Batwoman: The Complete First Season (2019)/Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons The Movie (2020 w/DVD)/The Flash: The Complete Sixth Season/Supergirl: The Complete Fifth Season (both 2019 - 2020)/Superman: Man Of Tomorrow 4K (2020/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray/all DC Comics/Warner Blu-rays)

4K Ultra HD Picture: A+ Picture: B+ (DVD: B-) Sound: Picture: B+ (DVD: B-) Extras: C+/C+/B/B/B Main Programs: C+/B/B/B/B

No matter what, the superhero genre is continuing on strong and these five new releases show how...

DC's Batwoman is a relatively newer character in DC canon. An out lesbian and tactical fighter, Batwoman: The Complete First Season (2019,) Batwoman is played in this series by Ruby Rose (John Wick), although word has it that she will not be playing the character in future seasons. In the same universe as the CW DC-based shows like Arrow, Supergirl, and The Flash, Batwoman is another caped crusader to add to the mix.

The show also features Rachel Skarsten (Birds of Prey, Reign), Meagan Tandy (unREAL, Teen Wolf), Nicole Kang (You), Camrus Johnson (The Sun Is Also A Star), Elizabeth Anweis (NCIS: Los Angeles, 9-1-1), and Dougray Scott (Departure, Snatch, Mission: Impossible II).

Batwoman Season 01 is comprised of Pilot, The Rabbit Hole, Down Down Down, Who are you?, Mine is a long and sad tale, I'll be Judge, I'll be Jury, Tell Me the Truth, A Mad Tea Party, How Queer Everything is Today!, An Un-birthday present, Take your Choice, Drink Me, Grinning from Ear to Ear, Off with her Head, Through the Looking Glass, A Narrow Escape, If you Believe in Me, I'll Believe in You, and A Secret kept from all the Rest, O, Mouse! As you can tell there's a bit of Alice in Wonderland referencing going on with the titles there.

Batwoman: Season One spans four 1080p Blu-ray discs and have an MPEG-4 AVC codec and an original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.00:1 paired with a lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. The look of the show isn't terrible at times as it attempts to mimic the look of some of the bigger Bat productions. They look fine here on Blu-ray and are commercial free, which is also welcome as opposed to the original CW broadcast. Digital copy also included.

Special Features:

On The Set

The Best of DC TV's Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019

Deleted Scenes

and a Gag Reel

Batwoman has a few fun nods to previous incarnations of the Batman character. For shots of Gotham City, you can clearly tell that they used a lot of the same locations as the Nolan-verse, but it feels more like a Bat fan film than a serious entry in the DC canon by having a plot that's overly convenient. The villains are a bit goofy too and at some points seem like they are auditioning for the 1966 Batman television series they are so over the top. All in all, Batwoman is a mixed bag. It has some moments that are well put together and then there's others.

This year, instead of doing straight Batman adaptations as their direct to video animated feature films, DC has decided to focus on some other characters in their arsenal. Superman: Man of Tomorrow (see below) and Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons (2020).

Similar in appearance slightly to Deadpool in terms of costume, Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson is a completely different kind of anti-hero. An experienced warrior and perfect aim, Deathstroke has proven to be an admiral foe to Batman and is kind of on the fence between good and bad.

For those that don't read a lot of comics and may be out the loop, you may remember Deathstroke had a brief live action appearance during the end credit sequence of Batman v Superman played by Joe Manganiello, who fit the role perfectly. Let's hope we get to see more of him in the character in future DC films or maybe even the Justice League Synder Cut coming in 2021. The character has also been seen in some of the newer Batman Arkham video games, which are also pretty excellent.

The animated film features the voice cast of Michael Chiklis, Sasha Alexander, Griffin Puatu, Asher Bishop, Castulo Guerra, and Delbert Hunt.

A soldier who underwent experimentation, Deathstroke is a force to be reckoned with. A keen and strong fighter, fit with healing abilities and a smart attitude, Deathstroke is out to get revenge. Haunted by the murderer Jackal, Slade pieces together his past to protect his future and the lives of his wife and children, who possess superhuman abilities as well.

Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons The Movie is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an audio mix in lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. The animation style is consistent with the other WB DC animated features and looks far better on Blu-ray than it does the also included SD DVD, which has the same widescreen specs and a lesser 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. Compression is much more evident in the anamorphically enhanced DVD image as well.

Special Feature:

Deathstroke: One-Man Death Machine (New Featurette)

and a Trailer for Superman: Man of Tomorrow

Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons The Movie proves that Deathstroke has an interesting enough story to hold his own live action feature film. Let's just hope the fanbase is there to make that happen.

Getting back to the DC Comics superhero TV series, the saga(s) continues with Season Five of Supergirl (started in 2015) and the Sixth Season of The Flash (started in 2014), which has now crossed over with all of the other CW DC properties culminating in the Crisis on Infinite Earths series, which is the last disc across all of the latest box sets. Batwoman and Arrow are also part of the mix and it's neat to see all of the characters from all of the shows cross over in this epic way on screen. They even make subtle hints to some of the theatrical versions of the characters in these two seasons with cameos by Ezra Miller (Zach Snyder's Justice League) and a fun little cameo from the original Robin, Burt Ward to name a few. Fan favorite voice actor of Batman Kevin Conroy ends up playing an older and battle worn Bruce Wayne as well, being the first time he played the character in live action.

