The Death of Superman (film)

For the 2007 adaptation of The Death of Superman, see Superman: Doomsday. For the comic book, see The Death of Superman.

The Death of Superman
Blu-ray cover
Directed by	Sam Liu James Tucker
Written by	Peter J. Tomasi
Produced by	Sam Liu Amy McKenna
Starring	Jerry O'Connell Rebecca Romijn Rainn Wilson Rosario Dawson Nathan Fillion Christopher Gorham Matt Lanter Shemar Moore Jason O'Mara Rocky Carroll Patrick Fabian
Edited by	Christopher D. Lozinski
Music by	Frederik Wiedmann
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release dates	July 20, 2018 (2018-07-20) (San Diego Comic-Con International) July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24) (Digital)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Death of Superman is a 2018 American animated direct-to-video superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. It is based on the DC comic book storyline of the same name. The film, which chronicles the battle between Superman (Jerry O'Connell) and Doomsday, is the 32nd installment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the 11th film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. Released on July 24, 2018 the film received a limited theatrical release on January 13, 2019. A sequel, Reign of the Supermen, was released on January 15, 2019.

Plot

Superman has become a hero to the citizens of Metropolis while infuriating billionaire Lex Luthor, who considers the alien a threat to his city. In an attempt to kidnap the mayor, Intergang – armed with Apokolips 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, Silas Stone and Dr. John Henry Irons determine Intergang’s devices contain both Apokoliptian and Earth 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 boomtube 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 monster to be a living weapon of ancient Kryptonian origin designed to annihilate entire civilizations. As the creature heads for Metropolis, Batman notes their last hope is Superman. Meanwhile, Clark and Lois meet for lunch at a tavern 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 in time to save Wonder Woman from the monster.

Lois, reporting live by helicopter with her cameraman Jimmy Olsen, dubs the monster "Doomsday" as its 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 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 monster’s neck, but is fatally stabbed, and dies in Lois’ arms.

Jimmy broadcasts Superman's death across the globe as the world mourns. After a state funeral for the fallen hero, 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 Superman's rocket self-starts and flies off.

Four mysterious figures are introduced: 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.

Voice cast

Character	Voice actor
Clark Kent / Superman	Jerry O'Connell
Lois Lane	Rebecca Romijn
Lex Luthor	Rainn Wilson
Diana Prince / Wonder Woman	Rosario Dawson
Hal Jordan / Green Lantern	Nathan Fillion
Barry Allen / Flash	Christopher Gorham
Arthur Curry / Aquaman	Matt Lanter
Victor Stone / Cyborg	Shemar Moore
Martian Manhunter	Nyambi Nyambi
Bruce Wayne / Batman	Jason O'Mara
Mayor Booker	Jonathan Adams
Silas Stone Perry White (Uncredited)	Rocky Carroll
Bruno Mannheim Dabney Donovan	Trevor Devall
Jonathan "Pa" Kent Astronaut Jim (Uncredited)	Paul Eiding
Hank Henshaw	Patrick Fabian
Martha "Ma" Kent Dr. Klyburn (Uncredited) Camper (Uncredited)	Jennifer Hale
Bibbo Bibbowski Kryptonian AI/Eradicator (Uncredited)	Charles Halford
Mercy Graves	Erica Luttrell
Jimmy Olsen Steve Lombard (Uncredited)	Max Mittelman
Cat Grant	Toks Olagundoye
Dan Turpin	Rick Pasqualone
Maggie Sawyer	Amanda Troop
John Henry Irons Officer (Uncredited)	Cress Williams

Other characters with non-speaking cameos include Mera, Alfred Pennyworth, Damian Wayne, Hawkman, Kate Kane and others.

Production

The Death of Superman is intended to be the 32nd installment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, the 11th film in the DC Animated Movie Universe, and is based on the 1992—1993 DC comic book storyline of the same name. The story had previously been adapted in the 2007 film Superman: Doomsday. However, Superman: Doomsday greatly altered and condensed the story to fit it within a 75-minute runtime, including the events associated with the return of Superman and that sequel-based comic. The Death of Superman was written to be much more faithful to the original story; according to DC's Tim Beedle, the film is "much less condensed and will include many of the fan-favorite moments from the story that were left out of Doomsday." The film is co-directed by Jake Castorena and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Films. According to supervising producer James Tucker, a primary theme of the film is relationships and their impact on Superman's world.

Release

The Death of Superman had its premiere at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 20, 2018 and released in direct-to-video on August 7, 2018, distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on DVD, Blu-ray, and on digital distribution platforms on July 24, 2018. The film was also released in a limited theatrical release on January 13, 2019.

