Line #11 WesternAnimation/TheDeathOfSuperman


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death_of_superman_bluray.jpg]]
2
3	A 2018 movie in the WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies line and part of the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse, ''The Death of Superman'' is an AnimatedAdaptation of the [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman comic arc of the same name]] based on the ComicBook/New52 continuity of DC Comics. It is part of a MovieMultipack with 2019's ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen''.
4
5	Having had an OffscreenBreakup with Franchise/WonderWoman since the events of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTeenTitans'', Clark Kent, a.k.a. Franchise/{{Superman}}, is dating his co-worker at the ''Daily Planet'', ComicBook/LoisLane, but is concerned with what letting her in his world might do to her. At the same time, a mindless monster from another world arrives on Earth and starts rampaging through the United States, requiring the Justice League to intervene--and Superman to possibly make the ultimate sacrifice to stop him.
6
7	As it is set in the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse, it features many of the same voice actors returning, including Creator/JerryOConnell as Franchise/{{Superman}}, Creator/JasonOMara as Franchise/{{Batman}}, Creator/RosarioDawson as Franchise/WonderWoman, Creator/MattLanter as ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}, Creator/ChristopherGorham as Franchise/TheFlash, Creator/NathanFillion as Franchise/GreenLantern, and Creator/ShemarMoore as ComicBook/{{Cyborg}}. Among the newcomers are O'Connell's real-life wife Creator/RebeccaRomijn (''Film/XMenFilmSeries'') as ComicBook/LoisLane, replacing Creator/JulietLandau; Creator/RainnWilson (''Series/TheOfficeUS'') as ComicBook/LexLuthor, replacing Creator/SteveBlum; Creator/NyambiNyambi (''Series/MikeAndMolly'') as the ComicBook/MartianManhunter; Creator/PatrickFabian (''Series/BetterCallSaul'') as Hank Henshaw; Creator/CressWilliams (''Series/BlackLightning'') as [[ComicBook/{{Steel}} John Henry Irons]]; and Creator/PaulEiding and Creator/JenniferHale reprising their respective roles from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanVsTheElite'' and ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' as Jonathan and Martha Kent.
8
9	You can see the first trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OUhbw-XsTg here]].
10
11	This film and its sequel were rereleased on October 1, 2019 in a [[ReCut Extended Cut]] CompilationMovie, ''The Death and Return of Superman''. A tie-in digital comic was released which was eventually published as ''The Death of Superman: The Wake'', which has three different plots across twelve issues: the first four issues show Superman in his last few hours before his death, the next four show Jimmy Olsen investigating Intergang during the film, and the last four focus on the Justice League telling stories about Superman as they explore the damage done to the Hall of Justice during Superman's fight with Doomsday.
12	----
13	!!Tropes
14	[[foldercontrol]]
15
16	[[folder:Film Tropes]]
17	* AdaptiveAbility: Downplayed, but Doomsday visibly mutates and gains increased abilities at several points in the film. The most prominent examples are his sporadic use of EyeBeams and, at the battle's climax, when he sprouts [[WolverineClaws a jutting blade-like growth of sharpened bone on the back of each wrist]].
18	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Bibbo Bibbowski, in contrast to his comic appearance or his look in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', borders on being a hunk in this film.
19	* AdaptationDistillation: While TruerToTheText than ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'', the movie still simplifies a lot of things in order to streamline the story.
20	** The ComicBook/MartianManhunter is his usual self rather than the amnesiac [[XtremeKoolLetterz Bloodwynd]].
21	** In the comic, [[Characters/SupermanRoguesGalleryMToZ Maxima]] was in the iteration of the Justice League that took on Doomsday. Here, Wonder Woman fills her role as the LargeHam ProudWarriorRaceGuy BloodKnight, with several of Diana's lines being evocative of Maxima's lines when confronting Doomsday.
22	** The Matrix ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is nowhere to be seen. ([[AdaptedOut same with Supergirl herself]])
23	** ComicBook/LexLuthor is also his usual self rather than pretending to be his own red-headed Australian son. (See MythologyGag though)
24	** A good chunk of ''Funeral For A Friend'' was about how various people wanted to steal Superman's body for different reasons (including Luthor, so he could clone him and create Superboy) with it eventually ending up in the hands of the Eradicator. [[spoiler:The movie skips pretty much all of this in favor of showing that Luthor was already working on Superboy, and the Eradicator steals Superman's body immediately.]]
25	** The Underworlders, who served as a StarterVillain for Superman at the beginning of the original story, are replaced with the better-known Intergang.
26	* ArmorPiercingResponse: Superman promises to be back for Luthor the moment the League finds proof he gave Intergang their tech. Luthor mockingly asks if Superman knows something he doesn't.
27	-->'''Superman:''' Only that this city's never going to love you...just for hating ''me.''\
28	''[He flies off, leaving Luthor absolutely seething]''
29	* AscendedExtra: Many of the characters that are appearing in this movie weren't in the original story, only really showing up for the follow up ''Funeral for a Friend''. This one effectively brings in the Big Seven and a handful of others to battle Doomsday.
30	* BigNo: Lex screams this when Superman saved him from his failed attempt to destroy Doomsday himself.
31	* BloodIsSquickerInWater: Doomsday attacking the Atlanteans results in copious amounts of this trope.
32	* BrickJoke: Back in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTeenTitans'', Flash suggested boarding school for Damian. This film, Batman mentions he has a meeting with the headmaster of Damian's boarding school.
33	* TheBusCameBack: This marks Hal Jordan's return to the WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse after being absent from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTeenTitans'', and John Stewart filling the Green Lantern role in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark''.
34	* CallBack: When Superman meets John Henry Irons, he asks if they had met, with Irons replying "at a construction site". Superman had saved him way back in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueThroneOfAtlantis''
35	* TheCameo:
36	** [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane]] is one of the attendees at the memorial service at the end.
37	** [[GratuitousAnimalSidekick Titus]] is with Bruce and Damian in Wayne Manor.
38	** Cheetah and Metallo appear in a fight simulation.
39	** The extended version does see the Teen Titans (sans Wonder Girl) watching Superman's funeral in Titans Tower.
40	* CatchingTheSpeedster:
41	** After ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} gets taken out by Doomsday, ComicBook/TheFlash takes up his mace and begins whacking away at Doomsday with it, moving too fast for Doomsday to retaliate. Eventually, Doomsday stops attacking and merely defends, as his eyes watch Barry's movements. Finally, the beast predicts where Barry will go next and Barry runs headfirst into a well-time punch, resulting in a OneHitKO.
42	** As Franchise/{{Superman}} faces Doomsday alone, he attempts to fight the creature in the air, using his [[FlyingBrick speed and flight]] to knock Doomsday around and carry him out of Metropolis. However, as he goes in for a hit, Doomsday [[SuperReflexes reacts quickly enough]] to clothesline Superman, catches his cape, and starts headbutting Superman repeatedly as the two fall back into the city.
43	* TheCavalryArrivesLate: The members of the Justice League are defeated one by one when they try to take down Doomsday. By the time they recover and show up in Metropolis to assist Superman, they find out both he and the monster have already died.
44	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Shazam, John Stewart, and Justice League Dark are nowhere to be seen. The Teen Titans are at least name-dropped, though the extended CompilationMovie version does include a glimpse of Raven, Starfire, Nightwing, Blue Beetle, and Beast Boy watching Superman's funeral, though this does also leave out ComicBook/WonderGirl.
45	* ClarkKenting: Notable by its absence. Clark isn't drawn different from Superman, and Jerry O'Connell doesn't change his voice. Clark even wears tight, short-sleeved shirts that show off his super muscles. Then he finally decides to tell Lois he's Superman... and she laughs. He looks around to make sure no one's watching, takes off his glasses... and it ''still'' takes Lois several seconds to grasp the truth. In the next film, she notes she's rubbish when it comes to secret identities.
46	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The Flash announces his wedding to Iris at a JLA meeting.
47	-->'''Superman''': Does Iris know?\
48	'''Flash''': She'd better, she picked the date.
49	* CompositeCharacter: Doomsday acts like his comic self, is designed slightly more like his DCAU counterpart and has the heat vision that his ''Batman v Superman'' counterpart has.
50	* ContrivedCoincidence: Hank Henshaw's space crew and the Excalibur satellite just happened to be on the flight path of meteorite that was carrying Doomsday in the vastness of space when it could have dropped anywhere else. If that isn't unlucky, I don't know what is.
51	* CurbStompBattle: Even with this team being the big legendary version, Doomsday still tears them apart, though not as bad as the original team to face Doomsday.
