The Death of Superman took place from October and November of 1992, spanning five titles and seven issues. The plot involved an unknown monster, later to be named Doomsday, that goes on a destructive rampage. It's up to Superman to stop Doomsday before he can destroy Metropolis. An Epic Battle ensues; when the dust settles, and the battle is over, Doomsday is dead. Superman is exhausted, and soon dies in Lois Lane's arms.

But was it as ill conceived as Max Landis would like to have you believe? Yes, yes it was. Did you know the storyline of Superman's Death was born from Lois and Clark the television show? What? Yeah, let me explain. See DC Comics wanted to have a big event for Superman that would bring customers back to the Superman titles, since they weren't selling well at the time. So, the plan was to have Lois Lane and Clark Kent in the comic books get married, but at that same time writers for the Lois and Clark television show were proposing the same idea. Well Warner Bros. caught wind of the DC Comic's plan and asked them to put the wedding idea on the back burner for the betterment of the TV show.

DC Comics agreed to push back the wedding, but that left a huge void in their plans, and they desperately needed a new idea, thus The Death of Superman was born. It started as just a joke between the various writers who were brainstorming, and soon grew into something more.

And here is the problem with the story arc, the writers knew they were gonna kill off Superman, but they had no clue how they were gonna bring him back. They took a three month hiatus, and when the Superman comics came back they featured four individuals who could possibly be Superman. Really? We all knew that none of the four would actually be Superman and it really just didn't make any sense.

You had a The Man of Steel: John Henry Irons, who to be fair never actually claimed to be Superman. He was taking over the mantle as a way of protecting what Supes stood for. Then you had The Man of Tomorrow: Cyborg Superman, The Metropolis Kid: Teenaged Cloned Superman, and The Last Son of Krypton: Superman with a Visor.

And how did the really Superman come back to life? At some point The Last Son of Krypton steals Superman's body and places it into this device called the Matrix in the fortress of solitude. Superman wakes up with shaggy hair and in a weakened state, but soon battles the Cyborg Superman who has been destroying Coast City. I know I'm leaving a ton of stuff out, but it's all really confusing and unnecessary. Like I said previously it wasn't a very well thought out idea.


As for Max Landis and his short film, that will be told in the vein of Drunk History by celebrities: Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Elden Henson, Morgan Krantz, Zach Cregger, Ron Howard, Simon Pegg, Matt Bennett, Sarah Shahi, and Barats and Bereta.

Official Synopsis - The Death and Return of Superman forever changed comics. Superman's tragic death was not just mourned by comic book readers, it echoed throughout the entire country. What is never mentioned, however, is just how poorly conceived The Death and Return of Superman saga was and how it shattered the integrity of the comic book industry. A follow up to his previous comic web videos Cooking with Comics: Knightfall and Vague Recollections of: Watchmen, writer/director Max Landis shows us through reenactment just how ridiculous The Death of Superman saga became and how it affected the world of comics.

The Death and Return of Superman is making its premiere at 12pm on November 27. Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater (611 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036) is hosting the event.

Pictures Courtesy of shocktillyoudrop.com

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