Justice League (TV series)

***Justice League*** is an American superhero television series developed by Joss Whedon, Zack Snyder, Geoff Johns, and Marc Guggenheim. The series, based on the characters of DC Comics, airs on ABC and is the first series in the *Justice* universe. The series premiered in February 2014. In February 2019, ABC renewed the series for a eighth and final season, which is set to premiere in midseason 2021.

The show has received positive reviews from critics, who praised the action, plot, and acting.

## Series overview

The first season begins with a White Martian invasion of Earth. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Martian Manhunter work together to stop the invasion, alongside A.R.G.U.S., a military division that Diana works with. The eight heroes decide to form the Justice League and A.R.G.U.S. helps supply them, while the Hall of Justice is created as their base. The team soon begins to discover something inside of A.R.G.U.S., revealed to be Checkmate, the secret inner circle led by Amanda Waller and Maxwell Lord. Waller has created the Suicide Squad, a team of villains who have been arrested to go on dangerous, often fatal missions. The League denounces A.R.G.U.S. and works solo, but when General Zod and a team of rogue Kryptonians escape from the Phantom Zone, they must work with A.R.G.U.S. to stop them and Waller gains their trust back, but J'onn sacrifices himself.

In the second season, the multiverse of parallel earths is discovered. Earth-2 is home to a beaten down team of older superheroes called the Justice Society, while Earth-3 is exactly the opposite of Earth-1. The Justice League is the super-villain team the Crime Syndicate, while Lex Luthor leads the Justice Underground, a rebellion. The Justice League of Earth-1 decides to help stop the tyrannical rule Earth-3 is under, and the remaining Justice Society members try to help as well. Meanwhile, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the Atom join the team.

The third season features Brainiac's arrival on Earth. This happens just as Circe and Felix Faust attempt to take over Themyscira. The team is joined by Kara, Clark's cousin who was intended to come to Earth with him, until her pod was taken by Brainiac. Elongated Man also joins the team.

## Cast and characters

The series utilizes an ensemble cast that grows and changes throughout the series' run. The original first season cast listed alphabetically was:

* Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
* Erica Durance as Lois Lane
* Patrick John Flueger as Steve Trevor
* Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
* Victor Garber as Alfred Pennyworth
* David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter
* Logan Lerman as Barry Allen/The Flash
* James Marsden as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
* Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
* Joivan Wade as Victor Stone/Cyborg
* Tom Welling as Clark Kent/Superman
* Sam Witwer as Bruce Wayne/Batman

For the second season, Harewood and Davis do not return as series regulars, after J'onzz was written out after the first season finale, and Davis decided not to renew her contract, though she does return for three episodes. Charlie Hunnam, Kathryn Winnick, and Dermot Mulroney joined the main cast as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Dinah Lance/Black Canary, and Ted Knight/Starman. In the third, Brandon Routh and Hartley Sawyer were promoted after recurring the previous season as Ray Palmer and Ralph Dibny. In addition, Melissa Benoist joined as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. No cast members leave between seasons three and four, though Israel Broussard and Coy Stewart were cast as Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch, who together form Firestorm. After the fourth season, Garber and Marsden left the cast. For the fifth season, Abraham Rodriguez and Maisie Richardson-Sellers joined the show as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle and Mari McCabe/Vixen, while Clancy Brown and Emma Stone were promoted after making several guest appearances throughout the series as General Sam Lane and Barbara Gordon. The sixth season saw Davis and Marsden return as main cast members, after Sawyer and Brown were written out. Michael Ironside also appeared as Darkseid, though he was credited as a "special guest star".