JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED
THE CADMUS ARC (2004 - 2005)
George Newbern, Kevin Conroy, Phil LaMarr, Carl Lumby, Susan Eisenberg, Michael Rosenbaum, Maria Canals, Clancy Brown, Dana Delaney, CCH Pounder, Kin Shriner, Amy Acker, Jeffrey Combs, Nicole Tom, Chris Cox, Jerry O’Connell, J.K Simmons, Robert Foxworth, Robert Forster, Corey Burton
Captain Marvel – “My whole life I’ve looked up to the League, you were my heroes, every one of you.
(To Superman) And you, you were more than a hero, I idealised you. I wanted to be you.
Whenever I was out there facing down the bad guys I’d think, what would Superman do?
Now I know.
I believe in fair play. I believe in taking people at their word and giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Back home I’ve come up against my share of pretty nasty bad guys but I’ve never had to act the way they did to win a fight. I always found another way. I guess I’m saying I like being a hero, a symbol, and that’s why I’m quitting the Justice League. You don’t act like heroes anymore.”
Captain Marvel – “My whole life I’ve looked up to the League, you were my heroes, every one of you.
(To Superman) And you, you were more than a hero, I idealised you. I wanted to be you.
Whenever I was out there facing down the bad guys I’d think, what would Superman do?
Now I know.
I believe in fair play. I believe in taking people at their word and giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Back home I’ve come up against my share of pretty nasty bad guys but I’ve never had to act the way they did to win a fight. I always found another way. I guess I’m saying I like being a hero, a symbol, and that’s why I’m quitting the Justice League. You don’t act like heroes anymore.”
JUSTICE REVISITED: A guide to the Cadmus Arc
The Justice League opened up their team membership to include every hero on the planet and they soon amassed a collection of the most powerful beings on Earth. From their Watch Tower orbiting the planet, their new mission statement was to be the best line of defence, so that events such as the Thanagarian invasion wouldn’t ever happen again. They believed they were working to help make the world a safer place but a certain number of officials within the US government thought they had too much power. Unbeknown to the League the US Government believed in an eventuality where the League would be a dangerous threat to the mankind and so created Project Cadmus. They appointed Amanda Waller to oversee the organisation which was designed to be Earth’s line of defence against the League should they ever go rogue. Cadmus received funding from Lex Luthor, technical assistance from Superman’s former friend Professor Hamilton and included a number of League adversaries on the payroll. Waller believed that Cadmus was vital to the safety of her country and as she started to reveal her group to the League they saw it as unnecessary and believed it posed as much a threat to them as any villains they had faced.
But not everyone in the League was convinced and even Batman started to see that Cadmus had a strong argument even if their methods were less than admirable. With the increasing pressure from Cadmus the League started to tread a path not too dissimilar to what they were being accused of and when Lex Luthor announced his candidacy for US President, Superman started acting increasingly irrational. As pressure mounted the League had to question whether they really were the heroes they wanted to be or if they had become that which Cadmus believed they were all along.
A NEW WORLD
After the events of September 11th the world changed, terror had gripped the planet and suspicions were rife as to who had the most power and what they intended to do with it. As a result of this people started to see things with a different perspective and the world of the superhero had to reflect this. Gone were the days where good triumphed over evil as heroes fought villains without a second thought, instead these heroes had to account for their actions, as in today’s society they would be classed as weapons of mass destruction. A person as powerful as Superman would not be allowed to just fly from country to country demonstrating his immense strength, instead he would have to show his allegiance to one nation through fear he could be used against mankind. In fact an individual with Superman’s abilities would become a political nightmare and his status as an alien would make for a lengthy amount of red tape. With this in mind the creators of the Justice League animated series had to make the decision if to address this subject in the Justice League Unlimited show or to create stories that didn’t delve so deep. They opted to tackle it head on and in doing so created arguably one of the bravest storylines attempted in television animation, with the Cadmus arc.
It is important to remember that Justice League Unlimited was a cartoon series which ran on US television across a timeslot devoted to children. Although children can be very much aware of the world around them, their view of the power a superhero possesses will differ greatly to that of a politically minded adult. Politics is also an area in which television networks will try to keep out of as much as possible, as not to alienate their audience.
