SUPERMAN- DOOMSDAY FOR THE LEGENDARY HERO?

With DC's apparent U-turn on all of their comic book movies, (see this article) it seems that the original DC superhero, Superman himself, is in limbo once more. With the Superman Returns film being something of a damp squib with fans, critics and the box office, it was clear that the franchise needed a new direction to survive. Now, there had been many attempts to bring Superman back to the screen before that film, and most of them would have fared better than what was eventually released. It wasn't the fault of Brandon Routh or director Bryan Singer- it was a pedestrian script and a lackluster story that just came off flat and tired, which was a shame.

How should Superman come back to the screen? We need a better villain than tired old Lex Luthor, for a start. Braniac or Darkseid would be fantastic, but then again, they might not have enough of an impact to really invigorate the series, so how about adapting that most hard-hitting (literally) of modern Superman stories...

DOOMSDAY.

If Superman was to face off against Doomsday, as in the Death of Superman story from the early 90s, we would have a massive film full of action and drama that could tie into the larger DC movie universe that so sorely needs to be created for the DC movies to survive and grow beyond the blinkered view that everything should be like The Dark Knight now. It would also provide Warners/DC with huge merchandising opportunities for the character, not to mention the other DC heroes that show up in the story. It could even be the precursor to a Justice League movie, if you think about it.

The Death of Superman storyline would even be a good idea for a trilogy of films. There could be the Death of Superman story to start with, then the second film could be the World Without a Superman/Reign of the Supermen stories rolled into one. The third would take care of the Return of Superman and maybe the second Doomsday story. think about it. It has the potential to be the greatest superhero movie trilogy ever, with genuine danger and something at stake as the heroes take on this terrifying foe.

The source material is there. The ideas are there. The graphic novels are there to be adapted. The talent is out there. Come on Warners, give us a Superman film we can be thrilled with. It's been far too long since Zod did his stuff.

SUPERMAN: FRANCHISE GETS A REBOOT

Here’s one instance where starting over again is a good thing. With every film under the sun getting a remake, which I’m absolutely sick to death of, the news that the Superman movie franchise is to be started over again is actually a breath of fresh air.  Bryan Singer’s bloated misfire Superman Returns was a big fat lesson in mediocrity. It did look and feel like a Superman film, but absolutely nothing happened in it bar the baseball stadium scene. To carry on from that film would have been a mistake, as there was no real sense of scale or drama in that film, despite strong performances from a pretty decent cast.

Warners have made a brave - not to mention sensible – move in starting the franchise over. That said, I’m hoping they give us something a bit different than just another origin story (maybe something more along the lines of the recent Incredible Hulk reboot), and that there are some supervillains in it other than Lex bloody Luthor.

Y’know, there’s still some of out there that think Warners should take another look at Kevin Smith’s Superman Reborn script and use some of that. If nothing else, they need Smith or another comics afficianado on board to ensure we get something cool this time around. Doomsday would be cool. A big screen version of Superman’s death would go down very well indeed, and of course then there could be the relevant sequels.

Mind you, this new revamp could also be used to start tying the DCU movies together a bit, much in the same way Marvel have been doing of late. If there’s something that the recent DCU movies are lacking it is any coherent world. Remember, there’s a Justice League movie on the way (eventually) and this would probably have to tie into that somehow. One problem is, with that JLA movie coming, won’t that have a different Superman actor? Aaaaaaggghhh…. Is the DCU movie universe imploding already? I swear if someone says the word ‘Multiverse’ ion there I’m going to have to go Doomsday on DC’s asses.

STARSTORE: OUR ESSENTIAL GRAPHIC NOVELS

We all love graphic novels and the comics that they collect, but what are the biggies for the Starstore staff? Lets take a look at our favourites, and there may well be one or two surprises on the list amid the usual suspects. This heralds the start of some regular looks at our favourite trade paperbacks…

WATCHMEN

The graphic novel masterpiece. How could this not be on here? Utterly perfect in every possible way apart from the odd dodgy hairstyle. Zack Snyder better have done something incredible with the movie…

V FOR VENDETTA

V is one of the most compelling characters ever to appear in a comic series. His personality and quest are so timeless that it is easy to see why this has been a consistent seller for so long.

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN

The early 1990s were rocked with the death of the iconic superhero at the hands of the behemoth known as Doomsday, and even though he came back, things were never the same.

DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING

A very low key book with a very moving story. Death, from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe, appears in this heart warming (and equally heartbreaking) tale of life and love.

PREACHER

All 9 graphic novels. You heard me. Preacher is about as badass as a comic series can possibly be, and the series has stood the test of time more than most titles.

SANDMAN

Likewise with this. The ten books may have dated in terms of artwork, but the twists of surreal plot are still every bit as compelling as anything Gaiman has written outside of comics. Genius.

TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE

Look, it’s a rule. You work in a comic shop, you love TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE. Strips done with action figures, satirising the comics scene and industry? Yes please. Just keep Tony Stark away from the beer.

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS

A stark and beautifully written piece of graphic novel art that shows another side to the character we know and love. The early years of the X-Men’s most mysterious ally.

SIN CITY

Frank Miller’s definitive noir comics series, collected in graphic novel form. Rounded characters. Incredible artwork. Impeccable. What happened frank? How can you go from this to DK2?!

RIOT GRRLS

Jim Mahfood’s excellent take on the lives of a bunch of twentysomething slacker girls.

TANK GIRL

The reprints of her classic stories are a constantly popular line, and now that the new era Tank Girl is coming to trades with ‘The Gifting’ and so on, her popularity is on the rise again.

DORK TOWER

John Kovalic’s affectionate look at comics and game geeks remains to this day the most entertaining geek inside joke around. Come on, we all know an Igor. Some of us have to work with one!

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE

Alan Moore gets about a bit doesn’t he? Here’s another one from him. Pretty much the definitive Batman graphic novel story, up there with Arkham Asylum, Knightfall and A Death in The Family. Perfect.

More favourites coming soon, as well as some that we don’t like quite so much ;)

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN: Remembering a REAL comics event

By Andrew Hawnt



We just got some of the DEATH OF SUPERMAN box sets back in, with a Superman figure, a Doomsday figure and the graphic novel itself all boxed up together, and it brought back some cool memories. Now, I was maybe 15 at the time of its original publication, spread over various Superman comics and a JLA title if I remember rightly, and it was huge for a while there.

I don't remember that many superhero comic events that made it onto the international news. I mean, recently the Civil War storyline from Marvel got into the headlines when Spidey revealed his identity to the world, but other than that I can't really remember much having such a big impact.

Superman is THE definitive superhero, there's no doubts about that. Thus his death was all the more shocking. This invincible big-blue-boy scout had become a global icon during his decades of adventures, to the point where a world without Superman seemed, well, weird. His death was far from pretty. In fact it was downright brutal. Doomsday was an absolute beast, relentless, merciless and seemingly unstoppable. Right from those first frames when all you see is his clawed fist beating against that metal door, you know he means business.

The story is breathless, a massive chase across America as various heroes trail Doomsday and attempt to stop him, with catastrophic results. Naturally the finale took place on the streets of Metropolis, with Supes and Doomsday slugging it out until one of them would inevitably fall. The story, and naturally the graphic novel, has a rather sudden ending, but it is that aprupt and terrible moment where he falls still in Lois Lane's arms that breaks the heart upon first reading it. That last double-page spread where Superman lays dead in the rubble is a fine moment of comic perfection.

Of course, it was inevitable that Superman would return, and his death gave way to the WORLD WITHOUT A SUPERMAN storyline, which in turn led into REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN, in which four possible new incarnations of Superman arrive on the scene. Now, this particular storyline was very continuity heavy and suffered a little from overdoing the geek factor, but it wasn't without its merits. I do like the fact that it is actually Pa Kent that lures Kal El back from the other side, in a weird netherworld while his frail old body lies on an operating table following a heart attack.

Superman's return is suitably glorious, even with the new, longer hairstyle he came back with, and it was essentially back to business, kicking the collective asses of evildoers everywhere.

What followed that? Sadly I lost some interest in Big Blue after that, but there's definitely a mass of cool material out there that even the painfully mediocre SUPERMAN RETURNS movie couldn't tarnish too much. Frankly I would rather have seen Kevin Smith's fanboy extravaganza SUPERMAN REBORN on the screen (go find the script, its awesome. Just don't mention giant spiders to Kevin if you ever run into him).

Thankfully we have been left with a wealth of amazing comic adventures for the iconic superhero, and whenever we need reminding what a real comics event is like, we could all do worse than checking out THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN.

Andy

THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN graphic novel is available at our website over at Starstore dot com!