Superman: Doomsday

There is an odd relationship between DC's animated division and the comic book source material; time and again, the animated versions are frankly more interesting.

To me anyway.

In my mind when Batman speaks I still hear Kevin Conroy, Superman has never been more interesting than in Justice League Unlimited (outside of Christopher Reeve that is) and Michael Rosenbaum's best performance of a DC charcter certainly isn't as Lex Luthor, it is as The Flash.

On the other hand I'm much more likely to enjoy a Marvel comic, yet their animated efforts so far have had the style and grace of a severe genital rash.

So when DC announced a range of direct-to-DVD films based very closely on the source material I was intrigued, when it was anounced the esteemed Mr. Timm would be producing I was sold.

The first title to be released from the new crop of ventures is Superman:Doomsday.

The original source material has some good character moments but is mainly a slugfest followed by navel gazing followed by a ridiculously contrived build up to a silly return.

So as I sat down to watch the DVD I had mixed expectations.

I don't want to get too spoilery so I won't go into miniscule detail, though the main plot is pretty obvious if you've gone as far as reading the title. If you haven't read the comics and don't want to know anything at all then I'll just say that the film is a success and an example of how arse-kicking a fight with two super humans can be.

Superman is voiced by Adam Baldwin who does an admirable job as the big boy scout though there isn't much difference in tone when he plays Clark Kent, but as we don't really see much of Clark in this film it isn't a jarring problem.

This Superman is strong, confident and heroic but also smarter than he is often presented, bearing a resemblance to the brilliant Grant Morrison representation, Kal-El spends his off-time trying to cure cancer in between making small suns and chatting with his robot companion in the Fortress of Solitude.

He also spends time giving Lois Lane some super-lovin' as they have been intimate for a few months although astoundingly he has not divulged his "secret" identity, something Lois calls him on with much chagrin.

Perhaps the least natural voice in the film, Anne Heche plays Lois (who the film centers around) and her portrayal seems to be slightly influenced by Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance in Hudsucker Proxy, which can be distracting, but she earns forgiveness as she pulls off some key emotional moments, particularly on the porch of the Kent farmhouse.

As is obvious, I am a Whedonite and a complete fanboy when it comes to many of the cast members of Buffy, Angel and Firefly (see Adam Baldwin in Superman and Chuck for evidence) and so Lex Luthor being voiced by the formerly peroxide blonde James Marsters is a real treat.

Lex is fantastic in this film, he is the super-genius that Alan Moore envisioned (he comes up with a cure for muscular dystrophy while staring out of a window...then sends it off to be turned into a more profitable long term treatment) and he is also completely self-absorbed and ruthless. His obsession with Superman as presented here is not just a simple jealousy of power but almost a twisted, poisoned love of what the Kryptonian represents, and an intense need to destroy it.

Marsters knows how to switch from menacing to glib as well as anyone and the arrogance that is always Lex's weakness is intertwined with a powerfully dangerous Machiavellian nature effortlessly.

Although the film is mainly shot from Lois' perspective, a hefty proportion of its success depends on how menacing Doomsday is, which is a difficult proposition as he is in essence a bony-hided Hulk with less dialogue.

Fortunately, someone at Warner Brothers offered fellatio to the censors and got this film a PG-13 while allowing the violence to be eye-opening. In many cartoons, when a tank is blown up, the driver and gunner will jump out the moment before and run to safety. The jet that is shot down explodes while the pilot's parachute safely opens for all to see and no death occurs.

Superman: Doomsday is a different animal. Not only are there no parachutes but the jets crash into buildings and populated streets, Doomsday picks up one soldier who screams in terror, then we cut away as we hear a loud crack as the behemoth breaks another victim in half.

Doomsday not only threatens, he murders and he does it brutally.

When the titular characters face off it is explosive. Only a couple of fights in the JLU animated series have equalled such raw majesty and force as streets are levelled, windows shattered and buildings flattened by Superman and Doomsday's confrontation (a note to Bryan Singer, for the next Superman film please have Supes beat the piss out of somebody rather than get bludgeoned by street thug number 4, and let's have Superman do something that involves being awe-inspiring other than being the world's greatest fork-lift). The difference in this film is people die, the stakes are raised and when one of them falls it is a memorable moment, you can believe one has given his all to beat the other.

There are a lot of smart choices in the aftermath (including an iconic image involving the red cape that is effecting, but not lingered on) and having the marvellous Ray Wise (to be seen in Reaper reviewed here by Canyon) as Perry White full of bluster and concern for Lois as he reminds her "He ain't around to pull your ass out of the fire anymore" gives a true sense of a world in shock, scrambling to come to terms with a new age.

There is a nod to the relationship between Superman and Wild Wild West in a fun cameo

to interject some respite from the tragedy just as things get darker for the supporting cast.

I won't go into the rest of the plot as it deviates from the original comics' convoluted progression and though the final denouement is too convenient I found it was still satisfying.

Along with a slightly weak ending in comparison to the rest of the film the only decision made through the film that bothered me was the character design. Lex perhaps a little too thin making him seem alien in appearance.

Also I think there was concern that the style was too close to that of Superman: The Animated Series so cheekbones were added that frankly look silly at times and make some characters look ugly, particularly Superman.

Superman: Doomsday is an entertaining film that certainly gives hope for the other animated films being worked on, in the extras is a preview of the movie based on Darwyn Cooke's seminal The New Frontier, with a 50's Superman voiced by Kyle MacLachlan, Wonder Woman played by Lucy Lawless and in even further geekery, David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan.

In the animated films being released by the two big comics companies, DC's polish and use of their characters makes Marvel look positively anaemic.