Review: Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen Part One

SPOILERS AHEAD!

RWBY is in a perilous situation at the moment. Its production company is bombarded by multiple mergers and changes in management. All their animators have been let go. Their newest season barely cracks the bottom 20 on Crunchyroll’s most popular shows. And their future is uncertain. Who can our heroes call upon when their very existence is in danger?! The Justice League, apparently! Because now we have the first movie of two loosely adapting the comic crossover between the world of RWBY and DC Comics, releasing hot off the heels of Volume 9’s finale…very likely because they were in production around the same time. If you’ve ever been a long time RWBY fan and wondered what such iconic characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg would look like as RWBY OC’s, then I implore you to quickly seek psychiatric therapy, but also, this movie is for you. And if you’re a DC fan and have never really gotten into RWBY, then you’re probably wondering, “What in the name of Darkseid is this? And why is it considerably better than Zack Snyder’s Justice League?!”

Well, to answer the latter question, it’s because it’s not four goddamn hours long and framed in an aspect ratio that only works for IMAX theaters despite only being available on a streaming service. But to answer the first question, as mentioned, this is a movie bringing together the titular Team RWBY and pals together with the DC’s A-Lister superhero team, based on a comic series from a couple years ago, focusing on how the main characters from RWBY all run into versions of the comics characters and team up to face a common foe. However, if you have read said series and were expecting a straight adaptation, you may be surprised by the notable tweaks made to the story. For one, while the comic mostly treats the DC characters as regular inhabitants of main setting Remnant until a twist reveals they’re from a different world, it’s made clear from the first few minutes that this gathering has been orchestrated, as both teams find themselves with fragmented memories about their reasons for being there. RWBY fans were key to notice things such as Yang being in her outfit from the first three seasons despite already having her prosthetic arm, which she only gets in the fourth. There were many theories about how the RWBY timeline might have been changed or if this simply was another version of events, but the answer turns out to be a simulation.

From there, both groups of characters work together to figure out how they’re being bamboozled and by who. Team RWBY and friends try to work past conflicting memories while seemingly in a world when they were younger and less experienced, while the Justice League adapt to having altered abilities and being aged down to teenagers for some reason, with the story pairing off many of the Leaguers with a RWBY character. Some are actually pretty inspired matches, like the less than able Jaune with the anxiety riddled Jessica Cruz, some are obvious but make sense, like Superman and Ruby, and some are frankly odd and kinda weakly justified, like Weiss and Batman, who has sprouted bat wings and is strangely tempted to stay in Remnant because he thinks he can do more good with powers…but somehow not putting together that he has unlimited money and probably a couple Robins waiting at home. They also try to dabble with a love triangle between Ren, Nora, and Cyborg, which is just going to baffle you the longer they try to make it a thing. Also, the comic had Aquaman but for some reason they switched him out for Vixen here.

That aside, it’s still a pretty fun movie for fans of RWBY like myself and manages to be a pretty even handed crossover, giving everyone a chance to shine, which is already pretty tough when balancing fourteen characters, but is also not really known to be a strong suit for RWBY in general, so kudos there! It’s also kinda fitting to have come out for the 10th anniversary since RWBY the show properly started, as we get to see Beacon Academy animated again for the first time since it was destroyed in the third season, as well as getting some more from characters who died years ago or didn’t get a chance to show up in Volume 9. Plus, it actually ends up fitting into RWBY canon in the end, but I won’t spoil that much. All I will say is that they definitely make clear by the end that this is Part 1 of 2, and while Part 2 doesn’t have a release date yet, it’s very likely it will be somewhat adapting the currently ongoing miniseries where Team RWBY end up in the DC world.

Even so, I can really only recommend this to established RWBY fans. Speaking as both a fan of RWBY and DC, I really can’t see this serving those who just came to see the Justice League, but I guess I would implore them to try it, if only to hopefully nudge the sales numbers up to help WB know there’s demand for more RWBY stuff. But for RWBY fans, you will absolutely get what you’re looking for. Again, no clue when the second part will drop and answer the questions laid out here, but hopefully things will be looking brighter for Team RWBY by then. Also, how weird is it that this, Ice Queendom, and Volume 9, the main animated RWBY content for the past year, have all involved the main team ending up in some weird alternate reality? I wonder if that’ll be a trend.