“This
is a call-out to the shadow cabinets, petty dictators and all-around
tossers of the world. You're on notice. We're not bound by lines on a
map or political alliances or government bodies of any kind. We are
our own bosses, and we have a very simple job. There are the good
guys, namely us and the bad guys, namely anyone who treats anyone
else like trash to further their petty aims. We turn bad guys into
memories. So mind your manners, lads and lasses or we'll blow your
house down. We're the Elite. You asked for us, world. Now you got
us.” -Manchester Black, Superman
vs. the Elite
There is little doubt that for years
Marvel has dominated the feature film market for comic books, leaving
DC behind with box office disappointments like Superman Returns
and (the underrated) Green Lantern (The Dark Knight
being an exception). But DC has held dominance in both sales and
quality in the direct DVD animated market.
The latest entry in this series is
Superman vs. the Elite. This movie is passed on a single
22-page Action Comics #775 written by Joe Kelly and drawn by
Doug Mahnke.
This story came like a bolt out of the blue and
electrified the entire comic community. DC Animated was smart enough
to hire Kelly to write the screenplay fleshing out his original plot.
The movie, like the comic, centers
around a new group of heroes: the Elite. Led by telepath/telekinetic
Manchester Black, this cadre of rough and tumble characters decide to
enter the super hero game with a take-no-prisoners ultra violent
approach.
Superman at first befriends and mentors the group. But
while they want to fight the bad guys like him, they believe that the
Man of Steel cannot lead in the modern world. He fights the
never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way. The
Elite believe that it is never-ending because he will not take the
only permanent solution: killing. Superman tries vainly to use
reason and act as a model of behavior. But his influence loses sway
with the Elite and with the public, eventually coming to the point
where the Elite see him as an obstacle that must be eliminated.
The design of the film is a bit on the
exaggerated side, which I found a bit off-putting. When dealing our
bright and colorful Superman coming into contact with heroes for a
more cynical age, a more realistic style would have been preferred
But other than that, this is another
hit from DC animated. The questions raised are profound and not easy
to answer. If you had the power of Superman, what would you do? In
the world there is genocide, famine, and war. How would you solve
those problems? Surely imposing your will on an evil dictator
couldn't be bad if it saved lives. And what about killing? How many
people are dead now because Batman never killed the Joker? Remember
the first time in The Dark Knight when Batman saw the Joker at
the fundraising party? If Batman had simply taken a shotty to
Joker's face, lives would have been saved. And Superman has the
power to end the lives of all of the world's psychopaths. So why
doesn't he? Wouldn't you?
The movie acts as a mirror to our own
views of violence and power. One of the strengths of this movie is
that it allows you to see how Superman's ideals, while pure, cause
pain. People suffer because he lets evil men live. Because this is
a self-contained movie, not connected to any ongoing series, this
puts Superman body and soul in real danger. DC has already done
movies where the Last Son of Krypton is sacrificed in the end. So we
come into this movie not secure in Superman's future. When the
confrontation with the Elite begins, we really believe that Superman
could die. His last night with Lois in their apartment is quiet and
sad. He is a man alone, fighting for ideals that no one else seems
to believe in. And this fight might cost him his life. But worse
than that, as the choice to kill is laid before him more starkly than
ever before, he can lose his soul.
The action sequences are big and bold
and fun to watch. Animation is bound only by imagination and not a
special effects budget. The Elite are visually stunning, but it is
clear from the outset that they are not just edgy but bad. But one
of the smartest things Kelly did was he made Manchester Black
charming as heck.
Violent though he is, you can't help but enjoy
listening to him and thinking how cool he is. Also I'm convinced
that you take the most non-sensical slang and say it with a British
accent and it will sound awesome. I don't understand most of what he
said, but he sounded slick, like referring to costumed superheroes as the "thong and blanket types."
My favorite thing about this movie is
that it is essentially and explicitly about ethics. Is it ever okay
for a hero to kill? We could probably have a very vigorous online
debate here. This movie has the courage to place Superman in the
unpopular position. They place him against such horrible villains
and dictators that his ideals make him seem antiquated, belonging to
a more naïve day and age where fair play could be achieved. Can
Superman exist in such a cynical world?
What I love is that this movie is not
about telling the answer to that question, but showing it. The last
act sets aside all verbal arguments and the characters beliefs are
defined by their choices. And that is the best way understand. To
take a Christological analogy, Jesus gave us a lot of moral
teachings: love your neighbor, endure in hardship, trust in God,
return violence with forgiveness, etc. But these words are given
power by the witness of His action on the cross. At Calvary we don't
learn about his ethics, we experience them directly.
Superman can talk about his ideals, but
in the end he must show us why it isn't funny to believe in truth,
justice, and the American way.
4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars
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