52	* DeathByAdaptation: In a Type 2 example, Hank Henshaw's space crew originally died after getting back to Earth, with two of them dying from horrific mutations while his wife was DrivenToSuicide out of despair despite being saved from a similar mutation. Here they're all killed before even getting back to Earth when the asteroid Doomsday is tied to rams into their shuttle.
53	* DemotedToExtra: Mera, Damian, and Alfred appear in brief, non-speaking cameos.
54	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Lex decides to attack Doomsday with his MiniMecha even after Doomsday has proven more than a match for Superman. It nearly gets him killed.
55	* DividedForAdaptation: The film is the first half of a ''Death of Superman'' duology, with the second half, ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'', released in 2019.
56	* EpicHail: A teenaged girl streaming a video of Doomsday's rampage and begging for the Justice League to come stop him. Doomsday isn't that happy when he notices her doing it, but the Justice League arrive JustInTime to distract him from her.
57	* EyeBeams: Superman, naturally, but in a departure from his comic book counterpart Doomsday also has them. Likely done as a ShoutOut to [[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice Batman V Superman]].
58	* FacePalmOfDoom: Wonder Woman is on the receiving end courtesy of Doomsday when she tries to attack him.
59	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Supermen are all hinted at within the first half of the film. [[spoiler:The film opening with Intergang using Apokoliptan tech; Superman, Flash, and Cyborg briefly recounting the events of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar''; and the meteorite carrying Doomsday coming out of a Boom Tube all foreshadow the reveal in ''Reign'' of Darkseid's role as the GreaterScopeVillain.]]
60	* ForegoneConclusion: The final battle between Superman and Doomsday will end with Superman's supposed death.
61	* GreaterScopeVillain: Lex speculates that Doomsday did not come here by chance but was sent to "soften up" the Earth by some unknown alien threat. [[spoiler: It is hinted to be Apokolips / Darkseid, since Doomsday appeared in the solar system through what looks like a Boom Tube. ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'' confirms that Doomsday was ultimately a "doomsday weapon" for Darkseid.]]
62	* GoThroughMe: [[spoiler:Lois appears willing to let her life be sacrificed just to distract Doomsday from beating Clark to death.]]
63	* TheHeroDies: It's right there in the friggin' title! [[spoiler:In this continuity, Superman's impaled as his last ditch effort attack ends up wrenching Doomsday's head around a full 180 degrees.]]
64	* HeroicSecondWind: Clark is injured and exhausted from his lengthy fight with Doomsday, and Doomsday is no worse for wear, so Lois Lane [[ExploitedTrope exploits]] this trope at the climax, [[spoiler: deliberately getting Doomsday's attention in the hopes that seeing Doomsday about to attack her will give Clark the strength he needs to defeat Doomsday. It works.]]
65	* HopeSpot: Hank Henshaw sees a silhouette and briefly thinks Superman has come to save them, but it's just a comet about to hit the ship.
66	** A trio of BadassNormal cops who've managed to HoldTheLine against Doomsday for a while briefly think that they've killed him in an explosion, then he comes out of that and crushes them by shoving cars across the ground and into them.
67	* TheJuggernaut: Doomsday, he breaks Green Lantern's HardLight with sheer strength and is fast enough to catch Flash off-guard.
68	* LackOfEmpathy: Lex wasn't too upset when his crew got killed by Doomsday, merely raised an eyebrow.
69	* ManlyTears: Jonathan, Bibbo, Jimmy, and one of Superman's pallbearers are shown crying as part of their reaction to Superman's death.
70	* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: DiscussedTrope, as Clark considers revealing his secret identity to Lois.
71	** Averted with Barry Allen; Iris knows he is the Flash and they are getting married.
72	* MutualKill: The battle between Superman and Doomsday ends with [[spoiler:Superman neck snapping Doomsday with a high speed punch while being gored by the monster's bone blade in the gut at the same time]].
73	* MythologyGag:
74	** Out of the members of the Justice League, the Martian Manhunter ''was'' present in the comics early in the fight, but under a different identity.
75	** Lex Luthor disguises himself with a red wig and fake beard which resemble his appearance during the print run of the original story.
76	** Clark's parents mention "The girl on the swim team... [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Lori Lemaris]]," and then add some fish jokes.
77	** [[spoiler: [[ComicBook/TheFinalDaysOfSuperman "What a lucky man I was..."]]]]
78	** Like in ''[[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice Batman V Superman]]'', Doomsday hurls a car at Diana, who cleaves it in two with her sword, [[spoiler:then alludes to [[Film/WonderWoman2017 a different movie]] with the sword being ineffectual on Doomsday and shattering]]. And the moment Superman delivers the killing strike, [[spoiler:Doomsday mortally impales him with a bone spur]].
79	** Superman kills Doomsday [[Film/ManOfSteel by snapping his neck.]]
80	** Cyborg remarks, [[Series/Batman1966 "Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel,"]] at a League meeting.
81	** Superman and Lois have the dialogue [[Film/SupermanTheMovie "I've got you." "You've got me? Who's got you?"]], with the twist that Lois is the one who says Superman's line and Superman responds with Lois' line.
82	** STAR Labs has Superman's Kryptonian spacecraft [[spoiler:until circumstances cause it to activate by itself and break out from their facility and fly off; similar to what happens in ''ComicBook/SupermanEarthOne''.]]
83	** [[spoiler:While Superboy is in the tank, he's sporting a black costume with red accents similar to the ''ComicBook/New52'' Superboy.]]
84	** Doomsday's displays of AdaptiveAbility count as this, as he didn't display this trait until he was brought back in the comics. In particular, his sporadic use of EyeBeams is a nod to his backstory as a bio-engineering experiment conducted by a pre-Kryptonian race on primeval Krypton, as was revealed in ''ComicBook/SupermanDoomsdayHunterPrey''. The eye beams are also a nod to Doomsday's appearance in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''
85	** The Flash slamming into an armored foe capable of taking out the League, forcing it into a ThreePointLanding. We've already seen a case of that... [[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E12DividedWeFall if a slightly more successful one.]]
86	** At one point, Doomsday and Superman find themselves crashing down to Earth as a fiery ball of destruction, similarly to how their fight ended in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday''. Only this time, Superman is the one on the receiving end of the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown instead of Doomsday.
87	* NeckSnap: [[spoiler:Superman's final attack on Doomsday twists the beast's neck around a full 180 degrees.]]
88	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Doomsday punches out and then ground-and-pounds Wonder Woman.
89	* OffscreenBreakup: Clark and Diana had broken up sometime between films and Clark is now in a relationship with Lois Lane.
90	* PragmaticAdaptation: Thanks to its setting (a ''New 52''-esque shared universe) this movie features an A-list Justice League lineup (along with Barry Allen who was still dead at the time) and a plainly-himself Lex Luthor, whereas the original ''Death of Superman'' featured a Justice League made up of mostly B-listers and Lex Luthor was pretending to be his own [[ItMakesSenseInContext nonexistent Australian illegitimate son]] at the time.
91	* ProperlyParanoid: STAR Labs won't trust Lex with Doomsday's remains, rightly suspecting he would use them for evil.
92	* RaceLift: Cat Grant is reimagined as African-American.
93	* SanitySlippage: Henshaw begins to suffer this as he and his crew (including his wife) are in trouble, believing Superman will come and save them after being saved by him once. After the crew got blown out of the hull, when the asteroid containing Doomsday flies towards him, he believes it's Superman.
94	* SeinfeldianConversation: The League's weekly meeting starts out like this, with Cyborg noting they've gone over their allotted power budget. Batman notes [[UnclePennybags he'll take care of it]]; Wonder Woman then notes sales of her merchandise were good this year and she can chip in if the Wayne Foundation falls short. Batman turns to her going, "You're kidding, right?" before they move on to a more plot-important discussion.
95	* ShieldBash: Wonder Woman ''repeatedly'' punches Doomsday in the face with the edge of her shield.
96	* SlipknotPonytail: Wonder Woman's hair ring shatters during the battle against Doomsday.
97	* StarterVillain: The pre-credits sequence focuses on Superman fighting Intergang boss Bruno Mannheim.
98	* StealthSequel: [[spoiler:The second part of the story, ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'', reveals that both movies, while already set in the same universe, are this to ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar'' with the reveal of Darkseid as the GreaterScopeVillain, foreshadowed in this movie by the meteor carrying Doomsday coming out of a Boom Tube; Intergang using Apokoliptan tech left over from that movie; and Clark, Barry, and Vic briefly recounting the events of ''War''.]]
