WARNING: THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS!!
Released: Death of Superman – July 2018; Reign of the Supermen – January 2019
Directors: Jake Castorena, Sam Liu
Rated PG-13
Run Time: Death – 81 Minutes; Reign – 87 Minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros./Warner Animation/DC
Genre: Action/Adventure/Animated
Cast:
Jerry O’Connell: Superman/Clark Kent
Rebecca Romijn: Lois Lane
Rainn Wilson: Lex Luthor
Rosario Dawson: Wonder Woman
Nathan Fillion: Green Lantern
Jason O’Mara: Batman
In the comic book world, everybody knows who Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman are. They are basically the Holy Trinity of comic book superheroes. Superman was from the planet Krypton, with Wonder Woman being an Amazon princess, and Batman essentially being the only normal human out of the three, albeit extremely rich and intelligent. Over the years, more and more superheroes were introduced like Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, The Flash, Captain Marvel/Shazam, and the Green Arrow. This was mostly before Marvel Comics entered the picture. These characters became iconic over the decades. Everybody knew that Batman was just a human being amongst gods, essentially. Everybody knew that Wonder Woman was not just a pretty face, and everybody knew that Superman was the face of DC comics. He’s basically that company’s mascot. So….what happens when you take the comic book industry’s most iconic figure since the 1930s and you kill him? You piss off a lot of people, that’s what.
The Death of Superman follows Superman/Clark Kent as he tries to reveal to his girlfriend Lois Lane that he’s Superman, while Lex Luthor continues to plot against the Man of Steel. Meanwhile, an asteroid smashes into a satellite and spaceship killing everyone on board. The asteroid slams into the ocean unleashing a vicious beast that only lives to kill, Doomsday. Making its way across the United States, the Justice League are forced into a confrontation with the beast only to be nearly killed by the monster. Superman finally intervenes and fights Doomsday in an epic battle. He succeeds, but at the cost of his own life. Reign of the Supermen picks up 6 months after the devastating battle when four mysterious beings show up, all claiming to be Superman. Back in 1992, DC Comics released what would become one of the most infamous and controversial comic book series of all time, The Death of Superman. The reception to the story was one of shock, sadness, and ultimately anger. It was a huge risk for DC to do something like this to a character that had been around for 60 years at the time. It was something that was all over the news. It pissed people off, but it allowed people to see what a world would be like without Superman. It was an incredibly powerful story that actually impressed the creator of Superman, Jerry Siegel. It was risky and the fight between Doomsday and Superman has left an indelible mark on the comic book industry. While some of the elements of the story were kind of cut from these animated films, the core of the story is intact. There have been attempts to bring this particular story to life, namely the animated feature, Superman: Doomsday and Zack Snyder’s Batman V. Superman film a couple years back. I really enjoyed both films, but neither one really did the story any justice(pun intended). The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen animated films do a much better job at getting the story across than the movies I just mentioned. Now, why am I reviewing both films in one post? Well, each film is half of an over-arching story, so when you watch them back-to-back, you are essentially watching a full film. While I think that The Death of Superman could have worked as a live-action film series, the animated films are actually the best way to go, because Warner Bros really botched the Batman V. Superman and Justice League live action films. If you enjoyed the actual story, these films are a really good way of condensing a massive series into two and a half hours.
There have been some changes in the film from the original comics. For one, Doomsday comes from outer-space, instead of escaping from an underground bunker. When Doomsday takes on the Justice League, there are superheroes that don’t show up, like the Blue Beetle. Not only that, Jonathan Kent, Superman’s adopted father takes his son’s death much harder in the comics than he does in the animated film, so much so that he has a heart attack and dies. When the four Supermen show up, they eventually take on Mongol after he obliterates The Flash’s home city. There’s a lot of condensing that Death and Reign had to do in order to get the films down to a more watchable level and I think they did an admirable job doing so. They also get quite a bit right. While the fight between the Justice League and Doomsday was pretty much one-sided, Superman’s encounter with the monster was far more brutal. The animation is so good that you can actually FEEL the impact of the punches that these two titans throw at each other. Despite the short run time, the first film actually gets us to really connect with the characters and when the final battle reaches its conclusion, the audience is left reeling. I was honestly getting a bit emotional, and that hasn’t happened to me from a DC movie in years. The second film actually does a pretty good job of throwing all the Supermen into the mix, giving each incarnation a bit of screen time. I was also surprised at how not annoying Superboy was. There is some really good characterization in these films that make you care about them. Story-wise, I think The Death of Superman is the stronger film, at least emotionally and in terms of pacing. That’s not to say that Reign of the Supermen is a bad film. Not at all, but there are elements of the second film that just seem bizarre. Replacing Mongol with Darkseid actually made a lot more sense, especially given the direction the live-action films were heading. While he’s still more of a background villain in this film, Darkseid’s presence is nonetheless welcome.
The art-style of these films is pretty interesting. I’m not saying it’s the greatest, but it does give each character a very unique look and style. Everyone looks exactly how they are supposed to look and the explosions and action are top-notch. I barely saw a use of actual CGI in these films, so they really have kind of an old-school look to them. It’s a similar style that previous DC animated films have adopted with great effect. The voice-acting is superb. Jerry O’Connell is actually pretty good as Superman. He definitely has that real confident no-nonsense tone that Superman needs. Rebecca Romijn really gives Lois Lane a solid emotional core that makes her far more relatable. Nathan Fillion plays Green Lantern, because of course he does. Fillion is one of those actors that’s really good at anything he does, regardless of how good or bad the project might be. If there’s a real weak link in these films, it’s Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor. Don’t get me wrong, the character is well-written, but Wilson’s performance is very weak in my opinion. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just don’t feel that Wilson can really deliver the suave menace that Lex should convey. The character is extremely intelligent and arrogant at the same time, but Wilson doesn’t really get it right.
The Death of Superman has become one of the most iconic and controversial comic book stories of all time. There’s no getting around it. The influence that it had is still being felt in comic books today, whether it’s Marvel or DC. It was an incredibly ground-breaking story that took Superman and the Justice League in a new direction. While there have been stories that deal with the death of other characters, none have had the same impact as The Death of Superman. Zack Snyder’s attempt to bring this story to the big screen came to a screeching halt when Batman V. Superman and Justice League failed to perform at the box-office. I think a live-action adaptation of the story CAN be done right, if Warner Bros. and DC can get the right film-makers behind it. As it stands, however, The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen are probably going to be the best adaptations of the story for the time being. I would honestly check these films out if you were disappointed with Zack Snyder and Warner Bros’ live-action films.
My Final Recommendation:
The Death of Superman: 9.5/10
Reign of the Supermen: 8.5/10