Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

Spoiler Level: Medium

First off, let me apologize to my buddy (and fellow blogger over at greatplaidmusings) Rich.  See, Rich and I started watching the DCU OVAs last week, so it was kind of assumed we were going to wait for each other to watch them.  But I was hanging out with another friend of mine this weekend who was in a mood to watch some super hero cartoons, so we picked Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths via Netflix's instant viewing option.  But don't worry, Rich, I liked it a lot and will be happy to watch it again.

Crisis on Two Earths loosely follows the story from the graphic novel "JLA: Earth-2" by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.  A lot of the key elements are still there; the take on the Crime Syndicate definitely owes more to Grant Morrison than to the pre-crisis versions of the team.  The big difference is, to me, a big improvement:  The Crime Syndicate's Earth is not Earth-2 of the anti-matter universe, but simply one of infinite Earths.  Call me too old-school, but I can't get into "Earth-2" ever being anything other than the pre-Crisis home of the JSA.  (What Earth is this now in the 52 universes, anyway?)

The story itself is mostly a lot of smack-downs between the JLA and the Crime Syndicate, with some interesting views into their Earth in between.  It's actually nowhere near as dark as the original graphic novel, which is kind of amazing considering it's PG-13.  Unlike Justice League: The New Frontier, there's nowhere near as much strong language and very little blood.

Sadly, since we were watching it via Netflix I didn't get to see the Spectre short, so I still have something new to look forward to when I watch it again with Rich.  :)

Justice League: The New Frontier

Spoiler Level: Medium-Slightly Highish

I haven't read the comic that this video is based on; at the time it was published, I was already spending too much money on "Prestige Format" comics, and I couldn't see doing it for what seemed to me at the time to be just another JLA origin story.

But it turns out that story was really pretty good. I always enjoy Elseworlds stories, especially ones that tie in to real history like this one does. It sticks with the idea that McCarthy forced the Justice Society to resign in the 50's, but then continues to ask, what if the next generation of super heroes rose to fill that gap immediately, at a time when anti-communism was running rampant? Where the heroes weren't just universally accepted but were considered to all be vigilantes? Where those heroes now had a legitimate distrust of their own government after what just happened to the JSA?

I also loved the 1950's look of it all; Ferris Industries looks like the pop-art 50's vision of how the future was supposed to be. Superman still has his Golden-Age color scheme, and Batman starts out with his long-eared 1940's look.

The final lesson, that it shouldn't matter what views we have, we're all Americans and in this together, is a good one for this day and age.

This is the third DCU OVA I've watched (the other two being Superman: Doomsday and Green Lantern: First Flight, the latter of which I plan to review after I finish watching all the bonus features) and I've definitely noticed a trend. The violence is pumped up, which is of course why it has the PG-13 rating. However, I also have to wonder if it's not a bit forced, to bring home the point that "this is not Superfriends." Same thing with the dialogue; while it's nice that the story doesn't have to come up with substitutes for "ass" and "son of a bitch," it's not like the foul language is essential to the story. I'm kind of left with the attitude that a lot of the early imported anime of the 90's had, where the anime community was working too hard to emphasize that they weren't kiddie cartoons.

But overall I'd say the DCU OVAs I've seen have been 3 for 3, and I look forward to seeing more of them. It's great that we live in age where comic book animation can not only be a thriving industry, but that the material is treated with so much respect.