Justice League (animation)/Tropes A-L

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Due to the number of tropes present, Justice League has been split into two pages. Tropes M-Z can be found here.

Tropes used in Justice League (animation)/Tropes A-L include:


  • Absence of Evidence: When Superman is apparently killed by Toyman's latest machine, Bruce refuses to believe it, and presents his theory to Alfred by saying the lack of evidence is what tipped him off--Toyman's weapon left no trace evidence. It left no debris, so it didn't blow him up. It left no burns, so it didn't incinerate him. It didn't even leave radiation, hence it didn't disintegrate him. Bats decides that since Toyman is merely an obnoxious Mad Scientist, not a god, the Law of Conservation is still in effect, and therefore Superman couldn't have just been destroyed. His conclusion; it teleported him somewhere. He's right - Supes was shunted forward in time, but the show doesn't make it clear whether or not Batman is simply in denial.
  • Absolute Cleavage: Vixen.
  • Acrofatic/Stout Strength: Steven Mandragora
  • Action Dress Rip: Wonder Woman in "Maid of Honor".
  • Action Girl: Too many examples to list individually.
  • Actor Allusion:
  • Actual Pacifist: Dove
  • Actually, I Am Him: In "A Better World", after the League rescues Hawkgirl from the Justice Lord universe's Arkham Asylum, they are confronted by the military. Before anything can happen, the Justice Lord Batman arrives and orders the soldiers to stand down, whilst he takes them away. The League assumed that he was their Batman, who had disguised himself with the Lord Batman's costume in order to let them escape.

Superman: You fooled them. Even I thought you were him.
Justice Lord Batman: I am him.

Direct neural stimulation of pain receptors. All of them. Imagine the worst pain you've ever felt in your life, times a thousand. Now imagine that pain continuing forever. Oh, that's right: you don't have to imagine.

  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Brainiac, the Manhunter robots.
  • Alien Invasion: Numerous times.
  • Alien Sky: The view from an alien moon is a plot point in "In Blackest Night".
  • Aliens Speaking English: Green Lantern rings can translate languages, but even when no rings or telepathic Martians are around, English still seems to be the default language of the universe.
  • All Germans Are Nazis: Averted. When Wonder Woman rescues a code-breaker from Nazi captivity in World War II she is surprised to discover that he is German himself, and he explains that not all Germans are like them.
  • All Just a Dream: The episodes "Only A Dream" and "For The Man Who Has Everything".
  • All Myths Are True
  • All There in the Manual: Boston Brandt (Deadman) had never appeared in the DCAU prior to his appearance in season three of Unlimited, but both he and Batman make reference to previously working together. This occurred in the comic tie-in to Batman the Animated Series, which was considered canon with the aired DCAU.
  • Allohistorical Allusion: Towards the end of "The Savage Time," the members of the German High Command are beginning to resent Vandal Savage's actions and position. When speaking about the previous Fuhrer, they admit that he was crazy, but at least he listened to his generals. In real life, one of the key reasons often given for the collapse of the German military was Hitler's refusal to accept advice or corrections from his military staff.
  • Alpha Bitch: Stargirl...sort of. She is vain and fame seeking, has a large sense of entitlement, and mocks and belittles those around her to ease her own feelings, but means well beneath it all. She is well aware of how her actions look and recognizes that her words make her "petty."
  • Alternate Company Equivalent: The roster of Dr. Fate's superteam seen in "Wake the Dead" is based on the original Defenders. (Dr. Fate = Dr. Strange, Amazo = Silver Surfer, Hawkgirl = Nighthawk, Grundy = Hulk, and Aquaman = Namor).
  • Aluminum Christmas Trees: After the Ultra-Humanite agrees to a Christmas truce with the Flash, he repairs a toy for orphans and personally records The Nutcracker for their entertainment. Afterwards, he peacefully allows Flash to return him to jail, wherein he finds that the Flash has given him an aluminum christmas tree, just like he had when he was a kid.
  • Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: The Amulet of First Magic, which gives Mordred the power to get rid of his mother and completely rid the world of all adults.
  • Ancient Astronauts: The modern-day Thanagarians might be locked in a bloody, endless war with the horrific Gordanians, but eight thousand years ago they were a pretty benevolent people. When two law officers accidentally crashed in north-east Africa and began to be worshipped by the locals (In spite of their wishes), they used their advanced technology to bring water and food to the arid locale and created a peaceful society that covered much of the continent. It was such a nice place to live that neighboring countries would actually thank them for conquering their homes. Unfortunately, they had only educated their people to the level of tool users, not tool makers, so when they died their society collapsed in a generation.
  • And I Must Scream: Chronos, trapped in a Stable Time Loop of his wife screaming at him for all eternity.
  • And the Adventure Continues...: Trope Namer
  • And Then What?: When Bizarro appears in "Ultimatum" he is assisting Giganta in her efforts to break Gorilla Grodd out of jail. When Wonder Woman asks him why, he explains that he will do anything for Giganta, who he has fallen in love with, including breaking her boyfriend out of jail. When Wonder Woman asks him what he thinks will happen after Grodd is free, he freezes in confusion.
  • And This Is For: In "War World", Draaga gives such a speech while pounding on Mongul, citing his people, his honor and justice.
  • Animated Armor: The Annihilator, built by Hephaestus for Ares, the God of War.
  • Antagonist in Mourning: Lex Luthor in "Hereafter".
  • Anti-Climactic Unmasking: When Lex Luthor unmasks the Flash, all he can do is stare at the red-headed kid and admit that he has no idea who the heck it is.
  • Anticlimax: Captain Cold is very disappointed with how the fight against the Flash ended, since he was looking forward to bloody revenge and all he got was the sight of the Flash falling into a mirror. Of course, the episode was not over yet...
  • Anti-Villain: The Ultra-Humanite fixed a toy for orphans on Christmas, then willingly went back to jail. The only outright villainous thing he does in the whole series is help Lex break out of jail and fight the League, but he gives that up when he gets a better offer: money to public broadcasting.
  • Anvilicious: In universe, even Superman finds Wind Dragon's impassioned speech about environmentalism to be too much.
  • Arbitrary Skepticism: Frequently used by characters, but Deconstructed Trope each and every time.
    • The Flash was the first to explicitly point out the ridiculous nature of skepticism in their line of work since, as he points out to John Stewart, "we've both got a martian's phone number on our speed dial; I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt here."
    • In "Shadow of the Hawk", where Batman describes the academic humiliation of Carter Hall after he began to believe that aliens visited Ancient Egypt, Shayera Hol "agrees" with him and points out that this proves Hall must be crazy, since we all know that there is no such things as aliens. Which she is.
    • When Deadman mocks the idea of Gorilla City in "Dead Reckoning" Wonder Woman asks why he, as a ghost from the Himalayas possessing Superman's body, has a problem with this. Deadman concedes that she has a point.
  • Arc Welding: The long-running storylines of Justice League Unlimited were all connected back to second season episodes of Justice League itself, but were then pushed back even further into Superman the Animated Series, with plot points springing directly from episodes of Superman that had aired eight years (And two series) before the current show. References are also made to episodes as far back as the beginning of Batman the Animated Series, including "On Leather Wings", which was the very first entry in the DCAU.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Justice-Lord Batman drives home one of these to his regular universe counterpart, to the reason why he helped create a totalitarian state;

Batman: You grabbed power!
Justice-Lord Batman And with that power, we made a world where no eight-year-old boy will EVER lose his parents because of some punk with a gun.
Batman: *Drops Batarang dejectedly* You win...

    • Batman turns it back on him later though, after stopping at a cafe and seeing a guy getting taken away for complaining about a cup of coffee:

Batman: They'd love it here, don't you think?
Justice-Lord batman: Who?
Batman: Mom and Dad. They'd be so proud...

