Gods Monsters Channel 4

Machinima has released a trailer for Bruce Timm’s new DC Comics web series, Justice League: Gods And Monsters Chronicle, and, just as promised, it’s pretty dang dark. Besides all the usual yelling and explosions that come as a matter of course with superheroic hullaballoo, we’ve got glimpses of a vampiric Batman, a goateed, fascist Superman, and a war-loving Wonder Woman. It’s like Timm and company have taken every “darker, edgier” take on these characters from the last 20 years—Superman: Red Son, Batman And Dracula: Red Rain, and all the rest—and smashed them all into one crazy thing.

But, while it’s a bit strange to see those darker elements in the hands of Timm, the animator whose style helped define classic, kid-friendly DC shows like Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, it doesn’t mean Chronicles won’t be a lot of fun. You’ve got a chainsaw-wielding Harley Quinn, a run-amuck Braniac, and someone who looks a lot like Suicide Squad mastermind Amanda Waller serving as the president of the United States. Plus, Wonder Woman and some guy who might or might not be her perennial love interest, Steve Trevor, engage in some BDSM-themed wordplay, so at least a few traditional character elements have been left intact.

Justice League: Gods And Monsters Chronicles is set to arrive on June 8 on Machinima’s YouTube channel, in advance of a Gods And Monsters DVD film at some point in the future.