Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 American direct-to-video adult animated science fantasy superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Home Video. It is the sequel to 2017's Justice League Dark (2017) and the fifteenth and final film in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) and the 38th film overall in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. It is directed by Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, written by Ernie Altbacker and Sotta and features an ensemble cast including Matt Ryan, Jerry O'Connell, Taissa Farmiga, Stuart Allan, Tony Todd, Jason O'Mara, Rosario Dawson, Shemar Moore, Christopher Gorham, Rebecca Romijn and Rainn Wilson. In the film, the Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad team up against Darkseid in one epic final battle to save Earth.
The film was announced in July 2019 at San Diego Comic Con and was released on digital platforms on May 5, 2020 and scheduled to be released on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively.
Plot:
(** FULL Spoilers **)
Following two failed attempts to destroy Earth,[a] Darkseid and his Furies have conquered countless worlds. At the Watchtower, the Justice League, joined by new members John Constantine and his lover Zatanna, plan a counter-attack to Darkseid's conquest but unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by Darkseid through Cyborg. The League travel to Apokolips while the Teen Titans remain on Earth as a "home-guard". Upon arrival, the League are attacked by "Paradooms"; genetic hybrids of Parademons and Doomsday. Several heroes are killed during the attack while Darkseid dismantles Cyborg and replaces his parts with Apokoliptian technology, depowers Superman by injecting liquid kryptonite into his body, enslaves Batman into his mind control with the Mobius Chair, imprisons Barry Allen to eternally run on a treadmill powering the planet, and turns the remaining heroes into cybernetic Furies. Elsewhere, Zatanna is killed by Paradooms as John hesitantly flees back to Earth.
Two years later, Darkseid has successfully taken over Earth with Lex Luthor being a New God representative, reporting to Batman on progress of the devices called "Reapers" being sent to mine Earth's core. The surviving heroes blame Clark Kent, Superman's human identity, for their failure. Clark manages to stop a depressed Raven from stabbing herself while in search for John for a locator spell to track Damian Wayne, so that they can use him to free Batman. After locating Damian, Raven teleports the group there which severely weakens her due to her father Trigon's attempts to escape Raven's magical borne prison.[b] After recruiting Damian, they then teleport to Metropolis where Lois Lane has recruited former members of the Suicide Squad, now led by Harley Quinn following Amanda Waller's death from cancer.[c] With the team gathered, Lois plans to use the Boom Tube gate from LexCorp to return to Apokolips to free Batman after Darkseid leaves to conquer the planet Oa. At the building, they are confronted by Lex who reveals he was just working undercover. Lex then teleports Clark's team to Apokolips, while Lois, Lex and the Suicide Squad stay behind to guard the portal.
Having discovered Lex's betrayal, Batman informs Darkseid who sends his Furies to Apokolips while Batman sends Paradooms to LexCorp. On Apokolips, Clark's team finds Barry and breaks him free from the treadmill. John also sees into Barry's mind and discovers he was the one who caused the Flashpoint,[d] leading into the present-day's events. They then discover Cyborg also under Darkseid's mind control but are confronted by the Furies. John frees Diana using her Lasso of Truth, and she stays behind to fend off the Furies. He then performs a technopathic spell on Cyborg to free him as well just as Batman and Darkseid return. Darkseid orders Batman to kill Damian, but he hesitates after remembering the night his parents were killed and frees himself from Darkseid's control. However, when Darkseid retaliates by attempting to execute Batman, Damian attempts to shield his father and is killed instead. This angers Raven, which releases Trigon with John offering himself as a host, but the demon possesses Clark instead and kills John.
Back at LexCorp, Lois' team become surrounded by Paradooms. Before blowing up the building and sacrificing herself, Lois transmits a goodbye message to Apokolips. This triggers Clark to break free of Trigon's control and regain his powers. Meanwhile, John is briefly taken to the afterlife where Zatanna reveals that Batman wanted John as a backup plan should the original assault fail, she therefore made him flee using her magic in the beginning. Now free of his guilt for running, John is revived by Zatanna as Raven also revives Damian. Raven and John give Trigon his physical body back to fight Darkseid as a distraction. Cyborg teleports the Paradooms back to Apokolips and the heroes to Earth before creating a black hole that drags Darkseid, Trigon, and Apokolips into oblivion, sacrificing himself.
Despite their victory, Batman reveals that 31% of the Earth's molten core has been lost, dooming the planet as the Earth's rotation will be affected. To prevent this, John convinces Barry to erase this timeline and create a second Flashpoint, despite Barry's promise to his wife Iris to not do it again. As he does so, the heroes watch their timeline being reset while Damian and Raven kiss.
