Season One (Justice League)

The **first season** of ABC's *Justice League* aired as a six-episode miniseries from June 23, 2013 to July 21, 2013.

## Plot

Darkseid, guided by his servents Steppenwolf, Granny Goodness, Glorius Godfrey, and DeSaad, along with his Apokoliptian army, sets out to Earth to collect the Three Mother Boxes. Arriving on Earth, he sends Parademons to eliminate the planet's main threats Batman and Superman. In Gotham City, Bruce Wayne learns of the alien threat and has Alfred Pennyworth begin a protocal to locate potential heroes. Bruce goes to see Clark Kent in Metropolis. Clark plans on proposing to his girlfriend Lois Lane, while he has also been investigating the Parademon attacks. As Bruce confronts Clark, they are both attacked by Parademons. Meanwhile, on the island of Themyscira, Diana Prince learns of the true story about Darkseid from her mother Queen Hippolyta. She visits Arthur Curry, King of Atlantis, who has been denying the possibility of an attack. Diana's concerns and a talk with his wife Mera leads Arthur to set up a defense system in Atlantis. In Central City, teenager Barry Allen seeks to get his father out of prison, just before spotting a Parademon downtown. He fights it but is kidnapped and brought to Darkseid. On the Green Lantern base planet of Oa, John Stewart is left the only survivor of an attack on his crew by Darkseid's Female Furies. Jordan follows them back to Earth, where he finds Allen. Also, in Washington D.C., A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller enacts her own procedure upon learning of Darkseid's arrival, which involves a tag on Bruce Wayne, Atlantis, and Themyscira.

Granny Goodness attacks Themyscira and kills several Amazons, before taking the Mother Boxes, despite Diana's interference. Hippolyta dies of her injuries, naming Diana the new Queen in her place. Bruce and Clark identify one another as Batman and Superman and work together to make it out of the Daily Planet. They attempt to rescue Lois but Metropolis is put under siege by Steppenwolf before the three can escape. Arthur is shocked by Atlantis's own invasion by Godfrey. Waller arrives with a team to help but the Mother Box is still taken. Mera is still gravely injured, but is put in a special healing chamber on Waller's ship, the Javelin. Meanwhile, as John and Barry take on DeSaad and escape, after witnessing Darkseid reminiscing on his past as a young child, before his corruption by the Mother Boxes. And, Alfred is joined by A.R.G.U.S. agent Steve Trevor, looking for Bruce, as they learn about Metropolis.

Barry is found by Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash, who shows him the different outcomes of Darkeid's war, one in which Barry's father is released but Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman die stopping Darkseid. Ultimately, Barry resists his temptations and returns to join the other heroes. John is found by Alfred and Steve as they try to find Barry and make there way into Metropolis. Diana hunts down Granny Goodness, but comes face to face with Lashina, head of the Female Furies. The two fight and Diana nearly kills her or vengeance, but Arthur and Waller arrive and stop her. Lashina escapes. Arthur and Waller take Diana to outside Metropolis, where they pick up John, Alfred, and Steve and enter Metropolis using the Javelin's heightened technology. In Metropolis, Clark, Bruce, and Lois split up, with the latter two staying behind at the Daily Planet to act as a beacon for the citizens, while Clark goes to find who is responsible. Darkseid has taken LexCorp as his headquarters, and Clark finds and fights him, learning about his background and being overpowered easily. Clark escapes at the last minute and rejoins Bruce and Lois, who have discovered someone has breached the barrier. The Javelin arrives and takes the three on board, where they meet the others and Bruce reunites with Alfred. Suddenly, Barry speeds back to the group and announces he knows how to stop Darkseid.

In a flashback, the Green Lantern Corps come to Earth and join the Amazons, Atlanteans, and Humans in fighting off Darkseid. Abin Sur, Earth's Green Lantern, King Atlan, Queen Hippolyta, and King Arthur all take the three Mother Boxes and split them up. Atlan takes one, Hippolyta takes another, and Arthur takes the third, with Abin Sur being the only other one with the knowledge of its location. In the present day, Barry reveals they must all work together to stop Darkseid and Waller states they need to find the final Mother Box. John, Diana, and Steve leave to find Abin Sur's recorded message, while Barry, Clark, and Arthur try to take back the other Mother Boxes, and Bruce and Alfred return to Wayne Manor to get all findings on Darkseid. John, Diana, and Steve go to Oa, where the Guardians of the Universe reveal they find Earth too insignificant to help, despite Diana's pleas that Darkseid could take over the universe. Ganthet points them in the way of Abin Sur's destroyed pod, in Coast City. Steve repairs it and Abin Sur gives the coordination of the buried Mother Box. The three go the spot but only find a hidden A.R.G.U.S. bunker buried deep underneath. The abandoned base houses only only one room, in which the Javelin was built. They return to the Javelin, after Waller and Lois have a heart-to-heart about superheroes, and they all realize the technology A.R.G.U.S. used to power the Javelin was made from Mother Boxes, which is why it could enter the force field. Waller realizes this means someone at A.R.G.U.S. has knowledge they kept from her. Bruce and Alfred find an old cave painting of Darkseid killing a figure with an S on his chest. Barry, Clark, and Arthur fight Granny Goodness, DeSaad, and Glorious Godfrey, before finding the Mother Boxes. However, Steppenwolf finds them and activates the Mother Boxes, sending the three of them to all different locations. Arthur ends up back on the ship, while Barry finds himself in Wayne Manor, and helps Bruce and Alfred stop Darkseid, but they cannot get back through to the Javelin. On the Javelin, Lashina finishes off Mera, causing Arthur to shut down, and Diana still cannot get her hands on her. Clark, meanwhile, awakens in Darkseid's prison, where Darkseid kills him.

