It has to be the field of animation if there is one area where DC has consistently worn the pants throughout the years. It is without a doubt the best universe that comic books have to offer, and it is here that storylines and characters are brought to life. There is no disputing that DC has a massive fan base for its live-action blockbusters, but you can not ignore the fact that it has an even larger fan base, or should we say a gargantuan cult following, especially when it comes to its animated films. The world of DC has provided fans with a multitude of movies featuring the animated exploits of our top heroes to pick from, with more than 20 years of animated film history.
In today’s video, we will go through 11 of the most mind-blowingly great DC animated movies that every fan who wants to learn more about the DC universe should see!
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
While stopping by at his mother’s grave, Barry Allen, popularly known as the Flash gets notified about a break-in at the Flash Museum. While he is easily able to defeat his enemies – Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Heat Wave and The Top, he soon realizes that all the rogues have been appointed by his arch-nemesis, Professor Eobard ‘Zoom’ Thawne, as part of a much bigger plan to tear down Central City. Barry is able to thwart the plans of Thawne with the aid of the Justice League.
The next day, he wakes up in a world that has drastically altered. It’s a world where the Justice League doesn’t exist, his own powers are gone, his mother never really died and his wife, Iris, is married to a colleague. That’s not even all; Aquaman and his Atlantean forces have actually sunk most parts of Europe, Wonder Woman along with her race has taken over the United Kingdom and both the forces are presently at war with each other after an endeavored alliance between the duo ended in Wonder Woman killing Aquaman’s wife, Queen Mera.
Wondering what the reason was? Well, apparently Queen Mera had found out about the torrid affair between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Moreover, in this alternate timeline, no-one has ever heard of Superman; even Batman happens to be Thomas Wayne and not Bruce Wayne.
Bruce was killed by Joe Chill as a child that led Thomas to become Batman and Martha Wayne was driven crazy by the death of her son to become the Joker. Barry, in due course, realizes that he is accountable for this radically changed world. His going back in time to save his mother from getting killed bore some grave consequences, altering the very fabric of reality. Barry joins forces with the warped versions of his allies to restore the timeline and set things back to normal.
When it comes to the world of DC, one tiny change is capable of creating a ripple effect that’s bound to affect plenty of things across time. Director Jay Oliva’s 2013 animated flick based on the 2011 comic book crossover titled, Flashpoint, shows exactly that even though some of the details of the storyline are a tad different than its comic book counterpart. In fact, the final battle on display will actually make you wonder how on earth did the flick manage to get away with a PG-13 rating was?
The movie is specifically known for executing three things beyond perfection: Firstly, it gives us a glimpse into Flash’s backstory, his character development and his rogue’s gallery. Secondly, it features a time period in the DC Comic book history, one that’s vital to further plot developments and thirdly, it’s one of the darkest films DC has ever made. Featuring one of the best story arcs, it is a classic that sets a whole new level for DC’s animated list of films. No wonder, the first movie of the DC Animated Movie Universe still boasts a current IMDb rating of 8.1.
Batman: The Long Halloween (2021)
Chris Palmer’s two-part animated superhero flick begins with Johnny Viti, the nephew of Carmine ‘The Roman’ Falcone, brutally murdered by a mysterious figure, who further leaves a jack-o-lantern at the scene of crime. This prompts James Gordon to summon District Attorney Harvey Dent and Gotham city’s vigilante, Batman to probe deeper into the matter. Batman trails Catwoman to Falcone’s cash stash; post a coin flip, Dent decides to burn the money instead of moving it legitimately. Falcone’s not the one to keep quiet, he retaliates by hiring Mickey Chen into bombing the Dent residency. Although Dent and his wife Gilda manage to survive, the former is hospitalized.
Meanwhile, Batman pursues Chen and eventually takes him to the Gotham City Police Department. But due to the lack of proof of his connection in the bombing, they are forced to set Chen free. With more deaths occurring on Thanksgiving and Christmas, the murderer is soon coined as the ‘Holiday’ killer and it becomes quite clear that what the city is up against isn’t some regular gang violence but actually a serial killer, whose identity grows tougher to determine with each contradictory clue.
