Hello, my friends. While we’re all going through our own unique struggles upon our familiar reality, DC’s notable trinity has gone through numerous perils upon various realms. This particular adventure will see them embarking on the most unlikely of journeys before discovering the purpose behind these pitfalls. As such, I welcome you to another entry of my signature review series called…
As we once again return to the TomorrowVerse, we recall a particular moment from last time where the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight had their Metropolis-based investigation interrupted by a familiar beam of light that made them seemingly disappear. As to what happened to them as a result, that’s what we’re here to learn within a tale known as…
After making its debut on July 21, 2023, at the San Diego Comic-Con, it would eventually get released for Blu-Ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray and Digital Download four days later. Jeff Wamster returns as director, while Jeremy Adams, Ernie Altbacker and Josie Campbell handled the screenplay. So, what kind of twists and turns will our featured heroes confront? Let us embark on this adventure and find out.
Following the title card, we open upon an Old West setting where our familiar heroine named Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman (voiced by Stana Katic) is riding into town while getting seen by several men. After letting her horse get some water to drink, she dismounts her steed before noticing a rundown building in the distance with several people holding up within its premises as one guy even tries to shoot at said folks. From there, Diana makes her way into the saloon and asks for some whiskey.
Just then, a drifter named Tom (voiced by Trevor Devall) approaches her and says that they don’t get too many people passing through here, especially anyone as “pretty” as her. Upon hearing a somewhat sleazy tone with his delivery, she simply refuses to respond. However, this agitates him before she calmly tells him to go away. Unfortunately for him, he decides to grab her shoulder as she responds by slamming his face onto the counter and tossing him away. The bloodied drifter then tells her that she’s just made a huge mistake before she readies her familiar lasso for the oncoming conflict.
From there, a brief fight breaks out as she simply smacks him away before using her Lasso of Truth to easily deal with his pair of cronies.
However, Tom managed to recover and aim his gun at her back. Suddenly, his weapon gets shot out of his hand by his boss who turns out to be Jonah Hex (voiced by Troy Baker) before he gets ordered to head outside. He then apologizes for his men being rough on her before inviting her upstairs for a drink.
She decides to take him up on his offer as they have some whiskey while he shares his admiration for her skillful moves against his goons, even calling her a “wonder”. As they head onto the balcony, she asks him how he got his familiar facial scar as he simply says that he trusted “the wrong people”. From there, he begins to explain the situation that’s going on within the town. Specifically, a group of “so-called honest townsfolk” took control of the local bank due to it repossessing their land over “delinquent interest charges”. Despite Jonah saying that every town judge told him that his side was “in the right”, the rogue townsfolk stole back the gold that they originally used to pay off their stakes. Because he sees this action as unlawful towards the town, Hex presents Diana with an “opportunity” to help him “fight for law and order”. Suddenly, a wagon containing a small family emerges from the confiscated bank and attempts to ride out of town. However, they get blocked by Tom and his men. Despite the man telling them that they’re only heading towards the depot in order to get a fresh start, the drifter responds by pulling him from his wagon before he and his men proceed to rough him up. The wife then intervenes and tries to protect her husband, but Tom spots the guy attempting to grab his revolver as he proceeds to execute both of them.
With their young girl stunned by this turn of events, the drifter then orders his men to get her. Just then, Diana whistles for her horse as she hops down onto it. With the young girl attempting to flee back to the fortified bank, Tom orders one of his men to shoot her. Suddenly, the goon gets shot by Wonder Woman before knocking the drifter and one of his men over while passing by. Tom then orders the guy to shoot her, but Diana is able to execute him with a headshot before picking up the young girl.
The drifter and his men then proceed to open fire on them, yet a certain man within the fortified area is able to pick off a few of those goons while his comrades are able to help Wonder Woman and the young girl get inside their compound. Afterwards, the kid weeps over the loss of her parents before Diana tells her to be brave despite her circumstance.
From there, she’s met upon by Bartholomew Aloysius Lash a.k.a. Bat-Lash (voiced by Brett Dalton) and mentions that he previously told the girl’s parents to wait until dark before making their escape attempt, yet they didn’t take heed of his warning due to not wanting to leave behind the few belongings they had. Just then, the Sheriff (voiced by David Lodge) comes in and chastises Bart for “making trouble with Hex’s men”. He then asks Diana why she’s “mixing in” their conflict, yet she says that she’s just passing through as she attempts to mount up and head out. Bat-Lash then asks her for her name, yet she surprisingly can’t remember it.
Just then, Bart & his comrades are approached by Jonah and his men as they have a deadly tactic in mind for them. In particular, Hex has loaded a wagon with some dynamite as he lights one of the sticks and sends a strapped horse right towards the building. Wonder Woman tells Bat-Lash and company to aim for the wheels, but they’re unable to hit their mark as the horse frees itself from the wagon while it continues to head right towards them. While his comrades manage to dive out of the way, Diana grabs Bart and tosses him aside just before the wagon arrives as its on-board dynamite explodes with her caught in the blast.
To the surprise of not only Lash but his allies as well, she was able to survive without suffering any noticeable damage. The young girl then calls her an angel and says that she’s here to save their whole group, while Bat-Lash and the Sheriff are stunned to see her not looking any worse-for-wear.
Just then, they hear some gunfire from Jonah’s approaching men as she easily subdues every last one of them. Just then, Hex proceeds to operate a massive Gatling gun. Fortunately, she’s able to deflect his shots with her bracelets before he runs out of bullets.