Voice Cast:
In addition, Arthur Curry / Aquaman, J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter, Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, Mera, Katar Hol / Hawkman, Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Koriand'r / Starfire, Roy Harper / Speedy, Karen Beecher / Bumblebee, Garfield Logan / Beast Boy, Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle, Donna Troy / Wonder Girl, Conner Kent / Superboy, Bart Allen / Impulse, Black Orchid, Kate Kane / Batwoman, Luke Fox / Batwing, Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, John Henry Irons / Steel, Barbara Minerva / Cheetah, Doris Zeul/ Giganta, Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard, Toymaster, David Hyde / Black Manta, Bane, and Guy Gardner / Green Lantern all have non-speaking cameos.
The Verdict:
Just wow... I can't believe that this is "the end" or sorts after 15 films in this continuity.
For this film itself, it definitely lives up to it's dark namesake. There's a few articles floating around about plot holes with the narrative, but we can address that right off the bat.
- SWAMP THING'S DEEP SLUMBER
After getting Alec Holland ripped out of his body in Justice League Dark, I was under the impression that Swamp Thing didn't give a flying fuck about humanity anymore. He was content to allow Darkseid's forces slaughter humanity to extinction as long as it meant that the green would be left to repair the planet whatever damage done to the planet without obstructions.
I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got from the writing here. Swamp Thing had to be coerced by Constantine's spell(s) to take action in defense of the Green.
I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got from the writing here. Swamp Thing had to be coerced by Constantine's spell(s) to take action in defense of the Green.
- CONSTANTINE'S SELECTIVE PORTALS
Constantine mentions early into the film that he doesn't have a wealth of magical artifacts to help him conjure up magical spells at his disposal anymore following the defeat of the Justice League to Darkseid's forces while he has been on the run during the two years that following. It was quick throwaway line in the middle of all of his wisecracking banter and sarcasm, so I can see why people missed that explanation. I was under the impression that magic takes a toll on him, much like it does for Raven, in the absence of mystical artifacts.
- VIC'S CONVENIENT TELEPORTATION
Now that one I thought was pretty stupid. Between Batman and Vic (Cyborg), they were still both wired into Darkseid's mainframe and security systems, so they could have been able to get Lois and the Suicide Squad out of there before they met their untimely demises. During that entire scene, I was asking myself, "Vic's got time to put this phone call up on all of the monitors in Darkseid's crib, but not enough time to boomtube them out of there?" It was a lackluster ploy to give Superman the nudge he needed to break free from Trigon's control while simultaneously giving Superman another painful loss if he didn't have enough failures in this film.
- BATMAN'S DROPPED CONNECTION
Now this I saw as Darkseid's connection/mind control wasn't as good as what he thought. Darkseid even mentions at one point that he even doubts how successful the process was. Damien even states that if anyone could break though Darkseid's control, it would be his father, especially after he was able to break Talia's own back in Batman: Bad Blood. Batman didn't have Brother Eye levels of control over the cyborg Furies and Cyborg like in Future's End, so I gave the writing a bit of a pass there in that regard. Plus, Batman was preoccupied with retrieving Darkseid from Oa.
A better question would be how in the world did Darkseid get possession of Metron's Mobius Chair anyway?
A better question would be how in the world did Darkseid get possession of Metron's Mobius Chair anyway?
That was a tough moment too and this film doesn't hold back with the punches to the gut in the least. Those emotional blows come in relentlessly in this film, much like Darkseid's evisceration of the Justice League. I'm going to share a few more below.
The last stand of the Teen Titans made me go, "Oh shit..." watching it because the first thing you notice is Starfire ripped in half with her intestines littered across the ground. She obviously didn't stand a chance against the Paradooms. The rest of the Justice League didn't fare any better either.
John Stewart's death was next level fucked up though. I thought the Green Lantern Corps were going to rally together around him for one last stand, despite the fallen bodies of the Guardians laid across the battlefield.
At first, I was questioning the decision to make John Constantine the protagonist of this narrative, but by the time the story came to a close, he was the right man for the job. John Constantine, much like almost every TV show and animated feature film that he has been a part of, is a star in almost every scene he's in. Even after his show got cancelled, Matt Ryan continues to shine in that role of the character.
His journey in this narrative is a little odd at first until the reveal that his girlfriend, Zatanna, cast a spell upon him at the start of the film to act as a fail safe option (as per Batman's orders) if the attack on Darkseid went horribly wrong. I have seen people moan and complain that this was another example of comics "fridging" females to motivate male protagonists. It's a redundant trope, yes, but I was fine with it, especially given the fact that the death toll in this film is so high already. It wasn't like in Avengers: Endgame where Black Widow was the only one - outside of Tony Stark - who lost their lives in that film without any means to bring her back like everyone else who was lost during Infinity War. So many lives were lost in that film, not just females - but both genders - as a noble sacrifice in the HOPE that the remaining heroes could make a better future. As a result of Zatanna's spell, John Constantine made for the perfect trump card of sorts to turn this war around. It even became a joke by the end of the film where everyone was looking to him for all of the answers.
If I had any issue with John Constantine's role, it was the fact that Batman was the one who orchestrated this fail safe option, but he never mentioned it to Darkseid or planned accordingly as part of his regime. If that's not a glaring plot hole, I don't know what is in that case.
From start to finish, this story is structured to be Superman's greatest failure - moreso than Death of Superman and Rise of the Supermen. Superman loses literally everything - his teammates, his powers, thanks to that kryptonite injection from Darkseid, the planet that he's called home - Earth - after being overrun by Paradooms, and even loses the love of his life - Lois Lane - by the time it's all said and done. Even though Darkseid is defeated, there's nothing he can do to save Earth from utter destruction from the damage this war has wrought onto their reality. Darkseid took everything from him, despite regaining his powers in the film's last act.
The emotional dam came crumbling down and with it, Superman was unbound and unleashed in a sense against Darkseid. This fight took me back to the finale of Superman: The Animated Series, where Superman came to confront Darkseid on Apokalips after being manipulated as his brainwashed pawn against the people of Earth.
In the end, it wasn't enough to save the day. Only a fraction of the League is left - with very few without scars or horribly disfigured as cyborgs or monsters from their enslavement to Darkseid or from the horrifying battles themselves. Others are permanently dead and buried - never to walk this life ever again. It's a terrifying ending for this universe/continuity, especially with the real life pandemic going on. There's one sliver of hope though and it serves as the ultimate callback to the story, Flashpoint Paradox, that set this entire continuity into motion. Constantine urges The Flash to create another Flashpoint. He complies with this request, despite promising to Iris West to never do it again after the initial Flashpoint.
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| Every film in the DCAMU continuity in chronological order. |
Off-topic: I had NO idea there was an one-off John Constantine film set in this continuity. I thought Justice League Dark was his first and only canonical appearance in this continuity to date, but oh well, that's something to check out.
In that moment, that's where this continuity ends for the 15 films that led up to this conclusion of this DC Animated Movie Universe with a blinding flash. It was poetic justice that this journey began and ended with The Flash. I'm sad to see this continuity end though as I thought there were some more stories that I would have liked to see this version of the Justice League tackle before closing the book. Even interviews with the minds behind this film said that they would have liked to do a few more stories in this continuity, but it was out of their hands at this point. At the same time, they said this doesn't mean that they couldn't revisit this continuity down the road. The current plans for DC animation in the future are a reboot of sorts, starting with Superman: Man of Tomorrow. That film will be based on the graphic novel of the same name, sporting a new art style to boot.
Is this better than Avengers: Endgame?
There's a lot of talk online after this film's release that it was the equivalent of Marvel Studios' live action blockbuster from last year and I'm heavily inclined to agree. Let's be honest here though. When it comes to live-action films, DC cannot hold a candle to Marvel in that regard, but when it comes to animation, DC beats them at almost any and all opportunities. There's been VERY few rare exceptions, such as X-Men: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and The Spectacular Spider-Man, but for the most part, Marvel's animated endeavors are rarely looked back as fondly as those from DC. In regard to this film though, they've definitely knocked it out of the park with a home run.
DC got away scotch free with their use of the time travel paradox to "undo" everything as a soft reset button as viewers weren't left to see what were the repercussions of that final act. Instead, all of these deaths felt permanent and real. There weren't any Infinity Stones to undo everything at the snap of one's fingers and magically bring all of those lives back to life. Viewers were left with the shocking reality that these heroes were forever gone and scarred beyond repair. Well... That feeling was there until the revelation that The Flash was still alive and there wasn't an instant that I didn't doubt that they were going to send him back into the past to undo everything.
Hell, this was the closest to an Earth-2 Justice League (New 52) and Future's End animated adaptation that I could have asked for. Even looking back at the events of this film, I'm still stunned at how the writers showed no remorse in terms of how vicious and downright gruesome these deaths were. Surviving those horrors in this film wasn't a badge of honor it was just a stroke of luck as death was always around the corner in one way or another. Lady Shiva got killed by a stray bullet in the middle of the battlefield. Damien Wayne and the rest of his team didn't even have time to mourn her death before moving on to the next battle right around the corner. That just echoes the gravity of the situation that the Justice League (or what remained of it) was dealing with in volumes. While I enjoyed Avengers: Endgame for the most part more than most people, I can agree with the fact that the lives that were gone as a result of Thanos' snap NEVER felt like it was going to be permanent. We didn't see these characters get flat slaughtered and ripped apart like we saw here. It didn't feel real as hard as that to convey into words when none of these stuff is actually genuine, but real in the sense of compassion and personal attachments to these characters. The feeling sank in that these characters - at least these iterations of them - weren't EVER coming back in any capacity.
In that regard, that's what makes this a better "finale" of sorts in terms of an apocalyptic narrative when compared to Avengers: Endgame. DC did a masterful job of hammering home the finality of this narrative.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
While this might be a bit heavy for the faint of heart, I highly recommend this to those who have followed all fifteen films in this DC Animated Movie Universe continuity. This is the final chapter in that story (for now it seems anyway...) and quite the bombshell to end on. For everyone else though? I suggest you check out the other fifteen films in this continuity and deem for yourselves whether or not that this is something that you want to check out as it's definitely not for kids.
