by Greg Uke, Reporter

She has gone by many names: The Girl of Steel. The Maid of Might. The Princess of Power. That’s right, Supergirl has returned to the DC Universe Movie series! Viewers are reintroduced to one of DC Comics’ most beloved characters, this time in conjunction with the heroes of the 31st century…the Legion of Super-Heroes (now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital Download)!

Before we review Legion of Super-Heroes, we thought it would be helpful to look at the history of the characters in animation. Originally produced by Warner Bros. back in 2006, this animated series flew under the radar with a two season run of 13 episodes each. The premise of this series was simple; a young superman is recruited by a band of time traveling heroes and taken to the 31st century to fight bad guys, after which he decides to stick around and brush up on his heroing skills before returning to his original time mere seconds after he left. 

This weird-but-interesting stunt accomplishes several things. First, it justifies Superman’s swift transition from a farm boy into an experienced crime fighting superhero once he moves to Metropolis to pursue his dreams of journalism. In the span of the television series he has moments of uncertainty and “suckyness”, overcomes them, and makes an effort to behave like the hero everyone in the 31st century already believes him to be. There are a number of transformative moments packed into this brief series which go a long way to justify Clark Kents appearance on the Metropolis scene as an ethical Ubermensch with a firm grasp of his powers and most of his crap ironed out. Narratively speaking, I find this approach both ham-handed and elegant at the same time. But most importantly, it works. I recommend adults look up the 2006 TV show and binge through it with a kid in the room. Y’know, just for the kid (wink). 

Now we jump to 2023, where viewers are reintroduced to the Legion of Super-Heroes in the “Tomorrowverse” animated universe. The premise here is also simple. Supergirl (voiced by the very well selected Meg Donnelly) is a hormonal but well meaning young woman with Kryptonian powers and a bull-in-china-shop mentality. She hates living in Metropolis because she doesn’t fit in, so Superman (Darren Criss) and Batman (Jensen Ackles) decide she should spend some time in the 31st century with the Legion because it worked out well for him. Kara swiftly learns that bull-in-a-china-shop is a bad way to go through life, regardless of what era you’re in, and experiences some growth by the end of the movie. There are also themes of maturation, conspiracy, peer pressure, and impulsiveness worked into the plot. 

One of the things I found gratifying about this movie, as a fan of the 2006 series, is the ability to see the Legion members aged to young adulthood. In the TV series they were all just kids, so there’s a sense of continuity there. The future described in Legion is one where interstellar travel and politics both exist, and superheroes have shed their secret identities to act as full-time citizens (and police) of the cosmos. In this respect they act more like an independent knightly order; recruiting powered individuals, assigning quests to members, and they are governed by an inner circle of veterans led by a “grandmaster” figure. They concern themselves with stopping wars and preventing major atrocities, not fighting crime. It’s a completely different dynamic. Unfortunately we don’t get to see any of that in the 2023 movie. The action takes place entirely in Legion headquarters, with the main antagonist being a secret society called the Dark Circle whose primary pastime is showing up in ski-masks to blast people with science guns. 

Legion of Super-Heroes features Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) as Supergirl/Kara, Harry Shum Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) as Brainiac 5, Darren Criss (Glee) as Superman, Matt Bomer (Doom Patrol) as The Flash, Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) as Batman. The film also includes Cynthia Hamidi (FBI) as Dawnstar, Gideon Adlon (Blockers) as Phantom Girl, Ely Henry (Players) as Bouncing Boy, Robbie Daymond (Critical Role) as Timber Wolf and Brainiac 4, Yuri Lowenthal (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) as Mon-El, Eric Lopez (Young Justice) as Cosmic Boy and Chemical King, Darin De Paul (Mortal Kombat Legends franchise) as Brainiac and Solomon Grundy, Ben Diskin (Muppet Babies) as Arms Fall Off Boy and Brainiac 2, Victoria Grace (Pacific Rim: The Black) as Shadow Lass, Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect franchise) as Alura, Daisy Lightfoot (Avengers Assemble) as Triplicate Girl, and Zeno Robinson (Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons) as Invisible Kid and Brainiac 3.

One of the main challenges with this release is that I wasn’t quite sure who it was truly intended for. Intellectually it’s clearly made for kids. There are no unseen plot twists, the protagonist acts like a dumb punk, the deuteragonist (supposedly a level 12 intellect) is an arrogant sarcastic who could be outsmarted by my 9 year old, and the “lessons” learned by Supergirl are ones we all learn in elementary school. But there’s also some kissy stuff and bullet-train-romance thrown in, which implies that it isn’t for children. When I say bullet-train-romance I mean that Kara Zor-El goes from mistrusting her love interest and dying of stab wounds on the floor to sucking his face in about forty seconds. Seriously. I timed it. If reality worked like that, maybe I’d have had a prom date. 

Special Features

• The Legion Behind The Legion (New Featurette) – It took a heroic effort from a legion of writers, artists, animators and filmmakers to bring Legion of Super-Heroes to life. In this featurette, filmmakers and stars give us a deep dive into the making of the movie, from the original story idea through character development and final animation.
• Meet the Legionnaires (New Featurette) – There are dozens and dozens of Legion members, many of whom are featured in Legion of Super-Heroes. Who made the cut, and why? Lucky for us, the filmmakers are here to introduce us to each one – and give us some background on who they are, and why they’re important to the movie.
• Brainiac Attack: The Intellect Behind the Super-Villain (New Featurette) – In Legion of Super-Heroes, Brainiac 5 proves himself to be the pinnacle of all Brainiac iterations, but how did he become that way? In this featurette, filmmakers explain what we should we know about the 4 Brainiacs who came before him, and how – and why – Brainiac 5 chose his own path.
• Down to Earth: The Story of Supergirl (New Featurette) – Supergirl’s narrow escape from Krypton and her arrival on Earth is just the beginning of our story (literally). In this featurette, filmmakers explain why they chose to center Legion of Super-Heroes on Supergirl, what the backstory is between her and Superman at the start of the movie, and what exactly is going on between her and Brainiac 5.
• Digital Download

Overall

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Legion of Super-Heroes 3 out of 5 adventures to the 31st century.