Justice League Dark: Apokolips War brings the DC Animated Universe, which started with the animated film Flashpoint Paradox, to an epic conclusion.
Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
The Justice League Dark animated film Apokolips War brings the DC Animated Universe to a satisfyingly conclusion. At the same time, it suggests that a new shared animated universe could be on the way, perhaps inspired by DC Rebirth as the DCAU was inspired by the New 52 reboot of 2011.
The DCAU began in 2013 with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, an adaptation of the 2011 comic book storyline Flashpoint. The DCAU continued through a line of animated movies that were based on other important recent storylines, with the first Justice League story arc of the New 52 era, Justice League: Origin, being adapted into the 2014 film Justice League: War. The shared universe later expanded to adapt older classic comic book storylines, such as Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and The Death of Superman.
It is somewhat surprising then that Apokolips War tells a wholly original story that evokes the spirit of earlier crossover events rather than replicating fan-favorite moments from popular comics. The effect invites comparison to Twilight of the Superheroes, a storyline proposed but never published by legendary comics creator Alan Moore, which would have detailed a potential ending for DC Comics' universe. While Apokolips War delivers a definitive ending, it also suggests a new beginning, both for those who survive the war and the DC animated films line.
Why Apokolips War is a Justice League Dark Story
One question that many fans asked when Justice League Dark: Apokolips War was announced was why the movie was being released under the Justice League Dark banner rather than Justice League, when the story focuses on a battle with Darkseid and the evil New Gods, who are traditionally enemies of the Justice League. The answer is that while Apokolips War does draw upon all of the heroes in the DCAU, John Constantine and Raven are its main point-of-view characters. There are others who have important roles to play in the narrative, but it is the Daughter of Trigon and The Laughing Magician who undergo the most development and have the strongest character arcs.
How Flashpoint Paradox Caused The Apokolips War
Early in the film, as the Justice League is discussing a potential invasion of Earth by Apokolips, The Flash mentions the "visions I had about the Flashpoint," and while not everybody in the League believes him, an all-out war with Apokolips would cause unimaginable destruction on Earth. Later, as John Constantine worked a sleeping spell on a frenzied Barry Allen, John had a psychic flashback of one of Barry Allen's visions, leading John to declare that The Flash was responsible for causing the Flashpoint and the war with Apokolips. Constantine explained, to an incredulous Superman, that if Barry Allen had never gone back in time to try and save his mother's life, it would never have resulted in the shift in reality that caused Darkseid to emerge into their universe.
What Happened After The Opening Scene
The opening scene of Apokolips War shows Superman leading the Justice League in an all-out assault on Apokolips, with the Teen Titans and Earth's other superheroes staying behind and acting as a home-guard. The opening credits began just after the team was attacked by a new breed of Parademons with the DNA of Doomsday. Once the credits ended, the story jumped forward two years to a bombed out London, where Raven and a powerless Superman searched for John Constantine, who fled the battle on Apokolips and left the rest of the Justice League for dead after his girlfriend, Zatanna, was overtaken by Darkseid's forces.
Superman revealed that Darkseid knew the Justice League was coming and was prepared. Most of the Justice League's membership, like the Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Aquaman, Zatanna, and most of the Teen Titans, were killed during the battle and the subsequent invasion of Earth. Others, like Wonder Woman, Mera, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, and Starfire, were outfitted with Apokoliptian technology and turned into cyborg slaves of Darkseid through the same process that created the Parademons. Yet Darkseid had even darker fates in mind for those Justice League members who had been key to his earlier defeats.
Lex Luthor, unsurprisingly, turned traitor and was put in charge of overseeing Apokolips' operations on Earth. Batman was tortured until he broke, becoming a willing servant of Darkseid outfitted with a Mobius Chair like that piloted by the New God Metron and acted as Darkseid's chief tactical advisor. Cyborg was dissected and put to work as Darkseid's personal computer, monitoring all of his advanced technology around the universe from Darkseid's throne room. The Flash was put on a treadmill and turned into a power generator to replace the one the Justice League successfully destroyed. Superman merited a special punishment, being tattooed with liquid Kryptonite, which left him powerless and in great pain, but still alive and able to watch Darkseid strip-mine his adopted homeworld for resources, seemingly helpless to stop him.
Despite this, Superman still sought to form a new Justice League from the surviving League members and Teen Titans, plus whatever help they could win from Earth's other heroes and villains. This led Lois Lane to challenge Harley Quinn in a one-on-one fight to secure the help of the now-independent Suicide Squad. They also enlisted the help of Damian Wayne, who had left Raven (the only other surviving Teen Titan) to take over leadership of the League of Assassins. The team also earned the help of Lex Luthor, who claimed to have only turned traitor so he could bide his time and wait for an opportunity to turn on Darkseid.
Was The Whole Thing Batman's Scheme From the Start?
One big question that remains at the end of the film is how much of the second attack on Apokolips was predicted by Batman two years earlier. It is revealed after John Constantine dies and goes to Heaven (the result of Zatanna pulling a few strings) that John's sudden attack of cowardice during the first attack on Apokolips was the result of one of Zatanna's spells and that she mind-controlled her boyfriend into abandoning the fight at Batman's request. It seemed that Batman had a contingency plan in place in case the invasion of Apokolips went badly and keeping John Constantine at liberty was a key part of that plan.
Why? Despite his claims of just being a simple conman who knows a bit of magic, John Constantine is far more capable than he lets on and perhaps more powerful than he himself suspects. John's knack for being able to consider all the angles and plan for the treachery of others by considering what he'd do if he could get away with it winds up saving the Justice League more than once over the course of the movie, with John managing such feats as tricking Swamp Thing into attacking one of Darkseid's magma pumps and turning Wonder Woman's magical lasso against her to restore her true personality. It seems likely that Batman reasoned that if Superman's direct approach failed, the Justice League would need a schemer who could do whatever was necessary to save the world. In other words, it needed John Constantine.
How Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is The End of the DCAU
Darkseid is ultimately defeated, but the Earth is far from saved. The Justice League is decimated and the Earth, as far as Batman can tell from a simple analysis, is too far gone environmentally to be saved easily. As Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman begin to discuss what might be done to keep casualties out of the billions, John Constantine slips away and approaches The Flash, saying "You know what you have to do, mate. Clear the board. Start again." When Barry protests that there's no way of telling what changes might be caused by another Flashpoint, Constantine argues that it can't possibly be any worse than the mess they're in now. Without another word, Barry Allen gets up and starts running. The movie closes with a light washing over the horizon as the Justice League looks on and the world changes again, hopefully for the better.
What comes next is anybody's guess. The only DC Comics' animated film in the works right now is Superman: Man of Tomorrow, which will focus on the early years of Clark Kent becoming a hero. There's no indication that this will be the start of a new cinematic universe, but it would be true to form for a Superman movie to be used as a starting point for a new beginning. As for Justice League Dark, it seems primed to make the leap to live-action on HBO Max, so we may not be seeing John Constantine, Zatanna, and their allies in animation anytime soon.
