Gen¹³ (1998)

Gen¹³ (1998)

Dir. Kevin Altieri

An animated movie based on the WildStorm superhero comic of the same name. Originally published in partnership with Image Comics, it didn't become a DC Comics imprint until 1999. That's enough of a connection to warrant a post, but I won't give it the DC label. [1]

Although ultimately a team set-up, the movie's main character is red-haired Caitlin Fairchild (Alicia Witt), who at the story's beginning is a college student with no super powers. She's recruited by a military organisation with a vested interest in activating the latent abilities in what it calls SPBs (Super Powered Beings).

The situation had the basic foundations for a superhero-themed coming of age drama, but it pushes frenetic action scenes and one-note villainy to the fore instead. The end result is an odd mix of teen cartoon clichés and immature adult happenings, with various profanities and at least one purposefully pronounced reference to characters having sex, which is probably what earned it its 15 rating.

Superman vs. The Elite (2012)

Superman vs. The Elite (2012) 

Dir. Michael Chang

A rather strange work in which a small group of new 'heroes' arrive in Metropolis and help cut down the Big Blue's workload, but their methods aren't sympathetic with his impossible ideals.

It's based on Joe Kelly's What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way? (2001) storyline. I've not read the source text, but after watching the film, I definitely want to, which is not my usual response to DC's adaptations.

It doesn't just use the medium as allegory, it includes real world concerns in a fictional setting. It initially distances the origins of the unfavourable actions from American soil so that it can use them as a critique of home, but by the end shrewd viewers will be in no doubt as to what the message is, while at the same time being left with a shaky moral platform from which to soapbox.

Batman: Caped Crusader (2024—)

Batman: Caped Crusader (2024—)

Season 01: 10 episodes, approx 26 minutes each.

The trailer for Batman:CC got me excited about seeing it, mostly because it's clearly influenced by Batman: TAS. But when I learned that it was co-produced by Bad Robot Productions, alarm bells started to ring in my head. Having now watched the entire first season, I feel that those bells were entirely justified in their warning.

By presenting itself as a kind of spiritual successor to TAS, the creators have no one but themselves to blame when viewers make direct comparisons between the two shows. It's helpful because TAS is the best Batman TV series ever made, so there's no better thing to be inspired by, but the flip side is that it creates certain hopes in the viewer that B:CC Season 01 utterly fails to meet.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)

Dirs. Christopher Berkeley / Lauren Montgomery / Jay Oliva

A monstrous evil — i.e., some gubbins about shadow demons, a rift in the nearby Sun, and an anti-matter universe — forces the Elders of the Green Lantern Corps to take drastic measures, which results in every available Lantern queueing up to get their power rings charged. Next to each other in line are Hal Jordan (Nathan Fillion) and a rookie named Arisia Rrab (Elisabeth Moss), who inherited her ring just three days prior and is understandably nervous.

Hal tries to distract the girl from the coming danger by telling her stories from the Corps' past, which is a pretty basic set-up for an anthology with six stories in all; one bridge and five others told via flashback.

Many of the most popular Lanterns are present, including Kilowog (Henry Rollins), Abin Sur (Arnold Vosloo), and Sinestro (Jason Isaacs).

Batman: Death in the Family (2020)

DC Showcase Animated Shorts:

Batman: Death in the Family (2020)

Dir. Brandon Vietti

NOTE: image used is the DVD cover art. The Blu-ray art is much better, but is spoilerific.

It isn't the worst animation that DC has ever put out – because Batman and Harley Quinn (2017) exists – but it's a strong contender for the most perplexing. But before you even get to determine if you feel the same way, it's advisable to watch Under the Red Hood (2010) because DitF uses the same storyline and some of the same footage, but is tweaked to allow the viewer to see alternate paths for some of UtRH's primary characters.

To clarify, you're presented with a choice at certain points in the scenario, such as who will live or who will die, with subsequent footage branching to reflect that choice. Some of what you get is new animation, often giving backstory or referencing something from UtRH. Sometimes it's an entirely new sequence, but at others it's new intercut with existing animation from UtRH, meaning you'll have to sit through some of it yet again.

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Dir. Brandon Vietti

A criminal calling himself Red Hood attempts to take control of Gotham's criminal underworld, an act that doubles as a kind of challenge to Batman.

The villain's methods are extreme and permanent, but seem to be getting results. Batman tries to prevent further casualties; he's determined, brave, and overflowing with professionalism, but something about Red Hood bothers him on a deeply personal level.

The usual DC quality and attention to detail is evident throughout, besides their penchant for trying to incorporate CGI vehicles. The character designs are mostly great, and there's some timely black humour, more often than not courtesy of the Black Mask character (Wade Williams).

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

Dir. Sam Liu

An animated adaptation of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's celebrated Batman one-shot.

Personally, I enjoy Moore's comic work more often than not, but any filmed versions of his books that I've seen previously have been mostly awful, so I wasn't keen to see it. I prefer original stories written specially for the screen, over adaptations. As it turns out, the film contains both of those things.

