We do not know if All-Star Superman is based on a comic series, miniseries, graphic novel or none of the above. And quite frankly, we do not care. We are judging this strange direct release solely on its own merits (or lack thereof).
What? Even Lex Luthor gets heat vision? It’s enough to make Batman jealous.
If we were to rename this feature, we might call it “A Series of Unconnected Events”. It felt like one of those disjointed amalgamated movies made from a number of unrelated 30 minute episodes glued together. Additionally some of those unrelated episodes featured weird and unfamiliar characters that had no time to be adequately fleshed out.
Who are these goofballs and why should we care?
“Oh, you two are those famous missing Kryptonian astronauts with the super elitist attitude…” Who? There goes one unrelated half-hour.
Nice hats Kryptonian super-jerks. Picking up TV signals?
“Oh no, it’s that sun- corrupting …computer thingee…” We had no idea what the heck that thing was even all about. Another wasted half-hour.
What the heck? Dropped out of nowhere… WHAT IS IT?
“Oh look Lois, here is a special formula I have been secretly developing that will give you my superpowers for 24 hours.” Huh? Really?
“Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s…”
In this segment we also get to meet some fourth string characters that were hardly interesting and made little sense as presented. Samson and some other goofball who made even less sense and whose name we do not even care to look up. Dufus.
Do you really want our patented one sentence synopsis for this gem? Superman helps some weird scientist we do not even know but in the process gets fatally dosed with radiation and is dying so he decides to share his secret with Lois, turn her into a super being for 24 hours, battle some strange sun computer thing, sort of fight a couple D-listers, have a completely unrelated series of interactions with elitist Kryptonian jerks and all the while battles wits with Lex Luthor who seems to have gotten the upper hand in this battle as apparently he successfully murders Superman.
No. Lex Luthor has narcissistic personality disorder?
If you still want to watch this feature after reading that, you deserve everything coming your way. It was not an awful feature, but it was an awful waste. The art direction, music and animation quality were average. The discombobulated story was the part that was sub-par. Overall it was morose and depressing. Superman is indirectly murdered by Lex Luthor? Yeah, Superman apparently dies. We are so glad we watched… *ugh*
So what color IS Lois Lane’s hair?
One of the things we did like was the depiction of Clark Kent. It was good to see his clumsy bumbling, especially when it was used to secretly save people. Nice touch. Some recent Superman features have almost completely glossed over the secret identity portion of Superman.
Although Superman did wrestle with a bout of Kryptonian Rosacea.
Which of the following were not in All-Star Superman?
- Dr. Leo Quintum (Who?)
- Perry White uttering “Great Caesar’s ghost”
- Parasite
- Jimmy Olsen inexplicably dressed as a woman
- Some goofball named Atlas
- Krytonian superpowered Lex Luthor
- Mysterio
It is a trick question. They were all in it. …Okay, not Mysterio, but his appearance might have helped. “I’ll use my tricks to defeat you Spider-man!”
You know, there is nothing wrong with writing an interesting, dedicated hour and a half feature script. One that is specifically designed to make for an entertaining movie experience. We do not know what this one was based on but apparently making a cohesive cinematic feature was not one of the script’s goals.
“Ultra-Sphinx”? Really? You know DC, this is where some people start to have a problem with your brand…
We surmise All-Star Superman will be interesting to a niche audience, but the strange and dare we say -weird? -self-important? -sullen? -melancholy script will not appeal to the masses who would otherwise enjoy a solid Superman movie.
Check Out Our Takes on Other
DC Comics Superhero Related Media
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 1 part 1
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 1 part 2
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 2
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 3
Batman: Under the Red Hood [2010]
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman [2003]
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse [2010]
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies [2009]
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights [2011]
Green Lantern: First Flight [2009]
All-Star Superman [2011]
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths [2010]
Justice League: The New Frontier [2008]
Young Justice [2010] Season 1
Wonder Woman [2009]
F o r t r e s s T a k e s 
I see those in the Fortress strike again with their wit. I don’t normally follow these type of shows, but it is fun to see the Fortress take on such hits or bombs once in a while.
Already I could tell there was something wrong with this show with the “Goofball League” picture you posted. I think it’s a Kevin Levin wannabe on the left and Captain Ameri-oh, I mean, Captain Planet on the right. The girl in the middle looks fairly forgettable. See? I’ve already forgotten about her. The animation quality doesn’t seem very high in that shot either. But that’s just me being picky. 😉
The only thing I might like about the Kryptonian “super-jerks” is the Tron-like design of their outfits and that awesome Zelda Triforce (well, more like a Quadforce).
LOL. The Witch of Metropolis picture is funny. I have to admit, it would be fun to have Superman’s powers for a while, without the aid of a broom. I too am in shock to see Lois flying…on her own. What happened to having the normal civilian crew as Superman’s backup support team? Not everyone should be super. Us normal people can be super without being…you know what I mean. Ha.
