The latest (thirty-fourth) film in the DC Universe (animated, anyway) series, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, finds Star-Boy of the Legion of Superheroes traveling back in time after a three supervillains steal a time machine. In the present, Star-Boy is unaware of who he is, while those three members of the Fatal Five, Persuader, Tharok, and Mano, threaten the peace. Thankfully, the Justice League and the Green Lantern Corps are on hand to battle their plot to free two of their accomplices (or blow up American cities in the process).
While this wasn’t my favorite of the bunch, given the busyness of the episode and the lack of focus on any one individual or group, there was power in the way that the show handles mental illness (focused on in one of the features). While the heroes are heroes and the villains are villains, we see that even heroes have issues they have to work through, and they aren’t always resolved.
Special features include featurettes “Battling the Invisible Menace” and “Justice League vs. Fatal Five: Unity of Hero”. More than even the audio commentary with luminaries like Bruce Timm and Jim Krieg, the sneak peak of Justice League Dark(magic-based DC heroes), Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Batman: Hush highlight the features. (Hush is still one of the best storylines… ever!) Additional viewing on the special features include Justice League Unlimited’s“Far From Home” and Legion of Superheroes’ “Man of Tomorrow.”
