On Tuesday, May 7, Superman: Unbound flies into stores, fully ready for upload into your brains via your eyeballs. Based on the SUPERMAN: BRAINIAC graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, the movie is the latest in the line of DC Universe Animated Original Movies, following the critically acclaimed Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and Part 2, Justice League: Doom, Wonder Woman and more.
And we got to see it already. It’s one of the awesome perks of the job, along with the comics... and free ice cream on Mondays, rides on the Invisible Jet on Tuesdays, Batman-impersonation contests on Wednesdays, and now Injustice tournaments on Fridays, complete with a one-week bragging rights voucher (what now Jerry?!).
Okay, we feel pretty bad for teasing you like that—so we’re going to tease you even more (but in the good way) by sharing what we learned from our advanced viewing and giving you the 5.2 Reasons to Witness Superman: Unbound!
1. Matt Bomer as Superman
Along with looking exactly the part, White Collar star Matt Bomer actually auditioned for the role of the Man of Steel in Superman Returns back in the day, and while he ended up losing out to Brandon Routh, it’s quite excellent to see him take on the role here. His voice resonates the perfect level of authority and charm, reminiscent of George Newbern of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
2. John Noble as Brainiac
It’s pretty much a no-brainer. You hear that Fringe’s John Noble (a.k.a. freakin’ Denethor from Lord of the Rings) voices the Man of Steel’s super-smart, super-dangerous alien adversary and you immediately think, “Well, clearly, he’s going to be fantastic.” This is entirely accurate. He’s amazing.
3. Stana Katic, Molly Quinn... the Entire Voice Cast, Really
Stana Katic plays Lois Lane exactly as she should be—courageous, snarky, and not only opinionated but also not afraid to make sure you’re aware of it—and Molly Quinn brings an angry innocence to Kara that perfectly fits her stranger-in-a-strange land backstory. Supergirl in general is very, very awesome, which reminds us...
4. PG-13, Indeed!
From heads getting exploded by invading Brainiac drones to Supergirl and Superman wrecking shop in Brainiac’s ship, there is a lot of action to be found in this film. Even the staff of the Daily Planet gets in on it—tossing drones out the window. However, “sequences of violence and action” aren’t the only reason for the rating: the DVD case also teases “a rude gesture,” which received a HUGE round of applause when Superman: Unbound debuted this year at WonderCon and makes for one of the most memorable and greatest moments from the movie.
5. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
Get a first look at the next DC Universe Animated project heading to home video later this summer. The cast list alone causes the excitement-o-meter to head off the scale. All we’ll say is the movie features one of the cast members from The Princess Bride, which is enough to make it a must buy.
5.1 Jimmy Olsen Wearing his Signature Bowtie
5.2 “Welcome to Earth”
Whether spoken by Will Smith in Independence Day or the Man of Steel here, this line never gets old.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming Superman: Unbound? What Superman-related would you love to see adapted? Let us know in the comments!
