Make It 'Reign' With The Trailer And Pictures From 'Reign Of The Supermen'

Into each ‘Death’ a little ‘Reign’ must fall. Following the release of ‘The Death of Superman’ in July of this year, Warner Brothers Animation is following that adaptation up with another, ‘Reign of the Supermen’. Originally published in 1993, the ‘Reign of the Supermen’ storyline wove through all four of the then-current Superman comic books– ‘Superman’, ‘Action Comics’, ‘Adventures of Superman’, and ‘Superman: The Man of Steel’– plus ‘Green Lantern’ and introduced the world to four characters, any of whom could be the Man of Steel reincarnated, following his death at the hands of Doomsday in 1992’s ‘Superman’ #75.

The ‘Supermen’ included a cold, extraterrestrial, referred to as The Last Son of Krypton; what appeared to be the original Superman-turned-cyborg, the Man of Tomorrow; an armor clad hero, carrying a powerful sledgehammer, a literal Man of Steel; and The Metropolis Kid, a teenager that may be a clone of Superman.

What happens when these four arrive sends the world and its heroes, the Justice League, spinning. Lois Lane is determined to figure out which figure– if any– is the man she loved?

Watch the trailer below and read on, but WARNING, if you are unfamiliar with the original comic book story and its aftermath, the information presented definitely falls into SPOILER territory:

Jerry O’Connell returns to voice Superman, while his wife in real life, Rebecca Romijn voices Lois Lane. Romijn made her DC debut in ‘The Death of Superman’, along with Rainn Wilson, who provided the voice for Lex Luthor. Wilson also returns in this movie, along with Toks Olagundoye as Cat Grant. Other DC animated stalwarts, Nathan Fillion and Nyambi Nyambi also return, as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern and J’Onn J’Onzz the Martian Manhunter, respectively.

Patrick Fabian reprises his role as Hank Henshaw, the character that later turned out to be the Cyborg Superman. ‘Shameless’ and ‘Gotham’ actor Cameron Monaghan voices Superboy, while Cress Williams— who plays ‘Black Lightning’ on The CW live action series– will voice John Henry Irons, the armor clad replacement Superman, who later simply went by the codename Steel. O’Connell is credited as voicing Cyborg Superman, so it’s possible that he and Fabian are tag-teaming this role, or it’s also possible that he is mistakenly credited as Cyborg Superman when he really voices the alien-like being that was later known as the Eradicator, who doesn’t have a voice actor credit.

In an interview with IGN, Fabian discussed his role as Henshaw and the film itself, saying:

“Lois wants to believe. Lois wants to think that Superman is not gone. And when she’s presented with these different versions, Cyborg’s sort of the closest and the most convincing. And, you know, she asks him questions that only Superman could know. It’s a very touching scene that happens on the balcony. He’s not able to provide that answer, which would seal the deal, but it’s because, you know, he’s now Cyborg Superman, and he’s lost some in the transition, so his memory is not what it used to be. Which allows her that wonderful ember of hope, that indeed he may be it. Because, you know, that’s what she wants.”

Check the replacements out below: