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DC Comics has had consistent trouble getting its cinematic universe going with the momentum of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That does not mean, however, their characters and storylines are unadaptable. The classic age of superhero movies was absolutely dominated by DC properties, most notably their Superman and Batman films.
While some modern live-action DC films have seen both critical and commercial success, their quality work is in animated features. These movies skew much closer to the comic book portrayal of characters while skipping the usual child-friendly softening that often occurs with animated adaptations. The DC animated film library offers plenty of superior options to fill in the gaps left by lesser live-action offerings.
10/10 Suicide Squad Has The Wrong Energy
Batman: Assault on Arkham
Suicide Squad‘s greatest sin is likely its Joker, though there is plenty more wrong with it, including its characters’ self-pity, nonexistent lighting, and lack of actual humor. This live-action film distracts itself from creating an enticing plot with its blatant attempts to convince viewers of its characters’ coolness.
Batman: Assault on Arkham has a much tighter plot, the squad needs to break into the Gotham asylum to retrieve secret incriminating files, and chaos ensues once Batman becomes aware of the plot. The animated version of Suicide Squad doesn’t take time to empathize with its villains. Instead, it lets their actions speak for themselves.
9/10 Dawn Of Justice Makes Superman’s Death An Afterthought
The Death of Superman
It’s tough to adapt the story of Superman’s death while keeping dramatic stakes high, as any viewer knows he’ll be resurrected eventually. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice seeks to cover this topic, but confusing emotions and morality are the film’s focus, much more than the idea of a hero dying.
The Death of Superman(2018) keeps the storyline of the original comics largely intact while transplanting it into its animated universe of films. This version understands that for audiences to feel the loss of Superman’s death, they must have some sort of emotional attachment to the figure, which Snyder doesn’t seem interested in at all.
8/10 Superman III’s Technological Villain Isn’t A Real Threat
Superman: Unbound
Superman III is a rough watch. Rather than the majesty and stakes of the first two films, this entry goes for laughs while bending over backward to include Richard Pryor as a selectively brilliant computer technician. The film’s final conflict pits Superman against a super-computer designed by Pryor, which gains self-awareness and converts humans to robots.
Superman: Unbound similarly pits the Man of Steel against a technological foe, one of his greatest, Brainiac. This movie is, in many ways, the opposite of Superman III. Instead of silly and distracted, Unbound is bloody and compelling. It questions the inherent morality of the scientific method, while delivering some magnetic action sequences.
7/10 Green Lantern Glosses Over The Corps
Green Lantern: First Flight
Within the DC mythos, Green Lantern is the key to unlocking the greater universe. The series both brings alien technology to Earth and humans into space. The live-action Green Lantern keeps its story relatively earthbound, which allows for a grounded story, but ignores the central conflict of the greatest Green Lantern stories.
When the Guardians recruit Hal Jordan to join their police force, he is put in charge of not only Earth, but every world in his sector. Green Lantern: First Flight understands the centrality of this cultural conflict and makes Hal’s investigations into unknown civilizations one of the movie’s main sequences.
6/10 Man Of Steel Doesn’t Change Superman Enough
Superman: Red Son
The running theme of Zach Snyder’s DC films seems to be that power corrupts and isolates, and that the fewer flaws people see, the more issues a hero has. In Man of Steel, this thesis plays out through Clark Kent’s isolation and violent arrival as Superman, but Snyder’s point could have been stronger.
Superman: Red Son separates the hero from his established origin and much of his iconography by having his rocket land in Soviet Russia instead of Kansas. This Superman is known to be the strongest and smartest person in the whole world, so it makes sense that he would end up leading. His skill, however, does nothing to soften his cruelty in seizing and maintaining control.
5/10 Dark Knight Rises Fails Old Man Batman
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Parts I and II
Whenever a new creator gets attached to Batman, they always say that their version will be grittier, and cite Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns comic as their inspiration. Dark Knight Rises did this somewhat, featuring an old, broken-down Bruce Wayne who is forced to return to crime-fighting after years of reclusive living in his mansion.
The animated adaptations of The Dark Knight Returns skip the middleman and offer a faithful cinematic version of one the history’s greatest comic books. These movies are bloody, violent, and thought-provoking. Every portrayal of Batman is somewhat different, depending on its creators and the times in general, but they all contain aspects of this story.
4/10 Superman Returns Fails To Leave A Mark
All-Star Superman
Superman Returns is an attempt to create a soft sequel to the original Richard Donner film. Its Superman returns to Earth after a years-long absence in space, looking for the remains of Krypton, and must rediscover his place in his adopted home world. The film has some great ideas, but is utterly forgettable.
All-Star Superman is also an attempt to bring golden-age Superman into the modern era, but it expands the world rather than repeating plot lines. In All-Star Superman, the Man of Steel reckons with his oncoming death, something he’s always associated with those he couldn’t save. He takes the opportunity to connect further with his world and ends up becoming an even greater hero than before.
3/10 Wonder Woman 1984 Is Grounded In Nothing
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines
The success of the first Wonder Woman film lies in grounding the story in a combination of real-world events and relatively simple comic book mythology. Its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, fails to recreate the second factor, instead opting for unhealthy relationships and vague ideas like wishes.
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines parallels 1984‘s focus on the corruption of sister-like relationships through jealousy, but handles the issue far more effectively. Instead of a workplace colleague turned stalker, Bloodlines has the Silver Swan. She used to be Wonder Woman’s foster sister, but their relationship turns to hate when a tragic death occurs. Bloodlines is about love and hate, and how quickly people can switch between the two.
2/10 Justice League Is A Tonal Mess
Justice League: The New Frontier
Joss Whedon’s Justice League is a soulless mess, cobbled together with the sole intent of not being Zach Snyder’s. While many viewers have a legitimate issue with Snyder’s view of superheroes, his films at least are tonally cohesive. However, Whedon’s version of the story cannot figure out if it is gritty and terrifying or light and plucky.
Justice League: The New Frontier tells the League’s origin through the language of a Cold War spy thriller. The art is bright and interesting. It expertly weaves together multiple storylines of soon-to-be heroes as they approach the film’s final confrontation with an underutilized foe, the flying, and sentient Dinosaur Island.
1/10 Batman And Robin Fails Mr. Freeze
Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero
Though his beginnings are average, Batman: The Animated Series turned Mr. Freeze into one of the the Dark Knight’s most compelling foes by adding the tragic element of his wife. Batman and Robin took this version of the character’s origin but replaced his personality with a series of puns.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero acts as a direct continuation of the version from TAS and understands where his power as a villain lies. Mr. Freeze is both the most and least emotional of Batman’s foes. He rarely shows his feelings externally, but his relationship with his wife reveals the truth beneath it all. Subzero may not have the star power of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it does have an effective villain.
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