While he attempts to reload, she spots a wheel from the damaged wagon as she throws it at him. Jonah manages to dive out of the way while the wheel obliterates the Gatling gun before its continued momentum sees it smash through the sheriff’s building and ultimately land several feet outside of town.
As Diana returns to the fortified bank, the Sheriff tells her that Hex will be looking to rub the whole group out as a result of her actions. Bat-Lash then says that Jonah was going to do so regardless of what they did and that she’s saved them. However, the Sheriff says that they don’t have any food or water. Diana manages to inform them of a storehouse that she passed by on her way into town, which contains loads of supplies for them to stock up on. The Sheriff says that Jonah won’t let them reach it after what’s just transpired, yet Bart likes her idea and says that they’ll need a distraction in order for them to obtain said supplies. As such, she offers to serve as their distraction.
Meanwhile, Hex enters the saloon and smashes a chair in anger due to him “showing mercy” before ordering a drink from the bar. Just then, he’s approached by Tom and two other goons as they chastise him for their situation devolving into a “goat rope”. With his men looking to usurp him for control over the whole operation, Jonah then proceeds to take out a pocket watch as he explains that it’s been in his family for a long time. Not only that, but its previous owners (his great grandfather, his grandfather and his dad) have each carried it through some notable wars (the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War). He carried it with him during the Civil War and after all of these years, it’s still able to keep time. He then says that his family has used the pocket watch to settle disputes as he tells them to make their move once its chimes stop. With a showdown brewing, several patrons either flee the saloon or hide out of the way. Once the watch proceeds to chime, Hex is able to swiftly shoot Tom and his pair of goons before it’s revealed that it wasn’t able to stop chiming by itself.
Later, night has fallen as Wonder Woman takes out a few henchmen before Bat-Lash tells her that he’ll need five minutes in order to acquire the necessary supplies. As such, Diana leaps onto the saloon’s balcony as she sneaks her way into Jonah’s room. However, he was actually waiting for her as he says that this entire situation of siding with some “thieves” doesn’t really match up with her code. As such, he’s willing to make a deal, yet he says that he’ll need to be convinced, especially on a “physical” level. Wonder Woman manages to punch him for his sexist comment before she’s forced to take cover once he acquires his shotgun. Fortunately, she manages to subdue him with her Lasso of Truth and is able to learn about a devious scheme that he and his cohorts are planning.
It turns out that his men have hijacked a train over in the distant town of Sweetwater before loading it up with some nitro. Once it reaches the barricade, then they’ll detonate it in order to eradicate the resisting townsfolk within the confiscated bank. With no time to waste, Diana takes her leave.
Shortly afterwards, Bart retreats with some supplies as a small group of goons chase after him. She ultimately manages to take those henchmen out before hopping onto one of their horses and catches up to Bat-Lash in order to tell him to get his people out of the barricade since she’s going to finally put a permanent end to this whole situation.
Later, she reaches the oncoming train as she hops on before forcing its two onboard goons off while sending its engineer into a lake. Shortly after she takes over the train, Bat-Lash and company are nearly ready to evacuate. The Sheriff then tells the young girl that she’s risking the lives of their present kids by heading out, to which she says that they have to leave since their “angel” is returning with some furious anger.
Back on the train, Wonder Woman sets its controls to full speed before she spots the approaching barricade. Shortly after she jumps towards a reasonable distance, she proceeds to rip the tracks up and tilt it onto an angle. As a result, the train ends up on its side before it slides towards the building and smashes its way inside. From there, its onboard nitro reacts and causes the barricade to explode.
Thankfully, Bart and company were able to escape in time as the young girl soon spots Diana emerging from the smoke alongside a horse. Bat-Lash then offers her a chance to stay with him and the group, but he suddenly finds himself shot as he collapses and dies.
Just then, his murderer emerges as Jonah aims his gun at Wonder Woman. Thankfully, she’s able to deflect all of his shots with her bracelet before she disarms and trips him. She then proceeds to repeatedly punch the left side of his face while letting her anger build up, yet she manages to stop herself from committing the fatal strike as she heads back to her horse. When the young girl asks her if she would’ve stayed, she doesn’t give an answer as she simply rides off into the billowing smoke.
We then transition to a bloodied battleground with various corpses scattered all over the realm of Shamballah. From there, the clanging of swords brings us to a familiar man in a bat-shaped helmet slaying various foes. This turns out to be Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (voiced by Jensen Ackles) who’s suddenly approached by a noble band of warriors led by a man known as Warlord (voiced by Teddy Sears). The two figures then engage each other in a duel before Warlord defeats his enemy by striking his sword upon Bruce’s helmet with enough force to shatter it in two as he falls over in defeat.
Later, Warlord tells his closest allies that their captured prisoners will be put to work within the mines, while one of his comrades named Machiste (voiced by Roger Cross) tells him that they should’ve smited their biggest foe named Deimos when they were initially able to. While Warlord says that he regrets missing out on that initial opportunity, they’ll gather their forces in order to finally slay their foe for good. Just as Batman is being brought to them, he was able to overhear their conversation and mildly laugh before they demand to know what their captured “mercenary” is chuckling about. He tells them that they wouldn’t remotely survive long enough to confront the devious wizard, even with a gathered army. Warlord then assumes that he’ll tell them how they can safely reach Deimos’ throne room in exchange for his freedom, but Bruce says that he’ll give them a map to their destination before he’s both set free and given “a pile of gold”. Machiste then asks his king how they could possibly trust their captured mercenary, to which Warlord says that they can’t and that they’ll be taking him with them. Batman initially refuses, but Warlord says that he’ll earn his reward unless he wants to work in the mines as a slave.
