I never got into Superman like I did some of the other superheroes. One story I really enjoyed, though was his death. I never for a minute thought they would kill him and leave him dead, but I got into it anyway. I loved the ferocity of Doomsday, the mystery behind him, and the heroes getting their butts handed to them when they underestimated him. Doomsday was a machine of destruction with the world having one hope of salvation (let the metaphorical connections begin).

It was a battle of hopelessness with the heroes really putting their lives on the line like soldiers defending their countrymen. There was a lot of emotion in this story. Many heroes were very nearly killed, and their outmatched struggle carried a lot more weight than the standard light-hearted setbacks of many books. There's a usually a feeling that everything will be okay for the characters we love. This time there was more uncertainty. Blue Beetle didn't just limp off to recover and rejoin the fight later, he had to be rushed to the hospital fighting for his life.

I've been highly disappointed with nearly every appearance of Doomsday since. Really, how are they going to top him killing Superman? His other appearances make him seem more like any other super villain. Justice League Unlimited did a little better job with him than usual, but I got excited thinking they were going to adapt the death storyline only to find something different. I also heard that the Superman movie was going to focus on him dying. A live-action Doomsday with killer special effects? How awesome would that be? Of course, that didn't happen. Smallville would later go on to create an interesting version of Doomsday that I thought looked and worked really well for the most part, but his clash with Clark was one of the show's most disappointing moments.

Superman Doomsday does a better job with the character of Doomsday than most, but it's missing a lot of the elements that I loved from the original story. First, Doomsday is released from a spaceship prison and immediately starts killing people. In the book he is slowly revealed first by punching his way out of his prison then by the slow shredding of his prison suit and shackles. It's a less explosive but more satisfying reveal that I miss in the movie.

The next change I dislike is the complete absence of all heroes except Superman. Superman flies off to stop Doomsday first thing with none of the dramatic destruction from the original story. I guess there wasn't enough time to work that in, but even a little of it, if done well enough, would have been great. The Doomsday portion is actually only about a third of the story of this movie. The rest deals with what happens after Superman's death. I was hoping for more emphasis on the first part, but I can understand the need for the rest. I would have been up for extending the movie for more of the Doomsday storyline. Heck, a movie trilogy with a full 1.5 hours devoted to each segment might have been good.

A strong emphasis is put on Lois and Superman having a physically intimate relationship. It feels to me like the sex is added to give this movie credibility as an “adult” story, but by focusing on it so much they severely hamper the emotional connection between the two characters which weakens the impact of Lois watching Superman die more than I would have thought possible. The impact of Lois' personal loss with Superman's death is there, but I think it could have been a lot stronger if the movie makers had been less hung up on generating the adult feel and more focused on what would be best for the story.

A big change I don't mind so much is the interim Superman. If you know the written story at all you may remember that there were 4 incarnations of Superman after the death of Clark. Four is too much for an hour and a half movie so they combined elements of a few different stand-ins into one. This works well and opens the door for the inclusion of Lex Luthor which is another change for the better, at least in a limited movie setting. Lex provides a core antagonist from which the others can branch without having to spend a lot of extra time introducing and explaining a less familiar character. The epic written story didn't need that, but it helps generate cohesiveness in the movie.

The art style is different from the usual Bruce Timm and company productions. Superman has pronounced cheekbones and more lines in his face. This style does not look as good with his overall design. Lex looks considerably different which is bothersome only if you're used to the other style. There are some other differences, but none that stood out to me as much as those.

Overall the animation is smooth and detailed, but not to a level impressive enough to set it apart from the TV episodes. The Doomsday battle lacks the impression of raw power that I expected, although some later battles have more of that.

The cast is completely changed from animated TV show. Adam Baldwin does a nice job as Superman though I would still have preferred Tim Daly. Anne Heche takes over for Dana Delany, and I don't think she's as good, especially at first. She does improve through the course of the movie, though. James Marsters is Lex Luthor (notable since he is known as the live-action Braniac, although at no point does Lex seem like Brainiac). John Dimaggio, Tom Kenny, and a few other notable voice actors have small roles. Overall the acting is pretty good with some faltering moments.