JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM (review)

Batman is a dick.

Yeah, that’s something that geeks normally hear in reference to Superman, but Justice League: Doom, the 13th feature-length release in the DC Universe Animated line of home videos, manages to shift that unflattering light on to Batman… where, let’s face it, it rightfully belongs.

Spoliers ahead.

While Superman earned the title of “dick” in light of his Silver Age comic covers – on which he was often found performing super heroic pranks simply because he could, or bluntly stating crass matter of fact things that had been on everyone’s mind in reference to his insufferable supporting cast (namely Jimmy Olsen and/or Lois Lane), in Doom, Batman manages to trump the big, blue, Boy Scout by documenting and exploiting the faults of his Justice League team mates.

Furthermore, what happened on those Superman covers were stunts – often not indicative of the actual story inside – but gimmicks to appeal to comic buyers. In the news pulp between the glossy dickery, Superman really didn’t do or say those exact things to give Jimmy /Lois their proper comeuppance, rather he would serve as a gentle guide to his friends and loved ones on their own path to self-awareness. Or if he did act horribly, it would all turn out to be just a dream, perhaps inspired by some event, but having more to do with a character’s insecurity than anything Superman actually said or did. (Or as some final panels would suggest – was it really a dream? Wink-wink.) In the end, a lesson was learned, characters overcame a physical or emotional weakness, they grew as a person, and their lives would (or at least could) be better as a result.

Either way, Superman wasn’t really a dick.

He’s not really that kind of guy.

Batman, as depicted in JL:Doom, IS a dick, because he shows that he’s the kind of guy that would examine the emotional and physical weaknesses of those close to him and not look to teach them about how to get over or counteract those flaws, but devise contingency plans to exploit those same flaws should he ever need to take those people out. The fact that these people happen to be other Leaguers, makes the stakes a lot higher than a blown date at the soda shop, or a soiled dress/pill box hat fashion combo. These are his fellow superheroes, who, are responsible for saving the world on a daily basis from the constant threats posed by living in the DC Universe, and should these contingency plans fall into the wrong hands it could prove disastrous for all mankind.

This is exactly what happens in JL: Doom, and it all isn’t a dream.

Now, if you’ve read the above I haven’t really spoiled anything for you. You can get the same level of plot (sans verbose interpretation) from the back of the DVD box, or the available press materials about the movie. Or, you may have read the Justice League arc Tower of Babel, from which the story was adapted.

Here’s, where the “spoilers” kick in for all parties involved:

At the end of JL:Doom there’s no wink-wink, nudge-nudge. At the end of the day, after the baddies are beaten, the obstacles are overcome, and the blame for the set-up can be properly assessed: Batman admits, unapologetically, that he did what he did and that any member of the League who hasn’t taken the same stock of their team mates and figured out how to beat them should the need ever arise, is stupid. Disgusted with the team’s naivety, Batman quits… and let’s face it – that’s perfectly in line with his overall character.

DICK!

Where this differs from Babel is that in the comic, Batman states that there was precedence for designing his contingency plans, as members of the League had previously been taken over either by some manner of mind control or extra dimensional possession, and that his true fault was in allowing them to be stolen by Talia al Ghul , who even victimized Batman by exploiting his greatest flaw – his feelings both for her and his dead parents (whose remains are used as the trap to ensnare him during the book’s conflict). At the end of the comic, Batman leaves silently in disgrace not out of disgust.

The movie gives Batman no such quarter, and in turn creates a dramatically more interesting story. The differences don’t end there, both thematically and plot-wise. In fact, the only true similarity between the comic and cartoon is in the point that Batman has anti-Justice League contingency plans which are in turn stolen (and there’s some hold-over in the execution of some of those plans itself – for those wanting to be surprised – I won’t say which ones.)

In writing the film, screenwriter Dwayne McDuffie (in his last work prior to his 2011 death) changed the villains from Talia, her father Ra’s Al Ghul, and his League of Shadows, loses the plot device which gave the comic it’s title (Ra’s’ plan to take out the world’s population through the scrambling of language via satellite); and substitutes them with immortal caveman Vandal Savage as the head of a version of the Legion of Doom (comprised of Bane, Metallo, Cheetah, Ma’alefa’ak, Mirror Master, Star Sapphire), which in turn lends this new piece its name, and has Savage’s Legion seeking to recreate the world in Savage’s image as a means of evolution. (There is a great nod in the film to the Super Friends’ original Legion of Doom in the design and whereabouts of their base.)

The feature also has a different Justice League comprised of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, the Barry Allen Flash, the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, and Cyborg – as opposed to the comic which used the (then) in continuity team of the Big Three, J’onn J’onzz, Wally West, Kyle Rayner, plus Aquaman and Plastic Man.

Fans of past animated incarnations of JL will find a lot to be happy about with the film. Produced by Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, producers on the Justice League animated series in addition to its predecessors – Batman and Superman, Doom also sees the return of those series’ casting and voice director, Andrea Romano who brought with her most of the original Justice League cast including: Kevin Conroy as Batman, Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Carl Lumbly as Martian Manhunter, David Kaufman as Jimmy Olsen, Phil Morris as Vandal Savage, Alexis Denisof as Mirror Master, Olivia D’Abo as Star Sapphire, and Michael Rosenbaum as the Flash (although this time it’s Barry Allen and not Wally West under the hood.) Romano also brought back a number of DCAU regulars such as: Tim Daly as Superman (who was originally intended to play Supes on JL, but dropped out due to scheduling logistics – and ironically, this time had to fill in for that show’s Kal-El, George Newbern, for a similar reason), Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern (reprising his role from Emerald Knights), and Grey Delisle (previously Black Canary in the DC Animated shorts) as Cheetah. There’s also McDuffie’s writing, which accounted for no less than half of JL’s original 60-plus episode run, as well as the JL feature Crisis on Two Earths.

Other positives are Lauren Montgomery’s animation direction (she also directed DC’s Wonder Woman animated feature which remains arguably the best in the direct-to-video line) which shows, once again, that she can really handle the high level action that keep these features moving and entertaining to high octane comic fans.

Overall, the film is well worth a watch, and although this reviewer caught it at the world premiere at New York’s Paley Center for Media, I did pre-order it when I got home in order to give it another viewing and to check out the extra features which will be featured on the Blu-Ray.