Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

As well as riffing on Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's JLA: Earth 2 comic series, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths also salvages an abandoned direct-to-DVD project that would have formed a bridge between the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited TV series. Despite this wealth of continuity potential, Two Earths deliberately exists outside of any previously established DC animation canon. Two Earths does still nurse a few serial hangovers though - Martian Manhunter feels estranged, Batman's reluctant to play nice, and Superman never quite main events.

These first draft leftovers actually work in the feature's favour, they cue shorthand understanding by using such well established beats, lending currency to the central parallel worlds idea. These aren't quite our Justice League but we grasp the basics. As a main event bother, the Crime Syndicate shines. The mobbed up hierarchy works well for shortsighted in-fighting, allowing oodles of opportunity for crawling, cameo under-men. Gina Torres' Superwoman is the highlight, a willing accomplice to Owlman's psychotic agenda. She fights flanked by a bizarro Marvel Family, and suffers a kink for stranded super sleuths. Superwoman plays like an Amazonian mint of Thunderball's SPECTRE fox Fiona Volpe and, facing Wonder Woman, gets easily the best fight.