Summary Justice League vs. Teen Titans showcases a battle royale between the two superhero teams, highlighting the heroism of the Titans against possessed League members.
Justice League: Gods and Monsters explores a darker alternate universe, focusing on a morally gray version of the Justice League and offering a different perspective on beloved characters.
Justice League: War serves as a gritty reboot and origin story for the Justice League, bringing together heroes from different backgrounds to save Earth from an alien invasion.
Though the Justice League has struggled to find success in live-action movies, DC’s premiere superhero team has a long history of memorable animated adventure films. Justice League’s legendary status in animation was established in the 2000s thanks to the animated series of the same name and its sequel, Justice League Unlimited. However, from 2007 onwards, the team started starring in animated films as well. Like the movies of the DCEU, most of these movies are part of larger connected universes and continuities.
The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) went on for 16 films and shared similarities with DC’s New 52 comics. Once the DCAMU had its run, the Justice League animated movies continued under a new umbrella term: the Tomorrowverse. Regardless of being standalone adventures or entries to a particular franchise, these Justice League movies have showcased the true visual and narrative potential of DC’s animation and voice acting talents. The direct-to-home-media format doesn’t undermine the dramatic ways in which these movies adapted some of the most beloved Justice League comics of the 2000s and the 2010s.
Related Every DCEU Movie Ranked From Worst To Best The DCEU is almost complete after 15 movies, but how does Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom compare to the likes of Justice League and The Flash?
10 Justice League Vs Teen Titans Is An Ambitious Crossover
Justice League vs. Teen Titans Is The Seventh Movie Of The DC Animated Movie Universe
While this 2016 title might lack the depth seen in other Justice League movies, Justice League vs. Teen Titans still lives up to its ambitious title and offers a spectacular battle royale between the eponymous heroes. Cyborg might side with the League, but the Titans comprise fan-favorite characters like Robin, Nightwing, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, and even Blue Beetle. As the League is possessed by Raven’s demonic father, Trigon, the Titans prove their heroism. Even with Superman and Co. mostly being the villains this time, it is a promising Justice League movie as it shows how adolescent superheroes have what it takes to succeed them.
Punisher actor Jon Bernthal voices Trigon, the primary antagonist of Justice Leagues vs. Teen Titans.
9 Justice League: Gods and Monsters Explores A Darker Alternate Universe
Justice League: Gods and Monsters Is A Stand-Alone Film
Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a standalone story in DC’s animated pantheon, focusing on darker, alternate-universe counterparts of the titular heroes. The moral responsibilities of being a superhero are introspectively touched upon as this version of Justice League relies on brute force and collateral damage to maintain order on Earth. With contemporary works like Invincible and The Boys parodying the superhero genre with violence and cynicism, Justice League: Gods and Monsters deserves to be revisited to explore the other side of beloved characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. A particular standout performer is Michael C. Hall, who relies on his spine-chilling Dexter persona to voice an antiheroic Batman.
Related 10 Times Batman Movies Veered Into Horror The Batman has some truly terrifying moments, but almost every previous Batman movie has a few scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film.
8 Justice League: War Offers A New Origin Story
Justice League: War Is The Second Movie Of The DC Animated Movie Universe
Close
Before Zack Snyder’s Justice League offered some short-lived hope for the DCEU, the cinematic origins of the Justice League were doomed with the theatrical cut. A movie that gets overlooked in this regard is Justice League: War, which served as a gritty reboot of the time after The Flash reset the timeline of the DC Animated Movie Universe. Heavily inspired by Justice League in The New 52 comics, War finds different heroes from different backgrounds coming together to save Earth from an alien invasion. This leads to not only a spectacular final battle but also a rousing origin story that can satisfy both old and new audiences.
Justice League: War was followed by the direct sequel Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015).
7 Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox Is A Significant Reboot
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox Is The First Movie Of The DC Animated Movie Universe
Time travel is tricky territory to explore, considering the degree to which it can create plot holes and trivialize conflict. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox relies on familiar tropes but also effectively handles Barry Allen’s tragic backstory as he runs back in time to save his mother. The same story has been told in the Arrowverse and the DCEU’s divisive The Flash movie, but the DCAMU’s first chapter is more coherent and less chaotic in comparison. This works in the movie’s favor as it’s also burdened by the pressure of setting up a new era of interconnected Justice League animated movies.