While the shows lack some of the polished VFX and cinematography that the feature films have, they do the best they can with what they have. DC translates well to this television format even if at times the shows feel a little soap opera-y in terms of their dramatic moments. There's plenty of action on the screen even if the seasons are all pretty long and the story a bit complex at times. The shows aren't afraid to shy away from same sex relationships as many of the characters in all of the shows are featured. Not that there is anything wrong with that per say, but at times it feels a little out of place in the midst of a superhero drama. Still, what the CW and DC have done with these crossover shows is definitely a commendable feat.

Melissa Benoist returns as Supergirl, who has grown considerably over the seasons and is pitted against Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) in this season as the primary villain. (It seems like more than once characters seem to be apologizing to Miss. Luthor and begging for her attention and affection as well. Which grows a little tiresome.) Aiding her is Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), and J'onn J'onzz who is a Martian like the Martian Manhunter character seen in previous seasons. In the Sixth Season of The Flash, Grant Gustin returns as Barry Allen who continues to protect Central City from a heatwave of crime and time heists. The plot is a bit confusing with all of the timelines and time-fixes that have happened, but the show stays true to the character and continues a fun show to binge.

There are 19 episodes in Supergirl's Fifth Season including Event Horizon, Stranger Beside Me, Blurred Lines, In Plain Sight, Dangerous Liaisons, Confidence Women, Tremors, The Wrath of Rama Khan, Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One, The Bottle Episode, Back from the Future, Parts One and Two, It's a Super Life, The Bodyguard, Reality Bytes, Deus Lex Machina, The Missing Link, and Immortal Kombat.

There are also 19 episodes in The Flash's Sixth Season including Into The Void, A Flash of the Lightning, Dead Man Running, There Will Be Blood, Kiss Kiss Breach Breach, License to Elongate, The Last Temptation of Barry Allen Parts 01 and 02, Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three, Marathon, Love is a Battlefield, A Girl Named Sue, Grodd Friended Me, Death of the Speed Force, The Exorcism of Nash Wells, So Long and Goodnight, Liberation, Pay the Piper, and Success is Assured.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover features Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Arrow, Grant Gustin as the Flash, Ruby Rose as Batwoman, Brandon Routh as The Atom (and Superman from his role in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns), Melissa Benoist is Supergirl, Matt Ryan returns as Constantine from the short lived NBC series, and Caity Lotz as the White Canary and of course many more. DC Comics fans will dig on this series as there are several different characters that are seeing the screen for the first time here.

Both Supergirl and The Flash are both presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and an original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and audio mixes in English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) lossless sound. Since these shows premiere on cable, watching them all together on disc in this way is definitely the way to go as there are (again) no commercials or pesky watermarks and advertisements throughout the presentation. The transfers are clean and there's nothing that sticks out as a big issue.

These shows have yet to see any sort of 4K UHD treatment.

Special Features for Supergirl Season 5:

The Best of DC TV's Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019

Deleted Scenes

Gag Reel

BONUS DISC (same as Batwoman and The Flash)

All Five Epic Episodes of the DC Crossover Event Crisis on Infinite Earths from Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Crisis Past and Present: Kevin Conroy Bat Legend

Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Architects Return

Crisis Past and Present - Superman vs. Superman

Characters in Crisis: Pariah

Crisis Management

and Character in Crisis: The Anti-Monitor

Special Features for The Flash Season 6:

"Kiss Kiss Breach Breach - Noir" (Special Episode)

"Kiss Kiss Breach Breach - Noir" Commentary by showrunner/executive producer Eric Wallace

The Best of DC TV's Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2019

Deleted Scenes

Gag Reel

and BLU-RAY BONUS DISC (same as Batwoman and Supergirl)

All Five Epic Episodes of the DC Crossover Event Crisis on Infinite Earths from Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Arrow and DC's Legends of Tomorrow

The CW seems to have no plans of slowing down on these DC properties as many of these shows continue to crossover and do interesting things independent of the theatrical incarnations.

Finally, saving the sharpest and most high profile for last, The Man of Steel returns in animated form in the new DC animated movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow 4K (2020). Continuing in the tradition of the Batman animated films that we have covered over the past years and Justice League films, the animation to this Superman title is similar and has a very clean look, a bit similar to the '90s Batman: The Animated Series (reviewed elsewhere on this site).

The film starts out reimagining Clark Kent at a younger age when he is still grasping his superhuman abilities. To his moving to Metropolis and meeting Lois Lane, Martian Manhunter, and standing off against Lobo, an offbeat character that DC fans have been waiting to see in something new (and still has yet to be adapted into live action.) Think of this as a prequel story.

The impressive voice cast includes Alexandra Daddario, Zachary Quinto, Ryan Hurst, Darren Criss, Bellamy Young, Brett Dalton, and Neil Flynn. Direction is by Chris Palmer.

Superman: Man of Tomorrow 4K is presented in 2160p Ultra High Definition on 4K UHD disc with a HVEC/H.265 codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and an audio mix in English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The animation is up to high standards and looks and sounds great just like all of the previous DC animated movies. Also included is a compressed 1080p high definition Blu-ray version with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and the same audio and extras.

Special Features:

Lobo: Natural Force of Chaos featurette

Martian Manhunter: Lost and Found featurette

Look Back: Justice League vs. The Fatal Five featurette

Look Back: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies featurette

From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series, "The Main Man, Part I"

From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series, "The Main Man, Part II"

Movie trailers:

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge

Superman: Red Son

and a Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie.

If you like Superman, then you will want to check this out. It's a lot of fun!

- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/