JUSTICE LEAGUE: SECRET ORIGINS MOVIE (TV)
Summary
The animated pilot film to "Justice League," an animated television series about a group of superheroes working to defend the world against colossal threats. The film begins during the first manned mission from earth to Mars. An astronaut named J. Allen Carter accidentally discovers a secret underground base of some advanced alien civilization, and opens a doorway to discover a bright, all-encompassing light. Two years later, Batman investigates a satellite dish owned by Wayne Enterprises in Metropolis. The three scientists there speak in a strange language and exhibit superhuman abilities. They plant some sort of device on the dish and Batman attacks, but they prove to be too much for him. Superman arrives to help, but is suddenly seized by a strange vision which knocks him unconscious. Batman rescues him as the satellite dish explodes. He tells Superman that he's investigating disturbances in the global deep-space network, which have been occurring in the past several months. Superman gives Batman one of his signal watches so he can contact him if need be and they part ways. The United Nations holds an assembly over global nuclear disarmament, a topic which sparks massive controversy. Carter, now a United States senator, urges the world to embrace disarmament and brings in Superman to help. Superman convinces the world leaders to agree to Carter's plan, and he spends the next six months disarming nuclear warheads around the globe. The mysterious visions continue to plague him. Batman investigates an abandoned Star Labs facility and finds the same three scientists as before. He discovers that the scientists are impostors and the real scientists are being kept in strange pods. Before he can free them, he is attacked by a dog, which turns out to be some sort of alien creature. In the struggle, Batman activates the signal watch and Superman rushes to the scene to find Batman buried in rubble and unconscious. As he frees him, a large meteor lands in the middle of Metropolis. The meteor opens to reveal a strange alien tripod vehicle which starts destroying Metropolis. Superman and Batman attempt to fight against it, but neither they nor the military are able to harm it. To make matters worse, more tripods emerge from the meteor. Superman experiences another vision and suddenly flies away from the battle with no explanation. More tripods emerge all around the world, causing mass devastation. Meanwhile, on Themyscira, legendary island home of the Amazons, the Amazon princess Diana expresses concern for the terrible suffering of the outside world at the hands of the alien invaders, but her mother Hippolyta tells her it is none of her business. Batman follows Superman into a secret military base, where he frees a green-skinned alien man from captivity. Superman explains that the alien was attempting to telepathically contact him but was placed in a stasis field, thus causing his visions. The alien introduces himself as J'onn J'onzz and claims he came to earth to warn humanity of the coming invasion, but was captured by the military. The three of them try to leave but are stopped by soldiers who reveal themselves to be the invading aliens in disguise, and a fight breaks out. On Themyscira, Diana steals a suit of armor and defies her mother's wishes, journeying to the outside world and becoming Wonder Woman. She arrives to help Superman, Batman, and J'onn, along with the Green Lantern John Stewart, the Flash, and Hawkgirl. Together they manage to fight off the attacking aliens. J'onn reveals that he telepathically summoned them all here and they get to know each other. J'onn explains his story: the aliens invaded Mars one thousand years ago, forcing them into a centuries-long conflict. The aliens were parasites and fed on the Martian's psychic energy, even stealing their ability to shapeshift. Eventually a final desperate attack was launched against the invaders and a nerve gas was used to paralyze them indefinitely. However, J'onn was left as the sole survivor of the Martian race. He sealed the aliens in their underground base and kept watch for hundreds of years until the earth astronauts accidentally released the invaders. The invaders set their sights on earth and J'onn was unable to warn them. Batman realizes that the aliens were the ones who sabotaged earth's deep-space network so that they could take earth by surprise. The next phase of the invasion begins when the invaders construct strange factories that belch out a smoke-like substance that blocks all sunlight. J'onn explains that the invaders are nocturnal and are trying to permanently block out the sun so they can move about freely. The seven assembled heroes decide to split into