What They Say:
The Justice League are Earth’s finest super heroes and protectors of humanity. But in the mind of the Dark Knight, they are potentially the most dangerous people on the planet should any of them go rogue. Over time, Batman has compiled top-secret contingency plans in the event he is forced to neutralize one of his fellow Justice League members such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter or the Flash. When these files are stolen from the Batcave by the evil Vandal Savage, the Justice League faces its gravest challenge yet. Weaknesses exposed and rocked by betrayal, the League must band together against Savage’s Legion of Doom and its master plan of world destruction while Batman is left with one final decision that could ultimately leave him standing alone.
The Review:
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release is toplined with the English language track that’s in 5.1 and encoded using the DTS-HD MA lossless codec. The audio design for this release is one that’s pretty decent overall with a lot going on, but it’s not non-stop action so it works a good bit of dialogue throughout and some quiet scenes as well. The various aspects of the feature hits their marks well throughout. The dialogue side of it works in some decent placement at times and some of the quieter moments definitely works well to set the mood. The action side of it goes big in a few places, particularly the end, but it’s generally kept a bit more personal and hand to hand so there’s a lot to like there as swords, guns and fists all exchange with each other. The mix works well overall and it makes for a pretty enjoyable feature with some very good standout moments.
Video:
Originally released in 2012, the transfer for this feature is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The transfer for this series again works well with what it does as it brings the source material into the light in a clean and good way, but it also brings out the problems in the source material as well. The show works a few different locales and characters so we get some good variety to it, and the animation itself is fairly strong and good looking, but there’s the usual source issues. Banding in some of the backgrounds continues to exist, unsurprisingly, and we get some jaggies along the way as well and a few areas where the colors don’t quite stick to the solid side as well as one might want. Similar to other releases, it’s petty dependent on your setup and sensitivity as to how bad these issues are but by and large it’s a decent transfer that shows off the materials as they are.
Packaging:
The packaging for this release comes in a standard sized Blu-ray case with a slipcover to it that replicates the case artwork. The front of it has some nice raised aspects to it that aren’t overdone as we get a close-up of Batman (surprise, surprise) where he’s holding up a batarang that reflects the other members of the Justice League in it. The film’s title is done sideways along the left and with a red background, it all ties together pretty well without being too busy or cartoonish. The back cover doesn’t offer much in the way of a look at the show as the main animation piece is just a shot of Batman’s back as he works at the computer and the couple of shots from the show are minimal and not all that engaging. THe premise is well covered and the whole breakdown of extras and features is well done. The bottom third is broken up between the digital aspects and the legalese material. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.
Menu:
The menu design for this release works a familiar style as we get a static screen that uses the artwork from the front cover that’s expanded a bit on both sides with the red background. It’s easy to like the artwork on the case itself but here it has a bit of additional background here and less of a cramped feeling it ends up coming across even better. With the logo along the left in a simple design that has a nice hook to it, the rest is given over to the navigation strip along the bottom that has all the standard access points in an easy to navigate way. The look overall is definitely good and with the artwork standing out in a positive way here, it sets the mood and atmosphere well.
Extras:
The extras for this release are pretty good here as we get more of the behind the scenes material that helps to flesh out the origins and workings of the feature. But it also has a big piece here that goes into Dwayne McDuffie, who was instrumental in so many DC animated releases that had passed away prior to this. We get a good look at the reconfiguration of the Justice League in the New 52 universe and how Cyborg figures into things, but Cyborg also gets a featurette to himself that shows how far the character has come since his creation as part of the Teen Titans.
And similar to past releases within the DC Universe line, we get two episodes from other series that focus on some of the characters that populates this feature:
1: Justice League Unlimited: Wild Cards Part 1
2: Justice League Unlimited: Wild Cards Part 2
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the comic stories from Justice League that comprised the Tower of Babel story arc, Justice League: Doom gives us a pretty rousing and fun adventures that brings together the usual modern core group that makes up the League. The original work was written by Mark Waid and naturally there are some changes between that version and this one, but in the end the animated adventures really have to stand on their own and I dislike doing direct comparisons. With this storyline, we get a pretty fun show that delves into one of the more fundamental things that wasn’t thought about for many years when it comes to superheroes, largely because it wasn’t done or done for more than an issue, in what do you do when you have a hero go bad.
Part of the fun of these stories is that we get to see some interesting characters brought into play that wouldn’t get a chance at all in a live action piece. Such is the case at the start here where the League has to deal with a rather well orchestrated attack by the Royal Flush Gang that has them using technology they wouldn’t normally have access to. But the whole thing is just a ruse as they’re being used by a larger power, which sets into motion a series of attacks on the League members while they’re off on their separate duties in their various home cities. This is pretty welcome since that gives each of them their own time to shine without being overshadowed by others, which can happen easily. There’s some good stuff here in seeing things like Flash doing his CSI work and Clark doing some down time at work for a bit. But none of it lasts long as the real threat starts to emerge and each of the heroes are taken down one by one, again using creative methods that don’t exactly fit in their usual methods.
It’s certainly interesting and fun to see them coping with the various villains that come into play as Bane deals with Batman as Bruce, now intent on taking down the man behind the Bat, while Flash gets Mirror Master and Wonder Woman gets Cheetah. As each of them and others deal with the threats, it all ends up being pretty straightforward stuff but reveals itself to be far more nefarious as they end up in situations that they can’t get out of. The whole thing is designed to both eliminate the League and distract them at the least as we see how Vandal Savage has put together a Legion of Doom in the Louisiana swamps. Savage, an immortal man who has been around for millenia, is a longtime favorite of mine since he can play a bigger game. And we get that here with a nod to his past as he talks about how he intends to eliminate more than half of the planets population in order to rule over them by being the only one to provide what they need to survive. It’s a large scale plan that usually only works in stories and settings like this, but it has a really large scale to it that works very well.
What makes this something more than just the usual attempt to conquer the world is that the methods used to take down the League all came from Batman. Stolen by Savage by using Mirror Master, we get the concept of how Batman has figured out all of the weaknesses of the League – and likely every other powerful hero or villain out there – and set plans to take them down should they go rogue. It’s a completely legitimate thing to think when dealing with such immense power and it introduces a stronger and more realized sense of the whole checks and balances of the DC Universe that hasn’t always been out there, or talked about much. The whole thing introduces a fair bit of conflict to be sure between the League members and Batman, but we get to see their personalities and leanings by who agrees and who doesn’t.
Justice League: Doom has a pretty solid piece of animation here as we get the premiere members of the League moving through it using their powers as well as some fun villains. The character designs are pretty strong and there’s some good, fluid animation to it when it goes all out and those definitely make it a lot more enjoyable to watch because it doesn’t feel like it’s done on the cheap in the slightest. The feature moves between standard city material and other locales well, particularly the whole Legion of Doom aspect in the swamps, but we also get some flashback material for Savage that gives us a prehistoric world. Add in some awkward material with the whole fight in space with the solar flare towards the end and it doesn’t stick to just one area but manages to come across well and decently realized with each location.
In Summary:
Justice League: Doom gives us a pretty fun and big scale adventure that brings together the primary core of characters, some of their more noteworthy villains and throws it against an ageless opponent who intends to end the world in order to rule over the remains. The feature is one that I enjoyed in its original comic form, but it just felt more drawn out than it needed to be there. Here, it moves quickly and with a good sense of pacing that keeps it engaging to watch and fun at the same time because of the cast involved. This isn’t one of my absolute favorite stories but it’s an important one that reflects the times in a good way while offering another way to add a bit more realism and understanding of how this particular world would work and reinforcing that Batman really does think of every eventuality.
Features:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Language, English Subtitles, Featurettes
Content Grade: B+
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B+
Released By: Warner Home Video
Release Date: February 28th, 2012
MSRP: $24.98
Running Time: 74 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
