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KA-POW! The Official "Unofficial" DC/Marvel Animated Movies & Shows Thread (1 Viewer)

SWFF

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Any fans out there of these DC and Marvel Animated Movies? Guilty pleasures they are for me. I'm a grown man, and I simply can not get enough of them. The DC movies ended up being a lot better than the Marvel ones. I only have three of the latter company's movies (ULTIMATE AVENGERS, HULK VS, PLANET HULK), and about the only ones I don't have of the former's company's flicks are BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT and GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT.

The DC flicks, I think, have much better animation, with only Marvel's HULK VS. WOLVERINE being the pinnacle in this department. To me a successful DC or Marvel animated movie hinges on whether the action animation is smooth and dynamic, and for the most part all DC's flicks have fallen into this category.

I didn't like BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT because they created an anthology tale out of an already too short feature, and just when I was getting into one of the interconnected stories, it was already over and on to the next. GREEN LANTERN; FIRST FLIGHT, I saw on pay-per-view and the only complaint I had was with the story, couldn't get invested in it.

Here's a trailer I found for DC's next animated movie, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. It's supposed to hit DVD this Winter.


 

SWFF

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I'm in the middle of watching BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD, fitting in around tonight's episode of GHOST ADVENTURES, but I have to say this is another winner. And, the most violent, and bloody animated movie DC has done thus far. Marvel has its own counterpart in HULK VS. WOLVERINE and, I have to say, that was a rated R flick that squeaked by with a PG-13 rating, which it should have been. I hate seeing Wolverine watered down in his animated incarnations, well, this new Batman flick is the same way.

The animation and the action is extraordinary, and even though, so far, all the deaths have been confined to thugs, goons and Yes Men, they have been no less shocking.

Two of the standout deaths happen within, oh, I'd say, five to ten minutes of each other, and I was shocked to see that thug with that Molotov cocktail raised over his head, have it shattered by the Red Hood's bullet and as it spilled all over him, the lit fuse just turned him into a charcoal bricket. The dude was burned alive! The other unexpected death comes at the hands of the Red Hood again as he and Batman battle some cybernetically enhanced henchmen, and the Red Hood jams a taser into the cyclopean eye on this henchman's suit. Well, whatever it did to him, it sent a shower of blood against the wall they were standing in front of, and his wail of pain was a lot more real than what you would normally get in your typical animated feature.


I can't believe DC was able to get away with this. Very cool, and very shocking. I recommend this feature. Gotta shower and finish the final 30 minutes. Next week I got the latest DC feature coming: SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE. Can't wait!

UPDATE: I finished watching the final 30 minutes and, man, was I blown away by this movie. Added cartoon violence . . . The Joker slahed a henchman's throat with a glass he broke against the table, but they didn't show any blood this time on this killing. The guy just clutched his throat, gurgled horribly and hit the floor deader than a doornail. A certain someone (who must remain nameless for fear of spoiling the plot) shoved his thumbs into the eye sockets of another henchman, with a squish. And, some poor innocent guy got shot in the head and killed. I think he wasn't suppposed to be there. He was a prison guard who had showed up, and his buddies looked surprised he was there, then some men break in and one of them caps him. They show him on the floor with his head in a pool of blood. I'm thinking, did that guy just get killed?! My question was immediately answered when one of his supposed buddies walks up and says to the man who capped him, "You didn't have to kill him."

The story was just as impressive. Without spoiling the plot, I was under the assumption this "certain unamed character" had gotten from point A to point B in a certain way, but then in the final 30 it was revealed that my initial theory was flawed. And, when I say flawed, I mean I was totally off the mark, and his motivations throughout the movie were also a hundred and eighty degrees from what I assumed and what was being hinted at. I know this is gonna sound cryptic but none of the principal characters died, but one of them did. That will make sense once you see the movie.

And it was nice seeing Nghtwing in the movie. This will mark the first time he's been in any animated movie. At least, to my knowledge. And, man, the ultimate fight between Batman and the Red Hood was even wrought with blows that made me wince just a little bit.

