Superman retellings are plentiful. That's because there's a sentimental swing toward the origin story. The latest DC/WB take on the legend is an animated feature subtitled "Man of Tomorrow". It's actually pretty good, despite some of its obvious redundancies. (BTW: This submission shouldn't be confused with DC's '90s comic-book series or Alan Moore/Curt Swain's epic, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow", culled from Superman #423 and Action Comics #583.)
For what it's worth, this tale, scripted by Tim Sheridan and directed by Chris Parker, does at least twist tradition enough to inject some originality into the format. For one, the Superboy/Smallville slant gets condensed, tossing Kal-El all the quicker into Metropolis/the Daily Planet (with Perry White sticking to his expected, cantankerous spurts) and a budding relationship with power-mover Lois Lane. (But hey, isn't that also the case with "Superman: the Movie"?) For another, Star Labs gets pushed to the backdrop hilt (and with no Flash in sight), so that through it, our icon gets some fellow, extraterrestrial advice from an early-bird Martian Manhunter. (And guess what? He's not the only outsider with a gun-jumping head start, but more on the other two momentarily).
For much of this movie, Superman is known more as a man with no name, while being garbed more like Brightburn than a Kryptonian-at-heart, but hey, there's nothing wrong with influence-swapping, as long as it works, which in this case, it does. (I mean, it's nowhere near as blasphemous as when Superman got his radical, "electric blue" makeover in '97. Remember how all hell broke loose over that one?)
Our "man of tomorrow'"s role as good-Samaritan protector beams bright when he confronts Lobo and the Parasite: the former pretty much what we've come to expect in his fledgling form and the latter more in sync with all those current, kaiju titans, albeit tinted by a nice, princely purple. (The Parasite's rise references "The Amazing Colossal Man"/"War of the Colossal Beast", which older viewers will no doubt discern.) Also, a dusted-off, Lyle Talbot-ish Lex Luthor joins the alien adversaries, which in the stream of this mythological rehash, feels only right.
As implied, depending on one's disposition, certain parts of this ninety-minute movie may play more to one's favor than others. In my humble estimation, the action-oriented segments, which distinguish much of the movie, may quake with edge-of-the-seat gusto, but the lead-ups and bridging sequences are what define it.
Again, it's the tiny twists that give this re-origin its super-strength (and perhaps a smidgen of "Superman and the Mole Men'"s tolerance philosophy), though I suspect that certain "purists" might take offense to some of the additives, depending on what version of Superman they perceive as pure. (To please audiences otherwise, the animation {delivered by the "Archer" team} is fluid and vivid, with right-on vocalizations that include Darren Criss, Alexandra Daddario, Brett Dalton, Ike Amadi, Ryan Hurst, Zachary Quinto, plus a glib gang of others.)
For admirers of Superman and his pop-cultural career, "Man of Tomorrow" is a must-see no matter what accolades or sneers they hear. For better or worse, the movie will probably be sequelized. If so, further originality could (should) be showered throughout Kal-El's re-tuned world, perhaps justifying this chapter's goal. If so, all the more power to "Man of Tomorrow".
However, out of respect to Kal-El, let's hope that if there's a sequel (and I'd put money on there being one), the story at least measure up to the great Kryptonian's super-b, do-the-right-thing legacy. Granted, this one is fine as it stands, but the next one's gotta be all the finer to keep those purists in tow.
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