Doomsday is today!

[I Am The Knight]

Yeah but............it's common knowledge about them in TAS. So is this a prequel to that?

No. Different continuity.

 

[moguy]

The documentary on the making of the comic was quite interesting.

All along I thought it was merely a marketing ploy. It's nice to see that the writers never intended it that way. It was also interesting to see how much power the Lois and Clark TV show had on the comic.

 

[moguy]

It's not a prequel to JLA, it's not even the same continuity.

He doesn't look older on purpose, they changed his face to distinguish him from the regular DCAU Superman and yeah, they did a pretty terrible job.

No one knows about him and Lois cause no one knows. They're only together in his Fortress of Solitude.

If they would have just made the animation in a different style, this wouldn't have been an issue. Agreed, the face slashed cheekbones were truly terrible.

Once we got to the fortress of solitude it started to feel a little different. Overall though it was still way to close to the look of the animated series.

Luckily the JL movie looks to be more substantially differentiated.

 

[Catman]

Timm and Dini pretty much need each other.

Sort of. Dini has had a successful career writing for comedic cartoons like Tiny Toons, Freakazoid, Duck Dodgers, etc.

It was also interesting to see how much power the Lois and Clark TV show had on the comic.

well...of course! WB owns DC Comics, so they can tell them what to do.

 

[moguy]

well...of course! WB owns DC Comics, so they can tell them what to do.

Yeah, I was just surprised that they cared so much what was happening in the comics.

BTW love that avy

 

[Manic]

Dare I say it? I enjoyed the Superman/Captain Marvel fight in an episode of JLU better than the Superman/Doomsday fight.

Of course, JLU was packed full of action scenes that'd make you wet yourself. Wonder Woman vs. Hawkgirl, Vixen, Black Canary, and Huntress? Superman vs. Brainiac-Darkseid? Flash vs. Brainiac-Luthor? Black Canary & Green Arrow vs. Huntress & Question? Superman, Vixen, and GL vs. Mindless Grundy? The entire JLU vs. the Ultimen clones?

God, I wanna bust out the DVDs right now..

 

[Matt.S99]

my dad wants to but that JLU season just for that fight scene lol, but that scene was really cool

 

[LadyVader]

Dare I say it? I enjoyed the Superman/Captain Marvel fight in an episode of JLU better than the Superman/Doomsday fight.

Of course, JLU was packed full of action scenes that'd make you wet yourself. Wonder Woman vs. Hawkgirl, Vixen, Black Canary, and Huntress? Superman vs. Brainiac-Darkseid? Flash vs. Brainiac-Luthor? Black Canary & Green Arrow vs. Huntress & Question? Superman, Vixen, and GL vs. Mindless Grundy? The entire JLU vs. the Ultimen clones?

God, I wanna bust out the DVDs right now..

Well there was nothing really NEW about the fights in Doomsday, except the fact that they were possibly a tiny bit more brutal and bloody, but as far as choreagraphy goes, we've all seen it before in Superman TAS and JLU.

Doesn't mean they weren't good fights, but there was nothing really jaw droppingly spectacular about them.

 

[Manic]

Damn! There goes the neighborhood...

 

[LexLuthor]

I watched it, and something really confuses me. Why the heck has Superman long hair? Wasn't he only gone for a couple of weeks? His long hair makes it look like as if he was gone for half a year.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the robot state that 19 days after his death, there was a pulse in Superman, and then he tracked his body down 19 days later after the second pulse? In all 38 days or more had passed. I need to watch it again to make sure.

 

[Spike_x1]

Really liked the movie . Superman's cheekbones and Lois' voice were annoying at first, but I got used to them by the end. I loved the easter eggs in the Fortress backgrounds taken from S:TAS (aquasuit and anti-kryptonite suit), the Fleischer cartoons (the Bulleteer car and robots), and the comics (warsuit); I'm sure there're more that I haven't found yet.

I liked that they made Doomsday sort of an organic robot-thingy, like the comic's Amazo, instead of the long drawn out backstory of the comics. And the fights were sweet. t:

 

[Mr. Socko]

All sounds cool, I'm going to get this tomorrow.

 

[tekken]

cant forget kevin smith's line about superman and giant spiders. haha.

spoilers:









i thought the fight was better than the fights in JLU. not by a lot though. i just thought the city destruction was amazing. of coarse driving doomsday in the center of the city may have not been the greatest idea, but it looked REALLY cool.