  • Art Evolution - Superman was originally designed to be slightly bulkier than his Superman the Animated Series incarnation, along with some additional lines on his face and a change in coloration. Negative fan response to the design (the lines made him look older/recovering from Kryptonite-tainted clams) led to them tweaking the design slightly by altering the face, making it resemble to the Superman the Animated Series design, though the design still retained the bulk of the Season 1 design. Here is one image of the first design used in Justice League, and here is an image of the redesign for Season 2 and Justice League Unlimited. Wonder Woman also had a tweak for Season 2 and Unlimited, losing the cheekbones she had in Season 1.
  • Art Major Biology: Allergies are not contagious, cannot be engineered and are not selective to gender. Allergens themselves are not harmful in any way, shape or form, the effects (The actual allergic reaction) are caused by a reaction of the body's own immune system.
  • Art Shift: Grodd's story about Prince Jon in "To Another Shore", drawn in a more typical, realistic comic book style.
  • An Asskicking Christmas: The Christmas special where Green Lantern and Hawkgirl spend their holiday in an alien bar, asskicking.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
  • The Atoner: Hawkgirl. Before her, Etrigan.
  • Ax Crazy - Killer Frost.
  • Back for the Finale: J'onn J'onzz.
  • Back from the Dead: Solomon Grundy (who Came Back Wrong-- twice!) and Darkseid.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: In the final episode, Batman and Lex Luthor.
  • Bad Guy Bar
  • Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Lord!Superman. In the comics, Doomsday killed Superman after already defeating the entirety of the Justice League of America, but Lord!Superman lobotomized him five minutes into the fight once it became apparent that his strength approached Superman's own.
  • Bad Guys Play Pool: The Bad Guy Bar in "Flash and Substance" has a pool table constantly in use in the background. When the Flash convinces the Trickster to help him out, the pool table is destroyed.
  • Badass: Pretty much everyone, but Aquaman is the most surprising iteration. In his first appearance in Superman the Animated Series, Aquaman was portrayed as a mix of the angry-king version then current and the classic, optimistic character previously used in Superfriends, but by the time Justice League rolled around the depiction "matured" to the Peter David version of the character.
  • Badass Boast: "No man escapes the Manhunters!" Well, up until now.
  • Badass Crew
  • Badass Grandpa: Several, such as the modern day Blackhawks and the leader of Skartaris. Wildcat, much like his comic counterpart, is still a trainer and compatriot of the new generation of heroes despite his advancing years.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Lex Luthor, when he is not wearing his military style fatigues, Institutional Apparel or Powered Armor. Lampshaded with "I had to get my power suit."
  • Badass Longcoat: The Question.
  • Badass Normal: Batman, of course, but also a fair number of Unlimited League members. The latter are spotlighted in "Patriot Act", and The Question sometimes seems to be the real star of the series.
  • Bar Brawl: Hawkgirl seems to enjoy a good brawl, as she starts a fight (In anger) in "In Blackest Night" and starts another one (Just for fun) in "Comfort and Joy".
  • Barehanded Blade Block: General Wade Eiling, after his transformation, catches Shining Knight's sword with one hand and throws him to the ground. It had previously been established that Shining Knight's sword was the one weapon present which could injure the General, after bullets, explosions and even Quantum Arrows did not even mark him.
  • Bare Your Midriff: Supergirl, Shayera (in JLU), Fire, Huntress, Stargirl, Volcana, Kat's new outfit, the females at Skartaris.
  • Barrier Warrior: The Green Lanterns, Sinestro, and Star Sapphire.
  • Bash Brothers: Pretty much the whole point of the series. The most common pairings are Superman and Wonder Woman, then Flash and Green Lantern.
  • Batman Cold Open: Numerous times, often as a way of sneaking in references and cameos of DCU heroes and villains that could not be fit into the regular episode.
  • Batman Gambit: in addition to the obvious, the Question pulls one on Galatea, and a sort of a weird helpful one on Huntress. Flash has the rare honor of successfully pulling off a Batman Gambit against (Justice Lord) Batman.
  • Batman Grabs a Gun: Superman attempts to lobotomize Doomsday in the "Doomsday Sanction," just as his Justice Lord counterpart did in "A Better World."
  • Battle Couple: Pretty much every Official Couple in the show.
  • Battle in the Center of the Mind: "Only A Dream."
  • Be Careful What You Wish For/Literal Genie: Hath-Set follows through on his loyalty to his Thanagarian pharaoh Katar-Hol with brutal efficiency, and when Katar discovers his wife and best friend are in love with each other, and in a blind rage offhand wishes they were dead, Hath-Set, who was eavesdropping, makes it so... to Katar's intense dismay.
  • Beam-O-War: In "Only a Dream," John Stewart and Volcana square off against one another. Volcana seemed to be on the verge of overpowering John, but she was knocked down by Batman and John was able to gain the upper hand.
  • Beautiful All Along:
    • There was never any implication that she was actually ugly, but Hawkgirl wore her mask for every single scene in the first two seasons, never revealing what she really looked like and leading some fans to think that her mask was her face. When she and John Stewart finally admit that they have feelings for each other she points out that they are too different, not even the same species, and John says that all he sees are a man and a woman as he slowly takes off her mask. Beneath the mask she is a beautiful woman with long red hair and piercing green eyes.
    • When the Question and Huntress team-up in "Double Date," she theorizes that he must be the ugliest person in the world in order to hide his face like he does. There was a brief glance at his unmasked face earlier in the series in "Fearful Symmetry," but "Flashpoint" has his dramatic unmasking. At that point he has been beaten so badly his face is almost unrecognizable as the same man and he sourly comments that Huntress was right, he is "the ugliest guy in the world." Huntress disagrees.
  • Becoming the Mask
  • Beneath the Mask: The Flash. See Obfuscating Stupidity.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Hawkgirl and Green Lantern bicker and argue so much throughout the first two seasons that Flash actually compares them to an old married couple. The two eventually realize their feelings in "Wild Cards", near the end of the second season, and are a couple in "Starcrossed", the season finale. Even The Joker noticed their relationship before they finally admitted it:

The Joker: Is it just me, or is there something going on between those two?

Hawkgirl: Do you always keep that in your belt?
Batman: Call it...insurance. (grapples away)

Hawkgirl: And they call me scary.

"Keep the change."

Shayera: How'd you do that?
Wonder Woman: Magic lasso. Who knew?
Shayera: If you don't want to tell me, fine.

  • Casual Danger Dialog: Between Batman and Superman in "Clash".
    • Batman again in "Dark Heart," after ejecting from the Batplane and having his parachute destroyed.

Batman: Batman to all points. I could use some air support. Since I can't fly. At all.
[Beat, Batman continues to fall]
Batman: Now would be good.

