Thoughts on "New DC Animated Universe"

[Vidocq]

I don't think the voice acting has been bad at all really... the animation being so anime-ish just distracts me. Either make an anime or make an american cartoon but this blend of the two is just.. not well done.

That or just call it anime, the japanese studios are doing all the heavy lifting anyway.

[DV1Band]

Kevin Conroy needs to be involved with everything DC Animated, or I quit.

[Slade Wilson]

I know that the first two movies didnt exactly receive widespread acclaim but I still think that the concept of building an animated universe from both classic AND New 52 material is actually very cool. Unlike so many other fans who constantly badmouth the New 52, I actually really love what DC has done with it for the most part. Batman and Aquaman alone havent been this awesome in many, many years and I also love the approach they took with Wonder Woman in the New 52 (making her a demigod is wicked cool and long overdue considering that she was always referred to as a "Goddess"), which is infinitely better than what was done to her before the relaunch (Leather Jacket WW, do I need to say more?!). And while Geoff Johns and his work on Justice League has received its not insignificant share of criticism, he still is one of my most favorite writers and I have enjoyed his work on Justice League (especially when it was brought back only to the A-listers of the DCU) much more then any JL stuff in the years before the relaunch. Also absolutely love what was done with Catwoman (before Nocenti took over that is!!) and of course Deathstroke. And putting Harley Quinn into the Suicide Squad was absolute genius IMO.

One thing that is constantly heavily criticised is the new costume designs. Which baffles me because in my opinion they retain almost all of the iconic elements from the classic versions but make them look more modern and isnt this what this is all about? I mean Supermans costume gets hated on because it has a higher neck and is more of an armor now then just a spandex suit and Wonder Womans costume gets hated on because the boots are black instead of red and the chest piece is silver instead of gold and her bodice has a more textured look ? I really dont get that at all. All of these costume designs perfectly reflect the iconic classic design (Superman has a blue suit, red boots, the S shield and a red cape - thats Superman to me). For instance Spider-Mans black or golden/red suits were far more removed from the classic designs to me than the New 52 designs are from the classic versions.

I really love most of the new designs (particularly the Trinity) and in some cases I think its even better than the classic ones (Flash, Batman, Catwoman, Deathstroke, Green Arrow to name a few). Of course it always depends on which artist is drawing them. Not everyone can make Wonder Womans new costume really shine, especially if people like Jim Lee or Ivan Reis have been drawing her. For instance, I dropped her solo book solely because of Cliff Chiangs artwork. That man just cannot draw Wonder Woman in my eyes. Its hard to look at for me.

of course there were a few things about the New 52 that I really hated as well. Mostly, the way they handled and rebooted Superman in his solo books. He was great in the JL books but I hated so much what Morrison and Lobdell did with him in his books. He is my most favorite superhero of all time and I ended up dropping both books for the first time in over a decade because I just couldnt take it anymore what was done to him. Bland stories, boring villains, bad characterization and my most favorite couple of all eternity (Lois and Clark) ripped to shreds. My heart was bleeding. I havent dared to go back to his solo books just yet but series like the superb Superman Unchained or the pretty awesome Superman/Wonder Woman book have proven to me that New 52 Superman can be very awesome too and have started to turn the Superman ship in the DCnU around for me. Its still a different Superman but thats okay for me. Characters being interpreted differently is something that comics have done for decades and as long as its exciting and engaging like what Snyder or Soule do with him then they get my love back.

Bottom line, The New 52 has some pretty cool stuff in it and is nowhere as bad as many people make it out to be. Its dark and edgy and not a fluffy silver agey-place to be in, sure and it does some things very differently but thats kind of the point. Otherwise it would just be some cheap rehash of what was done before (And we already got enough of those in comics).

So creating an animated universe based on the New 52 but also including classic stories as well is actually the perfect blend on paper to me. Unfortunately the execution of that concept so far has been...well...shall we say rocky?

