The "Justice League" cartoons are, hands-down, the best superhero cartoons ever done. This past season, the creative team added the "Unlimited" gimmick to the series. Basically, EVERY DC hero is now part of the team. It can be a little stupid at times, but it streamlines the storytelling process as guest-stars don't have to be introduced. Despite the huge cast, characterization is still top-notch.

The third official season of "Justice League/Unlimited" is currently finishing up with a special two-part time travel story. Part 1 aired on Saturday, Jan 22. If you missed it, here's a cheat sheet to fill you in:

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A suburban husband creates a "Chronos" time suit and uses it to travel into the past and steal useless artifacts. He tries to sneak into the Watchtower and steal one of Batman's utility belts. He escapes in a "time tunnel", so Wonder Woman, Batman and Green Lantern jump in after him.

All four end up in the old west. The Leaguers dress up as cowboys to track down Chronos, along with a group of bandits who have used the time suit to take over a town. The heroes save Bat Lash from jail, then meet up with Jonah Hex, El Diablo and the long-forgotten Pow-Wow Smith. I'm slipping a bit...at first sight, I thought Pow-wow was Scalphunter and that El Diablo was The Whip from All-Star Squadron.

That's the premise and along the way there's some interesting dialogue. Jonah Hex gets off a line that evokes connections to the 1986 "Hex" series. Batman's cowboy outfit is missing one essential piece of equipment. Wonder Woman complains about the footwear. Also a nice sequence where all the heroes walk out to a Western rendition of the old Justice League theme. "Theme from Magnificent Seven" meets "Theme from Justice League".

At the end, the heroes jump to the "Batman Beyond" future. Green Lantern recognizes an adult Static...but another future hero recognizes GL and drops a HUGE bombshell.

It's a little more slam/bang than the popular "Savage Time" 3-parter, but still very enjoyable. If you haven't seen Part 1, don't let that stop you from watching part 2 this weekend (Jan 29).

When that's over, the FOURTH season begins on Feb 5. Lucky for me I got a new DVD recorder for the holidays.