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Blu-Ray Review: Superman Vs. The Elite

by Matt Sernaker and Kroze Kresky, Editors

Get ready, because Warner Bros Animation debuted their newest DC Animated Universe Movie: Superman vs The Elite on Blu-Ray and DVD. Based on the 2001 Action comics story “Who Cares About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?”, this new project pits the Man of Steel against a team of heroes that doesn’t maintain the same righteous moral convictions as his own. This new team introduces the question: does a post 9/11 world really need Superman? Or do we need heroes ready to take more immediate action against the  threats that plague this new world?

In this film, we are introduced to a group of super-powered people known only as “The Elite”. Led by a man whom calls himself ‘Manchester Black’, this group comes onto Superman’s turf with a new way of doing the whole “Saving the world” gig. The old way of giving villains countless chances to reform is over with! People who do evil things need to be killed and The Elite are the ones who plan to be the Judge, jury and executioners to enforce it all.  Superman quickly takes a stand against this line of thinking and tries to befriend The Elite and gets them to try a “kinder” approach. Meanwhile, all is not completely accurate with Manchester Black’s origin story as Lois Lane quickly discovers that there has been a coverup in the united kingdom to make their own Super Powered protectors who salute to the Queen. All this leads into a war between Superman and Black’s followers that will have people asking “Do we really want a Superman who doesn’t care?” in the film’s gripping final moments.
Superman vs The Elite features the voice talents of George Newbern (Justice League) who returns to animation as the Man of Steel, Pauley Perrette (NCIS) as Lois Lane, and Robin Atkin Downes (Batman: Year One) as Manchester Black. Newbern steps back into the role of Superman with ease, bringing the needed strength and conviction that this specific story demanded. While some will miss Tim Daily in the iconic role, Newbern was the best choice to play a much-darker Superman who is a bit more rough around the edges bringing a new edge to the character not generally seen.  Perrette’s Lois Lane was a different take on our favorite spunky reporter, giving us a very spunky, level-headed, strong characterization. Downes’ (the man of 70 plus accents) vocal talents make Manchester Black a force to be reckoned with, while also making you care about this brand-new-maybe-hero… and you might possibly end up cheering for him and his cause. This was a story of anti-heroes (that are relatively unknown to the general public) and required the creative team to not only make you understand their back-story, but have the audience genuinely care about their success or failure. While viewers (and comic readers) would typically side with Superman, there are moments when the characters (and the audience) must actually debate the moral implications of sticking with a justice system that might be outdated in a world where terrorists will do unspeakable acts of violence. In a world where social media runs rampant, and information can be distributed in the blink of an eye, it is easy for public opinion to trend towards the quick and easy solution. So, would you want your heroes to kill? This new DC Animated release continues the trend of mixing up animation styles, moving away from the typical “Bruce Timm” designs. The designs for this story are heavily-influenced by the comic’s art, but with more of a minimalistic approach to make the animation possible. The only visual  choice that came off as odd was the choice to give Superman a giant (disproportionate) chin, making him look more like Stan Smith from American Dad. This look was odd because it wasn’t a choice based on the original comic design. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s also hard not terribly hard to think of a Seth MacFarlane cartoon every time Superman speaks.

The video quality on the Blu-Ray is once again top notch for 2D animation home viewing on your HDTV, while the story is pretty dark for normal Superman fare, the movie is filled with tons of vivid colors that show up all nice and clear. Audio quality is exactly what you would expect for a superhero film. Throughout the fight scenes (Including the amazing climatic battle between Supes and Black) have you hearing every thud and blow lending more impact to the fights within the film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
  • Superman and the Moral Debate Featurette – A detailed look at where The Man Of Steel’s values currently stand in the world of today.
  • What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? Digital Comic – The original comic material Superman Vs The Elite was adapted from. A highly recommended read just to see how far they took this film in terms of fleshing out the original concept.
  • Commentary with Joe Kelly and Eddie Berganza – Feature length audio track featuring the writer and director of Superman Versus The Elite.
  • The Elite Unbound: No Rules, No Mercy – An in depth look into the complicated adversaries of the film.
  • A Sneak Peek at Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1 – An inside look into the development of Warner Bros. Animation’s next DC Animated movie featuring one of the greatest comic book stories of all time.
  • Alan Burnett’s Top Picks – Two handpicked episodes from Superman: The Animated Series “Brave New Metropolis” and “Warrior Queen”.
  • Blu-ray Copy of the Feature Film
  • DVD Copy of the Feature Film
  • Ultra Violet Digital Copy of the Feature Film
  • 1080p Video
  • DTS-HD Master Audio
OVERALL
So – where does this Superman story rank in terms of past DC Animated projects? Superman Vs The Elite definitely fits in right between Batman: Under The Red Hood and Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. It brings a very thought-provoking storyline to the small screen using superheroes and Superman himself in ways that people wouldn’t normally think. Superman Vs The Elite definitely brings a greater understanding about Superman as a person and his own moral values more than any of the Superman movies before it. This film addresses why Superman really does seem more unpopular and even boring nowadays compared to other darker, morally ambiguous characters in the Superhero comics industry today, then proceeds to give a reason why, in a deconstruction of not just the man of steel himself but all superhero morals out there. It also seems that whenever a specific story is directly adapted to one of these animated features, the overall quality of the film is much stronger and overly consistent. As much as I enjoyed Justice League: Doom (which was influenced by the JLA story “Tower of Babel“), the full adaptations seem to bring out the best from the production teams. Hopefully, we will continue to see more adaptations of The Elite storyline into full-length features since this film will likely get people attached to these characters. Maybe if we are lucky, we will see a Justice League Elite movie in our futures depending on how well this is received.  With The Dark Knight Returns coming as a two-part release over the next 6 months, viewers will definitely be in for an animated PG-13 treat.
ComicsOnline gives Superman vs The Elite 4.5 sexy anti-villains out of 5.

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