At the root of the Cadmus arc was the basic question, should someone with a lot of power be allowed to use it freely, even if they claim to have the best of intentions? The situation may have been applied to comic-book characters, but when the spandex and super powers were stripped back the situation was one that was very much a hot topic of modern day life. As the Cadmus arc played out, the Justice League began to grow in power and the team’s development from seven founding members to an array of the most powerful people on the planet had a subtle handling. The reasons behind the teams growth was born from a fear that another invasion like the one Earth had experienced before in the series, could be preventable if certain measures were put in place. Storytelling logic was used for why the team would change and there appeared no other underlining factor behind it. As the storyline developed however, it was clear the invasion plot point could easily have been swapped for the real life terrorist attacks on New York and the War on Terror that developed as a result. The effect of the Bush administration was very present all of a sudden in comic-book stories, where the usual rules of the outside world don’t have to apply. This then changed the perspective on what was happening in the show and although the League believed they had people’s best interests at heart, they inched ever closer to becoming a threat because of what they could represent.
From that point on in the series the hostile situation between the League and Project Cadmus escalated and it became very easy to see how the good intentions of the Justice League were very misguided when viewed from a different perspective. The sheer amount of power they possessed in their arsenal and the choices they made in order to protect people, presented situations that removed them from just being heroes fighting the good fight. They had to make the hard choices which would cause them to be seen differently in the eyes of the non-super powered citizens and their actions had ramifications. Although none of their choices were intended to be particularly villainous, there were times throughout the Cadmus arc where it became clear they had lost sight of what they had turned into. The writers of the show played up the idea by the way they depicted the characters and when the founding members of the League moved they glided from above as though they were gods. There were times when they held conferences attended by just the original seven, which excluded any insights from other sides of the League and all the mounting pressure affected Superman, who became increasingly hostile and irrational whilst he attempted to keep up the friendly exterior of the League.
The Cadmus arc demonstrated that 9/11 changed many things, even animation and the storyline was the strongest one ever created for the animated cartoons from the DC Universe. Although the final payoff wasn’t half as interesting as the setup, the amount of continuity, care and attention used to develop a relevant and intriguing narrative certainly made up for it. It demonstrated to audiences young and old that the stories concerning superheroes could once again be perfect allegories for what is happening in the headlines of today. It also showed that traditional distinctions between right and wrong no longer apply in the World as it stands post 9/11, as even those with the best intentions can fail to see the bigger picture.
It is important to remember that Justice League Unlimited was a cartoon series which ran on US television across a timeslot devoted to children. Although children can be very much aware of the world around them, their view of the power a superhero possesses will differ greatly to that of a politically minded adult. Politics is also an area in which television networks will try to keep out of as much as possible, as not to alienate their audience.
At the root of the Cadmus arc was the basic question, should someone with a lot of power be allowed to use it freely, even if they claim to have the best of intentions? The situation may have been applied to comic-book characters, but when the spandex and super powers were stripped back the situation was one that was very much a hot topic of modern day life. As the Cadmus arc played out, the Justice League began to grow in power and the team’s development from seven founding members to an array of the most powerful people on the planet had a subtle handling. The reasons behind the teams growth was born from a fear that another invasion like the one Earth had experienced before in the series, could be preventable if certain measures were put in place. Storytelling logic was used for why the team would change and there appeared no other underlining factor behind it. As the storyline developed however, it was clear the invasion plot point could easily have been swapped for the real life terrorist attacks on New York and the War on Terror that developed as a result. The effect of the Bush administration was very present all of a sudden in comic-book stories, where the usual rules of the outside world don’t have to apply. This then changed the perspective on what was happening in the show and although the League believed they had people’s best interests at heart, they inched ever closer to becoming a threat because of what they could represent.
