Bruce Timm Movies

Lex Luthor has been elected President of the United States, he's using an earthbound Kryptonite asteroid as grounds for declaring a $1 billion bounty on the heads of Superman and Batman. Now, the two heroes must team up to save both the planet and their own necks. They can't do it on their own, but finding help won't be easy because every hero and villain on the planet is looking to collect that juicy bounty. Upon learning that Luthor's criminal ambition reaches well beyond the borders of North America, Superman and Batman realize that clearing their good names may be the least of their worries. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the six-issue comic book series originally published in 2004, the animated adventure Justice League: The New Frontier follows the epic adventures of Superman and his fellow DC Comics superheroes from the end of World War II to the global tensions of the Cold War. In addition to detailing the ultimate fate of DC war comic squadron The Losers and showing how reluctant fighter pilot Hal Jordan made the stunning transformation into The Green Lantern, the film also follows Superman and Wonder Woman as they struggle with their involvement on the East Asia battle arena, finds the Martian Manhunter arriving on planet Earth, and showcases John Henry's valiant struggle against the evil Ku Klux Klan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the best-selling DC comic The Death of Superman, the animated feature Superman Doomsday finds the Man of Steel locked in mortal combat with an intergalactic serial killer named Doomsday. Never before have two rivals of such equal footing squared off in a duel to the death that could determine the fate of an entire planet. Will Superman summon the strength needed to save Metropolis by making the ultimate sacrifice, or could it be that the denizens of this bustling city are about to witness the demise of the greatest protector they ever had? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Fighting a never-ending battle against the forces of evil--and their own immaturities, insecurities and petty jealousies--Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire return for a third season of the animated Teen Titans. In the season opener, Cyborg, disguised as a muscleman named Stone, infiltrates the H.IV.E. Academy, breeding ground for the evil Slade's minions. The mission succeeds in utterly decimating H.I.V.E. , a victory that may prove Pyrrhic when several surviving academy members mount an undersea counteract against the Titans in a later episode which features "guest hero" Aqualad. Elsewhere: Robin must battle his alter ego Red X, and his own guilt for making Red X the crazy mixed-up character he has become. Starfire surprises everyone when she announces plans to marry a man she's never met. Beast Boy's obsession with computer games causes Cyborg to be infected with a virus that causes him to berserk--and later in the season, Beast Boy experience another personality makeover when he's drenched in toxic waste. The Titans' long-dead enemy Slade apparently returns to life--or is it merely Robin's delirium that has brought about this unholy resurrection? Raven a rendezvous with a magician she frees from one of her books; and later,the less benign illusionist the Amazing Mumbo sucks the Titans into alternate world reminiscent of the Krofft Brothers' Lidsville! Retro villain Mad Mod returns to crash the Titans' 4th of July party and hurtle the U.S. back into the British Empire. And the Titan's unofficial pet Silkie the silkworm, introduced the previous season, turns out to be one of those domestic creatures that becomes more unmanageable (and more dangerous) when it's off its feed. The two-part season finale marks the formation of a new team, Titans East, comprised of DC Comics veterans Speedy and Aqualad, and Spanish twins Mas Y Menos; alas, their crimefighting activities are severely curtailed after a brainwashing session with the sinister Brother Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A trio of nerdish students accidentally invoke a supernatural spell -- and presto! Familiar Justice League nemesis Solomon Grundy is revived from his "sleep of death." Going on a rampage, Grundy cannot be stopped by the Leaguers. Their only hopes lie in the only person who'd ever befriended the villainous Grundy -- former JL member Hawkgirl, now living in seclusion as her "civilian" persona Shayera. The question: Will Hawkgirl be willing to vanquish Grundy, to whom she owes her very life? Clips from several previous episodes are sprinkled throughout this pivotal Justice League Unlimited adventure. ~ All Movie Guide

Season two of the animated Justice League begins with a two-part story set in space and features two of Superman's longtime nemeses, the enigmatic Darkseid and the wholly villainous Krypton refugee Brainiac. While Darkseid endeavors to break a longstanding extraterrestrial treaty between the New Gods and New Genesis, Brainiac foments chaos on the planet Apokolips. Superman's fellow Justice League members combine their talents to find a common solution for both problems, but their efforts are complicated by the questionable motives of Darkseid and the resourcefully sinister Brainiac. ~ All Movie Guide

