[7.7/10] My favorite part of this one was definitely the Batman/Waller material. Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller seem like very different people. One is a masked vigilante who prowls rooftops and teams up with superheroes, and the other is a government executive who deals with military leaders and politicians. But they both have a similar tough-as-nails, no nonsense attitude that makes them feel strangely like kindred spirits and, thus, really compelling adversaries for one another.
Waller in particular is electric here. I love seeing her strategizing, standing up to The Bat, and ordering around generals. There’s a master planner vibe to her as well that comes through in her various plots and plans. And again, I like how her position builds on continuity. In addition to Superman going rogue in the finale of S:TAS, she and her team know about what happened with the Justice Lords. With Luthor running for President, there’s a justifiable fear that this Earth could be headed down that same path, and she wants to be prepared. It’s a legitimate concern and that’s what makes her a strong villain (in addition to her being profoundly capable).
The Batman action stuff here is pretty damn good too. His Javelin stunt to redirect a kryptonite warhead-ed nuclear bomb after a drop from space flight is the sort of crazy superhero stuff that you love to see from a spectacle standpoint. It’s tense (albeit a little nonsensical) and the stakes are high. It’s cool to see Batman walking the walk and not just talking the talk.
Frankly, it’s only the Doomsday stuff that really brings this one down. I do like the continuity connections here. It would have been easy to bring in a different Doomsday or a clone or something, but I like that they make him the same one who showed up in the Justice Lords duology, another connection to that tale. Likewise, Dr. Milo is a blast from the past after his appearances in a couple of not great B:TAS episodes, but he’s someone who makes sense here, and I like him getting his just deserts.
I just don’t care for the tedious backstory for Doomsday and the mirthless punch fest that follows. There’s something to be said for Doomsday’s “I don’t care why” ethos, but by this point, we’ve already seen Superman go toe to toe with countless brutes. Aside from the cache from the comic book story, there’s nothing really special about the two of them fighting, even if it’s in the middle of the volcano. That said, they do show Clark a little more ravaged than usual, and I like that Wonder Woman saves his hide at the end of the day.
It’s the epilogue that really gets me though. For one thing, I approve of Supes sending Doomsday to the phantom zone when he feels the monster can’t be reasoned with. But I also like Batman’s reaction to it. Despite besting Waller and standing up to her, she seems to have won the war of ideas, convincing Bruce that she’s right even if he thinks she’s bad.
Batman sees Luthor’s political campaign and sees Superman meting out justice without a trial and worries that they’re on a slippery slope to becoming the Justice Lords. It’s a compelling, principled conflict built on past events and from the perspective of one of the few Leaguers with no super powers. There’s a lot of rich material there, and I’m interested to see where the series takes it from here.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-10-03T05:38:14Z
[7.7/10] My favorite part of this one was definitely the Batman/Waller material. Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller seem like very different people. One is a masked vigilante who prowls rooftops and teams up with superheroes, and the other is a government executive who deals with military leaders and politicians. But they both have a similar tough-as-nails, no nonsense attitude that makes them feel strangely like kindred spirits and, thus, really compelling adversaries for one another.
Waller in particular is electric here. I love seeing her strategizing, standing up to The Bat, and ordering around generals. There’s a master planner vibe to her as well that comes through in her various plots and plans. And again, I like how her position builds on continuity. In addition to Superman going rogue in the finale of S:TAS, she and her team know about what happened with the Justice Lords. With Luthor running for President, there’s a justifiable fear that this Earth could be headed down that same path, and she wants to be prepared. It’s a legitimate concern and that’s what makes her a strong villain (in addition to her being profoundly capable).
The Batman action stuff here is pretty damn good too. His Javelin stunt to redirect a kryptonite warhead-ed nuclear bomb after a drop from space flight is the sort of crazy superhero stuff that you love to see from a spectacle standpoint. It’s tense (albeit a little nonsensical) and the stakes are high. It’s cool to see Batman walking the walk and not just talking the talk.
Frankly, it’s only the Doomsday stuff that really brings this one down. I do like the continuity connections here. It would have been easy to bring in a different Doomsday or a clone or something, but I like that they make him the same one who showed up in the Justice Lords duology, another connection to that tale. Likewise, Dr. Milo is a blast from the past after his appearances in a couple of not great B:TAS episodes, but he’s someone who makes sense here, and I like him getting his just deserts.
I just don’t care for the tedious backstory for Doomsday and the mirthless punch fest that follows. There’s something to be said for Doomsday’s “I don’t care why” ethos, but by this point, we’ve already seen Superman go toe to toe with countless brutes. Aside from the cache from the comic book story, there’s nothing really special about the two of them fighting, even if it’s in the middle of the volcano. That said, they do show Clark a little more ravaged than usual, and I like that Wonder Woman saves his hide at the end of the day.
It’s the epilogue that really gets me though. For one thing, I approve of Supes sending Doomsday to the phantom zone when he feels the monster can’t be reasoned with. But I also like Batman’s reaction to it. Despite besting Waller and standing up to her, she seems to have won the war of ideas, convincing Bruce that she’s right even if he thinks she’s bad.
Batman sees Luthor’s political campaign and sees Superman meting out justice without a trial and worries that they’re on a slippery slope to becoming the Justice Lords. It’s a compelling, principled conflict built on past events and from the perspective of one of the few Leaguers with no super powers. There’s a lot of rich material there, and I’m interested to see where the series takes it from here.