DC Animated Superhero Retrospective Series - Superman: Unbound (2013)

Written In February 2014

One Word:

And I mean it, this movie is perfect. It is not flawless, but it is PERFECT!

DC, you know that Jay Olivia guy you just had me review? And who I’m gonna review two more times?

Yeah him. Delete his number, block it from your phones, take him off your email contacts, and block him there, unfriend and block him on Facebook, and unfollow and block him on Tumblr and Twitter. Now James Tucker, the man I’m reviewing right now?

Yes him. Give him another job! He’s not only directed the best animated superman you’ve made so far- Wait what?

Smart thinking DC! Smart thinking!

Plot Summary Taken From Wikipedia:

Offering herself as a hostage, Lois Lane is caught in an aerial confrontation between her terrorist captors and the unpredictable Supergirl before Superman arrives to save the day. Soon after, knowing Superman’s civilian identity, Lois attempts to get Clark Kent to make their relationship public despite his fear of the consequences, but their argument is halted by a Daily Planet staff meeting before Kent leaves when they are being alerted to a meteor. Intercepting it, Superman learns the meteor to be a robot and that he promptly defeats before activating its beacon and taking it to the Fortress of Solitude. With help from a fear-filled Supergirl, Superman learns the robot is actually a drone controlled by a being named Brainiac, a cyborg who was originally a Coluan scientist who subjected himself to extensive cybernetic and genetic enhancements. As Supergirl reveals from her experience with the monster, Brainiac seized and miniaturized Krypton’s capital city of Kandor prior to the planet’s destruction with her father and mother attempting to track him down before they mysteriously lost contact with Krypton.

Fearing more drones would come, Superman goes flying all through the galaxy in an attempt to track down Brainiac before finding his drones attacking a planet. Though he attempted to stop them, Superman witnesses Brainiac capture the planet’s capital like he did with Kandor before firing a Solar Aggressor missile to have the planet be consumed by the exploding sun. The explosion knocks Superman unconscious and he is brought upon Brainiac’s ship, coming to in the examination room and fighting his way through the vessel before he discovers a room full of bottled cities prior to being attacked by Brainiac. At this point, confirming that he spared Krypton because of its eventual destruction, Brainiac reveals that he has been collecting information of all the planets he visited before destroying them. Using Superman’s spacecraft, Brainiac decides to chart a course to Earth while sending Superman into Kandor. Inside Kandor, his strength waning due to the artificial red sun, Superman meets his uncle Zor-El and aunt Alura. After spending time with them, Superman formulates a plan and escapes Kandor using the subjugator robots. From there, Superman disables Brainiac’s ship and spirits Kandor to Earth. At that time, Lois learns from Supergirl of why Superman left and alerts the Pentagon for a possible invasion by Brainiac as he eventually repaired his ship and arrives to Metropolis.

Despite everyone, including Supergirl, doing their best to fend his drones off, Metropolis is encased in a bottle and both Superman and Supergirl are captured. Having hooked Superman up to his ship, revealing that Earth offers nothing to him, Brainiac tortures Superman to obtain Kandor before destroying the planet. However, telling his captor what Earth means to him, Superman breaks free and then frees Supergirl and convinces her to stop the Solar-Aggressor from hitting the sun. Remembering Zor-El’s words about Brainiac’s ideals, Superman knocks him out of the ship and they crash into a swamp. As he fights Braniac, Superman forces the cyborg to experience bacteria and micro-organisms among the various chaoses outside his artificial environments he created. Eventually, the combined mental and physical strain reaches its toll on Brainiac as he combusts and is reduced to ash and molten machinery. After restoring Metropolis, taking Kandor to another planet to restore it to its normal size to establish a Kryptonian colony, Superman makes his love life with Lois as Kent public with a marriage proposal. However, placed in the Fortress of Solitude, Brainiac’s remains are still active.

There’s two moments in this movie that reminded me of something else, one where Kara expresses fears and doubts about her and Clark facing Brainiac, and Clark tells her that she has powers and she can fight back this time. This reminded me of a quote from Raliegh at the beginning of Pacific Rim. He’s basically talking about how being instead a jaeger is fucking awesome, saying 

“There are things you can’t fight - acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you get out of the way. But when you’re in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win!”

