View source for Legion of Super-Heroes (film)

{{Short description|Animated superhero film}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Legion of Super-Heroes
| image          = Legion of Super-Heroes (film).jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Promotional poster
| native_name    = <!-- {{Infobox name module|language|title}} or {{Infobox name module|title}} -->
| director       = Jeff Wamester
| writer         = Josie Campbell
| screenplay     = 
| story          = 
| based_on       = {{Based on|[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]|[[Otto Binder]]|[[Al Plastino]]}}
| producer       = [[Butch Lukic]]
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Meg Donnelly]]
* [[Darren Criss]]
* [[Darin De Paul]]
* [[Jensen Ackles]]
* [[Matt Bomer]]
}}
| narrator       = 
| cinematography = 
| editing        = Bruce A. King
| music          = [[Kevin Riepl]]
| studio         = {{ubl|[[Warner Bros. Animation]]|[[DC Entertainment]]}}<!-- or: | production_companies = -->
| distributor    = [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]]<!-- or: | distributors = -->
| released       = {{Film date|2023|02|07}}
| runtime        = 83 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = 
}}
'''''Legion of Super-Heroes''''' is a 2023 American animated [[superhero film]] based on the [[DC Comics]] [[Legion of Super-Heroes|superhero team of the same name]], produced by [[Warner Bros. Animation]] and distributed by [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]]. It is the sixth film in the [[DC Animated Movie Universe]]'s second phase, and the overall 50th installment in the [[DC Universe Animated Original Movies]] line. The film follows [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Kara Zor-El / Supergirl]] as she trains alongside the members of the Legion of Super-Heroes from the 31st century, and battles the terrorist organization known as the [[Dark Circle]]. The film was directed by Jeff Wamester from a script by Josie Campbell while Jim Krieg, Kimberly S. Moreau served as producers, Butch Lukic as supervising producer and Sam Register as executive producer. The film was released on digital and to [[home video]] formats on February 7, 2023.

==Plot==
In Argo City on [[Krypton (comics)|Krypton]], [[Alura (DC Comics)|Alura Zor-El]] has been preparing for a catastrophe her brother-in-law [[Jor-El]] has predicted will destroy the planet. However, the disaster strikes early, and Alura has just enough time to send her daughter [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Kara]] to Earth, where she is supposed to reunite with her younger cousin [[Superman|Kal-El]], who is to arrive in his own escape ship. Just after take-off, a fragment of the exploding planet damages Kara's pod, putting her into suspended animation and sending the vessel into a trajectory that arrives on Earth later than intended.

After her arrival, Kara - now named Supergirl - has trouble adjusting to life on Earth with its more primitive culture, and the superpowers gained from her new environment. During a fight with [[Solomon Grundy (character)|Solomon Grundy]], she spots masked individuals lurking nearby and is rescued by Kal-El (now called Superman) and [[Batman]]. Kal-El suggests that Kara should travel to the 31st century and join the [[The Legion Academy|Legion Academy]], a training school for [[Legion of Super-Heroes]] candidates. In the 21st century, Batman intercepts the masked individuals raiding [[S.T.A.R. Labs]], but they commit suicide before he can question them.

Traveling to the future, Kara is introduced to the Academy by one of its trainees, [[Lar Gand|Mon-El]], but starts a spontaneous fight with Academy member [[Brainiac 5]], whom she mistakes for her cousin's enemy [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]]. While the misunderstanding is cleared, Brainiac 5 is distrusted because of his ancestry. Kara's own relationship with him is initially antagonistic as well, but as time passes, they develop a mutual understanding which eventually turns romantic.

One night, while looking for school pet [[Proty]], [[Luornu Durgo|Triplicate Girl]] spots Mon-El lurking near a forbidden high-security vault on the Academy's grounds, before being attacked and apparently killed. The Legionnaires arrest Brainiac 5 and discover that he enrolled in the Academy to penetrate the vault, which contains dangerous weapons. Brainiac 5 explains that he is trying to counter an organization called the [[Dark Circle]], but only Kara believes him. After recognizing the masked figures she saw in the past from the Academy computer's files on the Dark Circle, she breaks Brainiac 5 out of confinement and learns that the Dark Circle is trying to obtain the reality-bending [[Controllers (DC Comics)|Miracle Machine]].

