I liked the Warren Ellis-written episode of Justice League Unlimited that aired Saturday. The plot didn’t have much interest for me, dealing with the usual Ellis themes (“nanotechnology is potentially bad” and “super-heroes have an uneasy relationship with the regular people they protect”), and the whole “don’t underestimate the Atom” motif probably has one good episode in it (which JLU has already done). That said, the dialogue was often snappy, the action sequences were dynamic, and there was plenty of spot-the-hero fun. (When is the episode by Gail Simone going to air? I’ve been dying for that one!)
Oddly enough, I preferred the Teen Titans repeat, which is almost never the case. I enjoy this series a lot more when other teen heroes make guest appearances, so the presence of Aqualad and Bumblebee bumped it up. Seeing an upgraded Bumblebee was a particular treat. I always liked her D-list comics counterpart, in spite of her terrible motivation and the complete illogic behind her origin. The cartoon version is a versatile, smart, funny, independent heroine, and that’s always a treat. The writers and animators also did a great job of making an insect-themed super-hero look like a credible threat in combat, something comics often struggle to do. I like the contemporary character design a lot, too. Fun stuff.