The Death of Superman - DCAU showing DCEU how it's done

It's baffling how the very same production studio can screw up the cinematic universe of a comic book franchise while doing a top notch job setting up its animated universe. That's how it is for the DC comics adaptations by Warner Bros. at the moment. Granted, these animated movies have always been in their repertoire, but when you see just how much they are struggling to find strong ground under their feet with the DCEU, one tends to wonder why Warner Bros. don't just take a page out of their own book. The new installment of the animated franchise raises that question one more time.

Dan Jurgens' "The Death of Superman" is one of DC's most popular and critically acclaimed comic issues that hardcore fans have always held close to our hearts. And there was always this fleeting sensation that whether or not they will get this story right. Since Christopher Reeves' outing of the cheesy, American-way Superman, Warner Bros. haven't exactly been able to leave a long lasting impression with reboots over the years.

With so much at stake, this movie passes with flying colours. At 120 minutes of runtime, Peter Tomasi's take on the classic story delivers a powerful adaptation that is full of emotions and lots of super heroism courtesy of a Superman that we all know and love. He takes out bad guys in the blink of an eye, helps out those in danger effortlessly and takes pictures with his fans after a job well done, all the while having a smile on his face. He cracks jokes that come off as corny and cheesy but you won't find one single comic geek complaining about it. The reason for this is that this version of the red caped superhero works well with the story that they are trying to tell. People see him as a hero, not an alien with super powers, and don't treat him as an outcast like Zack Snyder showed. This story wastes little time in letting the audience know how much Superman means to the people of Metropolis and the world. This is why when their favourite icon takes a merciless beating at the hands of a mindless alien, named Doomsday, it hits you hard. And that is where the story accomplishes something. It makes you deeply care about the character, something which Henry Cavill's version has struggled to do over the span of three feature films.

The animation is amazing and the action sequences are crisp and every hit feels solid. Justice League does make their presence known but are kept to playing a minimal role. Their inclusion in the story helps build up to the final act where Superman and Doomsday engage in a slugfest.  Lois Lane is every bit the formidable and sassy journalist as we know her from the pages of the comic books.

In the end, this is easily one of the best animated movies of all time and a Superman movie that everyone deserves. It's part one of the entire story and Lex Luthor is definitely going to play a much bigger role in the coming ones than he did in this. Keep out an eye for the Easter eggs and cameo appearances.

MD. Zamilur Rahman is a self-proclaimed ambivert, foodie and comic geek. So if you have enough money to treat him with kacchi, he will be interested to hang out with you. Connect with him at your own risk at shuvosanctum@gmail.com