I kind of knew this was going to be a very dark and different DC animated movie, and for that fact a much darker and violent Batman, when I noticed the whole flick starts off with the Joker beating the hell out of Robin with a crowbar. The poor hero is bound and laying on the floor as it's happening. That's, like, the entire opening scene, and it's taking place some place in Bulgaria, with Batman racing on his batcycle, hoping to make in time to save the little dude's life.

Jesus!

Gotta watch this one again!

Probably tonight, if SHARTOPUS turns out to be shit.
 

WadeM

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Is there a website or a complete list of these somewhere. I did watch a few of the early ones, but I've had too many other things to do since.
 

SWFF

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DC:
 
SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT
WONDER WOMAN
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES
GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS
BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN (Winter or Spring 2011)
 
MARVEL:
 
ULTIMATE AVENGERS
ULTIMATE AVENGERS II
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
DOCTOR STRANGE
NEXT AVENGERS: HEROES OF TOMORROW
HULK VS
PLANET HULK
THOR: TALES OF ASGARD (Summer 2011)
 
The only Marvels I own are ULTIMATE AVENGERS, HULK VS and PLANET HULK.
 

mattCR

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This goes back a ways, but I will argue this point to almost anyone: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is easily, IMHO, the best Batman movie, animated or live action, of any produced. Case closed.
 

SWFF

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An excellent interview with Kevin Conroy, from http://www.mania.com/kevin-conroy-supermanbatman-apocalypse_article_125373.html

Question: Is it easy to fall into the character, considering you have played him for the last 19 years?

Kevin Conroy: Yeah. I love to say its not and that it takes enormous preparation (smiles) but it doesn’t. It is pretty easy.

Question: Is there a subtle difference you bring to each Batman? Is this one different than the one in the animated series?

Kevin Conroy: Andrea [Romano, Voice Director] and I always think, what is similar to be consistent. Because writers always bring differences, so that is a difference. It is my job to find the common thread because the audience knows him as well as I know him. The audience is very tuned into this guy and it’s very loyal. If there is a false note, they’ll pick it up like that. I don’t think that I can deviate too far from that core guy without it seeming unauthentic.

Question: You have often referred to Batman as a Shakespearean type character. Which character do you see him as and why?

Kevin Conroy: Well, it is just because I went through Julliard and I worked with the New York Shakespeare Festival and because that was my background. You always bring what you have to any role that you play. I just thought it was very Hamlet and he is. There are certain archetypes even if you are altering the story and that’s the archetype he fits into, the misunderstood hero, living in the dark, can’t get over the death of his parents. There are similar heroes in Greek tragedies. I just brought what I knew.

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Question: You’ve played him for nearly twenty years. How does it feel to know you have influenced a generation of fans?

Kevin Conroy: I’m always amazed that people know what I do. I really am. I am amazed that they have a clue who the voice is. I brought my car into a garage recently and they told me that they needed my name and address. I said it was Kevin Conroy and he said that must be a weird name to have. So I said why? Well that’s that guy from animation, that’s the guy that does Batman. Then I said well that’s me. He said bullshit, prove it. So I started doing some voices standing in this guy’s garage. I asked him how did you know? He said everybody knows that. It is a no brainer. I’m still amazed that anybody knows because to me it is so anonymous. It is a privilege to be apart of something like that.

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Question: Batman is clearly out of his element when it comes to Dakseid and Apocalypse. How does he cope with such a villain?

Kevin Conroy: Well it’s a team effort and with Superman he defeats him jointly. With Batman, who is the true hero; I just wanted to make that clear (laughs). I’m kidding. Superman has all these great powers but Batman doesn’t. His power is to rely on his wits. You’ll see as the film evolves he pulls the rabbit out of the hat at the end. That is the fun part about playing the character he is MacGyver like. He really has to think of something and create ideas; he can’t rely on super powers.

Question: In your opinion are there any villains that are too big for Batman?

Kevin Conroy: Are you kidding? Absolutely not (laughs).

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Question: What was it like to take the character to Apocalypse?