From that point on in the series the hostile situation between the League and Project Cadmus escalated and it became very easy to see how the good intentions of the Justice League were very misguided when viewed from a different perspective. The sheer amount of power they possessed in their arsenal and the choices they made in order to protect people, presented situations that removed them from just being heroes fighting the good fight. They had to make the hard choices which would cause them to be seen differently in the eyes of the non-super powered citizens and their actions had ramifications. Although none of their choices were intended to be particularly villainous, there were times throughout the Cadmus arc where it became clear they had lost sight of what they had turned into. The writers of the show played up the idea by the way they depicted the characters and when the founding members of the League moved they glided from above as though they were gods. There were times when they held conferences attended by just the original seven, which excluded any insights from other sides of the League and all the mounting pressure affected Superman, who became increasingly hostile and irrational whilst he attempted to keep up the friendly exterior of the League.
The Cadmus arc demonstrated that 9/11 changed many things, even animation and the storyline was the strongest one ever created for the animated cartoons from the DC Universe. Although the final payoff wasn’t half as interesting as the setup, the amount of continuity, care and attention used to develop a relevant and intriguing narrative certainly made up for it. It demonstrated to audiences young and old that the stories concerning superheroes could once again be perfect allegories for what is happening in the headlines of today. It also showed that traditional distinctions between right and wrong no longer apply in the World as it stands post 9/11, as even those with the best intentions can fail to see the bigger picture.
FROM THE CADMUS FILES:
CADMUS EXPOSED:
The Cadmus storyline which played out during Justice League Unlimited also linked back to episodes from Superman:TAS and Justice League. Below is a guide to the key episodes from all the series.
SUPERMAN:TAS:
‘Ghost in the Machine’ (1997) – Written by: Rich Fogel, Directed by: Hiroyuki Aoyama
Braniac held Lex Luthor hostage whilst he built a new body for him. Unbeknown to Lex, Brainiac implanted part of his program in Luthor.
‘Legacy’ 1&2 (2000) – Story by: Paul Dini, Written by: Rich Fogel, Directed by: Curt Geda (part 1) Dan Riba (part 2)
Darkseid brainwashed Superman to lead an invasion from the planet Apokolips against Earth. This led to distrust between the people of Earth and Superman. Superman’s friend Professor Hamilton saw Superman in a different light.
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JUSTICE LEAGUE:
‘A Better World’ 1 & 2 (2003) – Written by: Stan Berkowitz, Directed By: Dan Riba
In an alternate universe, President Lex Luthor killed the Flash which caused Superman to use his heat vision to kill Luthor so he could protect people from the real villain to the World. The League renamed themselves the Justice Lords and took control of the planet to keep order in the name of protecting Earth. They traveled to the real Justice League's reality and the Justice Lord Superman lobotomised the creature Doomsday, before the real Lex Luthor helped the League defeat the Justice Lords. Lex earned a pardon from the President for his past crimes and the US government learnt what happened to cause the alternate Justice League to become the Justice Lords.
‘Starcrossed’ 1,2,3 (2004) – Written by: Rich Fogel (& Dwayne McDuffie, part 3), Part 2 Teleplay by: John Ridley, Directed by: Butch Lukic (part 1 & 3), Dan Riba (part 2)
Hawkgirl temporarily betrayed the League and led an invasion of the Thanigaraian’s across Earth. The League became outlaws under the Thanagarian’s new rule, but with help from Hawkgirl managed to fight back and save the planet.
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JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED:
‘Fearful Symmetry’ (2004) - Story by: Stan Berkowitz, Teleplay by: Robert Goodman, Directed by: Dan Riba
Professor Hamilton created a clone of Supergirl called Galatea from a DNA sample he acquired during Superman’s invasion on Earth.
‘Ultimatum’ (2004) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: J.M. Dematteis, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
Maxwell Lord licensed and endorsed the Ultimen, a super group who were genetically created to be what the Justice League weren’t; a loyal group of superheroes for the US government.
‘The Dark Heart’ (2004) - Written by: Warren Ellis, Directed by: Dan Riba
An alien nano-tech threatened Earth and the Justice League used a fusion cannon kept aboard their Watch Tower satellite to help keep it at bay. The cannon possessed the power of a small nuclear weapon, which the government weren’t aware the Justice League had.
‘The Doomsday Sanction’ (2005) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: Robert Goodman, Directed by: Dan Riba
Doomsday was reactivated and he seeked out Superman, who he believed lobotomised him during the attack of the Justice Lords. He found Superman whilst the hero was attempting to stop an erupting Volcano from destroying an island. That put people in danger and after attempting to beat Doomsday, the Man of Steel took a leaf out of the Justice Lord’s book and tried to lobotomise him. When this failed he sent Doomsday to the Phantom Zone which caused Batman to believe the League had started to pass judgement like gods. Meanwhile Luthor announced his candidacy for the role of US President.