Later, the whole team has mounted their steeds while Warlord has placed an imprisoning collar around Bruce’s neck. From there, they ride off in order to free the land of Skartaris from Deimos’ reign. After a lengthy journey through various cliffs and deserts, Warlord tells Mariah Romanova (voiced by Rachel Kimsey) to scout ahead in order for them to set up camp.
While they wait, Batman says that they should hold up until nighttime in order to use the darkness to their advantage. However, Warlord says that the sun never stops shining on Skartaris before asking him where he comes from. However, Bruce is surprisingly unable to remember. Machiste then tells him that he initially brought a horde of mercenaries to try and slay his king yet finds it strange that he can’t recall where he came from. Just then, Mariah returns and says that she’s found a glade within a nearby forest for them to hide in before they make their way over there.
Later, the group has set up camp before Warlord asks his captured mercenary how long they have to travel before they reach their destination. Batman tells him that they only have to head through the Desert of Dreams before eventually sailing over the Dragon Sea. Machiste then asks him for some useful information about Deimos and his fortress, to which Bruce says that he doesn’t have much to inform them with. Mariah then wonders why he’s even accompanying them, to which Batman says that he only intends to help them reach Deimos’ castle. Warlord then assumes that he’s afraid of magic, yet Batman mentions that he doesn’t believe in it and only firmly believes in three things: steel, gold and “the evil in the hearts of all men”. Machiste then criticizes his choices since he believes in his king, yet Bruce says that all men are inherently evil due to their own inner darkness. Warlord then says that it’s up to them to face this personal darkness before Batman gets a frighteningly familiar sense accompanied with a certain laugh as he then brings up certain oddly looking figures that he’s come across who’ve displayed various acts of criminal behavior. Warlord tells Bruce that they still have to fight the good fight against the ever-present darkness before asking him how Deimos hired him for his mercenary services. Batman says that the evil wizard found him and promised him some plentiful wealth in exchange for Warlord’s head.
Suddenly, they hear a rumbling growl before they’re met upon by a stampeding pack of rhinoceros-looking creatures. Most of the group is able to retreat into the trees as Bruce pulls Warlord up by his chain to safety. Once the pack has passed, the group jumps down before Warlord notices that Batman is still up in the trees and thinks that he’s trying to escape. Bruce tells him that he’s not trying to flee and is instead looking to discover what the rampaging creatures were running from.
Soon enough, a massive Tyrannosaurus-esque being emerges from the fog as Warlord unsheathes his sword and confronts the being. With Batman being forced to follow behind him, Warlord is able to slice the creature’s underside and spill its guts out.
Later, the group reaches another forest as they chop down some trees in order to create a boat. After dragging their sea craft across the Desert of Dreams, they ultimately discover Deimos’ castle standing at the top of Baroth Mountain. They proceed to set sail on the Dragon Sea before Machiste has them stop due to him spotting something within the water. Suddenly, the boat gets forcibly capsized by a massive sea serpent as the whole group tries to swim towards the island.
After eating an unfortunate soldier, it then spots Bruce as he thankfully gets dragged onto shore thanks to his chain connecting him to Warlord. Shortly after the sea serpent heads out, Batman and Warlord are suddenly met upon by a bright flash as an Old Man (voiced by Matt Bomer) emerges and says, “It’s you, isn’t it?” before he vanishes, to which Bruce recalls his description of the Desert of Dreams instilling visions that aren’t necessarily visions.
Despite this odd moment, they proceed to head out as the remaining group begins to climb their way up the side of Baroth Mountain. Just then, a winged creature flies in to give them even more grief as it picks up a female comrade and drops her to her doom. As the being circles back for another attack, Warlord and Batman manage to hide in a crevasse as they successfully evade it. It then attempts to go after Machiste who thankfully manages to leap into the crevasse, but a piece of the cliff that he was hanging onto ultimately gives way. Fortunately, Bruce is able to save him before all three men find themselves under attack by the winged being as it attempts to drag them from their hiding spot.
Mariah then helps them out by diving onto the creature and repeatedly stabs it with her knife as it proceeds to fly off for a bit before crash-landing into the nearby forest.
Eventually, our three remaining men have reached the entryway into the fortress. However, Batman gets a strange feeling that something is off, yet Machiste says that they’re wasting time as he proceeds to head in. Just as Warlord spots an ominous energy surge, he tries to warn his comrade but is too late as Machiste gets vaporized down to the bone. Warlord is then brought to his knees as he feels that they’re unable to stand against such powerful magic, to which Bruce reminds him of his earlier conversation about how good men should still stand up to evil despite their odds.
From there, he investigates the entryway before spotting a cord somewhat buried within the moss as he follows it towards a hidden panel. Shortly after opening it up, he rips out the wires and heads to the spot where Machiste was killed. Thankfully, the machinery was powered down as it allows him and Warlord to properly enter the fortress.
They ultimately make their way into a dark hallway before Bruce notices a false panel on the floor as they manage to avoid a death trap. Once they get inside this labyrinth, they’re suddenly approached by a minotaur as a chase ensues.
