DC Animated Original Movies Discussion

[Vordan]

I'm new to the DCAU. I originally had written it off because I thought that the movies were standalone, not that that is a problem, I just wished it was more connected. Lo and behold they did connect later on that it stoked my interest and I intend on collecting the whole shebang. Looking forward to Man of Tomorrow and Death in the Family.

Start with JL War and if you like it you can go from there.

[Vakanai]

Start with JL War and if you like it you can go from there.

But War is probably the worst of the lot, with only Son of Batman fighting for that title (or maybe The Killing Joke if you include out of continuity movies). I would start with one of the later ones, like Throne of Atlantis or Batman vs Robin. If you like those, then maybe try the earlier entries. But again, with the first two shared universe movies we're talking about two of the worst DC movies ever made.

[Vordan]

But War is probably the worst of the lot, with only Son of Batman fighting for that title (or maybe The Killing Joke if you include out of continuity movies). I would start with one of the later ones, like Throne of Atlantis or Batman vs Robin. If you like those, then maybe try the earlier entries. But again, with the first two shared universe movies we're talking about two of the worst DC movies ever made.

I get that you hate it but lots of people liked it. Just like while you aren’t a fan of the shared universe, but plenty of others are.

[CTTT]

Don't - the bulk of the stuff that connects and shares a universe is... not great. I only recommend The Death of Superman (but not Reign of the Supermen). By far the best of their movies are the ones that are unconnected. Luckily that shared universe is dead, and I'm hoping they give it a few years before they try it again.

But agreed, both of those upcoming movies look very good and promising.

What about the shared stuff didn't you like?

[Vakanai]

I get that you hate it but lots of people liked it. Just like while you aren’t a fan of the shared universe, but plenty of others are.

Even a lot of shared universe fans hate those two movies though - and even many of those who don't hate them admit that they're the weakest of the shared universe movies. If you actually want to get someone interested in that particular continuity, they seem like the last two movies you should recommend. I'd say skip them for later and maybe try out the Teen Titans movies, or the Suicide Squad one, or maybe Justice League Dark, Death of Superman, and so on. Start stronger and then go back to the beginning. Most of these are fairly standalone and don't need to be watched in order, so start with the more popular ones. Then the fan trait of completionism will get them to the rest. But if you start with what many fans think are the weakest they might not give the better films a try.

This is a situation where the films get better over time, but a lot of us aren't fond of the first two movies.

[Vakanai]

What about the shared stuff didn't you like?

War and Son of Batman are the worst offenders for being outright bad, and I do mean bad in my opinion (and I'm not alone in this). The rest I'm actually more a bit disinterested in - the bulk of the movies are okay, but disappointing in that they are only ever okay. There's a lot of mediocrity in the shared universe. The only films to break out of just okay into genuine good territory in my opinion? Suicide Squad, the Teen Titans, Death of Superman (which is genuinely great), and the final film (albeit some are not a fan of the gore or which characters die). And Batman Bad Blood is bad but a serious guilty pleasure.

[Vakanai]

To put it perspective, from War onward outside of the shared universe we got JLA Adventures Trapped in Time, the Batman Unlimited trilogy, Scooby Doo and Batman the Brave and the Bold, Batman Ninja, Batman Gotham by Gaslight, Batman vs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, two Adam West Batman movies, Justice League Gods and Monsters, and endless Lego DC movies. Compare that to the largely mediocre movies the shared universe chugged out, and you can see my disdain for it. A lot of it was okay, but just disappointing in how meh it all felt.

Outside the first two movies the shared universe was never bad, but it was rarely good either, and great only once. So I don't miss it.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

I'm new to the DCAU. I originally had written it off because I thought that the movies were standalone, not that that is a problem, I just wished it was more connected. Lo and behold they did connect later on that it stoked my interest and I intend on collecting the whole shebang. Looking forward to Man of Tomorrow and Death in the Family.

I think the biggest perk of the new 52 dcamu being connected is that it’d make for a decent binge. But start with Flashpoint and go from there. Flashpoint is the start of that continuity, not War, and the consequences of Flashpoint are important for Suicide Squad Hell to Pay and Apokolips war. Plus like Vakanai said, War is the worst of the bunch and Flashpoint Paradox is actually pretty great.

[Vakanai]

I think the biggest perk of the new 52 dcamu being connected is that it’d make for a decent binge. But start with Flashpoint and go from there. Flashpoint is the start of that continuity, not War, and the consequences of Flashpoint are important for Suicide Squad Hell to Pay and Apokolips war. Plus like Vakanai said, War is the worst of the bunch and Flashpoint Paradox is actually pretty great.

Oh this, I second this. Flashpoint Paradox is easily one of DC's best movies ever and I would easily recommend this movie whether you're interested in the shared universe or not, and like the post I'm quoting says it pays off in both Suicide Squad Hell to Pay and Justice League Dark Apokolips War, both being some of the stronger films in the continuity.

[Frontier]

To put it perspective, from War onward outside of the shared universe we got JLA Adventures Trapped in Time, the Batman Unlimited trilogy, Scooby Doo and Batman the Brave and the Bold, Batman Ninja, Batman Gotham by Gaslight, Batman vs the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, two Adam West Batman movies, Justice League Gods and Monsters, and endless Lego DC movies. Compare that to the largely mediocre movies the shared universe chugged out, and you can see my disdain for it. A lot of it was okay, but just disappointing in how meh it all felt.

Outside the first two movies the shared universe was never bad, but it was rarely good either, and great only once. So I don't miss it.

Honestly I would only really compare to the in-universe films to the actual Animated Feature line and not every DC Animated movie.

[Vakanai]

Honestly I would only really compare to the in-universe films to the actual Animated Feature line and not every DC Animated movie.

Eh, it's all Warner Bros/AT&T/DC, I see no problem with it.

[Frontier]

Eh, it's all Warner Bros/AT&T/DC, I see no problem with it.

True, but they all aim for such different age groups and purposes that I feel like it's just weird comparing them.

[Vakanai]

True, but they all aim for such different age groups and purposes that I feel like it's just weird comparing them.

Not really - it doesn't matter what the intended demographic or audience is, or the purpose, quality is quality. It's not apples and oranges, it's animated superhero fare, there's enough commonality to objectively say that despite the age of the audience, one product is superior to the other.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I don't mind the idea of a shared movie universe, i just felt they never caught my interest. Their choices on what to focus on just bored me.

This isnt a pre52 or new52 preferrence as there were many stories from the new 52 i would've loved to have seen.

But after Gods and monsters debut, i just lost all interest outside of JL dark.

[Frontier]

Not really - it doesn't matter what the intended demographic or audience is, or the purpose, quality is quality. It's not apples and oranges, it's animated superhero fare, there's enough commonality to objectively say that despite the age of the audience, one product is superior to the other.

I think in some regards quality is universal but I'd never compare something like Under the Red Hood to a Lego movie or the Batman Unlimited films aside from maybe in a more abstract sense.