I really liked this moment for that because it really sends home the fact that Kara’s aggression throughout the film was due to Brainiac coming in and fucking shit up basically. Another moment I dug was during the final fight between Clark and Brainiac when Brainiac was taking every in and didn’t know how to process it. It reminded me of the moment in Man of Steel busts open Zod’s… Helmet I guess? And Zod is just wide eyed taking in the atmospheric differences between earth and krypton and also new found abilities in regard to his senses. He can suddenly see through his own hand and hear all the chaos he and Clark had just caused. Now a lot of folks complain about how Clark spent the better part of his life getting used to his powers while Zod took at most a good 24 hours adapt to them. Well let’s think about that. Clark was an infant when he first arrived on earth and had no idea why he had these powers, where they came from, and knew no one at all that had them as well. Zod was a battle hardened general, a MILITARY leader, guys like him go into places with extremely harsh conditions ALL THE TIME, and on top of that he’s spent several years involved in military action ON OTHER PLANETS, plus he’s aware of how and why this is happening, he knows that this is normal for a Kryptonian on Earth. It’s not going to take extremely long for him. And then there’s Brainiac, he’s part man and part machine, who has not set foot outside his ship for multiple millenniums! There is no way in hell this guy could adapt at all.

But enough about other movies I love, let’s talk about why I loved this particular movie.

PROS:

• Matt Bomer as Superman/Clark Kent.
  
  
  
  He’s okay I guess. (also I would’ve added something for non-binary folks, but I couldn’t find a GIF for you guys, sorry!)
• I don’t watch a lot of Castle, but I LOVED Stana Katic as Lois Lane! Actually, I just plain loved this Lois Lane! Look at this GIF
  
  She and the rest of Metropolis have been miniaturized in that scene and she’s flipping of fucking BRAINIAC! I repeat, she’s flipping off BRAINIAC!!!!!!
• Molly Quinn, who plays Richard Castle’s daughter alongside Stana, who plays his on again off again lady friend, does a terrific job as Supergirl!
• John Noble as Brainiac. 
  So much better than what’s his face from Brainiac Attacks.
• Diedrich Bader plays a great misogynistic asshat in this movie as Steve Lombard, the guy who always picks on Clark and flirts with Lois to ill effect.
• Wade Williams as Perry White…  I love this guy!
• The Lois and Clark dynamic and the Supergirl and Superman dynamic are spot on in this movie, I think this might just be the best I’ve seen them in animation, not even barring TAS! It’s that good!
• This movie was based on a comic by Geoff Johns, that makes me want to read some of Geoff’s other work!
• Another one of my favorite scenes in this movie, is when Clark is on Kandor, and he gets to sit down and have a meal with his aunt and uncle from Krypton. And he expresses delight and amazement at the fact that he’s actually getting to sit down, talk to, and enjoy ACTUAL Kryptonian food with his ACTUAL Kryptonian family! That is fucking fantastic!
• I haven’t watched the show in a while, but I used to be a big fan of White Collar, so I kinda know what Matt Bomer sounds like. Here though, I can’t tell it’s him. All I hear is SUPERMAN! Which makes me kinda sad, he was at one point considered for MOS and Superman Returns, along with some other Superman films that never quite got off the ground. I liked Brandon Routh, and I love Henry Cavill, but I really would’ve like to see this guy play Superman! Shame we likely won’t then.
• On the brighter side, I love that Clark and Lois have ACTUAL couple problems that would ACTUALLY come from being a superhero with a secret identiy and having a significant other who is essentially, a normal being. Might be a tad insulting for a woman like Lois, to call her “normal” but you get my point.
• Clark asks Lois to marry him and she says yes. Everybody go home, we’ve got the perfect animated Superman movie, arguably the best one Superman movie period.

CONS:

• The only real con I can think of, but there’s a scene where Superman is on Brainiac’s ship, and after temporarily incapacitating him he take’s Kandor and hits the road. I get why he’d take Kandor specifically, but why didn’t he try to save some of the other cities? 

All in, this movie was a pure delight, and I enjoyed almost every second of it. I’m going to Superman: Unbound a 9 out of 10! Yep, it’s that good!

DC Animated Superhero Retrospective Series - Superman: Braniac Attacks (2006)

Written In January 2014

 

So we’re back to Mystery of the Batwoman territory here, are we? We’re not gonna have another mature movie this time? Well, I guess I’ll have to wait for the next movie. Okay, time for the plot summary.