  • Catgirl:
    • Cheetah, a scientist who transformed herself into a human/cheetah hybrid as part of her experiments, appears early in the series for what was supposed to be a single episode. However, she survived the episode due to an animation error, and kept reappearing in background and group shots throughout the show.
    • Shakira in Skartaris is a woman who can change from cat to human.
  • Catapult Nightmare: Supergirl throughout "Fearful Symmetry".
  • Celibate Hero: Batman pretty much gives Wonder Woman an entire laundry list of reasons why they will not be dating. The best is probably, "You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors; I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues."
  • Censor Steam: Fire's fire. They had to do several redesigns to make sure her naughty bits were covered. Batman the Brave And The Bold later took a different approach.
  • Chain of People - The Big Seven (less one) band together to help Flash escape the Speed Force.
  • Character Development: Each of the Main 7 go through a little of this.
    • Superman retains the same goals and desires from his own show, but his experiences with Cadmus teach him to go about his heroics in a manner that will not cause fear and distrust from those he wishes to help.
    • Wonder Woman gains an appreciation for Man's World and men in general, and gradually learns to integrate into other societies while retaining her cultural identity as an Amazon.
    • Batman begins to cooperate with other people and learns to appreciate friendship and camaraderie in addition to working partnerships. Unfortunately, he will inevitably become isolated and alone again in the future.
    • Green Lantern learned to accept himself as a Lantern without fearing the loss of his own personal identity, but then became despondent again following the end of his relationship with Hawkgirl. He eventually becomes determined to live his own life no matter what, but retains conflicted thoughts and feelings for Hawkgirl.
    • The Flash is initially the inexperienced comic relief. A number of times early on, he appears more interested in showing off and impressing women. However, over the course of the series, he learns to use his brain in a fight and not just his speed. He also develops into The Heart and "the conscience" of the team, becoming a far more selfless hero.
    • Hawkgirl has the most profound and fundamental character shift. Starting as an aggressive, self-confident warrior she grows depressed and self-critical while suffering an identity and personality crisis during the shift to Unlimited. Ultimately, she accepts her place in Earth society, but as a much calmer and internally settled character that no longer identifies as "Hawkgirl" at all.
    • Martian Manhunter slowly realizes the implications of what it means to be the Last Martian, doomed to be eternally alone on Earth, and simultaneously grows detached and unfeeling towards humanity at large. He finally leaves the League in order to find some connection to humanity and returns having made a personal life and honest emotional companionship on Earth.
  • Character Focus
  • Charge Into Combat Cut: This takes place in the episode "Flash and Substance", when Batman Dual-Wielding batarangs is about to face Captain Boomerang dual wielding boomerangs.
  • The Chessmaster: Lex Luthor and Brainiac. Brainiac is mechanically better, balanced out by Lex's imagination and force of personality. They ultimately merge to combine the best (worst?) of both worlds.
  • The Chosen Many: The Justice League itself, and the Green Lantern Corps.
  • Christmas Episode: "Comfort and Joy," which has all the classic earmarks of a quality holiday episode: Visiting family, exchanging gifts, an actual Aluminum Christmas Trees and...a Bar Brawl?!? Sure, why not.
  • Civilian Villain: Lex Luthor, after being pardoned and while running for president.
  • Claustrophobia: Hawkgirl, who almost has a heart attack when Dr. Destiny invades her dreams and traps her in a coffin.
  • Clock King: The man himself.
  • Coat, Hat, Mask: The Question and the Crimson Avenger.
  • Collective Groan:
    • In the "Doomsday Sanction", after Batman informs the League that he has the Question on the case. After the groan he admits that the Question is wound a little too tight.
    • In "Panic In the Sky", when the power went back on in the Watchtower, a group of heroes cheered right before the power went out again, causing them to groan.
  • Combat Pragmatist:
    • Devil Ray, when confronted by a sword-bearing monk who explains that entrance to Nanda Parbat must be earned, shoots the monk and keeps walking.

"Keep the change."

"Think of the others like us. We all need to be held accountable, we have too much power not to be."

  • Comically Missing the Point: When the Joker seeds bombs throughout Las Vegas, he finds one old woman who is still feeding a slot machine when everybody else in the city has fled. When he asks her why she remains, she points out that the slot machine has to pay out sooner or later.
  • The Comically Serious: Batman, usually. Martian Manhunter too.
  • Comic Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: A non-film example with the Martian Manhunter, who is only called "J'onn" or "the Martian" here.
  • Commuting on a Bus: Flash in the first season of Unlimited. Voice-actor Michael Rosenbaum was unavailable for the role, so the Flash only appears in background and group shots without any lines throughout the entire season.
  • Complaining About People Not Liking Hawkgirl: Hawkman keeps getting banned from the "I Hate Hawkgirl" websites because he is constantly flaming their members for their dislike of Hawkgirl.
  • Composite Character: An example that works as such even in-universe, Loana, Superman's wife in his dream state during "For The Man Who Has Everything", is explicitly a combination of Lois Lane and Lana Lang. Appearance wise, she looks a lot like Lois (even having Dana Delany as her voice actress), but has red hair like Lana.
  • Conflict Killer: In the climax of the Cadmus arc, when it looks like the Justice League and government might actually turn on each other and destroy the world, or that they might unite against Lex Luthor, Brainiac shows up and puts all previous rivalries on the back burner.
  • Conqueror From the Future: Vandal Savage's gambit in "The Savage Time".
  • Conspiracy Theorist: The Question.
  • Contemporary Caveman: Vandal Savage of course.
  • Continuity Nod: Many, including (but not limited to):
    • In "Hereafter", the trunk of the car Superman is driving has a box of the energy bars Flash was hawking in "Eclipsed", and Deadshot smuggled a gun into the watchtower by hiding the parts in wrappers of the same bars in "Task Force X." "Flash and Substance" featured a cardboard cutout of him in his apartment, still advertising the same energy bars, which is destroyed when it startles Orion.

Flash: [Bummed out] Dude, that was my last standee.

    • In "The Return", Kyle Rayner is revealed to have taken a position on Oa to be trained as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, accounting for his absence since his introduction in "In Brightest Day..." in Superman: The Animated Series.
    • In "Question Authority", Huntress uses Jimmy Olsen's signal watch to call Superman; the watch first appeared in Superman's Pal, where Superman gave to Jimmy to use in case of emergencies.
    • In "The Once and Future Thing" Jonah Hex can tell the JL are time travellers. Apparently he's "had an interesting life."
  • Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story: Hawkgirl's cover story of being teleported to earth by Zeta beams.
  • Cool Car: The Question's Pontiac GTO. And he's VERY good at using it to kick butt.
  • Cool Versus Awesome: The first half of The Once and Future Thing is absolutely made of this. Cowboys and superheroes versus outlaws, dinosaurs, and ROBOTS!
  • Corporate-Sponsored Superhero: The Flash does this for one episode, which gets him chewed out by Batman.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Lex Luthor, Simon Stagg, Morgan Edge, etc.
  • Courtroom Episode: Flash defends Green Lantern when he is accused of murder. "If the ring wasn't lit, you must acquit!"
  • Cowboy Episode
  • Crazy Prepared: Batman, after having Medusa brought up from Tartarus in order to provide information on the recently released Circe, gives Charon the required two pennies; in the DVD audio commentary, the producers feel it is only natural that Batman would happen to be carrying exactly two pennies in his utility belt, just in case he had to cross the River Styx. Green Arrow reflects on this nature during a quite amusing moment in "To Another Shore";

Green Arrow: And Black Canary said a buzz-saw arrow was self indulgent.

  • Crazy Survivalist: The Question. (Then again, he has been right before...)
  • Creative Sterility: Lex Luthor accuses Braniac of this. Brainiac agrees and they decide to combine their respective strengths for their mutual benefit.
  • Creepy Monotone: Brainiac
  • Crimefighting with Cash: Batman and Green Arrow (who started out as a virtual carbon-copy Expy of Batman by, interestingly, the same company).
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Flash has several of these throughout the series, mainly because he is frequently underestimated.
  • Cuffs Off, Rub Wrists: The entire league in "Starcrossed".
  • Curb Stomp Battle: In "Panic in the Sky" three clones of Wind Dragon are blowing away members of the League using their wind-based powers when Red Tornado steps in and blocks their three wind blasts with one of his one. After a quick struggle, all three of the clones are blown away. Double points considering Red Tornado only used one hand to do it.
  • Curse Cut Short: Frequently.
  • Cute Bruiser: Supergirl. Hawkgirl too.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Joker, of all people, is the one who insists that Luthor kill Batman in "Injustice For All" and is eventually proven right.
  • A Day in the Limelight: As an ensemble show, each episode focuses on only two or three members of the cast, giving each character several episodes where they rise to prominence over the other characters.
  • Day of the Jackboot: The Vandal Savage altered future in "The Savage Time".
  • Daydream Surprise: Several, including John Dee dreaming of being congratulated by supervillains like Luthor and Joker after defeating the league.
  • Deadly Doctor:
    • Doctor Destiny

Doctor Destiny: And now that I'm a doctor... I think I'll perform some surgery...

