Home Video Review: 'Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'

The latest direct-to-video PG-13 from Warner Bros. Animation/DC Entertainment, Superman/Batman Apocalypse is a pretty solid adaptation of the comic book story arc and graphic novel Superman/Batman: Supergirl. So why all the dislike? No, it's not quite spectacular, but it's certainly engaging and for fans of Jack's Kirby's Fourth World, a definite treat.
First, a little background for those perhaps not firmly entrenched in DC Comics and character history.  First, we have the "Silver Age" Supergirl, who first appeared in the late '50s and then gave her life to save all during DC's epic Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. The issue with Superman holding her dead body is one of those iconic images in comic book history. As Superman's origin was rebooted, there was no Supergirl, until the arrival of an eco-plasmic being from another dimension merged with an angel (what?? you say. Yes, so did fans, though some liked her much). But she went away, too. Then, writer Jeph Loeb with late artist Michael Turner brought her back in the pages of Superman/Batman comics.  And that story is adapted for the animated film.

The end of Silver Age Supergirl

Much of the movie pulls scenes right out of the comics, down the dialogue. And if you were a fan of the original story, then it works very well - a meteor containing a ship with Kara Zor-El inside crashes into Gotham City Harbor. She wanders the streets starkers, lost.  Batman finds her, takes her to the Batcave and then Superman arrives.  The Kryptonese speak is there. The pithy, sharp exchanges between Bruce and Clark (with them it's almost never Batman and Superman" voiced by Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly is spot on, as with all their animated work together on the DC characters, going back to the mid-90s).  There are some added scenes of Clark and Kara, dressed as an earth girl, shopping in Metropolis that's all new and kind of cute, really and Summer Glau pulls off teen emotion push-and-pull as Kara/Supergirl. The arrival of Wonder Woman, voiced by Susan Eisenberg from Justice League, completes the "Big Three."
When Darkseid (Andre Brougher), lord of the hellish plant Apokolips and without a doubt the greatest DC Comics big bad of the past 40 years finds out about "the girl who fell out of the sky" he wants her and is going to have her at his side and lead his Furies, overseen by the sinister Granny Goodness (Ed Asner reprising his past voice role as the evil witch-type).  Again, most of it follows the comics closely: Former Apokolips denizen Big Barda (but no mention of husband Mister Miracle, just a view of his outfit), plus the perhaps the greatest dramatic moment of all,  Batmans face-off against Darkseid, human versus New God.

Superman/Batman Supergirl
Graphic Novel

The biggest flaws come at the very end and really, only for those who have read the comics or graphic novels.  it all still works quite well. In the film, and sorry *spoiler* time, Superman brings down Darkseid in a giant slugfest with the help of Supergirl instead of his utter furty unleased taking the massively powerful evil one through a "Boom Tube" to be imprisoned in the mysterious (and Kirby-created, of course) "Source Wall". Instead, Kara uses a "Mother Box" to reprogram the Tube to send him somewhere floating in deep space. Also, in the comics ending, Supergirl is officially introduced to a gathering of the JLA, JSA, Teen Titans, and Outsiders. That many characters too much for the animators?  Too bad. Instead, her audience is just the Amazons of Paradise Island, plus the rest of the main cast in the film.
There are a few other quibbles - Clark's parents returning to the Kent farm from Smallville in their truck to find things demolished and Clark and Kara sheepish about it. It's a touch of comedy, though not as endearing as repairs by some Justice League members (J'onn J'onzz shown in the comics with a hammer and nail); Also Bruce telling Clark his feelings for Kara are not unlike his attachment, perhaps, to Dick Grayson when he left the role of Robin to become Nightwing. But again, those are small points.
In addition to plenty of bonus material on the Two-Disc DVD Special Edition and Blu-ray, the release also features the latest DC Showcase short, spotlighting Green Arrow and a certain pretty bird lady. It's fast-moving, captures the spirit of the emerald archer right away and is just terrific.
So, it's hard to fathom why this feature film has been met by some in comics and mainstream media with thumb's down. It's actually a step up from the Superman/Batman Public Enemies animated versioin of that graphic novel, which was fun enough, but lacking from too many characters cut out, plot points lost. Most of all, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, makes a genuine comics fan hope for a DC Universe animated tale about that Kirby-verse within it, bringing us more of Darkseid and the New Gods, such as Orion, Lightray, Mister Miracle and maybe even the Forever People, too. Now that would be quite, well, super.

