Superman

Article Archive

Golden Age Films

  • Superman (1948)
    • One of the first adaptations of Supes for the big screen, this was a serial production giving the caped Kryptonian episodeic adventures to delight week after week.
  • Atom Man vs. Superman
    • The second serial adventure features Superman taking on a whole new villain for the fate of the city.
  • Superman and the Mole Men
    • Another serial adventure, although this one has the distinction of being repurposed as the pilot for Superman's first television series.

The Richard Donner Era

  • Superman: The Movie & Superman II
    • After decades away, Supes is back on the silver screen. Staring Chistopher Reeve in the title roll, this movie proved to audiences that, yes, you really could see a man fly at the theater. And then it was followed by a troubled production that looks to take the work of the 1978 original and expand the adventure out bigger and better. Sadly, director Richard Donner left half-way in, and the sequel left a lot to be desired.
  • Superman III & Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
    • You know what Superman needs? A lighter, more comedic tone. No, actually, he doesn't, and this proves why that's a bad idea. It was then followed by an ill-fated fourth film has Superman taking on the threat of nuclear weapons. It's also terrible.
  • Superman Returns
    • Widely considered one of the worst Superman movies, this film does one thing right: it ditches the third and fourth Christopher Reeve films. Sadly, it still tries to be a belated sequel to film we'd last seen twenty years early, staying beholden to material that hadn't really aged well in the interim.

Superman/Batman Films

  • Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
    • Lex Luthor becomes president and uses the power of the office to frame Superman for murder. Now, Supes and Bats have to clear his name.
  • Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
    • Kara Zor-El arrives on Earth and instantly becomes the center of multiple factions all fighting for her future.

DC Universe

  • Man of Steel (DCEU 01)
    • After watching the first of the DCEU films to be released, this adaptation of Superman gets a lot right (and a few things wrong). After watching the film more than once, we present our review.
  • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (DCEU 02)
    • After the relative success of Man of Steel (a film that made good money but didn't seem to really have the backing of critics or fans), DC followed it up with a semi-sequel, semi-crossover, putting in the only character in comics arguably bigger than Superman: the Batman. Sadly, the results were just not good.
  • Justice League (DCEU 05)
    • The production of Justice League was troubled, with original director Zack Snyder leaving part way in (for family reasons) and Joss Wheddon coming in to do extensive rewrites and re-edits. Although the final film is watchable, it's still not great in comparison to the filmic output of Marvel.
  • The Flash (DCEU 14)
    • Barry Allen goes back in time and accidentally breaks the timestream into a bunch of multiversal pieces in this moderately okay superhero adventure.
  • Superman: Legacy (DCU 18)

DC Animated Movie Universe

  • Justice League: War (DCAMU 01)
    • Picking up in the new, post-Flashpoint universe, we're introduced to all the members of the Justice League as they face off against a new, and very powerful, threat: Darkseid.
  • Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (DCAMU 03)
    • Introducing another new hero for the league, this movie gives us Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, four years before a similar adventure would come out on the big screen.
  • Justice League vs. Teen Titans (DCAMU 06)
    • Damien Wayne doesn't play well with others, a trait his father would like to see changed. So he's put on a team with other supepr-powered teens to see if they can work together for once. Probably not, though.
  • The Death of Superman (DCAMU 10)
    • When a movie has a title like this, I think we all know what's coming. Based on the comic series of the same name, this film is only going to end one way, and it won't go well for our titular character.
  • Reign of the Supermen (DCAMU 12)
    • Spoiler: Superman probably comes back in this one. If that's a surprise, seriously, go read some comics.
  • Batman: Hush (DCAMU 13)
    • All of Batman's villains are conspiring against him which leads Batman to think there might be an even bigger foe behind these machinations. If only he could figure out who...
  • Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (DCAMU 15)
    • And with this, the war that has been building over fifteen movies finally happens. And with it, DC ushers in an end to this continuity

DC Tomorrowverse

  • Superman: Man of Tomorrow (DCT 01)
    • We get a new version of Superman, once again starting our his career as a hero, as he takes on not only Lobo and Lex Luthor, but also the evil energy vampire, Parasite.
  • Justice Society: World War II (DCT 02)
    • While assisting Superman defend Metropolis, the Flash gets sucked into the past (he thinks), forced to help a team of heroes all the way back in World War II.
  • Legion of Super-heroes (DCT 05)
    • Arriving years later than expected, Supergirl comes to Earth. She struggles, though, to find her own path on the planet, prompting Superman and Batman to send her to the future to train with the Legion of Super-heroes.
  • Justice League: Warworld (DCT 06)
    • Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman find themselves on new worlds, in new times, with new lives. Can they figure out who they are and find a way home?
  • Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths (DCT 07)

Additional Animated Features

  • Superman: Doomsday
    • Lex Luthor wakes a sleeping giant and a monster comes for Superman in this early adaptation of The Death and Return of Superman.
  • Justice League: The New Frontier
    • It's time for a retro adventure as the Justice League goes back to the 1950s era to take on an evil new threat, the Center.
  • All-Star Superman
    • We follow Superman on an story through the best of his Silver Age adventures while he woos Lois and battle Lex, all before he might just die...
  • Superman vs. the Elite
    • Superman has to take on a rogue group of heroes for the fate of Earth in this decent animated film.
  • Superman: Unbound
    • Brainiac comes for Metropolis and it'll take the combined might of two Kryptonians to save the world.
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2
    • Many decades later, Bruce has retired as the Bat and James Gordon is primes to enter his own retirement from the force. But the rise of a new gang, the Mutants, has cast a dark edge across Gotham, and only one man, one bat man, can save the city one last time.
  • Superman: Red Son
    • This Elseworlds tale (based on the comic of the same name) asks what would happen if Superman's ship had crashed into Mother Russia instead of the middle of Kansas.
  • Injustice (2021)
    • Superman suffers a terrible loss and suddenly decides its time to clean up the world, and the Justice League is split over what to do in this gory superhero tale.
  • Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons
    • Johnathan Kent and Damien Wayne are not the best of friends, but the two will have to team up when a powerful alien being attempts to take over the planet.
  • Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse
    • The teen heronies have to battle a threat to their world from an ancient Kryptonian evil, and also the Teen Titans are here for some reason, in this weak crossover film.
  • Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part One
    • The Justice League gets sucked into the world of Remnant where they work with the team of RWBY to try and figure out how they got there and why the world seems so wrong.

Additional TV Shows

Video Games

  • Superman (1979)
    • Superman's first adventure in video games is an Atari 2600 title that attempts a lot, even if it doesn't really succeed.
  • Superman: The Game
    • The next attempt at bringing Superman to home consoles adds in more to do as the Man of Steel but, sadly, none of it is very good.
  • Superman (1987)
    • Superman arrives on the NES in a game that really tries very hard but fails miserably in its execution.
  • Superman (1988)
    • Superman comes to arcades, courtesy of Taito, in a game so hard to beat you may not even bother putting in the effort.
  • Superman: The Man of Steel (1989)
    • Superman flies around, shooting things, and generally feeling very not super in this absolutely dire video game.
  • Superman (1992)
    • Sunsoft revisits the superhero genre with this Man of Steel game that actually is pretty darn playable.
  • The Death and Return of Superman (1994)
    • Superman has to fight Doomsday, and then the Supermen have to pick up the pieces, in this marginal beat-em-up.
  • Superman (1997)
    • This Game Boy title was Titus's first attempt with the Man of Steel and, well, it's as bad as the game that was soon to come...
  • Superman: The New Superman Adventures (1999)
    • Often considered the worst game ever, this Nintendo 64 title took years to make yet still feels rushed and buggy.
  • Superman: Shadow of Apokolips (2002)
    • This game is decent, although not quite the redemption needed after the failed Nintendo 64 title.
  • Superman: The Man of Steel (2002)
    • Inforgrames gave us two different Superman titles in 2002, and this one is very much the worst of the set.

Comics

  • New Superman
    • A review of the first volume of the Chinese Superman in his Rebirth-branded book.

Related Media

  • Brightburn
    • Although the concept of a Superman that goes bad has been done before, this film at least takes the novel approach of going full-out horror with the concept.
  • Megamind
    • In 2010, Dreamworks Animation came out with this parody film that, more than anything, really seems to want to poke fun at the classic Richard Donner Superman films from the 1970s.

See Also

Podcasts: