Review: Superman: Doomsday (2007)

After putting together last week’s list of super hero cartoons that I’ve enjoyed over the years, I decided it was time to go back and watch all those that I may have missed. I started out with one of the most famous (and annoying) events in all of DC history - the death of Superman. And while Superman certainly doesn’t die (he makes DC waaaay too much money for that), the cartoon adaptation of this major DC storyline, Superman: Doomsday, manages to remain entertaining enough despite its predictability.

We begin with Superman doing Superman things, as usual. But Lex Luthor is hard at work as well. He’s discovered an alien craft buried beneath the Earth and sends some of his people to retrieve it. Unfortunately for the planet, within the spacecraft is one of the nastiest organic war machines that the universe has seen - Doomsday. So when Doomsday goes on a rampage straight towards Metropolis, it’s up to Superman to stand in his way.

As it turns out, this critter is way more intense than Superman first figured. The two go toe-to-toe, eventually ending in the creature’s demise, but also the supposed death of Superman. So the city buries him and life moves on, minus one massively powerful super hero protecting the people.

But then Superman comes back? Seems that Luthor grabbed up some of Superman’s blood and started a cloning program. Now he has control over Superman. He doesn’t have him run around and do awful things, of course. Mostly he just lets him save the city as usual. But the clone Superman develops a mind of his own. He wants to bring law and order to Metropolis, but he wants to do it by very brutal means. Soon, the city lives in fear of their once protector.

But never fear, for the real Superman isn’t actually dead. His body shut down during its extreme trauma so that some healing could take place. With the help of his robot pal, Superman hangs out at the Fortress of Solitude and recuperates until he feels strong enough to take on fake Superman.

Compared to many other comic book cartoons, this one was way better. The movie was more than just a punch fest of random heroes and villains and actually took the time to develop the story through means other than action. This was a welcome relief to me, as I’ve experienced far too many super hero cartoons where 90% of the running time is people beating each other up. Needless to say, a little bit of actual plot was a welcome addition.

The story was a bit darker than usual, including presenting a Superman that kills to defend his city, but the movie is still appropriate for most age groups. Maybe not younger kids so much (though that’s due more to the slower pacing), but most kids and adults alike would likely find something entertaining in Superman: Doomsday. Rotten Tomatoes has it ranked at a poor 57/57%, but I’d personally take this one over most DC cartoons any day of the week.

Photo Credits -           

Superman Doomsday courtesy of comicattack.net