    • Professor Moon makes an appearance; his modus operandi is torturing people For the Evulz. Guess what he does to The Question.
  • Deadly Dodging: In the action finale of "Starcrossed".
  • Deadpan Snarker: Hawkgirl, Deadshot, and occasionally Batman on the rare occasion that he is not The Comically Serious. When together, Huntress and Question seem to take turns trying to out-snark each other. Of course, knowing them it is probably some kind of foreplay...
    • Even Martian Manhunter joins in sometimes.

Batman: (while helping J'onn fight a bunch of Brainiac drones) Having fun?
Martian Manhunter: (completely deadpan) Yes.

  • Death By Man Scorned: That was the Start of Darkness for Doctor Destiny.
  • Death Seeker: The Viking Prince.
  • Death Trap: It would not be a superhero show without them.
  • Deconstruction: The Trickster in "Flash and Substance" deconstructs the idea of a supervillain being "insane." Rather than the usual cruel, amoral, giggling villain usually thrown into Arkham Asylum, the Trickster is a quiet, awkward villain who tends to Poke the Poodle and make jokes that nobody gets. It turns out that he's a diagnosed mental patient off his medicine, and is unaware that he's even wearing his supervillain costume. The Flash talks him down gently and treats him respectfully, which is shown to be far more effective than the standard Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique favored by Batman when dealing with somebody who has genuine mental problems. The character is even portrayed by Mark Hamill, who usually plays "comic book insane" villains like The Joker.
  • Defiant to the End: Hawkgirl to Ichthultu in "The Terror Beyond".
  • Deliberately Monochrome: Mr. Miracle's flashbacks to his time in the X-Pit on Apokolips are all blue-tinted.
  • Democracy Is Flawed: In the episode "A Better World", when League!Batman fights and argues with Lord!Batman, they briefly touch on the topic of democracy, which Lord!Batman quickly dismisses, because "it has other virtues, but it doesn't keep you very safe". He eventually defeats League!Batman by pointing out that in his totalitarian world, no eight year-old boy would lose his parents because of some punk with a gun. League!Batman has to admit that he has a point.
  • Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: Hardcastle's kryptonite bullet, Cadmus's kryptonite tipped nuclear missile etc.
  • The Determinator:
    • Batman, logically, provided the former page quote.
    • Captain Atom, after being soundly beaten by Superman in a fight throughout the Cadmus headquarters, refused to give up even after Superman was clearly the victor. He had been beaten nearly senseless and lost the ability to even throw a punch, but he refused to stop.

Superman: You fought a good fight, stay down.

Captain Atom: I can't do that Superman.

    • Shining Knight. In "Patriot Act" he is the last Leaguer standing before the General, having already lost his sword and been severely beaten, and explicitly states that the General might as well give up because no matter what happens, Shining Knight will not.

The General: Why don't you give up?
Shining Knight: Why don't you?

Icthultu: "Speak to me, child of Thanagar."
Hawkgirl: "Nothing to say. I've got a gesture for you, but my hands are tied."

  • Did You Just Punch Out Ichthultu: "The Terror Beyond" (Not quite the Trope Namer but close enough).
  • Diegetic Theme Cameo: Green Arrow sings a bit from the leitmotif that serves as his personal theme tune when he rides down a zipline and kicks a Mook in the face.
  • Disappears Into Light: Darkseid and Luthor.
  • Discriminate and Switch: The superheroes Fire and Ice have been close friends and partners for the entirety of their tenure in comics. This has, over time, given rise to a lot of romantic/sexual subtext between them and corresponding theories in the fandom. When they were added to the expanded roster of Justice League Unlimited The Flash began to nurse a not-so-subtle crush on Fire and Hawkgirl tried to prod him into action as best she knew how.

Shayera Hol (Hawkgirl): "You'd be wasting your time, anyway, I hear she's... yknow...Brazilian."

Superman: (To Captain Atom) You fought a good fight, stay down.
Captain Atom: I can't do that Superman.

    • When General Eiling has been transformed into a hulking monster and is rampaging through Metropolis he is left facing Shining Knight after he has already defeated several other heroes.

"Save yourself a hospital stay and stand down."

  • Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: "Flash, stop heckling the supervillain!"
  • Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: Batman to Flash in "Paradise Lost" and the third part of "Starcrossed," too.
  • Dope Slap: Green Lantern to Flash in "The Brave and the Bold".
  • Double Entendre: "Yeah, you'd probably be wasting your time anyway. I hear she's...you know...Brazilian." See also Getting Crap Past the Radar.
  • Dramatic Unmask:
    • Hawkgirl had worn her mask for every scene in the first two seasons, never letting viewers know what she looked like, and some viewers were convinced that she did not wear a mask, that that was her natural appearance as a Thanagarian. In "Wild Cards", when she and Green Lantern finally admit their feelings, he slowly reaches forward and takes off her mask, revealing that the two of them are exactly what he said they were: A man and a woman in love.
    • During the climax of the Cadmus story-arc, after he had taken a severe beating and was recuperating in the Watchtower medical bay, the Question has Huntress remove his mask for the first time.
  • Dual-Wielding: Several times in the series, including in "Secret Origins", Batman wields a pair of electrified knuckle duster weapons when fighting super powered foes. In "Dark Heart" he also duel wields a pair of what are either bat themed blade weapons or oversized batarangs in close combat with the alien spiders.
  • Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: By Wonder Woman in "Starcrossed".
  • Dying Declaration of Love: It takes being in the center of a massive explosion and having his heart stopped to finally convince John Stewart that there is no reason to wait or hide, and he confesses his feelings for Shayera, getting her to take off her mask for the first time and kiss.
  • Dynamic Entry: Solomon Grundy enters a battle by attacking Superman from behind. Through a door.
  • Dysfunction Junction: The original team: two Last Of Their Kind, The Exile, an orphan, an alien stranded on the other side of the galaxy from her homeworld, a Casanova Wannabe, and a man with a Jerkass Facade.
  • Earth All Along - Superman in "Hereafter" is transported to a post-apocalyptic planet orbiting a red sun that he learns is Earth is the very distant future.
  • Easily Forgiven: Heavily subverted, as Hawkgirl is not forgiven by certain League members or the general public for being The Mole; when she returns to save the day after her recuperation with Dr. Fate she is heckled by an angry mob, and later episodes reveal that there are several hundred "I Hate Hawkgirl" websites. Even Superman is distrusted and feared by former friends and allies for the events of Legacy, which occurred several years (and two TV series) prior to this series.
  • Eldritch Abomination:
    • Icthultu (who was a rather transparent Captain Ersatz of Cthulhu).
    • The Dark Heart. It apparently warps the very nature of reality, as every close-up has the screen distorted and visibly pulsing, while the surface of the creature itself does not appear to move at all.
  • Emperor Scientist: Chronos becomes one via Time Travel.
  • Enemy Civil War: On Apokolips after Darkseid's death, and also between the Grodd and Luthor factions of the Legion of Doom.
  • Enemy Mine:
    • In order to defeat the Justice Lords, the League cuts a deal with Lex Luthor.
    • Kalibak quotes the actual "Enemy of my enemy is my friend" maxim when Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, and the Flash rescue him on Apokolips.
    • The Legion of Doom go to the Justice League after accidentally reviving Darkseid.
  • Engineered Public Confession: What sends Luthor to prison for the first time.
  • Et Tu, Hawkgirl?
  • Evasive Fight Thread Episode
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Steven Mandragora, for being a world class sleaze and murdering sociopath, appears to be a truly loving and dedicated father.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Everyone Can See It: Before John and Shayera ever admit their feelings Flash is teasing them that they are acting like an old married couple and, when Hro Talak enters the scene in "Starcrossed", Batman and J'onn each spontaneously approach John to give him advice and consolation. The Joker himself actually comments on the tension between them, wondering if they have a history behind the scenes. Ironically, when they finally become a couple it was the Flash who had no idea they were involved, despite being the first one to comment on it.
  • Everything's Better with Monkeys: Gorilla Grodd, Ultra-Humanite, and Gorilla City. And the brief but very fun shout-out to J. L. Apes in an otherwise rather sad episode centered on Deadman. (Ape!Luthor is, of course, entirely devoid of fur.)
  • Evil Albino: Mandragora, the not-Wonder Twins after their Face Heel Turn
  • Evil Costume Switch: Happens when the original seven well, six, really turn into the Justice Lords in an Alternate Universe.
  • Evil Me Scares Me: The Justice Lords
  • Evil Plan: Constantly. Parodied with Grodd's "master plan".
  • Evil Sorcerer: Circe, Felix Faust, and Tala.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Darkseid, Despero, etc. Phil Lamarr even lampshades it in some DVD commentary.
  • Evil Twin:
  • Expecting Someone Taller: In "Starcrossed": Hro Talak, after hearing about John Stewart from Hawkgirl, is surprised he is not taller.
  • Expy:
    • Hro Talak is not quite Katar Hol, but his name is an anagram and he was also given a past relationship with Hawkgirl.
    • Galatea is not exactly Power Girl, but she wears a similar costume, which one scene made identical with the addition of a red "towel" hanging over her shoulder, and shares the background of "not exactly Supergirl, but close."
    • See also Dr. Fate's Alternate Company Equivalent version of the Defenders.
    • The Justice Lords from "A Better World" were heavily inspired by The Authority, which the producers had begun to read between seasons one and two, and one idea they had was to see what the world would be like if the League ever tried to emulate their tactics.
    • The giant turtle that attacks Japan in "Chaos at the Earth's Core" is an expy of Gamera, as well as being a Mythology Gag to Jimmy Olsen's comic-book.
  • Eye Lights Out
  • Face Death with Dignity:

Shining Knight: "I'll die as befits a knight, defending the weak."

Ichthultu: "Speak to me, child of Thanagar."

Hawkgirl: "Nothing to say. I've got a gesture for you, but my hands are tied."

Doctor Polaris: You gonna wash your hands?
'Luthor!Flash: No...'cause I'm evil.

  • Forced Prize Fight: In "Grudge Match".
  • Foreshadowing: Commentary on the DVD release of Justice League reveals that the producers intended to have Hawkgirl be a spy from the beginning of Season Two. As such, throughout the season there are plenty of hints that supported that plot point, including contradictory backstories, behavior and evidence that they had something to hide. As a lucky break, "The Brave and the Bold" (a season one episode) also had a scene that only helps with the foreshadow.
  • Forging Scene: Superman, finding himself thousands of years in the future against giant mutant animals and without his powers, forges a blade using road flares, a sledge hammer, and a metal rod. It was pretty epic.
  • Forgotten Phlebotinum:
    • The disempowerment gun used in of "A Better World" is never seen again for the rest of the show. While it is unclear whether it would work on other super powered individuals, what is clear is that it works on the original seven Leaguers (well, except Batman), so it is strange that Cadmus or Luthor do not even reference it.
    • In "Wake the Dead", Amazo is forced to flee after Solomon Grundy uses chaos magic to absorb his cosmic attack. Dr. Fate later tells Hawkgirl that only she can defeat Grundy because her mace is made of Nth metal. It is too bad the writers and Dr. Fate forgot that Amazo can easily replicate her mace... and use it to better effect...
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: The second half of "Wild Cards" revolves around Ace, whose Mind Rape powers work even through the television and is attacking the viewing audience.
  • Freaky Friday Flip: "The Great Brain Robbery".
  • Free-Range Children: "Patriot Act" gives the trope a minor Deconstruction when Vigilante asks a group of children where their parents are and the kids explain that they all ran off after the monster appeared, apparently leaving all their children behind to be killed. However, even at the end of the episode, after the monster is defeated and the police and rescue workers are cleaning up, the same kids are still running around without supervision.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus:
    • In "Starcrossed, Part 3", during the climactic final fight there is a single "white frame" inserted into a shot of Shayera being shocked by an Nth-metal weapon.
    • Nightwing, who could not appear as a character due to the "Bat Embargo," had a brief cameo skulking atop a building in Bludhaven, which in the comics is "his" city after he stopped being Robin.
    • If you look at all of the lobotomized inmates at the Other Dimension Arkham, you will notice that Arnold Wesker isn't lobotomized but Scarface is.
  • Friendly Enemy:
    • Flash and the Ultra-Humanite. They agree to a Christmas truce and, afterwards, the Ultra-Humanite helps Flash deliver a toy to orphans before peacefully allowing himself to be taken to jail. In jail, Flash gives him an Aluminum Christmas Trees, just like he had when he was child.
    • Flash and Trickster. Flash manages to convince the Trickster to go back on his medication, turn himself into the police and tell the Flash where the other villains are. In return, Flash promises to visit him and play darts (The soft kind).
  • Friendship Moment: Numerous.
  • From a Single Cell: Brainiac.
  • From My Own Personal Garden: In the episode "Hereafter", after Superman realizes the futility of fighting Vandal Savage, the latter invites the former to lunch. Food's great because he has had 30,000 years to rediscover the principles of agriculture.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Dr Destiny. Literally.
  • Fully-Absorbed Finale: The controversial episode "Epilogue", a finale for Batman Beyond. It was originally intended as the JLU series finale, after the originally planned finale "Starcrossed," but the series was renewed again.
  • Fun with Acronyms: The Binary Fusion Generator.
  • Funbag Airbag: NEARLY happens to Flash with Fire in "I Am Legion" when Fire tries to get his attention. Flash turns and his face was a mere few inches away from her breasts before slowly looking up. Followed by Distracted by the Sexy when Fire tries to chat with him.
  • Fur Bikini: Worn by some of the inhabitants of Skartaris.
  • Fusion Dance: Branithor
  • Galactic Conqueror: Mongul and Darkseid, both with a bit of President Evil mixed in.
  • Gendercide: In "Fury", an Amazon, Aresia, with a serious bent against the male gender decides to release a disease into the atmosphere that nearly kills off all of the men on the planet. This includes the male members of the Justice League (even Superman and the Martian Manhunter are affected, despite not being human, and Solomon Grundy, who is The Undead. It's implied magic is involved). It's up to Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl to save the day (of course, this includes fighting against an all-female alliance of villains).
  • General Ripper: General Eiling, and earlier General Hardcastle.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Has its own page.
  • Gilded Cage: Lois in the Justice Lords universe. Cronos's wife in the second part of "The Once and Future Thing."
  • Girls' Night Out Episode: "Fury," and later on "Grudge Match."
  • Giving Radio to the Romans: "Savage Time"
  • Gladiator Games: In "War World".
  • Gladiator Revolt: Also in "War World".
  • Glamour Failure: In "Legends," after Roy is exposed as a psychic mutant who reconstructed a giant illusion of his dimension from before a nuclear war destroyed everything, all just so he could go on adventures with his favorite heroes, he reverts to his true form.
  • Glory Hound:
    • Booster Gold, one of the most iconic iterations of the trope, appears.
    • Stargirl is a minor example. Altruism guides most of her actions, but she does want the recognition and adoration that she feels her heroics deserve.
  • Go-Go Enslavement: Katma Tui is subjected to this by Despero.
  • Go Through Me:

Shining Knight: "Do your worst, I'll not let you harm another."

