History WesternAnimation / SupermanVSTheElite

->'''Manchester Black:''' You think that's it? It's not over, you poncy twit. If you think I'll just go to jail and rot, you're living in a dream world!
->'''Superman:''' Good. Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us into something better. And on my soul, I swear that until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice are the reality we all share, I'll never stop fighting. Ever.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Also in the climax, Manchester Black is willing to catch civilians in an attempted collateral damage attack on Superman, which Coldcast tries to stop him from engaging in [[spoiler: shortly before his DisneyDeath]].

* ForgotAboutHisPowers: At one point Coldcast uses a neutrino blast, described as an "EMP for organics", and accidentally hits Superman. It clearly weakens Superman and he even slips into unconsciousness, but Coldcast never uses it when the Elite fight him. (Although it's possible he thought he didn't need to.)
** Coldcast went straight for a gigantic energy blast instead, demonstrating his team's obsession with spectacle and overkill. And he probably couldn't use the neutrino blast after generating the ludicrously powerful blast he tried to kill Superman with -- Manchester Black tells him to level the area, and he replies he can't after using so much power.

* ThisCannotBe: [[spoiler:The Elite's collective reaction when they find out they weren't actually capable of killing Superman.]]

* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: Terrence advocates for The Elite to kill Atomic Skull [[spoiler:due the latter having murdered his father. After Manchester Black does so, he goes back to craddling his father's corpse. This realization likely contributed to Terrence trying to talk Superman out of killing Manchester Black.]]

* GutturalGrowler: Atomic Skull speaks in a deep, gravelly voice befitting a large, muscular man with a burning skull for a head.

* MakeMeWannaShout: Superman does this to the Atomic Skull when he has him in a bear hug. Supes shouting "'''LET GO!'''" creates a shockwave that not only makes the Atomic Skull release him, but shatters the windows of several nearby buildings and cars. Skull thought it was a nice trick.

** On the Moon and trapped in the eye of a whirlwind Superman created, The Hat flies up to try and stop him. To his credit he’d have a good chance as Superman is vulnerable to magic. But before he can speak an incantation, he’s choking for air despite being shielded by magic. As Manchester Black notes, at the rate the wind is spinning which is 500 miles a minute, The Hat’s lungs collapsed in the vacuum.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Much more so than [[ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay the comic it's based on]]. Superman adamantly sticks to his ThouShaltNotKill policy, but it's shown that in doing so, it allows highly dangerous and crazy Supervillains a good chance at escaping their CardboardPrison and coming back to kill way more innocent people down the line. The Elite actually killing the villains means they'll never have the ''chance'' to harm innocent lives again, but it's also shown that it's incredibly easy to become desensitized to death this way [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and start becoming judge, jury, and execution for smaller crimes or even perceived slights]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic stop caring about collateral damage so long as the main threat is dealt with]][[note]]It's show that the Elite are so used to just killing the problem that, when presented with a situation where they can't just kill a bad guy to save someone, they have no clue how to use their powers in order to save people[[/note]] and there's a high chance that people who jump to this as the first solution [[AGodAmI likely aren't the most stable lot to begin with]]. [[spoiler:Superman proceeds to show them, as well as the world, just how [[ScareEmStraight terrifying]] it would be if he thought murder as the first and only solution was okay.]]

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Much more so than [[ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay the comic it's based on]]. Superman adamantly sticks to his ThouShaltNotKill policy, but it's shown that in doing so, it allows highly dangerous and crazy Supervillains a good chance at escaping their CardboardPrison and coming back to kill way more innocent people down the line. The Elite actually killing the villains means they'll never have the ''chance'' to harm innocent lives again, but it's also shown that it's incredibly easy to become desensitized to death this way [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and start becoming judge, jury, and execution for smaller crimes or even perceived slights]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic stop caring about collateral damage so long as the main threat is dealt with]][[note]]It's show that the Elite are so used to just killing the problem that, when presented with a situation where they can't just kill a bad guy to save someone, they have no clue how to use their powers in order to save people[[/note]] and there's a high chance that people who jump to this as the first solution [[AGodIAm likely aren't the most stable lot to begin with]]. [[spoiler:Superman proceeds to show them, as well as the world, just how [[ScareEmStraight terrifying]] it would be if he thought murder as the first and only solution was okay.]]