 

[Dread]

In the struggle for the bottom line, DC has been outdone by Marvel in comic sales recently, and especially the big screen, having imploded in the late 90's with BATMAN & ROBIN. However, animation has always been the area where DC dominated Marvel completely. From the standard setting B:TAS in the early 90's to even LEGION OF SUPERHEROES now, DC seems to know how to get things done on the small screen. One could argue they began the comic-cartoon DTV racket with BATMAN: SUBZERO and some people's quintessential volume, BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER, which had everything you could want in a DTV. And much of that success is due to Bruce Timm in terms of writing & directing, as well as Andrea Romano in Casting & Voice Direction. The legacy he maintained for about 12-14 years from B:TAS to JLU is even effectionately called "The Timmverse" by fans. It is everyone's example of the best in Western hero animation and it is doubtful we will ever see better in our lifetimes.

This is his first project since JLU left the airwaves at, objectively, the right time (soon enough that we wanted more, but not far too late where we were throwing tomatoes at it, although another season probably would have been "too far" at that rate). Having seen Marvel team up with Lion's Gate to produce 4 well selling DTV's (which have gone on to air on WB's anime pimp station, CARTOON NETWORK), DC decided to match them, especially since they easily have the better creative teams in terms of animation. But, there is a price to this petagree; the expectations are higher. I expect more from Bruce Timm than I ever will from anyone Marvel truck out to make a show, and that is probably how it always will be. Much as you expect more from, say, Steven Speilberg than "One of the Guys who Made SCARY MOVIE III". It isn't objective or even fair, but it is life. When you create the standard, you have higher demands to fulfill. In addition to this, the Marvel DTV's have, let's just say, benefitted from the lack of competition by not exactly maximizing potential. DC wanted to set themselves apart by vowing to make the DTV's "for the fans" and as sheer adaptations, rather than Marvel's continued attempt to appeal to "wide audiences" that never materialize. To start off, they not only picked one of the world's biggest superheroes, but the storyline that was the peak of the early 90's comic book market (and, via overprintings and the return of Clark a year later, Mile High Comics actually blamed for helping lead to the crash of 1994). The DEATH OF SUPERMAN has been in the rumor mill for a movie for ages and was homaged a few times in JL/U. So, how did this fare?

Frankly, considering the makers, it was underwhelming. Not terrible, even better than mediocre, but, still, underwhelming. I expected an A effort and this is a solid B. For every one thing I liked about the movie I can think of another I disliked. I could also see bits where Timm seemed to imitate himself, which was probably inevitable given his near generation of "Timmverse" work. In a way part of the problem was simular to ULTIMATE AVENGERS, in that some of the flaws of the original story hindered through to the adaptation. But, actually, SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY may actually be LESS faithful to the original story than UA was. In some ways, this was good, because some elements were a sign of the times, like Luthor II and so on. But others added to it, like the mourning of other superheroes.

From here on out, HEAVY SPOILERS! I ESSENTIALLY GO OVER 90% OF THE FILM!

LAST CHANCE!

As a quick summary, Superman is still Superman only here he is actively dating Lois in the Fortress of Solitude, which got a great redesign and has an "Alfred" sort of robot tending to him. In this movie, Lois suspects that Kal is Clark but is waiting for him to "commit" and reveal that last bit of himself, which Superman is anxious about. Luthor is wearting white pimp suits and is sort of a more snivelly version of the S:TAS businessman, capable of curing diseases but deliberately at slow rates so LexCorp earns more from the treatments, or using dummy corporations for illegal work. Part of these involve trying to drill to the Earth's core (!) for a power source, and instead they find a capsule with Doomsday in it. He proceeds to kill random civilians and a deer on his way to Metropolis where he fights Superman, who dies battling him, and is burried. Most of the movie focuses on Lois and her reaction to said demise, from meeting Mrs. Kent to being suspicious when Superman seemingly returns from the grave to save her and some kids from Toyman (a villain Timm seems to enjoy making creepy). But, this isn't actually Superman; this is a clone that Luthor made which he controls and even berates, feeling cheated of murdering the actual Superman. The real deal is rescued from LexCorp and nursed back to health at the Fortress while Clone Superman starts to become more and more harsh and out of control, smashing LexCorp and resorting to murdering evildoers. Sporting 90's black costume and mullet, Kal springs into action to save Lois, Jimmy & Metropolis from..."himself".

