Best Order To Watch DC Animated Universe Movies | Nerdy Things Blog
justice league dark: apokolips war concludes the dcamu after 15 movies. In what order should a newbie watch these dc animated universe movies?
By 2013, Marvel had established its shared cinematic universe. it culminated in the release of The Avengers, a year earlier. and soon they would also be developing their shared television universe.
Not close to the success of the mcu, dceu was also starting to release movies with the man of steel. That year, DC also had another card up its sleeve. he knew they had the ability to create sophisticated animated films for a more mature audience.
And they also knew they had a comic book universe that was not only rich in content but also revitalized. he had already restarted his comics universe. they would restart their characters and their books, making a clean slate for everyone.
this reboot provided a lot of content for the new dc animated movie universe (dcamu). And just like the reboot, it began with the 2013 release of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. here is the sequential order to watch these movies.
1. justice league: the flashpoint paradox.
What if you woke up in a world that looks like yours, but a little out of place? What if the reason behind the new world is your fault?
that’s the thinking behind the movie justice league: the flashpoint paradox. It is the first in a series of films that share an animated universe. his main character, barry allen, mourns the death of his mother. after a battle with her rogues, he wakes up in a world where she is alive.
His existence, however, is the only good thing that happens in this new world.
The film does a great job of setting the tone for what this shared universe will be. its pg-13 rating allows it to go a little further with violence and language. you can also see your favorite superheroes in different warped farms. there’s a brutal wonder woman, a gaunt superman, an even more aggressive batman.
the way barry returns to the world he knows makes for a very spectacular climax and a heartbreaking choice. The film also leads into the next adventure of this new version of the Justice League.
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Watch Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox: Main Video
2. justice league: war
If superheroes are good at anything, it’s having a misunderstanding, fighting, and then becoming teammates. This happens a lot in Justice League: War.
The movie does a great job of reintroducing the heroes we know and establishing the new costumes and attitudes these heroes have. some, like batman, flash and cyborg, don’t change much.
the others, however, experience the biggest change. superman is younger and more aggressive. Wonder Woman is more of a warrior than a peacemaker. And Green Lantern Hal Jordan is more cocky than usual, with a wit to rival Spider-Man.
war adapts the first 6 issues of justice league of america, and the movie closely follows the comic, except for a few changes. a major change is in the seventh member of the team. in the movie, the seventh member is shazam.
We get a chance to meet the seventh member of the comic later on in the sequel to war. But before we get to it, we’ll take a moment to take a closer look at the new world of the league’s most popular member, the dark knight.
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watch justice league: war: main video
3. son of batman
in 1987 dc published a story about batman and talia al ghoul sleeping together for the first time. As a result, Talia became pregnant. In that story, Talia tells Batman that she lost the baby after a battle. the story ends with a baby abandoned on a doorstep.
The kid wasn’t revised until 2006, when Grant Morrison started writing Batman. He created Damian Wayne, a young and headstrong fighter who was just as stubborn as his father.
“son of batman” adapts that story. Introduces Damien to the shared animated universe. damien is an impulsive young man who thinks highly of himself and his abilities. he catches batman’s eye and batman reluctantly takes the boy under his wing (bat) and trains him as the next robin.
The film takes some liberties with the comic it adapted. For one thing, deathstroke is the main villain of the movie. slade wilson also has a slight reboot of origin. and apart from dick grayson, no other robins are mentioned.
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4. justice league: throne of atlantis
is a man without purpose, mourning the death of his father. the only thing we know for sure about him is that he is very strong and very blond.
this is how we meet arthur curry, the future king of atlantis. In the continuation of the war, we learn a bit about Arthur and why he doesn’t realize his fate.
We also learn more about the team and some subplots start to form. most notably, the relationship between superman and wonder woman.
but for the most part, it’s an aquaman movie and many of the details in the throne of atlantis mirror what we see in the live action aquaman movie.
The film also continues to earn a pg-13 rating. there are beheadings, impalements and more than one superhero uses swear words in moments of great tension. it’s a good movie that conveys the tone that dc wanted with these movies. adult stories for an adult audience.
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5. batman and robin
batman and robin continue to show the relationship between damian and bruce. is still tense. batman is doing everything he can to control his son’s murderous tendencies. Robin, despite himself, is doing his best to prove to his father that he is a trustworthy companion.
