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.

It moves at a speedy pace, but still manages to have some decent characterisation both for its regulars and its costumed antagonists, many of whom are new faces but will nevertheless seem familiar, for reasons that are probably obvious.

The story has the League skip the frying pan and go directly into the fire, figuratively speaking. Most of the main players can fly, so there's some frantic action in the air, as well as on ground.

The most memorable additions to the lore are Owlman (James Woods) and Superwoman (Gina Torres), but by far the best scene is one involving Batman (William Baldwin), who has what's perhaps the best single line of dialogue that the character has ever had in animated form. No offense to Baldwin, but I wish it had been Kevin Conroy in the role at that moment.

Oh, and one of the team wrestles a large bear, which definitely deserves a special mention.

NOTE: the story began life as a direct-to-video movie titled Justice League: Worlds Collide, designed to connect the Justice League TV Series with its successor, Justice League Unlimited. That project was cancelled, for whatever reason, and the story was rewritten as CoTE. Even so, despite having its direct connections severed, a great many small ones remain.

- Talk to the hand, bro, 'cos the face ain't listening. -