Joined by Mon-El, Kara and Brainiac 5 enter the vault and overcome its security. When they find the machine, Mon-El reveals himself as an agent of the Dark Circle, stabs Kara with a [[kryptonite]] blade, and summons the rest of the Circle who overpower the Academy teachers and students. The Circle's leader appears and is revealed as Brainiac, who founded the Dark Circle in the 21st century to facilitate his resurrection{{efn|group=N|Following his apparent death in ''[[Justice Society: World War II]]''.}} and has plotted for Brainiac 5 to grant him access to the Miracle Machine. Because they were incapable of passing the vault's security, the bodies of Brainiac 5's predecessors were melded into a new body for Brainiac. He claims that he has foreseen great danger approaching, and plans to bend reality to eliminate it and make himself the savior of the universe.

Kara and Brainiac 5 are rescued by fellow students Triplicate Girl (who had lost merely one of her alternate selves), [[Invisible Kid]] and [[Phantom Girl]], who have eluded capture, and together they retrieve [[Dawnstar]], [[Bouncing Boy]], and [[Arm Fall Off Boy]]. After sending an [[SOS]] to the Legionnaires in space, the other students distract Mon-El and the Circle while Kara and Brainiac 5 move to stop Brainiac. They cannot prevent the Miracle Machine's activation, but Brainiac 5 turns his predecessors against their creator, causing Brainiac's body to tear itself apart. The machine goes out of control, and in her attempt to stop it, Kara summons Alura's soul. Though briefly tempted to reverse Krypton's destruction, she comes to terms with her loss and stops the cataclysm by displacing the machine into another reality. Afterwards, the students defeat Mon-El and the Circle, and the returning Legionnaires grant them all full Legion membership.

In a [[post-credits scene]], Kara contacts Superman about her decision to stay in the 31st century and her new relationship with Brainiac 5. After the call is ended, Superman and Batman inspect a crater in [[Metropolis (comics)|Metropolis]] when they are hit and apparently annihilated by a beam blast.{{efn|group=N|The story continues in ''[[Justice League: Warworld]]''.}}

==Voice cast==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:rgb(255,85,0);"
! Voice actor<ref name="Voice Cast"/>
! Character
|-
| [[Meg Donnelly]]
| [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Kara Zor-El / Supergirl]]
|-
| [[Harry Shum Jr.]]
| [[Brainiac 5]]
|-
| [[Darren Criss]]
| [[Superman|Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman]]
|-
| [[Matt Bomer]]
| [[Flash (Barry Allen)|Barry Allen / The Flash]]
|-
| [[Jensen Ackles]]
| [[Batman|Bruce Wayne / Batman]]
|-
| Cynthia Hamidi
| [[Dawnstar]]
|-
| [[Gideon Adlon]]
| [[Phantom Girl|Tinya Wazzo / Phantom Girl]]
|-
| [[Ely Henry]]
| [[Bouncing Boy|Charles Taine / Bouncing Boy]]
|-
| [[Robbie Daymond]]
| [[Timber Wolf (character)|Brin Londo / Timber Wolf]]<br />[[Brainiac 4]]
|-
| [[Yuri Lowenthal]]
| [[Mon-El]]
|-
| [[Eric Lopez (voice actor)|Eric Lopez]]
| [[Cosmic Boy|Rokk Krinn / Cosmic Boy]]<br />[[Chemical King|Condo Arlik / Chemical King]]
|-
| [[Darin De Paul]]
| [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]]<br />[[Solomon Grundy (character)|Cyrus Gold / Solomon Grundy]]<ref name="Trailer"/>
|-
| [[Ben Diskin]]
| [[Arm Fall Off Boy|Floyd Belkin / Arm-Fall-Off Boy]]<br />[[Brainiac 2]]
|-
| Victoria Grace
| [[Shadow Lass|Tasmia Mallor / Shadow Lass]]
|-
| [[Jennifer Hale]]
| [[Alura (DC Comics)|Alura In-Ze]]
|-
| Daisy Lightfoot
| [[Triplicate Girl|Luornu Durgo / Triplicate Girl / Duplicate Girl]]
|-
| [[Zeno Robinson]]
| [[Invisible Kid|Jacques Foccart / Invisible Kid]]<br />[[Brainiac 3]]
|}

