It’s the Justice League’s worst nightmare. After years of battling petty thugs like the Royal Flush Gang, someone finally figured out how to systematically bring down each and every member of Earth’s most powerful super team. And worse, they’ve figured out a way to psychologically destroy them so they’re each rendered completely impotent in battle. Vandal Savage is at his megalomania again and he has a master plan that will completely ruin how the world operates leaving him the supreme ruler. But first he must eliminate the Justice League. Through a series of scenarios and calculated confrontations, Savage manages to succeed in immobilizing each member of the justice league allowing him adamant time to complete his plan. But he doesn’t count on the secret weapon: Cyborg.
After a brief mission with the team confronting the Royal Flush Gang, it’s up to Cyborg to step in and help out the League when it becomes apparent that evil has completely won the day and will go on to rule humanity. One thing I love about “Doom” is that you can sense that the late great Dwayne McDuffie was behind the insertion of Cyborg in to a film mostly about white washed super titans. Cyborg becomes the key to the group’s salvation and it’s refreshing to see this character prove himself to super powered beings who seemingly can’t be brought down until the plans present themselves mysteriously to the Legion of Doom. The Cyborg is presented as the underdog, and I’m a fan of underdogs, because they’re almost always the top dog in the end of their stories.
The Justice League are almost too confident when we meet them in the opening battling the Royal Flush Gang in a museum, and it takes Vandal Savage to humble them greatly, and take a second look at themselves. The systematic punishments are brutal, and often times put the characters on the brink of death. Batman’s is especially disturbing, as he falls victim to Bane in a graveyard, while everyone else find themselves helpless and without an exit strategy. Most of the cast from the original Bruce Timm “Justice League” returns to reprise their roles of the Justice League with Nathan Fillion as an added bonus playing Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern. The cast give rousing performances in their respective roles and it’s a thrill hearing the old team back together again.
The initial question becomes: How did the Legion of Doom understand the weaknesses of the League and how did they initiate these plans so brilliantly, and once the answer is presented, it sends a rift through the League as well as the trust of the team when they take a second long look at Batman. Generally I have no use for the Batman character, and one of the caveats of the movie is that he just doesn’t pay enough for his manipulation of the Justice League that was intended as a fail safe, but feels so slimy when the viewer steps back and thinks it over. The film moves at a steady and respectable pace, providing some excellent fight scenes, and some rich character development, all of which allow us time to focus on individual members, trapped in their own personal prisons.
The animation is absolutely spectacular, providing an old nod to Bruce Timm’s style while embracing the new standard for DC’s animated films which is a cross between traditional animation and anime style. Vandal Savage is as menacing a villain as ever, and the confrontation between him and the team makes for an excellent finale that really does make us want more adventures with the League long after it’s finished. I hope to see more from this group in the future. While it does glorify Batman yet again as an invincible force of nature, “Justice League: Doom” is an exciting, compelling, and altogether interesting installment in the DC animated film library allowing fans to revel in the return of the traditional League with an added touch of an underdog tale with Cyborg. Well done, Mr. McDuffie.