The film also adapts the first new 52 era batman story, the court of owls. The court attacks Batman on two fronts. directly, by attacking him with undead warriors called talons, and by the talon leader trying to get robin’s father away from him.
The film, like the previous four, has a lot of action and a lot of blood. If you’ve ever wanted to see Batman blow up reanimated corpses repeatedly, you’re in for a treat. the voice acting is solid and the animation, especially the fight scenes, are top notch.
The first five films are a great starting point for the new shared animated universe and provide a lot of fun and exciting action. They also show how well DC does with its properties when the movies are done with care. we’re starting to see that interest in some of the recent live action movies.
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6. batman: bad blood
The dark knight has always been considered a loner, a one-man army against crime. but the truth is that he is one of the few characters in comics that has a legitimate family. From his father figure Alfred to his two sons, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne. one adopted, one biological son.
but has never really opened up to the idea of being part of a family. his trauma due to the death of her parents does not allow him to accept that he is now part of a family. It’s a theme that was addressed once in the hilarious Lego Batman Movie, and it’s a theme that was addressed in Batman: Bad Blood.
During a confrontation with a group of villains, led by a burly man who seems to know a lot about Batman, the caped crusader disappears. dick tries to step in as batman and tries to find bruce wayne and along the way he meets batwoman, a batman-inspired vigilante who was there when batman went missing.
The movie is a mix of different stories from dc comics. The Dick Grayson-Damian Wayne dynamic comes from the first 12 issues of Batman and Robin, written by Grant Morrison, while the Archive adapts the first six issues of the Batwoman series, written by Greg Rucka, for its Kathy Kane subplot. p >
The film has a strong anime influence and appears in the fight scenes. is a great exploration of the pain the bat family has endured and how together they might get through it.
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7. justice league vs teen titans
if you haven’t already noticed, damian wayne has a high opinion of himself. he looks a lot like his father in that regard.
and just like bruce, damian didn’t have much of a childhood before he became robin, so dick grayson thinks it’s time to remedy that.
justice league vs. teen titans tells that story and presents us with the dcau version of the teen titans. you would recognize some of the characters, but there are changes. For one thing, Starfire is no longer a young, equal member of the team. she is much older and is the leader of the team. And while the group, including Robin, has a similar composition to what we’re all familiar with, they sidestep the fact that Cyborg is a member of JL by including Blue Beetle (the younger version) in the mix.
There is a lot of growth within Robin throughout the film and it is a departure from the more serious themes of the earlier films. any movie beast boy appears in has to be funny, you know?
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8. dark justice league
This movie deals with the magical side of the DC Universe and features the characters Zatanna, John Constantine, Swamp Thing and Deadman. Many of the stories that were written about these characters were published under Vertigo’s imprint at dc comics (where most of the publisher’s “mature reader” comics were housed) and these were some of the most sophisticated and acclaimed stories by the critic printed in the company.
These characters had been touched by the gods of comics. alan moore, neil gaiman, pat mills and many other creators. These characters gave credibility to a medium that, at the time, some thought was just a kid thing.
It makes sense, then, that when these characters made their animated debut, it would be in a movie that was rated r. it’s much more violent than the others, and the language a bit saltier, but it’s not terribly obscene. In order for these characters to be honest with their comic book counterparts, some salty language had to be allowed.
The movie features a mystery where ordinary citizens are murdering what they think are demons. The Justice League realizes that magic is not their forte, so Batman approaches a friend in that realm, who then summons a team of wizards and dead men to solve the case and save the world. /p>
very entertaining, very cleverly written and the animation, once again, is top notch.
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9. teen titans: the judas contract
On a (relatively) lighter note, the next entry in the shared universe shares its history and title of the titan’s most notable comic story, the judas contract, by marv wolfman and george perez.
The story involves the titan trying to come together as a team while also taking on the villainous blood brother and his minions. A year prior, they hired a new team member, Terra, and are still trying to help her open up and truly be part of the family.
but terra is not all that it seems.
What’s interesting about this movie is that, as before, some changes have been made to the team dynamic. In the original story, for example, Cyborg was a member and Robin was still Dick Grayson. In the adaptation, Damian is Robin (although Dick is present as Nightwing) and Blue Beetle takes Cyborg’s place on the roster.
is quite a different version of the team version most people would be used to. Starfire is undoubtedly portrayed very differently than the Teen Titans version. much higher, for one, and much more. . . curvier but if you’re someone past the age of teen titans go, this is a great way to connect with those characters in a much more mature setting.