“…whose name we do not even care to look up. Dufus.” Nice! I’m guessing you wrote “Dufus” as a proper noun? Lol.
Wow, and the funny pics keep coming. They work so well because they are either ridiculous (like the cool multi-framed animated Samson gif) or out of context (in the Lex Luther flexing picture). Yes Lex, we see your pecs. Yes, they are so amazing. Yes, can we move on now!
Did I read that right?: “Successfully murders Superman”? I am sorry so much time was spent watching this series on the Fortress’s behalf. 😦
I like the point you made about how many recreations of Superman have forgotten to include his Clark Kent identity. Sad really, that’s what made his character so compelling. That flip-flop created a lot of fun and hi-jinks that we miss.
Looking at that last picture, with the uh, Ultra-Sphinx, I think there is only so many places the DC universe can justifiably go. If they thought throwing in a little bit of this culture or that culture would add flavor, they were mistaken. Or do it in small doses, please.
Nice take, and funny for a casual DC-follower.
Thanks for dropping by with your comments Zhanneel. We are used to reading you on Winx and W.I.T.C.H.
We are sorry this niche feature will not greatly entertain most mainstream & casual superhero/Superman fans. Thank goodness Fortress Takes is here to take up that entertainment slack.
Does that goofball on the right resemble Captain Planet? Maybe. Does that snooty Kryptonian’s logo look like the triforce? It does! We could have inserted a picture here for either of your two comments, but instead opted for the one below. We do not know if the Superman/Lois Lane relationship is ready for this new dynamic…
Wowsas. I’ve heard of women picking up men at a club, but this is ridiculous.
(I sense a lot of cringing. Perhaps I went too far with the puns this time, ha ha.)
All star superman is based on, surprise, surprise! All Star Superman comic series. Its a 12 issue series thats highly acclaimed and it that has a lot more sub plot. Agree that the movie looks chopped up and unrelated plots all over the joint and this is due to DC’s inexplicable need to keep their movies under 1.30 hours. Had they stuck to a 2 hour or in this case a 2.30 hour movie the story could’ve been very well told and made sense to anyone who havent read the comic. Also some needless plot changes had been done and those really mess the story up. In the comic, Luthor doesnt get a change of heart at the end and neither does he actually sequence Superman’s DNA. There’s quite a bit of characters that are not main stream Superman villains or other characters so only a fan would spot their relevance.
Once again a great story is butchered by DC because of their urge to keep it ludicrously short.
Thank you for understanding our point of view Ace. We want to like and enjoy these outings. Trying to condense so much material into such a short period was ill advised. Honestly, few people who watch these mass market animated releases have read some 12 issue comic series. Just look at how Watchmen was received (the movie).
On the opinion front we do not think Morrison is our cup of tea and the plots he chose for the series are not very fun or uplifting. If you are not looking for that this movie is still a little disjointed. If one wants to write the morose, depressing and overly serious, perhaps Superman is not the best character for it.
While some may agree or disagree with that, one thing is for sure, this movie did not hit whatever mark it was aiming for. Unless that mark was to be sub-par.
Good comment Ace.
The comic is one of the most uplifting superhero comics in years, perhaps decades. Nothing morose, depressing and overly serious about it at all.
Thanks for weighing in. As stated, our take is about the feature only, not the comic. We cannot confirm the veracity of your opinion about the comic. However we do know what you describe did not come across in this mixed up animation.
I was almost pissed off after I watched this. Granted, I don’t know much about this particular Superman story, and there were some good things about it…but as a whole it just didn’t work. I don’t want to say it seemed as if they were trying too hard or rushed through it, but in a way, that’s how it seemed to me.
I agree with you about the whole disjointed feel of it. I mentioned in my review of it that the Black Panther DVD (which is a series of 6 episodes) had more continuity in it. Such a shame…a real shame. I had such high hopes.
Hopefully Emerald Knights will redeem DC becasue this was bad…real bad!
Yeah. While overall DC has had some good quality direct to home animated releases, their intent, story choice and writing has been sporadic and suspect. You are disappointed and you sound like more of a hardcore fan. Imagine how the majority of casual superhero fans out there who just want a decent Superman story feel.
So Mystery Man, feel free if you like to place a link to your review here. We would be interested in reading it and letting it add to the discussion.
…link added!
lol nah, not really a hardcore fan…just know bits and pieces. i’ll edit my post to include a link later on tonight. i always enjoy discussions with you guys, so its the least i can do!
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I’ve got to agree wholeheartedly with you here. All-Star Superman was just a mess. I’d never read the comics (save for issue 1, which was part of free comic book day a few years back), so I don’t know how close it sticks to the source, but it just feels like they tried to fit too many good elements into their running time, essentially ruining it.
Grilled cheese with bacon tastes great. Grilled cheese with onion, bacon, radish, peanut butter and mayonnaise does not.
That word picture of food says a lot. We will add another picture to that sentiment.