Movie Info
Movie Name: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Genre(s): Animated/Comic Book/Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): September 29, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13
I’m Superman and I’m Batman…we’re a team!
Lex Luthor has seemingly gone straight and managed to work himself into the presidency. With heroes falling by his side, Superman finds himself pressured to yield to Luthor’s wishes. However, Earth is threatened by a giant Kryptonite asteroid that could destroy it…and Luthor intends to shoot it out of the air. Teaming with Batman, Superman finds he’s been branded a traitor and saving the Earth might mean battling an army of Luthor’s heroes and villains before it is too late!
Directed by Sam Liu, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a DC animated action adventure released on September 29, 2009. The movie is an adaptation of the first storyline of the comic book series Superman/Batman written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Ed McGuinness in Superman/Batman #1-6 (October 2003-March 2004). Though the film does feature actors reprising the roles of their characters from the DC Animated Universe, the movie was not considered part of the DC Animated Universe.
Superman/Batman was a big comic when it was released and garnered huge sale. I was not a fan of the series or for the most part any of Loeb’s writing. This is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the storyline…from the good to the ridiculous.
Seriously…electing you President would be like electing Hitler…after World War II
The whole storyline of the Batman/Superman: Public Enemies story is pretty weak. I can never get over the DC Universe electing Lex Luthor as President much less the public taking his word of Superman’s guilt. The series culminates in a stupid Batman/Superman robot beating up the asteroid. The young Toyman points out that he intentionally made the robot goofy, but that doesn’t make for good writing or storytelling.
The best part that was eliminated from the storyline was the ruse that Metallo was killer of Batman’s parents. It was a weak attempt to tie Batman into the story more, but despite being DC’s bigwigs, I’ve never really liked Batman/Superman “team-ups”, and it always seems really forced. It also feels forced here.
Point out that the robot is dumb doesn’t make it clever…
The animation for the film does try to replicate Ed McGuinness’ art. The characters are more heroic and square jawed than the art of Justice League or Justice League Unlimited. It is also a bit more finished and polished than the regular series…but I would expect that since it is a feature.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies was a relatively high seller and as a result got a bit more attention than some of DC’s other films. I see it as one of the weaker entries. It does have a lot of fun heroes appearing in the movie, so fans of DC might enjoy that a lot of big enemies and allies show up (no matter how unrealistic). Superman/Batman: Public Enemies’ success led to a sequel Superman/Batman: Apocalypse in 2010.
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