Thursday, April 12, 2012

Justice League Doom

Justice League Doom ~ This straight-to-DVD animated movie is the latest and quite possibly the final chapter in the "Justice League" series. With the death of guiding force Dwayne McDuffie, the Animated DC Universe that began with "Batman The Animated Series" in the early 1990s may be drawing to a close. If nothing else, it's the most recent reunion of the voice cast we all know and love.

This edition, based on the comic story "Tower of Babel" by Mark Waid, is a good note to end on, as it's one of the League's greatest adventures, and this animated version also includes a new version of the Legion of Doom, bringing things full circle in several ways. McDuffie takes Waid's tale of Batman at his most paranoid - building a contingency plan should the League go rogue which of course the bad guys get hold of, and spins it with the magic of the old animated series.

The new Legion of Doom, led by Vandal Savage holds few surprises - Metallo, Cheetah, Star Sapphire, but a new Mirror Master and especially Ma'alefa'ak are surprises, but Bane is a no-brainer as the baddie in this summer's The Dark Knight Rises. Despite the massive scale of this sinister plot, it's still a rather lame Legion of Doom in my eyes. I would have rather had more villains, especially for a final hurrah, and villains who would have done something more interesting than simply punch back.

The inclusion of Cyborg into the Justice League is an intriguing one, and copying the same move from the comics. I realize it's done for the sake of political correctness, with John Stewart out in favor of movie Lantern Hal Jordan, but really, are we now taking cues from the Super Friends cartoons of decades gone by? And there are other young heroes more deserving to graduate to the League before Cyborg in my opinion.



Justice League Doom is not a great animated feature, but it's not a bad one either. Kevin Conroy and Nathan Fillian are the voice standouts, and there are lots of special features. Good to own, better to rent.

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