‘Task Force X’ (2005) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: Darwyn Cooke, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
A group of supervillains were recruited by Amanda Waller to infiltrate the Watch Tower in order to steal a powerful weapon called the annihilator. The resulting break-in caused distrust between the League and the ordinary humans who worked on the satellite.
‘Clash’ (2005) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: J.M. Dematteis, Directed by: Dan Riba
Lex built a new city to help underprivileged people but fueled the area with refined Kryptonite. He acted suspicious and made Superman believe he had a bomb under the city, which caused him to try to destroy the area in order to locate the device. Captain Marvel tried to stop him and he and Superman came to blows over the situation with the resulting battle decimating the city; demonstrating how destructive the League could be. When it was revealed there was no bomb under the city, Superman became the villain to Luthor’s hero and Captain Marvel quit the League.
‘Question Authority’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Dan Riba
Justice League member Captain Atom was ordered to resume his position working for the US Government, forcing him to stand against the League. Meanwhile The Question learnt what happened with the Justice Lords and believing the same was likely to happen in his reality, decided to kill Luthor to stop Superman from eventually trying to kill the President.
‘Flash Point’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
Luthor took control of the fusion cannon aboard the Watch Tower and fired it at Cadmus headquarters, creating devastation on the planet, but made it appear as though the League fired it. Meanwhile Amanda Waller had ordered the reactivation of Galatea and the Ultimen to attack the Watch Tower in retaliation for firing the cannon.
‘Panic in the Sky’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Dan Riba
The founding members of the League, except Batman, handed themselves into custody to help clear their names. Batman visited Waller to tell her Luthor was involved and after convincing her, Waller and the League confront Luthor, who revealed he had been under the control of Brainiac.
‘Divided we Fall’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
Brainiac revealed he had been lying dormant inside Luthor since he kept him hostage many years before. He intended to digitize all of Earth’s information and then destroy the planet, continuing this across the universe until his program was complete. Luthor agreed to work with Brainiac, seeing it as a viable business prospect, but the Flash stopped them and then appeared to die as a result. Luthor gloated that he was eventually responsible for the Flash’s death, which caused Superman to consider killing Lex, but he stopped himself and Flash was saved. The League called a press conference to tell the World they had made mistakes without thinking through their actions and they made changes to how the League was run.
The Cadmus storyline which played out during Justice League Unlimited also linked back to episodes from Superman:TAS and Justice League. Below is a guide to the key episodes from all the series.
SUPERMAN:TAS:
‘Ghost in the Machine’ (1997) – Written by: Rich Fogel, Directed by: Hiroyuki Aoyama
Braniac held Lex Luthor hostage whilst he built a new body for him. Unbeknown to Lex, Brainiac implanted part of his program in Luthor.
‘Legacy’ 1&2 (2000) – Story by: Paul Dini, Written by: Rich Fogel, Directed by: Curt Geda (part 1) Dan Riba (part 2)
Darkseid brainwashed Superman to lead an invasion from the planet Apokolips against Earth. This led to distrust between the people of Earth and Superman. Superman’s friend Professor Hamilton saw Superman in a different light.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUSTICE LEAGUE:
‘A Better World’ 1 & 2 (2003) – Written by: Stan Berkowitz, Directed By: Dan Riba
In an alternate universe, President Lex Luthor killed the Flash which caused Superman to use his heat vision to kill Luthor so he could protect people from the real villain to the World. The League renamed themselves the Justice Lords and took control of the planet to keep order in the name of protecting Earth. They traveled to the real Justice League's reality and the Justice Lord Superman lobotomised the creature Doomsday, before the real Lex Luthor helped the League defeat the Justice Lords. Lex earned a pardon from the President for his past crimes and the US government learnt what happened to cause the alternate Justice League to become the Justice Lords.
