Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012-13)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012-13)

Dir. Jay Oliva (both parts)

A two-part animation adapted from the 1986 book of the same name by Frank Miller. 

I enjoyed much of Miller's comic work in my younger years, but his dialogue is very much of that particular medium and as such isn't really suitable for film. That meant I wasn't overly concerned that Batman's inner-monologue was removed in the movie version. I thought it would be compensated for through more visual means, but it wasn't.

01. Regarding Part One, what remained was the slow pacing and the deconstruction of the typical superhero genre through various TV broadcasts, offering up conflicting views of the action and the possible motivations of the very different kinds of sociopaths.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)

Dir. Jay Oliva

An alternative universe tale of sorts that can be viewed as a single movie in itself, but also functions as the beginning of a major continuity shakeup for the animated DC Universe. I'll refer more to the second part of that sentence at the end of the post. [1]

It's a gritty and violent adventure packed with DCU heroes and villains; some of whom have very little impact on the story, but it's fun to see them included.

A knowledge of the Justice League is required, however, in order to fully appreciate how different things are in the featured timeline - to understand the extent of the contrast, you'll need to have some knowledge of how things ought to be normally.

The primary protagonist is Flash, the Barry Allen version, as seen front and centre on the cover art.