Kevin Conroy: You have to see the movie to understand what Apocalypse is. It is pretty epic. It is a beautiful film and on a very grand scale. I guess what is unique about this one is that Batman needs to learn to work with others and not be such a loner.

Question: Did Superman/ Batman Apocalypse bring any new challenges to the character that you hadn’t encountered before?

Kevin Conroy: Yeah, because I am sharing the stage with a lot of other people. You will see that Superman has a lot of the film. When you don’t have as much presence in the terms of lines you have to make your presence felt each time that you are on. You got to make it really powerful. So that was a challenge. When I’m doing Batman and Robin, a Batman movie, or anything else I have the story to support me which is Batman’s show. This time, I was sharing it largely with Superman. It has more to do with his back story line than mine. You don’t want to take over, be obnoxious, or pushy but you still want to make a statement. So that was a bit of a challenge.

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Question: If you had the chance, would you ever want to play Superman in one of the animated films?

Kevin Conroy: Oh sure. What actor is going to say no to a job? One day Tim [Daly, Superman] didn’t come on time and Andrea asked me to fill for him so we could record the other actors. I thought that would be cool (evil laughs). I did him really well and she said how did you that? I said it was just Batman without the balls (evil laughs).
 

SWFF

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Okay, I want to touch more upon a few animated series, I mentioned in my opening post. This series below is probably the best animated Spider-Man series out there. The sticking point, I have seen on many a forums with it, however, is the character animation. Many people simply just don't like the simple character designs. If you get the DVD below, there is a feature which explains why this is. Money, to put in bluntly. The creators had to make a decision, either go with excellent character designs, or put the money towards animating the action scenes the way they should be. In my opinion, they wisely chose the latter. Which, as I mentioned before, is a crucial point for me in making a hero based cartoon series watchable.
 
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, has got the best action scenes I have seen in one of these series. There is only one episode where the action animation got a bit wonky, but it didn't get wonky enough to become a turn-off. Unfortunately, however, that superb action animation didn't quite translate into the second season, at least, not with all the episodes. If I can remember, there's only, maybe, four or five episodes that got animated really well in this department. A shame, too. cause the story telling is really quite good. You can get the second season on DVD, it's just spread out over several volumes. To date, Sony has yet to release an entire season 2 collection.
 
So, it goes without saying, that I whole heartedly recommend this series to any die hard Spider-Man fans.
 

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This next series below, FANTASTIC FOUR: WORLD'S GREATEST HEROES, was a series that debuted back in 2006, I think. And, at first, I didn't like it. Didn't like the character designs or the action animation and only stayed with the series for a few episodes before I wrote it off. Seems like the Cartoon Network wrote it off, too, at some point, they stopped running the show not too long after it debuted, but ran the rest of the series, six months later during the Spring and Summer, if memory serves. I decided to give the series another try and broke down and bought the entire collection when it came up for pre-order at DVD Empire, and I'm glad I did.
 
I nowe love everything about this limited series, the designs for the chracters as well as the animation for their action, which isn't as fluid as Spider-Man's series, but, let's say, its fluid enough to make it watchable, well, it's either that or the excellent character designs compensate. My favorite episode here is HARD KNOCKS, and that's because I'm a Hulk fan, and the Hulk certainly shines in this episode. You can tell the creators decided to put their money a bit more on the character designs, for they are fairly detailed. Too bad, though, this series only lasted 26 episodes. Don't know why either. It's never mentioned in any of the commentaries.
 

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The one series I'm gonna mention yet don't own is WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN. At least, not yet. Then, again, I'm not sure I ever will, because it sort of turned into disappointment for me. This is an excellent example of a show that has excellent character designs and really stunted action animation, but not all the time. I have seen a couple of episodes where inexplicably the action animation suddenly goes for broke and kept me glued into the story. But, as I said, it's too little. And then there are episodes where the action animation will only stand out for one fight scene. Very odd, and very frustrating. The best animation in that whole series is in the opening credits. I understand this was supposed to go into a second season, then Marvel decided to relocate that money to a new series, the pending ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN coming next year. The Wolverine vs. Hulk episode isn't bad actually, which is why I''m constantly debating on whether I want to buy this, or not. I have only seen a handful of episodes.
 
WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: THE COMPLETE SERIES hits DVD October 12th.
 
In a day, or two, I'll be back to talk about two really cool DC animated series.
 

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WadeM

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Wonder Woman was the last one I saw...wow..I've got a ways to go!
 
 


Originally Posted by mattCR
This goes back a ways, but I will argue this point to almost anyone: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is easily, IMHO, the best Batman movie, animated or live action, of any produced. Case closed.
And the Animated Series is unbeatable Batman, IMO!
 

SWFF

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I heard WONDER WOMAN didn't sell well, which is why the sequel they had in the works was cancelled. I used to be a serious fan of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, but I stopped after Bruce Timm's other series began to show better animation style. I know I'm gonna catch hell for that statement, but it's how I feel. I'll explain more in my next lengthy post.
 
By the way, I loved WONDER WOMAN, it's just that ending. I mean, a battle on the White House's front lawn?!
 

SWFF

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Time for another installment of Animation Theater . . . tonight I'd like to touch upon some of Bruce Timm's major accomplishments on the DC animated universe. I know a couple of you have expressed your enthusiasm for Timm's first foray into the DC Universe, BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. I used to love that show. I mean LOVE it. I remember it fondly because it came out September of '92, just two months earlier me and my girlfriend had broken up. I had just about every single episode taped on VHS. I was subsequently blind sided by the spin-off shows that came out of that series. THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN AND ROBIN, and wasn't there another variation on it? It's been so long I can' remember, but if anyone can help, please do. I seem to recall it then became THE BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, or something.

Anyhow, I was out of the show by the time these incarnations started airing. I didn't get pulled back into Timm's world until BATMAN BEYOND. Though, I didn't discover it until the summer of 2000, and I remember that well, too, because I was having a "difficult summer," and the show provided the needed down time. I was immediately floored by the excellent animation, especially in the action scenes and started taping it. By the time the show was over I, again, had a series of VHS tapes stored away. I recently learned BATMAN BEYOND is going to start airing again, this time on that new HUB channel; the one that's replacing Discovery Kids.

I also understand on November 23, BATMAN BEYOND: THE COMPLETE SERIES will be coming out on DVD.


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The next DC series that took my brain by storm was 2001's JUSTICE LEAGUE, but it wasn't until it morphed into JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED that I really started to take notice. The episodes were cut down to a half hour and the animation got a whole lot better, not to mention the storylines, and the season arcs. Stunning, absolutely stunning! I still have them on VHS, and like the series above I have yet to own it. Damn things are too expensive, or I'm too broke, either way I don't currently possess them, though I desperately want to. Again, I was going through a "bad time" when I started taping JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED, a bad Winter this time. But, I was aware of the show when it started airing back in summer of 2004 and, for some reason, after a couple of episodes, I started to hate it. Don't know why.

Like BATMAN BEYOND you can get the entire JUSTICE LEAGUE series in one sweet-ass set.


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I'll be back in a few days to talk about this new AVENGERS series coming out. Be there or be square!
 

SWFF

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http://www.hometheaterforum.com/image/id/375610/width/1000/height/800

The show is debuting October 20th at 8:30 with a two-part season premiere called, THE BREAKOUT. Before that, however, Marvel has created what they're calling, a micro-series, that introduces the heroes to us. Each episode is roughly five minutes long. You can see some of them on Marvel's website, but I'm gonna wait until the week of October 11th, when Disney XD will air the whole 20 episode micro-series during the course of the week. Every night at 8:30, four episodes in a row.

Disney XD has set up a web page dedicated to the show. The animation doesn't look bad, but I'm gonna wait until that week of October to see how good, or bad, it really is.

I got SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE a few days ago in the mail, and, I think, I'll be ready to watch it tomorrow. Will report back thereafter on how awesome it was. Still going strong, however, on BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD.
 

