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How many times can Warner Brothers and DC Comics kill off Superman? Didn't we
just go over the Man of Steel's demise in director Zack Snyder's
Batman v.
Superman a mere two years ago? (It was followed, of course, by his rebirth in
Justice League a year later.) Indeed, with the release of the 33rd original film
in the DC Animated Universe—the numbering at Wikipedia continues to be off by
one—the series seems to be repeating itself. The very first DCAU original movie
was Superman: Doomsday, released eleven years ago. Like that 2007 inaugural
feature, The Death of Superman is based on the multi-issue comic book "event"
published by DC between 1992 and 1993. Director Bruce Timm gave us his version
in Superman: Doomsday. The senior director on the new film is Sam Liu, who has
overseen seven of the last nine entries in the series, beginning with Justice
League: Gods and Monsters. And while his track record has not scored very well
with me, this newest entry is far and away the best work he's done.
Repetition aside, Death of Superman is a lot of fun, both visually and in the
dizzying array of characters and subplots that Liu, co-director James Tucker and
screenwriter Peter Tomasi effectively juggle in the film's efficient 81 minutes.
The animation represents a welcome and colorful departure from the faded style
on view in recent entries like
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. And the script wisely
assumes a DCU-savvy audience that doesn't need to be bogged down with back
stories. (One of Snyder's biggest mistakes in
Batman v.
Superman was attempting
to include Batman's origin and the Justice League's, both of which distracted
from the main event promised in the title.) Add to that a nimble collection of
voice talent, some new and some old, and you have an engaging entertainment that
can stand with the best of the DCAU.
The Justice League is fully organized and operational, and in the film's
prologue, we watch several members back up Superman as he foils an attempt to
kidnap Metropolis Mayor Booker (Jonathan Adams) by the crime group Intergang,
which is equipped with advanced technology from the planet Apokolips. Analysis
of the alien tech suggests the involvement of Lex Luthor (Rainn Wilson), who is
currently under house arrest with an ankle monitor—who thought that was a good
idea?—but Luthor denies all involvement. He's obviously lying, as we discover
his various projects in the bowels of Lex Corp, which are designed both to
defeat Superman (Jerry O'Connell) and to reinvent Luthor as the true hero of
Metropolis.
But Luthor, Superman and the world at large shortly have bigger problems. A
meteor from deep space crashes into the ocean, landing near the undersea kingdom
of Aquaman (Matt Lanter) and crumbling to reveal an apparently invulnerable
killing machine that will eventually be dubbed "Doomsday". The creature's origin
and purpose remain unknown; when Martian Manhunter (Nyambi Nyambi) attempts to
read his thoughts, there's nothing there. But beginning with a few unfortunate
Atlanteans, Doomsday carves a path of destruction, exiting the sea and heading
for Metropolis. Multiple members of the Justice League respond to the threat,
but the combined powers of Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson), Green Lantern
(Firefly's Nathan Fillion), Flash (Christopher Gorham), Cyborg (Shemar Moore),
Batman (Jason O'Mara) and Martian Manhunter are no match for this apparently
unstoppable threat. Even Luthor, who throws his own technological might against
the beast, fails in the attempt. Eventually, only Superman stands between
Doomsday and the Earth's destruction. He succeeds, of course, but at a terrible
price (hence the title).
While the ongoing battle with Doomsday supplies the film's requisite combat and
chaos, Death of Superman's dramatic and emotional content arises from the
relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane (X-Men alum Rebecca Romijn). In
this iteration, Lois is dating Clark but doesn't yet know he's Superman. When
she meets Ma and Pa Kent (Paul Eiding and Jennifer Hale) for the first time,
Clark's inexplicable insistence on silencing his parents whenever they try to
talk about the past confirms Lois' worst fears that her boyfriend is withholding
a terrible secret. We know that Clark's concealment is simply part of his effort
to protect the people he loves from Superman's many enemies, and there are a few
quick references back to Richard Donner's Superman films, where that dilemma was
first explored on the screen. The conflict comes to a head over a tense luncheon
in the tavern owned by Superman's number one fan, Bibbo Bibbowski (Constantine
refugee Charles Halloran), where Lois is startled by one revelation after
another—and then Clark is gone, called away to confront Doomsday just as things
are getting really interesting.
Death of Superman inaugurates a DCAU miniseries, and bread crumbs pointing
toward future developments are strewn throughout the film. The end credits are
punctuated by no fewer than four—FOUR!—brief scenes pointing to the next
installment, Reign of the Supermen, which is due in 2019 (a preview is included
in the disc extras). For me, the most intriguing snippet was the glimpse of Dr.
John Henry Irons a/k/a "Steel", who is voiced by Cress Williams, now better
known as TV's Black Lightning. Steel is expected to feature heavily in the
forthcoming Reign, and Williams has already proven that he's a commanding
presence. Superman may be (temporarily) dead, but the future of the DCAU looks
livelier than ever. |
