On the day after their latest film, Justice League: Doom, is released, I find myself asking what the point is anymore for the DC animation studio that keeps churning out these straight-to-DVD animated movies every few months. Mostly I ask this in regards to their next film, Superman vs. The Elite, and how utterly random and sort of ridiculous it sounds. This probably isn’t going to be a popular theory, and who am I to look such a gift horse in the mouth of actual, well-made Justice League movies, but hear me out.

Why do the movies produced by this very talented production company seem so random and disconnected? Why are the fantastic efforts of Bruce Timm and his people not put to better, more substantial use?

Let’s first take a look at Superman vs. the Elite.

Not to be voiced by Tim Daly, by the way

So far we have this description of the film:

The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes, is renowned for killing their enemies. Despite the acclaim and approval the Elite enjoy, Superman knows they are in the wrong, creating more harm than good by their methods. Tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown on Jupiter’s moons, when Superman is forced to prove that violence is never a positive.

The movie is based on an early 2001 story from Action Comics, where the Elite basically did exactly what it says there in the description. Right down to fighting on Jupiter’s moon. And the animated Elite is pretty much the exact same Elite from the comics.

I guess these guys made quite the impression on somebody more than a decade ago

The team members are, from left to right, Coldcast, Manchester Black, The Hat, and Menagerie. I have no knowledge of any of these characters or The Elite as a team, so I have no personal attachment to this being turned into an animated film. But I’m also free to ask the question of why?

Why this story? Why such a random choice from more than 10 years ago?

For that matter, why turn ‘Tower of Babel’ into Justice League: Doom? Why Batman: Year One and All-Star Superman? I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed some, if not all, of these films. I’m just saying why does it have to be so haphazard?

Why not a Lois Lane movie?

Once upon a time, Timm and Co. were the masters of animation with Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and Justice League: Unlimited. They had an ongoing saga that lasted years and multiple shows that were beloved by fans. But these new movies don’t have anything to do with those old TV shows.

There have been several attempts to bridge certain movies, like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: Doom, but those don’t seem to feature the same characters from Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman or even Superman vs. The Elites. All of these movies are disconnected. They’re just vanity projects, as if they pulled an idea out of a hat and decided to make that movie next. Would it really be so hard to unite the movies? Or make movies that lead into one another?

There’s also the problem that after the poor sales of Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman (which is the best of all the movies), Warner Bros. has demanded that all future movies must include either Superman or Batman. So that severely limits the production crew’s options.

So what’s the point? Is the market for an animated Batman or Superman film really so great that Warner Bros. keep demanding another film? Are they making a lot of money? Are they easier to make than a full TV show? Do they make more money than a TV show?

One half of the only money-making superheroes that DC owns

Right now, DC only has Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series on TV. Neither has anything to do with the animated movies, even if the style of animation between the Justice League films and Young Justice is quite similar. They should just go ahead and declare that the movies and the show take place in the same universe. Why not a Young Justice movie? Why not a team-up with the Justice League and Young Justice in one film? Why not have the various DC animation studios working together for the harmony of all?

There is already a built-in audience for a Young Justice movie. And surely it’s a bigger audience than those who want a done-in-one Superman vs. The Elite DVD. Why not make feature films that appear in theaters? Warner Bros. could make millions that way. But no, they want roughly two or three straight-to-DVD films popped out at random throughout the year.

More importantly, where’s the New 52 reboot film? DC is pushing this new initiative in its comics, why not have everything else line up with that? Why make a movie about a Superman storyline that nobody has heard of from 2001, when they could make a brand new movie with a brand new storyline set in the New 52 universe?

All this rambling comes down to one basic point: why is this amazing, brilliant production team reduced to making one or two movies a year based on old Batman and Superman comic book storylines?

They could be doing so much more.