They’re able to avoid its charge as well as its vicious axe before running past another death trap.
Just as they reach the end of the labyrinth, Batman manages to exit it first before a massive door comes down. Due to the chain getting pinned underneath it, Bruce is unable to reach a lever that would’ve opened the door. As such, he manages to have Warlord give him the key to his collar through the bars. After freeing himself however, Batman leaves Warlord to fend for his own life against the approaching minotaur.
From there, Bruce reaches the treasure-filled throne room where Mariah is not only alive but being held captive alongside a Slave Woman. Mariah then demands to know what happened to Warlord, to which Batman tells her that he’s dead. He then asks the other captured woman who she is, yet she’s not able to remember as she only recalls a wreck before being captured by Deimos, thus revealing that she’s actually Diana. Mariah then demands for them to be set free since they can still save Skartaris by smiting the villainous wizard, yet Bruce is only interested in saving himself.
Suddenly, he’s stopped by a single gunshot that came from a revolver-wielding Deimos (voiced by Damian O’Hare) as he actually refers to his weapon as his “magic wand”. Mariah then learns that a devious plan was in place for Batman to initially try and attack Warlord yet purposefully lose, only to convince him to reach Deimos’ fortress and get killed there instead. Bruce then demands for his payment, yet Deimos tells him that he has to slaughter both Mariah & Diana with a sword before doing so. Even though Mariah angrily demands for him to carry this task out, Batman thankfully develops a conscious and refuses to carry out his devious request.
Deimos then proceeds to fire a bullet at his former mercenary, yet Bruce gets saved thanks to getting hit by the minotaur’s decapitated head as Warlord emerges while carrying the former creature’s massive axe. From there, Deimos begins to fire his gun as our heroes are forced to hide behind the massive piles of gold coins.
Shortly after Batman manages to grab a sword, Deimos runs out of bullets before Bruce disarms the fiend and throws him down towards the throne.
With Diana standing over the revolver and Bruce holding him up at blade point, Warlord comes in to properly execute his foe. However, Deimos fends them off with his dark magic before he transforms into a giant cobra.
Batman tries to strike him with his sword, but the blade ends up shattering to no avail. From there, Warlord tries to free Diana in order for her to help out. Although Deimos smashes into the throne and she gets flung towards the pile of gold coins, it still freed her before a familiar lasso emerges from the treasure.
Just as Deimos looms large over both Warlord and a now-unconscious Mariah, the Lasso of Truth gets wrapped around his mouth as Wonder Woman gets yanked on top of him before being taken for a ride. While Bruce continues to make unsuccessful strikes with other weapons that continue to shatter upon impact, Warlord initially retrieves the minotaur’s axe before he spots Deimos’ gun. Just then, it helps him remember his life before he arrived on Skartaris and that he’s been on this realm for several years. Not only that, but he also recalls his previous name: Travis Morgan.
After loading the revolver with a single bullet, he manages to get Deimos’ attention as Diana leaps off before Warlord fires his single shot. The fiendish wizard gets shot in the face and is forced to transform back into his regular form where he promises to enact some revenge before he vanishes.
Travis then tells Mariah that even though Machiste has lost his life, their whole ordeal has ended. He then tells Batman and Wonder Woman that he can use some warriors for his kingdom, yet they turn him down in order for them to find their own way back home. Just then, a portal opens up as Bruce offers Travis a chance to return to Earth. However, he declines due to his responsibility as Skartaris’ king and to also continue the fight against Deimos. From there, Wayne and Diana proceed to take their leave through the portal.
We then move into a 1950s setting where a crime has taken place in the snowy outskirts of a town called Grover’s Mill. A familiar CIA agent named Clark Kent (voiced by Darren Criss) arrives on the scene where he meets up with a veteran agent named King Faraday (voiced by Brock Rumlow/Crossbones himself, Frank Grillo). They’re investigating an incident where some weird lights were seen over the early morning skies of the small town with six witnesses claiming to have seen something fall to the ground. While Clark initially thinks that it’s somehow related to the Russians, King says that it’s not from Earth as he shows off the crash site. He then explains that they’ve been ordered out here by the mysterious organization known as Majestic 12 (which focuses on investigating alien spacecrafts) and that this incident has a potentially good chance of qualifying within said area. As such, they have to interrogate their witnesses in order to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Later, they arrive at a diner where they meet up with a highway patrolman who’s actually Bruce Wayne. He tells them that the witnesses are inside before being introduced to Agent Kent, to which they both share a similarly perplexed look as the former wonders if they’ve met before.
After they all head inside, they meet up with the witnesses who range from calm to somewhat worried. From there, Clark begins his interrogation by learning about these specific patrons. As he meets with a long-haul trucker named Potter, a newly married couple named Mr. & Mrs. Lang who’re out on their honeymoon, a high-end diner employee named Snapper Carr, and a drifter named Burroughs Ginsburg Kerouac, Kent learns about an incident upon the snow-covered interstate where they heard an ominous sound over on a snowbank that they were all stuck on before they saw a flying saucer crash-land into a barn out in the distance. From there, a strange light was emitted from the spacecraft before they spotted some footprints around it. Assuming that someone was hurt, they decided to separate and search the area before they found an alien running out of the barn.
