I have no clear memory of Atom. Firestorm I liked, but he was a bit whiny. Zatanna I just never got. At least Black Canary hit people.

I don't know if we'll have time for any character development:

"The heroes of the Justice League return in August with a new series, Justice League Unlimited, which incorporates a bold new look and a much larger scope. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern continue to lead the universe's most powerful superheroes in an effort to stop criminal plots and alien threats that endanger the universe. Now, in Justice League Unlimited, they are joined by an even greater collection of heroes, some of whom are well-known, like Supergirl, Green Arrow and the Atom, as well as some that are less familiar, like Booster Gold, Hawk & Dove, Elongated Man, The Question, Mister Miracle, Big Barda and Zatanna. Each half-hour will tell a power-packed story, combining some of the original heroes with new ones as they band together to battle alien invasions, powerful sorcerers, vast shadowy conspiracies and even ancient gods."

In addition to the characters mentioned above, other heroes to appear on the show will include Black Canary, Red Tornado and Firestorm.

From here.

Atom could shrink down to the quantum level and was a scientist...

Atom could shrink down to the quantum level and was a scientist...

What I should have said ... I have no memory of whether Atom was a good character or not.

He killed Darkseid by riding an arrow from GA, shrinking down to a photon to get past the forcefield, then expanded inside Darkseid brain!

How cool is that?

from Morrison's JLA run...

I did mean creative team. It's Dini and Timm primarily who have worked on Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, and Justice League, though Dini is leaving while the Justice League Unlimited series (the next two, and probably last, seasons of the JL cartoon) is in production.

They are quoted at a con in May as saying there's a main-characters story arc as well as the guest stuff. And, in all honesty, there wasn't that much character development in, say, Batman: TAS, but it was still a great series. JL has been extraordinary this past season, but it seems like the creators as much as anything want to play with some new toys.

I thought it was a successful and interesting transition from the realistic tone of Batman Year One to the broader psychological expressionism which characterizes the Batverse today. Not necessarily the individual stories or characters but how I perceive the milieu.

Loeb is on the extreme of the BPE that you see, though. It's not title/verse wide, and it's not a transition so much as that's just Loeb's style. And to give Loeb credit where it's due, he's much better at it than any of the others who've attempted that sort of tone with the title. Feh. I had a perfect example to use to illustrate my point from the world of either TV or movies, and I've gone and blanked on it in an evening of dancing with Jilli. Ah well, different strokes. I think if I'd read it earlier in my head-first plunge into Gotham, I'd have had a more positive reaction. Also, if I hadn't heard all the hype first.

OH! Remembered. My issues with Loeb are the same issues I have with M. Night Shyamalan.

I do think that if we crossed Loeb (willing to take things to various extremes at times at the cost of characterization) with Dixon (great at characterization that flows well with the rest of continuity, but not a risk-taker in his storytelling), we'd have a near-perfect comic book writer.

The whole Jason Todd storyline and the rise of Nightwing both happen before the 90s reboot of Batman, which was very much a post Dark Knight affair, and while they both get mentioned extensively, you could happily get by on just those mentions and spare yourself both the bad attempt at political relevance in Jason's death and the disco astounishment that is Dick's first NW costume.

In addition, Gotham Knights 43-44 work well for picking up any backstory you need if you aren't a complete nutjob like me. Dick's Jason hallucination in (I think) No Man's Land will get you the Nightwing backstory you need.

If, of course, you're a nutjob like me, you'll find yourself with a lot of old school Teen Titans and the complete run of Suicide Squad (for the Oracle stuff).

As far as animated continuity goes, Supergirl, the Legion, and the New Gods all appeared on Superman: TAS.

Zantanna appeared on Batman: TAS (and hinted at an affair between her and Bruce), along with Etrigan (who appeared on an earlier JL episode).

Some of Cartoon Network's 2004 plans that I thought might be of interest to you, PMM:

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee: By outward appearances, Juniper Lee is a typical 11-year-old girl having fun with friends, dealing with siblings and worrying about schoolwork. But fate has dealt June a slightly different hand. For generations, a member of her family has been born into the secret responsibility of fighting the forces of mischief and chaos that hide everywhere. On any given day, she may have to skip out on her best friend's birthday party to discipline some unruly 6-foot leprechauns or smack down some troublemaking gnomes. The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, from creator Judd Winnick, will premiere in February 2005.

As far as animated continuity goes, Supergirl, the Legion, and the New Gods all appeared on Superman: TAS.

Didn't Supergirl die? Or does comics continuity not map to animated continuity?

There's a new Supergirl. Plus the old one just showed up in the current continuity.