As I shared with you previously, the highly anticipated Batman: Year One animated movie will be released this October and features a very talented voice cast including Ben McKenzie, Bryan Cranston, Katee Sackhoff and Eliza Dushku (check out the trailer in the link provided) and that is just one in a long line of quality DC animated movies including Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
However, DC have announced at Comic-Con yesterday during the Batman: Year One panel even more animated movies are in production and I have to say I’m more than a little excited about them.
If there’s one thing DC have really excelled at in recent years it’s their array of quality their animated products. It’s hard to argue the fact that DC have dominated Marvel in this regard for a good number of years and judging by the Comic-Con announcement, that doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon.
First up we have another Superman movies entitled Superman vs The Elite and will be based upon the “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way” from Action Comics #775 published way back in March 2001 which is a story I feel cuts to the heart of the ideals Superman works towards and is a very good story to boot.
For those wondering what the story was about, check out the below Wikipedia plot summary:
This tale features The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes fronted by Manchester Black, who gained worldwide popularity for viciously killing their foes. Despite the acclaim and approval that the Elite are enjoying, Superman knows that they are in the wrong, continually defying the Elite even after they save a city. As tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown- taking place on Jupiter’s moons at Superman’s request-, Superman, taking advantage of the fight being taped, makes it appear as though he has ‘killed’ the Elite members- really using his speed to get them out of harm’s way at the last minute so that nobody sees it- to show the public that violence is never a positive thing, stating that he will never stop fighting his way to show the world what it could be.
The next title in the works is a Justice League story and happens to be one of my favourite Justice League storyline’s of all time. The movie will be called Justice League: Doom and will be loosely based on “Tower of Babel” story arc from JLA #43-46 from July to October in 2000.
The story is about Ra’s Al Ghul taking down the Justice League based on tactics stolen from Batman in order to prevent them from meddling in his latest scheme. Batman complied the safeguards against his team mates should any of them ever go rogue or should any villains manage to take over their body’s. To keep Batman occupied, Ra’s Al Ghul steals the body’s of his beloved parents and naturally the caped crusader has difficulty focusing on anything else until it’s almost too late.
I love the story because it highlights Batman’s cold, analytical side and really shows how dangerous he can be despite being surrounded by beings vastly more powerful than he. At the end of the crisis, there is a vote as to whether Batman should remain on the team however Batman leaves before the judgement is decided (it is later revealed he was voted out and had predicted the result of the vote).
The third announced animated movie is arguably one of the greatest Batman stories ever created – Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” which ran as a mini limited series story from February to June 1986 and is planned as a two part animated feature, which is probably a good thing. The Dark Knight Returns story is very detailed and complex and cutting sections of the plot out would be a massive detriment to the story.
For those of you who are unaware of The Dark Knight Returns, it tells of an older Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement donning the costume when Gotham needs him the most. For those of you eager to know the full details, check out the Wikipedia plot summary below:
The Dark Knight Returns is set in a dystopian near-future version of Gotham City. A year is never specified, though it has been a full decade since the last reported sighting of Batman, the current American President appears to be Ronald Reagan or someone using his image, and the Cold War is still ongoing. Virtually all superheroes, with the exception of Superman, have been forced into retirement or otherwise driven away by a distrusting populace. Bruce Wayne has voluntarily retired from crime fighting following the death (under unspecified circumstances[1]) of Jason Todd, the second Robin. In the absence of superheroes, criminals run amok, and a gang called the Mutants terrorize Gotham City.
The return of an old enemy prompts a now 55-year-old Wayne to don the Batman costume once again. Despite Wayne’s funding his rehabilitation, including plastic surgery to restore his half-disfigured face, Harvey “Two-Face” Dent has seemingly returned to crime. Batman apprehends Dent, but the populace debates whether Batman’s brand of vigilantism has any place in society. The media plays a large role in DKR, with the narrative broken up by news reports and “talking head” editorials debating events in the story as they unfold.