I thought Justice League: War was okay. It wasnt as good as it should have been and it made some terrible changes to the comics version (Shazam instead of Aquaman and that abysmal new Wonder Woman costume design. I love the New 52 version but this looked like a bad joke and retained nothing of the iconic design). And without Jim Lees artwork the story had MUCH LESS impact and jaw-dropping moments for me to be honest. Some characterizations were off but in other aspects and scenes it was actually pretty close to the comic so I enjoyed it for the most part and thought it was not an unwatchable movie. As an introduction into the new universe it was however vastly inferior to Johns and Lees comic version of the story IMO.

Unfortunately "Son of Batman" made matters a lot worse. Again the concept was so cool. Including the legendary Batman and Son story into a New 52-based universe. If done right, this would have been amazing. Unfortunately there was not much left of Morrisons comic version and can be considered a downright insult to the fans of that story. Not even the voice of Kevin Conroy (my ultimate Batman) could have made this much better.

And of course then there is Deathstroke. As you can tell I am a massive fan of that character. And now they have introduced him into this new universe but changed him into a completely different character who is Deathstroke in name (and costume design) only. And now this is the Deathstroke that we will have from now on in that universe. I feel betrayed and insulted as a Slade-fan and trust me I had multiple Mirakuru-induced rage fits over this already.


So yeah so far that new universe is lacking. But it still is a very awesome concept (combining New 52 and classic stories) and if done more faithfully could create a really awesome animated DC Universe that is both classic and modern at the same time. I´d advise them however to get new writers for these films. They should enlist writers of the comics like Snyder, Johns, Miller, Azzarello, Soule etc. Or bring Paul Dini back. Bring in writers, who know how to do this properly because the concept itself is a brilliant one.

Stories I would love to see adapted:

Throne of Atlantis
Trinity War
Forever Evil
Night of the Owls
Death of the Family
Superman Unchained
The Killing Joke
Hush
The Man who laughs
The long Halloween
Our worlds at War
For Tomorrow
Cry for Justice

and lots more but that are the stories that I would love to see the most in animated form. Though I left out the more Lois & Clark-centric stories of the Pre-New 52 era of Superman (such as Last Son or Til death do us part - those would be really awesome to see)

[friendly-fire-press]

JL: War was pretty cool

I'm looking forward to more possible New 52 adaptations ... ie Throne of Atlantis, Forever Evil, SM/WW: Power Couple, etc

[Flash Gordon]

I'd like to see the entirety of Grant Morrison's ACTION COMICS adapted into a series of flicks, just faithfully. I don't want to see the bare bones of Morrison's work like BATMAN AND SON, but with crap filling in the spaces.

I'd also really like to see CAPTAIN ATOM adapted. DIAL H. Azz's WONDER WOMAN as a trilogy of sorts. BATWOMAN: ELEGY. Any of THE FLASH, it's all been pretty good.

After that? Just new stuff please. No FOREVER EVIL junk.

[Punisher007]

There is good stuff in the New 52 that they could potentially adapt (or in the case of Throne of Atlantis, are currently adapting). Azz's Wonder Woman, Lemire's Green Arrow, Shazam, more of John's Aquaman, etc.

[Just Is]

I'd like to see the entirety of Grant Morrmets's ACTION COMICS adapted into a series of flicks, just faithfully. I don't want to see the bare bones of Morrison's work like BATMAN AND SON, but with crap filling in the spaces.

I'd also really like to see CAPTAIN ATOM adapted. DIAL H. Azz's WONDER WOMAN as a trilogy of sorts. BATWOMAN: ELEGY. Any of THE FLASH, it's all been pretty good.

After that? Just new stuff please. No FOREVER EVIL junk.

You gave it too much Credit. Only one aspect of Morrison's story was retained... That he meets his son and Damian's line about height.

[Slade Wilson]

I'd like to see the entirety of Grant Morrison's ACTION COMICS adapted into a series of flicks, just faithfully. I don't want to see the bare bones of Morrison's work like BATMAN AND SON, but with crap filling in the spaces.