SWFF

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I just finished watching SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE, and, in short, it was another winner! First off, this should have been called, SUPERMAN/BATMAN: SUPERGIRL, for the story, from what I've learned, since I'm not an ardent comic book reader, is based on the graphic novel of the same name, but it was given the APOCALYPSE subtitle, because the studio heads felt the SUPERGIRL one wouldn't make it sell as well. See, WONDER WOMAN didn't sell as well as they had hoped, so, their thinking is based on the fact that a super hero chick isn't good for business.

Ah, those poor uneducated bastards.

Anyhow, despite the obvious presence of Darkseid's home planet subtitle, this is essentially a SUPERGIRL origin movie, and a continuation of SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES, the events of which are mentioned in a newscast voice over. I was wondering how directly, or indirectly, they were going to be connected.

The pacing of the movie goes like this, Kara Zor-EL (aka Supergirl), crash lands in a fragment of the meteor that was blown up in PUBLIC ENEMIES, Superman tries to acclimate her to living in Metropolis as a normal girl; she is then taken by Wonder Woman to her island home for training; Darkseid enters the picture and kidnaps her to his home world of Apocalypse; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Big Barda got to get her back, then a showdown happens, first, between Superman and Kara, and then between Kara, Superman and Darkseid.


That last battle is a doozy!

This movie is a complete 180 from BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD. I got used to watching a rather low key animated drama about well trained heroes and villains duking it own in an ever dark city, named, Gotham. This one, however, is more like watching Gods fighting amongst each other. A battle in this movie means massive amounts of property damage are going to occur and huge loads of terrain are going to get tossed around like pebbles.

It's that final battle that's the showstopper in this flick, and it takes place in Superman's home town of all places. When they were, like, in round three, I was thinking, 'Jesus, they are really fucking up Smallville big time here.' Well, maybe, not all of Smallville, just one location. Either way the property looked like a series of F5 tornadoes had touched down on it, then went away, then touched down again, and again, and again, and again, and again . .

The language got a little salty, too. Well, it is PG-13, and I'm used to hearing a certain level it, but this line here made me do a double take: "Surrender now, or the bitch dies!"

Oh, yeah, the animation, like always, was stunning, and that goes for the action animation, too.

The only problem I have with certain origin movies is that you don't get the hero, or heroine, in all her glory until the very end, like, just before the credits roll. This one was no different. Kara doesn't become Supergirl, in costume, that is, until moments before the credits roll.

Another stunner . . . I have never seen Superman use his heat vision is such a way that it spreads out and wipes out an entire battlefield of opponents all at once. And, it wiped him out, too, so-to-speak.

The short that came with it, GREEN ARROW, was equally excellent. BLACK CANARY makes a cameo in it. I was disappointed by the JONAH HEX short that came with BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD. The animation was sweet, the story sucked.

Be back in a few days to talk about one, or, perhaps, all three of the Marvel movies I own.


EDIT: Batman was really out of place, in this flick, when the action kicks in, only because he's the only hero who literally doesn't have a super power, and when you're on Apocalypse you really need to be able to fly and kick ass like Superman. It was interesting watching how he dealt with these "short comings." Also, Superman and Batman's friendship, in this one, is a lot less banter filled and a bit more confrontational. Not by much, just more like Batman wanting Clark to get his head out of ass and look at the situation of Kara's appearance as something more than a family reunion and something, perhaps, a bit more sinister.
 

Jason_V

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Originally Posted by SWFF
I just finished watching SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE, and, in short, it was another winner! First off, this should have been called, SUPERMAN/BATMAN: SUPERGIRL, for the story, from what I've learned, since I'm not an ardent comic book reader, is based on the graphic novel of the same name, but it was given the APOCALYPSE subtitle, because the studio heads felt the SUPERGIRL one wouldn't make it sell as well. See, WONDER WOMAN didn't sell as well as they had hoped, so, their thinking is based on the fact that a super hero chick isn't good for business.

Ah, those poor uneducated bastards.