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10. suicide squad: hell to pay
and now we’re back to the dark, grim and gritty party of the dc animated universe. the suicide squad was a gang of villains forced to do government bidding or suffer dire consequences. His manager, Amanda Waller, chose the team based on the task. There were a couple of regulars, like Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Bronze Tiger, but the team rotated frequently, in part because, as the name suggested, some of the villains didn’t make it back.
This movie is heavily influenced by the live-action movie, in its tone and theme. the team is on a mission to retrieve a specific card, unaware that there are also two groups of villains after it.
The team consists of Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Bronze Tiger, Copperhead and Killer Frost. also on the team, and this is where the influence of the live-action movie shows, is harley quinn. This is not the version of Batman: The Animated Series. no jester outfit on it.
this is the second movie in the dc animated universe to be rated r, and it earns it. laser-torn limbs, bullet wounds to the head, and if you look closely, you’ll even catch a slip.
It’s a very adult cartoon, much more so than justice league dark, to be honest. but at the same time, none of the characters act out of place. While Suicide Squad was never a breakneck title when it was published by DC Comics, its subject matter fits the R rating.
Many have said that it is the best of the bunch and that the writing and action are ten times better than the live action movie. and shows that dc, unlike its competition, offers variety within its shared universe.
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watch suicide squad: hell to pay on amazon video
11. the death of superman.
was one of the best-selling stories in the history of comics. It was such a shocking turn for the Man of Steel that the mainstream media was talking about it. Superman’s death shocked audiences when the story premiered in 1992 and, for better or worse, sparked a speculative boom in the 1990s that made comics the hot commodity.
the story itself is more or less a continuous fight that ends with the man of steel, giving his life to save the metropolis and the world. The story had been adapted for the screen once before, in the animated film Superman: Doomsday, but that one was more condensed and left out many comic book elements. The most recent film of the death of superman is a better fit for the DC shared animated universe.
From the far reaches of space, an object enters the atmosphere. inside the rock, we find a monster. as soon as it lands, it starts destroying everything around it. The Justice League is powerless to stop him. only the man of steel has the power to save the world.
The film maintains much of the same structure as the comic. the only significant difference is the composition of the team. In the 90s, B and C list the characters that made up the Justice League. doomsday had to deal with the adaptation’s heavy hitters. he hasn’t changed much.
With plenty of bloody action and heroic moments, The Death of Superman is one of the few films in the series that will move you. Superman’s sacrifice will not have been in vain.
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12. reign of the supermen
In this follow-up, six months have passed since the death of superman, and immediately, the four superman appear, claiming to be the rightful owners of the name. we have the man of tomorrow, the kryptonian, the man of steel and superboy (don’t call him that). each hero had his own way of fighting crime (some much tougher than others), but all four do so in the best interest of the city.
or yes?
This movie adapts the comic book story that also followed superman’s death. in the comics there was a middle part of the story, a friend’s funeral, which gave the illusion that superman would never come back. the dcau skips that story, and like the previous films, the adaptation makes changes. but these are functional changes. The film does an excellent job of cutting through the fat and focusing on Lois Lane’s desperation as she tries to figure out who among these new bearers of the shield is the man she loves.
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13. batman: silence
the story behind batman: hush, the comic, was simple. Jim Lee, arguably the best-known comic book creator outside of comics, joined DC after DC Comics acquired his Wildstorm comics imprint and for a while was looking to draw monthly comics again, at least for a while. He was paired with writer Jeph Loeb and together they created a story that allowed Lee to illustrate many of the friends and foes in the Batman canon. The result was a beautifully acted mystery story that ran for twelve issues in the Batman comics.
The animated film, batman: hush adapts that comic, but as always, there are some changes. one very noticeable difference is how they play with the relationship between batman and catwoman. If he’s been reading the most recent Batman stories, he knows that writer Tom King had been building a marriage between the two characters, playing on the fact that they’ve been adversaries and lovers for more than 80 years. it was a sweet change of pace to see batman really in love with something or someone other than the mission. this story took place around the time the movie was released, so perhaps the filmmakers were inspired by that story as well.
another fun aspect of the movie is the fact that you can see a good number of batman’s rogues galleries in this new style of the dc animated universe. There are appearances from Bane, the Joker, Poison Ivy, and a surprise guest you might not see coming (unless you’ve read the comics).
batman hush is a fun and funny adventure that concludes batman’s part in this shared universe. the end is near. but not before one last solo movie with everyone’s favorite warrior princess.