They then point out that one other person was also there to witness it but hasn’t contributed to this examination yet as Clark proceeds to interrogate a secretary named Diana Prince. She says that she was on her way to work when the incident occurred, yet she can only recall seeing some lights within the sky while she was alone before Officer Wayne brought the whole group to the diner. Snapper then discreetly informs Kent that he was working in the diner at the time that the witnesses were brought into the building and that even though he was told “to wait for the authorities”, he actually didn’t call for the police and even mentions that there isn’t a single telephone over at the old mill’s barn. As such, he’s puzzled as to why the officer showed up as fast as he did. Mr. Lang then adds onto the fact that the group followed the alien’s footprints, yet when they got back to the barn, he noticed that there were five sets of tracks that went into the woods and six that came back out. Clark asks him if the alien could be in the area, to which Mr. Lang says that the otherworldly lifeform could be in the diner with them.
Lana Lang & Potter also mention that it could’ve possibly shape-shifted into one of them along with projecting images into other peoples’ minds in order to confuse them. From there, a tense feeling begins to rise as they say that they’ll need to look for anyone acting odd and noticeably different. As they start to make some minor accusations while demanding that he does his job, Kent starts to hear some eerie-sounding music as he demands for someone to turn the jukebox off. However, it’s revealed that it’s not even plugged in.
From there, he heads into the restroom in order to calm down. Afterwards, he’s met upon by Bruce and Diana as they tell him that they also heard the same strange music. Just as Wayne grabs his arm, a bright flash appears as he and Clark get a vague mental image.
A puzzled Kent then backs into Prince as another mental image pops up before he asks them what those visions were.
The witnesses then get paranoid as they assume that Bruce and Diana are the aliens before King aims his gun at the pair. The patrons then demand for the agents to execute the supposed aliens before Clark hears the same eerie music coming from a car. Potter then gets annoyed and decides to take action against the alleged aliens as he goes for Kent’s gun, but Clark manages to shove him away where he ends up flying across the diner before smashing into the jukebox.
Kent is surprised by his sudden display of strength before Potter is able to get up despite his broken neck. From there, it’s revealed that he’s the alien as he shape-shifts into his true form. Not only that, but the other eyewitnesses were also aliens as well. King tells his partner to run as he fires his gun at the beings, yet they’re able to tackle him while also going after Clark, Diana and Bruce.
An outside struggle ensues as Prince defeats her opposing alien before helping Kent out. Afterwards, she admits that she doesn’t how she just did what she did, yet it feels familiar to her.
As for Wayne, he defeats his opposing alien before taking out his gun and aims it at the creature. Fortunately, he remembers his aversion towards said weapon and discards it.
Just then, they all spot several other alien spacecrafts descending from the sky as more aliens emerge and begin to charge right towards them. Thankfully during all of this, Bruce managed to go get his police car as he picks up Clark and Diana before they drive off.
As they try to get some distance from the otherworldly beings, Wayne tells Kent and Prince that an alien invasion is happening. Clark then ponders about the odd music and images that they all saw, to which Diana assumes that it’s their memories. Suddenly, some of the White Aliens catch up as they land on the car before they attack Kent and Prince. Fortunately, she’s able to subdue and force her foe off, though the being manages to quickly recover and rejoin its fellow lifeforms in the pursuit.
Back in the police car, Wayne tells Kent to go into the glove compartment. After Clark manages to punch his attacking foe away, he reaches inside the carriage and pulls out a flare gun. Just then, they approach an oil tanker that’s parked on the side of the road as Bruce informs him of its exhaust port which prevents its gasoline from potentially exploding via a spark. Wayne says that they’ll damage it and expose it to heat in order to “turn the truck into a bomb” before Kent asks him how he knows all of this, to which Bruce says that he just does. From there, Wayne drives into the tanker’s exhaust port and rips it off.
With the fuel spilling out, Clark climbs up on the car and takes aim before firing the flare gun towards the spilling gas. Just as the White Aliens are about to pass the parked vehicle, the flare manages to ignite the fuel and consume the beings within an explosion.
Afterwards, they arrive at the old mill’s barn where the initial alien spacecraft had crashed into. Our trio heads inside to check the otherworldly vehicle out before they discover it to be a holographic projection. From there, they head inside of it where they’re met by a blinding white light.
Ultimately, they find themselves within the spacecraft’s central hub where they discover a large alien sitting motionless upon its main chair. Suddenly, they hear a gunshot as it’s revealed that Faraday managed to catch up before he holds Diana and Bruce up at gunpoint. He then tells Kent that it all started with this UFO and that they’ve discovered the alien leader. Even though Clark points out that it doesn’t look anything like the other aliens that they’ve come across, King tells him that it may not be with the White Aliens, yet they still have to kill it in order to stop the invasion. Afterwards, he wants Kent’s help in executing Prince and Wayne. Clark says that they’re not the aliens, but Faraday reminds him that he saw some images once they touched him and caused him to be somehow infected enough to force a White Alien across the diner. He then says that because the aliens were able to transform, they can’t trust anyone and that they have to take them out first since it’s how they can “uphold the American way”.
Kent then proceeds to take out his gun and aim it at Diana and Bruce, but he decides not to pull the trigger as he places his weapon onto the ground while saying that even though he doesn’t know why he suddenly has powers or why he’s seeing certain images, he refuses to murder others simply out of fright since that’s not the American way. In his paranoid state, King thinks that Clark is actually an alien as he fires a shot at him. Even though Kent gets hit, his body is able to withstand it before he disarms Faraday and forces him onto the ground where he gets knocked out.
