In the DCU, there is another Earth where life is reversed. The human heart is on the right side, and morality is switched around. Supervillains such as Lex Luthor and Slade Wilson are some of this world's greatest heroes. But on the other end of the spectrum, there is the Crime Syndicate. Made up of Evil Counterparts of the Justice League, they run an empire of organized, superpowered crime that has all but taken over the world. Lex Luthor, in a desperate attempt to stop them, crosses over to the mainstream DC Universe to ask the League for help. While the League agrees, they're facing off against a world overflowing with supervillains, and Owlman (Batman's Evil Counterpart) has his own deadly agenda...This direct-to-DVD film was originally planned as a Justice League Unlimited prequel film, dealing with how the League decided to make the jump to Heroes Unlimited after Starcrossed. After JLU was cancelled, the film was re-imagined to show off the mainstream DCU. Still, the tone is perfect for a DCAU entry, and the JLU roots are still very obvious. (For example: Absent Hawkgirl, Funny Flash, Watchtower being rebuilt, and the Heroes Unlimited is still a plot point.)An important fact to keep in mind is that, despite the similarities between the two factions, the Crime Syndicate of America is not composed of Evil Twins of the Justice League of America. Though not explained within the film itself, the members of the Syndicate have different personal and professional backgrounds, with different origins for their superpowers and different secret identities. They are Expys, which is why the "twins" have different voice-actors*
Bar Green Lantern
; they are actually not the same people as those in the League.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths contains examples of the following tropes:
Absolutely Happened: It takes very little mental effort to pretend that this movie is part of the DCAU canon.
All There in the Script: Olympia, the superpowered woman with a spear who fights Wonder Woman and is her Mirror Universe counterpart with regards to powers and origin, is never named in the movie.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Super Family "pops over to the universe next door". Later, the League repays the favor.
Annoying Arrows: Justified for J'onn. It's pretty hard to hit anything vital on a shapeshifter.
Apocalypse How: Owlman attempts a Class Z, which Batman ends up foiling. Batman's efforts knock it down to a Class X on an uninhabited Earth.
Earth Prime suffered a Class 6, having been knocked out of its orbit. The entire surface is barren and only the slightest of traces that there ever was civilization remains.
Art Major Physics: The QED trigger can't be destroyed because it's Pure Energy but even if that is true, energy can be converted from one form to another and/or dissipated. Still, it's a common enough trope in this genre to be ignored.
Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: At the begining of the movie, Flash complains that Batman had turned him into a guinea pig and that he does not feel that Batman likes him very much. At the end they need superspeed to open a "doorway". Flash steps up, but Batman tells him he is too slow and Johnny Quick offers to do it. At the end, it turns out that the job Batman needed done drained the life out of Johnny, and killed him, and that is why Batman would not let his universe's Flash do the job.
Axe Crazy: Superwoman. Owlman, too, but he is not as loud about it.
Badass Abnormal: Owlman's suit is designed to upgrade his physical strength and durability. He is able to briefly overpower Wonder Woman during their first encounter (before she throws him off a plane). At one point he even shrugs off an explosive Batman places on his cowl.
Badass Boast: Ultraman points out why he is the Boss of Bosses.
Batman (to Owlman): There is a difference between me and you. We both looked into the abyss, but when it looked back, you blinked.''
Badass Grandpa: Uncle Super appears to be the strongest of Superwoman's Made Men, as he takes the most effort to take down for the expanded League.
This Superwoman is the thematic double of Wonder Woman, but her actual powers and origin are those of Mary Marvel. Previous comic incarnations of the character have also had her double as Lois Lane and made her a Kryptonian.
However, there is Mary Mayhem, who is also based on Mary Marvel.
There is a Crime Syndicate member, named Vamp, who appears to be a combination of Vixen and Beast Boy.
Another similar combination occurs with a character named Sai, whose name suggests a Crime Syndicate counterpart to Katana. However, her overall appearance, as well as her use of a cat-like mask, recalls Cheshire.
Continuity Nod: It is not a DCAU film anymore, but Bruce Timm has said that most of the original plot was still intact. Included in this film is the construction of the second Justice League Watchtower, the expansion of the League and Wonder Woman obtaining her invisible jet. These events all occurred during the gap between Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Cosmic Keystone: Owlman thinks Earth-Prime is one for the whole multiverse. Apparently just that Earth, not its universe.
Dating Catwoman: Superwoman kisses Batman during their confrontation and even offers to spare his life and keep him as her "pet". He refuses.
Designated Girlfight: Except for a brief struggle with Owlman (During which he does not even attempt to hit her, but instead grabs her arms and plays "mercy"), Wonder Woman does not fight a single man (Or masculine alien) throughout the entire film. Instead she battles Olympia and Superwoman.
Dolled-Up Installment: Something of an inversion - The film was originally written as a DCAU entry, and the process of adapting it into DC's current franchise of stand-alone movies mainly consisted of filing the serial numbers off.
The Dragon: Each of the Crime Syndicate's core members has a Quirky Miniboss Squad of supervillains, which they call "Made Men". They each have about seven Made Men, but they trust some more than others:
Ultraman has Evil Jimmy Olsen.
Superwoman has Captain Super (Evil Captain Marvel, with a uniform and Beard of Evil that make him look like Black Adam.)
Johnny Quick has an Evil(er?) Lobo/Warwolf.
Power Ring has Olympia (Wonder Woman's counterpart with regards to her origin and powers).
The Crime Syndicate wants to threaten the governments of their world with complete destruction if they do not submit to their demands.
Owlman wants to do it to Earth Prime, and thus the Multiverse. It ends up happening to him, not that he cares.
Easter Egg: Freeze-framing when Good Luthor shows the League a diagram of the Crime Syndicate's organization tree lets one spot evil versions of heroes like Metamorpho, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Cyborg, Zatanna, Red Tornado, and others.
Elite Mooks: The various superpowered crime families.
Evil Counterpart: Basically the entire plot, and inverted with good counterparts for the supervillains. Lampshaded by Martian Manhunter, when he states that his Earth's Rose Wilson is probably evil. (She is actually an Anti-Villain.)
Expressive Mask: Averted with Owlman, who's eyes are always wide open (giving a very unsettling effect), but played straight with Batman, Flash, and every other masked hero and villain in the film.
Eyes Always Shut: Captain Super and Uncle Super, referencing the classic squinty depiction of Captain Marvel in general.
Flying Brick: Superman and Ultraman are reduced to this archetype.
Foreshadowing: Superwoman considers using the quantum trigger to send Batman to a frozen Earth with no life left on it. Guess where Batman eventually sets the final confrontation to occur?
Genre Savvy: Superman instantly deduces that the Lex Luthor they meet is from an alternate universe by using his x-ray vision. Good Lex's heart is on the right side, and evil Lex is still in jail.
Johnny Quick, though he was not aware it would be fatal at the time. Batman warned him it would be dangerous, to which he retorted, "Of course it's dangerous!" and accepted it.
Humans Are Bastards: Owlman believes this. When Batman suggests that an alternate Earth was devastated by something else, Owlman sounds almost insulted. Owlman counteracts Batman's theory by telling him they both know what humans are capable of.
Model Citizen: This is not like the jedi mind trick.
Flash: This is not like the jedi mind trick...
The Mafia: The Crime Syndicate is a mix between these and your standard supervillain teams, with family heads and Made Men. Just to hammer things in, Ultraman is from Joisey.
Ultraman: You think you can come to my place of business, an' call me out?
Never Trust A Title: Crisis On Two Earths is the name of a classic DC storyline involving parallel universes...however, the Crime Syndicate universe is NOT one of them. Any fan renting this expecting an adaptation of that storyline is in for a nasty surprise.
Flash yells this when he unwittingly speeds out of the air base and begins plummeting to the ground below. Luckily Green Lantern saves him. Crosses over into Idiot Ball when you wonder why Supes, who can frickin' see through walls, did not warn the only non-flying member of the team to watch out while bashing his way through to the open.
During the League's face-off with the Syndicate, Flash and Johnny Quick destroy a piece of science equipment while fighting each other and Quick began hurling the broken pieces at Flash. Flash not only manages to dodge and deflect all the flying shards, but actually reassembles the device and hands it to Quick. Quick responds with a rather apt "Bugger" before Flash punches him in the face.
The Jester and Luthor get a good one in the beginning when they realize the Syndicate is already coming for them.
Owlman has one at the climax. Sure, he decided it did not matter in the end, but he did look very panicked before he came to this conclusion and the bomb went off.
Archer has a lovely one on the docks when J'onn rises up behind him as a giant sea serpent.
Papa Wolf: Yeah, that's right Ultraman, send an assassin to kill President Slade's daughter, it is not like he will not hold anything against you and arrive at your headquarters driving a tank with marines and nuclear weapons. Oh, he will? Oops.
Pet the Dog: Ultraman seems genuinely upset at Superman and Lex Luthor beating up his Made Man Jimmy Olsen.