Part Two begins with Poison Ivy responsible for having Bruce Wayne under her influence for literally three months, coercing him to sign over assets to Carmine Falcone and averting him from acting as Batman. Catwoman is finally able to rescue Bruce from Poison Ivy and all this while, the Holiday killings have been a continuous affair throughout Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day and April Fools’ Day.
On the occasion of Mother’s Day, Holiday slays the gunmaker, who had been delivering his weapons. That very night, Scarecrow flees from the Arkham Asylum and ends up in a brawl against Batman; the former however manages to inoculate fear toxins into the abdomen of Batman. Induced with an illusion of fear, Batman winds up in Crime Alley and is found by Catwoman, who takes him home. Carmine’s daughter, Sofia, visits her father post arranging the escape of Scarecrow. But when she asks for a seat at his table, her father declines. On Father’s Day, Sal Maroni visits his father, who is then killed by Holiday. Following his father’s last words of advice, Maroni approaches Dent and in exchange for prosecutorial protection, agrees to testify against Falcone.
On the occasion of Fourth of July, the Dents while feasting their eyes on the evening fireworks display along with the Gordon family suddenly get attacked by a mob hitman. Harvey gets knocked unconscious and post waking up, discovers the hitman dead and also hears a voice telling him to run before the police arrive. Batman, on the other hand, sneaks inside Dent’s house and finds certain things related to the Holiday killer in their basement along with an Oxford pennant. He further presents all the evidence to Gordon secretly on the roof of the courthouse.
As the trial begins, Dent is literally plagued by more voice messages. As for Maroni, he gets convinced that Dent is Holiday, and ends up tossing a vial of acid right on Dent’s face to avenge his father’s death. Dent survives the incident but his face gets horribly scarred. Waking up in the hospital, his face bandaged, the voice confronts him yet again, and this time takes full control over his body. Post a lot of blood being spilt, Dent finally addresses himself as ‘Two-Face’ and claims that the Long Halloween’s finally over.
He even admits to all of the murders and surrenders to Gordon. It is only after Dent is taken to the Arkham Asylum that he takes his wife’s name. Gilda finally discloses that she was Holiday, further revealing her relationship with Alberto Falcone when they studied at Oxford together. The duo had married and she was even pregnant with his child but it was Carmine who had enforced them to get an annulment and made Gilda go through an abortion. The sole reason Gilda did all of this was that she wanted revenge on the Falcone family for wreaking her life. As she wonders if Batman will arrest her or tell Captain Gordon that she is the Holiday Killer, Batman only wishes to know if Holiday is done killing people and leaves without telling her his plans.
There’s not really much to say about this 2021 animated direct-to-video movie except for the fact that it’s thoroughly entertaining, the voice cast is fantastic and boasting an atmospheric mood with some action-packed set pieces, Batman: The Long Halloween is conclusively one of the most effective DC Animated Universe movies.
Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
Ra’s al Ghul employs the Joker to aid him with his latest plan of action but regrets his decision soon enough when the Joker kidnaps Robin. In a desolate warehouse, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the Joker viciously beats up Robin with a crowbar, locks him there setting a time bomb that explodes and terminates him before Batman is able to arrive. Five years have passed since the very incident took place and a mysterious vigilante addressing himself as the Red Hood gathers the most notorious drug dealers of the city for a meeting.
It is there that he broadcasts his takeover of the drug business, demanding close to 40 per cent of their income in exchange for protection from both Batman and Black Mask. Later, with Batman preventing an attempted theft of a cargo, one that belongs to Black Mask, encounters Amazo, the advanced android. While, he is able to destroy the robot along with Nightwing, he discovers that the thugs were working for Red Hood, who slays all of them with a sniper rifle. Batman pursues Red Hood to Ace Chemicals, where an explosion blows up the entire facility. Batman along with Nightwing, cross-question the Joker at Arkham Asylum but he simply denies his participation.
Back at the headquarters, Black Mask is simply furious for Amazo’s destruction and therefore puts a hit on Red Hood. Although, Batman and Nightwing is able to stop Red Hood from commandeering the next weapons cargo of Black Mask, Nightwing is injured in the process. The duo realizes that not only is Red Hood properly skilled but also has greater knowledge regarding the strategies and gadgets of Batman. Also, a further review of audio footage of the chase discloses the fact that Red Hood was also aware of Batman’s true identity.
This is when he remembers Jason Todd executing the same tactics as Robin and also that Jason grew so aggressive as he got older that Batman literally had to stop him many times from almost butchering the crooks. In the meantime, a group called The Fearsome Hand of Four are able to trap Red Hood and almost overpower him until Batman arrives and debilitates three of them. But to Batman’s horror, Red Hood kills the fourth member further stating that he is doing precisely what Batman will never do in the first place. Batman having been able to find a blood sample at the scene of the fight analyses it and realizes that it matches to Jason.
Bruce goes back to Wayne Manor and discovers Jason’s corpse to be fake. It goes without saying that he demands Ra’s al Ghul to tell him the truth and the latter does – having felt accountable for the death of Jason, he had swapped his body with a fake and resurrected him in the Lazarus Pit but post his revival, Jason went crazy and fled. While returning back to Gotham, Batman learns that the Joker has kidnapped the drug dealers as well as Black Mask and has further plans of blowing all of them up. The Red Hood finally makes an appearance and discloses that the Joker has always been his primary target and all his actions were part of a bigger plan to make Black Mask leave with no other choice but to ask for help from the Joker and organize his escape from the asylum.
Batman is able to rescue all the other hostages but not before Red Hood takes the Joker. Red Hood goes to the extent of taking off his helmet and validating that he is Jason. Although he has forgiven Batman for not being able to save him before, he is extremely upset about the fact that the Joker’s still alive and gives Batman an ultimatum that either he shoots the Joker or he himself will take care of him. Batman refuses and drops the weapon leading Jason to shoot but the former manages to throw a Batarang, which ultimately results in the pistol bursting in his hand. Jason further manages to set off a time bomb that he had previously planted. When the bomb detonates, Batman and Joker manage to survive but Jason does not make it through.
Brandon Vietti’s 2010 animated movie boasting Judd Winick as the writer, was a commercial success. Often regarded as one of the top DC animated films, Batman: Under the Red Hood, unswervingly flaunts an IMDb rating of 8.1. Hats off to the voice cast, they were phenomenal and special mention to John DiMaggio for his outstanding contribution in his role as the Joker. Right from the way his character laughs to that wicked tone of his voice, DiMaggio steals the show. The faithful adaptation to the source material also serves as one of the major highlights of the animated movie here and if you still haven’t been able to watch this, do not call yourself a DC fan!
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
The sequel to Justice League Dark begins with Darkseid subjugating other planets after two failed attempts to take over Earth. The Justice League comes up with a plan to conquer Darkseid by taking the war to his planet, Apokolips, ending him once and for all. But unbeknownst to the League, Darkseid manages to spy on them via Cyborg and becomes aware of their plan. The end result is the League getting overpowered by Paradooms, a cross between Parademons and Doomsday. A majority of our heroes get killed during the fight and those who manage to survive are enslaved by Darkseid.
Two years post-Darkseid having successfully taken over Earth and having a brainwashed Batman operating as his lieutenant, the surviving heroes gradually start forming a team and recruits Damian Wayne and the Suicide Squad, then led by Harley Quinn to their cause. The first rescue happens to be Wonder Woman, who is broken free via her Lasso of Truth. Next, to be set free is Flash followed by Cyborg along with the remaining Furies and eventually Batman. Last but not the least, it’s Lois Lane’s farewell message to Apokolips through Cyborg’s assistance and her death that not only shocks Clark Kent back to his senses but also frees him from Trigon’s mind control.
But in spite of their triumph, Batman discloses that literally one-third of Earth’s magma has been drained by the placed devices that are known as ‘Reapers’ and that millions of people will die before the League can finally come up with a possible solution. This leads Constantine to persuade Flash to travel back in time and reset the whole timeline yet again. Flash, initially reluctant to do so eventually does with the heroes witnessing as the timeframe retunes.