Arthur mourns Mera and returns to Atlantis, where the spirit of his mother convinces him to return to avenge Mera. On the Javelin, the team receives a message from DeSaad telling them Clark has died. They refuse to believe it until they send Clark's body to them. They offer them a quick death as well if they hand over the third Mother Box. Despite grieving Clark, the team manages to quickly put together a plan and they cloak themselves, leaving Darkseid unable to find them. Lois refuses to believe he is truly dead, but Bruce confirms it using Kryptonite. Diana believes they could use the Mother Box to bring him back, but they would risk giving it over to Darkseid in the process. Barry tells them Clark is the only shot they have at stopping Darkseid, so Waller agrees to risk the use of a Mother Box. Bruce and Lois return to Smallville to find a childhood object, but run into Martha Kent, who they inform of his death. She finds the first "cape" he ever used and gives it to them in the hopes of resurrecting her son. Diana, Barry, and John set up the procedure using old Apokoliptian legend, just before Arthur returns to help. Using everything they have gained, Clark awakens with amnesia and attacks them, before taking Lois back to Smallville and Martha helps him remember. Clark keeps Lois in Smallville to ensure her safety, before flying back to Metropolis. Darkseid takes the Mother Box in the aftermath of Clark's attack. The team, now all reunited with Waller, Steve, and Alfred as backup, prepares for battle.

Bruce, Clark, Diana, Barry, Arthur, and John go to downtown Metropolis and take on the Parademon army. Diana finally finds Granny Goodness and kills her. Glorious Godfrey sees their impending doom and spends his final moments rigging the Mother Boxes to implode if a human touches them. Steppenwolf and DeSaad protect Darkseid, but Barry and Bruce take them on, as Clark faces Darkseid, now fully powered. They take on each other but Darkseid still overpowers him. Arthur and John help him and they manage to distract him. Diana finds Bruce and Barry and they go to the Mother Boxes, but when Barry touches one, it begins a self-destruction sequence. Diana tries to stop it, but she is unable to. Darkseid is finally stopped by Clark, but now the team has to worry about the Mother Boxes. Waller uses the Javelin to short circuit the Boxes, sending them and their surroundings, including the team and Darkseid, back to Apokolips. The final fight occurs there and the entire team uses their abilities to stop him. They take the Mother Boxes, restored, and return them to Themyscira, Atlantis, and A.R.G.U.S., which Waller promises to keep good care of. Clark finally proposes to Lois, as the team is called the "Justice League" by the media. In a final tag, a mysterious individual known as Hank Heywood is revealed to have overseen the construction of the Javelin.

## Cast

### **Starring**

* Scott Speedman as Bruce Wayne/Batman (6 episodes)
* Matt Bomer as Clark Kent/Superman (6 episodes)
* Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (6 episodes)
* Joe Keery as Barry Allen/The Flash (6 episodes)
* Mehcad Brooks as John Stewart/Green Lantern (6 episodes)
* Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman (6 episodes)
* Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth (6 episodes)
* Sophia Bush as Lois Lane (6 episodes)
* Chace Crawford as Steve Trevor (6 episodes)
* Clancy Brown as Darkseid (6 episodes)
* Viola Davis as Amanda Waller (6 episodes)

### **Guest Starring**

* Steppenwolf (6 episodes)
* Granny Goodness (6 episodes)
* DeSaad (6 episodes)
* Glorius Godfrey (6 episodes)
* Lashina (3 episodes)
* Mera (3 episodes)
* Hippolyta (2 episodes)
* Eobard Thawne (1 episode)
* Atlanna (1 episode)
* Henry Allen (1 episode)
* Martha Kent (1 episode)
* Ganthet (1 episode)
* Abin Sur (1 episode)

## Reception

### **Critcal response**

The series was met with critical acclaim upon release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 97% based on 100 reviews, and an average score of 7.65/10. On IGN, the season was awarded a 8.8/10 "Great" score, with individual episodes receiving a 9/10, 8.1/10, 9.1/10, 8.8/10, and 8.4/10, respectively. The A.V. Club graded the six episodes scores of A-, B-, B-, A-, B, and B+, with the season overall being graded a B+.

### **Accolades**

At the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received a nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for Viola Davis. At the Creative Arts Awards, the series received several nominations in the Sound, Editing, Music, Costuming, and Visual Effects categories. At the 40th Saturn Awards, the series was nominated for Best Network Television Series, and won for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series, for Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Viola Davis, and Joe Keery, respectively, along with nominations for Scott Speedman and Matt Bomer for Best Actor on Television, and Mehcad Brooks for Best Supporting Actor on Television.