Diksha Sundriyal
Films of DC’s animated universe (the DCAU) are consistent in quality, unlike the current DCEU — albeit some might say that has changed since ‘Joker.’ I am still a fan of the DCEU, but I have to admit that some of the animated gems in there are absolutely precious. Only one look at this list of best DC animated movies of 2019 and you will know why.
5. Justice League vs The Fatal Five (August 6, 2019)
As many there are heroes in this universe, there are villains to challenge their powers. The Fatal Five is a team of supervillains who live up to their name and wreak all sorts of havoc in the lives of the superheroes. Of the four offerings from DC in its animated universe, this film will finally pit the Justice League against them. This group first appeared in the 1967 comics and introduced its five founding members, the Emerald Empress, Mano, Persuader, Tharok, and Validus. Although the Fatal Five went through a lot of changes in its membership over the years, this film puts focus on the ones who started it. With so much evil and heroism on the same screen, there’s a lot of action and drama in the film.
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4. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines
So many animated movies have come out in the DC universe, but only one standalone film featuring the fearless Amazonia warrior princess, Wonder Woman. Her last film came out way back in 2009, and since then, there have been no talks of a sequel. It was only after the success of Gal Gadot’s live-action ‘Wonder Woman’ that DC realized the potential of this character. As the name suggests, this film explores Diana’s background in Themiscyra, and we get insights into the history of the place.
3. Reign of the Supermen
The second part of the iconic ‘Death of Superman’ storyline adaptation is titled ‘Reign of the Supermen’ and will see four alternate ‘Supermen’: Steel, Superboy, Cyborg Superman and The Last Son of Krypton, taking his place as protectors of Metropolis in the year following Supes’ death, each claiming to be in some ways, a reincarnated Superman, until ofcourse the original Superman reappears and a battle for identity ensues. It will be interesting to see how much of the source material is retained and translated, now that they have two full-length feature movies to accomplish that. Plus, it’s been really long since a good Superman animated movie came out. High hopes riding on this one!
2. The Lego Batman Movie 2
Though technically not set in the DC universe, ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ did specify that it was set within the ‘DC Superhero dimension’. Batman is the most beloved character from the DC universe and has inspired all sorts of movies and remakes. While the earlier adaptations of this character were in a style that would seem very much comic now (I mean, have you seen those films!), it was only after Christopher Nolan decided to do his take on the story of the Caped Crusader that it was considered a serious thing in the filmmaking business. Since then, Batman has been all about dark stories and brooding characters.
This streak was broken when Batman appeared in ‘The Lego Movie.’ Based on the popular Lego toys, the film was a surprise in itself, and the role of Batman was unique. In a spin-off attempt, ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ followed, with Will Arnett voicing the iconic character.
The film was successful, though people had their reservations about it. But it was made pretty clear by director Chris McKay that the Lego Batman would return, and there is definitely another ‘Lego Batman movie’ in the future. With Ben Affleck rumored to leave the role of Batman in DCEU, the fate of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego hangs in the balance. While DC gets that cleared out, you could just watch this film. Perhaps it could help ease the pain!
1. Batman: Hush
Ever since Batman first appeared in the comics of the DC Universe, he has made an endless number of enemies for himself. Time and again, these enemies have come together to kill him or sabotage him in one way or another. Hush is one of those villains for Batman whose animosity goes deeper than the craze for some mayhem or a simple act of criminality. The ‘Batman: Hush’ comics is unarguably one of the best comics in the series.
It used all the elements of a good old thriller to tell a story that changed a lot of things for Batman. It was also one of the tales that brought together a great number of Batman’s enemies in a single storyline, most of them being the big players. From Joker to Catwoman, from Poison Ivy to the Riddler, Batman is pitted against his worst enemies in this story. However, above all, there is one enemy with whom he has to settle a score. Hush appears as the orchestrator of all things bad in Batman’s life and is identified as a man whose whole face is obscured by a bandage.
While bringing his enemies together, this story also allows us to look more into the life of Bruce Wayne and his friends in normal life. Being one of the greatest storylines in Batman’s universe, one wonders why it wasn’t adapted into any sort of film before. But we can put that question to rest now as ‘Batman: Hush’ will make an appearance in the first half of 2019, and we’ll finally have the adaptation we deserve.
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