Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is not only the latest animated movie release from DC Comics, but it is the most important animated movie they have had thus far. The reason for its importance is that it brings an end to the New 52-inspired DC Animated Movie Universe that they started with 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. During the seven-year existence of the DC Animated Movie Universe there was a total of 15 movies along with several animated shorts that built this version of the DCU. After seeing Justice League Dark: Apokolips War I can honestly say it is not only a great end to the DC Animated Movie Universe but also the proper ending of the New 52.
There are many other things that the DC Animated Movie Universe did over its seven-years that will fondly be looked back on from helping Cyborg’s rise as a core Justice League member to helping establish Damian Wayne as this generations Robin. But maybe the most important thing it did was provide the proper end to the New 52 that DC Comics did not give that era of their history in comic book form. They did that through this most recent Justice League Dark: Apokolips War release that took everything established in the prior fourteen movies for one big event. We saw every group from the Justice League to Teen Titans participate in this massive war against Darkseid.
Now to be fair to DC Comics’ we did get the Darkseid War towards the end of New 52, which Justice League Dark: Apokolips War clearly drew inspiration for. But the Darkseid War did not necessarily act as a culmination of all the stories that were told during the New 52. The Darkseid War was much more an ending for Geoff Johns run on Justice League.
That is where Justice League Dark: Apokolips War really steps in. You do get a sense from the moment the movie kicks off with the Justice League and their allies suffering a horrible defeat at the hands of Darkseid and his forces that this is the end. This is what all the creative minds behind this DC Animated Movie Universe have been building towards with every story they told. Throughout the movie we see different parts of history and character relationships be built on top of. Even though not every gets a conclusive end to their character arcs, you get a sense of how everything from The Flashpoint Paradox to Wonder Woman: Bloodlines played a role in building to the movie.
While the movie goes to very dark place with where everyone from Superman to Raven is the team behind Justice League Dark: Apokolips War do a great job maintaining a sense of hope. Hope is such an important aspect to the DC Universe as characters like Superman represent that through their presence on screen. The movie carries that all the way until the end when we see how the DC Animated Movie Universe is ended while opening the door for a whole new animated universe continuity.
Now since Justice League Dark: Apokolips War just came out digitally this week I will not get into any big details about what happens during the movie. But its safe to say that if you are a DC Comics fan you should purchase and watch Justice League Dark: Apokolips War right now digitally or whenever it comes out on Blu-ray. It is a movie that shows great love to the DC Universe and should not be missed.
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