Having appeared as "guest stars" and "extra added attractions" in such previous animated series as The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, DC comics' legendary superhero team The Justice League was awarded its own starring series on November 17, 2001, courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Animation and The Cartoon Network. Though its personnel fluctuated throughout its comic-book run, for TV purposes the celebrated League was comprised of such familiar A-list crime fighters included Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, the Flash, and a character that had never previously headlined a cartoon program: J'onn J'onnz, aka the Martian Manhunter. Initially summoned to Batman's orbiting space station to do battle against a battalion of extraterrestrial invaders (spearheaded by a U.S. senator who turned out to be an alien in disguise), the various members of the League, accustomed to working solo, were forced not only to adopt a "team" mentality, but also to put aside their various philosophical differences and personality conflicts -- which sometimes was more difficult than battling villains! For its third season on Cartoon Network, the series' title was changed to Justice League Unlimited, in honor of the many additional DC "specialist" superheroes who freelanced for the organization. The League itself was now under the guidance of The Martian Manhunter, who organized the various and sundry do-gooders into command teams, sending them off to jobs uniquely suited for their individual talents. Several half-hour episodes of both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited have been bundled together thematically for DVD release. ~ All Movie Guide

Such formidable villains as Shriek, Inque, the Jokerz and the Royal Flush gang continue to make like difficult for the "new" Batman, aka Terry McGinniss, as he tries to purge crime from the Gotham City of 2021 AD in Season Three of the animated Batman Beyond. Adding to Terry's burden this season is an old friend who has switched over to the dark side and reemerged as criminal genius "Big Time" Bigelow; and then there's that "invulnerable" supervillain whom even Batman cannot defeat despite a veritable arsenal of high-tech crimebusting hardware. As for "original" Batman Bruce Wayne, he is not as embittered and isolated as in seasons past, though he still yearns for the days of his idealistic youth, so much so that he agrees to undergo an experiment that will shave several years off his age--an experiment which, unfortunately, carries a heavy price tag. Episode highlights during the third season include the two-part "The Call", a crossover with the like-vintage superhero cartoon series Justice League of America, with guest appearances by Superman, Aquagirl, the Green Lantern and Warhawk--one of whom will, to universal horror, emerge as the villain of the piece. And in another two-parter, Terry/Batman goes "mano y mano" with a particularly vicious ninja gang known as Kobra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Teenager Terry McGinniss continues following in the footsteps of his aged mentor Bruce Wayne as the "new" Batman of the 21st century in Season Two of the animated Batman Beyond. In addition to such traditional nemeses as Shriek, Inque, the Spellbinder, the Jokerz and the Royal Flush Gang, Terry-Batman has his gloved hands full dealing with several new threats to the wellbeing of Gotham City, among them Earthmover, who has a talent for creating humanoids out of dirt; Sneak Peek, a unscrupulous--and invisible--TV newscasters; Bombshell, a dangerous telepath; and crazed big-game hunter Stalker. One of the newly minted antagonists, the rogue holographic assassin Zeta, will appear in only a handful of episodes before being spun off into his own series, The Zeta Project. Although Batman Beyond is set in the future, several of issues addressed in the Season Two episodes are sure to strike a chord with contemporary audiences. The late-20th-century tendency by disenfranchised youngsters to experiment with deadly drug combinations is dramatized in an episode wherein Batman confronts the new teen craze of "splicing", or mixing one's genes with animal DNA. In other episodes, one of Terry's lady friends is harassed by a stalker; a "tough love" boot camp for troubled teens turns out to have a deadly hidden agenda; and at least one otherwise scrupulous scientist turns to a life of crime after "downsized" during an economic recession. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton combines the first three episodes of the 1990s animated series to tell the origin story of Superman. Born on the faraway planet Krypton, Kal-El is the infant son of Jor-El, a brilliant scientist, and his wife, Lara. Jor-El believes that planet-wide destruction is approaching, but his warnings are not heeded -- except by Brainiac, the planet's supercomputer, which uses the information solely to save itself. As the planet begins to fall apart, Jor-El succeeds in sending his baby son away in a small rocket. The rocket lands on Earth, where he is found by Jonathon and Martha Kent. They adopt him and raise him as their own child, named Clark. Soon it becomes clear that Clark is not an ordinary child. He possesses powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary mortals. He vows to use these powers for good and, after graduating, he moves to Metropolis to start a newspaper career, where he soon finds himself working with attractive reporter Lois Lane. Along the way, he also adopts an alter ego -- Superman -- to fight such dangerous menaces as Lex Luthor, who has designed a battle suit that makes its wearer nearly invincible. Fortunately, Superman triumphs over all, saving Metropolis and the world for the first of what will be many times. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide