Animated Film Review: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

Cover Image Courtesy of covershut.com

Batman and Superman, the twin pillars from which all things that comprise DC seem to be suspended. Through the decades, despite changing trends; reboots; and death itself; these two have remained at the core of all that is DC. In short, it would be difficult to find a pair of comic-book characters with more combined importance, more gravitas, to throw together in a story, especially in a one shot animated film. So, the question remaining to be asked is: Just how good is Superman/Batman: Public Enemies? Well, it’s alright I suppose.

From the outset, I would point out that all of these straight to DVD DC movies that I’ve seen so far are aimed at existing fans. Unlike Hollywood comic films, they are assuming a level of background knowledge. As such I would not see them as being a good way into the mythos. At least, not on their own. 

Personally, I’m coming from a position of having watched pretty much the entire DC Animated Universe. Added to this, I’ve read a fair amount of DC graphic novels and have spent far, far, too long reading around the fiction online. This at least meant that I recognised most of the characters, even the minor ones just making cameos, and that I was equipped to keep track of a plot which seems to be struggling a bit to stay within its runtime. Both things I’ll get onto in more detail before the end.

Seeing as it’s so important, and I’ve just alluded to it, it makes sense to take a look at the plot of the film first. Straight out of the gate, in the opening sequence, we are treated to a nice concise dose of back-story showing how Lex Luthor gained the presidency of the United States. Before the opening credits have even run, Luthor has declared that “no one is above the law.” In addition to this, he has a group of Superheroes that have joined up in service of the government. It’s not quite the Keene Act or the Superhero Registration Act, but the astute will have already seen where the ‘Public Enemies’ part of the title is going to come from.

This is not to say that the film simply retreads the, by now, old ground of the idea of superhero civil war or public hatred of the power of costumed heroes. In fact, due to the run time, and the other major plot point: the gigantic kryptonite meteor heading towards earth, the ‘public enemies’ idea doesn’t really get as much mileage as one would expect from the title. Yeah, there are some exciting fight scenes, but that’s about it. Superman and Batman beating up villains and a few lower-tier heroes, but that is about the extent to which they are ‘public enemies’. I’m not sure what else could have been done, but a little more public revulsion to them would be nice. Instead, by being nominally outside the law, all that happens is that Supes and Bats fight heroes that are barely characterised within the bounds of the film.  As such the enemies they face may as well be B-list villains or juiced up flunkies made for the film.

It’s in these areas that the film really starts to come apart for the non-DC fan. I get a kick out of seeing Hawkman and Captain Marvel fight the titular heroes, but for somebody that maybe doesn’t know much about the DC universe even beyond feature films, it would be perfectly fair for them to wonder why a dude with wings and a guy in a bad superman costume have turned up out of nowhere to pummel the protagonists. It’s moments like these that make it clear that this is aimed squarely at the pre-existing fan base. On the other side of the coin however, you don’t need to be an uberfan to understand and enjoy what is going on. I’m certainly not, and I had fun with the film.

In the end, as has been hinted to, the real problem with the plot is the time constraint. The film really packs a lot into just over an hour, and does an admirable job of it, but it’s impossible not to notice that there is a definite strain to get everything in. When characters are appearing out of nowhere with little explanation, and major elements of the final act are only just being introduced at the same time that they become vitally important, it reeks of the writers having to cut things down to get the essentials in. In fact, if anything, the film has the feel of a good multipart episode from the Superman or Justice League DCAU series, only without the built in back-story coming from being part of an ongoing saga to lean on.

Speaking of the DC Animated Universe, the returning voice actors, especially in the case of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Clancy Brown as Luthor are real treat. For me, those two are the definitive non-comic incarnations of the characters. Luthor’s voice in particular really carries the arrogant superiority of the character; you can hear the smirk on his face. Even without seeing him, the voice tells you that the man is totally certain of himself, to the point where the mere suggestion that he hasn’t accounted for everything is laughable. The rest of the voice work is variable. Even then, it never drops to a level that jars you out of immersion.

Trust me, the stills don't look like it does in motion.

Other comparisons with the DCAU are unavoidable, and sadly less flattering. I found the character designs to seem a little off. Yes, the Superman/Batman comic line provided an aesthetic basis for the film, but still, the heavy detail; bright colours; and the minimal, but high contrast, shading really don’t fit in with the art direction of other elements of the film. Sometimes there is a real disconnect between the heroes and the backgrounds they’re on, and once you see it, it’s difficult to ignore. Moreover, this may be a minor gripe, but Superman’s design seems a little young. Whilst this fits some of the impetuousness he shows in the story, Superman and Batman are generally shown as looking roughly the same age, this is not the case here.

I would also like to add that these problems are not a product of this film choosing a different style to other DC animation, I loved The Batman’s style and that was a radical departure from both the DCAU and the ‘traditional’ Batman look. It’s the inconsistent aesthetic style and lack of cohesion that that brings that I find fault with.  A case in point is Power Girl; her look is different to anyone else’s with eyes and a facial shape that are much more heavily stylised. In all honesty, she immediately made me think of that freaky photoshopped girl from the Playstation adverts.

Pictured: Power Girl undermining my point by looking normal.

In spite of all this, the film doesn’t look bad overall, it’s just inconsistent. The animation has a few hiccups (watch any scenes of people walking down a hall toward the ‘camera’ then search ‘Weebl’s Stuff Scampi’) but beyond that it’s nothing worth losing sleep over. Moreover, despite my own issues with the design choices, the bright colours and minimal yet heavy stylised shading do make a change from the general grim n’ gritty colour palette that seemed to infiltrate design culture in the mid to late nineties and still has yet to be totally ousted. 

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a solid animated DC adventure. It is far from being great, but it doesn’t need to be. When it all boils down, it provides an hour-ish of superhero entertainment and that’s clearly what the aim was. It may feel rushed in places and the art direction may be a little wayward, but overall it never becomes a bad film. If you’re looking for something to spice up a boring Sunday afternoon, it’s definitely worth picking up.