Reign of the Supermen | |
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Directed by | Sam Liu |
Written by | Tim Sheridan Jim Krieg |
Based on | Characters from DC Comics |
Produced by | James Tucker |
Starring | |
Edited by | Christoper D. Lozinski |
Music by | Frederik Wiedmann |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 87 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $4,223 [2] |
Reign of the Supermen is a 2019 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. The film is a direct sequel to The Death of Superman (2018) and is based on the comic book story arc of the same name in "The Death of Superman" event. It is the twelfth film of the DC Animated Movie Universe and the 35th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.
The film was released in limited Fathom Events theaters on January 13, 2019, and to digital and Blu-ray two days later.
Six months following Superman's sacrifice and death at the hands of Doomsday, [N 1] the crime rate in Metropolis has spread, while four new controversial Supermen have emerged. Lois Lane and Clark Kent's adoptive parents are still in mourning over his death. Lois has been investigating the new Supermen by gathering information from different sources.
Lex Luthor introduces a new Superman to the world at a press conference, who Lois discovers is actually a clone – Superboy created by Dr. Dabney Donovan. The conference is interrupted by the Eradicator, Steel and Cyborg Superman (who claims he is the true Superman) who fight each other until both the Eradicator and Cyborg Superman leave the battle. Unknown to anyone, Superman has just barely survived his battle with Doomsday and is recuperating at the Fortress of Solitude as the Eradicator rejuvenates his DNA. That night, Cyborg Superman visits Lois in an attempt to convince her that he is not a fake. Lex becomes frustrated with Superboy for his childish actions.
The Justice League, accompanied by Superboy, are hired as bodyguards for the President, who is unveiling their new Watchtower. The presentation is suddenly attacked by Parademons, summoned via a boom tube portal. The League are mysteriously transported to another planet and declared dead while Cyborg Superman rescues the president and is announced to the world as the true Superman. Angered, Lex reveals to Superboy he shares his DNA and kills Dr. Donovan after he explains to Lex that Superboy is the best clone they could create. With the help of Steel, Lois discovers Cyborg Superman is the deceased astronaut Hank Henshaw who blames Superman for not saving him and his wife and has decided to destroy his legacy by impersonating him. Henshaw reveals to the world his new "Cyber Corps" militia, which are created by Mother Boxes infused with humans.
Steel tracks the Eradicator to the Fortress, where he learns that Superman is currently going through a revitalization cycle, and the two engage in a fight. The fight is broadcast to Lois' phone. Lois realizes that the Eradicator is a hologram from Superman's ship's matrix, created to protect Superman. The fight stops when a depowered Superman is revived. Through Henshaw's technology, Lex and Lois discover that Henshaw is being controlled by Darkseid from Apokolips, [N 2] who created Doomsday and orchestrated its attack on Earth.
Superman, Superboy and Steel head towards Metropolis. Lex sends Lois to the Watchtower as he uses a Mother Box to rescue the League. Darkseid continues to torment Henshaw for his failure to keep Superman dead and attempts to open a portal for his arrival, using the Mother Box infused with Henshaw. Henshaw rips out the Mother Box inside him, deactivating Darkseid's control over the Cyber Corps. Before Henshaw can kill Lois, Superman arrives. Henshaw constantly blames Superman for his wife Terri's death. Superman eventually regains his powers from the sun and deactivates Henshaw by stabbing his forehead with a crystal taken from the Fortress of Solitude containing the Eradicator program. Henshaw's defeat also deactivates the Cyber Corps, but killing them in the process.
In the aftermath, Martian Manhunter disguises himself as Superman to announce Clark Kent's safe return with the cover up of him being missing during the Doomsday attack. Superboy is sent to live with the Kents and is named "Conner". In a post-credit scene, the League gather at the Watchtower to confront Darkseid themselves, [N 3] with Lex inviting himself in.
Reign of the Supermen was released and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in limited Fathom Events theaters on January 13 and 14, 2019, [3] followed by Digital HD on January 15, then Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack on January 29, [4] [5] but disc releases were moved up to January 15. [6] The film was re-released on home video, edited together with its predecessor, on October 1 as The Death and Return of Superman. [7] [8] Limited Edition gift-set also includes Steel figure, Superman: Doomsday , and bonus animated episodes (Blu-ray). [9]
Reign of the Supermen earned $3,413,951 from domestic home video sales. [10]
Bizarro is a supervillain or anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in Superboy #68 (1958). Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has often been portrayed as an antagonist to Superman, though on occasion he also takes on an antihero role.
