Except it’s the power of the sun that kills him. Tricked into taking in a lethal dose of yellow sun radiation by Lex Luthor, Superman is told by doctors that his system is breaking down. They don’t know how long he has to live, but eventually he will die.
So begins a series of short stories, more or less, that plot out the last days of Superman. It’s an odd structure to take, and not all of them necessarily relate to the overall plot. But some of them, like the first, add a measure of finality to the story.
Wanting to give Lois an idea of what it’s like to be him, he designs a serum that will give him his powers for twenty-four hours. Together they travel the world, only to be interrupted by two traveling idiots that have angered a cosmic entity. It’s stuff like this that dilutes what could an interesting story about the death of an immortal man.
Most of the stories are like this. They start out well enough, but then a random villain is thrown in the way and things get muddied. The one exception perhaps is when Clark Kent is granted an exclusive interview with Lex Luthor. Luthor of course, has yet to figure out that Kent is really Superman, and so there’s an interesting power balance between the two as they talk. Naturally, their conversation is interrupted by the random appearance of Parasite, but at the very least things end on an interesting note.
The last act of the film involves Luthor’s final revenge on Superman. Having stolen the serum formula, he’s granted himself Superman’s powers. His first target is Lois Lane. During their final battle, Luthor begins to see the world clearly for the first time. He sees the “Grand Design” and believes that he can finally solve the world’s problems. For a moment, he appears to regret his decision. But it’s too late. With his body falling apart, Superman leaves earth to repair the sun, and disappears.
Even after the apparent death of Superman, Luthor’s regret remains. Having used his newly granted knowledge, he designs a way for Lois and Superman to have children, something they discussed early in the story.
But for whatever reason, Lois refuses to believe that he’s gone. She doesn’t attend the memorial, and even tells Jimmy that there’s no reason to mourn. Naturally, the last scene is of Superman within the sun’s core, doing his best to repair it.
It’s here that the story, for me personally, falls apart. They cheapened the affect Superman’s death would have on the world and the people around him by not actually having him die. That last little bit at the end means it was all for nothing. It’s unfortunate, because as a one-off story it could have been powerful. But they refused to take the last step. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN is fine as far as DC animated films go, but it by no means reaches its full potential.
Written by Peter Freeman, TV & Animation Writer -- Click to read Peter's posts
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