Justice League X RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsman Part Two (UHD Blu-ray)(4K)

Hopefully, most of you reading this review enjoyed my breakdown of the 1st part in this series.  I honestly haven’t been this vested in a two part series since Batman’s Long Halloween.  That one had the added sting that we had to wait a full year until we got the complete 4K version.  At least in the case of Justice League and RWBY, we get the full 4K splendor from the get-go.  However, as I alluded to in the first review, there was certainly room for improvement.  We shall see if the creators can correct those issues now that the series shifts into the Justice League’s world.  Let’s take a look.

Last time on Justice League X RWBY, the Justice League and RWBY teams had fought off Kilg%re and his army of superhuman Grimm.  It was actually revealed that Remnant was nothing more than a simulation to eradicate the two teams, and it nearly succeeded on that front.  A portal was then opened up, which returned Justice League back to Earth and RWBY back to the real Remnant.  However, just because both teams are returning back to their home doesn’t mean that everything is fixed the way it should be.

Superman (voiced by Travis Willingham) wakes up along with the rest of the Justice League.  Black Canary (voiced by Jamie Chung) rushes in and lets them know that the reserves and other members of the Justice League have been fighting off these strange monsters day and night all over the globe, as they seem poised to take over the Earth.  We soon learn that these strange monsters are indeed the Grimm that the team encountered during the Remnant simulation.  It’s obvious, that Kilg%re (voiced by Tru Valentino) was working with someone that was smarter and stronger.  Let’s roll them credits.

There is something you don’t see every day as we open back to Killer Croc (voiced by Maxwell Friedman) saving a helpless child from Grimm.  Apparently others like Catwoman and Riddler are also helping in these extreme situations.  Well, except for the Joker and Harley Quinn, they don’t mind watching the world burn.

Meanwhile, back on Remnant, Ruby (voiced by Lindsay Jones) fights off a giant Grimm two headed snake as the others on the RWBY team especially Yang (voiced by Barbara Dunkelman) are worried about Ruby’s increasing gung-ho nature.  Weiss (voiced by Kara Eberle) is still upset about Atlas, her home, and copes with that pain.

As we return to Earth, we are shocked to learn that Batman (voiced by Troy Baker) has been poisoned by the Grimm.  The team must find an antidote and then start the search led by Cyborg (voiced also by Tru Valentino) and the Flash (voiced by David Dastmalchian) to find the RWBY team and bring them to Earth to help with the situation.  However, once the Justice League finds the group and brings them to Earth, the question is how will they cope with their new surroundings?  They also need to stop Kilg%re and whoever his new ally may be.

Once RWBY are transported to Earth, they become adults as expected.  They also undergo certain changes related to appearance and powers to make them more adaptable to the Justice League world.  All of which makes wonderful sense and were great choices for the most part (I’ll get into Weiss a little later).  I also liked that the DC villains were involved this time around, and it was wonderful to see them with a bit of role reversal.  Personally, I would “kill” (pun intended) for a Killer Croc redemption story at some point.  Some of the emotional arcs also continued here, in particular with Ruby and also with the Flash, who still hasn’t recovered from Kilg%re’s possession.

I also very much liked the continued use of Jessica Cruz as Green Lantern (voiced by Jeannie Tirado) here, as she’s no longer as scared as she was in the first installment of this story.  We see others return such as Wonder Woman (voiced by Laura Bailey) and Vixen (voiced by Ozioma Akagha), but unfortunately there is only so much time in these animated DC features, and those are both relegated to side characters.   However, I will say that the second part works much better than the first part, because we were able to drop all of the usual introductions and move straight to the action and meat of the situation.  There is absolutely no letup in this continuation, though I would have greatly appreciated about ten more minutes to tie up some loose ends.

Let’s get back to Weiss, and I will stress that this next part is spoilerish.  So feel free to skip to the Video and Audio portions of this review as needed.  Weiss was linked very closely to Batman in the first part of this series and is again here as expected.  Everyone on the RWBY team comes away with some sort of powers except for Weiss.  Which is fine; she’s perfect for a Batman-type character anyway.  However, what my issue was is that eventually she turns back to the “Dust” and basically resumes her character from the RWBY series.  It seemed almost like, well, I don’t know what we are going to do with her, so nobody will mind if she is essentially unchanged.  It would have been way more interesting if she had to rely on gadgets and intelligence for this particular instance.  Like I said, it’s a small matter, but I feel it should be mentioned.