==Production==
===Development===
The idea of a ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' film was conceived by Butch Lukic and Jim Krieg, who wanted to incorporate both Supergirl and the team into the [[Tomorrowverse]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Church |first=Ricky |date=2023-02-01 |title=Legion of Super-Heroes director Jeff Wamester - Exclusive Interview |url=https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2023/02/exclusive-interview-legion-of-super-heroes-director-jeff-wamester/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Flickering Myth |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312184410/https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2023/02/exclusive-interview-legion-of-super-heroes-director-jeff-wamester/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Stone |first=Sam |date=2023-02-01 |title=Legion of Super-Heroes Producer Reveals the Animated Movie's Origins |url=https://www.cbr.com/legion-of-super-heroes-butch-lukic-interview/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=CBR |language=en |archive-date=2023-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202233536/https://www.cbr.com/legion-of-super-heroes-butch-lukic-interview/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Lukic hired Jeff Wamester as director due to their previous collaboration in ''[[Justice Society: World War II]]'' (2021).<ref name=":0" />

Speculation of a ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' film began in June 2022 when the [[Motion Picture Association]] gave a PG-13 rating to an unannounced film.<ref name="Rating" /> The film was confirmed by [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]] the next month at [[San Diego Comic-Con]] after the premiere of ''[[Green Lantern: Beware My Power]]''.<ref name="SDCC" /> The film is the first DC animated film to be released by [[DC Studios]], which took over development on all DC projects in November the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biordi |first=Jordan |date=November 10, 2022 |title=James Gunn Confirms The Batman's Status in Relation to His DC Universe |url=https://www.cbr.com/james-gunn-status-dc-universe-the-batman/ |access-date=November 10, 2022 |website=CBR |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110124617/https://www.cbr.com/james-gunn-status-dc-universe-the-batman/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GunnAnimationFilmElseworlds">{{Cite web |last=Legacy |first=Spencer |date=February 2, 2023 |title=James Gunn Clarifies DCU Slate, Future of DC Animated Movies |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1265204-james-gunn-clarifies-dcu-slate-future-of-dc-animated-movies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326002517/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1265204-james-gunn-clarifies-dcu-slate-future-of-dc-animated-movies |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |access-date=June 7, 2023 |website=[[ComingSoon.net]]}}</ref>

===Casting===
The voice cast of the film features [[Meg Donnelly]] as [[Supergirl]], [[Harry Shum Jr.]] as [[Brainiac 5]], Cynthia Hamidi as [[Dawnstar]], [[Gideon Adlon]] as [[Phantom Girl]], [[Ely Henry]] as [[Bouncing Boy]], [[Robbie Daymond]] as [[Timber Wolf (character)|Timber Wolf]] and [[Brainiac 4]], [[Yuri Lowenthal]] as [[Lar Gand|Mon-El]], [[Eric Lopez (voice actor)|Eric Lopez]] as [[Cosmic Boy]] and [[Chemical King]], [[Darin De Paul]] as [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]] and [[Solomon Grundy (character)|Solomon Grundy]], [[Benjamin Diskin]] as [[Arm-Fall-Off-Boy]] and [[Vril Dox|Brainiac 2]], Victoria Grace as [[Shadow Lass]], [[Jennifer Hale]] as [[Alura (DC Comics)|Alura]], Daisy Lightfoot as [[Triplicate Girl]], and [[Zeno Robinson]] as [[Invisible Kid]] and [[Brainiac 3]]. [[Darren Criss]], [[Matt Bomer]], and [[Jensen Ackles]] also reprised their roles from previous DC films as [[Superman]], [[Flash (Barry Allen)|Flash]], and [[Batman]], respectively.<ref name="Voice Cast" />

Donnelly was cast as Supergirl after voice director Wes Gleason showed Lukic footage of her previous work.<ref name=":0" /> Robinson was allowed to improvise many of his lines during recording. He also wanted to develop his own take on Invisible Boy, as the film marked his first appearance in media outside of comics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stone |first=Sam |date=February 2, 2023 |title=Legion of Super-Heroes: Zeno Robinson Shines a Light on Invisible Kid |url=https://www.cbr.com/legion-of-super-heroes-zeno-robinson-interview/ |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |language=en |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204091030/https://www.cbr.com/legion-of-super-heroes-zeno-robinson-interview/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Release==
On February 2, 2023, James Gunn confirmed that all DC animated films are being released and labeled as [[DC Elseworlds]].<ref name="GunnAnimationFilmElseworlds"/>

