Batman: The Animated Series (Batman vs. Joker)
After viewing this episode, I concluded that the whole thing
represents one of those classic Batman versus Joker moments, but it isn’t until
the final, climatic scene, where they square off. The episode, titled “The
Laughing Fish” follows Joker on a long list of evil schemes, all involving his
infamous “joker” toxins, with Batman and Gotham’s finest following up on all
their leads. The final clue leads Batman to save the life of Harvey Bullock and
pursue the Joker to the roof of Gotham’s aquarium. What makes this duel so epic
is not just the build up from the cat and mouse theme of the episode, not just
the action, but also the setting and the dark storm happening around them. The best moment is when Joker swings a crowbar at Batman as
Batman grabs the crowbar. The battle ends
with the Joker falling to his apparent death in the shark-filled waters below.
Unfortunately, this was the fifth episode of the second season, and the Joker
would be seen many more times after that, but a part of me realizes this would
have made a great series finale.
Justice League Unlimited (Flash vs. Luthor/Brainiac)
The Flash was used quite a lot in the original JL series,
but was given less airtime when the show expanded into JLU and expanded their
superhero roster. Throughout the entire season I was hoping for more episodes
focused on the Flash, but was slightly disappointed, until the second last
episode of season one, titled “Divided We Fall”. All season, the stories built
up the Cadmus conspiracy until this final episode concluded all the story arcs,
with the fusing of Lex Luthor and Brainiac. After the original seven JL members
fail to defeat Luthor, he decides to recreate the events of a darker, alternate
reality (seen in an earlier episode), where Flash is killed and the JL turns
evil. Flash ends up running away but returns even faster as he continues to run
into Luthor, shattering more armor each attack. Flash circles the world in
micro seconds, providing blow after blow until he ends the fight by digging his
vibrating hands into Luthor’s chest, destroying the connection he had with
Brainiac. The music, the sound effects and the love of the Flash truly made up
for any under usage throughout the season, all in this short-lived two minutes
of the episode.
Justice League Unlimited (Superman vs. Darkseid)
A homage to their original brawl seen in the series finale
of the 90’s Superman animated series is made in the series finale, titled
“Destroyer”. After the armies of Apokolips invade Earth, the JLU is forced to
team up with the Legion of Doom to stop them. Though the center attraction in
all the madness lies atop the Daily Planet where Lex, Batman and Superman
battle Darkseid, a battle that soon sees the destruction of the Daily Planet.
The coolest moments of the battle lie whenever Batman attacks Darkseid, because
even though he has no powers and nothing he does can hurt him, he still fights.
The climax of the fight arrives when Superman unleashes his full power on
Darkseid, providing us with a Superman more powerful then anything we’ve seen
in animation. Unfortunately, it is short-lived, way too short, like 30 seconds,
but I still get chills every time I watch it. Oddly enough, it ends up being
Lex who “defeats” Darkseid, kind of.
JL: Crisis on Two Earths (Batman vs. Owlman)
He could have sent anyone to defeat Owlman, but I think that
deep down, Batman needed to prove he could beat his alternate self. Owlman has
traveled to the very first Earth, Earth-Prime, where he plans to set off a bomb
that ill create a chain reaction destroying all Earths, until Johnny Quick
creates a portal, allowing Batman to travel to Prime to challenge Owlman. While
there are no powers involved, this is truly the best-animated Batman sequence.
The animation is clean and the martial arts used in the fight make it that much
better. There’s also that satisfaction that it’s Batman versus “himself”,
essentially. The fight also ends with the coolest line in animation (in my
opinion), followed by Batman saving all Earths.
The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (Batman vs. Superman)
There is not a better-animated adaptation of comic book to
screen then there is in DC’s newest animated feature. Panel for panel, the
fight seems just as intense, dramatic, climatic, then it did in the comic, if
not more so. The flow of the animation was spectacular and the action is
unmatched by anything I’ve seen involving superhero cartoons. Batman has become
a national problem, so the nation sends its greatest solider to deal with its
greatest outlaw, creating an epic showdown between the two greatest
superheroes. As cool as it was to read Frank Millar’s masterpiece, it may have
been even cooler to watch it on the “big screen”.
You'll just have to purchase the DVD to watch this.
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