DC Universe Animated Movie Review of SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY


If there one thing defines the SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY animated movie, it’s the phrase “low budget.” The whole thing just looks awful. Superman is drawn with these lines on his cheeks that make him look super old. The backgrounds in most of the shots simply aren’t moving. Doomsday is just as ugly as he was in BvS. It’s all very… cheap looking.

I’m not sure what the animators and director were thinking when they came up with the interpretations they did for Superman’s main characters, but it’s different for sure. But different isn’t always better. Lex Luthor has a stretched out face that makes him look like his face was made out of taffy. Toyman’s brief appearances are soured by them replacing him with some basement dwelling goth that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. 

At first you might think that SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY is more about how the world reacts to the death of Superman and how the man of steel himself was beaten. But they don’t really waste time on either of those things. There’s a really good fight between the two, probably the only good part of the whole movie, but it isn’t more than five minutes before “Superman” returns to Metropolis. 

Instead of taking any of the storylines from the original comic, the animated movie veers off in a completely weird direction. Suddenly we’re dealing with Lex Luthor cloning Superman and having him do his bidding. But then why is he yelling at his clone, screaming things like “who’s your daddy” and “come to papa?” If this were the original Superman, his worries about getting to beat Superman himself might have made sense. But the whole thing comes off as strange and completely out of character. 

The whole theme of the movie is to establish why Superman exists and does what he does. He protects the people. But it’s his morality that keeps him in check. Unlike the clone of Superman that decides what’s best for Metropolis is killing its criminals and threatening old ladies. There might have been an interesting story to tell here, but the whole thing is bogged down by horrid voice acting. Everyone sounds bored in their roles. 

Besides the fight scene in the beginning of the movie, the only other fun thing to note about this movie is that Superman does don the black costume and sports the mullet in the end. That was nice to see at least. But overall the movie does little to no justice to the original story. It’s an entirely passable entry in the DC animated universe.


Written by Peter Freeman, TV & Animation Writer -- Click here to read Peter's posts


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