Afterwards, the alien begins to warp the scenery around the trio as it’s revealed that the whole setting was false. With the entire room’s true scene revealed, they find out that they and King are real before Wayne gives Clark the bullet that he was able to resist from. Kent then mentions how he started feeling stronger once they entered the room and that it has something to do with the light, to which Bruce says that there wasn’t any color outside. Diana then mentions how the “alien leader” is actually a prisoner as it’s revealed to be J’onn J’onzz a.k.a. Martian Manhunter (voiced by Ike Amadi) as he forcibly tries to fight back against his machine-based restraints.
Suddenly, the trio hears a low rumble approaching them as they manage to hide in time with Bruce even carrying Faraday’s unconscious body into their spot. Just then, a Torturer enters alongside a trio of White Martians before the being proceeds to inflict some electrified torment upon J’onn. Clark then asks his comrades for help in saving J’onzz, yet Wayne says that they don’t have their facts straightened out.
However, Kent tells him that torture is wrong as he confronts the Torturer. Diana then proceeds to join the fight as she takes on the White Martians. Back with Clark, he gets knocked down by the Torturer who proceeds to subject him to its shock stick. Fortunately, Kent’s Heat Vision kicks in as he blasts the being and knocks it out.
From there, Wayne and Prince manage to defeat the opposing White Martians before J’onn is able to free himself from his mechanical prison. As Diana rips off his restraints, Bruce brings up her super strength to which she then says that her identity of “Ms. Prince” was most likely a part of the whole illusion that they were under.
Martian Manhunter then reveals that he was forcibly responsible for keeping all three of them within their illusions over the past several months. He explains that the machines supplanted him of his telepathic powers in order to enslave them along with “countless others”. Afterwards, he tells them that they’re not on Earth but on “an immensely ancient planet-sized weapon” called Warworld, which feeds off of “the hate and fear of its prisoners”. J’onzz then says that he was forced into mentally creating loads of illusionary realities in order to extract several “negative emotions” from its imprisoned individuals. Wayne then mentions that J’onn had helped them out by drawing them together via the eerie-sounding music, to which J’onzz explains that he found a back door to the devious system after months of intensive searching. Suddenly, the alarms go off as Martian Manhunter warns the trio of a certain someone approaching them before he manages to close off the main doors. He then tells them to locate the Zeta Chamber in order to escape before they’re all confronted by Lobo (voiced by John DiMaggio) as the Czarnian bounty hunter himself managed to bust down the door and blast them with his laser gun in order to knock them out.
Later, Diana wakes up as she discovers several human beings within containment pods as a few of them have the familiar faces from her specific illusion. She’s then met upon by a fully conscious Clark as they discover that those being aren’t dead, to which she says that they’re newly born individuals of those that she previously saw die. They’re then met upon by Bruce who’s just discovered that all of those individuals are actually clones of people who were stolen over not just several centuries, but even different worlds and realities. He then tells his comrades that just like themselves, many of the prisoners are the original individuals yet they’re capable of creating “superior hatred and terror”. Even with what he’s been able to find out, Wayne says that he still doesn’t know why he’s able to operate this database, recall his actual name or discover who’s watching them. Just then, he’s able to bring up their superhero costumes and have the machine deliver those outfits to them.
Back with the weary Martian Manhunter, he’s being dragged by Lobo towards the planet’s main ruler. He’s then brought in front of Warworld’s leader named Mongul (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes) who mentions that J’onn is the last surviving Green Martian of his universe. From there, he proceeds to delve into his own backstory where several millennia ago, he came to Warworld under the promise of grand power. Even though he managed to slaughter every single Larga upon the planet, none of them possessed a particular key that would’ve helped in making said world nigh unstoppable. Even without it, he made Warworld into an incredibly powerful “planet killer” fueled by “the unrelenting terror and violence” that stems from its “treasured guests”. Yet the insatiable desire to acquire said key couldn’t be squelched as he traveled to dozens of realities before he came across thousands of White Martians across said universes. Even after he managed to capture J’onn, he couldn’t collect the ever-elusive key from him and only saw him a useful “vision-caster”. Now that J’onzz had failed him in that service, Mongul has a new role in mind for his imprisoned Martian to serve for the planet.
Back with our heroes, they change into their costumes before Wonder Woman sees Superman and realizes that he’s much younger compared to the version of Kal-El from her universe. With their memories slowly beginning to rematerialize, they begin to head out towards the Zeta Chamber.
Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter is getting tortured by Mongul in order for his lowly people to hear his agonizing cries so that they don’t have any sense of hope. After Warworld’s ruler takes his leave, J’onn is then approached by Lobo who secretly tells him that the devious being is going to finish him off. As such, he’s going to let J’onzz have a chance to go down fighting as he deactivates the restraints.
Meanwhile, the trio manage to reach the Zeta Chamber as Superman and Wonder Woman use their super strength to open the door just enough for Batman to throw a Batarang inside in order to take out the two White Martians on duty. As Bruce prepares the machine, Diana then recalls this as to how she was brought here and that she was bound by her own Lasso of Truth. Just as Bruce tells his comrades that the Zeta Beam will take them to wherever they wish to go, they then receive a brief transmission from Mongul who tells his planetwide prisoners that he’s going to execute J’onn as a showing of how hopeless they should be upon Warworld. Afterwards, Wayne tells his teammates that this is their chance to escape, yet Superman and Wonder Woman have every intention of rescuing J’onzz despite Batman warning them that a massive army of White Martians stand between them and the devious ruler. From there, the scene ends with Diana’s lasso glowing.
