I considered waiting to see another animation, but I wanted something short for the evening, and 76 minutes is hard to beat. Besides, this promised to be very different except, unlike most DC adaptations advertised to me on YouTube, in reputed quality.
As the fictitious nations of Bialya and Pokolistan go to war, Superman has his hands full until a new team of four self-styled superheroes debuts, eventually choosing the name "The Elite." Supes has reservations about them, not least because they're keen on killing already defeated foes, but that makes The Elite more widely popular than him. When he decides to turn them in, they decide to do him in. Will the Big Blue Boy Scout cross his own line?
Even if not for their advantage in readiness to kill, The Elite would be powerful enough to challenge Superman. The leader is a telepathic, telekinetic Brit known as Manchester Black. Coldcast seems like a Black Lightning competitor. The laid-back Hat summons demons from his hat. Menagerie, in symbiosis with alien entities, could probably pass for a demon herself.
This video was never officially rated. From the relatively crude art style, you might expect something family-friendly, but it at least comes close to PG-13. While hardly gory, the on-screen death toll's pretty high, not so much from The Elite as from the Atomic Skull in two scenes. We get a few minor swear words, and randy Menagerie likes to talk suggestively. (You'd need mighty exotic taste to want her, tho.)
DC's grown fond of western-like questions of the right thing to do, and your enjoyment of the story depends in part on whether you agree with the conclusion. I mostly sided with the general public depicted herein. Sure, The Elite (as their ill-chosen moniker implies) have a dark, arrogant demeanor and lost points with me by hacking the world's TVs, but it's hard to argue for sparing a homicidal maniac who already escaped prison to kill innocent bystanders again, especially when he's far more powerful than, say, the Joker. Superman's only argument is that extrajudicial killing, however democratically supported, is illegal. Must we take an extreme?
That said, this story does better than usual at acknowledging its own controversy. It doesn't shame us for disagreement. Heck, neither Bialya nor Pokolistan is obviously preferable. I can appreciate how it stirs our thoughts and emotions.
Judging from YouTube comments, the ending is the highlight to most viewers' minds. Superman does venture into territory he finds uncomfortable, but in a more fun way than in Man of Steel. I'd been worried we'd learn that The Elite had played us all along, as by having arranged for villains to defeat.
At a time when we're highly divided on basic matters of ethics, SvTE hits a bit harder. I'm unsure whether to recommend it, but it filled my time nicely.
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