The Other (And Better) Justice League Movies

With the debut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, there’s been much praise for his ultimate cut being far more coherent than anything else. Indeed, the Snyder Cut is a step up with scenes that better connect. And yet I still didn’t feel as over the moon for his new and slightly improved take on 2017’s Justice League, beefed up to twice the running time and with the addition of new characters who pop up for only a handful of scenes. There’s a lot that works about Snyder’s cut but so much that doesn’t work either. Could his slow-motion sequences be any slower?

So how do you make a better Justice League movie than this mess? Fortunately, Warner Bros’ animation division has been perfecting the Justice League dynamic for many years. What helped was that most of the team behind the many Justice League movies had developed the Justice League animated series (2001–2004), as well as its sequel series of Justice Leauge Unlimited (2004–2006). Taking cues from the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, there was some great chemistry present within the Justice League show that allowed it to easily expand into other characters and stories, to the point where the show could feature well over 60 superheroes and not feel bloated.

Much of the same team would go onto work on Justice League: The New Frontier (2008), the first animated Justice League movie rated PG-13 and based on the revered comic book by Darwyn Cooke. Far different from the show, The New Frontier took place during the 1950s where the heroes faced uncertain times of rising hate and cults amid the Cold War. It was an interesting scenario that gave us many different versions of the iconic League regulars, struggling to get along when such a dangerous threat looms on the horizon. The League will eventually form to combat the giant and grotesque monster known as The Center, an obvious allegory for the fears and hate of the era.

Numerous Justice League animated movies followed that all ripped some of the more interesting arcs from the comic book pages. Justice League: Crisis of Two Earths (2010) found the League combatting their evil doubles from another universe, making them question just how much control they should have over dictating law and existence. Justice League: War (2012) featured villains stealing Batman’s contingency plans against the entire League, leading to an uncomfortable questioning of just how much the superheroes trust each other.

There are even brilliant what-if tales of the Justice League that came about. This included The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) where the world ends with Themyscira and Atlantis at war and Gods and Monsters (2015) where an alternative take on superheroes turns them into villains capable of destroying the world with their violent ways.

Of course, these were all standalone films. Soon, the animated movies started taking on continuity. Justice League: War (2014) was based on the New 52 run of Justice League which started with none of the heroes having met each other but forced to work together when Darkseid invades their world. This version of Justice League may sound familiar in that it mimics the same story as Snyder’s film yet it’s exceptionally trimmed down to 90 minutes. In that amount of time, audiences we’re introduced to the clashing personalities of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Shazam.

This version of the Justice League would continue on in various other films that added more characters. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) introduced the character of Aquaman and his conflicting nature between living on land and ruling over Atlantis. Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016) featured the League tangling with the Teen Titans when they found themselves cursed by the demon Trigon.

The Justice League even went into darker territory with the aptly titled Justice League: Dark (2017), which was the first of the continuity JL films to be rated R. Yes, a full four years before Snyder’s R-rated Justice League came about, Justice League: Dark beat him to the punch. The title comes from the run of comic books by the same title that featured more of the magical forces of Constantine, Etrigan, Zatanna, and Deadman.

Eventually, this universe would end with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020). Imagine if Snyder didn’t just allude to the dark future Batman had horrific dreams about. Apokolips War is that nightmare come true. And, wow, is it worthy of that R-rating. Characters are gored, brainwashed, crippled, and depressed into despair as they struggle to beat back against Darkseid AFTER his invasion of Earth. The violence is off the charts and even the profanity is more frequent than that of the Snyder Cut.

A key point to take from Apokolips War, though, is that this came after 15 films of setting up various characters. Building up all these characters and watching them bite the dust in terrifying and sometimes unceremonious ways is truly heartbreaking. There’s a tone throughout that nobody will make it out of this movie alive. And even if they do, what will be left?

Despite the apparent DC Animated Movie Universe coming to an end with Apokolips War, this is not the end of Justice League animated movies. The latest upcoming film, Justice Society of America: World War I, will feature familiar golden age heroes doing their hero thing amid World War I. It’ll have a fresh collective of heroes, a new cast, and a fresh director for the project.

So if Snyder’s Justice League has you pining for more DC Comics content considering Marvel has been flooding the cinema market, consider looking at the myriad of DC animated movies that have been continuing on DVD for years. You’ll be surprised at how well such an astute and hardworking team of directors and animators can craft superhero media just as compelling as the DCEU and even surpass certain films in more areas than one.