Continuing our look at the 25 DC Animated films, let’s take a look at 20 through 16…
20. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
Throne of Atlantis tells the story of Arthur Curry who discovers his regal heritage as heir to the Kingdom of Atlantis. After the death of his father, Arthur struggles to find meaning in his life. He doesn’t feel part of this world or any other for that matter. We learn that his half-brother Orm wants the throne for himself and were willing to kill his own mother and wage war against the surface dwellers to do so. At 72 minutes long, it takes close to 50 plus to get Arthur from his ‘woe is me’ mindset to his orange and green persona that challenges his brother and the Black Manta to try and destroy the surface dwellers and rule Atlantis as their own. The actual answering the call to being a hero doesn’t take long at all it’s the journey that took forever. He accepted his role with relatively little opposition. Thus making the action climax in the end seem rushed and disjointed.
Voice Actors: Matt Lanter as Aquaman, Jason O’Mara as Batman, Jerry O’Connell as Superman, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern and Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman
19. Superman Unbound (2013)
Superman: Unbound was adapted from a 2008 story arc Superman: Brainiac by Geoff Johns, it revolves around the iconic villain Brainiac and the bottled city of Kandor from Superman’s home planet of Krypton. When Superman encounters a meteor heading for Earth, he discovers that it was a Brainiac drone that was sent to locate him. After defeating the drone, Superman brings it back to his Fortress of Solitude. There, with the help of Supergirl, Superman learns more about whom Brainiac is and what he had done to the city of Kandor where Supergirl is from. Lots of good stuff here with solid voice actors.
Voice Actors: Matt Bomer as Superman, John Noble as Brainiac, Stana Katic as Lois Lane and Molly Quinn as Supergirl
18. Superman: Doomsday (2007)
This animated feature is a loose adaptation of the popular and news worthy DC Comics storyline, The Death of Superman(1992) by Dan Jurgens. This groundbreaking story focused on the supposed death of Superman by the monster Doomsday who was accidently unleashed by Lex Luthor and LexCorps. Doomsday, who was created on Krypton as the ultimate solider of defense, will prove to be Superman’s greatest challenge ever. This film version deviates a tad from its original source but the underlying story remained the same.
Voice actors: Adam Baldwin as Clark Kent/Superman, Anne Heche as Lois Lane and James Marsters as Lex Luthor
17. Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
From the creative mind of Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) comes the latest DC Animated film, Justice League: Gods & Monsters. This latest film is a departure from the recent wave of New 52 animated films DC/Warner has put out. This is an alternate universe-centric story. In this universe, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are quite different from the ones we grew up with. Superman’s alter ego is Hernan Guerra and is not the son of Jor-El but the son of General Zod who is raised by Mexican farmers. While Clark Kent is mild mannered, Hernan is short tempered and not someone to mess with. Batman is a scientist named Dr. Kirk Langstrom (Man-Bat in the DC continuity universe). Who, in an attempt to cure his cancer, becomes a vampire with a hunger for blood. Then, there is Wonder Woman, Bekka. She is a New God. She is also the widow of Darkseid’s son Orion who fled Apokolips for Planet Earth. This adventure here was quite different and unique compared to the other releases from DC and having Bruce Timm behind this project added to the appeal.
Voice actors: Benjamin Bratt as Superman/Hernan Guerra, Michael C. Hall as Batman/Man-Bat, Tamara Taylor as Wonder Woman/Bekka, Paget Brewster as Lois Lane, C. Thomas Howell as Will Magnus and Jason Issacs as Lex Luthor
16. Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
What’s a world without Batman? That’s the question Batman: Bad Blood the latest DC Animated film addresses. This was the 24thanimated feature that DC has produced and most as you’ll see with Batman as its central character. This time around, Batman is more of a supporting character. As for the film itself the plot is relatively simple if not at times a bit clustered. When newcomer Batwoman arrives in Gotham, it doesn’t take her too long to get into the thick of things as she finds herself battling the criminal likes of Electrocutioner, Blockbuster, Firefly and Killer Moth. Batman arrives just in time and he and Batwoman come across the apparent leader named Heretic. Their battle with Heretic ends with Batman saving Batwoman from an explosion and all signs point to Batman not surviving. Dick Grayson reluctantly takes up the mantle of the Bat and he, Damien and Batwoman work together to bring down Heretic. This wasn’t the best Batman feature but there was a lot good action and fun moments and the addition of Batwoman makes me hope they’ll do a feature starring her in the future.
Voice actors: Jason O’Mara as Batman, Yvonne Strahovski as Batwoman, Morena Baccarin as Miranda Tate, Gaius Charles as Batwing, Sean Maher as Nightwing, Ernie Hudson as Lucius Fox and Stuart Allan as Damien Wayne
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