The film was released on February 7, 2023,<ref name="Trailer" /> on home media on [[DVD]], [[Blu-ray]], [[Ultra HD Blu-ray|4K]], and [[video on demand]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dar |first1=Taimur |date=November 17, 2022 |title=Release details for ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' animated movie announced |url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/legion-super-heroes-animated-movie-release-details/ |website=Comicsbeat.com |access-date=November 23, 2022 |archive-date=November 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123220832/https://www.comicsbeat.com/legion-super-heroes-animated-movie-release-details/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|60|5.3|five}}<ref>{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=legion_of_super_heroes|type=movie|access-date=June 8, 2023}}</ref> Sam Stone of [[Comic Book Resources]] wrote: "Though the movie could up the ante on some of its major set pieces, it does get to the heart of what makes the Legion tick".<ref>{{cite web |last=Stone |first=Sam |title=REVIEW: Legion of Super-Heroes Expands DC's Imaginative Future |url=https://www.cbr.com/dc-legion-of-super-heroes-animated-movie-review/ |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=March 3, 2023 |archive-date=February 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209214824/https://www.cbr.com/dc-legion-of-super-heroes-animated-movie-review/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Brian Costello of [[Common Sense Media]] described the film as "a pretty standard but enjoyable superhero animated action movie".<ref>{{cite web |last=Costello |first=Brian |title=The Legion of Super-Heroes Movie Review |url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-legion-of-super-heroes |website=[[Common Sense Media]] |date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304215325/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-legion-of-super-heroes |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Rating">{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Ryan |title=Superhero Bits: A Possible Legion Of Super-Heroes Movie, A New Marvel Video Game & More - /Film |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/912395/superhero-bits-a-possible-legion-of-super-heroes-movie-a-new-marvel-video-game-more/ |website=/Film |date=June 29, 2022 |access-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013205305/https://www.slashfilm.com/912395/superhero-bits-a-possible-legion-of-super-heroes-movie-a-new-marvel-video-game-more/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="SDCC">{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Jim |title=SDCC: Green Lantern: Beware My Power World Premiere, Panel and Upcoming Features |url=https://www.cbr.com/sdcc-green-lantern-beware-my-power-world-premiere-panel/ |website=[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]] |publisher=Valnet Inc. |date=July 23, 2022 |access-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013205310/https://www.cbr.com/sdcc-green-lantern-beware-my-power-world-premiere-panel/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Voice Cast">{{cite magazine |last1=Couch |first1=Aaron |title=DC's ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' Sets Voice Cast With Meg Donnelly and Harry Shum Jr. to Star (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dcs-legion-of-super-heroes-animated-movie-1235240040/ |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |publisher=[[MRC (company)#PMRC|PMRC]] |date=October 13, 2022 |access-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013171801/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dcs-legion-of-super-heroes-animated-movie-1235240040/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Trailer">{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/legion-of-super-heroes-trailer-meg-donnelly/|title='Legion of Super-Heroes' Trailer Shows a New Generation Fighting for Justice|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|last=O'Rourke|first=Ryan|date=November 16, 2022|accessdate=November 17, 2022|archive-date=November 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116212248/https://collider.com/legion-of-super-heroes-trailer-meg-donnelly/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|tt22769820}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|legion_of_super_heroes|Legion of Super-Heroes}}

{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}
{{DC Comics animated films}}
{{Tomorrowverse}}
{{Warner Bros. cartoons}}

[[Category:2023 animated films]]
[[Category:2020s American animated films]]
[[Category:2020s direct-to-video animated superhero films]]
[[Category:2020s English-language films]]
[[Category:2020s superhero films]]
[[Category:2023 direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:2023 films]]
[[Category:American animated feature films]]
[[Category:American animated action films]]
[[Category:DC Animated Movie Universe]]
[[Category:DC Universe Animated Original Movies]]
[[Category:Films produced by Sam Register]]
[[Category:Films set in the 31st century]]
[[Category:English-language action films]]