Boasting a great storyline, some fantastic animation, an incredible voice cast and jampacked with a lot of action scenes, co-directors Matt Peters and Christina Sotta’s Justice League Dark: Apokolips War categorically happens to be a dark movie, taking the level of violence, especially death and bloodshed notches higher than its predecessors. We highly recommend that you give its prequel, Justice League Dark, a positive shot for a much better experience. And, as far as this masterpiece here is concerned, it’s a must stream, especially for all the DC fans out there!
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and Part 2
Jay Oliva’s two-part animated superhero flick begins with Bruce Wayne retiring from his role as Batman, post the death of his protégé, Jason Todd. Ten years have passed and Gotham is not only infested with crime but is also tormented by a gang called Mutants. Bruce is 55 and maintains a close bond with Police Commissioner James Gordon. Meanwhile, the former district attorney and Bruce’s old friend Harvey Dent undergoes plastic surgery so as to fix his scarred face and although he is declared sane, he immediately goes into hiding. The intensifying brutality of the Mutants, the disappearance of Dent along the harsh memories of his parent’s death all drive Bruce toward taking up the mantle of Batman yet again. However, the public’s reaction to his return seems to be divided.
While there’s no denying that they generally approve of the vigilante’s return, the richer and the more powerful people like the psychologist Bartholomew Wolper tend to hold Batman responsible for forming his own rogue’s gallery. As for Dent, he resurfaces as Two-face and literally threatens to blow up a building until he is paid a heavy ransom. Of course, he’s confronted by Batman who defeats him eventually. Meanwhile, inspired by the actions of Batman, 13-year-old Carrie Kelley dresses as Robin and goes looking out for Batman.
She ends up finding him at the city dump where the Mutant gang has assembled. Batman is nearly killed by the Mutant leader when Kelley distracts him long enough for Batman to finally subdue him. The injured batman returns to the Batcave along with Kelley and makes her his new protégé despite the objections from his butler. As a part of the plan, Batman has Kelley take the guise of a Mutant, attracting the gang to a sewer outlet at the West River and also arranges the Mutant leader’s escape from prison leading him straight to the sewer outlet too. Batman appears and engages in a battle with the leader once again.
The mud pit slows the leader and Batman eventually overpowers him in front of his very gang. Post their leader’s defeat, the Mutants divide themselves into tinier gangs. There’s one band, in particular, operating as the ‘Sons of Batman’, with a mission to cleanse the city Gotham of crime. The vigilante’s return as well as his win over the Mutants is treated more like a public news. Gordon finally retires post-meeting his anti-Batman successor, Ellen Yandel. As far as things are concerned in the Arkham Asylum, the on-screen reports about Batman finally brings the Joker out of his unresponsive state, who wakes up with a rather unsettling grin.
Part 2 begins in late 1986 with Joker persuading Wolper to make him a part of a talk show so as to tell his story and simultaneously make plans to flee from the asylum along with his old henchman, Abner. In the meantime, Clark Kent, who has been operating as a government agent in exchange for being permitted to secretly aid people has been personally asked by President Ronald Reagan to end the activities of Batman. Also, alongside these events is a developing hostility between the Soviet Union and the US over the ownership of Corto Maltese.
Moreover, Yindel becomes commissioner and issues the arrest of Batman after the latter’s constant presence ended up degrading the national authorities. Joker appears on David Endochrine’s talk show, slays Wolper, gasses everyone to death in the studio and eventually flees. He crosses paths with Selina Kyle and makes use of one of her escorts and his lipstick to take control of a congressional representative. Meanwhile, Batman’s enquiry directs him to Selina, bound and dressed like Wonder Woman.
After Kelly discovers cotton candy lying on the floor, Batman concludes Joker is nearby, who is busy gunning down people. An ensuing fight between Batman and Joker leads to the former breaking the latter’s neck in front of witnesses. Feeling satisfied that Batman will thereafter be labelled as a murderer, Joker twists his very own neck.
With Yindel accepting the fact that Batman has become too supreme to be taken down and the president of the country unable to bring stability, Superman is ultimately sent to stop Batman. The resulting fight has Wayne Manor getting self-destructed, Alfred dying of a stroke and Batman apparently of a heart attack. The world eventually learns that it was Bruce Wayne, who was Batman. All of his secrets are demolished with the manor. As for Bruce, who is obviously alive, he is disclosed to have faked his very own death as part of a bigger mission.
Consider yourself to be lucky if you ever find an adaptation that outdoes its original source content. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a sheer treat for that matter, a spectacular translation of Frank Miller’s 1986 four-issue comic book mini-series. Featuring excellent works of animation, maintaining a tone and score beyond perfection and a gratifying second part still boasting a current IMDb rating of 8.4, this animated two-parter movie is a must-watch if you consider yourself a true DC fan.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
A new group of the Jokerz gang comprising of members Woof, Bonk, Chucko, Ghoul along the Dee-Dee twins try stealing an advanced electronic device but are interrupted by the Batman. The gang manages to flee and report the situation back to their boss who happens to be none other than the original Joker. He not only berates them for their failure to lay their hands on the latest gear but also kills Bonk for his defiant nature.
The very next night, Bruce along with his protégé, Terry attends a function that’s commemorating Bruce Wayne’s return to the Wayne Enterprises. It is there that the Joker discloses himself to Bruce and although Terry is able to change into his Batman suit and puts himself right in between his mentor and the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime is hardly impressed by him and escapes. Later with the Joker poisoning Bruce and his Bat-Hound, Ace, Terry visits the former Batgirl, Barbara Gordon seeking some answers for the matter at hand, who eventually tells him what happened forty years ago.
Joker and Harley Quinn had abducted a young Tim Drake, who was Robin at that time and for weeks, imposed severe amounts of torture on him and brainwashed him at the same time to learn about the secrets of Batman. When Batman and Batgirl finally found Tim, he was already looking like he was Joker’s son. No wonder, it resulted in a fight that ended with Tim killing the Joker and Harley falling off a cliff to death. The Joker’s body was later buried beneath the Arkham Asylum, the body of Harley was never discovered and Tim never really took up the mantle of Robin ever again. Terry being apprehensive of Tim’s current mental state decides to see him for himself.
Tim denies his involvement. Terry moves on to his next suspect, Jordan Pryce and only finds him guilty of conspiring with the gang to get Bruce murdered. But something tells Terry that no matter what, Tim is definitely involved in the whole thing. It is then revealed by the Joker that he had programmed his DNA and consciousness into a microchip that was constructed with genetic technology and hidden behind Tim’s ear.
This led him to survive by altering Tim into the Joker’s duplicate. Joker even had further plans of destroying the city but during the ensuing battle, Terry managed to use one of the joy buzzers of Joker that demolished the microchip along with the weapon and ultimately liberated Tim. The Joker is announced to be dead at last, the Jokerz are arrested too but with the exception of the Dee-Dee twins, who are bailed out by their grandmother, who happens to be none other than an elderly Harley Quinn proving that she did survive the accident. As for Bruce, Tim and Barbara, the trio make amends at last.
Based on the animated series titled Batman Beyond, Curt Geda’s 2000 animated superhero mystery movie happens to be the third flick in the DC Animated Universe. Highly recommend this one here, one that not only boasts a compelling story, a dynamic voice cast but also some mind-blowing animation. No reason not to love this fast-paced animated thriller here and brownie points if you have been a fan of the animated series!
The Death of Superman (2018)
Superman is a celebrated superhero and not just in Metropolis but also the entire world. Post thwarting an attempted kidnapping of the mayor by the organized crime group, Intergang, he takes a portion of their technology for further analysis. Dr. Silas Stone and John Irons examine the technology at S.T.A.R labs and confirm it to be of both Earth and Apokoliptian origin, which leads Superman into thinking that his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor is somehow tied to the matter. Luthor, who is presently serving his prison time assigned by the government, denies his involvement but Superman continues to remain doubtful.
In the meantime, back in space, cosmonauts Hank Henshaw, his wife Terri and their entire crew gets affected by some kind of a meteorite that appeared out of nowhere. This results in their spaceship getting impacted, taking the lives of Terri, the whole crew and leaving Hank’s destiny unknown. When it crashes right into the ocean, Luthor sends a submarine crew to probe deeper into the matter and so do the Atlanteans. But without any warning both the groups get ambushed by some large entity in a containment suit, which later heads towards Metropolis, literally attacking everything and everyone it sets its eyes on till the Justice League reaches to confront it. The entity is powerful enough to incapacitate many League members and almost kills Wonder Woman had Superman not intervened and confronted it.
The being ultimately emerges from its containment suit and is disclosed to be a grey-coloured creature with white hair and impeccable strength, stamina and let’s not forget invulnerability. The monster, which is addressed as ‘Doomsday’ attacks Superman and the duo engage in a violent battle against each other leaving Superman completely drained out and wounded. But as the creature makes its way towards Lois, Superman flies towards it and ends up snapping the neck of the monster but not before getting stabbed in the chest. He ends up apparently dying in the arms of Lois. Later, a funeral is held in honour of Superman with the Kent family embracing Lois but the coffin in Superman’s memorial is seen empty with the world watching a figure which resembles Superman flying away!
If Superman happens to be your favourite DC character, then Sam Liu and Jake Castorena’s 2018 animated flick is a must-watch for you. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation as well as DC Entertainment, The Death of Superman is based on the DC comic book storyline, also of the same name and happens to be the 10th movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe. The battle between Superman and Doomsday categorically happens to be one of the highlights of the whole movie backed by some incredible work of animation. Do not miss the climax!
Justice League: War (2014)
With a series of bizarre kidnappings taking place in Gotham City, certain video footage holds Batman accountable for it. When a mysterious, cloaked kidnapper kidnaps a woman, Green Lantern arrives to confront the kidnapper, who is later revealed to be a Parademon. Batman makes an appearance and together with Green Lantern pursues the Parademon straight into the sewers where it charges a Mother Box and bursts. The duo post examining the box comes to a conclusion that it is of some extra-terrestrial origin and further decide to ask Superman about it. In the meantime, another Mother Box, one that is supplied by Flash is being examined at S.T.A.R. Labs by Silas Stone.
Superman, on the other hand having fought with a Parademon before, thinks that both Batman as well as Green Lantern are allies of the Parademon and therefore engaged in a fight with the duo. They are obviously outmatched and the battle goes to extreme lengths till the time Batman addresses Superman by his name, Clark. The trio soon begins to work together against the Parademons. Meanwhile, Darkseid on the planet Apokolips, commands his follower DeSaad to gear himself up for invading Earth as a fitting response to the heroes who have discovered his plans. It does not take the trio much time to comprehend the fact that an invasion has already taken place when the Mother Box activates and a number of Boom Tubes appear all throughout the world.
Even the box in the lab bursts and creates a Boom Tube with Victor holding it. The detonation blends the technology inside the box to Victor’s injured, scarred body. Soon, plenty of Parademons start attacking and Silas manages to take Victor to a hi-tech advanced medical bed and makes use of experimental technologies on him. Victor is eventually transformed into Cyborg, boasting a physique that’s capable of altering and adapting itself.
Cyborg soon finds out about Darkseid and his plans of invasion. He also discovers that the Parademons are actually dwellers of worlds that are vanquished by Darkseid, spliced with his very technology, that gives him the advantage of mind-controlling them into serving themselves as an army for defeating other planets. With all the superheroes assembling together, Cyborg discloses that the invasion is more like a precursor to the terraforming of Earth. Darkseid arrives and makes use of Omega Beams to fight against Flash and Superman.
The latter not only get injured but also captured by a Parademon. Batman as Bruce allows himself to get captured in order to save Superman; he even goes through a portal to Apokolips where he prevents DeSaad from transforming Superman into a Parademon. The brainwashing process makes Superman highly imbalanced and aggressive too and he ends up strangling DeSaad to death. He doesn’t stop at that; he attacks the Parademons as well as Batman after it. It’s only after Batman helps him reassert his own personality that he is able to regain his consciousness. Back on Earth, the Justice League are finally able to destroy the eyes of Darkseid and with the help of Cyborg, Superman and Batman, they are finally able to send him as well as his army back to Apokolips.
