I admit that nostalgia makes me a little biased here, but for my money the DC Animated Universe has done some of the very best storytelling using comic book characters.Superman '78 and The Dark Knight may be beloved for interpreting the Man of Steel and Caped Crusader for the big screen, but the cartoons — Batman: The Animated Series,Superman: The Animated Series, and Justice League — have long been where fans could go to get a sense of DC Comics' very essence.
Which is why even the apologists should see that that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is absolutely trumped by Batman and Superman's late-90s animated team-up. 1997's The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest (yes, it's a mouthful) succeeds where Dawn of Justice fails.
Minor spoilers ahead.
World's Finest is really a three-part miniseries from Superman TAS, involving Bruce Wayne and the Joker coming to Metropolis. The Joker, after discovering a dragon statue carved out of Kryptonite. has concocted a plot to team up with Lex Luthor in order to take down Superman. Batman, naturally, is on the case, but needs Superman's help to defeat the arch-villains.
WORLD'S FINEST WORKS BECAUSE IT'S SIMPLE
The key to this plot working is in its simplicity. Batman v Superman goes out of its way to justify why its title characters need to throw punches at one another, all before they figure out they need to team up for the greater good. The action plods along, with Lex Luthor working in the background in a pseudo-political thriller that never really makes much sense. World's Finest doesn't waste any time mulling over the meaning of being a superhero. The pair's philosophies clash and, sure, there's some shoving, but they're ultimately too busy trying to save the day than to throw the other through buildings.
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