Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Death of Superman Blu-ray Movie Review

Dead Again

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 8, 2018

How many times will Warner and DC Comics kill off Superman? Didn't we just agonize 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. Liu is reportedly committed to a series of sequels.

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 Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. 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 (see 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—4!—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.

The Death of Superman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like previous DCU animated movies, The Death of Superman arrives on Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray with the smooth, clean and (mostly) artifact-free image of modern CG animation. The image is as detailed as it needs to be to set the scenes and tell the story, but the animation style remains minimalist. (There's more detail in many of the comic books and graphic novels than in the movies.) Where Death of Superman really shines is in the breadth of its palette, which is a welcome change after the consistently dull and muted chromatics that the series had lately acquired, especially in the Batman entries. Superman's costume exhibits strong reds and blues, and those colors recur in numerous shades throughout the film, from Wonder Woman's signature outfit to the blood of Doomsday's many victims. Green Lantern brings bright greens to the party; the Flash's yellow boots contrast sharply with his bright red costume; and Aquaman exhibits a distinctive shade of orange. Even Batman's dark uniform looks richer than usual. The villains add additional hues, like the yellow and purple of the Intergang hoodlums' armor or Luthor's tech, which almost always has something green about it (kryptonite is never far from his mind). Many of the locations—Daily Planet offices, S.T.A.R. Labs, Lex Corp, etc.—are brightly lit and colorful, and so are the streets of Metropolis and its surroundings (at least, until they fill with smoke and vapor from the alien attack). The heat beams from Superman's eyes, and also from Doomsday's, are searingly red.

As usual with Warner's DC animated films, there are a few fleeting instances of banding that most viewers probably won't notice, and the average bitrate is a paltry 14.99 Mbps, even though there's over 4 GB of unused space on the BD-25. One of these days, it would be interesting to get a DCU animated movie with Warner Archive-level bitrates, just to see the difference. After all, if these films are deemed worthy of 4K/HDR release, don't they also deserve the best possible Blu-ray authoring?

The Death of Superman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Death of Superman's 5.1 soundtrack, provided on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1, continues the DCU animated series' history of effective but modest mixes, with plenty of punch and power for the extended superhero battles, but a restrained use of the surround array. In a live-action movie, falling rubble would be audible in every direction, and flying metahumans would zoom left and right, front and back. (There's an extended sequence on a suspension bridge that should be a sound designer's field day.) Whether from budgetary limitations or aesthetic choices, that kind of immersive activity doesn't happen in this sound mix. No matter how busy the proceedings onscreen, the sonic accompaniment remains solidly planted in the front of the room, with surrounds used to expand the sense of space and support the grandly heroic score by DCU veteran Frederik Wiedmann. The dialogue is clearly rendered, although there's so much happening at once that it may take several viewings (or switching on the subtitles) to catch every inside reference.

The Death of Superman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Sneak Peak at DC Universe's Next Animated Movie, "Reign of the Supermen" (1080p; 1.78:1; 9:33): Featuring screenwriters Jim Krieg and Tim Sheridan; Warner exec Jeff Brown; director Sam Liu; voice actors Cameron Monaghan ("Super Boy"), Cress Williams ("John Henry Irons"), Jerry O'Connell ("Superman"), Rebecca Romijn ("Lois Lane") and Rainn Wilson ("Lex Luthor"); DC animation director Mike Carlin; voice director Wes Gleason—and a lot of preliminary artwork.



• The Death of Superman: The Brawl That Topped Them All (1080p; 1.78:1; 16:23): A group of DC regulars and martial arts expert Christian Medina discuss the history of the original four-issue release where Superman's battle with Doomsday was first created.



• From the DC Comics Vault: Legion of Superheroes, Season 2, "Dark Victory: Part 1" (1080p; 1.78:1; 22:54): This animated series aired on The CW from 2006 to 2008. The two-part episode presented here turned out to be the series finale, as the show was not renewed for a third season.



• From the DC Comics Vault: Legion of Superheroes, Season 2, "Dark Victory: Part 2" (1080p; 1.78:1; 22:50): Please see above.



• Trailers: Not separately listed or selectable are trailers for Batman Ninja and Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. At startup, the disc plays the new Warner Brothers promo for 4K UHD, with heavy emphasis on its DCU films, both animated and live-action.

The Death of Superman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Death of Superman launches the animated DCU in an intriguing new direction, with the potential for expanded storylines spread over multiple movies. It's a development that's long overdue, given the serialized nature of the comic book medium. Fans have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to follow a multi-part film series, whether it's J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, Peter Jackson's Middle Earth trilogies, the Star Trek universe and, of course, Lucasfilm's galaxy far, far away. Those are daunting heights to achieve, but why shouldn't the DCU animators aim high? Highly recommended.