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14. wonder woman: bloodlines
Unlike her male counterparts in Justice League, Wonder Woman doesn’t have the same robust library of animated films. With the success of the live-action Wonder Woman movie, the DC Animated Universe set out to change that.
wonder woman: bloodlines is a very condensed retelling of wonder woman’s origin story. After finding Steve Trevor abandoned and injured on Paradise Island, Diana of Myscira defies her mother’s orders. she escorts him back to the world of men, choosing to stay and become the superhero we all know and love.
The film shows her rogues gallery and their different costume variations. Not only does she wear the uniform that she has been wearing in the other Justice League movies, but she also has an outfit inspired by her live-action wardrobe.
the theme of destiny about free will, and the relationship between mothers and daughters, looms large in the film. it’s one of the few films in the shared universe that dares to go beyond its standard beat-em-up. it’s a beautiful film that is very inspiring and makes a great ending to the individual dcau films.
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watch wonder woman: bloodlines in prime video
15. justice league dark: apokolips war
And now, the end of the game.
justice league dark shares a lot with that particular movie. It sets out to wrap up many of the plot threads that have been running through the DC animated universe. Mainly, it brings closure between the battle between DC’s heroes and Darkseid, who looks a bit like a purple-faced titan.
and the name of the movie is a bit misleading. the main character of the movie is actually john constantine, that wizard bastard. still, the film brings together virtually every character from the previous 14 films to wrap up their journey through the film.
Also, the film is very dark, as the title suggests. you will see the deaths of beloved characters. you will see the characters act in ways that you would never have imagined. This movie closes the door on the DC shared animated universe, and doesn’t waste the opportunity to do things you’d never see in the comics.
It’s an excellent ending to a shared universe that DC wanted so badly for its live-action properties. but on the plus side, they did something marvel never attempted. dc provided mature entertainment, in animated form, that didn’t speak ill of the viewer and provided action, romance, horror and, best of all, heart. it was a shared universe that wasn’t afraid to take risks.
We should congratulate them on that.
watch justice league dark: apokolips war in prime video
dcamu: the extras
Besides the movies, DC had produced other shows set in the shared universe. each project helped expand the cinematic universe. like a toy within a happy meal, they are a pleasant surprise in an already vast and entertaining landscape.
nightwing and robin
Set during the events of Justice League: Thrones of Atlantis, the short film introduces Nightwing and Robin to the Dcau. batman gives his cronies the job of capturing the scarecrow.
there is no dialogue between nightwing and robin and yet you see how their dynamic works well as a team. In a sense, the movie prepares you for what’s to come in Batman: Bad Blood.
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constantine: city of demons
constantine: the city of demons is an interesting item on the list. the two-part show connects to both the dcau and the cw’s arrowverse. the arrowverse is dc tv’s connected universe. its main protagonists are green arrow, supergirl and flash. Constantine also had a live-action show, and its lead, Matt Ryan, provides the voice of John.
dc produced five webisodes for the cw’s online presence, the cw seed. The plot is your basic John Constantine story. he gets into a little trouble with the demons. if you like that sort of thing, you’ll love it.
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come on teen titans! against teen titans
this movie may have the weakest connections to the dc animated universe. The dcau version of the titans appears in a sequence as the 2003 and 2013 teen titans travel through different worlds in a battle between the titans and mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
what?
yeah, the movie is that crazy. but it’s also fun. as teen titans go! It has no connection to the DC animated universe, it’s still a fun show. It has a lot of easter eggs and inside jokes for comic book fans and 80’s kids alike. It’s one of the dumbest things on TV. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
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Although the DC animated universe ended with Justice League Dark: The Apokolips War, fans know that a good thing doesn’t stay dead for long. no one knows what is in store for the future of dc animation. however, the “outside the box” thinking on these last three projects shows that dc is willing to try new things. that gives hope to future projects. they have over 80 years of comics stories to mine. I’m sure they’ll be fine.
I also heard that the whole “rebirth” plot was good. another shared animated universe could be in dc’s future.
I can’t wait to see it.
