Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)

Movie Info

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket…

Clark Kent is leaving Smallville and headed for Metropolis.  With an internship at the Daily Planet, Clark hopes to finally make a difference…something he dreams of doing using his superpowers.  When Lex Luthor rocket malfunctions, Clark is forced to reveal himself to save the city, but it raises new concerns and problems as Lois Lane seeks to expose him.  The revelation of a second alien on Earth occurs when Clark is attacked by an intergalactic bounty hunter named Lobo and a Martian reveals himself.  Unfortunately, Lobo’s attack has released something more dangerous.  S.T.A.R. janitor Rudy Jones has been exposed to something which has transformed him into a living parasite.  The Parasite is hungry and not even “Superman” can stop him!

Directed by Chris Palmer, Superman:  Man of Tomorrow is a DC Comics animated feature.  Following Justice League Dark:  Apokolips War also released in 2020, the DC Universe Animated Original Movie entry was released digitally on August 23, 2020 with a physical copy release on September 8, 2020.  It received mostly positive reviews.

The Main Man is here to kick your Kryptonian ass!

The DC Animated Features are where DC really “flies”.  The Arrowverse shows and the big screen movies can be debated, but the DC Animated Features are usually consistently strong.  Superman:  Man of Tomorrow continues that trend, but also feels like it could have gone a different way.

The story is essentially a Clark Kent as Superman origin story.  Through the movie, Kent is debating what he does with his powers, what he’ll tell the people about himself, and what his role on Earth is in general.  Generally Superman origin stories simply involve Lois Lane and Lex Luthor…and some sort of crisis that Superman has to come forward to stop.  Here, they incorporate Lobo, build a connection between J’onn J’onzz and Clark’s pasts, tie Lex Luthor in to the story in a different means, and mix in the Parasite for a villain.  While essentially it is the same story again, they at least take a different path to get there.

This is regret with Superman:  Man of Tomorrow.  While it is a solid film, it has been done to death.  There are so many good stories floating around the DC Universe, and it feels like a waste to keep rehashing the Superman origin story (much like the Spider-Man origin story in the first two Marvel Spider-Man series).  It would be good to see some of the more obscure Superman stories that would possibly encourage viewers to seek out the comic books that they are based upon.

Funny, this is all kind of my fault…Lobo came to Earth for me…I led him to S.T.A.R. Labs, and you got turned into a lifeforce sucking monster while trying to do your job…my bad

The animation and voice acting for the series are good.  While the DC Animated Universe isn’t quite the level of a big screen feature film, they are better than most cartoons.  The films have a style and also they are “shot” like a big screen feature.  They know how to use the space and negative space to tell the story in the best way.

Superman:  Man of Tomorrow is a good entry in a good series of films.  It has everything you’d want from a DC Comics superhero movie with villains and heroes, but it also tries to diversify with the use of J’onn and Parasite (though they are often used in other TV series).  I would still like the movies to continue with more daring choices, but with the difficulties of making of profit by some films, I know that is a risky endeavor.  Superman:  Man of Tomorrow is followed by Batman:  Soul of the Dragon in 2021.