There might be a secondary reason for the name change, too. The current season of Smallville is going to use Darkseid as a villain. Having something on the shelf with Apocalypse name for a casual viewer of the show would be a good idea. Likewise, the Smallville season of Supergirl was less than excellent and that could turn potential buyers off. I'm not arguing the lackluster Wonder Woman sales being a reason, but I'd hardly think it's the only reason.
 

SWFF

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I should have explained that explanation I gave came from Lauren Montgomery, I think it was her, in an interview I can't seem to find anymore. I just looked, and it was either on Mania or SyFy. That was her take on why the name changed. If you, or anyone, can find that, let me know. I'll put a link to it.

I forgot to mention a couple of highlights from last night's flick. During the final battle, [COLOR= #ff0000]MINOR SPOILERS COMING . . .[/COLOR] Darkseid knocks Superman out with an uppercut that sends him zooming into the sky. When they cut to him moments later, he's floating unconscious towards the sun! Now, that's a helluva of a punch. And when Superman and Wonder Woman show up at this supporting characte's house to enlist her help, she's surprised to see them standing on her porch. After she invites them, you can see Batman standing behind her in the living room. I love when he does that. Sneaks in and out of places. That kills me.

And, I should have mentioned this a few posts back, but this DC animated flick here is coming out November 9th.


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In Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam, Clark Kent’s latest interview subject is street kid Billy Batson. What Clark doesn’t know is that Billy is more than a feisty kid with a lot of heart – he has been chosen by an ancient wizard to represent the good of man as the World’s Mightiest Mortal just by invoking the name of the wizard, "Shazam!" Billy's powers come none-too-soon, as he also discovers he's being pursued by a centuries' old, murderous villain, Black Adam – a foe so powerful, even Superman can’t stop him alone. The all-star cast of Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam is led by Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan) as Captain Marvel, George Newbern reprising his Justice League role as Superman, Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) as Black Adam and two-time Emmy Award® winner James Garner (8 Simple Rules) as The Wizard.
Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday) is executive producer and Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League, Avatar: The Last Airbender) is director of the first series of DC Showcase titles. Michael Jelenic (Wonder Woman) wrote the 22-minute script
Other shorts included on the DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection:
The Spectre – A detective story with an ethereal twist featuring an otherworldly character. The short is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), and the voice cast includes Gary Cole (Entourage) and Alyssa Milano (Charmed).
Jonah Hex – The tough-as-nails bounty hunter always gets his man - until someone else gets to him first - in this case a murderous madam who wants to steal more than just his bounty from Jonah Hex. Based on a story from the award-winning Jonah Hex comic series, and scripted by world-renowned author Joe Lansdale. The voice cast is led by Thomas Jane (Hung), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder).
Green Arrow – At the Star City International Airport to pick up his girlfriend, Oliver Queen is forced into action as Green Arrow to protect the 10-year-old Princess of Vlatava from his old nemesis Merlyn the Magnificent and the League of Assassins. Greg Weisman (Young Justice) pens this action-packed tale, which features the voices of Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) as the title character and Malcolm McDowell (Entourage) as his foe.
“The DC Showcase allows us to expand the DC Universe with short stories based on intriguing characters – from a 1940s comics sensation like The Spectre to a creation of the 1970s like Jonah Hex – just begging to be presented to a very worthy fan base,” said Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment.
“Whereas DC Universe films have given fans the broad strokes of superhero entertainment, we know devout comics fans will enjoy seeing the characters in the DC Showcase come to animated life – some for the very first time – and we believe this presentation will open a window for new viewers to experience these unique, textured heroes and villains,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Sports Marketing.

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DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection 1-Disc Special Edition DVD features more than 1 hour of exciting extra content, including:
• Four animation shorts (est. 62 min)
• Four additional bonus TV series episodes handpicked by Bruce Timm.
DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection Blu-Ray™ features more than 2 1/2 hours of exciting extra content, including:
• Four animation shorts (est. 62 min)
• Commentaries by renowned writers Steve Niles, Joe Lansdale, Greg Weisman and Michael Jelenic
• Four additional bonus TV series episodes handpicked by Bruce Timm
• Digital copy online of the shorts
 

SWFF

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Just watched SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE again, and I noticed while Darkseid's uppercut sent Superman into the sky, it was his "omega beams," as he calls them, that was responsible for propelling Superman out of the Earth's atmosphere and towards the sun. I missed that the first time around, and I have to say, this final battle almost rivals the one he and Darkseid had during the final episode of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED. Yes, it was that intense.

