WEIRDO Reviews: Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
The beginning is the end is the beginning.
HOLY CRAP! After the umpteenth time watching this masterpiece of a film, I still find myself giddy with excitement. This has to be one of the 5 best DC movies ever released, if not one of the best animated comic book movies I have ever seen.
Welcome readers, and bask in the glory that is DC’s Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. This film serves as the culminated ending to the 15-movie long DC Animated Universe that we fans have been viewing for nearly 10 years now. I’m way too excited to waste any more time, so let’s just get right into it!
“Accept the things you cannot change, have the courage to change the things you can, and have the wisdom to know the difference…”
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War begins with a somber quote presenting us with humanity’s eternal struggle with morality, which is all the more prominent now a days with all the chaos erupting from immoral circumstances. Underworld vigilantes like Batman battle with themselves internally when it comes to having the life of an irredeemable criminal in his hands. Iconic god-like figures like Superman struggle with their own power, wondering what the right thing to do actually is? So many questions come into play when it comes to waging a war on evil that it’s hard to imagine what it would be like if we had superpowers of our own. Would we sit back and wait for things to get bad? Would we join in the chaos? Or would we take the fight to the source? These are the questions DC’s legendary team of heroes face in this 2020 doozy of a comic book property.
**SPOILERS (Although I’ll try to keep them to a minimum)**
After Darkseid nearly destroyed the Justice League before its formation and almost ruled Earth with an army of Cyborg Supermen, the Man of Steel is understandably worried about humanity’s safety and vies a plan to take the fight to Darkseid’s planet, Apokolips. With nearly every significant member in the Justice League’s roster present, you would think the plan would ultimately work soup-to-nuts. With everyone from the Flash to Lex Luthor chiming in about the million different ways the plan could go sideways, they evidently choose to go along with it in hopes of prevailing no matter what as a team.
Unfortunately, the tyrant was listening in the whole time via Cyborg’s internal Mother Box, and the plan was immediately botched. This entire intro alone is enough to hype up any comic book fan, what with seeing so many characters on screen bringing back Justice League Unlimited vibes and watching them ride into the most insane fight they’ve ever participated in.
I thoroughly enjoy seeing an impatient Superman as opposed to a diplomatic one. He is truly eager to put an end to Darkseid’s siege of the stars, as he is an “existential threat to the planet” after all the bullsh*t he’s done to earth and humanity. He and countless other JL members seem like they’ve had enough, and are determined to show Darkseid who’s boss. Unfortunately, that’s just not what happened.
Two years pass, and Earth seems noticeably bleak. The heroes that remain have significantly changed. A powerless Clark Kent ventures with an out-of-control Raven to seek out an alcoholic Constantine, who now spends his days drinking himself to oblivion with his demon pal Etrigan. When a fight breaks out at the pub between our heroes and a few Paradooms, John defends a weakened Superman and an uncontrollable Raven, to where they finally talk about the past post-victory. At this point, my curiosity was at its peak as I wanted to know so desperately what had happened that day on Apokolips.
Revealing that Raven’s mind is in constant flux due to Trigon’s continuous prattle for control, John calls both her and Supes “useless”, prompting Raven to call him a “coward”. HOLD THE PHONE. How could John, the most badass sorcerer in comics, be a coward when he’s been up against the most ruthless of ghouls and goblins? Well, in comes the flashback of all flashbacks.
Clark begins to explain. The heroes stood tall once they landed on Apokolips, ready to meet their end if necessary. Darkseid’s knowledge of their plans, however, all but ensured DC’s pantheon of icons getting torn apart and eaten alive by these half Doomsday, half Parademon behemoths. Watching the heroes I grew up with get obliterated the way they were gave me goosebumps.
The Big Three, however, were captured instead of killed since Darkseid had special plans for them. Batman became Darkseid’s loyal servant, while Superman’s chest was imbued with liquid kryptonite to ensure pain and suffering for the rest of his life. I’ll tell you what happened to Wonder Woman later — it’s bonkers.
