Superman/Shazam! serves as an origin story for Captain Marvel, often confused for being a superhero named Shazam because of licensing issues DC Comics has with Marvel Comics. Marvel has their own superhero named Captain Marvel, created both before the name change to Marvel Comics and the creation of Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel. The origin story is summed up in 22 minutes while Superman is along for the ride mostly to keep the action going while Billy Batson is powerless and to exploit his weakness to magic so that Captain Marvel is shown as being Superman's physical equal, only to be outdone by Superman's maturity and extraneous superpowers.
George Newbern and Jerry O'Connell reprise their roles as Supes and Capt. Marvel from Justice League Unlimited. Newbern sounds as great as ever, but at this point it's almost impossible to distance him from Sephiroth, a voice he has been very careful to make sound like an evil version of his Superman voice. Superman sounds almost menacing at times, but that's really based on hearing new dialogue from him as Superman for the first time in 4 years and mostly hearing him as Sephiroth for those past 4 years. O'Connell sounds great as Captain Marvel again, but the voice actors who steal the show are Zach Callison as Billy Batson and James Garner as Shazam. Callison has a bright future ahead of him if he chooses to pursue voice acting and Garner does a great job transitioning to voice acting.
Final Score: 5 SHAZAMS! out of 5
The longer than usual run-time serves the story fantastically, the voice acting is stellar, and the animation kicks ass as usual. I just wish Superman wasn't there just to have more action going on throughout.
The Spectre is about a superhero who is so obscure, most people don't know Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman, created him only 2 years after he and Joe Shuster created the Man of Steel. The Spectre is Jim Corrigan, a murdered police detective who is refused entry to the afterlife and becomes an avenging, undead figure who takes the lives of those who have taken the lives of others. The short stars Gary Cole as The Spectre, who does a fantastic job given the style of the short, a 70s detective story. He also changes his voice to a more serious tone as the Spectre.
Final Score: 5 Ghost Cars out of 5
Cheesy dialogue, film grain, Gary Cole, it all sounds like the making of a really bad B-movie, but the story is so excellent that even in good fun it's a solid movie. I only wish it were 22 minutes like the Captain Marvel story.
Jonah Hex is about a cowboy bounty hunter with a facial injury who lives by his own morals, but fights for justice. He also had an infamously bad movie this past summer starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox which should in no way stop you from enjoying this story. Jonah Hex seems to just not work at all in live action and should be restricted to comics and animation. Hex is voice by Thomas Jane, the runner-up for the live action role of Jonah Hex in a better performance than the one done by the DCAU voice actor. Linda Hamilton voices the antagonist of the story, a prostitute who kills Johns for their money and hides their bodies afterwards.
Final Score: 4 Unsettling Scarred Mouths out of 5
Although the story is pretty bland, the action, voice acting, and music is fantastic. Just sit and enjoy the ride.
Green Arrow is about a superhero who is similar to Batman in many ways, but different enough to be considered a very different superhero. While Oliver Queen is a billionaire playboy who uses different gadgets as the Green Arrow and a young sidekick, he is known for sporting a blond beard, being an environmental activist, not having a depressing origin story, and having a stable relationship with Dinah Lance, the Black Canary. The short is a rather simple story about the attempted assassination of a young crown princess from a fictional country, but it mostly serves as a story to showcase (ha, another pun) Green Arrow's MO. The end features him getting rescued by Black Canary and he proposes to her.
Final Score: 3 Canary Cries out of 5
It's pretty sub-par for a Bruce Timm production, but not nearly as bad as Wonder Woman was. Neil McDonough was probably the worst choice for Green Arrow I could ever think of, Malcom McDowell gets less than a minute of dialogue, and Steve Blum is relegated to voicing incidental characters. The story is bland and overdone, and the action is incredibly sub-par. This doesn't mean Green Arrow is bad by any means, it's just not as good compared to the other shorts.
Final Final Score: 4 Bruce Timm Commentaries out of 5?
I couldn't think of a better measurement other than the 4 commentaries by Bruce Timm, done for each and every animated short. Despite the shorts having differing qualities, Bruce Timm's commentaries are always entertaining to listen to and well worth getting the collection. Also included are episodes from the DCAU featuring each superhero from the showcases with the exception of the Spectre who was not animated until Batman: The Brave and the Bold (which is featured). It's worth getting just for the Captain Marvel short and the Bruce Timm commentaries, but it's hard to justify the price for the blu-ray version, other than the sound is unbelievable in the Captain Marvel special.
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