only a dream. 

The showing of Batman passed out in a room with people in it shows just how much he values, trusts and loves them. A fantastic addition to showing the depth they all have.

Anyone else notice that when Batman bought the coffee he put down both bills and coins? Is he so prepared he knows the prices at every coffee shop in Gotham?

I know Bruce is rich, but the fact Batman keeps cash on him as shown when he buys the coffee was always funny to me. That one of the puches in his utility belt probably has a couple hundred dollars in it while fighting aliens and robots

I like Hawkgirl’s nightmare. She’s a bird person and a warrior. Her greatest fear is being trapped in a place she can’t move in and powerless to do anything about it.

Bruce is such a bad ass in this one. Also Clark's dream is so damn terrifing, it must be so scary knowing you have the power to casually split the planet in two.

"Why does Stewart sleep naked while Kent sleeps in jammies?" Probably because Stewart is a US former marine while Kent is still the farm boy we know and love. Pretty sure it's still fairly popular to sleep half naked in the army and marine bunks, and any shread of decency you have is stripped away during basic training.

It's been my long held theory that Shayera's claustrophobia stems from her being surrounded on all sides by the lies she's been forced to tell. They're walls she's been forced to build around herself to keep others out. But now, she's trapped inside them. What's more, she's alone in her fear, because for so long, she hasn't let anyone inside.

“If you can’t share the same jizz rag with a stranger, are you really friends?”

The animated DC shows were so good. I wish still got stuff like them.

You opened my eyes to how Batman and Jonn fit into the league. I never really seen them as the outsiders until now. The idea of them fighting for the friends that made them belong is really touching. The Odyssey reference was a nice touch to

I still don't understand why they didn't bring on Bruce Timm and Paul Dini to work on the live action films. They clearly understood the characters and how to make them interesting.

In the case of Batman and Superman it goes beyond friendship. In the comics Superman once actually called Batman his brother

“I have one. I never give up.” This is why DCAU Batman is the best. This relentlessness

Snoring Batman is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen

Most episodes in the original Justice League are two-parters, & I love this one. It's downright bone-chilling at times. I wasn't at all expecting D's wife to die, & the implication that she spent the entire nightmare being vivisected is just horrifying. It plays into one of my favorite villain tropes, namely the nobody with a big chip on his shoulder who becomes insanely dangerous when he gets a taste of power. To that end, I have to say, I'm confused why you're talking about hospitality. The point is that the cyclops underestimated Odysseus, & Batman is warning them not to underestimate D just because he doesn't seem noteworthy to them. Batman is also "nobody" because this was before "Batman can beat everyone" was really a thing, so the twist was the least powerful member of the group has to take on the villain. The fight comes down, ultimately, to the two "nobodies" duking it out. On an unrelated note, I always liked the detail that D wasn't in a costume & just used his powers to make himself look like that in his victims' minds. I think it's also worth noting that their fears aren't JUST about their powers. Superman fears being a danger to the people he loves because he sees himself as a protector but is afraid because he "lives in a world made of cardboard," as he puts later. Flash's fear, besides just being "going too fast" & losing control of his powers, is effectively that he'll be alone forever. He doesn't hurt anyone else, he just can't interact with anyone. It's understandable why he would fear this so much since we see that he's probably the most sociable Leaguer. John is afraid of losing touch with his roots & becoming just a cog in the machine, & I think that's one of the places where the DCAU comments on him being black without making A Very Special Episode About Racism. I suspect, by this point, they already figured they were going to make Hawkgirl the traitor, so saying she can't be mindread is a way of concealing that. Likewise, you can't just blatantly foreshadow the events of the Thanagarian Invasion in her nightmare, so it makes sense to instead give her claustrophobia because a flying creature would probably fear tight spaces & loss of freedom. It could also mean she feels trapped more metaphorically, but she's a bit different from the others in that she has a genuine phobia. Flash, for instance, isn't unable to run for fear that he'll be trapped forever between seconds.

This episode lives rent free in my head. I had discs of Justice League and JLU and they got scratched so only certain episodes could actually be played in full. This is by far the episode I've seen the most times.

I just I started watching Justice League unlimited. The DCAU is soo good. It’s darker and more complex then most animated shows and I’m surprised at some of the adult jokes their allowed to put in the show. I think the dcau is the best version of DC and wish they could have done more episodes.

The fun part? This episode is very timely because Dr. Destiny is the reason for the event currently happening in DC ("Night Terrors").

Damn now that I think of it JL and JLU really did feel like very welcoming shows

I think the not reading thing wasn't a personal thing for John; it's a commonly held belief that you can't read in dreams because that part of the brain isn't active or something. It may have been debunked since then, but it's probably the logic the episode's working on.

