For me, DC/WB Animation’s direct-to-video series has been incredibly hit or miss. Even the ones I like tend to be compared to the original comic stories they were based on unfavorably. When I heard about Justice League: Doom, I was going in expecting another fair to middling comic adaptation. Boy, was I wrong. Let me just say that if you’re on the fence about grabbing this flick, GET IT! As to why I think this is an insta-buy, read on.
The premise of JL: Doom is that Batman, being the über-prepared guy he is, has a series of countermeasures to be used if his fellow Justice Leaguers ever go rogue just sitting on the Bat-Computer. Now, what do you think would happen if someone without the Dark Knight’s altruism got their hands on them? If you’re thinking a bad day for the JLA, you don’t know the half of it! JL: Doom is adapted from writer Mark Waid’s JLA #43-46 Tower of Babel arc, originally published in the year 2000. Adapting the story for the screen is the late Dwayne McDuffie. The man knows how to bring superheroes to the screen, based on previous experience on the JLU animated show as well as past DC DTV’s. In fact, the biggest strengths JL: Doom has going for it is that while it takes the major story beats from Tower of Babel, it isn’t a slave to it. McDuffie throws stuff out that works on the printed page, but wouldn’t translate to the screen. Simultaneously even if you know nothing about the League, the film’s opening scene gives you a basic understanding of all of the characters.
The opening fight introduces you to the JLA nicely.
One of the most refreshing, yet possibly controversial changes in JL: Doom is that the villains are completely different from the source material. In the movie this works because each villain is the opposite number of a hero. It’s a kind of storytelling shorthand that lets the movie jump straight to the action in the limited time it has, rather than the months long story the original told. For those who remember the original story, Ra’s Al Ghul has been replaced by the immortal Vandal Savage. The motivation behind the plot remains the same, which is slightly irksome as it’s definitely a Ra’s plan. I forgave this, as it is changed enough to fit Savage as well.
Of course when you have a cast so large, it is a bit difficult to focus on all of the personalities present. McDuffie does manage to give everyone a shining moment, including the unexpected appearance of Cyborg, but since this is essentially a Batman story guest-starring the JLA, your mileage may vary in regards to if your favorite character gets enough screen time. That being said, besides Batman, the character I actually connected to the most in the film was Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, which surprised the heck out of me. In most incarnations, Hal is presented as a cocky jerk who has overconfidence that’s only matched my his willpower. In JL: Doom however, Hal’s attitude is clearly shown to be due to his absolute lack of fear. That makes his bat-planned takedown all the more poignant when he shows his nobility. I won’t go into spoilers, as it needs to be experienced first hand. I will say that it is just another reason why it’s so sad we lost McDuffie and his vast talents. This is a Green Lantern that I would gladly read/watch/pay 10 bucks at the theater for. It doesn’t hurt that this Hal actually uses his ring to make things other than guns.
"The cat's in its cradle, Star Sapphire!"
In the film, the JLA is of course triumphant, but it’s the journey here that is important, not the destination. In JL: Doom, the League feels like a team of true equals that play to each other’s strengths. It’s hard to explain in words, but the action just flows. One aspect that brings this story to legendary status is that once the threat is over, there are still things to resolve. Namely, Batman’s paranoia getting the League into this mess to begin with. Again, no spoilers here, but it’s handled very well, with the Leaguers and especially Batman discussing their viewpoints in a manner that doesn’t come off as preachy or forced at all. It may not sound very compelling, but trust me it’s one of the strongest moments in the film when Batman refuses to back down when faced by his accusers.
Don't look now, but I think Bats just got hit on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.
When it comes to the production side of things, the voice direction by Andrea Romano is top-notch as always. It helps that most of the cast have played these characters before. It was nice to hear Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy reprise their roles as the World’s Finest team. Michael Rosenbaum as the Flash is a nice touch as well, though it is a little jarring once you realize he’s playing Barry Allen rather than Wally West, but he adjusts his performance accordingly. Nathan Fillion is my favorite Green Lantern voice actor and his acting made the aforementioned scenes what they were. If he can bring half of the game he brings in this movie to the CGI GL animated series, it’ll be the best show on TV.
Animation wise, JL: Doom uses the same character designs as the previous Justice League film, Crisis on Two Earths. The villains are completely new designs however, and they work very well, although Star Sapphire has a softness to her at times that is very anime-esque. This isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but I felt her in-costume look didn’t match up as well as the other baddies. Otheer than that, the visuals are beautiful, the color palette seems toned down a bit from the previous film. The tell-tale sign is the baby blue of Superman’s uniform. I think it’s works much better than the darker hues WB animation has used for Supes up to this point. The opening credits are an inspired sequence of the contingency files on the Bat-Computer and sets up the premise of the film without the aid of dialogue.
My bottom line is Justice League: Doom is a day one purchase. Whereas I was content to wait for the older DC DTV’s to hit the discount bins, I was happy to pay full price for this one, and I suggest you do so as well, be it on Blu-Ray, DVD, or Digital Download.