‘Legion Of Super-Heroes’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – A Breath Of Fresh Air In The DCAU

Welcome to the 31st century and the Legion Academy, where a new generation hones their powers with hopes of joining the Legion of Super-Heroes. Devastated by tragedy, Supergirl struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth. Taking her cousin Superman’s advice, Supergirl leaves their space-time to attend the Academy. There, she quickly makes new friends, as well as a new enemy with old ties: Brainiac 5. But a nefarious plot lurks in the shadows – the mysterious group known as the Dark Circle seeks a powerful weapon held in the Academy’s vault. Find out if the budding heroes can rise to the challenge in this all-new DC Universe Movie!

For thoughts on Legion Of Super-Heroes, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/GklBQOIHPaE?t=4112]

Video Quality

Legion Of Super-Heroes comes to 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a 2160p transfer that is pleasantly crisp with an eye-popping amount of depth. This disc provides some generous improvements over the Blu-Ray in certain areas including more vivid, natural colors and the elimination of any digital artifacting. The use of HDR yields some gorgeous enhancements to the dynamic colors on display, and the disc provides much deeper black levels for a cleaner viewing experience free of black crush. This animation style offers up very clean layouts and bold outlines, and this disc provides impeccable line detail and more distinct shading, which gives the characters greater definition. The Blu-Ray disc looks really good, but those with a larger display will likely find the 4K UHD Blu-Ray a more rewarding experience.

Audio Quality

This release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that makes an impact during this conflict-forward film. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of destruction that really transports you into the thick of the action. There is a substantial amount of activity in the low-end which will cause your room to shake pretty consistently throughout this presentation. Dialogue is often accompanied by a soaring score from Kevin Reipl or all manner of sound effects, but all of the information comes through clearly without getting muddied. Warner Bros. knows how to deliver with the DCAU, and this track will enrich the experience of all with a good home theater setup. There are optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles provided. 

Special Features

• The Legion Behind The Legion: A five-minute piece in which the creative team discusses the process of developing this story, what they wanted to accomplish with this telling, some of the vocal performances and more. 

• Down To Earth – The Story Of Supergirl: A nearly nine-minute featurette which takes a closer look at the character of Supergirl, the history she has in the comics, how she differs from Superman, what they wanted to do with her arc in this story and more. 

• Meet The Legionnaires: A nearly ten-minute look at the supporting characters that make up the titular Legion and the special characteristics that make them so interesting, especially when banding together. 

• Brainiac Attack – The Intellect Behind The Super-Villain: An eight-minute look at the lineage of the Brainiac family and how their history hinders trust when Brainiac 5 attempts to do good in the world. There is some decent history thrown in here worthy of exploration. 

• From the DC Vault: Two high definition episodes from the classic Superman: The Animated Series are featured here, “Little Girl Lost, Parts I and II,” featuring Supergirl. This is a series that was released on Blu-Ray in recent years and should be an essential pickup for fans of the Man of Steel. 

• Previews: There are in-depth previews of the previously released Justice League vs. The Fatal Five and Superman: Man Of Tomorrow. If you are a huge DC fan, you likely already own them, but give them a watch if you missed out on these. 

Final Thoughts

Legion Of Super-Heroes is a welcome addition to the DCAU line of films as it allows us to follow some characters who are not as well represented in feature storytelling. While not completely surprising, this Supergirl arc is crafted well and has some strong voice performances along the way. Perhaps the best part of this experience is the decision to descend fully into body horror at one point, so we welcome DC taking a chance in that regard. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a stellar A/V presentation and some fun special features. Any DC fan is going to want to add this one to their collection. Recommended 

Legion Of Super-Heroes is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray Combo Pack, Blu-Ray Combo Pack and Digital. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.