Golden Wonder
The DC Animated Universe slings the Flash back in time for new movie Justice Society: World War II
IF YOUR COMIC BOOK TASTE runs a bit classic, keep an eye out for the latest instalment in the DC animated universe, Justice Society: World War II. A full-on celebration of the Golden Age of DC history, the feature-length story finds modern-era Barry Allen (Matt Bomer) zapped back to the Second World War, where he meets the original members of the Justice Society of America, led by none other than a very bad-ass Wonder Woman (Stana Katic).
Though long an era that has enraptured current DC Animated Universe supervising producer Butch Lukic, it’s sadly not been the backdrop for any long-form animation projects at DC in literally decades. However, the success of the live-action Wonder Woman set during the First World War proved that modern audiences would show up for period-piece storytelling. That was all Lukic needed to hear.
“When we were told to start new continuity for the DC Animated Universe, this was us [finally] going to do a WWII story with Wonder Woman,” Lukic tells Red Alert of leaping at the opportunity. “We then thought, ‘What else can we throw in there?’, and that’s when the JSA came around and also the modern-day Flash.” Lukic says he and the team built a time travel story around a pre-justice League Allen getting the incredible opportunity to witness, and assist, old-school superheroes working together in the past.
“We built [the film] on that and pitched it to Jim Lee and DC Comics. And they said, ‘Sure, go with it!’”
In keeping with the retro story, Lukic also mandated that Justice Society: World War II would be a hand-drawn project, eschewing animation software such as Sketchup that so many current artists rely on for making quick backgrounds. “I just don’t like it,” Lukic says frankly, explaining that he thinks the software makes backgrounds look blocky. “And honestly, I think backgrounds are just as important as the character design, as far as the look and the composition of the film. Without that, we don’t have a strong background. It’s the set dressing.”
He adds that selling the Second World War era to audiences needed that kind of bespoke attention to detail, immersing viewers in this rare visit to the period, while also creating a distinct, contrasting look for the modern segments that open and close the film.
Immensely proud of the final film, Lukic says he hopes audiences get just as inspired by it as as he was. “I would love to do more,” he says of further JSA stories. “My whole reason for doing this was always because I wanted to do animation set in WWII again. I hadn’t got to do it in 20 years and I was shocked that it took that long. I would love it if someone did a series in this period. We’ll see what happens when this comes out.” TB
Justice Society: World War II is out digitally on 27 April and on Blu-ray/dvd on 11 May.