Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One

It seemed inevitable that DC and Rooster Teeth Animation would arrange some sort of crossover and no great surprise that it would be the Justice League and RWBY, logically following on from their earlier comic team-ups.

Here the Justice League end up in Remnant in the middle of a RWBY battle against the Grimms using the power of Dust. Once the League - actually transported to different areas of Remnant thus establishing several story strands – get their heads around that they are now teenagers and their powers are lesser, different or lost, the film settles down into team familiarisation, friendships, quests and fighting, lots of fighting.

So much so that the viewer could suspect there’s some element of padding going on. The story is quite basic and serves to bring the teams together, acquaint them, introduce them to the viewer and beat off the bad guy. Which is understandable, so that aspect is settled, the scene is set for part two.

The animation is biased towards the anime style of the RWBY adventures and suits the DC characters in their teenage guise. The actors are excellent with first timers for the DC big three: Natalie Alyn Lind as Wonder Woman, Chandler Riggs as Superman and Nat Wolff as Batman.

They (and the other DC character actors) work seamlessly with RWBY’s established cast of Lindsay Jones as Ruby, Kara Eberle as Weiss, Arryn Zech as Blake, and Barbara Dunkelman as Yang. They are well served by a sharp script from Megan Fitzmartin, who along with director Kerry Shawcross move things forward at quite a pace.

In the short breaks between the fighting there’s time for the characters to get to know each other and dig deeper into their personalities and motivations. In particular between Superman and Ruby as the respective leaders and their responsibilities. The various threads are brought together with each receiving a very democratic fair airing. Overall it’s all good, entertaining stuff that sets up and bodes well for part two.

The extras are a couple of featurettes that explain the thinking and technical issues of the crossover with writers, directors and actors, along with a couple of Justice League Unlimited episodes to round off a solid set.

Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will be available on blu-ray from 24 April and digital from 25 April 2023.