Plot Summary Taken From Wikipedia:

Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are sent to one of Lex Luthor’s laboratories after Brainiac arrives on Earth on a meteor, successfully dodging the attempts made by Luthor’s satellite to destroy any potential damage to the Earth (in an attempt to boost his popularity against Superman as the true hero of the people). Superman shortly arrives and finds Brainiac downloading data from the computers with information relating the various forms of weaponry from LexCorp, including the laser-equipped meteor shield that had attempted to destroy Brainiac earlier. Using his ice-breath, Superman is able to seemingly destroy Brainiac, after Superman and Brainiac had engaged in battle.

Witnessing the incident, and how his satellite could be used as an effective weapon against Superman, Luthor gathers a piece of Brainiac’s remains and takes it to LexCorp where Brainiac is revived. There, Luthor proposes that Brainiac, with the technology of LexCorp as well as Kryptonite, defeat Superman, and then Luthor step in to chase Brainiac away from the Earth, in front of the world to make him appear as Earth’s true hero, where he will then be free to conquer other planets. Brainiac accepts the agreement, and proceeds to rebuilding and improving himself.

Meanwhile, Clark Kent contemplates the idea of revealing his secret identity to Lois. The opportunity presents itself when editor, Perry White, due to staff shortages, send both Kent and Lane to review a restaurant in Metropolis. However, it is during this time that Brainiac returns. Among his improvements is the ability to track down Superman based on his DNA. After another fight between Superman and Brainiac, Superman has been significantly injured, and infected, by Brainiac’s power rays and Lois is injured in the process where it is revealed that her blood has been infected with a metallic-based poison, that if not treated would prove fatal.

Feeling guilty, Superman obtains a sample of Lois’ blood from the hospital and returns to the ‘Fortress of Solitude’ where he analyzes Lois’ blood using his Kryptonian technology. It is then when Superman discovers that the only cure for Lois’ condition is to obtain a chemical substance from the 'Phantom Zone’. However, Brainiac is able to locate Superman in his Antarctic retreat, and attempts to downloaded the information of Krypton from Superman’s computer. Superman then initiates a self-destruct sequence. Brainiac, not being able to locate Superman, presumes that he has been killed in the explosion. Superman had in fact gone into the Phantom Zone in order to find the chemical that would not only cure Lois and heal himself, but provide him with increased strength against Brainiac.

Brainiac returns to Metropolis where Luthor awaits in order to fulfill their agreement. Brainiac however, intends to kill Luthor in order to conquer Earth, and had even removed the self-destruct component that Luthor had planted should Brainiac double cross him. Returning to Metropolis, Superman and Brainiac fight. Superman seemingly defeats Brainiac and then returns to the hospital in order to cure the ailing Lois. However, Brainiac is able to destroy the chemical that would cure Lois, before Superman finally destroys Brainiac.

With the cure now destroyed, Lois faces certain death due to her illness. Superman, regretting never telling Lois his true feelings then embraces her. It is then that his tears, containing the chemical that had healed him earlier, makes contact with Lois, curing her. Later back in the arctic, Superman recovers a piece of his destroyed Kryptonian technology where he aims to rebuild his fortress. He then vows to quit his job at the Daily Planet in an attempt to prevent future harm to his loved ones, should any of his enemies discover his secret identity.

The film ends with Luthor facing criminal prosecution after the discovery of LexCorp’s involvement with Brainiac attack, and Lois Lane racing to cover the appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk in Metroplois. Seeing Lois’ eagerness to put herself in harms way in order to cover a story, Superman goes back on his earlier decision to quit the Daily Planet so that he can be with Lois, as well as Metropolis’ protector against the most powerful threats from the universe.

First things first, this… Is a kiddie movie! While most of these movies have been rated PG, this is the first time we’re I truly felt this movie was not meant for someone my age. But regardless, let’s get to something to the stuff I liked and disliked.

PROS:

• Nice animation
• Dana Delany is Lois Lane, and she’s fantastic as usual!
• Good action
• Tim Daly 
• There’s a moment here where Jimmy Olsen and Perry White are talking at the Planet while Lois is in the hospital, Perry’s trying to get Jimmy to report on the Luthor dinner for him, and for a moment he seems distraught about Lois and what might happen to her and sounds like he might start crying. And Jimmy quickly tries to console him, and accepts his offer saying, “I’ll report anything you want me to, just not Miss Lane’s obid! Because she’s gonna be fine, ya hear me?” For one ever so brief and yet brilliantly shining moment, we see some maturity in this film. And I genuinely appreciated that.
• It’s not handled seriously, but when Superman goes to the fortress and Brainiac is about to absorb all it’s knowledge, Superman sets it to blow. Brainiac inquires why in horror, noting that all of Krypton’s knowledge will be lost. Superman replies, “Better lost, than abused!” This shows something that we don’t get to see that much. Superman genuinely treasures his alien heritage, and doesn’t want to see the knowledge of his people fall into the wrong hands. He’d rather the only piece of his planet that he has left, other than the very suit he wears, be destroyed than be used by someone like Brainiac.
• While Superman is searching for a way to save Lois, he says that nothing else matters but saving her. I hated this. BUT, later in the film, when returning from the Phantom Zone with the means to save her, the first thing he addresses is the ongoing destruction of Metropolis caused by Brainiac. This shows that as much as he may talk about the fact that he values loved ones over other innocent lives, Superman will still protect the people of Metropolis (and subsequently the Earth) before ever going to attend to the people he cares about most.
• There’s a scene where Superman seemingly defeats Brainiac during the final fight in Metropolis, but then it turns out he’s still alive. Superman then defeats Brainiac again, and makes sure to smash his hard drive. Because if Pacific Rim taught us anything, always check for a pulse!
• The ending scene where Lois takes off her hospital gown revealing she was wearing her reporter attire underneath it, and then running off to the scene of a crime being committed by Mr.Myxplyx, is so freaking Lois!
• There’s a scene where Clark decides to tell Lois he’s Superman, he doesn’t do so explicitly, but ala Christopher Reeve in Superman 2. He just changes HIS FREAKING POSTURE! And immediately Lois freaks out because she’s thinking “Oh! My! GOD! Is my coworker secretly the man I’ve openly fantasized about since God knows when!??!” This however, brings me to the cons…

CONS:

• Tim Daly is good in this movie, but he’s really let down by the direction.
• Powers Boothe’s Lex could’ve been great, but he was written to be so cartoony, not unlike Gene Hackman in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies.
• Brainiac is very poorly used.
• Clark chooses not to tell Lois he’s Superman because he claims he’s fearful of her safety, but honestly, I don’t buy. I think that after his hallucination in the Phantom Zone, he’s afraid Lois will try to pry him away from being a hero. Clark, it’s freaking Lois Lane! She’s not that damn shallow!
• Here’s what I don’t get with this movie; they kept the style from Superman: The Animated Series but they changed some of the cast… Why? Those voices were and are the only ones that come from those designs! You can argue for George Newbern as Superman in Justice League, but his voice for Superman (and his voice period really) is pretty close to Tim Daly’s. It just doesn’t make any real sense to change the cast if your going to keep the designs, and I really doubt Corey Burton and Clancy Brown (Brainiac and Lex in the DCAU respectively) weren’t too busy to be called, since they voice act for a living!
• This one I really hated, Superman visits Lois in the hospital after finally defeating Brainiac, and it turns out Lois has died, Superman revives her through a plot device I have always HATED. Tear Magic! Why do I hate it? Skip to about 10:00 of this link here.
  
  

So as you can tell by this point, other than a few points here and there, I really did not enjoy watching this movie. It’s not awful, and if you’re a parent, an older sibling, an elementary school teacher, or an older cousin, I really recommend putting this on for getting those little ones to shut up for about an hour and a half. But other than that, if you’re over 7 years old or just a die hard Superman fan, I’d say skip it. I might revisit this and write up a comparison to Superman: Unbound after I review that one, but for now, I’m avoiding this like the plague. It’s too kiddie!

And yes, all of these movies, with the possible exception of Return of the Joker and Vs. Dracula, were made for kids. But even then, you could definitely kick back and enjoy them if you were older than say, 8 to 14 years old. It’s like with most Pixar movies, kids are the target audience, but there’s a reason you keep coming back even after you’ve grown out of that audience. Because there’s clever and heartfelt, and never treated you as kids, like morons. And even then, the older you got, the better the movies got because you started noticing little details that you didn’t notice when you were younger. I’m not comparing, say, Mask of the Phantasm, to something like Monster’s Inc., but it’s that kind of effect. They were mature films intended for a younger audience. This movie, it’s not mature. It’s for little kids. It’s something like the Backyardigans on Nick Junior, you’re not going to enjoy it, because it’s not meant for you.

But with that being said, I did like some parts of it, so I won’t give it a Rotten. I’ll be giving it an even 6 out of 10.