Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)

Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)

Dir. Sam Liu

An alternative universe story in which the League's primary members, that's Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, are superpowered killers, autonomous but sanctioned by the government - for as long as it suits either party to keep the association. Superman's idea of leadership is to respect his fellow League members and to trample all others who may be in his way. Feared by a vast percentage of the populace, he looks upon himself as a God among ants.

The last son of Krypton's origin story has been shown many times in DC's output. Gods and Monsters does it yet again, but with a difference, one that explains his domineering and militaristic attitude. There's a similarly flashbacked origin story for the other two members, too. It's not just their costumes that differ from those of the usual Justice League world.

Superman: Red Son (2020)

Superman: Red Son (2020)

Dir. Sam Liu

An Elseworlds tale that explores what the Man of Steel might have become if he'd been raised and come of age in a post-World War II Soviet Union locale instead of a 'friendly' US state.

The one and only time I read the comicbook miniseries that Red Son is based on was about twenty years ago, so, naturally, I remembered absolutely nothing about it. I hoped the movie's story might attempt a meaningful exploration of how much a location's dominant system of beliefs and cultural identity might influence the cognitive development, moral standing, ethical mindset, psychology, etc, of its citizens.

Or, to put it another way, the nurture vs nature debate, which could've critiqued or commented on the accepted, overused norms of the US version of the costumed superhero and his alien origins, through reflection at the very least. Otherwise, what would be the point of shifting the protagonist's all-important location?

Justice League: Doom (2012)

Justice League: Doom (2012)

Dir. Lauren Montgomery

Batman is a notable and valued part of the Justice League collective, but he's never really been what one would call a 'team player'. He'd much rather be alone, doing things his way, accountable to no one but his his own (troubled) conscience.

But it's while alone that each member is most vulnerable. Ergo, if a megalomaniac with strategic knowledge and the proper resources was to target each of the individuals while they were divided…

JL: Doom is an exciting animation that's loosely based on author Mark Waid's four-issue Tower of Babel story that ran in the JLA comics in 2000.

The pacing is excellent, the action is plentiful, and there's a decent level of subtext in play. It's so well assembled that you might not even notice until afterwards that the villains are mostly blank slates who exist to facilitate the main antagonist, himself a character who gets some back-story but doesn't actually do very much. A more devastating threat comes from a less obvious place, and isn't as straightforward as it might sound.

Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)

Batman vs. TMNT (2019)

Dir. Jake Castorena

I was a huge fan of the Turtles as a teenager, but it didn't carry through to adulthood like my love of Batman did. I've thought of revisiting the first ever TMNT comicbook a few times in the past decade, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe someday it will.

It might seem like an odd pairing, but a connection is made between the two franchises, so it'll be helpful to have a level of familiarity with both. A basic knowledge of the Turtles' origin will suffice, but you'll need significantly more awareness of Batman's rogues gallery to get the most from it.

The world itself is a respectful merger of the two. It's set in Gotham, so favours that style, particularity during rooftop scenes, but the street level action has a Turtley NY vibe.

Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)

Batman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)

Dir. Sam Liu

It would be natural to assume that Soul of the Dragon is an actual Batman story, seeing as how it's got his name in the title and he's on the cover art, but it's more accurately a story that just happens to feature Batman a few times throughout.

It's more of a Bruce Wayne (David Giuntoli) story, showing via flashback the time he spent in the Himalayas learning martial arts, honing skills that his Batman persona relies on in the modern era.

At the same time, training under the same sensei (James Hong), are five other students, all of whom are lesser-known DC characters, namely Richard Dragon (Mark Dacascos), Ben Turner (Michael Jai White), Shiva (Kelly Hu), Jade Nguyen (Jamie Chung), and Rip Jagger (Chris Cox).

You can see now why they put Batman in the title. The others may be familiar to long-time comic fans, but for many movie-only fans they may be total unknowns, except for maybe Shiva.

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.

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: 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.