The jizz rag joke was so unhinged and I love it

This two parter is probably my favorite my favorite from JL & JLU. I hope someday we get Dr. Destiny in live action. Not the Sandman series because he was a little more grounded in that than he is in the comics.

2:38 had a whole lot of juice that I spit out hearing that

Im sorry wtf was that personal anecdote at 4:04 and why is nobody else commenting about it

Dr Destiny really be blowing up right now. In the comics, he's prominent in the current event, and in DC Legends, he's the new character introduced to the game this month, and just happened to re-watch the JL episode he's in.

Make it a double

Interesting to see a video essay on this episode's connections to The Odyssey. My takeaway from this episode is that this episode is to show how the League can be disconnected from people. Dee was just a random goon working for Luthor when the Justice League busted them. From Dee's perspective he was just working a job for his boss when these all powerful beings came in and ruined his life. He lost everything, his job, his friends, and finally his wife, for something that he wasn't even in charge of, for all we know he could've thought it was an average job till the league showed up, arresting him but not Luthor. Dee's nightmares not only show the League Members greatest fears, but how Dee sees them as well, even possibly playing out in the order of how they effected Dee's life. John fears becoming disconnected from earth and being nothing more than an alien to people. Dee was caught as one of Luthor's men, no care was made for his pleas of not being a bad guy, he was just locked away, no-one hearing him out. Superman fears becoming too powerful, destroying everything he comes into contact with. Dee lost everything when Superman and the league showed up, his job gone (like how Superman destroys the Daily Planet in his nightmare) and his loved ones gone. And Flash fears becoming too fast and living the rest of is life in an instant. Dee in this scenario is represented by the frozen people, Flash keeps moving and living his life, while he is stuck, frozen in place, trapped in prison. And Hawkgirls is just there because. Batman is the only one safe from Dee's torture but I don't think it's solely because Batman stayed awake, Manhunter even mentions that if you fall asleep for a moment he gets you, and Batman clearly did as he saw Dee as Dr. Destiny. I think that the encounter with the League made Dee hate superheroes deeply, seeing them as self-proclaimed gods enforcing their justice while not caring for the average man. But Batman is a normal human, Dee didn't want to torture him because of this. Batman is the only one of the League that isn't disconnected from people, he's the only one that actually looked into Dee when the others thought he wouldn't be a threat. When I look back on this episode, it feels like the first example of the themes of the Cadmus storyline, and that fascinates me. This episode really interested me when I started thinking about it more than surface level. I have no idea how to end the comment, lol.

Fun fact Batman has trained himself to compress a whole night's sleep into three hours and can function normally for three to four days without sleeping at all. Additionally, he is known to take micro naps to recharge his body. However, there are also instances where Alfred has forced him to get a minimum of eight hours of bedrest. It appears this version of Batman has not trained himself for that

Only a Dream is my absolute favorite set of episodes in both series and this is a phenomenal essay on it and how it showcased Bruce and J'onn and their relationship with the rest of the League. Warmed my heart 💙

DC adaptations were never the same when this show went off the air. Both live action and animation

This is one of my favorite episodes I am so excited to see this one

Batman’s dedication to his friends is so good.

I really liked this couple of episodes ! It felt very different to what we got before.

Just wanted to say, Ialways enjoy your videos bro.

This JL two parter is an all time classic!

One thing that I love is when they show super heroes doing mundane things like Batman buying coffee or later when Superman invites Wonder Women and Batman out for milkshakes. There’s just something fun seeing that kind of stuff take place

I honestly remember watching this when I was younger and didn't fully understand it, but knew it was terrible. How things like this could go wrong and even the most powerful heroes were no match for this

A small detail that I love is that it's shown that batman plays his own theme in his head

This episode scared the heck out me as a kid.

Only a dream is a vibe daymmm

Bros dad said what?!

Gotta be honest you make so many great videos like this it blows my mind. That's gotta be one of your super powers. Genuinely thank you for this stuff.

This one's my favorite episode of the original JL. Glad to see you do a video on it.

I'll never stop watching these vids man, I love your observations

I've been hoping and wating for you to make a video on this great episode, definitely one of my favorites, amazing work as always

The image of an adult Superman in full regalia , curled into a fetal position in his baby rocket, is fucking haunting.

Honestly one of the coolest videos I watched.

these videos are amazing as i rewatch jlu

This was a really great episode

you really got some great content. reminds me of early nerdwriter youtube days, keep it up!!!!

I love what you do man thank you!

Your videos are awesome 💯

It’s crazy I rewatched this ep a few days ago before watching this video😂

Odysseus returns from his voyage alone. It is his _crew_ who pays the price.

