Justice Society: World War II (2021)

(On TV, January 2022) Another six months, another direct-to-video DC animation movie. Justice Society: World War II is slightly more distinctive than most in that it takes a contemporary framing device focusing on The Flash and then jumps back in time to present an alternate take on Justice Society’s actions during World War II. I’m not always a big fan of those DC animated films—while most of them are watchable largely as background material (unimpressive animation, straightforward scripts, tepid pacing with low plotting density), the better ones are rare. While this one is not exceptional, the focus on a different cast of characters is welcome (anything with Black Canary and the newest Iris West is fine by me) and there are a few interesting details here and there—an alternate Superman as an unheroic war correspondent? Aquaman brainwashed into becoming a Nazi? Wonder Woman giving Flash a ring for his engagement to West? Not bad. Those help Justice Society: World War II into being a better-than-average entry, even though the sideshow aspect means that we’re still far from an essential.