I pretty damn sure I'm gonna be picking up ALL-STAR SUPERMAN when that comes out in either the Winter or the Spring, and if what I'm hearing is right, the next release after that is Summer's GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS, to coincide with the live action Green Lantern flick. That DC animated flick, however, I'm gonna skip. I like Green Lantern when he's part of a team, or a supporting character, but his first stand alone movie, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, didn't really excite me. Animation was great, just couldn't get into the story.
 

Peter McM

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I'm a man, 47 years old, married, no kids, two cats.

When I was a teen and all the other boys had the famous Farrah Fawcett poster on their bedroom walls, I was going gaga for Lynda Carter. Still revisiting the iconic show on DVD.

I have the complete Justice League/JLU, and also last year's Wonder Woman feature.
 

SWFF

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So, there are more of us grown me out there who can't get enough of those animated shows and movies! I can never say enough good things about those two seasons of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED. I think that's where the show hit its stride, and became the best. Even those two all season story arcs of Brainiac coming back for revenge and the Legion Of Doom were excellent.

I'm not a big fan of Wonder Woman, but her stand alone animated movie, I thought, was pretty damn good. It was just the ending, the forces of evil battling out on the front lawn of the White House that really seemed a rather absurd plot point to throw into the movie. Generally, for me, those tales in the super hero realm that deal with modern technology vs. the supernatural aren't believable to me. That's one reason why I didn't like Marvel's animated Iron Man flick.
 

Jason_V

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The Marvel animated movies, by and large, are of lesser quality than the DC ones. In particular, I think Iron Man and Doctor Strange are near the bottom of the barrel. Wholly uninteresting plots with instantly forgettable characters. I still pick them up when they're released because I'm a completist, but I'm not chomping at the bit to get them. The Avengers flicks would have been much better if they were combined into one movie instead of two.
 

SWFF

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It's odd because I have always considered myself more of a Marvel fan than a DC one, but DC just pumps out much more superior animation, movies and series, than Marvel, which is too bad. Doctor Strange I liked in the beginning, it had potential, then he goes to Tibet and it becomes a ripoff of Batman Begins. The Iron Man one, well, as I mentioned before, Tech vs Supernatural Menace is like oil and water and it doesn't work in the context of some of those super hero mythologies. And, I hated that they used CGI for Iron Man's suits and enemies. Next Avengers just had poor animation in the latter half of the movie, and that it was more for the kids than the older populace. Ultimate Avengers II, plot and little bit of the action animation wasn't up to snuff in my book. I'm saving discussion of my favorite Marvel ones for a more in-depth post, which might happen later today, or tomorrow.
 

Jason_V

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I'd have to revisit the Marvel movies for any kind of in-depth conversation. I'm less invested in that entire universe and see the movies as simple entertainment.

I do give them credit for trying to appeal to another demographic with Next Avengers. It was still an adult story, but the characters were more easily accessible to the kids. That doesn't make it a good *movie*, mind you. Just a noble effort and something to waste 90 minutes on when you're bored.

There is one aspect of the Marvel movies I'm tired of: the Hulk. It almost feels like they're force-feeding the character to the audience lately, saying you HAVE to like and accept him. He was obviously a major part of both Ultimate Avengers I and Next Avengers...and then there was Hulk Vs. and Planet Hulk. Frankly, I don't find him very interesting of a character on the screen in the pure Hulk form. There needs to be the inner battle, the stakes for Banner himself, like in Edward Norton's Hulk movie.

Anyway, I'm going to be picking up Apocalypse this weekend and I'll be able to have a discussion about it then (hopefully).
 

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