The Justice League (2001-2004) animated TV series is fondly remembered by fans as one of the top DC shows. In the first series, the Justice League consists of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. This series ran for two seasons, 26 episodes each, before expanding the Watchtower to include a bunch of other fan-favorite characters in the sequel series, Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006).
The first couple seasons of Justice League TAS featured multi-part episodes. To avoid multiple entries from the same episode, the highest ranked part of an episode meant the entire episode would be grouped together on this list with each part of the episode's score mentioned within the entry. Episodes with the same rating were ranked higher if they had more votes overall.
10 "War World" (7.6)
During a typical day in space, Superman (voiced by George Newbern of Scandal) and Martian Manhunter (Carl Lumbly from Supergirl) find themselves trapped on the planet of Warworld. The two are forced to fight in battles to the death.
Under the dictatorship of the supervillain Mongul (Eric Roberts), Superman must fight the tyrant or he will destroy fellow slave Draaga's home world. This episode marks the first cartoon appearance of Mongul and is based on the comic book story titled "Gladiator" in Superman #28-32 (1989).
9 "In Blackest Night" (7.6)
Another two-parter, "In Blackest Night" sees the Justice League investigate claims that Green Lantern (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is responsible for genocide while their fellow leaguer faces the charges brought upon him in an intergalactic trial.
This storyline is based on the comic book story from Justice League of America #140-141 (March-April 1977). This story uses a different version of the Green Lantern, John Stewart, rather than the more traditional Hal Jordan.
8 "The Brave And The Bold" (7.7)
In "The Brave and the Bold," Gorilla Grodd makes his first appearance in the show and will go on to become a longtime enemy of the Justice League. His sights this time around are set on mind-controlling the Flash (voiced by Michael Rosenbaum, aka Lex Luthor of Smallville) into fighting the Green Lantern while Grodd steals isotopes to destroy Gorilla City, a place full of super-intelligent gorillas.
During Flash's hallucinations while under Gorilla Grodd's control, there are numerous references to versions of the Flash from the comics, including a puppet Flash and a big-headed Flash (because his ego wasn't big enough already).
7 "A Knight Of Shadows" (7.8)
In this episode, the Justice League teams up with the rhyming Etrigan the Demon in a fight against the sorceress Morgaine le Fay (Olivia d'Abo, Inque from Batman Beyond) and her son Mordred.
Morgaine is based on the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay. This is her first appearance in the Justice League animated series, though she previously appeared in the Wonder Woman (1975-1979) television show and was played by Brenda Benet.
6 "Paradise Lost" (7.8)
When Wonder Woman (voiced by Susan Eisenberg, who recently called for a cast reunion) returns home to Paradise Island, she finds all the amazons have been turned to stone by Felix Faust (voiced by Freddy Kreuger himself, Robert Englund).
He demands three mythical artifacts in exchange for returning the amazons to the flesh, which the League set off to find. Things get more complicated when they discover Faust plans on using the artifacts to free Hades (voiced by John Rhys-Davies from Lord of the Rings) and open Tartarus, the pit of souls.
5 "The Enemy Below" (8.0)
Aquaman continues to grow angry at humankind, encountering the Justice League saving a submarine crew and surviving an assassination attempt by Deadshot (another character voiced by Michael Rosenbaum,).
In the dramatic second part of this two-parter, the team ends up captured after trying to stop a takeover by Aquaman's half-brother, Orm. Aquaman ends up having to give up his own hand to save the lives of both himself and his son.
4 "Secret Origins" (8.2)
In the last of the three-part premiere of Justice League, Batman (voiced by the legendary Kevin Conroy), Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl (voiced by Maria Canals-Barrera from Wizards of Waverly Place) team up for the very first time to stop an alien invasion. This is a flashback storyline showing how this particular missions leads them to become the Justice League in the first place.
3 "The Savage Time" (8.6)
This is the three-part finale to the first season of Justice League. In one of their hardest missions yet, the team goes back in time to keep the immortal, time-traveling Vandal Savage (voiced by Phil Morris, who reprised this role in Justice League: Doom) from using future technology to win WWII. With the help of allies like Sgt. Rock and Blackhawk, the team finds themselves up against an army and stakes higher than ever before.
The WWII characters in this episode are all based on comic book characters. Sgt. Rock is considered one of the most popular and recognizable war comic book characters. Black Hawk, real name Janos Prohaska, was a pilot and leader of the Blackhawk Squadron. The team also meets an alternate version of Batman and several cameo appearances of the Bat-family are made, including Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, and Barbara Gordon.
2 "Injustice For All" (8.7)
Lex Luthor, who has just been diagnosed as terminally ill due to Kryptonite poisoning, creates a team of supervillains to end the Justice League. His villainous team includes the likes of Ultra-Humanite, Cheetah, and an uninvited Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill, a fan favorite in the iconic role), to name but a few. Luthor's supervillain team is based on the Injustice Gang from the comic JLA and the Legion of Doom from the cartoon Challenge of the Superfriends (1978).
1 "Legends" (8.8)
The highest-ranked episode is the second part of the two-parter "Legends." Members of the Justice League are sucked into an alternate dimension. Green Lantern's childhood comic book heroes, the Justice Guild, watch over this alternate city, and misunderstandings between the two groups ensue.
Later, the Justice League help the Justice Guild against the Injustice Guild, only for a shocking revelation to be made about this reality. The Justice Guild served as an homage to the Golden Age superheroes of DC Comics, the Justice Society of America.