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Sep 30, 2009 DC Universe By Nick Hyman

After the disappointing Green Lantern: First Flight, Warner Premiere needed a hit, and they have one in the brief but enjoyable Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. The direct-to-DVD feature (if you can call it a feature—its running time is 67 minutes) is based on the Superman/Batman line of comics from writer Jeph Loeb and concerns a universe where Lex Luthor is president and declares Superman and Batman enemies of the state. What makes this brief flick successful is the no-nonsense story that gives the more muscularly designed Superman and Batman an excuse to fight for their freedom against a slew of lesser known but geek-appreciated characters such as Silver Banshee, Gorilla Grodd, Solomon Grundy, Captain Atom, Hawkman, Captain Marvel and many, many more.

The rock ’em-sock ’em story comes with a quite a few extras, including a Dinner for Five-like roundtable with many of the folks responsible for creating the animated DC Universe, a documentary studying the relationship between the two heroes, four episodes of Justice League Unlimited, and two episodes of Superman: The Animated Series featuring guest appearances by Batman, selected by longtime DC animated maven Bruce Timm. While this movie is pretty cool, the more “adult” themes that these PG-13 movies are supposed to feature are practically nonexistent, and the animation could be greatly improved to make these more pulpy tales even more essential viewing.

(www.supermanbatmandvd.com)

Author rating: 6/10