Shortly after, we are presented with the moment John becomes a “coward” by teleporting away from the fight in fear of his own life. This epic failure of a moment is what drives him to agree to help Supes and Raven.
Before we are treated to an epic fight scene on Nanda Parbat, we are shown what a mind-molded, evil Batman would look like. He is cold and calculating when enacting Uxas’s plans. Although Batman is regularly as such, this new version of him has an edge we haven’t seen before; an edge that insinuates he would rather ruthlessly kill someone for their insolence than the normal kneecap-feeding he does to everyday thugs. This is a Batman akin to Rebirth’s The Batman Who Laughs, which is an EXTREMELY evil version of Batman, but more chaotic than the one we see in the movie.
When Raven teleports the gang to find Damian, we learn he doesn’t forgive Clark for his father turning into a puppet. Damian’s badassery is on full display in this scene, ready to take the Kryptonian’s life while concurrently agreeing to help the hopefuls in heroic fashion.
After Raven teleports herself and the team to the Resistance’s underground bunker, we are greeted to a cage match I never knew I wanted to see: Lois Lane vs. Harley Quinn. I love how the newly united heroes and villains slug it out in grudge matches to blow off some steam. Eventually, the Suicide Squad and co. reveal they are ready to storm Lex Luthor’s tower which serves as a beacon to Apokolips. While Lois explains the plan to the newly formed team in the bunker, all I could think was: YEAH, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! But in true JL fashion, nothing is impossible.
Against one of Darkseid’s 3 World Reapers on Earth is a beastly trio consisting of Shazam, Steel, and Superboy who start going blow for blow against the Paradooms. Batgirl, Batwoman, Batwing, and Black Orchid are simultaneously attacking the second Reaper, all capable of holding back the otherworldly monsters for awhile. Additionally, an epic cameo comes in the form of the Green’s protector himself, Swamp Thing, when John Constantine comes in clutch and decides to inspire his former teammate to fight against the Paradooms and protect his precious Green. Swamp Thing doesn’t disappoint and goes berserk using all the powers in his outrageous arsenal to vanquish his foes. EPIC!
While all this is going on, Harley and the gang enact their siege of Lex Tower, having a blast while they do it, taking down every hired gun they cross paths with. Sequentially, we see our heroes fall at the first and second Reapers in quite brutal ways, with a fan-favorite hero biting the dust as he shouts his signature cry, taking out as many creatures as he can. I didn’t know whether to remain hopeful, or embrace for a tragic ending to the saga.
Once Lois and company finally make it to the top of Lex Tower, they encounter Lex Luthor, who actually ends up helping the do-gooders. He then outfits everyone with Kryptonite-enhanced weaponry, and even lends Superman his classic mech suit. Seeing an amicable exchange between the two nemeses is akin to the Rebirth comics that find Clark and Lex playing nice more often than not. It makes you wonder what would happen if these two were actually friends?
Anyway, as Supes says his goodbyes to Lois and the two factions part ways, you can’t help but get emotionally hyped for the battle that is about to ensue for the third act. It’s absolutely B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
Enter: Apokolips. While Darkseid is on OA wreaking havoc and leaving lifeless bodies on the ground, John, Superman, Damian, Etrigan, and Raven’s ragtag ensemble make a play for Darkseid’s throne room only to be ambushed by cyborg versions of a few iconic fallen heroes, including Wonder Woman. During the battle, John pulls spell out of his ass as usual, rendering him capable of manipulating Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth to break her bond with Darkseid, prodding her to hold back the other cyborgs so the team can move forward. Watching just how brutal Diana is as a murdering half-robot was awesome, but it was nice to have the Amazonian back with the good guys. Meanwhile, an army of Paradooms heads Lex Tower’s way, to where Harley hypes her teammates up and says that today is the day they “earn their name.” Freakin’ Suicide Squad, always with the jokes even in the face of death.
