Timothy Daly (who played the role in the previous WB animated series), who was involved in other projects.
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- The reporter often seen throughout the series, Snapper Carr, is a bit of an homage to a character of the same name who acted as a sort of "mascot" or "sidekick" to the Justice League in their early comic book appearances. Inducted as an "Honorary Member" after helping the League defeat Starro the Conquerer in their first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #28, the character would continue to appear in Justice League stories for years to come.
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- "J. Allen Carter" is in-joke reference to the secret IDs of three golden age DC Heroes: Jay Garrick (the Flash), Alan Scott (Green Lantern) and Carter Hall (Hawkman). The last name "Carter" may also be a nod of the hat to John Carter of Mars.
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- Secret Origins was the name of a DC comic which showcased the origin stories of various heroes. It has been relaunched as the infrequent Secret Files and Origins.
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- Alien Invasion Plot
  All three parts of Secret Origins bears a partial resemblence to the undercover invasion of Earth by "White Martians" in several different Justice League story arcs, written by Mark Waid and Grant Morrison.
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- Nuclear Disarmament
  Superman going before the UN General Assembly and disarming the world bears a number of parallels to the movie Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
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- Superman: "..I will continue to uphold the ideals of truth and justice, not just for America, but for all the world."
  Referring to the end of the introductory monologue to the 1951 - 1957 series, The Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves: ...who disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a neverending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
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