The best place to start off is the Good. First of all, while the cast takes some getting used to (especially Anne Heche's Lois Lane), they all settle into their roles for the film and sound fine. Top amongst them is James Marster's Luthor, who portrays that balance of brilliant arrogance and snivelling creepiness that makes this version of Luthor work. Adam Baldwin, one of a few "veterans" from the Timmverse, gets to play Superman here and he is fine in the role, sounding rugged and all that. I was especially pleased with Adam Wylie's Jimmy Olson; he is fine as Brainiac in LEGION OF SUPERHEROES and he is even better as Jimmy, methinks. Yes, Kevin Smith has yet another cameo voice role, and it is even more obligatory than in TMNT (he essentially has 2 lines and they are a rip-off of Comic Book Guy's schtick), but at least here he isn't given more billing than some of the show's actual stars. A better cameo is VA vet Townsend Coleman (best known as the original voice of Michelangelo from NINJA TURTLES and The Tick from THE TICK, amongst countless other roles) as a Drill Operator. Tom Kenny, who does Spongebob Squarepants and The Penguin from THE BATMAN voices Superman's omnipresent robot, and John DiMaggio (Bender) voices the Toyman, who surprisingly has some play here. Cree Summers, who ranges from decent to annoying, but is another cartoon vet, voices Mercy Graves here. Rounding things out is Ray Wise as Perry White and Swoosie Kurtz as Martha Kent.

The animation quality is VERY close to the distintive style of The Timmverse but you can tell the budget is higher. Superman's costume has more detail and shades of blue, making it look very dynamic, making up for the older look his cheeklines add. Jimmy gets a redesign that sadly includes a "trendy" earring, but Lois probably looked the best of all. Luthor looked good, Doomsday was massive, and Toyman got a more gothic makeover that actually worked for him. Although I think the SUPERMAN: ANIMATED SERIES version of him was actually creepier, due to that smiling facemask that never moved (and Bud Cort's acting).

The action, while actually not nearly as terrific as boasted in some promo's, is entertaining. Punches really rock heads or plunge into stomachs, and bodies buckle in pain and spit blood sometimes. Necks are snapped loudly or hapless people are smashed into the ground by massive fists. In a way the Marvel DTV's are more gratuitous and some of the JLU battles seemed more unique, fresh, and innovative (Superman/Capt Marvel in THE CLASH, everyone vs. Lexiac in DIVIDED WE FALL, pretty much all of GRUDGE MATCH, I could go on), the battles in this package ain't too shabby. In some ways they are the highlight. It isn't Goku vs. Majin Vegeta by any means, but it definitely beats anything the Marvel DTV's have put out since UA (and is longer than the Hulk brawl in that one). Some of the manuvers were unexpected and sometimes nasty. It isn't the best, but they definately tried to top their JLU work and that counts for a lot. DC cartoons continue the dominance in action.

And this is the first PG-13 DTV from either company to actually approach PG level language; Perry White says "ass" at one point, and I may have missed a "damn" or two. There is no nudity, because the story doesn't need it and because Americans apparently accept & enjoy violence more than breasts (unless you count some Superman clone vials or Kal in speedoes later, but you don't even see buttcheeks really).

The plot has good elements. The biggest injection is the role the iconic Luthor plays in everything and his reaction to Superman's death is insanely co-dependant and even perverse. This DTV also offers one of the better versions of Lois; yes, she is rescued at least three times, but she isn't helpless and has her spunk without being too witchy, and the fact that she is bright enough to KNOW Superman's identity, but merely waiting until he trusts her enough to reveal it on his own, brings a bit of welcome depth to things. This is the first cartoon to really delve into a Superman/Lois relationship, which is ironic given they have been married almost a decade and were outwardly dating a bit longer. They bickered about commitment and there was that sense of awe to things with Superman keeping Lois at a distance for "safety". And naturally there are metaphors given about what makes a true hero; compassion or brute force? And that Superman has two sides, and all that jazz. And the part where Luthor "covers up" after Mercy was very shocking and evilly awesome.

Now for the bad. Part of the problem is the film seems to jump around too much. This has been an issue with all of these under-80 minute features and it was noticeable here. Jimmy's plotline of quitting the Planet to work for a sleezy tabloid is a twist on the comics but feels a little tacked on. Plus, "Superman" seems to return almost too quickly given the emotional weight his death is supposed to bare (almost immediately after Lois reaches out to Martha Kent and all but falls to pieces on her porch). The arrival of Doomsday seems as random and obligatory as it did in the comics; Timm has stated many times he disliked the character and the method used to murder Superman and it almost shows here. In JLU, Doomsday was at least given a dark wit to banter with enemies with; here he is just a mute brute, which can get boring. Plus, the moment someone has to resort to wrestling manuvers, I immediately call it pandering; and, well, let's say Doomsday busts out a suplex or two. And given that the promo's made it seem overly violent, the on-screen killing of people by Doomsday or Clone Superman ("Cloperman"?) isn't nearly so bad; I mean no one got impaled or torn in two.

