In an alternate universe where evil usually triumphs over good and where the roles of the heroes and villains are reversed from their counterparts in the mainstream DC Universe, heroic analogues of Lex Luthor and the Joker (called the Jester) are attempting to steal a device, the "Quantum Trigger", from the headquarters of the Crime Syndicate. The pair trip an alarm but manage to secure the device. The Jester sacrifices himself to allow Luthor to escape and kills J'edd J'arkus and Angelique (alternate versions of Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl respectively) with a radioactive bomb. Luthor is confronted by the remaining Syndicate members (Ultraman, Superwoman, Power Ring, Johnny Quick and Owlman) but escapes to the Earth of the heroic Justice League by activating a dimensional travel device.
Weeks after the events that led to Lex Luthor's arrest, the impeachment of his presidency, and Batman's success in saving the world from the impact of an arriving meteor, a spaceship lands in Gotham City Harbor. While Batman investigates the sunken craft, a young girl with no knowledge of English or any other human languages emerges from the water and accidentally crashes Batman's boat. Three longshoremen find her where she attacks two of them in self-defense while the third one just gives up his coat to her in order for her to cover up. She accidentally causes all sorts of havoc with her Kryptonian-like powers until the Dark Knight exposes her to a piece of Kryptonite while Superman gives the blimp that she unknowingly used her heat vision on a water landing.
T'Challa, the Prince of Wakanda, returns home to find his kingdom is being attacked by the alien Chitauri. Herr Kleiser, the alien shape-shifter who battled Captain America during World War II, kills T' Challa's father and seeks Wakanda's store of vibranium, the metal the Chitauri use to manufacture their ships and weapons. After becoming king and assuming the alias of the Black Panther, T' Challa seeks out Captain America. General Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. orders the Avengers to assemble, with the exception of Thor (who foresees a future in which the Avengers die in battle, which his father Odin confirms) and the Hulk who, as Bruce Banner, is interrogated and bullied in a cell.
Centuries ago, the Amazons, a proud and fierce race of warrior women, led by their Queen, Hippolyta (voiced by Virginia Madsen), battled Ares (voiced by Alfred Molina), the god of war, and his army. During the battle, Hippolyta beheaded her son, Thrax (voiced by Jason Miller), whom Ares forcibly conceived with her, who is fighting for his father. Hippolyta then defeated Ares, but Zeus (voiced by David McCallum) stopped her from delivering the death strike. Instead, Hera (voiced by Marg Helgenberger) bound his powers with magic bracers so that he was deprived of his ability to draw power from the aura of violence and death he could instigate, effectively rendering him mortal, and only another god could release him. In compensation, the Amazons were granted the island of Themyscira, where they would remain eternally youthful and isolated from Man in the course of their duty of holding Ares prisoner for all eternity. Later, Hippolyta was granted a daughter, Princess Diana (voiced by Keri Russell), whom she shaped from the sand of the Themyscirian seashore and gave life with her own blood.
Dr. Leo Quintum and his team are exploring the Sun when they are sabotaged by a booby-trapped genetically-enhanced clone, turned into a time-bomb by Lex Luthor. Superman stops the clone but in doing so receives an overdose of solar radiation. Though the radiation is slowly killing him, it does give Superman new powers. Luthor, having orchestrated the death of Superman while under the employment of General Sam Lane, is arrested by the military thanks to Clark Kent's article and sentenced to death by a Metropolis tribunal. Superman asks Dr. Quintim to keep news of his impending death secret from the public. Wanting to spend as much of his remaining time with Lois Lane, Superman reveals to her that he is Clark Kent. Lois doubts his revelation because she had been unable to prove Superman's "Kent" identity herself. Superman takes her to the Fortress of Solitude. During this visit, Superman's secretive behavior and her indirect exposure to alien chemicals heightens Lois' paranoia.
The Hulk's allies the Avengers decide he is too dangerous to remain on Earth, so they put him in a shuttle and attempt to send him to a peaceful world. He awakens on board the shuttle before it arrives at its intended destination. When he goes into a fit of rage, breaking his restraints, he also causes enough damage to veer it off course, resulting in a crash on the planet Sakaar. Imperial guards appear and attach an obedience disk to the Hulk, allowing them to communicate. The Hulk is imprisoned with Hiroim, Korg, Miek, Elloe Kaifi, Lavin Skee, an Android, and a few hived natives.
In the last days of World War II in Europe, Captain America, due to enhancement by a "Super-Soldier Serum", prevents the Nazis from launching an intercontinental missile. They are also soon revealed to be shape-shifting extraterrestrials led by one acting as SS officer Herr Kleiser. The exploding missile knocks the Captain out and he falls into the icy waters of the North Atlantic, presumed dead. 60 years later, Captain America is found and revived by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by General Nick Fury. Bruce Banner and Betty Ross lead a team of scientists working to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum in order to try to stop the real power that backed the Nazis - the alien Chitauri. Banner thinks the Super-Soldier Serum is the key to him controlling the Hulk, and he secretly uses his blood to try to create a cure, instead of using candidates that had been selected for the rebirth procedure. As Captain America reunites with his old friend James "Bucky" Barnes, he also learns that his past lover Gail Richards, is married to him and has lived a happy life. Despite being happy for his friends and everyone that he loved, Captain America still feels lost in the present world he is in, unable to find happiness like he wants to.
