Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
.gif)
Graphic novels are a wealth of stories that step away from the constraints of budgets and reality. The only medium to truly realize them is the cartoon. However, television manages to put a vice-like grip on the content within a cartoon. Consequently, graphic novels are a wealth of content that are largely adult and so it is like oil and water. Thankfully the DVD medium has liberated graphic novels and DC has used the opportunity to dig through their wealth of material to bring it to the screen. Moreover, they have picked tried-and-true producers, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, who make sure that the essence of the book comes alive on the screen. If you love the comics it is easy to fall in love with these features.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is based upon the graphic novel by Jeph Loeb..jpg)
It was the start of his run on Superman/Batman and it was frankly the best book out of the series. Stan Berkowitz makes a few changes in his script, removing some time-traveling, firming up motivations, and changing the dialogue to work without voice-overs. Luthor is President (which I thought was a great run in the comics) and has outlawed vigilantes unless they work for the government. A precursor to Marvel’s long Civil War, Batman and Superman (stalwarts of the DC superheroes) are operating on their own. With the approach of an impeding kryptonite meteor, Luthor sees an opportunity to defeat Superman and aggrandize himself. With that he frames Superman for the murder of Metallo and then declares him a public enemy, placing a bounty on his head. When this happens Superman is in the cave under Wayne Manor and so Batman is roped into vindicating Supes. That is all the setup needed to get to what we want to see: Batman and Superman fighting scores of villains and then heroes. Complementing the action is some fantastic dialogue. It demonstrates the tension between the two characters, something that was excellently done through the “thought panels” in the comic. It however fails to adequately show the admiration that the two characters have for each other, but it is there, hidden under the cracked jokes.
That is really the point of this movie and you can see just how well the two superheroes work together when they surgically take down baddie after baddie..jpg)
The animation takes some getting used to but it is in the vein of Ed McGuinness’ art. That is one of those lovely touches that the DC does with each of these animated movies, they take their visual cues from the graphic novel they are based on. It is an homage to the artists who have worked on them and not just to the writers itself. DC could have taken the easy route and just kept the animation the same. For one, that would have significantly lowered costs without the necessity for new character designs each time. But then each movie wouldn’t have its own charm. The animation in Public Enemies is fluid and the Blu-ray version is particularly well done and crisp. Thankfully shaky cams have not come into the animation realm and so we get to see the detail on every punch of Superman, every evade of Batman, and that delicious moment when they co-ordinate to take out Grodd.
The story runs a little over an hour and in that regard it feels a little short..jpg)
For one, a nice extra would have been shorts of Batman and Superman taking down various bad guys or better yet hordes of heroes. The Green Lantern was taken out of the movie, from the book, and it would have been nice to see Batman and Superman take down John Stewart or maybe even Kyle Gardner (Hal Jordan was dead at this time). The extras are also lacking on the Blu-ray and the Digital Copy works only with Windows.
Still, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a good movie and though it could have spent longer on Luthor’s motivations against Superman, it does a commendable job showing the dynamic duo. “Us against the world” movies are always fun to watch, Superman and Batman form our Butch and Sundance. Yes, they could have given us more extras and I would have loved to have seen more behind the scenes or developmental documentaries. However, frankly one has to thank WB and DC for getting so much right. They bring the voice actors we love, Kevin Conroy will always be Batman, and they make sure that the right hands, Bruce Timm as producer, are guiding the project. It all shows through in a smart, engaging and thoroughly fanboy movie.