On Apokolips, the team encounter the generator room they needed to reach, only to find a never-resting Flash endlessly running to power the generator that supports the molten planet. As Constantine uses a spell to ease Flash’s mind and put him to rest, John is able to view the effects of Barry’s first time traveling endeavor — Flashpoint. Ever since Barry went back in time to save his mother, the timeline became fractured and caused this New 52-esque alternate universe to form into this world we’ve grown attached to for almost a decade now. (You should already know this, but I apologize if you didn’t. Heh.) It’s nice to see Flashpoint being acknowledged as the conception behind this universe, because Flashpoint Paradox is easily one of the best storylines to ever grace the shelves.
Constantine uses technomagic to separate a mentally-bonded Cyborg from Apokolips’ Source Wall, only to then find Batman and Darkseid waiting behind them, ready to brawl. Darkseid trashes Supes’ mech suit, Batman beats the ever-living piss out of Damian, but subsequently throws a batarang into Darkseid’s eye. Again, HOLY CRAP!
Constantine’s last ditch effort for an assault against Darkseid involves capturing Trigon to become his host, though Trigon makes a power play for Superman’s body, transforming him into a Super-Devil, which is the most diabolical and badass version of Superman to ever exist. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed on-screen.
This is cut short, however, when a doomed Lois snaps Supes out of it, allowing him to regain his OG powers, unhesitatingly pummeling Darkseid in the process. This is the fight I’ve been waiting for the whole movie, and believe me, it did not disappoint.
Cyborg abruptly devises a plan to achieve victory, while Constantine conjures up a plan for that plan: release Trigon to fight Darkseid. Dude, WHAT?!
With Superman and Darkseid going at it, Trigon steps in to blast the New God, proclaiming to Superman to “get out of the way, unless you want to fight me for the right to destroy him.” OKAY TRIGON. This ended up being one of my favorite lines throughout the whole movie, as Superman pretty much flies away not wanting any smoke with the Devil himself. Cyborg conjures a boom tube for everyone to go back to earth, as he proudly says “suck it, bitches” in place of his signature “Booyah!” line before sending Apokolips, along with himself, Trigon, and Darkseid into a void of nothingness. Finally, they won…for the most part. (Keep in mind by this point my heart was racing so much from all the unbelievably remarkable action happening before me that I could’ve sworn I was seeing stars. Talk about heart palpitations.
In the final moments, all the surviving heroes gather around to bask in their glory. only to realize the damage was already done. Although Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were ready to begin rebuilding, John Constantine of all people knew that the only way to regain what they had lost would be to do the one thing Barry Allen promised never to do again: time travel. *face palm*
Barry reluctantly agrees, leaving everyone in awe. They knew it would be the last time any of them would see each other like this in this life. So, they all take their final gazes, peer at the sunrise, and watch the white light blanket the sky. As it approaches closer, the end also nears, and the movie fades to black, presumably restarting the entire DC Animated Universe as we know it, giving our heroes their inevitable conclusion.
WHEW! That was a lot, I know. At the time of writing this, I was debating on what to reveal and what to let you guys view for yourself, mainly because seeing your favorite characters on their last licks is something you need to experience on your own, especially with all the references and dope action that takes up the majority of the movie. You see, this film not only made me an even bigger DC fan, which seemed impossible, but it made me realize the potential of comic book films as a whole to really go balls-to-the-wall and churn out a successful product that is generally well-received by casual movie-goers and fans alike.
DC has knocked it out of the park with their animated movies, and this culmination of them all was the perfect ending to a vast world of possibilities. Everything that occurred in Justice League War has led up to this final clash between the all-powerful Darkseid and DC’s legendary team of superheroes. Honestly, I don’t think it could’ve ended any other way. Now, with the New 52 version of our favorite heroes over and done with, perhaps the road is paved for DC to begin their Rebirth Universe, complete with Watchmen crossovers and epic multiversal events. A guy can dream, right?