Reception

Reviews for The Death of Superman have been positive. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 92% based on 12 reviews. Newsarama called the film "One of DC's Best Animated Films in Past 5 Years", praising the epic and emotional punch the film accomplishes in all three acts. i09 gave another positive review, praising Superman's character arc, his relationship with Lois, and the story at large because the DC Universe Movies adaptations currently "graft pre-Crisis storylines onto a new continuity, which affords different angles, strengths, and weaknesses... Because the backdrop for this version of Death of Superman is different, new choices get made to communicate a sense of threat." It was because of that, that "The Death of Superman film adaptation justifies its existence." IGN put out their own mixed review, pointing out that "The Death of Superman marks the third time in 11 years that a movie has killed off the Man of Steel... making this latest DC animated offering a tedious case of been there-done that. While this new version hews more closely to its bestselling 1992–1993 namesake comics event than either 2007’s Superman: Doomsday or 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did, it nevertheless lacks anything truly fresh or revelatory to add to this now well-worn tale."

The film earned $919,629 from domestic DVD sales and $5,033,391 from domestic Blu-ray sales, bringing its total domestic home video earnings to $5,953,020.

Comic book tie-in

In August 2018, DC announced a 12-part digital comic series titled "The Death of Superman: Part 1", written by veteran Superman writer Louise Simonson that serves as a prequel to the film. In the US, retailer Best Buy offered an exclusive "Deluxe Edition" Blu-Ray containing a hardcover graphic novel titled "The Death of Superman: The Wake." The four-chapter series, also written by Simonson picks up shortly after the events of the film.

Sequel

A sequel, Reign of the Supermen, was released on January 15, 2019. It is based on the second part of the storyline. The cast includes Cameron Monaghan as Kon-El / Superboy, Cress Williams returning as Steel, Charles Halford as Eradicator, and Patrick Fabian as Hank Henshaw / Cyborg Superman.

External links

• Official website (Warner Bros.)
• Official website (DC Comics)
• The Death of Superman at the Internet Movie Database

[Edit] Superman franchise media
Comic strips	Superman (1939–1966) • The World's Greatest Superheroes (1978–1985) Superman: The Complete Comic Strips 1939-1966 (2013–present) - Reprint book collection
Radio	The Adventures of Superman (US, 1940–51) • The Adventures of Superman (UK, 1988)
Live-action serials and films	Serials	Superman (1948) • Atom Man vs. Superman
	1951 film series	Superman and the Mole Men • Stamp Day for Superman (short film)
	1978 film series	Superman (1978) • Superman II (The Richard Donner Cut) • Superman III • Supergirl • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace • Superman Returns
	DC Extended Universe	Man of Steel • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
	DC Universe	Superman
	Animated films	Superman animated shorts (1941–1943) • Brainiac Attacks • Doomsday • All-Star Superman • Unbound • Superman/Batman: Public Enemies • Superman/Batman: Apocalypse • Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam • vs. The Elite • The Death of Superman • Reign of the Supermen • Red Son • Man of Tomorrow • Battle of the Super Sons
	Documentary films	Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman • The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? • Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Television	Live-action	Adventures of Superman • The Adventures of Superboy (pilot) • Superboy • Lois & Clark • Smallville • Supergirl • Krypton • Superman & Lois
	Animation	The New Adventures of Superman • The Adventures of Superboy • Superman • The Animated Series • Krypto the Superdog • Legion of Super Heroes • My Adventures with Superman
Novels	The Adventures of Superman (1942) • Superman: Last Son of Krypton • Miracle Monday • Superman: Doomsday & Beyond • Lois & Clark: A Superman Novel • It's Superman! • Superman Returns • Enemies & Allies
Video games	Superman (1979) • Superman: The Game (1985) • Superman (1987) • Superman (1988) • The Man of Steel (1989) • Superman (1992) • The Death and Return of Superman • The New Superman Adventures • Shadow of Apokolips • The Man of Steel (2002) • Countdown to Apokolips • Returns • MultiVersus
Music	"You've Got Possibilities" • Superman III (soundtrack) • Superman Returns (soundtrack) • "Save Me" (Remy Zero song) • Man of Steel (soundtrack) • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (soundtrack) • Metropolis Symphony
Parodies	Captain Caveman (The Flintstone Comedy Show segment) • Mighty Mouse • My Hero (UK TV series) • Stupor Duck • "Superduperman" • Super-Rabbit • Underdog (TV series) • Super Grover (Sesame Street)
Other media	It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman (musical) • The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman (advertisement)
Toys	Lego Superman
Related characters	Lois Lane in other media • Lex Luthor in other media • Supergirl in other media
Related articles	Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation • "Crisis on Infinite Earths" • Hollywoodland • Lucy and Superman • "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" • National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. • Sunman (1992 video game) • Superman curse • Superman ice cream • "Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit" • "The Reign of the Superman" • Superman and Lois Lane • Superman '78