Part of what hurts things is the sense of revisitted territory. Timm homaged the Death of Superman/battle with Doomsday, twice in JLU, which made Doomsday actually more engaging; here he is faithful and things are worse. But aside for that and the "Return" design, the movie is essentially doing it's own thing for about 65% of it. The ending of the movie smacks of the ending of LEGACY PART 2 that ended S:TAS, albeit in a lighter tone. The drastic alteration to the original storyline is Luthor's cloning of Superman, which has elements that seem directly repetitive of the episode IDENTITY CRISIS (yes, that was the title) of a Season Two episode of S:TAS from 1997 that introduced Bizarro; you have the impersonation of Superman, the "Superman" gradually acting different around friends & family and enemies, and even the scene where you have a room with tubes and tubes of clone soldiers, who are inevitably destroyed. The way the bodies all spill onto the floor is even familiar. And yet while the movie goes so far to essentially create Bizarro, they don't go all the way and MAKE him Bizarro. I mean, this version could have avoided all the crap that keeps Bizarro back, could have avoided the "me am dumb" dialogue or the palsey stance. He could have just been a nastier version of Superman. Instead he just remains looking like Superman so it almost seems like a lazy way to reuse a character model. My point is they went far enough but held back on it. Crap or get off the pot. They even could have just made him Cyborg Superman rather than just reusing the model. Plus, there are the little things. Wouldn't drilling to the center of the Earth to drain the core, like, destroy the entire planet (Darkseid always wanted to do that to make Earth like Apokolips)? Wasn't Lois driving out to grab Superman's Kryptonite Gun the most predictable thing ever? If Superman was going to fly Doomsday up above the Ozone Layer to smash him back into the Earth at meteor-like speed, why the hell does he slam like a nuke into Metropolis when he could have steered towards a nice barren desert or something (beyond plot convience)? Why if blowing up the Lead Bullet housing the Kryptonite "bullet" releases Kryptonite gas that kills "Cloperman", why is Kal uneffected even as it billows a yard away? If "Cloperman" really hates saving cats from trees because "it wastes his time for bigger things", why does he spent about 5 entire minutes chewing out the old lady if he hates wasting time? Why is the audience supposed to feel anything but glee for the death of the child-killing Toyman? Why does Kal believe such stupid things like throwing his clone into the ocean through a wooden dock or something will stop him for long? And while Luthor's opening narration and presentation sounded cool, in a story sense it makes zero sense. And while Kenny's Robot was amusing, he almost seemed to spoonfeed Superman and deminished his intelligence (which they tried to showcase by having him trying to cure cancer at the beginning).

And the ugly: The scenes where Kal in his 90's Mullet lifting weights in the FOS all but wanted me to start singing, "GONNA FLY NOOOWWWW! GEE-EETTING STRONG NOOOOWWW!" and made me wonder if Kal would scale a mountain and scream "DDDDRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGGGOOOOO!"

Plus, while the powers-that-be seem to prefer Superman be the solo hero in many of his stories, having Doomsday beat down the JLA and some superheroes attending his funeral could have spiced up the action a little. I mean, seen one tank or soldier get smashed or thrown, seen 'em all. But how many times do you see Guy Gardner with his eyes punched closed asking for someone to "aim him"? I mean I understand the intention, to ground it more as a Superman story and cut out many of the details, but I don't know; it is like, I've seen Luthor a million times, seen him use Red Sun Radiation or Kryptonite even more, but how often do you see Warrior, Booster Gold, and Fire & Ice? But this is a minor quibble I guess.

While it is plenty enjoyable and watchable, I felt there was missed potential and some repetition, or rehashing what had been handled better elsewhere. 2.5 out of 4 stars, or a letter grade of B from a scale of A+ to F. On a comic story that is better in quality and the production team enjoys more and is more faithful too, I think things will really take off.

