Review of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010) by Foo R — 15 Oct 2010

I'm such a comic book nerd. So when they get adapted into a animated film, you can only imagine how I would feel! The anticipation was killing me after I found out that they were doing a sequel to Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

Superman/Batman is an ongoing publication that features DC's two flagship characters. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are unquestionably good friends. It would only make sense to have them both star in a series. In this flick, the plot is based on the The Supergirl from Krypton story arc. Coincidentally, right after Public Enemies' story arc if you want to look at it chronologically. The storyline is pretty straightforward. Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tim Daly (Superman), Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman) and Edward Asner (Granny Goodness) returns to voice their respective DC Animated Universe roles once again. Additional cast include Andre Braugher and Summer Glau who voices Darkseid and Supergirl.

When Superman was still a baby, his planet Krypton, was on the verge of destruction. Knowing this, his father (Jor-El) sent him off to Earth in a spaceship. His brother (Zor-El) did the same to his daughter (Supergirl). Both families hope that their children would rebuild their culture. However, as Krypton exploded, her ship got caught in a large Kryptonite meteor which made her stray off course from Earth. Decades later, the same Kryptonite meteor that Supergirl was trapped in, came hurling towards Earth. As seen in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, it was obliterated into pieces which scattered around the planet. A large piece plunged into Gotham City's river. This prompted Batman to recover it and ultimately stumbling upon Supergirl's spaceship. Superman later found out from her that they were both related. Blood relatives. Cousins. If Kara Zor-El had successfully made it to Earth, she would have been much older than him. But it was the other way around. As the spaceship had placed her in suspended animation, she retained her teenage youth. So Superman and Batman had a Kryptonian girl on their hands who's allegedly a cousin of the most illustrious superhero on the planet.

They both shared a different opinion on Kara. Superman, who has a habit of seeing the good in all of us, insisted that Kara is truly his cousin while Batman being his cynical self, is very suspicious of her. The plot thickens when Supergirl is taken in by Wonder Woman who feels that she's the only one who can offer specialized training for Kara. Darkseid's involvement is made clear soon enough.

They've taken a new art direction this time round. More realistic than compared to its predecessor where the beefy versions of Superman and Batman made the movie...homoerotic. I'm on the fence with some of the character models. For one, they went overboard with the eye-liner around Superman's eyes. It's excessive and I don't see the point of it. Not forgetting how awful Granny Goodness resembles. Unlike her DC Animated Universe counterpart, her blocky design induces confusion about her gender. Coupled with Edward Asner's voice, it only furthers the confusion for newcomers to the DC Universe. The overall illustration of the film was placed in good hands. Satisfyingly choreographed fight scenes is its strong point for it's not your regular mindless brutality. I actually find it quite graceful. The voice acting is nothing but mediocre. Kevin Conroy sounds weird. Like he hadn't record his lines at the studio and was doing it over the phone. Andre Braugher's take on Darkseid is inferior. Darkseid, being one of the universe's strongest beings, sure as hell doesn't sound menacing with that voice.

Don't expect to see Batman frequently. The movie is very much focused on Superman and Supergirl.

Only pass on this if you're not a fan or trying to get acquainted with DC Animated films. For aficionados however, give this a go but I can bet that you wouldn't announce your affection for it.