Many fans are already comparing David Corenswet’s Superman to that of Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill, but how does he stack up against Tim Daly, Jerry O’Connell, or Jason Isaacs? If you know their voice-over portrayals of the Man of Steel, then you are probably already a fan of DC animated movies, set in various narrative continuities and sometimes even non-canonical worlds. If not, you’ve missed some of the best superhero films from any major studio.
Filmmakers like Bruce Timm, Sam Liu, and voice director Andrea Romano created a rich body of flms that usually debuted on DVD, but in some cases had limited Fathom Event theatrical screenings or special ComicCon premieres. Naturally, Superman often holds a place of prominence, sometimes as a more-or-less equal member of the Justice League, but let’s solely focus on the animated features that give Superman title billing.
“Superman: The Last Son of Krypton” (1996), directed by Curt Geda, Scott Jeralds & Don Reba. “The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest” (1997), directed by Toshihiko Masuda.
Sticklers might not consider these proper movies, since they were installments of “Superman: The Animated Series” combined into feature-length DVD releases. Both are episodic, because they literally consist of episodes, but they also have the series’ strengths: affection for the characters and zippy pacing, with an explosive cliffhanger coming every 24-minutes or so.
“Last Son” retells Kal-El’s origin story, which is comforting for its familiarity. Christopher McDonald is a highlight, playing against type as the voice of virtuous Jor-El. Plus, the depiction of Brainiac as a duplicitous AI feels even more timely today. In contrast, the team-up with Batman really leans into the Joker’s outrageous humor, which gives it a silly, cartoony vibe. Grade: B (Last Son), C+ (World’s Finest).
Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006), directed by Curt Geda.
If you love The Animated Series, you will probably enjoy this film too. Essentially, it is a feature continuation, but with the villains recast. Powers Boothe comes across almost impishly mischievous as Lex Luthor, while Lance Henrikson sounds oddly crusty for Brainiac. Nevertheless, Tim Daly and Dana Delany help create nice Tracy & Hepburn chemistry for Clark Kent and Lois Lane. As a result, it is a brisk, energetic, but comparatively minor Superman film. Grade: B-
Superman: Doomsday (2007), directed by Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery, Brandon Vietti
Superman’s “death” has been adapted almost as frequently as his origin. The details vary, but one way or another, the Man of Steel always sacrifices himself protecting Metropolis from the monstrous rampaging Doomsday. As is often the case, devious Lex Luthor hopes to capitalize on the chaos. An even better “Death of Superman” comes later, but Superman: Doomsday still captures a good deal of the celebrated story’s elegiac resonance, particularly Lois Lane’s scenes with the grieving Martha Kent. Adam Baldwin and Anne Heche hit the right notes as Superman and Lane, but the standout in the voice cast is Ray Wise, who perfectly expresses Perry White’s curmudgeonly attitude, as well as his decency. Grade: B+
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009), directed by Sam Liu
Lex Luthor is elected President in two animated Superman storylines. He serves with distinction in Superman: Red Son, but that is not the case here. In Public Enemies, he nationalizes superheroes, forcing them to work under his command. Of course, Superman has too much history with Luthor to agree and Batman will always be a contrarian lone wolf.
Notably, Captain Atom (a.k.a. Nathaniel Adam) takes charge of Luthor’s elite superhero squad. Deeply patriotic, Adam is instinctively inclined to follow orders, but he also respects the law. In fact, Captain Atom’s presence adds an element poignancy to Public Enemies for hardcore fans, because in the recent DC miniseries, Justice League: The Atom Project, Adam has struggled regain his regain his sense of purpose, along with his lost powers.
Public Enemies also gives viewers a chance to watch the titular duo fight just about DC’s entire inventory of super-villains when Luthor puts a bounty on their heads. Tim Daly nicely captures Superman’s earnest righteousness, but for many viewers, he is upstaged by Kevin Conroy, as longtime fan-favorite as their preferred gruff voice of Batman and Clancy Brown, who always sounds gleefully villainous as Luthor. Grade: B+.
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010), directed by Lauren Montgomery
This film should have been called “Superman/Batman: Apokolips,” because it is set on the dystopian planet ruled by the evil Darkseid. It directly follows Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which means Luthor still serves as President—poorly. However, Superman and his JLA colleagues have a more powerful villain of galactic-scale to battle.
Apocalypse also explores Kal-El’s mournful nostalgia for the home planet he never knew when his cousin Kara Zor-El finally arrives on Earth. Fans will eventually call her as Supergirl, but for now, she is a teenaged girl having trouble adapting to her new home. Unfortunately, all her angst and powers make her a tempting target for Darkseid. Despite Batman’s name in the title, the focus shifts to Superman and Supergirl, who are both well served by the voices of Tim Daly and Summer Glau. Yet, Andre Braugher rightfully gets top billing for providing Darkseid’s ominous growls and raging tirades. Grade: A-
Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010), directed by Joaquim dos Santos
Originally produced as part of the DC Showcase series of short films, the awkwardly titled team-up has become the title film for a feature-length compilation, partly because of its greater length (25 minutes) and also probably because it stars Superman. Yet, this adventure starts with Kal-El trying to do good in his Clark Kent persona, by interviewing Billy Batson, a scrappy orphan living on the streets, who coincidentally happened to be invested with the magical powers of Captain Marvel by the ancient wizard Shazam.
Unfortunately, Black Adam interrupts their breakfast meeting having sensed Shazam’s magic in Batson. This time around, Jerry O’Connell voices Captain Marvel, with George Newbern returning (from the animated Justice League series) as Superman. However, Arnold Vosloo (from The Mummy) vocally upstages them both, making the role of Black Adam his own to an extent The Rock never matches in the live action movie. Despite the distinctive cast (notably including James Garner, as the wizard Shazam, in his final IMDb credit) and lively pacing, Return of Black Adam still largely plays like a solid episode of one of the DC animated series. Grade: B
All-Star Superman (2011), directed by Sam Liu
For a supposedly invulnerable superhero, Superman has spent considerable time coming to terms with his mortality. In addition to “dying” in two films, he must make his final preparations after suffering irreparable cellular damage in All-Star Superman. Blame Lex Luthor, who lured Superman too close to the sun, much like Icarus. Of course, Kal-El has unfinished business with Luthor and Lane, both of whom expect to survive him. James Denton nicely expresses Superman’s uncharacteristic world-weariness, while Anthony LaPaglia arguably delivers one of the best and most audibly arrogant Luthor voiceovers of any DC animated film. There is a lot stuffed into this film, but it achieves a heroically elegiac tone, as well as several genuine surprises. Grade: A-
But wait, there’s more. Stay tuned for part 2 true believers (or is that another hero’s catch-phrase?). Regardless, there are plenty of cool choices above for fans eagerly awaiting the new movie. Everyone in comic book world hopes for greatness, but there are already a bunch of thoroughly satisfying Superman movies that might be new to you.
All Photo Credits are courtesy of Warner Animation.
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