This 29-Year-Old Cursed DC Pilot Nearly Ruined Superhero TV Long Before 'Smallville' or Zack Snyder

In the 21st century, we've seen the Justice League hit both the big and small screens over the years, in both official and unofficial capacities. After the appearance of a proto-League during Smallville's sixth season, the World's Greatest Superheroes continued to band together on television until, eventually, Zack Snyder united them on the big screen with Justice League. But long before DC Comics' most popular heroes officially debuted in live-action, CBS aimed to bring the super-group to life on network television — a venture that was destined to fail from the get-go.

'Justice League of America' Was a Doomed Project From the Start

If you've never seen the 1997 made-for-TV pilot film for the proposed Justice League of America series, you should probably consider yourself lucky. Years after The Flash was cancelled by the network, CBS decided to renew its interest in the DC Universe by greenlighting a new superhero drama meant to humanize the World’s Greatest Superheroes. In the late '90s, the superhero team had risen to enormous popularity due to the JLA comic book series spearheaded by Grant Morrison and later Mark Waid. There was no denying that there was an interest in the Justice League, and with the Batman film series dominating the theatrical market, the only place for these DC heroes was on, well, television. Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá (who had previously helmed an episode of the soon-to-be-cancelled Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) from a script by Lorne Cameron and David Hoselton (who would later redeem themselves with Disney's Brother Bear), Justice League of America tried too hard to make its titular heroes relatable to the average joe.

The pilot film runs for a brutal 90 minutes as it catches up with a young meteorologist named Tori Olafsdotter (Kim Oja) in the fictional New Metro. It isn't long before Tori accidentally stumbles upon a machine that grants her freezing powers, turning her into the superhero Ice. While this at first puts her in conflict with the titular Justice League of America, the team — which consists of B.B. DaCosta / Fire (Michelle Hurd), Guy Gardner / Green Lantern (Matthew Settle), Ray Palmer / The Atom (John Kassir), and Barry Allen / The Flash (Kenny Johnston) — soon bring her into the fold, introducing her to their leader, J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter (David Ogden Stiers of M*A*S*H fame). In taking a somewhat comedic approach, the pilot intersplices its usual material with Office-esque mockumentary interviews with the cast, who strangely look back on their days as superheroes. The whole thing makes us wonder about the League's fate, even before this pathetic group is pit against the even more pathetic "Weatherman" (Miguel Ferrer), who is, you guessed it, also a meteorologist.

At the time of production, Wizard Magazine speculated that the network wanted JLA for a mid-season replacement for the 1997-98 TV season, hoping to revive its superhero brand after having given up on The Flash years earlier. Despite this Flash also being Barry Allen, there was no connection to the John Westley Shipp series. The program aimed not to use any of the League's three biggest members, Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman, though it's very possible that the first two were embargoed by Warner Bros. Television or DC Comics for other uses. Later that year, the magazine reported that bootleg copies of the pilot began appearing at conventions around the world, as Justice League of America became infamous among comic enthusiasts. Even JLA comic book scribe Mark Waid chimed in, telling Wizard, “It's 70 minutes of your life you'll never get back.” It's no wonder, then, that CBS passed on the strange attempt to officially bring DC’s biggest superhero team to the small screen. It was certainly for the best.

'JLA' Was Quietly Swept Under the Rug — and Better Justice League Adaptations Followed

So, why didn't Justice League of America work? For one thing, it had no idea what it wanted to be. Did it aim to be a genuine superhero drama the way that The Flash or Lois & Clark had been? Did it want to offer a campy take on superheroes the same way as the '60s Batman series or the long-forgotten Legends of the Superheroes TV specials? Or, as a 1999 review of the pilot film from The Austin Chronicle suggests, did it try too "desperately to be Friends with superpowers"? Despite the name, the roster took more inspiration from DC Comics runs like Justice League International or even Justice League Europe, combining personality traits from the Wally West Flash with the Barry Allen incarnation, and the costume of recent Green Lantern Kyle Rayner with the name Guy Gardner. Even stranger, putting Ice and the Atom together when she is famously head-over-heels for Guy Gardner was an odd choice. Needless to say, nothing felt right about this take on the JLA.

Of course, the League would soon find itself adapted more effectively. A few years after CBS passed on the project, Cartoon Network restored the team to its former glory with the Justice League animated series, followed up by Justice League Unlimited. By 2006, several members of the team would unite in live-action on Smallville in the fan-favorite "Justice," creating a team that only grew over the show's 10-season run. After that, The CW continued to bring various superheroes together, from Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash, and although these heroes never called themselves the "Justice League," they lived up to the name. And that's, of course, not counting the DC Extended Universe, which finally brought the Justice League to the big screen in earnest after other failed attempts at a live-action film. Justice League of America has been long forgotten, but the JLA lives on.