Reign of the Supermen (film)

Reign of the Supermen is an animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. The film is a direct sequel to the 2018 animated film The Death of Superman, based on the comic book of the same name that continues from "The Death of Superman" storyline. It is the 13th film in the DC Animated Movie Universe and the 33rd film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The film was released in limited Fathom Events theaters on January 13, 2019, and to digital and Blu-ray on January 15, 2019.

Plot
Six months following Superman's death and sacrifice to defeat Doomsday, the world has been introduced to four new, different versions of the hero: Superboy, Steel, Cyborg Superman, and the Eradicator. Each one of them is different in their personalities and crime-fighting style compared to the original Man of Steel; leaving the world questioning which one, if any, is the true Superman come back to life. Lois Lane, still reeling from Clark's death, decides to investigate.

Lex Luthor holds a press conference introducing Superboy as the true Superman, sponsored and bankrolled by LexCorp. Lois attends the conference, along with Steel, and sneaks inside one of the labs inside LexCorp. It is there that Lois discovers through scientist Dabney Donovan that Superboy is a clone of Superman. Suddenly, the conference is attacked by the Eradicator, who seeks to "eradicate" Luthor. Superboy and later Steel try to stop him, only to be defeated until the timely arrival of Cyborg Superman, who fights and drives away Eradicator; making him come across as the real Superman to many and angering Luthor. Lois writes an expose revealing Superboy to be a clone and asking if all of the Supermen are fakes. This leads to a meeting between her and Cyborg Superman, telling him she knows he isn't the Superman she knew and loved.

Luthor, angry that Superboy wasn't declared the true Superman, forces Superboy to be security detail for the President of the United States. Superboy soon butts heads with the Justice League as the President arrives to launch the new Justice League Watchtower. Then, a boom tube opens and Parademons terrorize the event. Superboy is defeated, and the Justice League hold their own while Cyborg Superman saves the President. Then the boom tube collapses and falls onto the League, appearing to have killed all of them. With Cyborg Superman declared the "real" Superman, Luthor, on the verge of injecting Superboy with a fatal substance, angrily reveals Superboy to be a clone of both Superman and Luthor himself; deciding against destroying the only viable Superman clone, Luther instead unleashes the remaining failed clones to kill Donovan out of frustration. While Cyborg Superman visits the grave of Terri Henshaw, he gets a message from Darkseid to begin. Lois and Irons learn of this visit, and discover that Cyborg Superman is really Hank Henshaw.

Cyborg Superman announces to the world his plans for a new Justice League; a Cyber Corps, composed of regular people that he grants superpowers. Everyone agrees, and while it has good results at first, many become drones in the process, losing their humanity. Lois recognizes the technology as Apokoliptian and questions Luthor's involvement, as he's stolen the technology before. Steel confronts Intergang, Luthor's buyers of the tech, only to discover that they have been attacked by the Eradicator. Steel follows the weapons' signal to the Fortress of Solitude while Lois breaks into Luthor's penthouse and meets Superboy once again, who reveals he knew Luthor had previously intended to kill him, which has shaken his allegiance to his 'father'. Steel and the Eradicator fight while Lois and Superboy, and later Luthor, get a video call from the fight. Lois discovers the Eradicator is technology that protects Kryptonians, and realizes that the real Superman is inside the Fortress. Soon, Superman is revived and stops the fight. At the same time, Lois and Luthor see a broadcast from inside Cyborg Superman's mind, revealing Darkseid and his plans to invade, and that he orchestrated the deaths of both Superman and the Justice League in response to the failure of his previous attempt. Lois and Luthor form a plan just as Superman, Steel, and Superboy head to Metropolis.

Cyborg Superman begins the invasion, using the Cyber Corps to open a giant boom tube over Metropolis as Lois heads inside the Watchtower and reveals to Cyborg Superman that she knows who he really is. When the Watchtower reveals the real Superman heading towards him, Henshaw betrays Darkseid and closes the boom tube, stopping the invasion, so he can personally kill Superman and take his revenge against him. He orders the drones to attack Metropolis, just as Superman arrives and the fight begins. The battle is one-sided though, as Superman isn't at full strength yet, and Cyborg Superman reveals he blames Superman for not being there to save him and his wife from the Excalibur space shuttle disaster. Luthor uses the Mother Box to free the Justice League, who were actually imprisoned in another dimension, to help Steel and Superboy defeat the drones. Cyborg Superman launches the Watchtower into orbit to prevent the League from aiding Lois and Superman. With Superman nearly defeated, Lois opens the Watchtower's window shutters so the sun's yellow rays shine on Superman, bringing him back to full power and allowing him to defeat and kill Cyborg Superman with help from his "wild card", the Eradicator, in the form of one of the Fortress' crystals which injects the Eradicator's program into Henshaw's brain and destroys him from within. With Cyborg Superman dead, the battle ends when the drones are deactivated, although all of the people who were turned into drones die in the process.

Weeks later, Clark Kent is revealed to be alive (with the cover story of having been stranded off grid during the Doomsday attack), and the real Superman, donning a new suit, is welcomed back to the world with open arms. Clark later tells Lois that Superboy, with the new name Conner, now lives with his parents Jonathan and Martha Kent.

In a post-credits scene, the Justice League meet up at the Watchtower and agree to end the war with Darkseid by going to Apokolips. Luthor agrees revealing that the Justice League have (reluctantly) invited him to join as their newest member.

Release
Reign of the Supermen was released and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in limited Fathom Events theaters on January 13 and 14, 2019, and in Digital HD on January 15, 2019. The film's Blu-ray was originally scheduled for release on January 29, 2019, but was instead moved up to January 15.