Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths will be the 7th original animated movie to come to DVD, the first being Superman: Doomsday. Although this is the second Justice League animated movie it has no relationship to Justice League: A New Frontier. Originally the story for Crisis on Two Earths was to bridge the gap between the Justice League series and Justice League Unlimited, it was called Justice League: Fearful Symmetry and later re-titled Justice League: Worlds Collide. For one reason or another, the idea was scarped.
This will be the first DTV (Direct-to-Video) that carries the “Crisis” title. This leads to the possibility of other more well known Crisis adaptations such as “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” That being said the term “Crisis” has been apart of the DC Comics lore for about 46 years beginning in August of 1963 with “Crisis on Earth One.” Of course there may have been others that had “Crisis” in the title but Crisis on Earth One was the first of the Annual Crossovers that involved the Justice League and the Justice Society.
This new DVD introduces the Crime Syndicate of America. In the comics they usually reside on what is called Earth Three. In this reality history is a bit reversed. Things like President Lincoln being assassinated by the actor John Wilkes Booth are reversed to President John Wilkes Booth being assassinated by actor Abraham Lincoln. In effect evil always wins. As far as the superheroes it is not a case of Earth Three having evil versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The Crime Syndicate is made up new characters that stand in for them, most notably Ultra man, Owl Man and Superwoman. Over the years and mostly because of the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths the origins of these characters where changed so it is tough to say what version the DTV will go with. They may even make up their own.
A few weeks ago a trailer was released. And we get a good glimpse of a few characters; there are also a few surprises. The main plot of the story is this: The world’s only remaining superhero, Lex Luthor, asks for the aid of the Justice League to help defeat the Crime Syndicate. The Justice League this time around will be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and Martian Manhunter. The Crime Syndicate seams to be a bit more interesting…at least from the glimpse of the trailer. We see of course Ultraman, Super Woman, and Owlman, but we also seem to see what was once known as Justice League Detroit. Members include Vibe, Vixen, and Gypsy. Other lesser known heroes can be seen like Halo and Red Arrow. We also see an interesting appearance by the President. He has white hair and an eye-patch. This leads me to believe that Deathstroke: The Terminator also known as Slade is the President.
A short list of prominent actors has been released as well. Mark Harmon is Superman, William Baldwin is Batman, James Woods is Owlman, Gina Torres is Super Woman, Chris North is Lex Luthor, and Bruce Davidson is The President.
This should be a most entertaining adventure of the Justice League and with a killer story to match. It is scheduled to be released Spring 2010.
