Superman vs. The Elite
Superman vs. The Elite
PG-13 | 12 June 2012 (USA)
Superman vs. The Elite Trailers

The Man of Steel finds himself outshone by a new team of ruthless superheroes who hold his idealism in contempt.

Reviews
Nonureva Really Surprised!
Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Neil Welch Superman's role as purveyor of justice is challenged by The Elite, a super-powered group led by Manchester Black, who kill super-villains so that they can't escape and commit more mayhem. But is the only way to deal with The Elite to use their own methods against them? I have mixed feelings about this animated movie which adapts a story arc by Joe Kelly. It's a good story, well told, which raises interesting questions about the morality of misusing power over others. On the other hand, it is a very dark piece, with some inappropriate language for an all-ages character like Superman (Superman would not use the expression "w*nkers", for instance). So my verdict is mixed.And the assorted British regional accents are inconsistent: Black has a generic "oop north" accent while his father and younger sister have London accents!
jppurkis Superman is a walking atom bomb. This movie shows all of the themes that comic book writers have swept under the rug for years including the scope of superman's powers, the collateral damage associated with him cutting loose, and the absolute necessity of his moral restraints given that his unintentional motions could have devastating consequences for others. Superman is capable of fulfilling all of his desires instantly including his desire for revenge. This movie begins to explore the depth of his restraint and why this makes him the best superhero as well as why others who are not as stubborn in their unwavering morality can't be trusted in similar positions of authority. The difference between Manchester Black and Superman is the difference between Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Emperor Commodus.A serious battle between Superman and an aggressor would have devastating consequences for his surroundings. If he moved at his top speed his surface temperature would bake his surroundings (an SR-71 blackbird has some areas on its surface at 1000 degrees at mach 3 and superman can move at 880991 times that). He can easily cause earthquakes, tsunami's and hurricanes when his various abilities are used at their full strength and I like to imagine that unleashing his heat vision at maximum intensity could roast the surface of the earth. When you have this level of power absolute restraint is necessary to avoid upsetting the fabric of human society. Because of this it is almost certain that one day his powers will be the source of a natural disaster when fighting off one of his tougher opponents. This is an untapped source of endless potential drama. What if he accidentally caused a tidal wave that wrecked a certain community? What if he accidentally destroyed one of the fleets of the US? How would the US respond given that it is the job of all military organizations to develop contingency plans against potential threats? What would be the geopolitical impact of Superman in a world like ours if he chose to intervene in world affairs? He easily has the power to do so given that he has intelligence gathering and processing abilities as well as the ability to project force on par with the strongest of modern nation states. He sees everything and can hear everything and is therefore privy to the most sensitive of information. His alien origins give him surpassing intelligence so he is capable of processing this information as well as retaining it because he is not subject to human limitations. How Superman chooses to direct this force as well as how powerful organizations respond to it would be a very interesting storyline. Given that he can see and hear all there is also tremendous potential for social commentary with the character.I like to think that Superman is a force for good because he is not subject to human limitations. He has no need for food, air, sleep, power, security, shelter, or money and is therefore free to direct his efforts to the benefit of others. There have been many morally despicable actions taken out of ugly necessity such as Diocletian's razing of a city in the south eastern Mediterranean (I'm pretty sure it was in Egypt and I think it was Alexandria but I'm not quite sure). In order to preserve the foundations of Roman power he made an example of the city. In order to secure a living wage salesmen routinely lie in order to rip off customers. Superman is not subject to any of these constraints. Therefore he is free to be a positive influence.All of these themes are present in this video and although they aren't very developed I am absolutely thrilled that they have been discovered. Collateral damage is present in the final sequence and his intervention in world affairs is a theme present in Bialia and Bocolistan (apologies if I spelled them wrong). Restraint is present in the beginning and final sequences.I understand that some want more and think that this line of thought requires more exploration. I couldn't agree more but animation is not the medium to do it yet (this film alone cost 3.5 million dollars). Given the constraints involved this movie was masterfully made and Superman fighting the elite choreographed together with tragic music and Manchester black's monologue is one of the best sequences I have ever seen. People who rate it lower than 9 don't know what they are talking about.I had the good fortune to be able to watch the film with the commentary of Joe Kelly and the director and it shows that a great deal of thought and skill went into the development of the scenes. This movie is an absolute triumph and is not only the best Superman film that I have seen but the best animated superhero film that I have seen ever. Watched it. Appreciated it. Loved it.
jack_face I went ahead and read Action Comics #775 before watching Superman vs. The Elite. It has the worst opening credits of any DC animated movie I've ever seen because the tone doesn't match the movie. The comic wasn't great but it had a good concept. The movie tried to copy that but there was so much that was completely unrelated to the comic that they didn't quite get the job done. You gotta wait for half of the movie to pass before you start seeing similarities. The question is should the life of a killer be spared or should equal justice be served? We all know Supes is a boy scout. The Elite, in the comic, are anti-heroes and portrayed to be more powerful than Supes. In the movie, The Elite aren't anywhere near as powerful but the filmmakers want viewers to believe that they could beat Supes. Yet they needed his help during a battle? In the comic, Supes shows them who's really the boss and is in total control of his actions. In the movie, he does the same but they want us to believe he's losing his sanity and morality at the same time. If you haven't read the comic, then you'll probably enjoy the movie for what it is. If you have, then you'll know where I'm coming from and will be disappointed. Lois Lane's voice made her sound like she was a bleached-blonde, Paris Hilton type and it really didn't help. The funniest part of the movie was the scene when she saw another lady kissing Superman. The laugh was like watching the "Jake from State Farm" commercial.
Rectangular_businessman "Superman vs. The Elite" is an animated adaptation of "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?", a comic which made a contrast between the classic morality of more traditional heroes with the actions done by morally ambiguous antiheroes, which question the consequences caused by the decision of Superman to don't kill anybody, not even the worst villains, considering that sometimes this could do more harm than good.The bad thing is that even with such interesting premise, neither the original comic or this animated movie made a very deep exploration of those themes, and instead of that this movie takes the easy way out of turning The Elite characters into typical villains (instead of the antiheroes that they were supposed to be) in order to make Superman to be automatically right. In other words, what could have been a complex story turns into another predictable battle of good vs. evil and black and white morality. Superman is right, and the Elite is wrong, there is nothing to question here.I appreciate the fact that the animated movie tried to add some little shades of gray making The Elite a bit (just a bit) more likable than their original comic counterparts, also showing the collateral damage caused by the decision of Superman to don't kill any villain. But that's it, at the end this animation follows the same pattern of the comic, without going deeper than that.But at least this had some entertainment value (Though I liked the original comic a bit more: It is true that the story was more simplistic, but at the same more direct, without any of the unnecessary filler material that was added to this animation) Even if at the end this is just a classical "good vs. evil" story disguised as something more complex,, it does still have some virtues that deserve appreciation, such as a good voice acting, some decent action scenes (Though the animation of this isn't so good as it could have been) and the fact, that despite how deeply flawed this was, at least was something funny to watch.I guess that this movie has a good point and a correct message, but if somebody think seriously about it, at the end Superman makes the same mistake of the Elite, seeing the things in black and white: He is completely right and the others are wrong, even if they have some valid points to make. And in my opinion, that's a bit contradictory.