Superman Returns (video game)

Lore & Background

The game's story begins with a meteor shower over Metropolis, which Superman destroys. He then travels to the remains of Krypton, but is intercepted by Mongul and forced into gladiatorial combat on Warworld. After defeating Mongul's champions and Mongul himself (in scripted fights where Superman is invulnerable), Superman returns to Earth to face Metallo, who attacks the city with an army of robots. Superman ultimately defeats Metallo by tearing through his kryptonite-powered body and removing his power source. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor steals data crystals from the Fortress of Solitude and uses them to create a new continent, also releasing Bizarro and other villains. Superman defeats Bizarro, Riot, and a returning Mongul, then stops Luthor's scheme by lifting the new continent.

Reader's Guide

Superman Returns received poor reviews across all platforms. GameRankings scores ranged from 31.92% (DS) to 54.18% (Xbox), while Metacritic scores ranged from 33/100 (DS) to 51/100 (Xbox and Xbox 360). The game features an 80-square-mile free-roaming map of Metropolis, with the ability to fly into the stratosphere. Superman is invincible in the main game, but a damage meter for the city can end the game if fully depleted. Powers include heat vision, freeze breath, and super strength, each with energy levels that deplete a stamina meter, which can be recharged by absorbing sunlight. The game includes unlockable alternate costumes (Pod Suit and Golden Age Suit) and a Bizarro mode where the player destroys objects within a time limit. IGN criticized the game's lack of a concluding villain.

Did You Know?

• Superman can fly at speeds up to 800 mph, faster than the speed of sound, causing the screen to blur.
• The game features a Bizarro Rampage mode accessible via a cheat code on the Superman Returns DVD.
• X-ray vision is used automatically when Superman picks up an object, making the object transparent.
• The tutorial mission includes three boss fights in a row on War World where Superman can take damage and fail.

Production Journey & Studio Milestones

After the critical and financial disappointment of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987, the studio spent years attempting to revive the franchise without success. It was not until July 2004 that Warner Bros. Pictures finally secured Bryan Singer to helm what would become a spiritual continuation of the 1978 and 1980 entries, deliberately setting aside the events of Superman III, Supergirl, and the fourth installment. The screenplay was crafted by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, building on a shared story concept with Singer. Principal photography ran from March to November 2005, with the bulk of shooting taking place at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. The visual effects workload was distributed across five major studios—Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm and Hues, Framestore CFC, Rising Sun Pictures, and The Orphanage—reflecting the film's ambitious scope. Beyond its narrative significance, the production marked a landmark for its financing structure: it stands as the first feature ever produced under the Legendary Pictures banner, establishing a studio that would go on to shape much of modern blockbuster filmmaking.

Narrative & Emotional Core

The story centers on Superman's five-year absence from Earth, during which he traveled to what astronomers believed were the remains of Krypton, only to find no surviving Kryptonians. His return to Metropolis is bittersweet: Lois Lane has built a new life, winning a Pulitzer Prize for an essay arguing the world no longer needs a savior, and is now engaged to Perry White's nephew Richard, with whom she shares a five-year-old son named Jason. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor—recently freed from prison and married to a wealthy widow for her fortune—steals Kryptonian crystals from the Fortress of Solitude and combines them with Kryptonite to grow a massive new landmass in the Atlantic, intending to supplant the United States and kill billions. Superman is ultimately stabbed with a Kryptonite shard and left to drown, but Lois and Richard save him. In the film's closing beats, Lois whispers to his ear and kisses him; Superman awakens, visits the sleeping Jason to recite Jor-El's final words, and reassures Lois he is here to stay before ascending to low orbit.

Casting & Character Dynamics

The 2006 ensemble placed Brandon Routh in the iconic role of Clark Kent and Superman, a Kryptonian whose alter-ego is a mild-mannered farmer-turned-journalist at the Daily Planet. Kate Bosworth brought depth to Lois Lane, the reporter and former lover whose emotional distance forms the film's central tension. Kevin Spacey anchored the villain side as Lex Luthor, whose ambition drives the plot's most dangerous sequences. James Marsden played Richard White, Perry White's nephew and Lois's fiancé, a character that, as Marsden himself noted, served as a deliberate emotional challenge for Superman—the hero returns to discover the woman he loves has genuinely moved forward. Supporting performances included Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint, and Parker Posey, who populated the Daily Planet and Metropolis world with texture. The casting choices collectively reinforced the film's identity as a direct homage to the 1978 and 1980 originals, prioritizing emotional continuity with Christopher Reeve's era over the darker tones of later entries.

Critical Reception & Franchise Aftermath

Critics responded with generally favorable reviews, singling out the visual effects, the overall storyline, and Bryan Singer's direction as standout achievements. However, the screenplay and the film's runtime drew consistent criticism, suggesting the narrative could have been tighter. At the box office, Superman Returns proved to be one of the year's largest releases, grossing $391.1 million worldwide against a production budget estimated between $204 and $223 million, and landing as the ninth highest-grossing film of 2006. Despite these figures, Warner Bros. expressed disappointment with the worldwide return and subsequently cancelled a planned sequel that had been targeted for a 2009 release. The franchise was ultimately rebooted in 2013 with Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel. Yet the 2006 version did not vanish entirely: Brandon Routh reprised his role as Superman in the 2019 Arrowverse crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, offering fans a brief but meaningful return to the character he had embodied nearly a decade earlier.