Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 American Direct-to-video animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Home Video and very loosely based on the story arc "Darkseid War" by Geoff Johns. It is the fifteenth and final film in the first incarnation of the DC Animated Movie Universe, and the 38th film overall in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. It is directed by Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, written by Ernie Altbacker and Mairghread Scott and features an ensemble cast including Matt Ryan, Jerry O'Connell, Taissa Farmiga, Stuart Allan, Tony Todd, Ray Chase, Jason O'Mara, Rosario Dawson, Shemar Moore, Christopher Gorham, Rebecca Romijn and Rainn Wilson. In the film, following an unsuccessful attack on Apokolips that left many heroes dead, the remaining members of the Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad join forces against Darkseid in one epic final battle to save Earth.

The film was announced in July 2019 at San Diego Comic Con and was released on digital platforms on May 5, 2020 and on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively.

Plot
Following his two failed attempts at taking over Earth, Darkseid and his armies have conquered countless worlds. In response, the Justice League travel to Apokolips to bring the fight to him while the Teen Titans remain on Earth as its defense. Upon arrival, the League is attacked by Paradooms – creatures fused with Parademon and Doomsday's DNA – which prove to be extremely invulnerable and thus results in the heroes either being killed or enslaved by Darkseid while his forces descend on Earth and subdue the Titans, slaughtering a majority of them.

Two years later, Darkseid has successfully conquered Earth. Lex Luthor has become a New God representative reporting to Batman, now Darkseid's lieutenant due to being brainwashed via the Mobius Chair, on the progress of "Reaper" devices that are mining Earth's core. Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Mera, Hawkman, and Starfire work as Darkseid's newly converted mechanic Furies as he continues conquering planets. Due to his leadership, the surviving heroes on Earth blame Clark Kent for their failure. Meanwhile, Raven suffers from depression due to her father Trigon constantly attempting to escape from his magical prison and also having to deal with the loss of her team. After Clark rescues her from her latest suicide attempt, they recruit Etrigan the Demon and John Constantine, who blames himself for letting his lover Zatanna die when he fled during the battle at Apokolips, to find Batman's son Damian Wayne in hopes for the latter to free Batman from the Mobius Chair. Constantine locates Damian, now the leader of the League of Assassins at one of their outposts, and he reluctantly joins the heroes. Damian also reveals that he revived his adoptive brother and fellow teammate Dick Grayson, who was killed during the attack on Earth, via the Lazarus Pits, though it was unsuccessful in fully restoring his sanity, because of which he was kept locked up.

In Metropolis, Clark's wife Lois Lane has recruited the Suicide Squad, now led by Harley Quinn following Amanda Waller's death, as part of her and Clark's plan to infiltrate the LexCorp building and use its boom tube to return to Apokolips. Around the world, other heroes attempt to destroy the Reapers. While the Squad is used as a distraction, the group enters the building and confronts Luthor, who reveals he was a mole helping Lois. The group split into two with Clark's team going to Apokolips while Lois' team stays behind to protect the boom tube.

Batman alerts Darkseid of Luthor's betrayal, prompting him to send his Furies to Apokolips. On Apokolips, Constantine frees Wonder Woman using her Lasso of Truth. She stays behind to liberate the other Furies from Darkseid's control, while Constantine rescues the Flash, who has been imprisoned and forced to eternally run on a treadmill powering the planet, and Cyborg, whose body has been dismantled and repurposed as the planet's power source. Batman and Darkseid return to Apokolips, with Darkseid ordering Batman to kill Damian. However, Batman hesitates when he is reminded of his parents' death and breaks free from Darkseid's control. Darkseid responds by attemping to kill Batman with his omega beams, but Damian jumps to his father's defense and is killed instead. Damian's death causes Raven lose control over Trigon, who frees himself from captivity. Constantine offers himself as a for Trigon to fight Darkseid, but Trigon possesses Clark instead and kills Constantine.

The heroes attempting to stop the Reapers (led by Captain Marvel, Batwoman and Steel) are soon overwhelmed by the Paradooms and are slaughtered. Back at LexCorp, Lex is killed in the ensuing fight while Lois and the rest of her team are surrounded. This prompts them to initiate a self-destruct program, and Lois transmits a goodbye message to Apokolips with Cyborg's help before pershing in the explosion. Watching Lois' sacrifice allows Superman to break free of Trigon's grip. Meanwhile, Constantine is briefly reunited with Zatanna in the afterlife, who reveals it was part of Batman's plan to use her magic to make Constantine flee from Apokolips during the battle. Simultaneously, Zatanna and Raven revive Constantine and Damian, with Raven confessing her love for Damian. Cyborg reveals his plan to teleport the Paradooms from Earth back to Apokolips and suck the planet into a black hole. Constantine and Raven combine their magic to give Trigon his physical form back so he can fight Darkseid while the heroes safely return to Earth. Cyborg commences his plan, thrusting Apokolips into oblivion; Darkseid tries to escape, but Trigon drags him into the portal and both are killed as a result. Despite the heroes' victory, the Reapers' damage is already done; one-third of the Earth's core has been successfully mined by the machines, putting its orbit in danger of freezing or heating enough that the planet's surface will become uninhabitable. Constantine convinces a reluctant Flash to create a second Flashpoint, after learning that he created the first while freeing him on Apokolips, to undo the destruction despite the fact that the world will not be the same as it was before. Flash runs back in time and creates a second Flashpoint. Damian and Raven share their first and last kiss, while the Justice League observes a wide bright light from beyond the horizon covering the whole world as the timeline resets, leaving their fates unknown.

Voice cast
In addition, Billy Batson / Shazam, Arthur Curry / Aquaman, J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter, Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, Mera, Katar Hol / Hawkman, Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Koriand'r / Starfire, Roy Harper / Speedy, Karen Beecher / Bumblebee, Garfield Logan / Beast Boy, Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle, Donna Troy / Wonder Girl, Conner Kent / Superboy, Wallace West / Kid Flash, Black Orchid, Kate Kane / Batwoman, Luke Fox / Batwing, Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, Joe Chill, John Henry Irons / Steel, Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah, Doris Zeul / Giganta, Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard, Toymaster, David Hyde / Black Manta, Bane, the Guardians of the Universe, and members of the Green Lantern Corps (Arisia Rrab, Arkkis Chummuck, Chaselon, Galius Zed, Green Man, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, Palaqua, and Salaak) all have non-speaking cameos.

Production
The film was first announced on July 20, 2019 at San Diego Comic Con. In February 2020, the voice cast for the film was announced with several voice actors from previous DC Animated Movie Universe films all reprising their respective roles.

Release
The film was released on digital platforms on May 5, 2020 and release on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively. The release will feature a showcase animated short based on Adam Strange.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.75/10. Jesse Schden of IGN movies said "This film takes full advantage of the fact that it's the final chapter in a 15-movie arc. Its narrative veers into some very surprising and compelling directions, and somehow it manages to pay off on loose ends from across the DCU".

Reception
The film earned $4,773,854 from domestic Blu-ray sales.

Future
In spite of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War being confirmed as the last film in the DCAMU, screenwriter Ernie Altbacker teased the possibility of a new project related to that continuity. He stated that "the way we ended it... it's really like a tough balancing act: It ends something on a bittersweet yet hopeful note, and I'll just say, people who are saying, "Oh man, we're not going to get anymore of these!" ...you're not losing something, you're gaining something new..."