Warner Brother animation recently ended a long-running series of direct-to-video animated movies set within the DC Universe that had a shared continuity. And from there, well, it looks like they started a new one. That means a new general look to things, a new voice cast, and so forth. So, since the previous continuity ended with the Flash running back in time to reset reality, why not use the Flash in a similar manner in one of the first few movies in this new timeline?
And it turns out I already saw a movie–or, more accurately, a two-parter–in this timeline before, and I largely liked it, but here I am with the Flash meeting the Justice Society for the first time.
Barry Allen (voice of Matt Bomer) is visiting Metropolis with longtime girlfriend Iris (Ashleigh LaThrop). She wants to know where they stand, but Barry is reluctant to fully commit to her since his time as the Flash might put her in danger. She knows he’s the Flash and doesn’t care about the danger. But then Brainiac attacks Superman, and after Barry runs off to help and hits speeds he’s never hit before, Barry finds himself seemingly trapped in the past, namely the European theater during World War II.
He’s not alone. The Justice Society of America is there too. Led by Wonder Woman (Stana Katic) with Steve Trevor (Chris Diamantopoulos) as a military liaison who gets into the thick of it with the others, the team is made up of Rex “Hourman” Tyler (Matthew Mercer), Dinah “Black Canary” Lance (Elysia Rotaru), Carter “Hawkman” Hall (Omid Abtahi), and Jay “the Flash” Garrick (Armen Taylor). Though they are slow to trust the stranger they eventually dub “Future Boy,” the Justice Society does eventually bring Barry along on their latest mission to stop the Nazis. One small problem there: Barry has never heard of these guys before.
Given the size of the cast, the movie actually did a decent job of giving each of the heroes some screen time. Sure, Stanic and Bomer are the only members of the cast listed in the brief opening credits, but there is some time given to give the others stuff to do and get a bit of character growth. Jay and Rex, for example, are the team scientists, but they seem to get in trouble a bit more on missions than the others. Hawkman and Black Canary talk relationships back home. Steve keeps proposing to Diana. A few other heroes pop up along the way, but between the action scenes (which were largely good) this was a fairly cool story with an original plot, and the animation was about as good as these things usually are.
To be clear, this is a more adult-themed animated feature. There is some strong language, and some of the good guys do use lethal force against various footsoldiers and the like. It’s also not afraid to kill off characters. But in the end, I did have some fun with this one. Will this Justice Society appear again? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t mind seeing them.
Grade: B
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