Warner Home Video
Release date: February 28, 2012
MSRP: $24.98
Starring the voices of Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Nathan Fillion, Carl Lumbly, Michael Rosenbaum
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Directed by Lauren Montgomery
In the latest DC Universe direct-to-video animated movie, the immortal Vandal Savage hires several supervillains to eliminate their enemies–Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Martian Manhunter–twisting plans originally conceived by Batman in case any of the heroes went rogue.
For me, a key ingredient to any superhero story is the level of threat faced by the hero(es). Part of the fun of JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM is watching the villains pull off Batman’s plans and pose a serious threat to the League. The movie also highlights what’s at stake by bringing back the most popular superhero voice actors from Warner Bros.’ SUPERMAN, BATMAN, and JUSTICE LEAGUE cartoons and animated features. Though the premise is inspired by DC Comics’ JLA: Tower of Babel and Justice, the plans used are unique to the movie. This is a credit to the late Dwayne McDuffie, who also wrote the similarly climactic three-part final episode of JUSTICE LEAGUE, “Starcrossed”.
The Blu-ray’s best features, in my opinion, are a tribute to Dwayne McDuffie and a feature-length audio commentary with DC Comics execs Geoff Johns and Mike Carlin. There’s also a featurette on Batman’s guarded relationship to the JLA, one about Cyborg–who is a member of the League in the recently rebooted comics and plays a key role in the movie, a two-part episode of JUSTICE LEAGUE, a preview of the next DC Universe animated feature–SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE–and a JLA: Tower of Babel digital comic.
Highly recommended.
–Gerald So