* AnythingThatMoves: Menagerie. Her teammates actually point it out when she finds something unattractive.

* IronicName: "The Elite". They consist of a [[AntiHero violent sociopath]], a destructive [[TheBrute brute of a man]], a biological horror who is also a [[AnythingThatMoves nymphomaniac]], and an [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] magician who barely gives a damn most of the time. While government trained, they don't exactly behave as flawlessly as you'd expect their team name would imply.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Neutrinos do nothing. In fact, there's billions of them passing through your body ''right now''. There's a reason they're called ''neutr''inos.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Much more so than [[ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay the comic it's based on]]. Superman adamantly sticks to his ThouShaltNotKill policy, but it's shown that in doing so, it allows highly dangerous and crazy Supervillains a good chance at escaping their CardboardPrison and coming back to kill way more innocent people down the line. The Elite actually killing the villains means they'll never have the ''chance'' to harm innocent lives again, but it's also shown that it's incredibly easy to become desensitized to death this way [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and start becoming judge, jury, and execution for smaller crimes or even perceived slights]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic stop caring about collateral damage so long as the main threat is dealt with]][[note]]It's show that the Elite are so used to just killing the problem that, when presented with a situation where they can't just kill a bad guy to save someone, they have no clue how to use their powers in order to save people[[/note]] and the there's a high chance that people who jump to this as the first solution [[AGodIAm likely aren't the most stable lot to begin with]]. [[spoiler:Superman proceeds to show them, as well as the world, just how [[ScareEmStraight terrifying]] it would be if he thought murder as the first and only solution was okay.]]

* BrokenTears: [[spoiler: When Manchester is utterly defeated, he's brought to his knees and starts crying. Not because he lost his teammmates or even because he lost. He's crying because ''a paragon like Superman has turned into nothing more then a gleeful murderer,'' at least that's what he thought at the time.]]

* HumanShield: Black's plan for when he and Coldcast teleported back to Metroplois, believing Superman wouldn't fight them when they were around so many civilians.

* AnAesop:
** Killing is bad, even if it's for the right reasons. Even if, ''[[BewareTheSuperman especially if]]'', they are in a position of power that makes such an act easy for them. You do ''not'' want people in power to think killing is okay. [[ItGetsEasier The more you kill, the easier and more desensitized you become to it,]] and the easier it becomes to stop viewing people as ''[[AMillionIsAStatistic people]]''.
** [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers Being an idealist and/or dreamer isn't stupid.]] It's ideas and dreams that inspire us to be the best version of ourselves. It's easy to give into cynicism when things look bad and bleak, but its times like that when you need to fight even harder against it.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Near the end of the film, Superman says that [[spoiler:Coldcast]] went into orbit at Mach 7. The escape velocity of Earth is Mach 22, meaning that it'd be impossible to leave Earth's gravity without exceeding that speed.

