Why the New Death of Superman Movie Doesn't Work

I promise, it's not because Lois isn't a redhead.
I know, I know, it's still a week until Superhero Month kicks off and here I am bitching about a superhero movie already. Hell, I'm griping about one that hasn't even been released yet, which is something I try desperately not to do. But, let me remind you that I wrote a certain list in which I talked about this very story getting a good adaptation. When I saw that they were doing a new film, I was ecstatic, because I personally always considered this story to be one of the most iconic examples of why Superman matters. Then more came out about the film and my heart sunk through the floor, where it's now inhabiting the subterranean world of Ugthalkugah. This film will not be accurate to the classic tale and that's so damn disappointing and simply does not work. And now I'm here to talk in detail about why.

Now's your chance to bail out and go read the old comics instead of my nonsense.
Alright, so let's take a little journey back, shall we? To the early 90s, a period when the heavy hitter for the Justice League was Superman and the rest of the team was made up of capable individuals who were not really on the level of the people we generally all think of when we hear "Justice League". There was no Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, or even Captain Marvel on the team. Cyborg had never even been a League member yet. The team was made up of Superman, Ice, Fire, Bloodwynd, Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold. They were, again, very capable and weren't a bad line-up at all. But they weren't all in Superman's strength class, like Aquaman or Wonder Woman is. Which leads to the first glaring issue with this new film: they're using the New 52 animated Justice League.

You know, these guys from that movie that movie I loathed.
As much as I hate Justice League: War, my complaint here is no regarding that film. No, it's regarding plausibility, because that team is made up completely of heavy fucking hitters. The people on that team took down Darkseid, one of the literal most powerful beings in the entire DC Universe. And this team, this menagerie of talents, is going to be in The Death of Superman. I'm sorry, but no. I am not buying that in a story with Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, three people who are easily Superman' equal strength-wise, that he's going to be getting beaten to death by Doomsday. It doesn't bloody work. And you know what? They knew that back then because none of those characters where ever involved in the Death of Superman story. They were not available to help him, which is a big reason why he died. He was the only one who could truly stand up to the power of Doomsday.

It's hard for him to die if he's got people who can easily bail his ass out.
See, the reason it worked with the League in the story back then was because they were grossly overpowered by this new menace. Doomsday tore through the team like a hot knife through the flimsiest cheap tissue paper you can find at the dollar store. It was horrible. The first time I read it, I was in shock. This was the League I grew up on, they were my Justice League and I loved them, and they all looked dead as hell. Blue Beetle was left in a coma, Booster Gold barely survived with broken arm due to his suit, Guy Gardner was blinded, it was insane. Even Maxima, the only other league member who was in Superman's strength class at the time, was beaten easily. Thus you see the issue here, yes? How are we, the audience, supposed to believe that Superman is the only one who is capable of standing up to this threat...when he quite literally isn't?

Boy howdy, I sure am scared of Superman dying while surrounded by all of his friends that can single-handedly destroy entire cities by sneezing.
Now, I get it. They've started their New 52 Animated Universe thing and they want to make iconic stories with those versions. Great. I mean, I hate those designs because of how busy they are, but whatever, more power to them. Tell those New 52 stories that you're proud of. But don't go backwards and try to shoehorn those characters into a story that was built around certain characters for it to even fucking work. If they can do an animated Batman: Year One that doesn't drastically alter the story, if they can do a Son of Batman that doesn't drastically alter the story, if they can make All Star Superman and manage to keep the tone and story cues from that, then they can give us a damn film about Superman believably dying because he didn't have the A-listers available to save his Kryptonian heiney. And do you know why I am certain that they should know this won't work? Because they did it before!

And the first time managed to make Superman look like Charlton Heston with black hair.
Twice they've done this exact story and both times they were smart enough not to allow Superman tons of big tough buddies capable of backing him up. Superman: Doomsday didn't have a League in it at all, which could've worked if they'd focused more on the human drama that inspired Superman to give his all, but they didn't because they jammed The Return of Superman into there too is a really awful way, so it ultimately felt forgettable. The second time was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, because calling the movie what it actually was would've made Batman's Frank Miller hate-boner make no sense, sense Batman wasn't even in the original story anyway.

He was busy dealing cult assassins and a luchador crime boss who was going to break him in half. No, really.
I'm not saying that the film would have to include that exact League, but it would definitely have to include members that would not believably be able to stand toe-to-toe with Doomsday. Also, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that seeing Wonder Woman, as portrayed in these films, cradling the dying Superman instead of Lois Lane is not going to hold the weight to make anyone tear up. That scene was emotional in the original book because Superman died in the middle of his city, surrounded by his friends and co-workers, being cradled by the woman who loved him, after he gave every single ounce of strength he had to save everyone. Doomsday was the biggest strongest enemy he'd faced up to that point and he had to face him without help, which led to his death. The new animated film won't work because he won't be alone and that's what disappoints me. It lowers the stakes and makes it feel hollow. I already sat through one very hollow animated Justice League film, I have zero interest in sitting through another one.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I kinda want to reread this story for the umpteenth time.

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