The Death of Superman 4K/Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros)
The Death of Superman is a 2018 animated film directed by Sam Liu (Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, & Batman: The Killing Joke) & Jake Castorena (Scooby-Doo & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Justice League Action, & Batman Unlimited). It’s based on the comic book of the same name & the story line that ran from 1992 to 1993. It had previously been adapted in the 2007 film “Superman: Doomsday”. It had it’s premiere at the San Diego Comic Con 2018. A sequel is already planned for 2019 titled “Reign of the Supermen”.
After a failed kidnapping attempt of the mayor (played by: Jonathan Adams from Last Man Standing, Justice League Action, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, & Bones) by Intergang armed with Apokolips technology. Superman (played by: Jerry O’Connell from Stand by Me, Sliders, Justice League Dark, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, & Scream 2) plus the Justice League which includes Batman (played by: Jason O’Mara from Justice League Dark, Batman: Bad Blood, Batman vs. Robin, Life on Mars, & Resident Evil: Extinction), Wonder Woman (played by: Rosario Dawson from The Lego Batman Movie, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, & Kids), Green Lantern (played by: Nathan Fillion from Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Castle, Firefly, & Slither), The Flash (played by: Christopher Gorham from Justice League: War, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, & Harper’s Island), Aquaman (played by: Matt Lanter from Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, & Sorority Row), Cyborg (played by: Shemar Moore from Justice League: War, Birds of Prey, & Criminal Minds), & Martian Manhunter (played by: Nyambi Nyambi from The Good Fight & Mike and Molly) send the pieces to S.T.A.R. Labs for analysis. On the normal side of things, Clark Kent is having issues with his girlfriend Lois Lane (played by: Rebecca Romijn from Rollerball, Godsend, & Femme Fatale) on their relationship.
His hidden secrets are starting to cause major problems with the couple. Silas Stone (played by: Rocky Carroll from NCIS, Chicago Hope, & Justice League: War) & his associate Dr. John Henry Irons (played by: Cress Williams from Black Lightning, ER, & Friday Night Lights) analyze the material from the previous botched crime. It ends up linked to criminal mastermind Lex Luthor (played by: Rainn Wilson from The Office, The Meg, Super, Juno, & Six Feet Under). He denies any involvement after confronted. Capt. Hank Henshaw (played by: Patrick Fabian from Better Call Saul, Bad Ass/Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses, & Big Love) & his team are repairing a satellite aboard the Excalibur space shuttle. It’s destroyed by the meteorite’s debris. Lex Luthor sends a team down there to investigate. Everything is destroyed by unstoppable monster called Doomsday. The unknown beast is on a rampage making it’s way to Metropolis. The Justice League tries to stop Doomsday but each member gets defeated & barely surviving it’s wrath! Clark Kent finally reveals his true identity to Lois Lane at lunch trying to make things better between them. He runs off to fight Doomsday & try to save the city from more destruction. Lois Lane with Jimmy Olsen.(played by: Max Mittelman from Berserk) follows the danger to report the news. After a long & chaotic battle with the super villain Doomsday, Superman sacrifices his own life to save Metropolis. The shocking news hits everyone hard & it leaves the world a little less safe from now on. Is this really the end of Superman?
The Death of Superman was a shocking & game changing comic when it was first released in the early 90s. This isn’t the first time it’s been adapted into an animated film but it’s definitely closer to the original material compared to the previous Superman: Doomsday. One thing that has bothered me about the Clark Kent/Superman character was the fact it was always way too kid friendly & clean compared to other superheroes. I do realize that’s the main audience for this type of genre but sometimes it gets so repetitive & a little boring. When this comic & story line came along, it really opened up a whole new world for Superman! It just adds so much more to the iconic role. The Death of Superman has one of the best assembled voice talent casts ever & it really elevates the overall production. Most of them have starred in previous DC animated features. It was well written & it had a nice balance of both alter egos. It was cool to see the Justice League show up a few times in this. The battle between Superman & Doomsday was epic! As far as villains go, that’s one of most powerful ones out there. That’s a major event in the DC universe & it was captured perfect here. I am looking forward to the follow up to this next year. HIGHLY recommended, DC & Warner Bros deliver another quality release into the superhero genre!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 2160p (1.78:1) transfer really shines on 4K! The colors pop out on the screen & the animation is very impressive. The 4K has 3 different audio options which include English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, & Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1! All the action & the music roars in my home system for The Death of Superman especially the later fight scenes. The dialogue is very clean & it’s a great addition to the overall experience. The blu ray also has a German: Dolby Digital 5.1 & and additional Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The 4K release has English SDH, French, & Spanish subtitles. The blu ray release also has German SDH, Japanese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, & Swedish subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features on the blu ray disc, the 4K has no extras on it. A Sneak Peak at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie, “Reign of the Supermen” is a little over 9 minutes. It previews the upcoming sequel to this. It has interviews with screenwriters Jim Krieg, Tim Sheridan, director Sam Liu, voice actors Cameron Monaghan, Cress Williams, Jerry O’Connell, Rebecca Romijn, Rainn Wilson, & various crew members from the production. It goes over the various replacements & new characters added to the mix. It talks about Lois Lane having a stronger role in this follow up. “The Death of Superman: The Brawl That Topped Them All” is a little over 16 minutes. It covers the history of the original 4 part series that has this memorable story line. It goes into great detail about the epic saga & how they adapted into a film. “From the DC Comics Vault: Legion of Superheroes, Season 2, “Dark Victory: Part 1” & “From the DC Comics Vault: Legion of Superheroes, Season 2, “Dark Victory: Part 2”, it’s the series/season finale from the TV show that aired in 2008. Both episodes are almost 23 minutes & it’s a nice little bonus to this release. It’s available everywhere right now, check it out!!!!
