Superman: Man of Tomorrow
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Release Date: August 23, 2020 – Digital; September 8, 2020 – 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray
Synopsis: Daily Planet intern Clark Kent takes learning-on-the-job to new extremes when Lobo and Parasite set their sights on Metropolis in Superman: Man of Tomorrow, a bold entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the feature-length animated film will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital starting August 23, 2020, and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack on September 8, 2020.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow Special Features
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital
-Lobo: Natural Force of Chaos (New Featurette) – He’s the rude, crude, galactic bounty hunter who has been more than a thorn in the side of DC’s greatest heroes. This is a full throttle look at Lobo.
-Martian Manhunter: Lost and Found (New Featurette) – This is the personal journey of J’onn J’onzz. A stranger in a strange land who emerges from the shadows as a force for peace and justice.
-Look Back: Justice League vs. The Fatal Five (Featurette) – The Earth’s future hangs in the balance when the Justice League faces a powerful new threat – the Fatal Five. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman seek answers as the time-traveling trio of Mano, Persuader and Tharok terrorize Metropolis in search of budding Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz – whom they need to be able to free remaining Fatal Five members Emerald Empress and Validus in order to carry out their sinister plan. But the Justice League discover an ally from another time in the peculiar Star Boy – brimming with volatile power, could he be the key to thwarting the Fatal Five? An epic battle against ultimate evil awaits!
-Look Back: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (Featurette) – Based on the popular Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness comic series/graphic novel, the film finds United States President Lex Luthor using the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit help – to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.
-From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series, “The Main Man, Part I”
-From the DC Vault: Superman: The Animated Series, “The Main Man, Part II”
-Movie trailers:
—Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
—Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge
—Superman: Red Son
-A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie – An advanced look at the next animated film in the popular DC Universe Movies collection.
Editions covered in this review. Additional imagery below.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Review
by James Harvey
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Superman: Man of Tomorrow to home media, in both physical and digital formats, and while the main feature looks fantastic, especially in 4K Ultra HD, the bonus content comes up a little short. Still, the lack of hefty bonus content shouldn’t hold back and viewers from experiencing this excellent iteration of the iconic hero’s first steps toward the cape.
Looking first at the audio and visual quality, it’s another home-run for the studio. In terms of the video presentation, Superman: Man of Tomorrow‘s 4K 2160p transfer is especially fantastic. It’s crisp, clear and – thanks to the movie’s bright palette – the colors absolutely jump off the screen. Colors are full and vibrant, and blacks are deep and pure. The visuals just look flat-out great. For audio, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix offers great dynamic range and crisp sound. Dialogue is centered and pushed to the front, with atmospheric work nicely spread throughout all channels. Action beats hit appropriately hard, dialogue-driven scenes are clear and the overall volume is nicely balanced. All in all, it’s top-notch.
When comparing the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release to the Blu-ray and iTunes digital release, it’s no competition. While those two latter formats offer a fine presentation for their respective format, the physical 4K Ultra HD release unquestionably surpasses both in terms of audio and video.
Moving on to the bonus content, included on the Blu-ray packed with the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release, here the spotlight falls upon two of the film’s key supporting characters, Lobo and Martian Manhunter. Up first is the “Lobo: Natural Force of Chaos” featurette, which runs a little over 10 minutes, includes talent from both the movie and DC Comics, including Sheridan, artists Jon Bogdanove and Bernard Chang, DC Comics personality Hector Navarro, voice actor Ryan Hurst, among others. It covers the character’s introduction, popularity and endurance in both comics and other media. It’s a solid overview of the Man Main and features plenty of cool tidbits and face-time from comic creators. Up next is the nearly nine-minute “Martian Manhunter: Lost and Found,” featuring plenty of familiar faces from the Lobo featuette, along with others, and offers a look at the character’s history and some interesting insights in why he differs from Superman despite similar backgrounds.
Continuing, Superman: Man of Tomorrow also includes a nearly 12-minute “A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie” for Batman: Soul of the Dragon. It offers a hefty look at the upcoming movie, and features cast and crew members (including Jim Krieg, Bruce Timm and Sam Liu, among others), finished animation, production art and perhaps Krieg’s best ‘interview look’ to date. Following that, bonus content wraps up with vintage previews for Justice League vs. The Fatal Five and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies two standard definition episodes of Superman: The Animated Series – “The Main Man” parts one and two – and trailers for Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Superman: Red Son and Mortal Kombat Legends. A digital copy of the film is included, as well as a regular Blu-ray copy.
And, much like Superman’s origin tale here, even the physical media packaging for Superman: Man of Tomorrow gets a similar refresh. While the cover looks to follow the standard design we’ve seen on these titles since the start, the spine and back packaging for the movie’s physical media release are distinctly different than the previously used trade dress (and, if you look closely, the movie’s Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases seems to tease/spoil a couple characters in the small image box on the packaging’s spine).
Additionally, WaterTower Music is releasing Riepl’s score for Superman: Man of Tomorrow (September 10, 2020, digital only) and it’s well worth seeking out. Riepl has done quite a few noteworthy projects for Warner Bros. Animation (including the Batman Unlimited series, Justice League Action and Constantine: City of Demons, among others), but the work he puts into this stirring Superman story is arguably some of his best to date. His score for the movie actually ends up playing a pretty crucial role in the movie’s story-telling. While the film presents itself as bright, optimistic and hopeful – and it is – Riepl gives Superman: Man of Tomorrow this dark, uneasy vibe that really beefs up and fuels some of the film’s key themes. Superman: Man of Tomorrow (Soundtrack from the DC Universe Movie) is a legitimately fascinating listening experience that takes us, much like the movie itself, to some rather unexpected but intriguing places.
All in all, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has put together a good release for the Superman: Man of Tomorrow animated movie, but it is a shade light when it comes to bonus content. For a movie such as this, either a new featurette or a ‘classic’ one covering Superman’s story – even if we’re all incredibly familiar with it – would’ve been worth including. Still, the big draw is the main feature and, predictably and thankfully, the studio delivers with both a strong video and audio transfer. For viewers looking to watch Superman: Man of Tomorrow in the best possible format, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release is unquestionably the way to go, but the regular Blu-ray and Digital HD presentations do serve as fine alternatives. With a solid feature presentation and a nice helping of bonus content to watch on home media, Superman: Man of Tomorrow definitely comes Recommended!
Please note that while Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided The World’s Finest with a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray copy of Superman: Man of Tomorrow to review, that had no impact on the product’s final assessment. The author did purchase a copy of the film on iTunes for completion and comparison purposes.
[ Continue on to the Superman: Man of Tomorrow Feature review ]