Justice Society: World War II

• Directed by Jeff Wamester
• April 27, 2021

Voice Cast

• Wonder Woman-Stana Katic
• Barry Allen / The Flash-Matt Bomer
• Hawkman-Omid Abtahi
• Superman / “Shakespeare”/Clark Kent/Superman (Earth-2)-Darren Criss
• Steve Trevor-Chris Diamantopoulos
• Hourman-Matthew Mercer
• Black Canary-Elysia Rotaru
• Jay Garrick / Flash-Armen Taylor
• Aquaman-Liam McIntyre
• Doctor Fate-Keith Ferguson
• Advisor/Charles Halstead-Geoffrey Arend
• Brainiac, Franklin D. Roosevelt-Darin De Paul
• Iris West-Ashleigh LaThrop

The Flash helps the Justice Society fight Nazis during World War II.

DC has some of the best animated films out there. This is no different. Justice Society: World War II is just an amazing story. This is a mature animated feature where the characters are put through the ringer. You actually feel for what happens to them. Perhaps it is because they ARE characters and not just elements put in for fan service.

No character gets wasted here. They are all important to the story and they are all developed enough that what happens to them or what they do gets a reaction out of you. Heck, even the Flash whose purpose is more or less to give them an excuse to use an alternate reality story is not wasted.

We have Wonder Woman in a tragic romance with Steve Trevor. Barry Allen must learn to live in the moment with Iris. Hawkman and Black Canary get a bit of a relationship that actually matters to the story. The Jay Garrick Flash and Hourman friendship is great and well done. We even get to see a version of Superman with a different spin on the character who grows as an individual.

The weakest character is the Advisor and he is the main villain. He is the least developed. I am sure fans that are better versed in DC lore than I will pick up on who he is but those of us who are not may think he is a creation just for the film. I know I just spoke against fan service but part of any superhero presentation is knowing who the characters are because usually it helps. Writers often whether they realize it or not default at times with the audiences familiarity with the characters. However you don’t necessarily need to know who he was inspired by to enjoy the movie. The weakness of one is covered by the strength of the others.

The pace of the story is steady and it builds to a climax that feels absolutely epic. Events are forcing everything or leading to a conclusion. It doesn’t stumble or meander to it. For 84 minutes there’s a lot packed in here.

While some are better than others, the DC animated features know how to get a lot out of the characters they use. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: why are these people not in charge of the DC live action films? The creativity and the characterization and just the stories are fantastic. And they know how to create a connected universe with great stories and isn’t that what everybody wants these days?

Justice Society: World War II is a great film with great characters and a great story and a heartfelt, emotional ending. This is a must see!

DC Showcase: Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!

• Directed by Matt Peters

Voice Cast

• Kamandi-Cameron Monaghan
• Golgan, Tuftan-Steve Blum
• Zuma-Adam Gifford
• Ben Boxer-Armen Taylor

A young man living in a strange and savage devastated Earth is captured by sentient apes seeking their savior known as The Mighty One.

Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! reminds me a lot of the execution of the old Planet of the Apes animated series. It just looks so much like that and I pretty much enjoyed that series. There is a retro look to this short in line with that as well as the look of the art of the legendary Jack “The King” Kirby who created this character during his time at DC. I am glad they did not try to do their own thing but rather emulated the style of Kamandi’s rather legendary creator.

It’s a simple story about a test that has to be completed and the finale alludes to more coming but what exactly that more is remains to be seen or if it will be coming at all. They dig into the characters mythology and that bit at the end makes me want a DC animated feature.

I went into Kamandi with a relatively blank slate. I knew the name but I knew almost nothing about the character yet by the time the short was done I had a good idea of the important points at least of the character-at least the version that was presented here.

Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! is a great bit of retro comic book science fiction fun. When you watch the main feature don’t forget to take this in as well. You will not be disappointed!