DC's latest animated movie, Batman: Assault on Arkham, will have its world premiere later tonight at San Diego Comic-Con (we should have a review up early tomorrow!), and we wanted to celebrate the project by reflecting on two of the company's more recent animated movies: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradoxand Justice League: War. Jay Oliva directed both of these adventures and both are and based on story arcs by Geoff Johns, but do you like one more than the other? It's a simple question and it turns out the answer is a very clear "yes." A large majority has sided with the dark and bloody Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox!
Justice League: War went for big action and big comedy as the team formed to battle Darkseid, but it looks like the people have spoken and they prefer the twisted and compelling look at one of DC's savage alternate worlds. The action was ruthless -- just like the world itself -- and, even though Batman still played a large role, it was great seeing Flash receive so much more focus and the spotlight was well spent on the speedster. His life and who he is was given a proper amount of insight and they still found room to give an emotional bit to another famous character. Plus, the potential behind the alternate world is fascinating and we were given a solid glimpse of just how gripping and brutal the place can be. We were also treated a look at several alternate takes on popular characters yet the focus on Barry still remained strong. Last but not least, it's safe to say a vast majority of us love what the credits sequence teased, right?
The community has been discussing these movies since Monday, so let's see what a few of them had to say about the choices.
NessaXVI
"Flashpoint Paradox is the best DC animated movie so far. The moment Batman / Bruce Wayne shows his vulnerability and drops his wall to show he is human is priceless for any fan. I've watched this movie 3 times. I can't get enough of it. Also, it was great to see Thomas Wayne in action and to see how he was still human too after all he'd been through in his timeline after learning that Bruce was still alive in an alternate one. He still sacrificed his life for his son even though they didn't coexist on the same plane. Amazing."
feedonatreefrog
"JL WAR for me.
Yes, it has some flaws (especially for purists who can't accept change), but it does soooo much right as well. The story is simple, leaving room for fun character actions and the best action ever seen in a DC animated movie, bar none. It knew its strengths and delivered them in spades.
Flashpoint had its moments, but the plot is too meandering and the doom n gloom world wasn't a pleasant place to be. No Green Lantern also drops it a couple points instantly."
ZZoMBiE13
"Flashpoint for sure.
I didn't pick up the comics so I can't compare them to the source. But I really enjoyed the movie version. I liked the dark twisted version of the DC universe that Flashpoint showed us. I liked the resolution to the story, I liked the villain, the plot was fun to follow. Pretty much liked every bit of it."
Dud317
"I enjoyed them both. War, is simply surface value fun movie. What you see is what you get. It has it's jokes and action. Nothing wrong with that. Flashpoint however, has more layers. It has betrayal. It examines the love between a parent and child from both POVs. Not to mention the entire premise is based on chaos theory, or the butterfly effect.
It also boils down to this. An avid comic fan generally favors the "what if" storyline, whereas the casual fan may appreciate War better because they don't have to be as familiar with the characters in order to understand the dynamic changes that Flashpoint relies on."
Here's the poll's results.
- Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox 62%
- Justice League: War 20%
- Sorry, I'm not a fan of either movie 8%
- I can't choose... I like them both equally! 6%
- It brings me great shame to admit I haven't watched these movies and won't be able to before Friday 3%
Now comes the challenging part, Viners. What's your favorite moment from either of these animated movies? If you can eventually choose one, be sure to share it with the community below and say why it rocks! Don't forget to check the homepage on Monday for a brand new edition of this segment. If you want to suggest a future match-up (it can be comics, TV shows, movies, or video games!), tell us below or reach out via twitter.