By Will Barber – Taylor

Bane: When we fought before, I broke the bat. Today I break the man.

Justice League: Doom finds Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg and Batman on their heels when a team of super villains discover and implement the Dark Knight’s “contingency plans” for stopping any rogue Justice League members.

Batman investigates a robbery at one of Metropolises banks. He and the other members of The Justice League soon discover that the Royal Flush Gang has been used by some unknown force to rob the bank. However, all is not what it seems.

The beginning of Justice League Doom is like any normal Justice League story, something happens and the League turns up to defeat the villain. However, this story is different, it feels darker than any other story than we have seen. The story slowly takes pace as we realise that Vandal Savage has a plan and needs the Justice League out of the way. The whole story leads to the darkest hour, in which Bruce Wayne is trapped within his own father’s coffin. The story has been leading to this point and the audience fear that this could really be the Justice League’s Doom. However, after Bruce breaks free, the audience’s hopes are raised again and soon we are zooming towards the final showdown between The Justice League and Vandal Savage’s Legion of Doom. The problem with this animated movie is the fact that too much time is spent with the defeating of the Justice League and the fight between the Legion of Doom and the JL. The ending seems a bit off a cop out and not really worthy of a story that started out so excellently. If the movie had been a few minutes longer and more thought had been given to the ending, this story could have been much better.

Kevin Conroy plays a brooding Batman excellently. Due to the fact that like with most Justice League stories and movies it is very much action based, the main scene that showcases Conroy’s excellent acting is the short scene in which an injured Batman returns to the Batcave to discover that Alfred will not let him continue to work until he has some rest. Conroy’s grudging remarks to Alfred about the fact he “has to work” are played brilliantly by Conroy in an almost childlike way. Batman may resemble a child in this scene but it is good comic relief for the rest of the movie. Though the scene is short it makes a nice impact on the viewer.

For some, Justice League: Doom may have too much action and not enough drama and plot. However, they are incorrect as the story demonstrates a lot of depth and great characterisation. Apart from the bad ending and the lack of time the movie is excellent and a must watch for all DC comics fans.

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