Speaking of which, the sneak peek at JLA: THE NEW FRONTIER looks downright awesome, like it will be the best DTV ever, especially since Darwyn Cooke is involved (as he came from Timm 'toons in the first place). The only part that made me pull out my hair and scream is when they go, "I don't know how we can get all of the comic into 70 minutes" and it makes me go, "THEN SHELL OUT THE CASH TO MAKE IT LONGER! FORGE AHEAD! WON'T ANYONE IN WESTERN ANIMATION HAVE SOME GOD DAMNED STONES ALREADY!?" It appalls me that every LUPIN THE THIRD special in Japan with some downright repetitive plots is 90 minutes like clockwork but heaven forbid we make a DTV that is longer than MASK OF THE PHANTASM was. These DTV's, even the good ones, suffer because they are at least 10-15 minutes shorter than the average movie (or longer as many movies near or surpass 2 hours, even if they don't need to) and many of these feature length stories NEED that time. Especially a classic like DC:NF. But from the cast to the animation, that looks like it will shatter DC's freshman jitters here. But, alas, the powers that be think too much of TV reairings in terms of timeframes. I get passionate about animation and sometimes feel I will die of old age before I see Western Animation reach or surpass heights that some anime reached a decade or more ago. Barring that, though, I am counting down the weeks until it is released. The panel-for-panel stuff gave me geek-jitters, and the cast looks incredible.

 

[spider-neil]

I've missed your reviews dread were are you posting these days?

 

[spider-neil]

really enjoyed it, usual gripes as everyone else supes face looks too craggy, lois' voice grates but other than that really enjoyable. I will definately get this on dvd.

I can't but wonder if they'd made the live action of this instead of the boring piece of **** superman returns they may have actually made spiderman numbers at the box office.

 

[Nathan]

Another scene that gave me kind of a 'WTF' moment was when the cloned Supes X-rayed himself in the mirror. How the **** does that work?

 

[November Rain]

Dare I say it? I enjoyed the Superman/Captain Marvel fight in an episode of JLU better than the Superman/Doomsday fight.

Of course, JLU was packed full of action scenes that'd make you wet yourself. Wonder Woman vs. Hawkgirl, Vixen, Black Canary, and Huntress? Superman vs. Brainiac-Darkseid? Flash vs. Brainiac-Luthor? Black Canary & Green Arrow vs. Huntress & Question? Superman, Vixen, and GL vs. Mindless Grundy? The entire JLU vs. the Ultimen clones?

God, I wanna bust out the DVDs right now..

there's nothing to be ashamed of...the grudge match ladie tussle IS probably jlu's best work and among the top fights of the dcau along with clash and also some eps of the early batman cartoon (night of the ninja and on leather wings) and disappearing inque.

This was just another supes fight and he didn't even raise the ante. He was sloppy and unresourceful. Ultimately he got his ass kicked royally and took out doomsday in a one hit knock out.

no kicks, no resourceful use of his powers, no multipower use, just old fashion clobbering.

wonderwoman could have taken doomsday easily and made less of a mess.

 

[spider-neil]

Another scene that gave me kind of a 'WTF' moment was when the cloned Supes X-rayed himself in the mirror. How the **** does that work?

ha ha that's true he should have seen behind the mirror rather than into his own skull

 

[spider-neil]

when supes flew doomsday into the upper atmosphere he could have carried on flying and left him in space.

 

[moguy]

when supes flew doomsday into the upper atmosphere he could have carried on flying and left him in space.

Yeah that part bothered me a lot.

Launch him into the sun, or drop him off on the moon.

Why crash land back in Metropolis???? At least pick somewhere unpopulated.

 

[Hush]

i gues they weretrying to show Supermans Exhaustion and that the fact that Doomsday was essentially bored with Superman and wanted to kill a child. Infuriated him just enough to get him as far as he could. Just my defensive becuase i loved this movie. Good Review Dread I have been waiting for you to put it up.

 

[THE MR. TERRIFIC]

when supes flew doomsday into the upper atmosphere he could have carried on flying and left him in space.

That's the same thing I said... I was like WTF!!

 

[Capes-Crusader]

I'm a little dissappointed with "Superman/Doomsday" its wasn't exactally the 'masterpiece' I was waiting for. it was enjoyable though the most outstanding character would have to be Lex Luther now thats how he should be written. What was with Superman's cheek bones? it also seemed a little quick one minuet he was dead the next he was comming to fight the superman clone. Dispite that I recommend every one to give it a go.

 

[moguy]

i gues they weretrying to show Supermans Exhaustion and that the fact that Doomsday was essentially bored with Superman and wanted to kill a child. Infuriated him just enough to get him as far as he could. Just my defensive becuase i loved this movie. Good Review Dread I have been waiting for you to put it up.

They should have showed him trying to break the atmosphere (to get rid of Doomsday), and failing. And then, despondantly, falling with him back to earth in a suicide dive.

Small details, world of difference.