Back with Mongul, he’s about to execute Martian Manhunter before Lobo is stunned by the fact that he’s not giving a lengthy speech. While the Czarnian bounty hunter decides to deliver one himself, J’onn manages to discreetly use his mind control upon a singular White Martian.
Despite giving Lobo “a measure of freedom”, Mongul starts getting annoyed by his antics as he aims his staff at him. Suddenly, he gets informed by a White Martian on security duty of some rising disturbances that’re occurring on multiple levels. After they realize the individuals that’re causing all of this as well as decimating various defense grids, Mongul chastises Lobo for freeing our heroes instead of exterminating them as ordered. With the trio about to make their way into the central chamber, Lobo reveals that he turned on the devious ruler in order to usurp control of Warworld for himself. As such, Mongul equips his White Martians with some armaments for the fight that awaits them.
From there, Superman’s Heat Vision manages to break down the door as our heroes begin their climactic confrontation. While they proceed to take on the White Martians, Mongul decides to execute Martian Manhunter. Thankfully, Lobo’s earlier action allows J’onn to phase through the shot before he subdues his oppressor and causes him to drop his staff as the mind-controlled White Martian also helps him out.
Back with our heroes, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman are able to defeat several of the opposing White Martians with their unique abilities, skills and weapons. As Lobo cheers them on while sitting on Mongul’s throne, the trapped ruler tells J’onzz that he can’t kill both him and the planet since their both “linked”. Martian Manhunter then uses his mind power to make Mongul pass out, but Lobo wanted him to eradicate the opposing warlord in return for freeing him. However, J’onn says he was the one who telepathically planted said idea into his head.
Despite our heroes’ attempt to defeat the White Martians, several more arrive in order to confront them. With the overwhelming hordes approaching, Diana tells J’onzz to escape with them. However, Martian Manhunter reveals that he had no intention of doing so before he and the mind-controlled White Martian go take their place.
While our heroes continue to fight off the White Martians, J’onn tells Mongul that the legends concerning his alien race having a particular key was true. Even though the Largas did hide the key with the Martians, both sides were locked in a civil war against each other. Unbeknownst to both factions, the Largas hid half of the key inside the White Martians’ DNA and the other half within the Green Martians’ genetic code. While Mongul says that Warworld is “ours”, Lobo proceeds to fight him and says that he’s now running things on the planet.
Back with J’onzz, he says that he’s the lone remaining figure of his kind and that Mongul would’ve eventually eradicated the White Martians. As Martian Manhunter shifts into his true form, he says that Warworld is the universe’s ultimate weapon and that he intends to make sure that Mongul never wields it before he proceeds to merge with the mind-controlled White Martian.
Back with our heroes, Superman sees more opposing White Martians approaching. As such, he rips out a planet-sized display and uses it to block the entryway. He then spots J’onn and asks him what he’s doing, to which J’onzz shifts his hand into a key and activates a command upon a console.
With the whole area giving off several rumbling sparks, the White Martians cease with their attacks as Martian Manhunter tells our heroes that this horrific planet-sized weapon shouldn’t be allowed to freely roam the multiverse in order to unleash its devastating terror, especially since it could potentially fall into the hands of someone even more horrific than Mongul. Batman realizes that J’onn has set the world to self-destruct, to which Superman tells him that he can’t due to the prisoners that’re still present on the globe. J’onzz says that he initially thought that as well, yet he managed to “spend time in their minds” and mentions how “Warworld’s algorithm” only gives those individuals “what they think they want” before it causes them to fall into their own “hatred and terror”.
Meanwhile, Mongul manages to defeat Lobo before telling Martian Manhunter that he’ll fail due to their not being enough fear and rage upon the entire planet for him to carry out his plan. While J’onn tells him that he’s right, there’s actually an “untapped” being with vast amounts that can help him out. As such, he mentally taps into Mongul as his own hate and fear powers the device enough to allow Warworld to start blowing up.
With their being not enough time for our heroes to retreat towards the Zeta Chamber in order to escape, they’re suddenly met upon by a cosmic woman named Harbinger (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) as she tells them that they’re needed and that they have to go with her right away. As such, she teleports them into a nearby space station before the entirety of Warworld explodes. From there, the film ends with our heroes being met upon by Harbinger who tells them that while the newly deceased planet did have “a handful of lives”, it’s nothing compared to a grander crisis that’s about to occur, which is “the absolute annihilation of everything, everywhere”.
