Up, up, and ehh...

I just caught the new Superman animated movie simply subtitled Brainiac Attacks.

Great to hear Tim Daly back as Clark, and Brainiac is one of the most conniving and powerful villains. His teaming with Lex Luthor is set against the momentous story of Clark debating whether to reveal himself to Lois. I kept watching to see part of the lore not covered by the original 1996-2000 run.

Lois gets caught in the crossfire of Brainiac's attack. She comes down with a fast-acting form of kryptonite blood poisoning, spurring Superman on a perilous journey into the Phantom Zone to find the only substance that can save her. Unfortunately Duane Capizzi's writing seemed oddly jokey and forced, no match for the epic premise. There also seemed to be a tad too much exposition:

Perry: Lois sure lives dangerously.

Clark (having an epiphany): Yes. she does. Whether I'm around or not.

Internal monologue as Superman flying off: I think Lois will be just fine. As long as Clark Kent and Superman are around to look out for her.

All of which makes me think this production was simplified for younger viewers. And while many of the original voices returned with Daly, Luthor, Brainiac, and Mercy Graves were all new, as was voice director Susan Blu. The only other name I recognized from the original WB run was director Curt Geda.