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DC is developing two new animated features based on the classic Death of Superman storyline. The first film will be released on DVD in late 2018. The second is called Reign of the Supermen and will be released in 2019.

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/superman/upcoming-dc-animated-movies-include-two-part-death-of-superman-and-suicide-squad-titles-a152709

As someone who was thoroughly disappointed and underwhelmed by Superman: Doomsday (2007), I think this is great news. I've always said the best aspect of the Death of Superman arc was the Reign of the Supermen part. I'm delighted to hear it's getting its own feature film. And it'll be nice to see another DC animated movie focused on someone other than Batman.

That said, I hope this is the last time we see the Death of Superman storyline adapted. Give it a definitive screen treatment, then move on to something else. There are plenty of other great Superman stories that would make excellent films.

It's a famous story with a lot of marquee appeal which allows a lot of character development. Superman is considered (by some) to be impossible to write because of his vast array of powers so the one story where those powers "failed" him is attractive to writers.

So I see the appeal.

But you're right, this needs to be put out to pasture. Superman Returns half@$$ riffed on it with a newspaper headline, the 2007 animated feature was wtf all the way through, Smallville riffed on it and BVS did it okay.

The part that bugs me though is that whole Doomsday/Funeral For A Friend/Reign of the Supermen trilogy really was a reward to readers who had stuck with the Superman titles after John Byrne left. Entire chunks of that story lose all their impact if you don't have 1988-1991 comics in your memory banks. Mongul, Hank Henshaw, Warworld, the Eradicator, Lex Luthor II, Matrix-Supergirl and probably other stuff I'm forgetting about all happened during that post-Byrne, pre-Doomsday interval.

Those elements are what hold the stories together and give them a lot of dramatic impact to the audience. So without those stories in the background (as I assume will be the case for these animated things), I don't think it's really possible to do this Doomsday stuff from the comics justice. So my guess is once again they'll make a crapton of changes to the story and cut a lot of stuff out to make it accessible to the non-comics numbnuts' out there.

A shame.

Superman has a ton of good stories to use, but they are fixated on this one. Birthright, Kryptonite, Kingdom Come, Whatever Happened?, For All Seasons and others are all neglected while they do this arc again. How boring. I like what BvS did with the story, but it's time the brand moved on now. Tell stories about his life, not his death. Show me why he was so loved.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat, 22 Jul  2017, 13:24But you're right, this needs to be put out to pasture. Superman Returns half@$$ riffed on it with a newspaper headline, the 2007 animated feature was wtf all the way through, Smallville riffed on it and BVS did it okay.

I'd also cite the New Krypton storyline that bridged seasons 3 and 4 of Lois & Clark as another loose adaption of Return of Superman. It doesn't involve Clark's death, but it does present a similar scenario of a world suffering in Superman's absence prior to his triumphant return. Some of the imagery is similar too. The scenes of the Kryptonian spaceship flying over Metropolis recall the image of Mongul's spaceship hovering above Coast City:


And of course there's the black suit Superman wears:

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat, 22 Jul  2017, 13:24The part that bugs me though is that whole Doomsday/Funeral For A Friend/Reign of the Supermen trilogy really was a reward to readers who had stuck with the Superman titles after John Byrne left. Entire chunks of that story lose all their impact if you don't have 1988-1991 comics in your memory banks. Mongul, Hank Henshaw, Warworld, the Eradicator, Lex Luthor II, Matrix-Supergirl and probably other stuff I'm forgetting about all happened during that post-Byrne, pre-Doomsday interval.

I can understand the appeal of using the Death of Superman, particularly if the director has a limited knowledge of the source material. Just flick through the book and you'll see numerous shocking and evocative images that would stand out to any filmmaker looking for inspiration. It's the same with The Dark Knight Returns. Almost every live action Batman film has referenced that book in some way, and it's not hard to see why. But I agree that much of Death of Superman's intertextual relevance is lost when you remove it from its proper context within the surrounding mythology. I guess that's why so many of those elements had to be omitted from the first animated film.