I'd also really like to see CAPTAIN ATOM adapted. DIAL H. Azz's WONDER WOMAN as a trilogy of sorts. BATWOMAN: ELEGY. Any of THE FLASH, it's all been pretty good.

After that? Just new stuff please. No FOREVER EVIL junk.

I really hope they stay away from Morrisons Action Comics stuff as far away as possible. I HATE what he and Lobdell have done with the character in his solo books. They are the reason I have dropped Action and Superman for the first time in over 10 years. I think Morrison is generally extremely overrated. I dislike most of his stuff with intense antipathy. I hate what he did on X-Men, I absolutely loathed Final Crisis, his Action run was an abomination to me. His Batman stuff was pretty good though and All Star Superman was also pretty good and his Wonder Woman Earth One OGN could be either really great or total crap. But generally I prefer to stay away from his stuff as far as I can. They already ruined Deathstroke in this new animated universe. Please for the love of God dont look to Morrisons Action run when focusing on Superman. Look to Superman Unchained instead - now that is what I call an awesome Superman.

Forever Evil isnt my most favorite event either (mostly because Joker isnt in it and most of the A-heroes are absent) but I´d take that over any New 52 Superman by Morrison any day of the week.

[Kid A]

I'd like to see the entirety of Grant Morrison's ACTION COMICS adapted into a series of flicks, just faithfully. I don't want to see the bare bones of Morrison's work like BATMAN AND SON, but with crap filling in the spaces.

I'd also really like to see CAPTAIN ATOM adapted. DIAL H. Azz's WONDER WOMAN as a trilogy of sorts. BATWOMAN: ELEGY. Any of THE FLASH, it's all been pretty good.

After that? Just new stuff please. No FOREVER EVIL junk.

This is what we call a pipe dream, man.

I think they could only adapt the first arc of Morrison's Action Comics, and that would be great. Play it close to the original though, and don't mess it up like with Son of Batman. The rest of it wouldn't translate well.

I was kind of hoping Batman and Son could lead to Black Glove/RIP, but seeing how Son turned out, there's no chance.

[DebkoX]

Do I have to watch them in chronological order? Or is it not essential?

[Charmed]

JL: War was big dumb fun just like most action blockbusters are. Once I turned off my brain, I enjoyed it.
Wonder Woman was fun, if a little too 'sword happy', but she didn't have a stick up her butt. Seeing her have fun put a smile on my face.

I've yet to see Son of Batman.

[SteveGus]

The Target exclusive JLA Trapped in Time animated feature is the best of the newer releases. War just pales compared to the Timm DCAU, and Flashpoint Paradox is simply bleak and disgusting.

[Jcogginsa]

i like the concept, the execution is meh so far.

[Auguste Dupin]

I'd like to see the entirety of Grant Morrison's ACTION COMICS adapted into a series of flicks, just faithfully. I don't want to see the bare bones of Morrison's work like BATMAN AND SON, but with crap filling in the spaces.

I'd also really like to see CAPTAIN ATOM adapted. DIAL H. Azz's WONDER WOMAN as a trilogy of sorts. BATWOMAN: ELEGY. Any of THE FLASH, it's all been pretty good.

After that? Just new stuff please. No FOREVER EVIL junk.

Can't see them adapt anything more than the first arc, really (and I can see why, after all, it does have a pretty easily pitchable "Superman Begins/ Superman as you've never seen him before" thing going on). The good news is, that first arc is probably closer to a movie like story than Batman and Son was, so that makes it somewhat plausible to have it being adapted relatively faithfully (pretty sure they would change some things up for the heck of it though, it's just what they do).

[Sacred Knight]

I have no strong attachement to any Timmverse product outside of Batman: TAS, so I'm fine with them building something new. We'll see how it turns out. War was okay but could see a lot of improvement.