Normally, this is where I would delve into my character analysis for our major players before I go on to talk about how the movie itself worked as a whole piece. However, our trinity of heroes are trapped within their own illusionary landscapes for most of the movie and we don’t meet our main villain until the second half and even then, there’s not a whole lot of depth to him. As such, I’ll combine our central protagonists together and gleam into things that I’m able to make out with our antagonist. As for what I could discover, the first half basically has Diana, Bruce and Clark slowly realizing that not everything that’s going on around them is what it seems, especially since they’re having trouble remembering their original names. Their pretend situations are thrilling in their own rights and have something of an anthology feel to them, especially in the 1950s setting where the rising tension within the diner gives off a similar feeling one would get when watching the Twilight Zone episode, “Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?”. It was also neat for those three pretend landscapes to include several lesser-known characters, several of which I’m surprised haven’t gotten their chance to shine within a DC Showcase animated short. Sure, Jonah Hex got his own small venture back in 2010 and King Faraday was a key supporting player in “Justice League: The New Frontier”, but Bat-Lash, the red-haired little girl who turns out to be Katherine “Kate” Manser a.k.a. Cinnamon and Warlord are more than deserving of their own animated venture, whether in short or long-form. Getting back on track, Diana and Bruce each go on to right some form of wrongdoing that’s occurring within their world before they take what little personal rediscoveries that they’re able to get and pass their small revelations onto Clark in order to help him get up to speed. While those three different settings were each uniquely enjoyable, maybe there could’ve been some kind of subtle mental push from J’onn throughout Wonder Woman and Batman’s settings before their encounter with Kent started to bring these revelations into the forefront. After all, the White Martians began to pop up during Kal-El’s 1950s scenario and maybe they were put in there through Martian Manhunter’s mental powers via the machine that he was strapped into in order to make Superman be convinced that he was in a regular alien invasion situation, with Mongul unaware that Diana and Bruce have made their way into Clark’s scene by mental aid from J’onzz in order to help him realize the facade that they’re all trapped in. Once our three heroes are brought back into reality and begin to discover how & why they’re on the foreign planet that they’ve been placed on, it begins to bring our main foe into focus. Mongul’s ultimate scheme does hint at the multiversal scale that will be explored in the next entry, since he’s been traveling around on his terrifying globe and capturing figures from various realities in order to use their own negative emotions to power Warworld into becoming a devastating sphere of destruction. That in and of itself has loads of potential since it can make him a horrific terror upon various universes if he were made the top-tier threat, yet it ultimately ends up as a stopgap villain plot due to what’s next to come for the TomorrowVerse. Not to mention, he’s subdued & defeated by Martian Manhunter pretty easily once J’onn has been freed from his initial restraints, is allowed to recover from any form of torture, mentally convinces Lobo into freeing him from his shackles and he has some subtle time to psychically get a White Martian onto his side. For someone who’s supposed to be a high-end villain within the grand scope of DC baddies, all of this along with Lobo’s own usurpation scheme and a pretty unremarkable redesign ultimately compiled into making him a disappointing adversary. As for the story, it’s mainly engaging during the first half due to the different settings that each of our main heroes have been put into being allowed to give off a unique feel and energy that’s all their own. From the Wild West lawlessness and the Barbaric age of sword & sorcery to the mid-20th Century detective tale laced with outsider paranoia, these moments are able to carry themselves while keeping its audience in anticipation as to where it’s all going and to how our protagonists got there in the first place. Once they finally return to reality and reach Martian Manhunter, the revelations of where they are and how its ruler plans to operate it are decent, yet the movie begins to falter due to Mongul’s dry expositional dump and ultimate lack of towering presence that one should have as a high-end villain, which especially doesn’t help his cause due to the aforementioned way that he’s easily defeated which definitely brings the film down by the end. It’s also not a good idea for our heroes to notice an overwhelming number of White Martians standing in their way of what they initially want to do, which is rescue J’onn and escape with him back to Earth, only for them to not really face any noticeable struggle against the ones that they do go up against. As such, it backs up my initial claims as to why the movie’s first half is better than how this entire situation gets resolved. In terms of the voice cast, they’re all professional and do their jobs pretty well. While none of the performances truly stand out, everyone involved is still committed to their parts and brings enough energy to make their roles engaging at the very least. Finally, let’s get to the animation and action. For the most part, the animation flows nicely throughout. The only egregious moments that I found came during Batman’s time in Skartaris, especially when Warlord and company were riding through a canyon and the motions there were jittery. Aside from that, everything flowed in a good way that didn’t look out of place. Last up, we have the action which is where the movie’s strengths are at. No matter the setting or reality, the big set pieces are uniquely thrilling and have nice levels of impact throughout. Though I did complain about the movie’s second half for being narratively lackluster, our heroes do get to show off some nice moves, especially Diana and Bruce. While I do wish that our heroes did face some kind of challenging adversity during the final battle, whether it be physically, mentally or strategically, it still had some decent coverage and felt impactful enough. In the end though, the combined experience leaves a lot to be desired since several elements are able to prop this piece up enough to help it stand out, yet other vital components aren’t present enough to make this tale shine as greatly as it should have and also suffers from being the final entry before a massive three-part event movie.
Overall, this was a movie that starts off on a decently strong note yet falters a lot as it reaches the finish line. While it does contain some good characters, engaging action and a compelling anthology-esque first half, the antagonistic revelations, grand scheme and ease of his defeat severely brings this film down enough where its audience will discover it as more of a decent stopgap towards this universe’s climactic conclusion instead of a solid standalone adventure. Despite its outlined faults, it’s still worth checking out for an otherworldly adventure that’s ripe with flaws yet is still entertaining enough to enjoy away from your home world.
Next Time: The multiverse is in grave danger as a towering figure looks to bring every last realm towards their ultimate doom. Not only will several heroes be called upon in order to deal with this impending threat, but this story will also need to be divided into own three-part saga. For my 50th DC Universe Animated Original Movie review, I’ll also be splitting it up into three parts as well in order to properly tackle the vast scope of this grand feature. As such, come on back as we begin to delve into the twists and turns that will begin to unfold within “Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part One”.
Batman (created by Bob Kane & Bill Finger), Superman (created by Jerry Seigel & Joe Shuster), Wonder Woman (created by William Moulton Marston) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