groups to try to disable the alien factories. Green Lantern and the Flash travel to Malaysia and battle a collection of tripods. Meanwhile, Batman, J'onn, and Wonder Woman infiltrate one of the factories and fight their way to the central core to disable it. They are successful, but Batman gets left behind and is apparently killed by the invaders. Superman and Hawkgirl launch their own offensive in Metropolis; Superman learns that Hawkgirl is from the planet Thanagar. They are rendered unconscious and captured by the invaders. As Wonder Woman, J'onn, Green Lantern, and Flash reconvene the invaders' mothership approaches earth's atmosphere. J'onn announces that the mothership carries the "Imperium," the leader of the invaders. The heroes decide to mount a rescue for Superman and Hawkgirl, and manage to infiltrate the alien factory. They find Superman and Hawkgirl, but it is a trap and they are actually invaders in disguise. The remaining heroes get captured as well and are confronted by Senator Carter, who reveals himself to be one of the invaders in disguise. He explains that the real Carter died on Mars and the invaders assumed his form in order to get Superman to disarm the world's nuclear arsenal, thus weakening their defenses against the invasion. The Imperium arrives; it is a floating purple blob-monster. It recognizes J'onn and starts painfully killing him. However, J'onn has a trick up his sleeve: Batman is actually alive and J'onn mentally shielded him from detection so he could infiltrate the factory. Batman reverses the invaders' smoke-creating machine, exposing them to sunlight, which melts them. The other heroes are freed and combat the invaders as J'onn forces the Imperium into the sunlight, causing it great pain. As the invaders fall the Imperium attempts to escape, but Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl prevent him from doing so. The heroes destroy the alien factory, rescue a group of prisoners, and watch as the sky clears up and the mothership departs from earth. In the aftermath of the invasion, the heroes defeat the remaining alien forces and restore order to the world. Batman constructs a massive space station orbiting the earth called the "Watchtower" to serve as an early-warning system in the event of another alien invasion. The seven heroes assemble at the Watchtower, where Superman proposes that they form an alliance so that they can spread peace and justice throughout the globe and work together to confront threats too powerful for any one of them to handle. The assembled heroes decide to join this new "Justice League"; Batman declines membership but says he will aid them upon request. J'onn reflects that he is the last of his kind and no longer has a home, but Superman vows that the Justice League will do their best to make earth his new home. This sentiment seems to comfort J'onn. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: Cartoon Network
- DATE: November 17, 2001 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:17:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:70350
- GENRE: Animation
- SUBJECT HEADING: Animation
- SERIES RUN: Cartoon Network - TV series, 2001-2006
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jean MacCurdy … Executive Producer
- Sander Schwartz … Executive Producer
- Rich Fogel … Producer, Writer
- Glen Murakami … Producer
- Bruce Timm … Producer
- James Tucker … Producer
- Shaun McLaughlin … Associate Producer
- Dan Riba … Director
- Butch Lukic … Director
- Andrea Romano … Voice Direction
- Ko Yoonjae … Animation Director, Animation
- Huh Sungman … Animation Director
- Kim Sewon … Animation Director
- Lee Sangwan … Animation Director
- Sa Kyungchuk … Animation Director
- Cho Namgil … Animation
- Han Yunghoon … Animation
- Kim Bongkun … Animation
- Kim Sangwoo … Animation
- Kwak Byungui … Animation
- Lee Doohee … Animation
- Lee Namjung … Animation
- Lim Kyuyong … Animation
- Oh Sangbong … Animation
- Ru Hyejin … Animation
- Shim Jungsook … Animation
- Cantina Pictures Visual Effects … Main Title Animation
- Lolita Ritmanis … Music by, Theme Music by
- Kristopher Carter … Music by
- Michael McCuistion … Music by
- Kevin Conroy … Voice, Batman
- María Canals (See also: María Canals Barrera) … Voice, Hawkgirl
- Susan Eisenberg … Voice, Wonder Woman
- Phil LaMarr … Voice, Green Lantern
- Carl Lumbly … Voice, J'onn J'onzz
- George Newbern … Voice, Superman
- Michael Rosenbaum … Voice, Flash
- Gary Cole … Voice, J. Allen Carter
- Jason Marsden … Voice, Snapper Carr
- Susan Sullivan … Voice, Hippolyta
- Max Brooks … Voice, Howie
- Corey Burton … Voice, Bald Tech
- Wanda Christine … Voice, Female Tech
- Clyde Kusatsu … Voice, Japanese Ambassador
- Kevin Michael Richardson … Voice, General Wells