Regarding Doomsday, I think he's kind of like Bane insofar as he's a villain that has to be earned. Bane worked well in The Dark Knight Rises because there he represented the final challenge for a Batman who'd already overcome numerous other enemies. Bane wouldn't have worked as the villain in Batman Begins. Similarly Doomsday wouldn't have worked as the villain in Man of Steel. In the eyes of the audience, Superman has to earn the right to battle someone (or something) that powerful. That's why having Doomsday kill Superman in the opening act of the first DC animated movie didn't work for me. Perhaps if that film had followed on from the DCAU, then his death might have carried more weight. Hopefully this new film will handle it better. Give us some time to get to know this version of Superman, then have him croak at the 75 minute mark.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sat, 22 Jul  2017, 13:36
Superman has a ton of good stories to use, but they are fixated on this one. Birthright, Kryptonite, Kingdom Come, Whatever Happened?, For All Seasons and others are all neglected while they do this arc again. How boring. I like what BvS did with the story, but it's time the brand moved on now. Tell stories about his life, not his death. Show me why he was so loved.

Absolutely. I've said this before, but I'd love to see some classic Brainiac stories translated into films. It's high time he made his cinematic debut.

It's hard for me to complain about this adaptation being done again. It's one of my all-time favorite stories and I've always wanted a proper live-action version of it.

Maybe after this, we can get a two-part Knightfall/Knightquest.

Quote from: phantom stranger on Mon, 24 Jul  2017, 01:46Maybe after this, we can get a two-part Knightfall/Knightquest.

That's an interesting idea. I'm honestly surprised that this has never happened. That story is less dependent upon years and years worth of continuity. Every major (and even several minor) beats in Reign of the Supermen requires a solid memory of previous stories. But that Knightfall/quest/End trilogy could be done in a fairly standalone way.

To do the thing justice, as you say, you'd probably need at least two movies to work with. But it's doable.

I'd enjoy a No Man's Land adaptation too. If anything, that would probably be even easier to adapt since you probably could do it all in one go and at least hit the high points of it. The structure of NML allows for certain things to be omitted if need be.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Mon, 24 Jul  2017, 01:57

Quote from: phantom stranger on Mon, 24 Jul  2017, 01:46Maybe after this, we can get a two-part Knightfall/Knightquest.

That's an interesting idea. I'm honestly surprised that this has never happened. That story is less dependent upon years and years worth of continuity. Every major (and even several minor) beats in Reign of the Supermen requires a solid memory of previous stories. But that Knightfall/quest/End trilogy could be done in a fairly standalone way.

It could. But I'd argue Knightfall also loses some of its resonance when removed from a wider context. Perhaps not to the same extent as Death of Superman, but there are definite gaps in the trade paperback editions.

Bane, Trogg, Bird and Zombie show up fully formed in the Broken Bat TPB without any explanation of who they are. You need to have read Vengeance of Bane to understand their back story.

The Riddler has his arm in a sling in Broken Bat and there are references to him having previously fought Batman while pumped full of Venom. This follows on from the events of 'Who Riddled the Riddler?' (Batman Vol 1 #490, March 1993), but that story isn't included in the Knightfall TPBs.

Neither is 'Killer's Bane' (Batman Vol 1 #489, February 1993) included; the story in which Bane first fought Killer Croc and broke his arms. This battle is directly referenced during Knightfall, but the events referred to are not depicted in the graphic novel.

Perhaps the biggest problem for people who read Knightfall in isolation is the mystery surrounding Jean-Paul Valley. To understand who he is, why his mental state is deteriorating and why he is trusted with assuming the mantle of Batman, the reader needs to at least be familiar with The Sword of Azrael. Otherwise they'd have no idea who this character is or why he's entrusted with such a monumental task.

