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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (And Some General Musings on DC Animated)

By | July 9th, 2009
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I’d like to imagine that I’m pretty on top of my game in the comic book world, especially when it comes to the animated film series that I so adore, so how in the heck did I so blatantly miss this? I don’t know. Did you know? No? Ok, well then let me share with you some information: on September 29th, 2009 (nearly two months after the highly anticipated Green Lantern: First Flight release) DC’s animated movie division is releasing a brand new film entitled Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

So let me explain to you now why this should make you incredibly excited. While you may never have read the Loeb/McGuinness book, the movie itself is put together by Bruce Timm with the voice acting talent of Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly. What does this translate to? That this is a brand new movie in the series of the 90’s hit Batman and Superman Saturday morning cartoons! Did I get you all excited there? Lord knows I am! The sixth entry into the new DC Animated Universe’s plot revolves around Lex Luthor becoming president and the Justice League being placed under his control. Superman and Batman are the only two to resist and become outlaws with the sole purpose of taking down Luthor and returning the normal status quo. At the same time, a meteor is on a deadly one-way course with Earth, and Superman and Batman need to find a way to stop it while Lex Luthor convinces the American public that it’s all Superman’s fault.

Despite the whole Dark Reign-iness of it, I’m really excited for this film. Kevin Conroy as Batman and Tim Daly as Superman are the quintessential voice actors for the characters, and while we’ve had good voice acting for the character in the past, no one will ever replace the timelessness of the original animated series from the 90’s. I’m amazed that this managed to float under my radar for so long, though. All things considering, this is a high profile project. First off, Bruce Timm’s involvement as a producer speaks highly to the project, but wasn’t he working on that Justice League animated movie based on Grant Morisson and Frank Quietly’s JLA: Earth-2? And Kevin Conroy has been doing press on Batman: Arkham Asylum, so it’s easy to see how one would get distracted from a team-up movie. With only two months to go before the release, it’s best to start building up some excitement for it now so this doesn’t come out to no audience. What I imagine is that the Green Lantern movie has a preview on it about this film, just as Wonder Woman had a preview for Green Lantern, and normally there is more than a two month gap between animated films, so part of me feels like for those not closeley following the production, this could seemed rush. The team behind it is all incredibly solid though, with a firm foundation and history of putting out great animated DC content, so I don’t have any doubts on the production of this feature.

Speaking on a note of missing out on upcoming productions, the DVD will feature a preview of an as-of-yet decided DC Animated Film, whatever will be number 7 in the series. What could that possibly be, you ask? Well, the people behind DC Animated, Bruce Timm, and Dan DiDio have all stated what they would like to see in the DC Animated Universe, and for your convenience I have collected all the possible animated movie features into this paragraph to start an uncontrollable rumor mill:

    • Justice League: Worlds Collide – this was originally planned for the Justice League Unlimited TV series Bruce Timm did as a way to bridge seasons 1 and 2 together, but it got shelved. Timm has recently stated, however, that this would be going back into production. The plot is similar to Grant Morrison’s JLA: Earth-2 in which the JLA go up against the Crime Syndikate of Amerika.

 

  • Teen Titans: The Judas Contract – Crisis on Infinite Earth’s Marv Wolfman and George Pérez are behind this one, to be done in a similar style to the animated series. However, the film has been postponed due to the Teen Titans being the least profitable of all the DC Animated tv series. No known plot details are available at this time.
  • Continued below

 

 

  • “Untitled Batman Projects” – apparently there are a bunch of Batman animated films in the work. This should come as no surprise to anyone.

 

 

  • The Flash/Aquaman/Catwoman– Bruce Timm wants to give each of these characters their own solo films. While I can see The Flash and Aquaman as easily understandable, some of you might be curious as to why Catwoman. Timm has stated that he wants to wipe the slate from the Halle Berry debaucle.
  • Bruce Timm-iverse Animated film– Bruce Timm stated that he plans to go back to the style and universe that he had created in the 90’s with his animated Batman and Superman films.
  • Uknown Pre-Existing Comic Film – Remember when they turned Darwyn Cooke’s Justice League: New Frontier into a (absolutely outstanding) film? Timm has stated that before he works on any of his dream projects, DC plans to bring an unknown comic arc to the big screen in a similar fashion. Dan DiDio had stated in the past that he really wanted to see an animated Sinestro Corps War film made, but that would take up to a while trilogy of films, wouldn’t it? Unless it’s a direct sequel to First Flight, of course. Either way, it’s an interesting prospect and something to definitely create rumors about.

 

With Green Lantern: First Flight less than a month away now, you can be assured that I will do a comprehensive review on it as with any and all animated movies coming out. Green Lantern will probably be the most intense review I write, but when your cast has 6 from Battlestar Galactica and Mr. Blonde as well as Detective Elliot Stabler, how could you possibly go wrong?


Matthew Meylikhov

Once upon a time, Matthew Meylikhov became the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Multiversity Comics, where he was known for his beard and fondness for cats. Then he became only one of those things. Now, if you listen really carefully at night, you may still hear from whispers on the wind a faint voice saying, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not as bad as everyone says it issss."

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