Pinball Protagonist: Among the six protagonist Leaguers, Green Lantern does little more than just... be there.
Powered Armor: Owlman's costume and Good Lex Luthor's suit.
Psychopathic Manchild: Superwoman. She is willing to help blow up the universe just because her crush wants to, and generally acts like a nasty little girl. Given that she is Mary Marvel—a teenager in an adult body—this makes a lot of sense.
Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Black Canary before she uses her Canary Cry on one of the Made Men point blank.
President Evil: Inverted. Though he is reluctant to take decisive action against the Syndicate, President Slade Wilson is the GOOD version of the supervillain Deathstroke.
Rapid Aging: Johnny Quick becomes a victim of this when he uses his superspeed powers to open a portal for Batman to travel into the Earth-Prime dimension in order to stop Owlman from destroying all reality.
Rock-Paper-Scissors: Lampshaded by Green Lantern ("I know this game!"), summoning a rock to crush scissors.
Shout Out: Several to the Aliens franchise. The most noticeable is when Batman enters a scene in a construction Mini Mecha that looks very much like Ripley's power loader suit. The actual angle of the camera is also almost identical. And the space marines at the end have Pulse rifles.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: Batman does this twice to Owlman during the climax. The first time he asks if Owlman intends to talk him to death, the next one is one of the biggest Crowning Moment's Of Awesome in the film. Wonder Woman does this to Superwoman as well.
Smug Super: All of the Syndicate members are ungodly smug about their powers.
Spotlight-Stealing Squad: It is not as bad as in some adaptations, but as ever, Batman (and his Evil Counterpart, Owlman) do hog a lot of the action, especially in the finale.
Statuesque Stunner: Wonder Woman, naturally, and Superwoman as well, especially since concept art shows her as even taller than Superman.
Stealth Pun: When the mugshots for the villains come up, one of them looks like Mr. Terrific, except with a H on his face, making him Mr. Horrific.
"Made Men" is not only a Stealth Pun, but a Double Entendre. Many of the villains of the CSA are literally made, as in transformed from normal people into superpowered beings, such as Superwoman's lieutenants and Jimmy Olsen.
Strong As They Need To Be: Owlman's suit, first he's able to overpower Wonder Woman, then when he's fighting Batman that's completely ignored, and when they fight on Earth Prime Owlman initially kicks his ass at first, but he's still not as strong as he was in the start of the film.
Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Owlman's reaction to learning that for every decision in one universe, in another a different decision was made.
The Determinator: We never see Batman receiving medical attention after he (narrowly) survives his encounter with Superwoman... suggesting that he spends the next two-thirds of the film fighting with at least one broken rib.
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Averted. When Superwoman breaks into the Earth One JLA quarters, Batman calls for some heroes, among them, Aquaman. Do you see a body of water or some fishes he can call? No. He's a capable fighter over the surface.
This Is Something He's Got To Do Himself: Good Luthor may have sorely needed the help from Earth-1's Justice League, but he knows the symbolic importance of fighting Ultraman himself. If the people of his Earth can not stand up to the Crime Syndicate, then there is no chance at all of it sticking once the Justice League leaves. This is echoed in the ending when President Wilson and the Marines come to arrest the surviving Syndicate members.
Unholy Matrimony: Owlman and Superwoman. While they had this relationship in the comics, Superwoman was Ultraman's wife and she mainly kept up the affair with Owlman to spite him.
Ungrateful Bastard: Oh, you just saved the multiverse? Ultraman does not care.
Weld The Lock: Alexander Luthor welds the vault door to slow down the Crime Syndicate.
Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him??: Superman asks Good Lex why he did not just destroy the MacGuffin to keep it out of the Syndicate's hands; Lex replies "It's pure energy - it can't be destroyed."
Would Hit a Girl: Superman had no problem battling Superwoman. Given that she is as strong as he is (give or take) and evil, this makes sense.
Wrestler in All of Us: Wonder Woman, for some reason, mercilessly uses several professional wrestling moves in this adaptation. She actually busts out a sidebuster against Vixen, and the fight against Superwoman is no-holds-barred. Diana opens the final fight against Superwoman with a flying drop-kick, and finishes with some sort of modified butterfly suplex and an elbow-drop.
You Shall Not Pass: The Jester pulls this in the intro, and manages to bring down a Evil Martian Manhunter and Angelique/Evil Hawkgirl in the process.
You're Insane!: What Batman said to Owlman. Owlman does not object.
Owlman: Does it really matter? There are alternate versions of me that you would find quite charming.
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