Probably the thing that surprised me the most was that the two teenage characters from the Legion of Super-Heroes may barely be present on the box art, but in effect the film is about them. They're the central protagonists who propel the action and have a growth of character throughout the piece. The ultimate antagonist is from their franchise as well. The JLA themselves are really just there for marquee value and to represent superheroes in the modern era. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise because I've seen far less of Karate Kid and Dawnstar than I have of Batman, Superman, or Lex Luthor.
Between this and "Flashpoint Paradox", WB Home Video has certainly been eager for time travel stories for their superheroes. The gist is that after yet another attempt by the Legion of Doom to take over the world is foiled by the JLA, Lex Luthor (Fred Tatasciore, who has voiced the Hulk in many projects over the years) winds up frozen in a block of ice for over 1,000 years. While he doesn't get a chance to go to a "Men out of Time Anonymous" meeting alongside Steve Rogers and Goliath, he does wind up as an exhibit in the famous Superman Museum of the "Legion of Super-Heroes" of the 31st century. Currently touring the museum are the impatient Karate Kid (Dante Basco, best known as Zuko from "AVATAR") and the hesitant Dawnstar (Laura Bailey, who I knew best as Keiko from "YU YU HAKUSHO"). They wind up accidentally freeing Luthor, where the fiend quickly utilizes the museum to figure out Superman's secret identity and gain access to the Time Trapper, a mysterious figure seemingly enslaved to an enchanted device. Failing to stop Luthor from escaping into the past, they wind up in modern day and try to contact the JLA. Unfortunately, they get into a fight with Robin (Jack DeSena, who voiced Sokka on "AVATAR") and despite getting the JLA to aid them, are unable to stop Luthor from fiddling with time and erasing the JLA from existence. Now the entire timeline is in shambles and the world is owned by the Legion of Doom. Our two teen heroes manage to find the courage to face up to their mistake and make one last ditch effort to correct it, but is the Time Trapper (voiced by Corey Burton, best known as Brainiac, but who also voices Captain Cold here) more than a pawn?
The rest of the cast are pretty good, including some reprisals of iconic roles as well as overall good voice over artists. Diedrich Bader gets to reprise his role as Batman from "BRAVE AND THE BOLD", as well as Kevin Michael Richardson doing the same with Black Manta (and Solomon Grundy). Jason Spisak, who broke a million hearts as Kid-Flash/Wally West on "YOUNG JUSTICE", finally gets to play the Flash here (in a role he teased about online last year that got YJ fans in a tizzy before its finale aired). Grey DeLisle, who is for this decade who Jennifer Hale was in the 90's, plays a very well designed Wonder Woman. Liam O'Brien, who played Nightcrawler and Angel on "WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN" and Baron Zemo in "AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES" is Aquaman here. For my money, though, Michael David Donovan scores some of the film's best lines as Bizarro.
The tone of this piece is interesting. The title credits clearly are an homage to the start of "SuperFriends", yet the show offers a more serious story and better action than that 1970's relic ever did. A segment in the second act where half the JLA and LOD compete for baby Superman in Smallville provides a lot of slapstick, and there are a few genuine "laugh out loud" lines and gags here and there. There is no blood and no hard language (not even a "hell" or "damn" as one would expect of a PG film), yet the animation quality and storyboards for the action are every bit as good as some would expect for more "serious" animated productions. The character designs are also fascinating; a blend of Jim Lee's New 52 designs with iconic elements most people know. WW is right out of "DC Universe Online", while Superman's newer outfit looks a lot better without the v-neck and with his classic S-crest. Karate Kid's design looks like a clear homage to "SF" member Samurai, while Dawnstar's costume plays up her Native American heritage slightly more. Batman's design seems to want to be more like it was in "BRAVE AND THE BOLD", but the armored elements from the modern era won't go away. Cyborg, Flash, and Aquaman have rarely looked better. Toyman is a dead ringer for his "living puppet" design from "SuperFriends", which I never got and frankly makes him look creepy despite his often silly antics.
Some would say that the film "ends on a cliffhanger", but I disagree. It merely ends without tying up every loose end and promising the potential for more stories in this universe. Far worse, and far longer, live action spectacles have done the same. I also welcomed it because the plot involves a lot of time-bending antics and the possibility of these two kids managing to successfully correct their botching, then slap-dash amendment, of the time stream perfectly in one go is even more insane than Lex Luthor's purple shirt. I was satisfied that they hadn't gotten it quite right and would need to patch some bits up after all. After all, Karate Kid and Dawnstar's journey as heroes has only begun. Some might also roll their eyes at the angle of eliminating Superman meaning eliminating the Justice League, but while that IS a very simple summary of the normal DCU timeline, I think it works because of the inclusion of the "Legion of Super-Heroes". That franchise began in 1958 heavily attached to Superboy, who was a member of the team despite existing in their past. They often drew their inspiration from Superman and the example he set not only as a hero to Earth from Krypton, but as a hero to other planets and galaxies as well. Also, on a more historical level, Superman was the first of DC's most iconic heroes, so on that level removing him also takes out the foundation of the universe. Sure, Batman, Wonder Woman and the others may have existed without him or his example, but would they have united? Stayed united? That argument could go either way. And sure, the fact that neither Karate Kid or Dawnstar have any odd slang despite being teenagers from over 1,000 years in the future may be quaint, but such things have been typical of the LOSH. Hell, "Batman Beyond" was notable for its writers making sure its kids of 2040 had their own slang.
