So I finally saw Superman / Batman: Apocalypse.

§ November 3rd, 2010 § Filed under movie reviews § 8 Comments


So there were a handful of shots in the new DVD Superman / Batman: Apocalypse where Batman is just standing there, cape wrapped around him, more tightly around the legs, looking like Morticia from the Addams Family. …Well, it amused me*.

Overall, the film was enjoyable, taking a mostly-unreadable multi-issue story from the Superman / Batman comic book series and translating it into a surprisingly entertaining action-packed hour and a quarter. Calling it Superman / Batman: Apocalypse is a bit misleading, as it’s more Superman / Batman / Wonder Woman / Supergirl: Apocalypse but I suppose that title would be a little more difficult to market.

Tim Daly, Kevin Conroy, and Susan Eisenberg reprise their roles as the DC Universe’s Big Three, and Summer Glau from Firefly and the Terminator TV series does a solid job as Supergirl. Nice to see appearances by Crisis on Infinite Earth‘s Harbinger, and (as pictured above) Krypto…I sort of wondered if younger viewers would be thrown off by the idea of a dog in a Superman cape, but I remembered that there was that Krypto animated series a while back, so the concept’s had some general audience play recently. Plus, it’s not like kids are going to question the idea of a super-powered pet dog for Superman, because, let’s face it, what kid wouldn’t love the idea of that?

Another treat was getting more animated action with Jack Kirby’s Fourth World creations…Darkseid, of course, but also the Female Furies, Big Barda, and Granny Goodness (voiced by Ed Asner, reprising the role from the animated Superman series, and never not weirdly hilarious). That there isn’t some kind of dedicated Fourth World animation project is a huge shame…all that stuff is made for cartoons.

I watched the Netflix rental version of this movie, so 1) I had to wait a month for it to clear the Warner Bros. one-month new movie embargo that Netflix has, and 2) I didn’t get any of the special features, including the new Green Arrow short, so that stuff will have to wait ’til I get the retail edition someday. (On Blu-Ray, since I recently purchased a new widescreen hi-def TV. Which means I’ll need to get a Blu-Ray player. …DARN YOU, ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY. Wasn’t my Betamax good enough? Wasn’t it?)

So, Superman / Batman: Apocalypse…one of the better direct-to-DVD animated releases from DC, I thought, and while it’d be nice if there were a follow-up full-length Supergirl adventure, I don’t know that we can realistically expect that (especially given producer Bruce Timm’s comments regarding sales on the Wonder Woman cartoon). Parents wanting to pick this up for their young’uns should note that there are a lot of spears and swords going through folks in this movie, and a use or two of some harsh language. But all your kids are playing the Grand Theft Autos and listening to the Insane Clown Posses, so it’s probably too late for them anyway.

And here are these, because I want all your monies:


Oh, this post probably contains some spoilers. Sorry about that.

* Because someone’s gonna bring it up…Carolyn Jones, who played Morticia in The Addams Family, also played Marsha, the Queen of Diamonds in the ’60s Batman TV show. So there’s your Morticia/Batman connection, aside from the one I made above.

8 Responses to “So I finally saw Superman / Batman: Apocalypse.”

  • Todd Gray says:

    I too rented this from Netflix and did NOT get any of the special features stuff you mentioned. But my copy DID let me watch the GREEN ARROW short, which was pretty fun. I don’t know if my copy had a glitch or what, but it worked for me.

  • Old Bull Lee says:

    I’m a Netflix proponent and defender, and I was disappointed about not getting the Spectre short from CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS.

    That’s a shame about the WW movie, because I thought it was one of the best of the DC animated movies. Despite the Disney-esque animation, there was excellent interpretation of Wonder Woman, great action sequences, good voice actors and a damn good script.

  • WizarDru says:

    So far I’ve enjoyed almost all of the DC animated films, though Superman: Doomsday was a little weak.

    Public Enemies was TERRIBLE. Just AWFUL. In fairness, I’m guessing the original comic was just as bad, but still…Not Good.

  • De says:

    Krypto is easily one of my favorite characters in the DC Universe. I like him better than Batman.

    Yeah, I said it.

  • CalvinPitt says:

    Does Krypto look old in that screenshot to anyone else? I think it’s the line they drew under his eye, and the way they drew the back of his mouth, so he has a prominent jowl. Depending on how long Superman’s had him, I guess Krypto could be getting old for a Kryptonian dog.

  • The DC Universe DTVs are doing a great job of turning barely-comprehensible, decompressed story arcs and turning them into straightforward, concise, coherent narratives. By and large, it’s like the comics are rough drafts.

    I need to pick up Apocalypse.

  • Bill D. says:

    I’m with Old Bull Lee… Wonder Woman was one of the best of this series so far (topped only by Crisis on Two Earths and New Frontier, I think), so it’s too bad it didn’t do better saleswise, and worse still that bad ones like Public Enemies and GL: First Flight presumably did better.

    Hated the comics story Apocalypse is based on, but now I’m very curious to check out the movie. I hope WB gives you a kickback for that, Mike!

  • GQ says:

    A main problem I had with Apocalypse was how deserted Apokolips seemed. There were hardly any people on the planet at all.
    I know, I know, that’s a weird thing to be bothered by but, well, y’know, *nerd*.