6 Justice League Vs the Fatal Five Honors The Animated Series
Justice League Vs the Fatal Five Is A Stand-Alone Film
Bruce Timm’s animation style and the original Justice League animated series are brought back to life in this spectacular face-off between the League and the 31st-century villain team, The Fatal Five. The 2019 movie is a time capsule for fans of early 2000s-era Justice League animation, offering yet another memorable turn by the ultimate Batman actor Kevin Conroy (in what would be his final film role). The neatly drawn characters with strong, angular lines serve as a good break from the visual style of the time’s Tommorowverse movies, while the time-traveling premise also offers a nuanced take on future superheroes like Wonder Boy and Jessica Cruz (Green Lantern).
5 Justice League Dark Showcases The Spooky Side Of DC
Justice League Dark Is The Eighth Movie In The DC Animated Movie Universe
Close
British actor Matt Ryan was a perfect casting choice for the demon-hunter John Constantine before NBC axed Constantine after one season. Justice League Dark thankfully brings back Ryan in an even better and more comic-accurate take on the occultist as he’s paired with masters of dark arts like the magician Zatanna, the acrobatic ghost Deadman, and Etrigan the Demon. Despite much bickering, these morally gray heroes encounter dark and supernatural phenomena that none of the previous DC animated movies could touch upon. With some apt black comedy and loads of magical action, Justice League Dark succeeds in putting the spotlight on heroes beyond the usual Justice League lineup.
4 Justice Society: World War II Offers A Blast From The Past
Justice Society: World War II Is The Second Movie In The Tommorowverse
Justice Society: World War II is an epic period adventure that finds Barry Allen accidentally running back to the 1940s as the war against Nazis rages on. In this pre-Justice League era, he encounters iconic Justice Society of America members like Black Canary and Hawk Man. Keeping Wonder Woman as the team leader is a breath of fresh air for those who might be bogged down by Superman or Batman, who almost always take the limelight. The World War-era adventure is a perfect animated origin for the JSA and a tribute to the adventure genre itself, with its retro-inspired animation and deliberate nods to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
3 Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Is An Evergreen Classic
Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths Is A Stand-Alone Film With A Sequel
Way before multiverse plots became the norm in superhero movies, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths pitted the League against their evil counterparts, the Crime Syndicate, in a gripping clash between two universes. The 2010 classic relies on of DC animation veterans, with Static Shock’s Dwayne McDuffie penning the screenplay and regular DCAMU filmmaker Sam Liu in the director’s chair. The movie also lets Lex Luthor play a pivotal role as his alternate universe counterpart is a hero who seeks the Justice League’s help to take down the Syndicate. But as the plot thickens and the stakes get higher, the line between good and evil gets blurry.
2 Justice League: Doom Turns Batman Into An Antihero
Justice League: Doom Is A Standalone Sequel To Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths
Close
A fitting adaptation of “The Tower of Babel” storyline from the JLA comics, Justice League: Doom is a thought-provoking adventure that is not afraid to reveal the dubious aspects of Batman’s personality and his inability to be a good team leader. The movie starts off with a conventional good-versus-evil tale as the Justice League plans on taking down Vandal Savage and his villainous accomplices. But this encounter shocks all the team members as they discover Batman’s contingency plans to annihilate all of them in a worst-case scenario. While it doesn’t paint Batman as an outright villain, Doom remains a bold segue in questioning DC’s heroes.
Related Every DC Animated Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best From Flashpoint to Apokolips War, the DC Animated Movie Universe timeline brought the New 52 to the screen. Here’s every DCAMU movie, ranked.
1 Justice League: The New Frontier Signals The Future Of Standalone Adventures
Justice League: The New Frontier Is A Stand-Alone Film
When DC animated movies were still in a nascent stage, Justice League: The New Frontier served as a testament to the endless possibilities of revisiting DC’s rich and evergreen mythology. Set in the 1950s, the 2008 movie captures the Cold War paranoia and the Golden Age of Comics as members of the Justice League and Justice Society come together for the first time in animation. The vintage-style character designs have only aged well with time, bearing hints of Adam West’s Batman and Dave Fleischer’s Superman cartoon. Emotionally powerful voice-acting turns by Neil Patrick Harris as Barry Allen and Kyle MacLachlan as Superman only make the viewing experience better.