'Justice League vs. the Fatal Five' Is a Wonderful Treat for Fans of the Timmverse

The latest offering of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies is titled Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, and is a delightful return to the Timmverse (i.e. the DC Animated Universe), the setting of classic DC animated series like Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited.

It features a Justice League lineup consisting of founding members Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman (with Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, and Susan Eisenberg reprising their iconic voice roles!), plus Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, Mister Terrific, and rookie Miss Martian.  This time, they are pitted against the Fatal Five, a team of powerful supervillains from the future.  Coming to the heroes’ aid is Star Boy, a member of the Legion of Superheroes from the 31^st century.  Unfortunately, he suffers from a mental illness that stifles his memory and coherence of thought, and the drug that he needs to stabilize his mind has not been invented yet in the present era.

Justice League vs. the Fatal Five isn’t a perfect movie.  There are a few happenings here and there that are glaringly dumb and ridiculous (e.g. there’s this one scene where Jessica Cruz needlessly destroys the door of her apartment, and I laughed on reflex due to how stupid it was).

Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with this movie overall.

The action is solid, and the story and its plot threads are adequately engaging.  I like how Jessica Cruz and Star Boy are put in the forefront, and the focus given to their mental health really adds depth to the narrative.  Meanwhile, although the Big Three – Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman – mostly serve as supporting characters, they still have a satisfactory amount of moments to shine and kick butt.

I also greatly enjoy the dynamic between Batman and Miss Martian.  They have great chemistry, and share a couple of fleeting but noteworthy scenes.  For example, early in the movie, they have an exchange wherein Miss Martian morphs into Robin as rebuttal.  The execution of this was so hilarious and brilliant that I burst out laughing.

Above all, I’m just so happy of the mere fact that a new Timmverse movie is made.  Seeing its notable, charming animation style immediately put a smile on my face, and hearing the recognizable whine of the electric guitar of the Justice League Unlimited theme gave me a huge nostalgic rush.

The tone, however, is a bit darker than what I remember the Timmverse was all about.  Considering the language and graphics it has been willing to show, it’s definitely channelling some DC Animated Movie Universe flavor.

In the end, Justice League vs. the Fatal Five is a gratifying, welcome update of what’s going on in the Timmverse since the last we saw of it.  Hopefully, we’ll get to see more Timmverse-set projects in the future.

A Batman and Miss Martian caper, perhaps?