Superman vs. The Elite
23 quotes
Biography
"I finally get it. Thank you... I made the mistake of treating you people like, people. Now, I understand better... I understand now what the world wants, what it NEEDS. The world needs people in charge, willing to put the animals DOWN! [raises a whirlwind on the Elite]"
"It's never too late for peace, Black."
""Might makes right" has never been a productive philosophy."
"You're right about me. I would never put civilians in harm's way. I won't kill. But you would."
"They saw the ugliness of violence as a solution and it frightened them. It frightened me too when I decided to cross that line and do what you do. It's so easy. Anger, vengeance. Luckily, I'm not you. And I never will be."
"This is a call-out to the shadow cabinets, petty dictators and all-around tossers of the world. You're on notice. We're not bound by lines on a map or political alliances or government bodies of any kind. We are our own bosses, and we have a very simple job. There are the good guys -- namely us -- and the bad guys -- namely anyone who treats anyone else like trash to further their petty aims. We turn bad guys into memories. So mind your manners, lads and lasses or we'll blow your house down. We're the Elite. You asked for us, world. Now you got us."
"You don't have a clue what it means to live in fear, do you? To wonder why no one can stop the bogeymen who knock down skyscrapers or blow up schools. Well, we do. Human beings do. We understand fear all too well."
"[to Superman] No witty retort? Oh, wait. You're in the middle of a seizure. Sorry, mate. I can't read your mind but I sure as hell can muck about with your brain. All those capillaries, like little tubes of concrete. But still vulnerable. It's funny, isn't it? A life of truth, justice and the American, military, capitalist way. In the end, you die on the moon, wondering if your bowels will let go. And tomorrow, the world will go on like nothing happened. Dragged kicking and screaming to a better day."
"[the Elite arrive] He's sending in the B team? I want the boss, not the interns."
"World saved. Humanity lost."
"Not a shard of Kryptonite to be found in the whole affair, and yet the Man of Steel has never been more vulnerable. As the world rallies behind The Elite, we see that, for all his remarkable gifts, he has no immunity to the pain of rejection nor the fear that he won’t be able to save humankind from its basest impulses."
"The plot is pretty simple. A new quartet of vigilantes have captured the public’s attention and approval. Led by the brutally cynical Manchester Black, ‘The Elite’ are all-too willing to do what Superman won’t, which is basically to wantonly murder those who threaten the safety of innocents. As Superman wonders if his absolutist moral code is no longer relevant, society at large must ask themselves what kind of superheroes they really want watching over them. Ten years after the original story was published, the narrative plays less like a rebuttal to the likes of Punisher or Spawn and more like a post-9/11 morality play. The word ‘terrorist’ gets thrown around like it’s a new vocabulary word, and it’s clear that the film is putting Superman in the shoes of the ACLU and the Glenn Greenwalds of the world while The Elite stands for the ‘by any means necessary’ approach favored by the likes of Dick Cheney and Barack Obama."
"In Superman vs. The Elite, the Man of Steel faces his most daunting foe yet: public opinion. In an era where the realities of terrorism and global strife have created a cynical and hardline attitudes about the concept of "justice," Superman's idealistic optimism seems more and more outdated (both in the film, and in the real-world). So when a group of younger super-powered vigilantes known as The Elite appear on the scene, Superman is not prepared for their brutal stance against criminals - nor the resounding public approval that follows."
"The story works in this animated feature as well as it did on the comic book page - primarily because the writer of the comic story (Joe Kelly) also wrote this animated feature version. The plot-points - sketching the modern world and how Superman's idealism is outdated; edgy anti-heroes being more popular than classic super heroes - are all directly addressing questions that fanboys and average people alike have been asking - namely, why does Superman still matter?"
"All in all, Superman vs. The Elite is a Superman flick that's actually interesting to watch for intellectual reasons, but won't blow you away in terms of visual splendor or action. In that sense it's an easy recommend to those who maybe haven't been able to connect with the character in a long time (Batman crowd, looking at you); though it may be less satisfying to the hardcore fans, who already know why they love Big Blue."
"The key difference between the new DC Universe Animated Movie: Superman vs. The Elite and its source material, Action Comics #775, “What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way? ” has nothing to do with the animation style, the voice direction or any of the hundreds of little changes that are necessary when adapting a printed work for the screen, instead it’s all about timing. The comic bears the publication date of March 2001, and even if you do not subscribe to the notion that ‘everything changed after 9/11’ it is impossible to see this new release without contextualizing its story of extreme answers to extreme situations without the events of the intervening decade in mind."
"Robin Atkin Downes -Manchester Black"
"Dee Bradley Baker - Joseph Martin/Atomic Skull"
"Grey DeLisle - Young Manchester Black"
"Marcella Lentz-Pope - Vera Black"
"Jeff LaPensee - Falling Man"
"Dave B. Mitchell - Shocktrooper"
"Stephen Stanton - Bialyian Ambassador, Cartoon Superman, Manchester Black's Father"