The Protagonist of Justice League (Unlimited)

[GregX]

So, this is something funny that occured to me.

In my screen writing class, the protagonist is said to be someone who goes through a change throughout a story. The antagonist is someone who causes the change. Nothing to do with who's the hero or who's the villain.

By that criteria, the protagonist of both Justice League shows is...

Lex Luthor.

Think about it.

He starts out as an Entrepeneur. Loses everything and becomes an open supervillain with cancer. He then gets pardoned and acts as a reformed civilian before becoming a politician and working with Cadmus. Then he gets cured of his cancer and becomes one with Brainiac. Finally he becomes a scitzo lunatic sucking up to Grodd (for the time being).

Luthor has changed more over the course of the series than anyone else.

[Trevor Balena]

While it is probably true that Lex has changed most, there's also the question of focus. Other characters may not have changed as much, but they still changed, and were central to far more JL/JLU stories than Luthor.

Shayera would probably be the most obvious example. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have also changed quite a bit, although their evolutions were more gradual and weren't punctuated with big "events" like losing their companies or contracting terminal illnesses, so the differences might be harder to see.

[He Phoenix]

i think Supergirl changed a lot... since initiation to chaos at the earth core i think she grow up a lot. And i'm waiting to see what will happend to her in far from home.

it's still surprise me how much protagonism she had.... she is (with green arrow and Question) the character that appeared the most (sometimes even more than the big 7)

[Casey Mack]

So, this is something funny that occured to me.

In my screen writing class, the protagonist is said to be someone who goes through a change throughout a story. The antagonist is someone who causes the change. Nothing to do with who's the hero or who's the villain.

By that criteria, the protagonist of both Justice League shows is...

Lex Luthor.

Think about it.

He starts out as an Entrepeneur. Loses everything and becomes an open supervillain with cancer. He then gets pardoned and acts as a reformed civilian before becoming a politician and working with Cadmus. Then he gets cured of his cancer and becomes one with Brainiac. Finally he becomes a scitzo lunatic sucking up to Grodd (for the time being).

Luthor has changed more over the course of the series than anyone else.

well in the real world the antagonist is the person who shoots, and the protagonist is the person who the bullet hits.Guess which one Luthor is.

[GregX]

well in the real world the antagonist is the person who shoots, and the protagonist is the person who the bullet hits.Guess which one Luthor is.

Sounds like someone needs to take a writing class.

[Revelator]

Timm has essentially said that the central character of the current season is Luthor, so in a sense he has gradually become the protagonist of the show. He was the fulcrum upon which the last season turned, and now he's the star of the current one.

[Casey Mack]

Sounds like someone needs to take a writing class.

im just saying luthor is not the central figure of the show, hes a guest villian. If anything Shayera is the protaganist.

[Stu]

Luthor is the undoubted star of the season, remember we didn't see The Legion Of Doom formation, we saw it only as Luthor joined, and saw it through Luthor's eyes. The League itself hasn't really had too much of a story, it's more about the villains.

I'll stop there, for fear of spoiling.

[James]

I think there is a definate argument for this season for Luthor. However the protagonist is indeed a more central character to whom we follow the changes. Lex hasn't been a central character throughout the show as a whole or the seasons. I agree with Stu's reasoning on this.

[Anon190]

Is Luthor the main character as in, we focus most on him, or is he the main character as in he affects the most changes in those 'related' to him, and those are the characters we've watched and care about most?

[Simpler Simon]

Luthor is the undoubted star of the season, remember we didn't see The Legion Of Doom formation, we saw it only as Luthor joined, and saw it through Luthor's eyes.

Which should in turn make Green Arrow the star of the Cadmus arc, since he was there from the beginning and he was there during the major um, flashpoint. However the focus never seemed to be on him after Initiation.

[John Cage]

Being the protagonist doesn't necessarily have to mean that the character is a good person. There've been plenty of films, books, and television series with morally ambiguous leads. Look at Quentin Tarantino's work -- a lot of the time he employs main characters that are far from good people, and yet, like Luthor, they remainour focus and undergo a major change. That's true of a lot of characters in the DCAU -- look at Superman, Batman, Terry, Green Lantern, Shayera, Flash, Diana, J'onn -- but none moreso than Luthor, who went from businessman on Superman (a position that, on the series, advanced little), to wanted criminal, to reformed presidental candidate, to the underground head of a criminal legion who may or may not be insane after nearly achieving godhood.

I wouldn't necessarily call Luthor the star of the show myself, but he has been at the center of a lot of what's been going on in JL and JLU and is considered the season's main character by the creators themselves. So arguably, he is the protagonist.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[efumf]

The DCAU has always been about Batman and Luthor to me. Two very similar men who chose different paths in life. Bruce could have easily become Luthor after the death of his parents, but instead he decided to do good.

[MattWayne]

...but a series isn't just one story.

[jv2k]

pro·tag·o·nist (prhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/omacr.gif-thttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/abreve.gifghttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gifhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/schwa.gif-nhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/ibreve.gifst)
n.
The main character in a drama or other literary work.
In ancient Greek drama, the first actor to engage in dialogue with the chorus, in later dramas playing the main character and some minor characters as well.

A leading or principal figure.
The leader of a cause; a champion.
Usage Problem. A proponent; an advocate.I don't see where it says what you described in the dictionary. Sure hes had more focous than most villains but to make him a protagonist? I guess in season 3 we see enough of him for him to be a protagonist, but I don't think he is in the entire series.

[Jazzie]

Shayera is the protagonist of the series and Lex is the antagonist.