Jay Oliva’s 2014 animated flick shows that even the greatest heroes of DC cannot tackle a villain alone unless they decide to work together. The storyline is gripping enough to have your eyes glued to the screen for the entire running time of 79 minutes. The movie is nothing short of a visual treat and it’s the style of animation on display, one that’s evidently different from the other DC flicks. It’s jampacked with a lot of action scenes and stays true to its PG-13 rating. If you call yourself a true fan of the Justice League, give this movie a definite shot!
Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
Barbara Gordon while touring Powers Industrial encounters a power generator being stolen by the Foot Clan and even witnesses four mysterious creatures during the theft, whom she initially believes to be metahumans. The Foot Clan ambushes Wayne Enterprises to lay their hands on an untried cloud seeder device but get interrupted by Batman, who turns them away as well as Shredder.
In the meantime, the four metahumans turn out to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who have arrived in Gotham while following Shedder. Post defending Wayne Enterprises from the Penguin, the Turtles chance upon Batman and engage themselves in a fight both sides believing each other to be allies of Shredder. Batman is able to defeat the turtles and the latter retreats. Donatello is able to locate the Batcave and post a fleeting fight, the Turtles are able to introduce themselves and tell Batman, Batgirl and Robin why they are here at Gotham.
The two factions team up and Robin discloses that Shredder and the Foot Clan are operating with Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins. As for Shredder and Ghul, they have made a deal – Shredder needs to construct a machine, which will spray a mix of TCRI mutagen and Joker venom all over the city transforming the people into crazy mutants and in exchange to this, Ghul will make Shredder immortal by giving him access to the Lazarus Pit.
But since Shredder has been unsuccessful in retrieving the cloud seeder, Ghul has employed the Penguin to do the task while he along with Shredder goes to Arkham Asylum to set the Joker free, who ultimately uses the mutagen on the inmates of Arkham. The Turtles along with the Bat-family are notified about an alarm at the asylum and the group goes to investigate. They eventually confront Harley Quinn and Joker, both having transformed into a spotted hyena and a king cobra. The Joker inoculates Batman with a concoction of Joker venom and mutagen and eventually mutates him to an unhinged mutant vampire bat.
The Heroes are eventually able to restore him back to his normal self with an anti-mutagen and also overpower Quinn and Joker. It is then that Batgirl discovers that Penguin has stolen the device and soon comprehend that the whole incident at Arkham was just a mere distraction. Joining the dots, they make their way to Ace Chemicals and fight their enemies using the Batmobile along with the Turtle Van. Batman engages in a fight with Shredder, Leonardo with Ghul and both Donatello and Michelangelo are able to damage the device before it launches. The device crashes into the facility and bursts, eventually knocking Shredder into a vat of Joker venom. The Turtles celebrate the victory with a surprise pizza party hosted by Batman. As for Shredder, he is seen rising from what’s left of the Ace Chemicals, donning a Joker-like look and laughing hysterically.
Jake Castorena’s 2019 animated flick boasting a crossover between Batman and the Turtles is a natural fit. To see both the teams pairing up is sure to take one down memory lane. The movie is highly entertaining, well-paced and backed by an incredible voice cast. Please do not hesitate to relish this mutated thrill ride!
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
In an alternate universe, Lex Luthor and Jester are seen stealing the ‘Quantum Trigger’ from the headquarters of the Crime Syndicate. But post an alarm goes off, the Jester sacrifices his life to let Luthor flee and also kill J’edd J’arkus and Angelique with a bomb. Although Luthor is almost seized by the remaining members of the Syndicate, he manages to flee to Earth by activating a device and enabling interdimensional travel. Luthor is able to find a police station but his identity is mistaken to be the wicked Luthor and as a result, he is strip-searched. Of course, the Justice League is called and it’s the x-ray vision of Superman which confirms that the present Luthor is from a different world.
