There’s traditionally two views concerning the relationship between Batman and Superman – 1. The one from the cheesy Super Friends cartoon in which they are practically identical do-gooder crime fighters who high-five and play baseball together on weekends; and 2. The one from Frank Miller’s bleak masterwork, The Dark Knight Returns, in which the two represent two completely opposite ends of a spectrum and can be nothing but enemies with polar ideologies. What you get in the new straight-to-DVD and Blu-Ray animated release, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, is a very pleasing compromise between the two that features the duo on the run from the Lex Luthor-run government.
While praise should be given to reuniting Tim Daly (Superman), Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), who voiced their respective characters in the 1990’s and early 2000’s animated series, it’s the writing that is the biggest achievement. Batman and Superman share enough witty banter even with a few cheap shots at the other’s expense that makes it a real joy to watch. More than that, it makes it believable. They’re more like competing brothers than “super friends”. After all, they are very different people with very different backgrounds, but similarities exist – they both lost their parents and because of that, they feel an obligation to fight crime, even though they fight it in different way. The film doesn’t shy away from that. Instead, it celebrates it, giving equal room to both to do their own thing while, in the end, working together.
Amongst all that banter and crime fighting, there are a few references to outside story arcs that are sure to please the diehard comic book fan. Among them, references to Superman’s “death,” Luthor’s bid for the White House and even to obscure characters like Magpie, who was historically (DC continuity is pretty complicated) the first villain the two teamed up to fight waaaaaaay back in 1986. There is also a plethora of characters foreign to the casual fan like Power Girl, Major Force, Gorilla Grodd, etc. While this seems like a lot for Joe Bloe to take in, the dozens of obscure characters plucked out of the comics are all used so well in the confines of the plot that they don’t confuse or take away from the story being experienced by the casual viewer.
Another great feature of the movie is the special features in the 2-Disc Version, which includes an interesting psychological exploration of the two iconic characters, two episodes of the Superman animated series, trailers for other releases and a feature on the current Blackest Night comic book story arc which ought to be enough to convince anyone to take the plunge into the world of comics.
It should especially be noted that this film is based on the comic book of the same name written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Ed McGuinness, whose art is vividly recreated in the animation. Even more noteworthy is the faithfulness to that source material from Loeb’s story and dialogue to McGuinness’ blocky but detailed artwork. Such has been the strength of recent DC Films releases, especially Darwyne Cook’s Justice League: The New Frontier, and this makes upcoming releases something to actually look forward to.
Another piece of good news is that Marvel has taken on a similar approach in their films. I was one of the fortunate few who got the chance to see the preview for the forthcoming Planet Hulk feature at the San Diego Comic-Con a few months ago and it just may give Public Enemies a run for its money. As comic book culture becomes more and more mainstream, let’s hope films like these continue to spread the great stories produced from the medium to all those boring “normal” people – you know, the ones who read Twilight.
Tom Gavin
**** (4 stars)
10-23-2009