This is one of my favorite episodes in the series, in part because of how much they examine the psyche of the leaguers

This episode was so good

Love you perspectives, Leo. And as a Red-Green deficient person, I would love someday to pick a color over the phone. If you get time, please finish the Smallville synopsis. That show encapsulates my late 60's-early 70's comic experience, when new creators with new visions entered the scene. The "Thinking Man" Years.

Absolutely love how you wrote this video 😤😤

Anytime I watch any vid here it has an effect on my view of everything Journeys deep into my feelings about life and past experiences

As the years have gone on, I've realised how much I love John Steward as green lantern in this and JLU, he's got a lot of relatable qualities, a man who upholds his duty, who struggles with love and work life, being a big dork at heart, heartbreak, being very protective of those he cares most about. Not just my favorite green lantern, but I just like his story a lot. Also I'm probably one of the few who liked his design more when he shaved his head and got a beard, but that's just my taste in men.

Batman breaks the window out instead of, oh... I don't know, just rolling it down.

This one has always been my favourite story out off the entire DCAU

Season 2 is one of my favorite seasons of tv of all time!

I am now questioning whom my real friends are.

no mention how when nobody looks into batman's mind it scares nobody

thank you

What's funny is the current DC event, Knight Terrors is basic in this episode, but full knightmare for the entire DC universe.

What's really interesting to me is that Just A Dream is the result of an unmade Batman TAS episode. TAS was supposed to have an episode inspired by A Christmas Carol (with a bit of Dante), with Batman as Scrooge and Dream of the Endless as his guide. So like, this episode only can exist because that one doesn't. And it makes me wish we never got the Netflix series, and instead got a DCAU adult-oriented revival starting with The Sandman.

This show was so epic

"If you can't share the same jizz rag with a stranger, then are you really friends?" Damn, that's a phrase I'm not sure I wanted to hear, especially at 5am.

Dr destiny should be in my adventures with superman with his dream powers. Clark wakes up to learn he is just a guy and he draws superman comics at the daily wire, Jimmy oslons dream is being super powerful like in half his silver age comics, Dr destiny with the dream stone would be the first magic thing superman fights its mostly tech

Underrated villain.

It's one of my favorite episodes asides "Fury" so I'm really glad to watch this one.

LOL love opening line. I worked for a hotel over a decade ago that thy made me use personal email to send reports as night auditor and they had manger with same name as mine so asked me to change it, and I changed it to no one more accurately frpm same source as I found it highly amusingly. Still says that today if you get email from me.

I got here earlier than i should have

My favorite JL episode

This videos are really making me want to watch JLU again

The stories in Justice league, were always intriguing and captivating for me. Your video essays are also key factors, in rekindling the flame for stories.

"Give me a triple. Now."

fun note: Doctor Destiny (John Dee) used Gaim as the antagonist of his first Sandman Arc, where his "Materioptikon" was revealed to be powered by Dreams ruby. As such he made his way heavily modified to the Sandman streaming series.

MORE LIKE THIS DCAU!

One of the best Batman moments, I got SO HYPED watching this episode. Batman was UNSTOPPABLE!!!

Very cool.

Life could be a dream 🦍

Nice

That’s not how I remember the odyssey… The version I read, he said something along the lines of “That I, Odysseus, was the one who blinded you” then the cyclops prayed upon Zeus to damn him.

Be it batman's inate sence paranoia or fact majority of his enemies are not "Super" villains. Point is Batman does not believe in a "Nobody". Bruce lost his parents to a nobody

Justice League members worst dreams 1 Superman he couldn't control his powers 2 Hawkgirl she was buried inside a coffin 3 Flash he said he's been having the same dream since having his powers 4 John people were afraid of him because of his ring

no idea what you'd make it about but can you do a vid on the new superman show? i love that shit

4:04 Truly a wise man🤢

Your videos are amazing, I still remember the first time I watched both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited when it was first on Netflix. Do you think you could do some videos on the 2003 TMNT series?

love the vids man, keep it up :) also ive been wondering what song you use for your intro? it sounds great and i cant find it anywhere

0:05 Oh that's me

I feel like this is what inspired the DC Knight Terrors comics.

Lore of only a dream. Momentum 100

As someone who watched this live on WB and CN, I wonder if you know the first season (and maybe the second) were only alloted 30 minutes per "episode." So each full story was TWO episodes, which changed how to had to tell each story. Like, we had to wait a week between both parts...

Awesome episode. JL season 2 is as best as DC can get.

man, your videos have the same feeling as the DC stories. After you finish them you feel a sense of hope and happiness come over you with warmth

This is so funny cause Knight Terrors is going on right now in the comics.

4:06 *AYO WHAT*