Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two is the second installment in a new animated trilogy adapting the iconic 12-issue DC comic book crossover story of the same name that originally ran from 1985–1986. As Part Two opens, Batman (Jensen Ackles) is on an alternate Earth, watching over the planet-protecting tower erected in the middle of Gotham, which The Flash seemingly gave his life up to create. The Joker (Troy Baker) arrives with minions Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy to try to take out the tower, but two Robins (Zach Callison), Huntress (Erika Ishii), Batgirl (Gideon Adlon) and Batman Beyond (Will Friedle) all show up to help in the nick of time, though Bruce doesn’t seem pleased to see his Bat-Family.
Meanwhile, we follow Kryptonian Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) as her escape pod arrives at the Monitor’s (Jonathan Adams) satellite, and he decides to recruit her for the cause. Though when Kara learns that the Monitor just stood there and watched as her planet was destroyed, and the people that she loved were killed, she doesn’t really want to have anything to do with him. Elsewhere, hyper empath Psycho Pirate aka Charles Halstead (Geoffrey Arend) recounts his origin story to Dr. Fate (Keith Ferguson), before receiving a visit from Harbinger, with a request to join the coordinated efforts of the heroes aboard the Monitor’s satellite. Though Charles is still very much a villain at heart, and has his own nefarious plans in the works, thanks to the Anti-Monitor (Ato Essandoh).
The antimatter waves heading for the various Earths have been moving faster and growing stronger. Superman (Darren Criss), Wonder Woman (Stana Katic), John Stewart (Aldis Hodge), Aquaman (Liam McIntyre), Blue Beetle (Matt Lanter), and many others struggle to keep the towers active and protected. Not only is there a seemingly-endless horde of Shadow Demons making a coordinated attack across all of the Earths, but something seems to be affecting the heroes, causing them to argue and fight among themselves, losing focus of their true mission. It’s no longer just the antimatter waves that pose a threat their existence, but whoever or whatever may be controlling these creatures and causing this chaos.
I had mentioned in my review of Part One that I hadn’t seen any of the recent DC animated movies that built up to this Crisis trilogy, and that I have never read the comics. There are so many different characters in this event (and so many versions of the same characters) that even in this second part I still found it a bit difficult to identify and keep track of them. At least in Part One, there was the rapid-fire cocktail party introductions aboard the Monitor’s satellite, but now it’s assumed you know/remember everyone, even a few of the new arrivals in this second installment.
One of the other issues I had with Part One was that it felt more like a string of separate episodes rather than one continuous 90-minute story. That has somewhat improved this time around, though the first 30 minutes kind of feel like their own thing. The opening sequence with Batman facing off with the Joker doesn’t really have any bearing on the rest of the movie—we don’t even see Batman again for another half-hour. The rest of that first half-hour constantly switches back and forth between the Charles and Kara backstory/Monitor recruitment storylines. We get to know these two characters a little deeper, how they ended up aboard the Monitor’s satellite, and why he wants to recruit them—which is very questionable in the case of a villain like Psycho Pirate. The film also delves into the Monitor and why he’s suddenly changing course and actually interacting with the Earths he had just observed from a distance for millions of years. The final two thirds of the film feels like one contiguous plot, with the superheroes trying to stop the onslaught of the Shadow Demons, and also deal with their own interpersonal issues, arguments and fights that have suddenly been brought on. But even during these scenes, we are constantly switching among the separate battles on various Earths, each with a different set of heroes. I wish the film had noted the location each time it switches, to make it a little easier to keep track of what’s going on. In addition to the teams led by Superman and Batman, we also see some lesser known characters (at least to non-comic readers like myself), like the Last Boy on Earth, Kamandi, and gorilla Solovar (Darin De Paul) on Kamandi’s home Earth, and Hippolyta (Jennifer Hale) on an Amazonian world much like Wonder Woman’s home.
While Part One had a lot of humor thanks to Barry Allen being at the forefront, this second part has more of a serious tone, and a lot of action—though it can be a bit repetitive at times, jumping between different groupings of heroes facing the same enemy on different Earths. There is also some nice character development, and some answers—such as who that mysterious old guy was in Part One. While Part One provided some level of closure to the incident at hand, Part Two definitely leaves viewers on a cliffhanger. I’m not sure how this is all going to get wrapped up in just one more movie, but I’m curious to see where things go. I kind of wish they had just released all three films together as a single miniseries, rather than spreading them out across the year. The impatient may just want to wait until all three films have been released and watch them together, and in the meantime, check out the other 7 DC animated movies that led up to this event (check out my review of Part One for the list).
Once again, the vocal performances are excellent, and the cast is fantastic, with so many recognizable TV actors providing the voices for these iconic heroes. I also really enjoyed the aesthetic and look of the animation, which finds this sweet spot between modern and classic. Warner Bros. has released Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two on Blu-ray and 4K disc, and I was sent the latter for review. The 4K picture looks amazing, with a pristine, clear picture. Lines look sharp, colors really pop, detail is great—it’s just a really beautiful presentation, and I can’t imagine it looking any better. The soundtrack is also well done, providing clear dialogue and a really immersive experience. There is extensive use of the surround channel to make the viewer feel like they are right in the middle of the action, whether it’s echoes in Charles Halstead’s head as he tries to control his powers, or the gunfire and chaos as the heroes try to ward off the Shadow Demons.
The 4K release features beautiful SteelBook packaging. The single 4K disc resides on the right side of the case, while an insert provides instructions for redeeming a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. A J-card over the case provides details on the contents of the release. The disc contains about 16 minutes of bonus material with the cast and filmmakers, plus a clip from the upcoming final installment of the trilogy.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:34:44)
- 2160p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- HDR10
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Dutch, Spanish
- 4K Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)
- Voices in Crisis (8:19)
The cast discuss their characters, how the voice-acting process is different from on-camera acting, and more. Includes recording booth footage, and interviews with stars Meg Donnelly (“Supergirl”, “Harbinger”), Jonathan Adams (“Monitor”) & Aldis Hodge (“John Stewart”). - The Bat-Family of the Multiverse (8:25)
The filmmakers discuss bringing in some Bat-Family characters that weren’t in the original Crisis story, the different versions of Batman and Robin, and other family members like the Huntress, Batwing, Batgirl, and more. Includes rough animation footage, and interviews with DC writer Geoff Johns, DC Group editor Katie Kubert, producer/writer Jim Krieg, DC archivist Benjamin LeClear, director Jeff Wamester & executive producer Butch Lukic. - Part Three Sneak Peek (1:19)
Clip from the upcoming final part as Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman & Lois Lane try to stop dinosaurs running amok.
4K Ultra HD:
Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2026):
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
for DC Animation Fans
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two feels like it was made for the die-hard fans of the DC animated movies/comics, bringing together loads of characters for one big epic crossover. While this second installment felt a little less like separate stories strung together to fill 90 minutes, there was a bit of that. This definitely feels more like the middle part of a story, with the viewer left on a cliffhanger. That said, the presentation looks and sounds fantastic, and there’s some entertaining bonus material with the cast and crew. Those who haven’t seen the previous films should probably spend the time checking those out first, while die hard fans will want to pick up this 4K release for the stellar presentation, beautiful animation, and wonderful SteelBook packaging. Casual fans may want to hold off for the inevitable trilogy release to watch all three parts at once.