I'm up for this. Why not? If these two films result in a more worthwhile adaptation of the whole Death/Funeral/Reign/Return storylines (besting the lackluster 2007 effort shouldn't be that difficult a task, though it did have a damn good doc going over all the BTS stuff from the people who worked on it at DC Comics), then yeah, that works for me.

It's no secret there's ALOT of DC Comics material that can be adapted, but I'm fine with a more proper animated adaptation of this.

I'd like to see Court of Owls/City of Owls get an animated movie one of these days, in the same way they adapted TDK Returns. It has everything I like in a Batman story and lends itself really well to a two-parter.

It digs into the history of Gotham itself and Batman's own relationship with it.
It introduces new characters to the universe, just as Knightfall introduced Bane.
It manages to showcase past villains and members of the Bat family.
It has kickass action and balances both Bruce Wayne and Batman.
Batman in the labyrinth is one of the best comic moments.
The attack on Wayne Manor is another standout moment.

I'm all about pushing the brand forward. I love the classics like The Killing Joke/TDK Returns as much has anybody. But I feel like we miss out on the here and now if we have our heads in the past too often, and that goes with the Death of Superman as well. I'll likely see the film, but would like to see something new afterwards.

Oh, one other thing. Small potatoes maybe but The Death Of Superman is a story published in Superman #149 in the 1960's. In that story, Lex Luthor pretends to have changed his ways just so he can get the drop on Superman and poison him to death with Kryptonite.

The story from 1992 where Superman is beaten to death is called Doomsday. I don't give a flaming fart what the g***amn trade paperback is called. The comics I paid money for are called Doomsday and that's what I go by.

NB4 "That title has already been used for an animated movie", DCE is going back to the well in fact so I don't understand why they're afraid of going back to the well in name. Whatever, it's not my problem.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat, 17 Mar  2018, 17:41
Oh, one other thing. Small potatoes maybe but The Death Of Superman is a story published in Superman #149 in the 1960's. In that story, Lex Luthor pretends to have changed his ways just so he can get the drop on Superman and poison him to death with Kryptonite.

I remember reading that story a few years back. The Silver Age Superman and Superboy comics are terrific. In general, I think they hold up a lot better than the Silver Age Batman comics do.

Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat, 17 Mar  2018, 17:41
The story from 1992 where Superman is beaten to death is called Doomsday.

And of course the same thing happened with The Dark Knight Returns. It was originally titled Batman: The Dark Knight. 'The Dark Knight Returns' was only the title of the first chapter. However the TDKR moniker has now become synonymous with the entire series thanks to the retitled trade paperback edition. It's odd how that happens sometimes.

I'm not a fan of the animation style. The overall production looks cheap and underwhelming. We didn't need another version of this story. I'd rather see something else, such as the electric blue Superman arc which fascinated me as a kid.

Hmmmmmmmm .........

Would have preferred the animation to emulate Dan Jurgens art style (similar to how Superman/Batman: Public Enemies emulated Ed Mcguinness' art style) if anything, than what we're getting here. Which, for some inexplicable reason, appears to be a continuation of the animation seen in the New52 adaptations.

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri, 30 Mar  2018, 10:54
I'm not a fan of the animation style. The overall production looks cheap and underwhelming. We didn't need another version of this story. I'd rather see something else, such as the electric blue Superman arc which fascinated me as a kid.

I think the animation for most of the DC movies have been pretty bad. Which is odd, cause they used to be great not too long ago. Now everything looks all generic and cheap.

Quote from: Travesty on Wed,  4 Apr  2018, 23:27

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri, 30 Mar  2018, 10:54
I'm not a fan of the animation style. The overall production looks cheap and underwhelming. We didn't need another version of this story. I'd rather see something else, such as the electric blue Superman arc which fascinated me as a kid.

I think the animation for most of the DC movies have been pretty bad. Which is odd, cause they used to be great not too long ago. Now everything looks all generic and cheap.

My understanding is that cell animation has experienced a serious talent-drain in the last fifteen'ish years. Artists who would've gone to work for those cell animation studios simply went in other directions or pursued other styles.