‘Starcrossed’ 1,2,3 (2004) – Written by: Rich Fogel (& Dwayne McDuffie, part 3), Part 2 Teleplay by: John Ridley, Directed by: Butch Lukic (part 1 & 3), Dan Riba (part 2)
Hawkgirl temporarily betrayed the League and led an invasion of the Thanigaraian’s across Earth. The League became outlaws under the Thanagarian’s new rule, but with help from Hawkgirl managed to fight back and save the planet.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED:
‘Fearful Symmetry’ (2004) - Story by: Stan Berkowitz, Teleplay by: Robert Goodman, Directed by: Dan Riba
Professor Hamilton created a clone of Supergirl called Galatea from a DNA sample he acquired during Superman’s invasion on Earth.
‘Ultimatum’ (2004) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: J.M. Dematteis, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
Maxwell Lord licensed and endorsed the Ultimen, a super group who were genetically created to be what the Justice League weren’t; a loyal group of superheroes for the US government.
‘The Dark Heart’ (2004) - Written by: Warren Ellis, Directed by: Dan Riba
An alien nano-tech threatened Earth and the Justice League used a fusion cannon kept aboard their Watch Tower satellite to help keep it at bay. The cannon possessed the power of a small nuclear weapon, which the government weren’t aware the Justice League had.
‘The Doomsday Sanction’ (2005) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: Robert Goodman, Directed by: Dan Riba
Doomsday was reactivated and he seeked out Superman, who he believed lobotomised him during the attack of the Justice Lords. He found Superman whilst the hero was attempting to stop an erupting Volcano from destroying an island. That put people in danger and after attempting to beat Doomsday, the Man of Steel took a leaf out of the Justice Lord’s book and tried to lobotomise him. When this failed he sent Doomsday to the Phantom Zone which caused Batman to believe the League had started to pass judgement like gods. Meanwhile Luthor announced his candidacy for the role of US President.
‘Task Force X’ (2005) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: Darwyn Cooke, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
A group of supervillains were recruited by Amanda Waller to infiltrate the Watch Tower in order to steal a powerful weapon called the annihilator. The resulting break-in caused distrust between the League and the ordinary humans who worked on the satellite.
‘Clash’ (2005) - Story by: Dwayne McDuffie, Teleplay by: J.M. Dematteis, Directed by: Dan Riba
Lex built a new city to help underprivileged people but fueled the area with refined Kryptonite. He acted suspicious and made Superman believe he had a bomb under the city, which caused him to try to destroy the area in order to locate the device. Captain Marvel tried to stop him and he and Superman came to blows over the situation with the resulting battle decimating the city; demonstrating how destructive the League could be. When it was revealed there was no bomb under the city, Superman became the villain to Luthor’s hero and Captain Marvel quit the League.
‘Question Authority’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Dan Riba
Justice League member Captain Atom was ordered to resume his position working for the US Government, forcing him to stand against the League. Meanwhile The Question learnt what happened with the Justice Lords and believing the same was likely to happen in his reality, decided to kill Luthor to stop Superman from eventually trying to kill the President.
‘Flash Point’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
Luthor took control of the fusion cannon aboard the Watch Tower and fired it at Cadmus headquarters, creating devastation on the planet, but made it appear as though the League fired it. Meanwhile Amanda Waller had ordered the reactivation of Galatea and the Ultimen to attack the Watch Tower in retaliation for firing the cannon.
‘Panic in the Sky’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Dan Riba
The founding members of the League, except Batman, handed themselves into custody to help clear their names. Batman visited Waller to tell her Luthor was involved and after convincing her, Waller and the League confront Luthor, who revealed he had been under the control of Brainiac.
‘Divided we Fall’ (2005) - Written by: Dwayne McDuffie, Directed by: Joaquim dos Santos
Brainiac revealed he had been lying dormant inside Luthor since he kept him hostage many years before. He intended to digitize all of Earth’s information and then destroy the planet, continuing this across the universe until his program was complete. Luthor agreed to work with Brainiac, seeing it as a viable business prospect, but the Flash stopped them and then appeared to die as a result. Luthor gloated that he was eventually responsible for the Flash’s death, which caused Superman to consider killing Lex, but he stopped himself and Flash was saved. The League called a press conference to tell the World they had made mistakes without thinking through their actions and they made changes to how the League was run.
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