You may not believe it going by their live-action movie record (as much as I love DC, Marvel tends to blow them away when it comes to live-action), but DC has always stood out with their animated TV series and movies. Paired up with Warner Bros. DC crushes the animated (cartoon, not 3D) movie market. The best part is, you don't have to be an avid comic reader to appreciate these movies but they are a great segway into reading comics if that's what you're looking to do as well. Many are only continuity within the DCAU (DC Animated Universe), or they take the time to explain a comic arc so you can watch it in an hour for like $10 as opposed to buying all the trades for like $15 per volume. So I present to you a list of (just some) must see DC animated movies.
1. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
This film is a movie adaptation of the comic crossover story, “flashpoint”, which was written by Geoff Johns with art by Andy Kubert.
In this storyline, The Flash (Barry Allen) is haunted by his memories of his mother's murder, which was before he had his powers and he was unable to save her. But he's the fastest man alive, faster than sound, faster than light, fast enough to change time. Which he does. He saves his mom, and the world that he wakes up in after is on the brink of destruction. Superman never landed in Kansas and seems to be gone altogether, Wonder Woman and the Amazons are at war with Aquaman and Atlantis, both of which are trying to conquer the human lands, Bruce died instead of his parents so Thomas Wayne became Batman (who uses guns and kills people), and basically everything is a huge mess. So it's up to Flash, with the help of Batman and Cyborg, to put things right and restore the timeline.
2. Justice League: War
This film is another adaptation of a comic titled “Justice League: Origin”, written by Geoff Johns (the man is amazing) with art by Jim Lee.
In this movie, we see the different members of the Justice League (Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, Cyborg, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Shazam) before they form their team. In fact, they barely know each other. Yet they still must team up if they want to defeat the newest alien threat: Darkseid. Not only is it the heroes' first encounter together, but it is also their first experience of Darkseid. Wonder Woman is experiencing the world of men for the first time, Batman is learning how to work with others, and everyone is trying to figure out their role as part of the team.
3. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
I have mentioned this movie in previous articles and I cannot say it enough, I LOVE this movie. It was directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, however, the story was by Alan Burnett. Personally, I think this is one of the greatest Batman stories ever written. You may think I'm just saying that, but I mean it. This movie is strictly part of the DCAU and is not an adaptation of a prior comic.
This film, if you couldn't guess, is about Batman. It is a story of mystery, romance, and as always with Batman, vengeance. Andrea Beaumont, ex-girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, returns to Gotham and they rekindle their romance. Meanwhile, a new vigilante now walks the streets of Gotham with a vendetta. Unlike Batman, this vigilante kills. However, due to a similar costume look and operating at night, people mistake this newcomer as Batman and soon the police begin hunting him down. Bruce now has to juggle winning back the woman he loves, finding the vigilante killer and clearing his name, and deciding whether or not he wants to continue being Batman anymore or if its time for him to hang up the cowl and pursue a normal life with Andrea.
4. Batman: Year One
This movie is an adaptation of a four-issue story arc within the first volume of the Batman comics (issues 404 – 407), which was written by Frank Miller with art by David Mazzucchelli.
Although this movie is about Batman's first year as the Caped Crusader, it's also about lieutenant (not yet commissioner) James Gordon after he is first transferred to Gotham. Honestly, it's supposed to be more about Batman, but the real hero of this film is Jim Gordon. It begins the tale of several of our recognizable Batverse names. Selina Kyle is a prostitute and has yet to become Catwoman, Harvey Dent is the Assistant District Attorney and not yet Two-Face, and the GCPD is still chalked full of corrupt cops. Year One is the story of the first encounter between the epic, iconic team that is Batman and Commissioner Jim Gordon.
5. Batman: Under the Red Hood
This movie is another adaptation of a Batman comic story arc (issues 635 – 641 and 645 – 650) titled, “Batman: Under the Hood”, which was written by Judd Winick with art (mostly) by Doug Mahnke.
The movie briefly recaps the brutal death of Jason Todd (the second Robin, also seen in “A Death in the Family”, which consists of Batman vol. 1 issues 426 – 429) at the hands of The Joker. Five years later, a masked criminal but also vigilante appears. He claims his goal is to clean up Gotham, but he doesn't have the moral code of Batman. The vigilante, who calls himself “Red Hood”, claims that the only way to stop crime is to control it, therefore he intends to become the head crime boss in Gotham and will kill anyone who stands in his way. Time doesn't heal all wounds. Especially when it comes to Batman.
6. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Batman is my favorite superhero ever, so I'm a little bias I guess, but
Anyway, this movie is set in the Batman Beyond timeline, where Terry McGinnis has taken up the mantle of Batman with an elderly Bruce Wayne as his eyes and ears of the city. 35 years after his last sighting, the Joker mysteriously returns and Bruce has a hard time coming to terms with it, given his last encounter with the Joker. However, Bruce becomes incapacitated so it's left to Terry, with some help from commissioner Barbara Gordon, to uncover the past in order to figure out what is really happening in the present and stop the Joker once and for all.
7. The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1 & 2
Ok. Yes, it's another Batman movie, but Superman is involved too! (Sort of). It is a movie adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, “The Dark Knight Returns.”
The film takes place after the death of Jason Todd (which we've already discussed), in a timeline where Jason's death pushed Bruce to retire from being Batman. However, 10 years later, Gotham is not only running rampant with crime, but is being terrorized by a gang who calls themselves “The Mutants”. Harvey Dent has undergone surgery and been declared sane, however, upon his release, vanishes. The constant news about crimes within Gotham, the haunting of his parents death, Bruce Wayne at age 55 once again dawns the cowl. He is not what he used to be though and his older body has its limits, thus he finally takes on a new protege, a new Robin, Carrie Kelley. Meanwhile, Superman has been working for the US government so that he may legally be allowed to help people in exchange for his cooperation. Superman is under a lot of pressure, partially from growing between the US and Soviet Union, but combine that with the President telling Superman that Batman's vigilante acts must be stopped. There's a whole lot going on, which is why it's in two parts! And both are amazing!
8. Justice League: Doom
This movie is (loosely) based on the JLA story, “The Tower of Babel”, which was issues 43 – 46 of the JLA series written by Mark Waid with art by Howard Porter.
In this film, Vandal Savage wants to start a new civilization and to do so he must destroy a large portion of the population. To keep the Justice League from stopping him, Vandal recruits several other known villains (Cheetah, Star Sapphire, Mirror Master, Bane, Metallo, and Ma'alefa'ak) and forms the Legion of Doom. He then tasks the villains to take out the members of the Justice League via weaponry and plans he stole from Batman (because Batman has a plan for every possible scenario, including one of his teammates going rogue and how to stop them). A plan masterminded by Batman himself, against his entire team as well as himself being executed by villains with every intent to kill.
I think 8 should be enough to get you started, but don't worry, there are much more. Honorable mentions include Batman: Assault on Arkham, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, All-Star Superman, The Killing Joke, and I'm going to stop there before I end up just naming every DC animated movie ever. Take some time to check these films out! You won't regret it, I promise.
Happy watching!
