The Movie
The second animated movie to faithfully (more or less) dramatize a specific story arc from Jeph Loeb's run on the monthly Superman/Batman team-up comic book, Apocalypse is a thrilling origin tale and beyond. It was in fact Loeb's second story arc on the title, collected simply as "Supergirl," and it tells of her splashdown in Gotham Harbor, the revelation of her shared lineage with a certain Man of Steel, followed by an interplanetary war of sorts to mold and possibly control the perky teen.
Tests suggest that she might someday be more powerful than her famous cousin, so her guidance and protection are of deadly importance, particularly when the über-villain Darkseid learns of her appearance. To him, she's an ideal candidate to lead his lethal team of Furies, and ultimately conquer the universe. Superman and Batman (and close platonic friend Wonder Woman) team up to prevent that grim fate.
As with Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the artwork is reminiscent of that in the comic which inspired it, here by the late Michael Turner. The pacing is a little slow in places, and Superman is featured far more than his cowled cohort, but the battles are more ambitious than any ever in DC Comics animation, and the whole movie is wonderfully satisfying.
The Picture
We can't help but be struck by the gorgeous, gorgeous colors, although some of the 1.78:1 scenery is tainted by unpleasant banding and noise, as if the movie was not fully produced to 100% state-of-the-art high-definition standards. Detail is quite strong however, as when we can pick out individual members of an attacking army in a wide-angle shot, and the subtleties of focus added to simulate live-action cinematography are well-presented and effective.
The Sound
Now, I do a lot of whining in this space whenever quality and features fall short of my expectations, and I've taken Warner to task more than once for providing only Dolby Digital audio in the Blu-ray age. So heartfelt kudos to the studio for re-embracing high-resolution sound, in this case DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, for their direct-to-video productions.
This time, people and things zip around quite a bit with powerful directionality. There's an effortless, frequently pleasing crispness in the high end, backed by a respectable bass presence as well. Surround activity can be subtle at times, but it definitely works to serve the overall audio experience, enhancing all of the big-scale scenarios. One more obvious sonic demo occurs when Superman creates a cyclone in the middle of a park. I'm so happy to hear this movie in a true high-res lossless format, and I hope that this trend continues.
The Extras
DC brings us yet another B-lister headlining his own short subject, here "Green Arrow" starring in his own eleven-minute adventure, in high-definition/Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. More to the topic at hand, "Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton" is a well-researched 18-minute overview from 2008 (in SD), possibly created for the Smallville Season Seven DVD.
Producer "Bruce Timm Presents" four episodes (the special edition DVD includes half that many) from Superman: The Animated Series. The first is a two-parter involving the arrival/origin of Supergirl, the other about Darkseid and his hellish world of Apokalips. They are a great fit for this set and truly some of the best tales from the popular show.
New for this release is "The New Gods" (22 minutes, HD) about the bold directions charted by revered artist/writer Jack Kirby in 1970. Brief close-up "pods"--exclusive to Blu-ray--also explore the related characters of Mister Miracle and Orion (five minutes each), although neither appears in Apocalyspe.
Disc Two is a hybrid DVD of the movie as well as a transferable Digital Copy. The bonus DVD copy is new to these DC Universe Blu-ray titles, and the Digital Copies have been Windows Media-only for the past several releases, so it's great to have an iTunes option again for Apocalypse.
Final Thoughts
I really can't praise Warner enough for this high-value package of quite possibly their best direct-to-video animated adventure yet. The high-res audio, Digital Copy and bonus DVD version earn the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Blu-ray one of my highest recommendations.
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