Quote from: Travesty on Wed,  4 Apr  2018, 23:27

Quote from: The Dark Knight on Fri, 30 Mar  2018, 10:54
I'm not a fan of the animation style. The overall production looks cheap and underwhelming. We didn't need another version of this story. I'd rather see something else, such as the electric blue Superman arc which fascinated me as a kid.

I think the animation for most of the DC movies have been pretty bad. Which is odd, cause they used to be great not too long ago. Now everything looks all generic and cheap.

It's a real shame because animated movies used to be a strength. Now they're forgettable. If the animation isn't bland and cheap, the story has been needlessly altered into a mess. The content of The Killing Joke and Gotham by Gaslight was strong all on its own. I'm just thankful they managed to adapt TDK Returns so well before their artistic quality went down the toilet.

I'd love to know what's going on behind the scenes with these films. The last really good animated DC movie was released half a decade ago. Since then we've been inundated with a steady stream of mediocrity. The decline in quality is obvious. What's less obvious is the cause.

Have the budgets been cut? Have the production schedules been accelerated? Have the filmmakers themselves become careless and complacent?

I have to agree with the consensus over the stagnation of DC Universe Animated Original Movies in the last five years. One of my peeves is they've created this continuity based on the New 52, which I haven't been too excited about. All of the Batman-centric films focused on his relationship with Damian Wayne, who is somebody I don't like very much. Other than that, the JL films such as War and Throne of Atlantis were passable but nothing extraordinary, and Justice League vs Teen Titans was rather crap. I was worried about this happening ever since The Flashpoint Paradox, which is a storyline I don't have a high regard for.

I'm disappointed that the first Superman-centric movie we get since 2013's Superman: Unbound is going to be another take on 'The Death Of...' story arc. My only guess is they're going to do an adaptation of Funeral for a Friend and The Return of Superman.

The last DC animated film I truly liked was Batman: Assault on Arkham, which was a better Suicide Squad movie than the live action adaptation itself, in my opinion.

Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Sun,  8 Apr  2018, 07:46
The last DC animated film I truly liked was Batman: Assault on Arkham, which was a better Suicide Squad movie than the live action adaptation itself, in my opinion.

Agree on all counts. It's very good Batman movie and holds up well.

I watched this tonight. I thought it was your typically generic action movie as I've come to expect to in this New 52-style DC animated universe. The voice acting was bland, particularly Rebecca Romijn as Lois, and the film wasn't nearly as visceral as the comic, in my opinion.

That's all I can say for first impressions. Not bad, not great, just average. I'll still watch Reign of the Supermen out of curiosity.

I noticed three moments in this movie that paid homage to Snyder's MOS.

(https://i.imgur.com/pzBO8hn.gif)
(https://i.imgur.com/vZw9dET.gif)

(https://i.imgur.com/K2kogcu.gif)
(https://i.imgur.com/quf6jqC.gif)

(https://i.imgur.com/yhKS4O6.gif)
(https://i.imgur.com/x7YJK7b.gif)

Even Superman giving his all to stop Doomsday is a nod to both endings of MOS and BvS, with Superman using his strength to snap Doomsday's neck, albeit with a single punch, and dies after getting impaled by the monster's spike.

Superman: Doomsday - Lois is dating Superman, but doesn't know his secret identity is Clark Kent until he tells her the truth at the end of the film.

Death of Superman - Lois is dating Clark Kent, but she doesn't know he's Superman until he tells her halfway through the film.

Two very basic differences, but it's because of this I've come to appreciate DOS much more. The story is much better fleshed out between that and Reign of the Supermen, whereas the compact nature of Doomsday feels too fast and skips any screentime with Clark and Martha altogether. Doomsday has good character moments when Martha comforts a grieving Lois, but DOS has much more to be invested in because the Kents become involved in Lois and Clark's relationship. If only DOS had James Marsters's voice as Lex Luthor instead of Rainn Wilson's...