  • A God Am I:
    • Vandal Savage, when faced with the looming specter of his own defeat, proclaims that gods do not grovel.
    • Darkseid returns in season two of Justice League.

Super or not, you are merely a man. Whereas I am a god.

Static: Batman playing "Good Cop". Never thought I'd see the day.
Green Lantern: Eh. Everything's relative.

Mine are bigger than yours...

  • Guns Akimbo: Vigilante wields a pair of revolvers as his standard weapons. Lex Luthor also wields a pair of handguns in "Destroyer", even going so far as to offer his spare to Batman when Batman has exhausted his supply of batarangs.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Rex Stewart aka Warhawk, son of Green Lantern and Hawgirl.
  • Handsome Lech: Flash. (And when he stops hitting on everything that moves he ends up a bit of a Chick Magnet.)
  • Hannibal Lecture: The fake Justice Lords constructed by Braniac.
  • Happily Married: Big Barda and Scott Free are a Battle Couple with absolutely no inter-personal strife. They might be invading the X Pit in the heart of Apokolips, but their relationship is solid as a rock.
  • Happy Fun Ball: Toyman's specialty.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: General Eiling; lampshaded by himself. The Justice Lords became totalitarian overlords on their world in their attempts to preserve peace and security.
  • The Heart: The Flash and Green Arrow. The creators admitted that his character being killed in the Alternate Universe for "A Better World" was partially because they could not imagine him becoming evil "for the greater good," and it was made clear that because he was not around the original seven became Knight Templar. Green Arrow was recruited to the league as part of a Batman Gambit because he would look at the expanded league with a critical eye, keeping them in check.
  • Heel Face Turn: Solomon Grundy and Amazo.
  • Heel Realization:
    • The Cadmus arc plays with the trope, as both sides believe that they are the righteous and that the other is in the wrong. Cadmus has the more traditional "Heel" aspects, with secret genetic experiments, torture, and generally morally questionable behavior, but when Batman confronts Amanda Waller with this she retorts with everything that the League does wrong. Her argument is so convincing that it leaves Batman shaken, and he visibly leaves through the door.
    • Eiling has one in "Patriot Act," after his drive to protect humanity from the super powered heroes leads him to gaining super powers and thrashing several human heroes without powers. He even lampshades it:

Alright, I've become what I hate. I'll give you that.

  • Hero Insurance: Superman is in frequent need of this.
  • Hero with an F In Good: The Huntress
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: The League in Unlimited's second season, and also Flash in "Eclipsed".
  • Heroes Unlimited: The entire later incarnation and Trope Namer.
  • Heroic Albino: Downpour and Shifter prior to their Face Heel Turn
  • Heroic Bystander:
    • In "Wake the Dead" a car is thrown off a bridge and plummets to the water below. Shayera, making her return, swoops down and cleaves off the roof with her mace to rescue its occupants. The mother in the car, instead of waiting for Shayera to grab her daughter, picks her up and throws her to Hawkgirl before pushing herself out of the falling vehicle.
    • In "Patriot Act," when the various B-list heroes are fighting General Eiling, a group of kids twice attempt to attack the general, first by pelting him with rocks and then by hitting him with a wrecking ball (How the heck do they know how to work a wrecking ball?). Later, when Shining Knight is the last man standing, a crowd of civilians gather around him and state their protection.
  • Heroic RROD: Averted when Flash managed to survive after going into the Speed Force.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Batman fully intended to perform one of these at the end of "Starcrossed" (by literally crash-landing the Watchtower onto the Thanagarian army's hyperspace bypass), but Superman came and saved him before it impacted.
    • The unnamed ship captain in "Fury", who gave his all and perished to save a girl he barely knew. There's a reason he's the only man buried on Themyscira.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Flash and Green Lantern, Vigilante and Shining Knight.
  • "Hey You!" Haymaker: Played straight when Superman taps Darkseid on the shoulder to get him to turn around and clobbers him when he does during the finale.
  • Hijacked by Jesus: Hades and the Greek Pantheon in general. Hades in particular rules only over Tartarus (i.e. Hell), not the virtuous dead, and is portrayed as able to breathe fire and with devilish goat horns in his "true form". Hawkgirl manages to convince a few mooks in Tartarus that she is a Judeo-Christian angel and harming her would unwisely piss God off.
  • Historical Domain Character: Josef is given the assignment of retrieving information from a captured J'onn J'onzz.
  • Hit Flash
  • Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act: In "The Savage Time".
  • Hoist by His Own Petard:
    • Dr. Destiny murdered his own wife via Mind Rape and attempted to do the same the superpowered members of the League. This fails miserably when he attempts the same treatment on Batman and ends up a slobbering vegetable.
    • The Joker attempted to use Ace of the Royal Flush Gang to drive millions of TV viewers insane, but wound up a drooling, catatonic wreck himself when Ace learned that he was just using her.
  • Hoist Hero Over Head: Darkseid does this to Superman in the last episode.
  • Homage: "This Little Piggy" is one large homage to a variety of TV shows and movies stretching across approximately seven decades. Producer Bruce Timm had the original idea for the episode after watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, two action/adventure Joss Whedon shows that were never afraid to shift the paradigm and abandon 'normal' action/adventure plots in favor of more creative, not to say bizarre, storylines. The story itself was an homage to the 1960's sitcom Bewitched, and during the scripting stage the writers even imagined the characters as reimaginings of characters from the original show: Wonder Woman was Samantha, Batman was Darrin, and Circe was Serena. Jack Carter, who voiced the magical supplier Sid, was a veteran actor of such classic sitcoms, and the episode ends on a musical cue that the producers actually referred to as a Bewitched musical cue. The character design of Medusa, whom Batman and Zatanna go to for information, was designed to look similar to a character from I Love Lucy, another classic sitcom, and the producers remarked that the voice actress even spoke in a manner reminiscent of the original model, even though they did not decide on that image until after the recordings had already been done. Medusa's dialogue, though tame by necessity, was inspired by prison slang and the HBO series Oz, since the writers felt that mythological characters would not necessarily speak exactly the same way they would have a thousand years ago, and since Medusa is in mythological prison she should speak like a convict. The rest of the episode is full of one-off gags that refer to other movies, including the admonition of "that'll do, pig" and Circe's feet rolling up beneath a piano as the Witch's had done in The Wizard of Oz.
  • Homemade Sweater From Hell: J'onn receives one from the Kents in the Christmas Episode, but is able to literally grow into it.
  • Honor Before Reason - The Amazons exile Wonder Woman from Themyscira for breaking the law and bringing men to Paradise Island, even though all the Amazons would have been slain and a mad god would have conquered the world if she had not done so.
  • Horde of Alien Locusts: In "Dark Heart".
  • Hostage for McGuffin: Felix Faust turns the residents of Themiscyra into stone, but promises to turn them back into normal in exchange for Wonder Woman retrieving some items that will release Hades.
  • Hot Amazon: Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Vixen even has the attire. Most female superheroes really.
  • Hot Gypsy Woman: Gypsy... sort of
  • Hot Scientist: Lampshaded in "The Greatest Story Never Told"
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. Inverted with Mister Miracle and Big Barda, who are a Huge Girl and a Smaller Guy, though most guys would look small next to her.
  • Human Aliens
  • Human Popsicle: Adolf Hitler makes a cameo in storage after Vandal Savage assumes command of Nazi Germany.
  • Humanity's Wake
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters: This is a stance held by many of the non-human people of Earth, including the Gorillas of Gorilla City and the people of Atlantis. Both change their tune somewhat after the Justice League helps them fight internal enemies, but Aresia (An Amazon) goes to her death believing all men are bastards, despite the fact that she learns a man gave up his life so that she could live. J'onn had an emotional breakdown when he tried a massive psychic scan of a city, frustrated over human pettiness. This became a bit of a Character Development as he learns that the only friends he has are part of the league and if he was going to live among humanity, he has to learn to like at least some of them.
  • Humongous Mecha:
    • The first large mech fought was controlled by Lex Luthor, and explicitly modeled on Neon Genesis Evangelion, in the first season episode "Legends."
    • Toyman had a heavily armed Transformer-bot in "Hereafter".
    • There was a truly massive mech in "Initiation".
  • Humorless Aliens: Martian Manhunter seems to respond to Flash's attempts at humor with either confusion or disdain.
  • Hurl It Into the Sun: Flash's suggestion for getting rid of a giant alien machine. (Inspired by a Usenet discussion of an earlier episode, in which the poster wondered why Green Lantern hadn't done just that. Writer Dwayne McDuffie responded that the animated GL's ring wasn't that powerful: "Although it does suggest a really interesting spin-off, where every week GL throws whoever is attacking into the sun.")
    • Also when Grundy came back Hawkgirl comments on Amazo doing the same, "before Golden Boy teleports him into the sun..."
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: This is the subject of the famous World of Cardboard Speech, where Superman sees that he has to stop holding his power back against Darkseid.
  • I'm Cold... So Cold...: Flash after being Thrown Out the Airlock.
  • I'm Standing Right Here:

Aquaman (to Hawkgirl): Such scintillating repartee. I get better conversation from the android.
Amazo: You are aware I'm in the room.

Wonder Woman: Pretty bad odds.
Superman: Yeah, they don't stand a chance.

Captain Atom: "I'm pretty sure there's something I have to do someplace."

Gorilla Grodd: Humans are slow, ugly, immoral, and have an unpleasant body odor!
Flash: Hey, who are you calling slow?

  • An Ice Person - Ice is a heroic example and Killer Frost a villainous one.
  • An Ice Suit: Killer Frost.
  • Idiot Ball: It's amazing how often Martian Manhunter just forgets that he can become completely intangible and read minds. Word of God also says that his Super Strength was downplayed as not to overshadow Superman and Wonder Woman.
  • If I Wanted You Dead...: Said by the hero during the climax of the Justice League/Cadmus conflict in "Panic in the Sky." After the former Cadmus headquarters is destroyed by the Justice League Watchtower Batman points out that the League has been monitoring Cadmus for months and knew they had already moved their headquarters. When Waller then suggests that it was a warning shot Batman tells her "Don't be dense." If the League had wanted to attack Cadmus they would have attacked Cadmus, not what is now an abandoned and empty warehouse.
  • If You Taunt Him You Will Be Just Like Him
  • Implausible Deniability: After Galatea claims she cannot hear Amanda Waller's orders she turns to Supergirl and says that the call (In space, directed to her brain-implanted government radio receiver) was a wrong number.
  • Important Haircut: John Stewart during Unlimited. Previously, Justice Lord GL.
  • Impossible Hourglass Figure: Pretty much the entire female cast, except the younger ones like Supergirl. It is a standard part of Bruce Timm's drawing style.
  • In-Series Nickname: The Leaguers abbreviate each others' codenames a lot. Huntress calls Question "Q," Green Arrow calls Vigilante "Vig," Batman is "Bats," Superman is "Supes," Mr. Terrific is "T," Green Lantern and Green Arrow are "GL" and "GA..."
  • In Spite of a Nail: In the alternate reality of "The Savage Time," the Allies lost World War II and the world is dominated by Vandal Savage, but Bruce Wayne's parents were still killed when he was eight years old.
  • In Their Own Image: Lord Chronos' desperate endgame in "The Once and Future Thing"
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness:
    • The Flash. DVD commentary reveals that they had him die in the alternate reality of "A Better World" because they simply could not conceive of anything that would cause him to become a Knight Templar.
    • Superman is not an example; it is directly discussed in "A Better World," where Lord!Superman is unable to be talked down from his Knight Templar ways. League!Superman explains that he has felt the same urges and compulsions himself, and he knows just how hard they are to resist. If he was ever put into that same position, he knows himself well enough to admit that he would break, too.
    • Captain Marvel. Some of it is childhood naiveté, but part of his pureness is his ability to retain such naiveté, even when everybody around him has become jaded and cynical.
  • Incredible Shrinking Man: The Atom
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: In "Wild Cards," when the Flash briefly defeats King by wrapping him up in fake mummy bandages, he comments that it "wraps [him] up." Though the wrappings mean that King's subsequent comment is muffled and unintelligible, the Flash still apologises, saying it was the only quip he could think of.
  • Indulgent Fantasy Segue: Milo in "The Doomsday Sanction".
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Trickster, mentioned above. Also Copperhead gradually becomes one after his first appearance.
  • Inferred Holocaust: "Kids' Stuff" is a relatively lighthearted episode at first glance. A bratty little kid gets rid of all adults, and four members of the League are turned into kids so they can go and return the world to normal. Good guys win, everyone's fine. Except for the fact that every adult on the planet was gone for at least a few hours, if not days. How many toddlers, especially those in undeveloped regions, ended up dying without supervision? How many newborns and babies starved to death? And what the heck happened to all the pregnant women and their children, especially those in labor at the time of the incident?
  • Informed Attractiveness: When Batman and Wonder Woman travel to New Genesis Wonder Woman is awe-struck by its splendor and magnificence, never having seen anything like it before. The floating city itself is...okay. It is not bad, it is a technological marvel unequaled in real life, but it is also a rather generic "future city" that has been seen in fiction countless times before and is overshadowed by many of the fantastic locations seen elsewhere in Justice League.
  • Ink Suit Actor:
    • Amanda Waller is basically CCH Pounder with a slightly different skin tone and weight gain.
    • Prior to his transformation, General Eiling resembles J.K. Simmons with the mustache he sports as J. Jonah Jameson.
    • Mark Hamill as the Trickster, who is drawn to look like the Trickster on the Flash TV series, who was also played by Hamill.
  • Innocent Bigots: The Justice Guild in "Legends" -- telling Green Lantern he's "a credit to his people, asking Hawkgirl to bake cookies...
  • Instant Fanclub: Supergirl has one of these in Japan, with one Cosplay Otaku Girl even attacking a jealous Stargirl who was badmouthing her.
  • Institutional Apparel: Lex Luthor wears prison grays in "Injustice For All" but changes to orange fatigues in "I am Legion".
  • Insult Friendly Fire
  • Intellectual Animal: Gorilla Grodd and the other denizens of Gorilla City may count.
  • Interspecies Romance:
    • Between John Stewart and Hawkgirl and, it is implied, also between John Stewart and Katma Tui.
    • The relationship between Superman and Lois Lane appears in a few small, but important, scenes.
    • Grodd and Tala had a sexual relationship, which even people within the show find unsettling.
    • J'onn and his unnamed human companion, who he refers to as his wife, in the finale.
  • Invisible President: He gets a small cameo towards the end of season two of Unlimited as the crisis approaches its climax, but the president's face is never seen and he is never named, only referred to as "Mr. President."
  • Invulnerable Knuckles: Subverted in "For the Man Who Has Everything." Wonder Woman injures her hands punching Mongul.
  • Ironic Echo: in "Twilight," Superman opens his fight against Darkseid with a Badass Boast ending in "let's go." Three seasons later, in "Destroyer," Darkseid echoes the line (and one-ups the Badass Boast) before attacking Supes.
  • Is This Thing Still On?: Happens to Linda Park in "Flash and Substance". Hilariously.
  • It Has Been an Honor: Batman in "Starcrossed".
  • It's a Long Story - Superman after returning from the Bad Future in "Hereafter".
  • It's Not You, It's My Enemies:
    • Given by Batman to Wonder Woman as a reason they should not get together. Wonder Woman demurs... by crushing a stone gargoyle's head in her bare fist.
    • Given to Dana by Terry in the "finale" ...sort of...but sort of not...
  • It's What I Do: Darkseid in "Twilight".
  • It Was Here, I Swear: The Cadmus facility which grew and managed the Ultimen was disassembled and moved after they discovered the truth, and when they returned to destroy it they only found empty offices.
  • Jabba Table Manners: Displayed by Villainous Glutton Steven Mandagora.
  • Jaw Drop: You would, too, if you watched an entire planet get obliterated before your eyes in a matter of nanoseconds. And you would do it again when you have been shown it was still there all along and you have been royally had.
  • Jerkass: Surprisingly, Superman in the Clash episode.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Batman

