JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: APOCALYPSE WAR (2020)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, psychological*

In practice, FINAL CRISIS merely proves the rule about mega-crossovers: with great numbers of powerhouses come diminishing returns. I'm not one of those fans who insists that the "story" is no good unless it's heavily plotted. By its nature, the mega-crossover has the structure of a vaudeville show, where each performer comes out and does his/her thing before being quickly followed by someone else.-- FINALLY, CRISIS.

The title is a misnomer in one sense: WAR is not a story solely about the subcategory of "weirdie Justice Leaguers" like 2017's JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. Several of the "JLD" members-- John Constantine, Zatanna, The Demon, and Swamp Thing-- have key roles in WAR's plot. But they're no more important than regular League characters like Superman and Batman, Teen Titans like Raven and the "Damian Wayne" version of Robin, and such Suicide Squad luminaries as Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang and King Shark. In other words, this is an "event" story like at least two of the comics-sources on which it's based, the aforementioned FINAL CRISIS and 2015's DARKSEID WAR. But because this WAR is a 90-minute DTV film, its "mega-crossover" has to have all of its "vaudeville performers" do their turns pretty rapidly.

The movie is also the sixteenth and last film to be issues under the umbrella of "DC Animated Movie Universe," which in the last few years has been superseded by the "Tomorrowverse" line. In this sense, it would be appropriate to use the term "dark," since WAR is the "twilight of the franchise." It's also appropriate in that the DTV's tone is far darker than any of its influences, for the story, unlike its comics-influences, is structured like a war movie. 

The main body of the film takes place after the Justice League has tried and failed to prevent an incursion by Apokolips-lord Darkseid. Both Cyborg and the (Barry Allen) Flash have disappeared and are thought dead, though they're later revealed to have been forced into ugly forms of servitude on Apokolips. Other heroes have been turned into slave-warriors, like Wonder Woman and Starfire. Superman has lost much of his power after Darkseid's tech-masters created a species of soldier with Kryptonian DNA, and Batman has been turned into one of Darkseid's coordinators, with Lex Luthor as his flunky. Zatanna, lover to John Constantine, has died and Constantine is thought to have fled the fight in cowardice (though this isn't the whole truth). And some problems simply continue from earlier continuity, as with the Teen Titan Raven, who constantly struggles not to release her demon-father Trigon from his prison inside her body.

All of this "disaster opera" (my term) sounds a lot like not only the standard tumults seen in comics crossovers but also like two or three of the DCAMU productions, such as the odious JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX. But happily, the two directors and two credited writers-- whose resumes all include an ample supply of both hits and misses-- rose to the occasion. The script for WAR allows for far more humanity and humor than I've ever seen in any other DCAMU effort. Possibly the tight run-time and the big cast worked to the writers' advantage, so that things like the romantic arc between Raven and Damian are kept short and to the point. That said, the script manages to work in one reference to an earlier DCAMU film, wherein brainwashed-Batman verbally castigates his son by talking about the events of BATMAN: BAD BLOOD. However, I should mention that many of the disasters on display here are somewhat mitigated by an ending which suggests that this "Disastrous Cosmos" may get a do-over. 

As for humor, I will mention only (1) a ring-match between combatants Lois Lane and Harley Quinn, and (2) a shouting match between Brit Constantine and Aussie Captain Boomerang that ends with them both using the "w word" for one another.

If I had to make a criticism, I could have done without Trigon, a boring villain, who naturally wins free and possesses one of the heroes. But even he has a pretty good fight with fellow mega-villain Darkseid. Some of the outstanding voice-acting include Matt Ryan as Constantine, Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane, and Hynden Walsh as Harley Quinn. I only wish the majority of the JUSTICE LEAGUE animated films had been half this good.