Check out these still images from Superman/Batman Apocalypse.

Review: 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' - WB/DC Scores with Animated Film

Released earlier this week (July 27), Batman: Under the Red Hood is one the finest works to come from Warner Brothers/DC and stands out alongside releases such as Mask of the Phantasm in the '90s and Green Lantern: First Flight last year. 
The animated film is based on the comics story arc and graphic novel collection by writer Judd Winick, who adapted his tale, with some adjustments and the results are stunning for an animated comic book film, on par in its own way, with Christopher Nolan's two Bat movies. More comics writers should write these, adapting their own work.  

This is a story of failure and an attempt at revenge with no redemption. It's about the greatest loss The Batman has ever faced since the murder of his parents as a child. 
The movie begins in Sarajevo where the Joker has kidnapped Robin - the second Robin in the comics, Jason Todd. Aware of it all is semi-immortal mastermind Ra's Al Ghul full of regret for setting such violence in motion. The Joker savagely beats Robin with a crowbar - but not quite to death - but leaves him locked in a building with a bomb set to go off.  The Batman is racing there on a motorcyle, but doesn't make it in time and in a variation of a scene out of the tale Death in the Family in the 1980s, Jason Todd is dead. 

We flash forward five years to a meeting of Gotham mobsters, attacked by the Red Hood, who tells them he's taking control of all crime. Who is he? Most comic fans already know, but that doesn't make the story any less compelling.  Enter Batman, and the first Robin, now Nightwing. The Red Hood challenges crime boss Black Mask with a plan that involves freeing the Joker.  The revelations begin to drop: what happened to Jason, the involvement of Ra's, and Batman faced with killing to save a killer. it's a dark tale with layers also built through flashbacks, Jason going from a kid hijacking the Batmobile's tires (!) (guess the anti-theft devices were shorted out that day?), to an enthusiastic Robin who becomes more cynical, reckless and angry, unlike Dick Grayson, who found himself while staying true to Bruce's guidance.

The film is rated PG-13 because it is violent, so parents should be cautioned that it may not be for some pre-tweens (depends on the child, of course). But it's not mindless violence, it's part of what drives the story, which at its core is about a (surrogate) father and his sons/mentor and his students (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd). 
A final flashback, with a young Jason as Robin is the final heart-tugger that further registers the pain felt by Bruce Wayne when he lost far more than a partner in his war. 

The casting is - no pun intended at all - super.  Bruce Greenwood  (Captain Pike in Star Trek) voices Bruce Wayne/Batman with authority, a reading close to the greatest Bat-voice of all from TV and other animated features, Kevin Conroy.  Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) is the "Red Hood," 
Neil Patrick Harris is Dick Grayson, grown up post-Robin as Nightwing and also does a fine job balancing his light and serious tones. Nearly stealing the film is John Dimaggio as the Joker in a portrayal that visually owes to both Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson, while the voice is a bit Jack, yet far more sinister, a killer clown to match Mark Hamill's longtime work on the character on various DC Universe animated shows. Who's/what's missing?  The inclusion of the third Robin, Tim Drake, who in comics brought Bruce/Batman out of his plunge into darkness following the death of Jason Todd. But perhaps Winick tried to but thought it too much to work into the story. 

A short feature on the first disc is also stellar: a "DC Showcase" looking at western anti-hero "Jonah Hex" that's far superior to the live-action film earlier this year. Written by Hap and Leonard author Joe R. Lansdale, the 12-minute story is drawn from the adult-oriented comics in recent years and features the voices of the voices of Thomas Jane, Linda Hamilton, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Michael Rooker. 
Disc one also offers a terrific sneak peak of sketches and voice performances of the next DCU film due this fall, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, based on Superman/Batman: Supergirl by Jeph Loeb and the late Michael Turner.  Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy will again voice Superman and Batman, as they did for Public Enemies.
Disc two's special features include "Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson," as well as a pick from producer Bruce Timm, the two-part, excellent "Robin's Reckoning," from Batman the Animated Series, telling Robin's origin. 
Also available on Blu-ray and in various special editions with litho cells, and as a single-disc DVD (but no Hex short on it), Batman: Under the Red Hood is without a doubt, a winning release and makes one look forward to the next upcoming animated film with uber-villain, Darkseid.