REVIEW: Superman: Man of Tomorrow
Every reboot of Superman tries something different, striving to find a fresh approach to the material, and Superman: Man of Tomorrow is no different. This direct-to-video release, out now from Warner Home Entertainment, is intended as the opening chapter in a new continuity, a Rebirth, as it were, of the DC Animated Universe.
Other than the destruction of Krypton, baby Kal-El being raised by the Kents, and Clark (Darren Criss) arriving gin Metropolis as an adult, everything else is a modern take. Clark arrives as an intern with Lois Lane (Alexandra Daddario) just a grad student making her bones at the paper. Perry White (Piotr Michael) is there in all his bluster with Ron Troupe (Eugene Byrd) there for diversity and not a sign of Jimmy Olsen, Steve Lombard, or Cat Grant.
The story suggests Earth is aware of alien life and S.T.A.R. Labs, now owned by Lex Luthor (Zachary Quinto), is shown as being designed to hold and analyze extraterrestrials but it’s a mere breadcrumb for the future and is never addressed here. Instead, the focus is on Clark’s debut as the aviator-goggled flying man, doing good deeds, and starting to get noticed.
When a rocket prototype fails, he exposes himself to save humanity, and now everyone wants to know who he is. But, before much can be done about this, Lobo arrives. Now, the entire story grinds to halt as he announces he’s been hired to kill Kal-El, the sole survivor of Krypton. They fight, they talk, they battle, they partner. And at no point does anyone ask, “Who hired you? Why did they hire you? How’d you know he was on Earth?” The lack of curiosity, especially when major members of the cast are journalists is appalling.
Superman is aided by the Martian Manhunter (Ike Amadi), who has been badly shadowing our hero and finally reveals himself and has to deal with the consequences.
But, Lobo’s (Ryan Hurst) arrival accidentally turns Rudy Jones (Brett Dalton) into the Parasite, an entirely new origin for the villain., and making him a far more tragic, and deadly, figure. His threat prompts Superman to turn to Lex Luthor for help, which reveals Lex’s sinister side. But, it’s Superman’s humanity that shines through in the climax, showing why he is a hero and worth looking up to.
The story moves along briskly, with the action and destruction doled out every few minutes, with pauses to visit Smallville, including a touching scene with Martha (Bellamy Young) handing the familiar red and blue suit to her son. The budding relationships between Lois and Clark and Lois and Superman also are nicely handled.
Less well handled is the J’Onn J’Onzz and Kal-El scenes, which go for pathos but feels flat. That the story features three supposedly sole survivors of their races is a nice touch.
Visually, there’s a simplicity to the designs of the characters, set against a futuristic city that can be envisioned as city of tomorrow, a fitting home for our hero. Some of the Krypton designs owes much to the Richard Donner films while Lobo is clearly inspired by Simon Bisley interpretation of the character.
The new voice cast is fine, if unexceptional, a freshening without being radical with Darren Criss carrying much of the load.
Overall, as reboots go, this isn’t a bad one, with plenty of room to explore, especially with Batman already operating in Gotham, and alien life visiting Earth with increasing regularity. We’ll see what happens in the next installment, coming no doubt in 2021.
The movie is available in all the usual formats including the 4K Digital HD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD Code combo pack. In both 2160 and 1080 scans, the visuals are crisp and strong, retaining all the colors. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is serviceable if unspectacular, which it doesn’t really need to be.
The Special Features are the standard assortment starting with Lobo: Natural Force of Chaos (10:23) where Screenwriter Tim Sheridan, artists Jon Bogdanove and Bernard Chang, DC Daily host Hector Navarro, and voice actor Ryan Hurst very briefly trace Lobo’s humble origins from a bounty hunter in 1983’s Omega Men to star of his own series and ubiquitous appearances through the 1990s and 2000s.
Martian Manhunter: Lost and Found (8:47) presents a similar assortment of talent talking about the themes of the Martian’s role in comparison with humanity. Lacking is the context of his comic book history.
A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie (11:56) is a stylistically cheesy introduction to Batman: Soul of the Dragon, an animated homage the era’s kung-fu craze, featuring the Dark Knight along with Richard Dragon, Ben Turner (Bronze Tiger), Lady Shiva, and O-Sensei, who all stared in the Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter title written by the late, great Denny O’Neil.
From the DC Vault offers up Two episodes from Superman: The Animated Series – “The Main Man”, parts 1 and 2, which, of course, guest star Lobo.

Here’s the latest release regarding the annual Batman Day celebration. This year, though, comic shops appear to have been left out of the fun, just when they could use the foot traffic.








It’s an interesting gamble for the tyro writer but one he feels ready for. “I have never written for the majors, or anything really,” he told ComicMix in an exclusive interview. “I have an abiding love for great stories and always wanted to dabble in the process. Regardless of having never formally written anything, as I matured, my sensibilities and knowledge of what makes good writing developed, so I did feel ready and confident that I could write on a level that had a decent chance of going over well. If not, the project can function as art content for my Instagram, which needed to be fed almost daily. I would know soon enough if the writing was connecting with people. If it did, then I would entertain the possibility of bringing it out of Instagram to a larger audience in print.”
The other challenge for him as a creator having the work presented in landscape rather than the traditional waterfall page orientation. He explained this was NextChapter’s creative decision, which he wholeheartedly supported. “This was because it allowed for the large amount of commentary and educational text that was added in sidebars which gives readers insight into the creative process. The biggest challenge to the format was that because the comic was meant for Instagram, it had to be readable on a mobile phone interface. Lettering needed to be larger, so dialogue had to be succinct while still feeling natural. The art also had to be readable at a small size while still allowing me to indulge in my usual meticulous inking style.,” he said.
Los Angeles, CA – Producer and CEO of Wanderwell Entertainment Tara Ansley (TRAGEDY GIRLS, ST. AGATHA, BEAST BEAST) and entrepreneur Abhi Goel are excited to announce they have acquired the FANGORIA™, STARLOG™, and GOREZONE™ brands. All brands will live under the FANGORIA™ umbrella and develop projects based on the legacy publication’s 40+-year-old archive of work and history, with an eye on inclusivity and championing forward-thinking creators.
Fans tuning in to the DC FanDome Hall of Heroes received unexpected and welcome news today, courtesy of a surprise panel announcing the return of Milestone to DC publishing.
Today’s Legacy of the Bat panel in DC FanDome’s Hall of Heroes contained great
Burbank, CA (August 18, 2020) – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings consumers the opportunity to own more fan-favorite programming from the past several decades from the Warner Archive Collection. In September, five new TV and Animation titles will be released via Warner Archive including Prodigal Son: The Complete First Season, Harley Quinn: The Complete First and Second Season, Genesis II / Planet Earth – 2 Film Collection, Mom: The Complete Third Season and Riverdale: The Complete Fourth Season.
This just in: DC FanDome — the first-of-its-kind virtual experience for DC superfans globally — became too massive to contain in the four dimensions of only a single day on Earth-Prime! And we realized that not even The Flash could get through the entire 100+ hours of programming in 24 hours. With hours upon hours of content and choices of what to watch and explore, DC fans (including DC’s Jim Lee himself!) clamored for a way to access more of what DC FanDome has to offer. So, in order to super-serve the world’s finest fans, DC FanDome has been transformed into a two-part event: the eight-hour
