Welcome back to Adaptations Done Right, the segment that analyzes adaptations that improve its source material. Today we’ll be focusing on an unsung animated film. The only thing funny about it is that it’s based on a comic book issue without overstaying its welcome. Superman vs. The Elite is as much a critique about post-9/11 superheroes and why the classic ones still matter.
Comic Background of The Elite
Themes
The original comic is something of a comparison between the old but classic characters like Superman and the edgier and the more cynical plots of the turn of century. The Elite, especially Manchester Black see Superman’s methods to capture crooks for the chance of rehabilitation as being outdated. In their eyes, the ideals in believing in the good of humanity are naive. When you look at it on a certain perspective, it makes sense with how often cities are in terror. Man, if this was published a few days before 9/11 or during the Patriot Act, Manchester Black would’ve looked more like a tragic hero. And that’s counting if the comic would have ever gotten published at all.
Superman vs. The World
Superman is a character who stands as an ideal to strive for when everything looks bleak. He is meant to be an influence for a better tomorrow based on compassion. However, the competent man that Supes represents is a very difficult thing to achieve. Most people are more comfortable with their flaws rather than try to overcome them, sometimes to people’s celebration. This reflects on both the Elite and the terrorists they corner. The ideals the groups fight for are based on preservation of pride or at worst petty vengeance rather than resolutions.
It also demonstrates how Superman of all people, should never go down the Elite’s path. If Superman stops holding back, he would be an unstoppable juggernaut of terror. It’s Superman’s humanity that puts the world at ease, because everyone knows they can’t stop him. To that end, Superman shows the world where the Elite won’t go by acting on their example. Rather than start a new movement, Superman singlehandedly deconstructs and subverts The Elite’s ideals with no one willing to follow their lead anymore.
Elite Strife
Due to the Elite’s popularity they make sporadic reappearances, but they don’t seem as memorable after their initial arrest. Instead they splinter across the DC universe with a couple of them ending up dead. To the creatives who take over from Kelly, Black is the only one worth more than two more appearances. He makes a better rogue to Superman in his attempts to push Supes and his loved ones over the edge. Ironically, Black’s latest appearance has him working with Superman in the Authority. All of which show Black just how far he fell from relevance.
The Heavier Elite Clashes
Joe Kelly’s second attempt, Superman vs. The Elite expands on the world Superman and the Elite live in. If the campier bits of comics like giant apes can’t be taken seriously, maybe a post-9/11 vibe will sell it. The first appearance of Manchester Black is accompanied by varying reports of crimes and tragedies. But what really gets to him is seeing Superman. When Superman tries to remind the world about the greater good, some rival countries go to war in response. One side even breaks international law with a bioweapon. This sets up a very bleak look at the world that ends up justifying the Elite’s ideals. This uneasy premise makes it clear that the clash with Superman is inevitable.
Glass Half-Empty
With the Elite showing their willingness to kill and destroy for their campaign, Superman as Clark Kent and Lois Lane try to learn more about them. So they meet with the movie’s original character Vera Lynn Black, Manchester’s sister. Vera provides the pair with her and her brother’s backstory as victims of a rotten childhood.
Black and Vera lived on the lamb at the world’s mercy. When Black’s powers manifest to save his sister, this shows an empowered Black ready to hurt the world back. MI5 should’ve paid closer attention to Black’s mental state, especially after giving his alcoholic father a telekinetic stroke. It wasn’t long before he finds the rest of the Elite and breaks off from the service. Because if the system allows people like his father and international crooks to flourish, why serve it?
Half-Full
One of the better scenes from the film is depicting Lois and Clark’s relationship. One major complaint from the comic is how Lois seems to think Superman shot first at the Elite. But with Lois at Clark’s side, she sees the effects the Elite has on the world and people turning against Superman when he refuses to finish off a supervillain. It becomes more obvious that Lois isn’t just worried about Clark’s life, but Superman being pushed to the breaking point. However, Superman decides to fight after seeing firsthand the influence the Elite bring to world, complete with ignorant cosplayers.
The Broken Base
The film brings a level of dimension that made a much more compelling story. With the voice acting by George Newbern giving a supposedly unhinged Superman more weight than before, many prefer this over the comic. However, despite the improvements there is a base breaking flaw that comes up near the ending. Not unlike the finale of Avatar the Last Airbender. When Superman KO’s the Elite, he has all of their powers stripped away unlike the comic where this was just part of his act. I can only guess this is Joe Kelly’s way of saying the Elite and Black are never making another appearance. Sounds like somebody didn’t like the results of Justice League Elite.
Unfortunately, this shows Superman willing to use authoritarian methods to defeat his enemies; that Black did break him to a degree in front of the audience. At the same time, it argues that this kills the idea of the Elite, not just for the public but Black himself. Black, being a Social Darwinist was dealt the ultimate penalty.
You Decide what’s Elite
Much like how some look at other adaptations, there are things people are going to like and things people are not going to like as much. Personally, I prefer the old versus new themes in Kingdom Come over Action Comics 775. Superman vs. The Elite meanwhile gives a better presentation with parallels to extremist outlaws. It’s good to have a little depth of what you’re facing. But in a superhero story, political and social commentary with the genre’s inherent irrelevance. The adaptation gets an 8/10 for a good story and buildup, but too big a divide on opinion in the last scenes to make it great.