Superman: Unbound is the latest DC Animated Universe film to hit the shelves this past week. Adapted from a 2008 story arc Superman: Brainiac by Geoff Johns, Unbound revolves around the iconic villain Brainiac and the bottled city of Kandor from Superman’s home planet of Krypton.
When Superman encounters a meteor heading for Earth, he discovers that it is a Brainiac drone that was sent to locate him. After defeating the drone, Superman brings it back to his Fortress of Solitude. It is there with the help of Supergirl, that Superman learns more about who Brainiac is and what he had done to the city of Kandor where Supergirl is from. Brainiac had miniaturized and bottled the capital city of Krypton and has kept it as some sort of trophy aboard his skull ship. Having witnessed this after being sent away and saved by her parents much like baby Kal-El by his parents before her, Supergirl is terrified by Brainiac. Because of this, Unbound is as much a Supergirl story as it is Superman. The ability to face your fears is very prevalent in this story. This revelation regarding Kandor and Krypton is all new to Superman who’s only connection with his home planet is through the holo-crystals that was placed in his ship by his father Jor-El before the destruction of Krypton.
Fearing more drones, Superman seeks to find Brainiac and put an end to his reign of terror. After a failed attempt, Superman is captured by Brainiac and soon discovers a room full of bottled cities that Brainiac uses to collect information before eventually destroying it after it serves its usefulness. Now a prisoner of Kandor, Superman meets his uncle Zor-El and his aunt Alura. This differs from the original story arc and is a welcome addition. It somehow personalizes and humanizes him in such a way that you hadn’t seen in a very long time. It is Superman’s first real connection with his home world.
Determined to not see Earth fall to a similar fate as Krypton, Superman formulates a plan and escapes Kandor. He takes the fight right to Brainiac. Brainiac proves to be formidable and in a lot of ways superior intellectually. But Superman being who he is takes an inspired approach to save not only Metropolis but our world as a whole. In the end not only does he save his adopted world, he is able to restore Kandor on a new planet… new Krypton if you will. This new Krypton and the fact that Brainiac is still very much active, lends itself to all sorts of possibilities.
Lead by fine voice work starting with Matt Bomer (White Collar) as Superman, Stana Katic (Castle) as Lois Lane, Molly Quinn (Castle) as Supergirl and the ever wonderful John Noble (Fringe) as Brainiac. This is one of the better Superman animated films both visually and from a story standpoint. Certainly better than the last two releases of Superman vs. The Elite and All-Star Superman. This is also the first film to not have long time producer Bruce Timm involved. If Superman: Unbound is any indication of the future of the DCAU, it looks to be in good hands for many years to come. DC Comics has a rich history regarding Superman and should continue to produce more standalone films like this one. Fans of the Man of Steel deserve and to be honest, so does their hero.
SUPERMAN: UNBOUND **1/2 (out of 4)
SUPERMAN: UNBOUND **1/2 (out of 4)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