The voice cast features Creator/GeorgeNewbern reprising his ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' role as Superman, Creator/DavidKaufman reprising his Franchise/{{DCAU}} role as ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, Creator/PauleyPerrette as ComicBook/LoisLane, and Creator/RobinAtkinDownes as Manchester Black, leader of the Elite. On top of that, the writer of the movie is [[Creator/ManOfActionStudios Joe Kelly]], the same man who wrote the original comic the movie is based around.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Much more so than [[ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay the comic it's based on]]. Superman adamantly sticks to his ThouShaltNotKill policy, but it's shown that in doing so, it allows highly dangerous and crazy Supervillains a good chance at escaping their CarboardPrison and coming back to kill way more innocent people down the line. The Elite actually killing the villains means they'll never have the ''chance'' to harm innocent lives again, but it's also shown that it's incredibly easy to become desensitized to death this way [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and start becoming judge, jury, and execution for smaller crimes or even perceived slights]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic stop caring about collateral damage so long as the main threat is dealt with]][[note]]It's show that the Elite are so used to just killing the problem that, when presented with a situation where they can't just kill a bad guy to save someone, they have no clue how to use their powers in order to save people[[/note]] and the there's a high chance that people who jump to this as the first solution [[AGodIAm likely aren't the most stable lot to begin with]]. [[spoiler:Superman proceeds to show them, as well as the world, just how [[ScareEmStraight terrifying]] it would be if he thought murder as the first and only solution was okay.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: The main conflict. Superman adamantly sticks to his ThouShaltNotKill policy even as the Elite gains public support for killing the bad guys, and when the Elite later declare that ''they'' decide who the villains are, and that "people who endanger innocent lives" can apply to more than just criminals and terrorists, it shows how the Elite's methods can lead to JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and HeWhoFightsMonsters territory. On the other hand, while they don't particularly care for innocent bystanders and aren't good at using their powers beyond [[CripplingOverspecialization killing and breaking things]], the Elite believe their way is better since Superman just beating up criminals and having them thrown in [[CardboardPrison improper prisons]] leads to JokerImmunity and allows villains like the Atomic Skull to just keep killing... which, unfortunately, happens nearly all the time. Superman then cleverly manages to strike the middle ground by showing that, while the Elite's methods are effective, they are ''dangerous''. How? He goes off the deep end by letting loose and seemingly murdering the Elite off one by one, showing no apparent regard for collateral damage and effectively frightening everyone around him to the point that the once smug Manchester Black is begging for mercy at the hands of a fallen Man of Steel. [[spoiler: Or rather he fakes it, proving to the world that, while the Elite is right in that using lethal force will remove dangerous criminals, it won't make those committing the deed any better than those they're killing.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: The Elite operate on a PayEvilUntoEvil mentality. [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] when they kill the leaders of Pokolistan and Bialya. Regardless of who started the war and how brutal their attempts at winning are, it's clear that killing the entire governments of both countries is a '''terrible''' idea that does nothing to resolve the underlying issues.

** Killing is bad, even if it's for the right reasons. Even if, ''[[BewareTheSuperman especially if]]'', they are in a position of power that makes such an act easy for them. You do ''not'' want people in power to think killing is okay. [[ItGetsEasier The more you kill, the easier and more desensitized you become to it,]] and the easier it becomes to stop viewing people as ''people''.

** Killing is bad, even if it's for the right reasons. Even if, ''[[BewareTheSuperman especially if]]'', they are in a position of power that makes such an act easy for them. You do ''not'' want people in power to think killing is okay.

* TheUnfettered: The Elite. They initially demonstrate a willingness, nay, eagerness, to kill criminals. But the more the movie goes the more they show how little principles they have, murdering the leaders of two entire countries, and preparing to kill Superman after he punched Manchester Black after he disaproved of the move. [[spoiler: When Superman is pretending to be out to kill the Elite, Manchester Black is prepared to destroy Metropolis, just to save his own skin.]]

* WomenPreferStrongMen: Managerie's boyfriend in the Elite is Coldcast, but it's a RunningJoke that she's attracted to Superman as well. She likes her big boys.

* DevilsAdvocate: Superman engages in a debate before the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations with Professor Baxter who seems to be one of his intellectual opponents, but makes it clear that he strongly agrees with Superman and is merely playing the part.

** To the film's credit, while the Elite are ultimately shown as going too far, a good part of the film focuses on how ''ineffective'' Superman is at solving the world's problems. A point hammered home when Terrence Baxter supports the execution of Atomic Skull after the villain [[YouKilledMyFather killed his father]] (and escaped the CardboardPrison Superman sent him to). It's a harsh criticism when most comics sidestep the issue of JokerImmunity. While Superman can inspire, he cannot change people who don't wish to be changed.

* [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]]: The Elite, at least before they [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]]. While they admire Superman, they truly believe that their brutal, fascistic approach to heroics, which would culminate in their ruling the world by force as de facto dictators, is the only way to save humanity from itself.