DVD Review: Superman - Doomsday

Superman meets his end at the hands of the alien Doomsday. However, he returns from the grave to protect Metropolis once again and Lex Luthor may have had something to do with it. This made for DVD original film is the first animated Superman feature to earn the PG-13 rating.

Some LexCorp scientists are digging when they come upon an alien spacecraft and release the alien inside named Doomsday. Superman (Adam Baldwin) does battle with Doomsday and Lois Lane (Anne Heche) and Jimmy Olsen (Adam Wylie) witness Superman’s doom.

He dies, but he takes Doomsday with him. The city of Metropolis as well as Martha Kent (Swoosie Kurtz), Clark’s mother, is in mourning for the man of steel. Jimmy quits and goes to work for a tabloid, Lex Luthor (James Marsters) is pissed that he didn’t get to do Supes in, and Perry White (Ray Wise) is concerned about his ace reporter taking the events too hard. However, miraculously the man of steel reappears, but he seems to have had a change in the methods that he used to fight crime. Doomsday is based on the multi-part comic series that led to the demise and return of the man from Krypton. I’ll have to admit that I didn’t follow that series, but the news of Superman’s death was still all over the place when it occurred. It was almost treated as a celebrity death and made the news, papers, all the other media, and fans even staged mock funerals. The particular issue of the comic was well bought (even a lady that I worked with, and had no interest in comics, went out and picked up a copy for the collector’s value. I tried to tell her that it wouldn’t be very valuable since everyone and their dog was doing the same thing). That entire series has now been compressed into a 75 minute animated feature, so much of the buildup and plot points have been jettisoned. This is sure to earn some ire from dedicated fans of the comic. However, not being too familiar with the comic I think that actually worked in my favor. I thought the film was pretty good, but still seems somewhat compressed. For example, in the comic there’s a more extended funeral with the nation hurting and other superheroes also mourning the death. In the film no other heroes attend the service and the funeral only lasts a minute or two.

In the documentary, many of the writers choke up recalling the storylines from the comic. The film doesn’t have that emotional impact. It’s good but I don’t expect that it will be remembered with the emotional impact that the comic carried. Superman: Doomsday is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by producer Bruce Timm, writer Duane Capizzi, voice director Andrea Romano, and executive producer Gregory Noveck. The 43-minute “Requiem and Rebirth: Superman Lives!” is an excellent documentary about the “Death of Superman” storyline. Next is a 10-minute sneak peek at the next Superhero adventure, Justice League: The New Frontier. The 5 minute “Behind the Voice” interviews Andrea Romano, Ray Wise, Adam Wylie, Swoosie Kurtz, Anne Heche, and Adam Baldwin. “Superman’s Last Stand” is a DVD game. Finally, there are trailers for other WB DVDs. I thought that Superman: Doomsday was really pretty good, but can see how some of the criticism for it came about since it greatly reduced the comic arc. It doesn’t have the emotional impact that the comic storyline does, but I still found it and enjoyable adaptation. The “Requiem and Rebirth” documentary is well worth the purchase price as well.