It's a short book, just 46 pages long, so some padding was needed to turn it into a 77 mins feature-length film. The extra content is an extended 28 mins prologue featuring Batgirl that greatly upset some members of the fandom. I've written about it elsewhere, so won't go over it again now. [1]

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)

Dirs. Sam Liu + Lauren Montgomery

After an intriguing introduction we join the primary Justice League members as they build a new HQ in space; regular fans will know it as the Watchtower.

Construction is halted, however, when an intruder alarm is triggered, which is the precursor to a situation that requires their special talents; namely, a collective of evildoers who threaten to destroy everything that the League hold dear, and more.

The DC Multiverse has been used more in the comic book medium than in the animation one, but you won't need any special knowledge of the 'cosmic construct' concept to enjoy CoTE, and nor does it get too heavily into the science behind the phenomenon.

It focusses on action and adventure, mixing up expectations just enough to keep things feeling fresh.

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Dirs. Various (see below)

An anthology with six shorts from various Japanese animation studios and a number of different Asian directors. There's no frame narrative tying the works together, but most, if not all of them, do seem to share the same continuity and the whole thing is unified somewhat by having Kevin Conroy be the voice of Batman throughout.

The first of them, by Studio 4°C and directed by Shōjirō Nishimi, features four kids at a skatepark trying to outdo each other as they relate the story of their individual encounters with Batman. It's a highly stylised work, varied even further by each child putting their own spin on the event.

The second is by Production I.G. and directed by Futoshi Higashide in a more traditional style. It follows two Gotham detectives who get caught in the middle of a gang shootout.

Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)

Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)

Dir. Lauren Montgomery

A Green Lantern origin story in which test pilot Hal Jordan (Christopher Meloni) inherits a power ring and a spandex romper suit and is all too suddenly saving the universe from powerful bad guys.

Hal's chock full of confidence and embraces the role quickly, but that doesn't explain how he's instantly flying around and transporting heavy objects over great distances with no apparent learning curve. It just doesn't bear scrutiny.

Before he can claim full ownership of the power ring, he has to prove himself to a group of elders and to his peers. That part gets more time devoted to it, but isn't without problems of its own, most notably the main bad guy, whose attitude and methods mark him out as such from a mile way.

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

Dir. Dave Bullock

A voiceover in the deep tones of Keith David is a good way to open any animation, but coming as it does before a title sequence that captures the aesthetic of the Atomic era as it might be seen through the expert eyes of Saul Bass is a hell of a good start! And yes, I feel that exclamation mark is fully warranted.

It then establishes the mindset of a few of the heroes by having them placed in various parts of the world during times of great social and/or political upheaval. For fighter pilot Hal Jordan (David Boreanaz) that translates to his having to make some very difficult decisions whilst in a life or death situation.

For Superman (Kyle MacLachlan) and Wonder Woman (Lucy Lawless) the level of mortal danger is significantly less, given their near-invincibility, but thematically their challenges are also demanding.

Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons (2020)

Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons (2020)

Dir. Sung Jin Ahn

Originally conceived as a dozen webisodes that were to be released periodically, Knights and Dragons was ultimately pulled from that format after just one installment had aired. It was eventually released straight to disc instead with all twelve parts stitched together, which explains 'The Movie' being in the title.

It's the story of Slade Wilson (Michael Chiklis), an ex-Green Beret soldier who, unbeknownst to his wife Adeline (Sasha Alexander), makes his living now as a costumed mercenary named Deathstroke.

His job isn't the only thing Slade keeps secret from Adeline. Before their marriage he volunteered to receive an experimental military serum, which gifted him super powers and a convenient healing ability. It's like someone took the most overused aspect of every Marvel comic character and gave it a new home.

All-Star Superman (2011)

All-Star Superman (2011)

Dir. Sam Liu

An animation based on DC's twelve-issue comic book series of the same name. In both instances it features a change in Superman (James Denton) after he rescues a crew of fearful scientists on a space vessel that's plummeting towards Earth's Sun. It relies on elements and lore from the series past, but is itself separate from the wider Superman continuity.

Character designs are faithful to Frank Quitely's work on the original comic. It's admirable that they weren't made more cartoony, but, strangely, they're not as pleasing to look at onscreen as they are on the page.

The story feels episodic, with obvious breaks where events in one comic issue would've ended and weeks later another began. That unevenness isn't helped by some intrusive wild science that sometimes feels like a teenager has taken over the writing duties.

Scooby-Doo Meets Batman (2002)

Scooby-Doo Meets Batman (2002)

Dir. William Hanna + Joseph Barbera

Oh, dear. The Bat-barrel has a bottom and it's been thoroughly Scooby-scraped. It's a pair of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo movies released on one disc, namely 1972's The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair and The Caped Crusader Caper. Admittedly, the two franchises have something in common, with both parties concerned with solving crimes in their own respective titles, but it's still an odd pairing.

Batman enlists the help of the Scooby gang in apprehending The Joker and Penguin because he's too incompetent to do it himself. While the talking dog and his human get up to their usual antics on the ground, Batman's bum-crack chin and disappearing pants flaff around in the Batplane with Boy Wonder.

It's one for Scooby fans more than Batman fans. I don't belong to that club, so can't comment further.