The critics took plenty of shots at Batman V Superman, but now even the animated Justice League is calling the film out. Well, in the case of the Justice League Action animated series, the send-up or meta-commentary of Zack Snyder's big screen battle between Batman and Superman is definitely not meant to be taken seriously. There have certainly been times when the cartoons deemed to be doing superheroes right have called out more... eccentric movie adaptations (like Batman's jab at George Clooney's version), but it's not so simple here.

With Justice League Action, it isnt the treatment or style of Dawn of Justice that's placed in the crosshairs - it's some of the less refined plot holes. And if not plot holes, then certainly the parts of Batman's plan that worked out a little too perfectly. It's all done with humor at its heart, since the writers and cast of Justice League Action actually managed to call attention to some parts of the DCEU juggernaut that weren't noticed, let alone criticized.

The clip comes from Episode 5 of the JLA web series, entitled "It's a Trap!", which was pointed to via Reddit not long after its airing on July 13, 2017. Given that it's been over a year since Batman V Superman hit theaters, the audience was a bit surprised when they realized that Lex Luthor's plan to get the better of Superman bore an awfully strong resemblance to Batman's own plan. Only this time around, the Man of Steel actually took the time to notice just how lucky that plan really was to be pulled off as he had hoped.

Check out the scene below:

Lex Luthor is a bit more 'classic monologuing villain' than Ben Affleck's Batman, since the movie version of the Dark Knight never goes as far as spelling out his entire plan, let alone bragging about it. But the commentary rears its head when Superman notices that falling directly into Lex's trap is a lot harder than it sounds. For those who may not recall the battle sequence from Batman V Superman, it actually begins with Affleck's armored Bat selecting a building, staring up at the atrium through which Superman will be dropped, counts his steps, and slams the Kryptonite spear straight into the cement.

The plan works perfectly, with the pair winding up in that very building, Batman tossing Supes down to the floor below, and dragging him by wire until the spear is at his side. As Superman in the animated web series points out, how could Batman possible have planned to that degree? Sure, the fans might say that "he's Batman" and be done with it, but... what is Superman had picked him up and flown somewhere else? The spear Batman planted would be of no use, allowing both Batman and Actions's Lex Luthor to enjoy the benefits of fictional superhero storytelling.

The final shot comes when Superman notes that Lex has turned to "a bat" as his instrument of destruction, while criticizing the less than brilliant crafting of a Kryptonite weapon. We'll admit that shoving a piece of Kryptonite into a baseball bat is a little less ingenious than sharpening it on the send of a stick, but... point taken. Thankfully the heroes win the day as they (almost) always do. But the creators of Justice League Action win our respect for  some clever commentary on a movie that still produces conversation whenever it's mentioned.

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Source: DC Kids (via Reddit)