To this day, “Superman: Doomsday” is still one of the most gut wrenching graphic novels I’ve ever read. As a hardcore Superman geek since the age of five, Superman has been one of my recurring beacons of heroism and courage, and something that’s still very representative of what man is capable of. Superman is possibilities, and that’s why I still stick by this character for better or for worse. And as you can imagine, reading the entire graphic novel as a young boy, seeing Superman’s lifeless body in Lois’ arms as he faded away from the vicious attack from Doomsday really bummed me out. And quite frankly, it left a pure lump in my throat. “Superman: Doomsday” truncates everything about the graphic novel into a movie that’s a little over an hour. And I accept that. Due to DC’s issues with superheroes in multiple formats, we couldn’t have had all the guest stars and the Reign of the Superman in this movie. Instead, Timm and co. focus on the meat and bones of the story: Superman vs. Doomsday, and then Superman’s death.
When Superman and Doomsday first join fists in locked combat, suddenly all feelings of “It’s okay, it’s Superman, he’ll make it out” washed away yet again. Watching his blood smear Lois’ face, while he’s viciously thrown into walls and battered brought me back to that time where I watched Superman pass on the pages, and knew Superman would die whether I liked it or not. And the response was the same. I sighed, grumbled, and watched. Superman did what he was supposed to, and he found death at the hands of a cold, brainless monster he simply could not stop. And the flashbacks were basically strong, that’s no hyperbole. “Superman: Doomsday” has to be accepted on its own levels. If a bastardization like “Smallville” can be looked upon by fans with pure bliss, Timm’s vision of this epic story should be accepted for what it is.This is not completely the story of Superman’s death, it’s the story of his friends learning to move on with their lives, while the world loses a hero.
“End of the Golden Age,” reads a newspaper subsequent Superman’s funeral, all the while the villains are left to their devices. The animation for this film is spectacular and I simply had goosebumps watching Superman watching this new refined version of Bruce Timm’s animation style mesh perfectly with the man of steel implementing his entire power to stop this monster. With it, we’re also given a darker much more violent tone. Innocent people are murdered, necks are broken, Lex murders someone in cold blood, and blood spills. This is the story in all of its grim form, and Timm, in spite of his past tinkering’s with the character, Superman is back in deserving form. This time around the voice cast is just great. Adam Baldwin is wonderful as Superman filling the big shoes of Tim Daly with sheer ease. His gruff voice is toned down when in Clark mode, while he provides a deeper growl with Superman. Anne Heche is also a welcome change of pace from the wonderful Dana Delaney, giving her usual strong performance as the grieving Lois who must conceal her affair with Superman while watching him die in front of her; James Marsters (from Smallville, yet) is perfect as Lex Luthor.
After the botched “Braniac Attacks,” I didn’t think we could bounce back, but Marster adds a sheer sinister presence to Luthor once prominently injected by Clancy Brown. Marsters can play evil like a bodily function. Thankfully Timm and co. shy away from the whole theism angle that followed the death of Superman. He doesn’t find himself trapped in heaven, he doesn’t confront his father’s spirit, and there are no attempts to bring him down to hell. He’s instead awoken in his fortress to watch Lex screw up the city yet again. Attempting to compensate for his better half dying, Lex creates a clone of Superman to fill in as hero and become his whipping boy, and things get out of control.Superman must now save the world from himself, still barely able to stand on his own.
“Superman: Doomsday” is not an adaptation, it’s merely a whole new movie with the concept of Doomsday used as a spring board for a different story, and I rather enjoyed it; and it doesn’t hurt that the dialogue is great. What Capizzi and Timm attempt is risky, but hell they had the balls to approach the story with a different angle and it worked. “Superman: Doomsday” is everything it was hyped as. It’s a respectful animated return, and I loved it. Love him or hate him, Superman means a lot to many people, and watching many of DC’s writers go near tears while describing moments in the graphic novel (on the DVD) is proof of that. Period. “Superman: Doomsday” should be accepted as its own form. If a bastardization like “Smallville” can, then so can this because from acting, writing and score, there’s too much priceless talent behind this to write it all off. This is Superman, and I’m pleased.