If there is one thing DC has been nearly flawless in lately, it would be their animated movies. And Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam is no exception. It is based very loosely off of 2005’s Superman/Shazam: First Thunder mini series by Judd Winick and Josh Middleton. I say loosely in that while it does show the origin of Captain Marvel and the first time he meets Superman, the villains are completely different. In the comic we get Dr Sivana, Eclipso, and an evil cult. Here in the DVD we get Black Adam, who is possibly the best known Captain Marvel villain.

The animation in this movie is gorgeous! It is very close to the style of Josh Middleton, who penciled the mini series this was based off of. It has kind of an anime type feel to it, but not completely anime.

The story follows Billy Batson, a poor kid living on his own in Fawcett City. He meets up with Clark Kent who is doing a story on Billy’s situation. During their meeting Black Adam attacks because Billy has been marked to be the Wizard Shazam’s champion. And after that the movie is one long and awesome fight, which sees Billy get his powers and become Captain Marvel.

The voice acting was pretty good in this short. We get George Newburn returning as Superman. He had previously voiced Superman on the Justice League animated Series. We also get Jerry O’ Connell as Captain Marvel, Arnold Vosloo as Black Adam, James Garner as the Wizard Shazam, and Zach Callison as Billy Batson. I thought all of the voices were spot on.

Now you may be wondering why you should pick this up if its only a short. Well this disc also includes three other shorts that have previously been released with other DC animated movies, but the versions on this disc are extended versions. Included on this disc are the Jonah Hex, Spectre, and Green Arrow shorts. And for those of you that enjoy blu ray, if you get it in that format you will also get extra episodes from past DC animated series featuring the characters from the shorts.

Overall I really enjoyed this and would recommend trying it out!

It hits the streets tomorrow. You can order it from Amazon now!