"There is the difference between you and me. We both looked into the Abyss. But when it looked back at us...you BLINKED!"
When I was a kid those 80 cent or 1 dollar reprint comic treasuries were amoung my favorite things. It was the only way to catch up on all those goofy Silver Age moments and history. DC was always very selective to only pick the weirdest examples to re-hilight.
One time I remember that I was introduced to the Crime Syndicate. From the cover, they looked like more silly alternate versions of the Justice League. No different from 'Batman From Mars' or 'Superman With An Apple For A Head' Inside, however, I got my first lesson in never judging a book by it's cover.
These new guys may have looked like my beloved Justice League but they were NOT them. Why were they doing BAD things? Why was Luthor the HERO? Why was I drinking this milk that had obviously spoiled and is now giving me hallucinations?
Ultraman, Powergirl, Johnny Quick, Power Ring and the Owlman gave our Earth's Justice League the most trouble I had ever seen. They couldn't be reasoned and had all same powers and tricks that our team did. NO FAIR. I hated them. But I loved what they brought out in my Justice League. They made them truly a 'team' in ways that was sometimes less than clear in the Justice League monthly comic.
To defeat the Crime Syndicate required planning, guil, and near perfect execution of a plan but even then there was no gaurentee of success. It was all a crap shot till the very end. The Crime Syndicate scared me, exhausted me and exhilerated me.
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So to watch this new animated feature (BRAVO DC for matching Marvel and often surpassing them in animated film greatness) I felt for the first time that the movie experience eclipsed the comic reading experience. I know that sounds like blasphemy but I wanted/needed to advance this DVD much like you tear through the pages of a comic book to see how it will end. Only here I couldn't do that so I had to sit on my hands, try to breath and be patient. It killed me. I loved it.
All you need to know is that 'good' Luthor comes to our world to recruit our Justice League to save his world. They go. They face the Crime Syndicate. Awesomeness and much peeing in pants ensues.
The only quibble I have with this feature is the voice they use for Batman. I am so used to Kevin Conroy being my Batman voice of animation that whomever played Batman here sounded weird. I feel like he was trying more to imitate than to truly own the voice and that was distracting. However, the voice of Owlman was James Woods and he nailed it in ways that sent shivers down my spine. He was such a nialist bastard.
Again I find myself wishing to have someone, anyone to watch this with me who actually GETS the coolness of these moments. They are becoming more rare as I grow older but so much sweeter. The rewards of a lifetime of fanboy devotion. Thank you you magnificent corporate bastards for continueing to feed my soul with this fantastic stuff but don't get any idea that I like you or anything.
