Animated Superhero Films

DC Comics owns the leader board here. Outside the Spider-Verse films, Marvel isn’t even on the map. Wolverine vs. Hulk is still their next strongest offering. But Marvel’s animated strategy isn’t about quality. It’s about market saturation. Children’s programming. Lightweight serialization. Content for content’s sake.

With Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part One (2023), DC seems to be chasing the same strategy. They focus on volume, not vision. Thus this film isn’t intended for adult consumption. It leaves only two possible audiences:
I) Young children — brains still forming, still forgiving.
II) Fans of RWBY — those fluent in its lore and rhythms.

The RWBY Realm

From the start, Superman has lost an arbitrary amount of power and memory, just enough to stagger into the plot. He and the other Leaguers wake up on Remnant, confused and suddenly teenagers. An inexplicable transformation but permanent enough to drive runtime. The most consistent pleasure is in the alternate character designs — seeing stylized re-imaginings of familiar heroes.

Romantic hints (Clark and Ruby, Bruce and Weiss) are light sketches and knowingly doomed. There’s little narrative weight to any connection. The dialogue sways between exposition and awkward flirtation.

“Hey Weiss. This is my friend, Clark. Who’s your new slam piece? I like his bat wings.”

The villains are black-ink scribbles with glowing eyes and bone features — Kingdom Hearts-style figures without stakes or voice. Beheadings cause them to disappear. They regenerate. Their tusks are sharper next time. None of it matters.

The film assumes RWBY fluency. Characters, locations, fantasy logic — all tossed in with no hand-holding. Maybe fans of the show will enjoy immediate immersion. As an outsider, it feels like homework I didn’t agree to do.

Kindergarten Approval Denied

Tonal mismatching is frequent. The most crass line in the two-part series comes out of Victor’s mouth. He’s been making fast moves at hammer girl in front of dual uzi man. Cyborg’s called out and throws a tantrum.

“I know. That sucked,” Victor says.

Take it easy, Cryborg.

It’s technically a reference to oral sex. But he’s Black so it’s aight.
(Or at least that’s how the script treats it.)

It’s also the single edgiest, most tension-filled moment in either part. Ironic, considering the worst behavior on display is… labeling one’s own behavior.

Yang, the blonde brawler with wrist cannons, comments on Diana’s impressiveness. Her friends, with zero subtlety, call her out for it. She shrugs, deflects and smirks her way through it. This isn’t a subplot. It’s one more moment of inter-dimensional teen bonding. The script tries to spin this as organic. It isn’t.

Everyone’s flirting. Everyone’s confused. And yet the film moves with total confidence — like it thinks we’re enjoying ourselves.

I can’t recommend watching Part One. But maybe you still have questions.
Will moving the conflict to Earth elevate the narrative?
Are the young ladies from RWBY aging up?
Will Yang emerge fully from the closet?

The answers and more in my review of Part Two.

★ ★

For briefer analyses check IMDb and Letterboxd.

Read Watchmen Chapter I or War of the Rohirrim for entertaining animation!