Movie Substrate · Film

Superman: Doomsday (2007)

★ 6.7 · 710 ratings on TMDB

Where were you the day Superman died?

Superman: Doomsday poster★ 6.7

When LexCorp accidentally unleashes a murderous creature, Superman meets his greatest challenge as a champion. Based on the "The Death of Superman" storyline that appeared in DC Comics' publications in the 1990s.

DirectorBrandon Vietti, Bruce Timm, Lauren Montgomery
CastAdam Baldwin, Adam Wylie, Anne Heche, Chris Cox, Cree Summer, James Marsters
GenresAction, Animation, Science Fiction
The emergence reading

In Superman: Doomsday, consciousness is carried by aliens — a plane of “alien hero metropolis”. The story fights on E8/E11 of the E0–E14 reality ladder, compressing identity, power, authority, mortality.

↷ aliensUSidentitypowerauthoritymortality
Also inConsciousness hiding in aliensFilms about mortalityFilms about identityFilms that move consciousness off the human
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Same rung, same subject

Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.

Leroy & Stitch (2006)E8 · authority, identityDoctor Who (1996)E8 · identity, mortalityMegamind: The Button of Doom (2011)E8 · authority, identityVenom (2018)E8/E11 · identity, powerMan of Steel (2013)E8/E11 · identity, powerFree Solo (2018)E8/E11 · authority, identity

Same subject, different rung

The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.

Wolfwalkers (2020)E7/E9/E10 · rare rung · identity, powerDogma (1999)E9/E10/E14 · rare rung · authority, mortalityThe Odyssey (2026)E6/E9/E10 · rare rung · authority, identityDamsel (2024)E6/E9/E10 · rare rung · authority, powerDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)E12/E14 · rare rung · authority, mortalityReturn to Oz (1985)E10/E13 · rare rung · authority, identity

Also hides consciousness here

Other films that move a human interior onto the same kind of thing.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)consciousness in aliens · mythic pantheonThor: Ragnarok (2017)consciousness in aliens · mythic apocalypseBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)consciousness in aliens · heroic mythic conflictSuperman (2025)consciousness in aliens · alien hero geopoliticsSuperman II (1980)consciousness in aliens · alien-superhero EarthSuperman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)consciousness in aliens · alien-hero metropolis

Same subject, different mask

The same preoccupations carried by a different kind of thing — grief told through the dead, an animal, a machine.

OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom (2024)consciousness in monsters · authority, identityBlade Runner (1982)consciousness in machines · identity, mortalityMaleficent (2014)consciousness in monsters · authority, identityThe Lion King (1994)consciousness in animals · authority, identityThe Emperor's New Groove (2000)consciousness in animals · authority, identityWrath of the Titans (2012)consciousness carried elsewhere · authority, mortality

Same people

Shared director or cast.

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)dir. Brandon ViettiDC Showcase - Batman: Death in the Family (2020)dir. Brandon ViettiWonder Woman (2009)dir. Lauren MontgomeryBatman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)dir. Bruce TimmBatman: Year One (2011)dir. Lauren MontgomeryAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)dir. Lauren Montgomery