Director: Michael Chang
Stars: George Newbern, Pauley Perrette, Robin Atkin Downes, Dee Bradley Baker, Ogie Banks, Melissa Disney, Catero Colbert
Superman finds himself confronted by a world that is doubting his methods. With the rise of terrorist organizations and supervillains causing a lot of destruction, people are trying to urge Superman to use his power and rid the world of the evil-doers for good. When he refuses people begin to lose faith in him, especially as a new team, who call themselves The Elite, defeat the bad guys using extreme measures.
I always enjoy stories that put Superman’s philosophy to the test as it’s an interesting subject in morality. Is the moral value of not killing worth seeing repeat offenders cause more and more destruction? It’s been brought up in a number of stories but in Superman vs. The Elite it’s the focus of the entire movie, and as Superman explains his reasoning to Manchester Black it only reinforces my negative opinion of Man of Steel. The style of the intro immediately sets it apart from the other DC movies, and it does feel like it’s removed from the wider universe (although some lip service is paid to the other heroes).
The Elite are interesting characters, although we’re only given backstory on one of them. It would have been preferable to see what made all of them tick, but I understand why they chose to focus on Manchester Black. The final fight is terrifying and enrapturing as Superman unleashes his full power, and it’s a moment of triumph when people realize he was right. It may be idealistic but it’s the reason why I love Superman, and as he explains his philosophy I feel inspired.
