Director: Joaquim Dos Santos
Writer: [Superman/Shazam!] Michael Jelenic, [The Spectre] Steve Niles, [Green Arrow] Greg Weisman and [Jonah Hex] Joe R. Lansdale
Starring: [Superman/Shazam!] Zach Callison, James Garner and Josh Keaton [The Spectre] Gary Cole, Alyssa Milano and Jeff Bennett [Green Arrow] Neal McDonough, Malcolm McDowell and Steve Blum [Jonah Hex] Thomas Jane, Linda Hamilton and Jason Marsden
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1701223/
The feature on this is the Superman/Shazam! cartoon with running time under a half hour. Each of the bonus shows are just over ten minutes each. Pretty lame, they need to be given full treatments.
"The Return of Black Adam" teams up Superman and Captain Marvel against Black Adam. What's cool is Captain Marvel and Black Adam are basically like Superman as far as strength and general powers, except that they are fueled by magic... which happens to be one of Supe's weaknesses just under Kryptonite. This is actually the origin story for Captain Marvel. He's just a ten year old kid who is pure of heart, so the wizard Shazam bestows the power of the Gods upon him. All he has to do is call the wizard's name and a lightning bolt strikes him and turns him into a bad-ass.
"The Spectre" is definitly the coolest of the bunch. Written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and has a kind of film noir feel to it. A lot darker than the feature. Definitely my pick of the bunch.
"Green Arrow" was a let-down. The story felt rushed, just jumping right into an adventure. Seemed more of a showcase for his toys than an actual story. The voice actor was a total mismatch for Ollie. Malcolm McDowell was cool for the villain though. Brief appearance by the Black Canary, but still couldn't save this short.
Finally we have "Jonah Hex". This one is of a darker nature as well. Joe Lansdale happens to be another of my favorite writers. Just a short episode of a Jonah Hex story. He's a lesser known character, but I guess since the live-action movie had just come out they didn't feel the need to go into origins.
All in all this collection wasn't too shabby. I think another Superman or Captain Marvel short would have been fitting, but I'll probably go out and buy it just for Jonah Hex and The Spectre. Especially since Niles was involved. The direction was great. Animation was definitely top-notch.
Verdict: * * *
- Xtoph
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