They take him to the watchtower and learn from him about the Syndicate threat. While the group discusses the matter, the alternate Luthor hides the device on the satellite. Except for Batman, the other members of the Justice League travel to Luthor’s parallel world. In the meantime, Batman’s evil counterpart, Owlman, has formed a weapon, which the Syndicate plan on using as an equalizer to the threat of a nuclear reprisal. Owlman also has further plans of taking control of the Crime Syndicate and widely admits the fact that the weapon he has created is capable of destroying the whole world. He searches for Earth-Prime and plans on using the Quantum Eigenstate Device to annihilate it. Superwoman being exhilarated by the whole idea decides to help him out.
As a result, Owlman sends Superwoman with her lieutenants to the League’s dimension where they engage in a battle on the watchtower with Batman, Firestorm, Aquaman, Black Lightning, Red Tornado and Black canary. Although Superwoman initially manages to flee with the Quantum Trigger, she is pursued by Batman and eventually gets defeated. The League arrives at the moon base of the Crime Syndicate with Superwoman being held captive and battles out the Syndicate. It is only after an intense fight that the League gets to taste victory and the group makes their way back to their dimension.
Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery’s 2010 animated flick happens to be backed by an action-driven storyline and an impeccably mature screenplay by Dwayne McDuffie. In plain and simple words, you cannot miss out on the movie if you fancy the world of DC and the genre.
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)
Post the Ocean Master’s defeat by Justice League, Amanda Waller consigns the Task Force X, comprising of Deadshot, criminal couple Punch and Jewelee and Count Vertigo to retrieve a flash drive that contains leaked intelligence from Tobias Whale. And, although the mission is successful, Vertigo and Jewelee deceive the team and end up killing Punch. It’s soon revealed that the duo had apparently become lovers while serving prison and they have further plans of copying the flash drive and selling it. But unbeknownst to them, Waller having overheard everything via Deadshot’s communicator blows up Vertigo. As for Jeweller, she is mercy-killed by Deadshot.
Later in Gotham City, Professor Pyg gets abducted by Scandal Savage and Knockout. Waller having been diagnosed with a terminal illness, reassembles Task Force X adding new members such as Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, Copperhead, Bronze Tiger along Deadshot. Their task is to locate a man called Steel Maxum and recover a magical black card that has “Get Out of Hell Free” engraved on it. The team is able to find Maxum in a male strip club and they battle out Professor Zoom, Silver Banshee and Blockbuster before escaping with Maxum.
The squad soon learns from him that the card apparently grants the user to gain access to Heaven and evade Hell but there’s a catch of course! It can only be used once. Upon learning that it was Scandal and Knockout, who had earlier stolen the mystical card from the Tower of Fate, the team is able to get hold of the card from their apartment but eventually get interrupted by Vandal Savage along with his men. Savage escapes with the card but not before Zoom is able to place a tracer on his ship.
Zoom’s minions next abduct Frost from a gas station and after removing her bomb, persuades her to join him. After that, Zoom is able to lure the squad into a trap and detonates the bomb that he had planned. The team is able to escape but Tiger gets severely wounded in the blast. Scandal secretly notifies Deadshot of Vandal’s location and the Squad intrudes his den. Vandal then discloses that he had Pyg medically graft the card into his chest cavity and that leads to Zoom and his men attacking and removing the card from his body, thereby killing Savage’. Zoom enlightens that he was killed by Batman in a different timeline, but managed to stay alive by calling upon the Speed Force.
This drives Frost to double-cross Zoom, slaying Silver Banshee, Blockbuster and eventually stealing the card for the money. Copperhead fights Frost until Waller detonates his bomb and slays them both. Captain Boomerang tries stealing the card but gets incapacitated by Zoom. Tiger fights Zoom, but the latter slices him several times. Tiger, using the last bit of his strength manages to cut the card from Zoom’s fingers. Deadshot kills Zoom and gives the card to Tiger, who dies and ascends to Heaven. With Quinn and Boomerang surviving in his team, Deadshot before leaving gives the useless card to the unsuspecting Waller. Having served his prison time, Deadshot visits his estranged daughter Zoe finally as a free man.
If you are someone who plans on watching James Gunn’s new release, we highly recommend that you give this 2018 animated flick a watch to quench that thirst of yours before you dig into the real treat!