Captain America est un super soldat qui combat les nazis, mais un missile le met dans un état catatonique. Nick Fury et son équipe du SHIELD sont rejoints par d'autres super-héros pour combattre des aliens dit "Chitauri"...
At a manor in Sarajevo, Ra's al Ghul ruefully realizes his mistake in allying himself with the Joker, while his assistant informs him that the Joker has captured Jason Todd, the second Robin. In a warehouse, the Joker brutally beats Jason with a crowbar while Batman races there. Joker then leaves the warehouse and traps a half-dead Jason inside. Although Jason attempts to escape, a planted explosive destroys the building before Batman can rescue him.
At the headquarters of the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul grooms Damian Wayne (son of his daughter, Talia, and Batman) to succeed him as head of the league. The league is attacked by a group of assassins led by Slade Wilson, Ra's al Ghul's initial choice for successor before Ra's met Batman. Feeling betrayed, Slade decided to seize power. During the battle, Ra's is fatally burned in a missile strike explosion, dying inches away from reaching the Lazarus Pit. Although Damian stabs Slade in the eye, Slade escapes, vowing vengeance. Talia takes Damian to Gotham City to protect him with his father's help.
American Splendor retrace la véritable histoire du scénariste de comics Harvey Pekar. Au début du film, celui-ci mène une existence plutôt morose entre son travail de documentaliste, quelques conversations sur tout et rien avec ses collègues et quelques connaissances, et sa passion pour le jazz, qu'il assouvit en recherchant des pièces rares dans les garage sales (équivalent américain des vide-greniers) ou les magasins d'occasion. C'est ainsi qu'il fait la connaissance du célèbre dessinateur de bande dessinée Robert Crumb, alors inconnu, qui est lui aussi collectionneur. Plusieurs années plus tard, alors que Crumb est devenu célèbre, Harvey lui soumet les story-boards d'un projet de bande dessinée basée sur sa vie, lui proposant d'en assurer le dessin. Crumb accepte, et contre toute attente, cette série intitulée American Splendor relatant une vie simple, banale, obtient un grand succès. Harvey Pekar acquiert ainsi une certaine célébrité aux États-Unis, dont les conséquences sur sa vie quotidienne sont présentées dans le film. En particulier, American Splendor lui permet de rencontrer sa future femme Joyce Brabner, qui écrit elle aussi des comics, et avec qui il va réaliser d'autres histoires autobiographiques, également intégrées en partie dans le film (notamment Our Cancer Year).
During a conference of crime bosses held in a Gotham City skyscraper, gangster Chuckie Sol is killed by a mysterious cloaked figure, shortly after Batman bursts in on the meeting. Due to the killer's resemblance to Batman, the Dark Knight is blamed for Sol's death. Councilman Arthur Reeves tells the media that Batman is a public menace (despite Commissioner Gordon's protests), then later attends a party at the mansion of billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman's secret identity. Reeves teases Bruce about his bad luck with women and for having allowed an old girlfriend, Andrea Beaumont, to get away.
While attempting to unearth an ancient Chinese city using his company's resources - while also diverting money into a project that will put Stark Enterprises on the cutting edge of technology - Tony Stark's ambitions are thwarted when the Jade Dragons attack the excavation site, killing almost everyone and kidnapping his friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes. Traveling to the site to investigate, Tony is captured and injured by the Jade Dragons, his life saved by a Chinese shaman named Ho Yen and Rhodes' skills as an army medic after a piece of shrapnel damages his heart.
The film, set between 1953 and 1960, opens with an unknown entity (Keith David) narrating that it has witnessed the evolution of life on Earth and has decided to eradicate mankind because of its capacity of violence and destruction. At the end of the Korean War, United States Air Force pilot Hal Jordan (David Boreanaz) and his wingman, Kyle "Ace" Morgan (John Heard), are attacked by enemy pilots. Hal is shot down, ejects to safety and is forced to kill a North Korean soldier, causing him to be hospitalized for mental trauma. At Gotham Observatory, scientist Dr. Saul Erdel inadvertently teleports J'onn J'onzz (Miguel Ferrer)—the last survivor of the Green Martian race—to Earth. The shock of J'onn's sudden appearance causes Erdel a heart attack. Unable to return to Mars, J'onn disguises himself as Erdel and takes his wallet and identification.
Bruce Wayne returns home to Gotham City after 12 years abroad, and Lieutenant James Gordon moves to Gotham with his pregnant wife, Barbara, after a transfer from Chicago. Both are swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violence of Gotham City, with Gordon witnessing his partner Detective Arnold Flass assaulting a teen for fun.