It isn’t hard to make a good Justice League film. For proof of this, one need look no further than the DC Animated segment of Warner Bros. Home Video. They have been churning out extremely entertaining Justice League films for years. These films had everything fans cared about, including characters who are true to their comic book roots, good guys acting like good guys and, most importantly, heroes being heroes. The animated Justice League films that have been produced have, for the most part, been done extremely well. Folks on the live-action side of things should take notes. Or they could just read this article, because we are ranking the 5 Best Animated Justice League Films.
5) Justice League: Doom (2012)
This animated feature from 2012 was loosely based on the incredible graphic novel, JLA: Tower of Babel. Doom tells the story of a super villain named Vandal Savage (awesome name) who uses stolen information, collected by Batman, to take down the Justice League. The information in question was a list of all of the ways to take down each member of the league, should they ever go bad. The list was compiled by Batman and, while we think he was just being safe, the rest of the Justice League aren’t huge fans of this breach of trust. Doom is a wonderful tale about trust, boundaries and the extent people are willing to go to in order to keep the world safe.
4) Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
Despite the failure of the live-action Justice League film, its follow-up, Aquaman, saw huge success. In fact, Aquaman has become the highest-grossing DC film of all time. Not bad for a guy who was at one point a walking punchline. Aquaman breathed new life into the King of Atlantis, but it wasn’t the first time Arthur Curry was portrayed as a badass.That honor belongs to Justice League: Throne of Atlantis.
Throne of Atlantis was one of the first films to portray Aquaman as a legitimate BA. It also showcased the torment Arthur Curry faces every time he is forced to choose between the seas of Atlantis and the dry world. Throne of Atlantis does a great job showing the humanity of Arthur Curry. But it’s also not afraid to show him kicking some serious butt too!
3) Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
Darwyn Cook, the writer and artist behind The New Frontier graphic novel, was a genius. The stories he told and the art he used to tell them were second to none. He was truly an innovator to the genre and, before his untimely death, he told some excellent stories. The New Frontier acts as an origin story for the Justice League, set within a time frame that took place shortly after the Korean War. While some fans may not be afraid of the “old school” Justice League, the story that Cook told, both with his graphic novel and the script for the animated film, truly goes down as one of the classics.
2) Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
The Flash tends to fly (or run) under the radar in a lot of the Justice League animated films, but The Flashpoint Paradox makes up for all of it with one of the greatest JL stories ever told. After a freak accident caused by Barry Allen, reality is fractured leaving things a little….off. And by a little, we mean a lot. Superman doesn’t exist, Batman is actually Thomas Wayne, the Justice League is non-existent and Aquaman and Wonder Woman are waging war on each other.
After realizing what has happened, it’s up to The Flash to convince the even MORE angry Batman to help him restore reality before things go from bad to worse.
Flashpoint was a huge comic series when it first came out, and the animated film version of it did the best it could in its 80 minute runtime. The end of the film, in which reality is restored and Flash is able to deliver a letter written by Thomas to Bruce, was worth the price of admission alone.
1) Justice League: War (2014)
Justice League: War was the first Justice League film in the ongoing story that spans multiple titles. It is another origin for the Justice League and everything the live-action film could have and should have been. There are logical reasons for the superheroes to team up, it features a formidable villain in the form of Darkseid and it has genuinely likable characters that are true to their comic book roots. Justice League: War is not only the best animated Justice League film- it might be one of the best super hero films period.