After Batman saves her from a Mutant attack, 13-year-old Carrie Kelly buys herself a knock-off Robin costume, and searches for Batman to aid him. She finds Batman at the city dump, where he is fighting the Mutants. The Mutants’ leader defeats Batman in combat, but Kelly distracts him and pulls Batman into the tank-like Batmobile. Kelly attends to Batman’s wounds as the vehicle drives toward the Batcave. Once home, Batman takes Carrie on as the new Robin despite his butler Alfred’s objections. With the help of retiring Commissioner James Gordon, the Mutants’ leader is allowed to escape from jail, and Batman beats him in a mud fight in front of the assembled gang, which then disbands as a result of his humiliation. Some former Mutants create a new gang, the “Sons of the Batman,” using extremely violent methods (up to and including murder) to “purge” Gotham of its criminal element in what they see as emulation of Batman’s methods.
Meanwhile, the return of Batman has caused one of his oldest and deadliest foes, The Joker, to awaken from a years-long catatonic state at Arkham Asylum. The Joker convinces his psychiatrist, Dr. Bartholomew Wolper, that he is sane and regrets his misdeeds. Seeking to discredit Batman, whom he has crusaded against in the media, Wolper appears with the Joker on a late-night show (hosted by a David Letterman-like character). While the police, now led by the anti-vigilante Commissioner Ellen Yindel, attack Batman, the Joker murders everyone in the television studio (including Wolper) and escapes. He finds Selinia Kyle, and after findng out what he wants from her gags her, dresses her in a Wonder Woman costume, and binds her with a gold-covered rope. Batman and Robin free her, and track the Joker to a county fair, where he has already murdered many people, where Batman defeats Joker in a violent showdown. Batman stops short of killing the Joker; however, the Joker finishes the job himself, twisting his own broken neck, with the intent that the police will charge Batman with murder. Batman escapes, but not before another confrontation with the Gotham police, and a citywide manhunt is now on for the Caped Crusader.
After Superman diverts a Russian nuclear warhead which then detonates in a desert, millions of tons of dust and debris fill the atmosphere, and Gotham descends into chaos during the resulting blackout. Batman and Robin train former Mutants and the brutal Sons of the Batman in non-lethal fighting to stop looting and ensure the flow of needed supplies. In the midst of nuclear winter conditions, Gotham becomes the safest city in America; the U.S. government, seeing this as a credibility-undermining embarrassment, orders Superman to take Batman down. Having been warned of the government’s plans by Oliver Queen, the former Green Arrow, Batman confronts Superman. Symbolically, their duel takes place in Crime Alley, where Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered decades earlier. Batman defeats Superman (with the help of Green Arrow and a kryptonite-tipped arrow), but dies from a heart attack immediately afterward. Alfred destroys the Batcave and Wayne Manor and suffers a fatal stroke.
After Bruce’s funeral, it is revealed that his death was staged as an elaborate ruse; Clark Kent (Superman) attends the funeral and gives Robin a knowing wink after hearing Bruce’s heartbeat as he leaves the grave site, suggesting his silent approval of what will happen next. Some time afterward, Batman leads Robin, Green Arrow, and the rest of his followers into the caverns beyond the Batcave and prepares to continue his fight. His plan, which will take years of training and studying, is to build an army, and to bring sense to a world plagued by something “worse than thieves and murderers”. He decides that this will be a good life – good enough.
Expect these animated movies to be released sometime in 2012 and be assured in the knowledge I’ll be reporting more details as and when they come in.
Sounds good, right? What do you think? Which of the animated movies are you looking forward to the most?
Also for anyone who simply can’t wait for the animated shows to hit, check out the graphic novels these movies are set to be based on, below:
- For the Superman vs Elite story line check out: Get Justice League Elite: VOL 01 for just $12.95
- For Justice League: Doom check out Get JLA (Book 7): Tower of Babel for just $10.95
- For Dark Knight Returns, um, check out Get Batman: The Dark Knight Returns for just $8.32
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