Doomsday is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the character first made a cameo appearance in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 before being fully introduced in Superman: The Man of Steel #18. He has become one of Superman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
"The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event mostly featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Kesel, began in December 1992 and lasted until October 1993. It was published in Superman, Action Comics, The Adventures of Superman, Superman: The Man of Steel, Justice League America, and Green Lantern. Since its initial publication, "The Death of Superman" has been reprinted in various formats and editions.
Eradicator is the given name of four different fictional comic book characters, appearing in books published by DC Comics. The first iteration was an antihero character appearing in The Flash series of comics. The second was a superhero having a recurring role in Superman stories, and the remaining two first appeared in 2013 and 2017, respectively.
Henry "Hank" Henshaw is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, and normally goes by the name Cyborg Superman. Created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens, the character originally appeared primarily as an enemy of Superman, however in recent years he has also been an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps.
Superboy is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. A modern variation on the original Superboy, the character first appeared as Superboy in The Adventures of Superman #500, and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.
Mother Boxes are fictional devices in Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting in the DC Universe.
Superman is an American fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and featured pervasively in DC Comic books. The character debuted in Action Comics issue #1 in June 1938 and has since become a paradigm for superhero characters.
The Superman Revenge Squad is the name of two fictional organizations in the DC Comics universe. As their name suggests, it is a group of Superman villains who banded together to defeat the Man of Steel.
Steel is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a genius engineer who built a mechanized suit of armor that mirrors Superman's powers, and initially sought to replace him after he was killed by Doomsday. After Superman was resurrected, he accepted Steel as an ally. His real name is John Henry Irons and he wields a sledgehammer—this is a reference to the mythical railroad worker John Henry. He has a niece named Natasha Irons who is also a superhero in a similar mechanized suit of armour.
The Death and Return of Superman is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Sunsoft for the Super NES and Genesis in 1994. It is based on "The Death of Superman" comic book storyline by DC Comics and features many characters from the comics, including Superman himself, Superboy, Steel, Cyborg Superman, the Eradicator, and Doomsday. All of the five Supermen are playable characters at some point.
The Superman shield, also known as the Superman logo or the Superman symbol, is the iconic emblem for the fictional DC Comics superhero Superman. As a representation of one of the first superheroes, it served as a template for character design decades after Superman's first appearance. The tradition of wearing a representative symbol on the chest was followed by many subsequent superheroes, including Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and many others.
Cyborg Superman is a persona that has been used by two supervillains who appear in comic books published by DC Comics.
Lex Luthor is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As Superman's archenemy, he has been portrayed in almost every Superman media franchise and adaptation.
"Reign of Doomsday" is a 2011 comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics that ran through the Superman family of books, The Outsiders and The Justice League of America. The crossover involves Doomsday hunting down Steel, Superboy, Eradicator, and Cyborg Superman, the four main characters introduced in the wake of the controversial The Death of Superman storyline in 1992. Though the current iteration of the character was not present in the original The Death of Superman storyline, Supergirl appears in the crossover as well due to being part of the Justice League. The storyline draws its title from Reign of the Supermen, the immediate follow-up to The Death of Superman.
The Death and Return of Superman is a fan film released in 2012 on YouTube, by Chronicle writer Max Landis. The film, as its title implies, is a monologue about "The Death and Return of Superman" storyline from DC Comics over parody-like sketches. The film was produced by Bryan Basham, creator of COPS: Skyrim.
Jon Kent is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, the son of Superman / Clark Kent and Lois Lane, he first appeared in Convergence: Superman #2. Jon is the newest character in the DC Universe to assume the superhero persona of Superboy, and later Superman. As Superboy and Robin, Jon and Damian Wayne, son of Batman / Bruce Wayne, have appeared in several Super Sons comic book series featuring their shared adventures. Jon later takes on the Superman mantle and stars in the comic series Superman: Son of Kal-El.
The Death of Superman is a 2018 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. It is based on the comic book storyline of the same name. It is the eleventh film of the DC Animated Movie Universe and the 33rd film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 American adult animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Home Video. The film is directed by Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, while Ernie Altbacker and Mairghread Scott wrote the screenplay. It stars an ensemble cast including Rosario Dawson, Jerry O'Connell, Jason O'Mara and Matt Ryan. In the film, members of the Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad join forces against Darkseid to save Earth.