Movies: Superman - Doomsday

Superman was never really one of my favorite comic book heroes when I was growing up. That's probably why my preferred Superman stories usually involve some strange alternate take on the character (for instance, the "Superman: Red Son" series, which has Superman fighting for Stalin's U.S.S.R. instead of "truth, justice, and the American way"). I also recall a certain thrill at reading the "Death of Superman" storyline, where readers got to see the Big Blue Boy Scout finally meet his end (even if it was only temporary).

Now, the "Death of Superman" storyline has been turned into a direct-to-video cartoon produced and directed by DC animation kingpin Bruce Timm:



It's a decent comic book cartoon, though it lacks the texture of Timm's best work (the Batman: TAS episode "Beware the Gray Ghost" is only twenty-odd minutes long but has more character moments than the entire runtime of "Superman: Doomsday"). The plot's pretty simple: after Lex Luthor unearths a mysterious alien creature named Doomsday, Superman must prevent it from destroying Metropolis and perhaps the world.

Disappointingly, the mega-battle between Superman and Doomsday doesn't take up much screentime, and Superman's tactics during the fight don't make any sense at all (instead of trying to lead Doomsday away from Metropolis, as in the comic, Superman slings Doomsday through office buildings, showing a rather cavalier attitude towards human life). The remainder of the flick is spent depicting the machinations of Lex Luthor, but how you can possibly top one of the most remembered DC comics moments of the 1990s? Talk about an anticlimax.

Rating: 5/10