Amanda Waller: For all that fierce exterior I've never met anyone who cared as deeply about his fellow man as Bruce Wayne.

Barda (elated): Scott! I thought you were dead!
hugs
Barda (angry): You insufferable showboat! (lifts off feet) I thought you were dead!

Flash (to a hologram of Mirror Master): "Oh yeah well...you're not really all there!"

  • Lampshade Hanging: All the time, but one of the most direct ones was in the episode "Hereafter", when Wonder Woman stopped a lightning attack with her metal wrist bracers.

Flash: "There are so many reasons why that shouldn't have worked."

Despero: "GOOOOO! THE CONQUEST BEGINS NNNOOOOWWW! EMBLAZON MY WORD AND WILL ACROSS THE COSMOS!"

  • Laser Guided Tykebomb: This version of Doomsday, a mutated clone of Superman whose creators conditioned him to hate the original.
  • Lawful Stupid Chaotic Stupid: Parodied in "The Great Brain Robbery." 'Lex Luthor' is so evil that he does not wash his hands!
  • Left Hanging: There are a number of plot threads left dangling. Including Green Lantern, Vixen, and Hawkgirl's Love Triangle and the result of General Eiling' vendetta against Superman.
  • Legion of Doom: The Injustice Gang and both Secret Societies. The name "Legion of Doom" was not allowed to be spoken within the show, but the producers have revealed that they consider the organization in season three of Unlimited to be the actual Legion.
  • Leitmotif: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow all have their own musical motifs (Batman and Superman retain their melody motifs from their respective solo shows). Green Arrow even hums his own theme while swinging forth into battle at one point. Even the Blackhawks have their own theme in "The Savage Time," and it is their real song. One of the classic comic teams from Golden Age, the Blackhawks had plenty of supplemental material released including, at one point, a song book. Though the music itself was composed by Lolita Ritmanis for this episode, she composed it to match the lyrics from the original Blackhawk Theme. An Easter Egg on the DVD plays the song as a music video, featuring it in its entirety over the aerial dogfight of the episode (It is quite epic).
    • Even A.M.A.Z.O. got one in his introduction episode that played whenever he assimilates any of the heroes' powers.
  • Leotard of Power: All over the place, though most often seen, of course, on Wonder Woman.
  • Let Me At Him: Green Arrow lunges against the government agents interviewing Steven Mandragora when Mandragora continuously insults Black Canary, who is there with Arrow as special security. Arrow ends up pleading with them to leave him alone with Mandragora for just five minutes. Ultimately, Canary ends up smacking him one.
  • Let's Get Dangerous: It is probably good to remember that Flash, as carefree and goofy as he is, can make you explode just by touching you.
  • Let's You and Him Fight: Occasionally, including the Metamorpho episode and also in 'The Terror Beyond'. Deconstructed in 'Clash'.
  • Life or Limb Decision: For Aquaman.
  • Lighthearted Rematch: In "Grudge Match".
  • Lightning Bruiser: Steven Mandragora. The guy is HUGE, but he moves just as fast as Black Canary when she attacks him.
  • Like an Old Married Couple: The Flash points out that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl are bickering like an old married couple
  • Like Brother and Sister: Flash and Hawkgirl.
  • Living Prop: Many superheroes introduced during Unlimited (who, in the comics, belonged to teams ranging from the JSA to JL Detroit) never progressed beyond this.
  • Living Shadow: Shadow Thief.
  • Loads and Loads of Characters: from the third season on, the Justice League has over three dozen members.
  • Logic Bomb: Bizarro is assisting Giganta because he has fallen in love with her, and in "Ultimatum" he is helping her break Gorilla Grodd out of jail. When Wonder Woman asks him what will happen to his relationship with Giganta after they have rescued her boyfriend, Bizarro freezes in confusion.
  • Lost World: Skartaris and Themiscyra.
  • Lotus Eater Machine: The Black Mercy in "For The Man Who has Everything".
  • Loud of War: The Question once successfully tortured a man with the use of crappy, overproduced pop music.
  • Love Triangle: Green Lantern and Hawkgirl get romantically involved right before it comes out that Hawkgirl is a Thanagarian spy and engaged to another man. Although he does not quite lose his feelings for her, he does take up with Vixen before going into the future and learning that he has a son by Hawkgirl. Meanwhile, Hawkgirl picks up a stalker in Hawkman who believes (with more than a little justification) that he and Hawkgirl are reincarnations of Thanagarian lovers from ancient Egypt. Late in the series, it comes out that Green Lantern is (supposedly) also a reincarnation of one of the Egyptian Thanagarians' human friends who was having an affair with Hawkgirl's preincarnation which ended in the tragic death of all three of them. The series ends with Green Lantern and Vixen together, but with unresolved feelings between John and Shayera and the knowledge that they will somehow rekindle their relationship sometime before Batman Beyond.
  • Loving a Shadow:

Hawkman: "We are the reincarnations of Katar and Chayera Hol, and I love you."
Hawkgirl: "You can't love me, Carter. You don't even know me."

  • Lower Deck Episode: The Unlimited portion of the series focuses heavily on lesser-known members DC Comics, with many minor and supporting heroes receiving their own episodes throughout its three seasons.
  • Lowest Cosmic Denominator: God makes no appearances in the show and gets no explicit references, but when Hawkgirl is in Tartarus the demons mistake her for an angel and flee when she makes reference to "the boss." Greek deities, however, are fair game.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: For Batman Beyond via "Epilogue." Hades also pulls this on Wonder Woman, only to have her shut him down by basically saying "Who cares?".
  • Luxury Prison Suite: Enjoyed by the Ultra-Humanite and Lex Luthor (Although it might be a bit much to say Luthor enjoyed it). In the parallel world of "A Better World", Lois Lane is living in a lavishly furnished apartment, dating Superman and eating gazpacho...and she can not leave the premises, have visitors, make phone calls or even write a letter. A gilded cage, indeed.
  1. ↑ who played Starfire
  2. ↑ who played Raven
  3. ↑ King was voiced by Scott Menville, who voiced Robin in TT
  4. ↑ "Possibly" because the Hit Flash is placed ambiguously, so that it could be interpreted as either hitting the enemy's rifle, or as a headshot. Either way, the guy does not seem to get back up after.
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