Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Blu-ray Review

One word review: Awesome. For the long review, keep reading.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is the latest DVD/Blu-ray in the DC Universe animated line, and it is bar far the best they have put out yet (in my opinion, but I haven’t seen Wonder Woman yet). Before I get too deep in the review, let me give you some perspective. I was a very mild comic fan growing up, mainly just reading Wizard magazine and the occasional comic. I had graphic novels and read most of the classics, but was/am in no way a comic authority. Although I’ve always loved the art of Ed McGuinness, I never got around to reading Public Enemies.

That being said, I freaking loved this movie. Warner Bros. was kind enough to send me a copy of the movie on Blu-ray to review, so that’s what I’ll be talking about, but if you’re still into regular DVDs, everything but the HD and a couple extra Justice League episodes will be the same for you.

Most likely if you’re reading this blog, you are a fan of Kevin Conroy’s Batman voice work from the 90s, all the way up to the Arkham Asylum video game that was just released. I grew up loving the Batman and Superman animated series’, so the voice cast for Public Enemies is like icing on the cake. Tim Daly is back as Superman, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Clancy Brown is back as a very evil Lex Luthor.

The style of this movie is basically a perfect combination of the Bruce Timm style we’ve come to love over the years and the Ed McGuinness look from the comics. Basically, it’s like the 90s series on steroids. Since these movies are direct to home video, they’re rated PG-13, and contain a lot more action than what would be allowed on Saturday Morning television.

I won’t give away the whole story, but in a nutshell, Lex Luthor has become the President of the United States. The people love him, and he declares that if superheroes will not work for the government, they will risk being…well, public enemies.

When a giant Kryptonite meteor is discovered hurtling towards the Earth, Lex frames Superman for murder and tells the public that the incoming radiation is altering his behavior. He puts a bounty on Superman’s head to the tune of $1 Billion, and heroes and villains alike crawl out of the woodwork to try and claim their prize.

One of the big surprises for me was how much I liked Lex Luthor. He shares about as much screen time as the boys in red and black, and was almost as fun to watch. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Lex Luthor in Superman: Doomsday, and although I loved Clancy Brown’s version in the animated series, he never seemed like he had a chance to show his true evil. In Public Enemies, Lex Luthor is pure evil, all while maintaining his pristine public image as the President.

Luthor’s ego really gets a chance to shine in this story. He is bent on showing everyone that he does not need superheroes, and even wants to try and stop the meteor without the help of his scientists.

Luthor enlists the help of Captain Atom, Major Force, Black Lightning (voiced by LaVar Burton), Power Girl, and a few other characters I didn’t recognize, to keep the peace. There is also a great variety of villains that show down with the heroes, including Gorilla Grodd, Mongul, Solomon Grundy, and a lot more.

Even Captain Marvel shows up to join in the fun. Ultimately, despite it’s length (67 movies), Public Enemies feels a lot more like a theatrical feature than the previous DC U films. There is an awesome opening title sequence, a great buddy-movie quality to the Superman/Batman relationship, and some great action.

Now, what about the disc?

DC has settled into a nice template for their Blu-rays now, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s cool knowing that when you get one of these movies you’ll also get a few hours of bonus features and a handful of episodes from Justice League, Batman, or Superman.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies follows the same template, with featurettes on the comics, a cool “Dinner with DC and Kevin Conroy” feature, an extended preview of the next DC U film, four episodes from Justice League Unlimited, and two episodes from Justice League. Four of those episodes are exclusive to the Blu-ray version, just so you know.

There’s also a digital copy that you can put on your iPhone, iPod, or Game Gear (I wish). If you’re a fan of Superman and/or Batman, I highly recommend picking up either the DVD or Blu-ray.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies will be available on September 29th, but it is available for pre-order now.