The Death of Superman is the eleventh installment in the DC Animated Movie Universe. It was released digitally on July 24, 2018, and on DVD and Blu-ray on August 7, 2018. A sequel, Reign of the Supermen, was released in January 2019.[1], An Extended version of the two-parters was released in October 2019 titled "The Death And Return Of Superman"[2]
Synopsis[]
The Death of Superman ultimately finds Superman in a fight to the finish when the Man of Steel becomes the only hero who can stand in the way of the monstrous creature Doomsday and his unstoppable rampage of destruction.[1]
Plot[]
Superman has become a hero to the residents of Metropolis while infuriating the billionaire Lex Luthor, who considers the hero a threat to his city . In an attempt to kidnap the Mayor, Intergang – armed with Apokoliptan technology, including the Mother Box – are foiled by Superman; he and the Justice League send the recovered devices to S.T.A.R. Labs for analysis. In an interview with the Daily Planet’s ace reporter Lois Lane, Superman presents the rocket that brought him to Earth from Krypton and its birthing matrix, containing Kryptonian DNA technology to the world. Lois is in a relationship with fellow reporter Clark Kent who, unbeknownst to her, is Superman’s alter-ego. Despite meeting his parents Jonathan and Martha, Lois remains apprehensive of Clark's secrecy. His reluctance to reveal his past makes Lois reconsider their relationship.
At S.T.A.R labs, Dr. Silas Stone and Dr. John Henry Irons determine Intergang’s devices contain both Apokoliptan and Earther elements, leaving only one suspect with the means to synthesize these technologies: Lex Luthor. Superman confronts Luthor, confined to house arrest, who denies any involvement. Meanwhile, Superman admirer Captain Hank Henshaw leads a team of astronauts aboard the space shuttle Excalibur when a boom tube sends a meteorite hurtling towards the shuttle. As Henshaw waits for Superman's rescue, the shuttle is destroyed, leaving Henshaw's body unaccounted for. The meteorite crashes to the Atlantic Ocean floor, monitored by Luthor’s underground research facility. Luthor escapes his house arrest with a decoy and sends a deep sea exploration team to the crash site. They encounter Atlanteans, and both groups are destroyed by a monstrous humanoid that emerges from the wreckage.
The monster reaches the U.S. coastline and murders two campers and a grizzly bear before rampaging against the police. The Justice League arrive and are brutally defeated, but the Martian Manhunter’s telepathy reveals the creature to be a living weapon designed to annihilate entire civilizations. As the monster heads for Metropolis, Batman notes that their last hope is the Man of Steel. Meanwhile, Clark and Lois meet for lunch at a restaurant owned by Superman fan Bibbo Bibbowski, where Clark finally reveals himself as Superman to a shocked Lois. The two resolve their differences, and Clark receives the Justice League’s distress call. He arrives just in time to save Wonder Woman from the rampaging creature.
Lois, reporting live by helicopter with her cameraman Jimmy Olsen, dubs the monster "Doomsday" as his fight with Superman rages through Metropolis and reaches the Hall of Justice. A battlesuit-clad Luthor joins the fight against Doomsday, aiming to become Metropolis’ “true savior,” but he is incapacitated and saved by Superman. Realizing the toll the battle has taken on Superman, Lois attempts to sacrifice herself to Doomsday to force Clark into using lethal force. As the beast prepares to kill Lois, Superman hurls himself at Doomsday – he breaks the villain’s neck, but is fatally stabbed at that moment, and dies in Lois’ arms.
Jimmy broadcasts Superman's death across the globe as the world mourns. After a state funeral for the fallen Man of Steel, the Kents welcome Lois into their family. Jimmy brings Lois to Superman's mausoleum where they find his coffin open and witness a figure resembling Superman fly away. At S.T.A.R. Labs, an exonerated Luthor tries to gain custody of Doomsday's corpse for Project Cadmus before being denied and told that they are going to place Doomsday's corpse into a rocket and fire it at the sun. A moment later Superman's rocket self-starts and flies off.
Four mysterious figures are introduced during the ending credits: First, as numerous failed Superman clones are destroyed at Cadmus, the sole surviving prototype escapes. Second, Dr. Irons forges Superman’s symbol onto a suit of armor. Third, a Superman-like figure watches as Superman's rocket buries itself under the North Pole and terraforms the Fortress of Solitude. Lastly, high above the Earth, a cyborg resembling Superman arrives.
Cast[]
- Jerry O'Connell as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman
- Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane
- Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor
- Rosario Dawson as Princess Diana/Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
- Jason O'Mara as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
- Christopher Gorham as Barry Allen/The Flash
- Matt Lanter as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
- Shemar Moore as Victor Stone/Cyborg
- Nyambi Nyambi as J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter
- Toks Olagundoye as Cat Grant
- Max Mittleman as Steve Lombard and Jimmy Olsen
- Rocky Carroll as Silas Stone and Perry White
- Cress Williams as John Henry Irons
- Paul Eiding as Jonathan Kent
- Jennifer Hale as Martha Kent
- Rick Pasqualone as Dan Turpin
- Amanda Troop as Maggie Sawyer
- Erica Luttrell as Mercy Graves
- Trevor Devall As Bruno Mannheim and Dabney Donovan
- Patrick Fabian as Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman
- Charles Halford as Bibbo Bibbowski
Shazam as Billy batson
Additional Cast[]
Notes[]
- There’s a callback to the the 1978 film Superman. In the film, after Superman catches Lois falling from a helicopter, he says "I've got you." Lois replies, "You've got me? Who's got you?" In this film, the same lines are spoken, but the roles are swapped.
- Shazam is noticeably missing. At this time, it’s unknown if his magical powers would have helped defeat Doomsday easier.
- In the Original Comic, The Justice League weren't involved in the fight against Doomsday.
- Other than Superman, Wonder Woman is the only leaguer to hold her own against a killing machine like the Doomsday.
- Even though Aquaman made his appearance in the movie, he wasn't with the League fighting Doomsday. As he decided to protect his people by staying in Atlantis.
- in Reign of the Supermen it’s revealed that Doomsday is an Apokoliptian living biological weapon created by Darkseid and sent to Earth to kill Justice League all other Superheroes and Superman for him before Darkseid's next attack, which was also the reason the meteor destroyed Henshaw's shuttle as it came into Low Earth Orbit as Darkseid was able to rebuild Henshaw as a half-robotic Superman clone and brainwash him to serve as Darkseid's agent.
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