Video 

The video is in 1.78:1 widescreen in HEVC / H.265, but this is unfortunately an up-scaled presentation on a BD-66 disc and includes HDR10.  The mbps seems to hover around 45-50 for the most part when it is a non-action scene.  Action scenes can generate as much as 70 and 80 mbps with even an occasional spike for a second or two around 90 and 100.  If I had to guess an eyeball average, I would put this in the mid to high 50’s.

Resolution speed aside, this is a very pleasing presentation.  Color is vibrant, and there are certainly some pops which give added depth to the characters.  Maybe someday regular RWBY can be done in 4K resolution, because this is quite stunning.  The esthetic choices this time around are greatly improved; in particular Flash’s and Green Lantern’s costumes got a major upgrade.  Things such as the Grimm or the RWBY team in general, while different, weren’t any worse or better in terms of quality from the first iteration.  Environment was about the same (obviously it was changed to the Earth universe) in terms of depth and clarity.  For most viewers, things won’t be too much different, but what changes there are will be most welcomed in another fantastic 4K presentation.

Audio

The audio for this one is Dolby DTS HD 5.1 (English) and also a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 track.  Subtitles are provided in English SDH, Spanish, and French.  As was the case with the first one, this is a very active track with plenty of in-your-face fight scenes and explosions to show off all of your speakers.  Dynamics are also excellent; the sub-woofer will get some work and help the viewer feel a part of the action.  Dialog is perfectly audible, and regardless of the hero/villain speaking, the viewer will be able to understand them.

The first one in the series tended to suffer from depth issues, and I couldn’t always tell if the surrounds were fairly accurate or not.  It wasn’t terrible, but apparently someone at Warner Bros mastering got the clue, and it’s a lot more impressive here.  I mean, it’s not going to be one hundred percent, as we are dealing with an animated feature, but I felt it was very much in line with general expectations.  I will say, it might make you a little less forgiving of Part One’s audio presentation.

Special Features 

• I’ve Got Your Back: The Bond Between Justice League and RWBY 6:45:  Basically, you could take the two featurettes from the first time around, reverse them so that they are more focused towards the Justice League, and you would have the same extras (with unfortunately nothing from the DC vault this time around).  This goes over some of the changes that happened from the first feature and how they wanted to make both the Justice League and RWBY feel different this time around.  Representatives from both the Justice League side of the coin as well as the RWBY voice actors are speaking here.
• You Look…Different: RWBY on Earth  7:12:  Those same people from the first feature are also here talking about the changes they made to Ruby,  Weiss, Blake, and Yang so they would better fit in to the Justice League side of things.  This also includes not only cosmetic changes but also dealing with things like powers and fight scenes.  I would certainly welcome future installments with the RWBY team in this DC environment.
• NOTE: As had been the norm lately, this does not come with a Blu-ray, but the 4K disc does have the special features.  This copy also has a slipcover and Movies Anywhere digital code (pay attention to the expiration date, though; most Warner DC’s are expiring on the due date now).

Final Thoughts

After seeing how well the second part came together, I would have no issues if they thought of doing a Part Three.  Something that would involve primarily RWBY and Justice League “reservists” working together to find the vanished Justice League senior members (I’m making up a story line here).  It would also work well for, say, a limited series of eight or ten episodes (I’ve got some good ideas flowing right now).  Where as the first part felt a little bit like fan fiction at times, the second was more polished, tighter, and worked on so many levels.  I really enjoyed it, and I think the majority of the audience will appreciate the tighter pacing and focus on the action at hand.  Kilg%re is a more worthwhile villain than anyone on screen gives him credit for, and RWBY fans will appreciate the “higher power” once revealed.

The disc package features the same great video found in the first installment along with improved audio.  The extras are unfortunately complete throwaways, and this disc, while it probably did not need any more of the DC vault stuff, could have greatly benefited from a commentary or two.  Overall, if the viewer enjoyed the first part, I think they will be blown away by the second part and won’t even look at the clock this time around, or else risk missing a great moment of action or two.  Very much recommended for fans of Justice League and RWBY.  Hopefully, there are more crossovers in this manner planned for the future.  Enjoy.