ANI-MOVIES, *The Death Of Superman

Originally done as an abridged version of the entire comic book saga in DC Universe's first production, Superman: Doomsday, this film acts as the half of a retelling of the 90's storyline, but set in the current DC Animated Universe taking place after Justice League: War. Sam Liu directed this continuation of DCAU timeline, making this the first one to actually centralize on Superman, instead of having him just be a member of the League.

It opens with Superman stopping crooks using retooled weapons from Apocalypse after Darkseid's invasion, and then takes Lois Lane to STAR Labs where they're inspecting the starship that brought him to Earth as a child. Lois is seen later on as now dating Clark Kent but totally clueless to his alter-ego, with a brief exchange between Supes and Wonder Woman stating that they stopped dating a while ago. Lex Luthor meanwhile is under "mansion arrest" when his Legion of Doom fiasco failed. A meteor is boom-tubed at Earth, destroying a space satellite, and lands in the ocean. A large hulking lifeform emerges from it, killing a few Atlanteans along the way, and begins a trail of destruction. The Justice League sends some of their active members to deal with the monster, but flattens Green Lantern, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Flash, Aquaman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, which is a stark contrast to their power level considering they managed to defeat Darkseid and his Parademon army before they even came together as a group(even though there's no mention of Shazam or Justice League Dark during this whole picture!). Superman finally shows up, another oddity in the movie's logic considering the attack is just happening on the other side of Metropolis, and battles this marauder that Lois dubs "Doomsday". The battle lasts for a good while, and makes for an epic clash of titans, but ultimately results in the death of both fighters. The world mourns the death of Superman with a funeral MCed by Luthor who tried to kill Doomsday during the battle, but was saved by Superman in the end. This leads into the closing credits showing Superman's crypt being opened up, and a shadowy caped figure flying off into the night, along with quick scenes of three other individuals each bearing the "S" shield.

The Death Of Superman was a definitive improvement over the original animated attempt, and successfully managed to utilize the majority of the Post-Flashpoint continuity. It makes for a better story experience seeing the brand members of the JLA fighting Doomsday instead of the cannon-fodder heroes they used in the 90s comic. The final bout between Superman and Doomsday is also epic, especially since this version of DD doesn't have a weakness to Kryptonite, making him even tougher for Supes to take down on his own. The movie also follows the continuity of the previous DCAU movies pretty well, although no explanation as to why Shazam wasn't available, specifically since he's on the same power level as Superman. There's also some decent character development in Superman's personal life concerning his secret identity and his blooming romance with Lois, and here than was done in the entire Lois and Clark TV show. This is the first part of a story that will conclude with Reign Of The Superman, even though the movie acts as a good enough installment on its own.