If you grew up on Saturday morning cartoons in the 90s, seeing the Superman Batman Public Enemies cast list for the first time felt like a fever dream come true. It wasn't just another direct-to-video release. Honestly, it was a homecoming.
For years, fans begged for a reunion of the "Big Two" voices. We wanted the definitive versions of these characters. When Warner Bros. Animation finally adapted the Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness comic arc in 2009, they didn't just hire random actors. They went for the throat. They brought back the heavy hitters.
The Big Three of the Superman Batman Public Enemies Cast
The core of this movie works because of the chemistry. You can’t just throw two actors in a booth and expect them to sound like brothers-in-arms. It takes history.
Tim Daly returned as Superman. Now, some people prefer George Newbern from the Justice League series, and that’s a fair debate. But Daly’s voice has this specific, earnest optimism that defined Superman: The Animated Series. He sounds like the guy who actually believes in truth and justice without being a total dork about it. It’s a grounded performance.
Then you have Kevin Conroy. What can you even say? He is Batman. By the time this film rolled around, Conroy had been playing the Dark Knight for nearly two decades. His performance here is a bit more aggressive than the "DCAU" version. He’s playing a Batman who is under immense pressure, framed as a criminal by the President of the United States. Conroy nails that transition from tactical genius to a guy who is genuinely worried about his best friend.
And then there's the villain. Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor.
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Brown is terrifying because he doesn't play Luthor as a mustache-twirling baddie. He plays him as a politician. A successful one. When Luthor becomes President in this film, Brown uses this smooth, oily charisma that makes you realize why the public actually voted for him. He makes the insanity of the plot—Luthor trying to stop a kryptonite meteor while framing Superman—seem almost logical through sheer force of personality.
The Supporting Players You Might Have Missed
The Superman Batman Public Enemies cast is actually surprisingly deep once you look past the main trio. It’s a "who's who" of voice acting royalty.
Take Allison Mack, for instance. Long before the headlines and the controversy that followed her real life, she was the voice of Power Girl here. She brought a specific kind of youthful energy to Kara Zor-Lard that contrasted well against the more stoic heroes.
Then there’s CCH Pounder as Amanda Waller. If you’ve seen The Shield or Avatar, you know her voice is like gravel and velvet mixed together. She’s played Waller multiple times across different media, but here, she’s the perfect bureaucratic foil to Luthor’s ego. She’s the only person in the room who isn't afraid of him.
Xander Berkeley pops up as Captain Atom. He brings this rigid, military discipline to a character who is essentially a nuclear bomb in a spandex suit. It’s a subtle performance, but it adds a lot of weight to the scenes where the "Government Heroes" have to hunt down their former friends.
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Why the Voice Direction Matters More Than the Script
Andrea Romano directed the voices for this. That’s the secret sauce.
Romano is a legend in the industry for a reason. She knows how to push actors to find the "human" moment in a scene about a giant green rock falling from space. In Public Enemies, the script is basically one long fight scene. It’s fast. It’s loud. It’s colorful. Without the right cast, it could have been mindless.
But because you have Daly and Conroy, the banter feels real. When Batman quips about Superman’s "disguise" (the glasses), it feels like two friends who have known each other for twenty years. That’s not something you can fake with AI or mediocre talent. It requires that specific, lived-in energy.
The movie also features a massive roster of B-list villains. We’re talking:
- Gorilla Grodd
- Solomon Grundy
- Lady Shiva
- Nightshade
- Major Force
Most of these characters only get a few lines, or even just grunts. But the Superman Batman Public Enemies cast utilizes veterans like Corey Burton and John C. McGinley (yes, Dr. Cox from Scrubs plays Metallo!) to give even the minor roles a sense of presence. McGinley as Metallo is an inspired choice—he brings a frantic, neurotic edge to the cyborg that makes the opening fight way more memorable than it had any right to be.
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The Legacy of the 2009 Lineup
This film was a turning point for DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Before this, the projects were a bit more experimental. After the success of this cast, WB realized that nostalgia was a powerful tool.
They started leaning harder into bringing back fan-favorite actors for iconic storylines. It set a standard for what a "prestige" animated superhero movie should sound like. If the voices were off, the whole thing felt like a cheap knock-off. But with this crew? It felt like a theatrical event, even if you were just watching it on a DVD in your living room.
People often forget that LeVar Burton is in this too. He plays Black Lightning. It’s a small role, but having Geordi La Forge/Reading Rainbow guy voicing a veteran superhero is just... cool. It’s the kind of "casting for the sake of quality" that we don't always see in modern animation.
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- The Reunion Factor: This was the first time since the end of Justice League Unlimited that Daly, Conroy, and Brown were all in the same project together.
- Ricardo Chavira: Known for Desperate Housewives, he voices Major Force. He brings a genuine jerk-energy to the role that makes you want to see him get punched in the face.
- The McGuinness Style: The cast had to match the "bulkier" look of the animation. The performances are a bit broader and more "action-hero" than the more noir-inspired Batman: The Animated Series.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of the Superman Batman Public Enemies cast, don't just stop at the movie.
- Watch the 'A First Look' Featurettes: Most Blu-ray versions of the DC animated films include behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions. Watching Conroy and Daly work together in the booth is a masterclass in chemistry.
- Compare with 'Apocalypse': The sequel, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, brings back Conroy and Daly but swaps out much of the supporting cast (introducing Summer Glau as Supergirl). It’s a fascinating study in how different voice dynamics change the tone of the same universe.
- Check the Credits for Cameos: Many of the background voices are actually the lead actors pulling double or triple duty. Corey Burton, in particular, is a chameleon in this movie.
The real takeaway here is that voice acting isn't just about "doing a voice." It's about character. The reason we still talk about this specific cast over a decade later is that they understood these icons. They didn't play them like cartoons; they played them like gods with human problems.
When you sit down to rewatch it, pay attention to the silence between the punches. The way Batman sighs when Superman says something optimistic. The way Luthor’s voice cracks just a tiny bit when he realizes he’s losing control. That is where the real magic of this cast lives. It's in the nuances that breathe life into the ink and paint.