99	* TheStinger: We get four during the credits. [[spoiler:The first is shown in Luthor's lab, where something has busted out of one of the tubes and a figure grabs a coat and runs out of the room. The second, John Henry Irons at his work station making a Superman emblem out of steel. The third, we go to the arctic where a Superman-like figure raises the Fortress of Solitude. And fourth, we see Cyborg-Superman flying through space.]]
100	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Subtly done by Batman. Having just saved Flash from Doomsday, he contacts the rest of the League, stating "Alert: three Leaguers down and we only just got here. Send backup."
101	* ThrowingOffTheDisability: Lex is shown wearing a neck brace and an arm sling after the battle, but in private it's shown he doesn't actually need either of them, implying that he was only wearing them to gain the public's sympathy when holding a speech honoring Superman.
102	* TrashTheSet: The battle between Doomsday and the Justice League wrecks a ''lot'' of real estate, ending with Superman and Doomsday bringing down the Hall of Justice.
103	* TruerToTheText:
104	** Said to be a more faithful adaptation than the very first DC Universe Animated Original Movie ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'', despite the New 52 stylings. The movie features the Justice League, who took part in the fight against Doomsday in the comics (albeit a ''completely'' different Justice League which included Maxima, Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, Bloodwynd and Booster Gold) but were absent from ''[[WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday Doomsday]].'' Also, this movie has Superman and the League battle Doomsday across several locations in the United States of America, like in the comic, whereas ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'' and ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' both shrunk the conflict with Doomsday down to a single fight. TheStinger also heralds the debut of the four Supermen from the comics, who were condensed into a single character for ''[[WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday Doomsday]]''.
105	** The depiction of Mercy seems closer to her original portrayal in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' than any other subsequent version, being a brunette human that serves as Luthor's bodyguard.
106	* VillainHasAPoint: Lex complains about the public's love for Superman, accusing them of being faithfully blind to an alien. Which ends up being true to Henshaw who gets killed in space. [[NotQuiteDead Except he doesn't.]]
107	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Lex tries to take on Doomsday with a MiniMecha, only for Doomsday to tear it apart and require Superman's rescue . After the battle, he's given credit for giving Superman some time to recover (though it's clear from his facial expressions that he's not all that happy about it, due to it also being remembered Superman saved his life and being made to say nice things about him).
108	-->'''Janet Klyburn:''' You may have been cleared, but ''no one'' believes you're innocent.
109	%%* VitriolicBestBuds: Lois and Cat.
110	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Shazam is nowhere to be seen. Especially noticeable after Batman calls for ''all'' Leaguers in response to Doomsday.
111	* WreckedWeapon: Diana's sword is shattered when it meets Doomsday's fist.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Comic Tropes]]
115	* ToAbsentFriends: The last four issues show the Justice League recovering things from the destroyed Hall of Justice that makes them reminisce about Superman: Wonder Woman finds a photo that reminds her of when she knew her romantic relationship with Superman wasn't going to last, but that they were going to be better as friends; Flash finds a trophy he won after he beat Superman in a race set up by Mr Mxyzptlk; Aquaman finds Superman's pet mollusk that he took in when he helped Aquaman fight Ocean Master; and Batman finds the kryptonite Superman gave him in case he ever became dangerous.
116	* AdaptationalExpansion: The comic reveals that between introducing Lois to his parents and having their lunch where he tells her his secret Superman saved her father from Metallo, imprisoned Parasite, defeated Toymaster and worked with Lobo while also recovering Terri Henshaw's body. It also reveals that Jimmy Olsen had been having his own adventure behind the scenes.
117	* BetterAsFriends: Diana notes that she and Clark were this after they broke up.
118	* TheBusCameBack: Ocean Master and Shazam return in this comic, both having disappeared after ''Throne of Atlantis''.
119	* ContinuitySnarl: In Wonder Woman's story, she claims that the first time they encountered Parademons was while they were dating which disregards the events of ''Justice League: War''. Also the exact details of the League's fight shown in Jimmy's story doesn't really match what was shown in the film.
120	* OutOfFocus: Green Lantern, Shazam and Cyborg don't share any stories about Superman themselves despite having known him since the team was formed, and instead simply asks questions that lead to the others telling the stories.
121	* RoboticReveal: Toymaster discovers that he is a robot before dying, having false memories given to him by his "father" of growing up in foster homes to motivate him to kill his creator's enemy.
122	[[/folder]]

Context WesternAnimation / TheDeathOfSuperman