The Death of Superman (2019)
Directed by Jake Castorena
No — The Death of Superman is not woke, scoring 7 out of 100 on our wokeness meter.
The film is a faithful adaptation of the 1992 comic, and there is a kind of antique dignity in that.
Consciousness Markers
The Justice League features a diverse lineup including Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman, and the voice cast includes actors of color like Rosario Dawson and Shemar Moore. However, this diversity is inherent to the source material and not emphasized as a modern representational statement.
Lois Lane is a central character and Wonder Woman participates in the Justice League battle, but the film does not advance a feminist agenda; Lois is largely defined by her relationship with Superman and is a damsel in distress during the climax.
The film is a straightforward superhero action-drama with minimal moralizing or preachy dialogue, though it includes standard themes of heroism and sacrifice.
No LGBTQ+ characters, themes, or subtext are present in the film.
The film does not engage with racial themes, systemic racism, or racial identity in any explicit or implicit manner.
There is no environmental or climate change message in the film.
Lex Luthor is a wealthy villain, but the film does not critique capitalism or present an 'eat the rich' narrative.
The film does not address body image, body positivity, or related themes.
No neurodivergent characters or themes are present.
The film is a faithful adaptation of a comic book storyline and does not revise or reinterpret historical events.
Why it received this score
The film is a faithful adaptation of the 1992 comic, and there is a kind of antique dignity in that. It kills Superman with a straight face, no lecture and no apology. The Justice League assembles largely to be defeated in sequence, which is its own form of narrative economy. Doomsday arrives, punches through the roster, and the film treats the whole affair as a grim obligation rather than a spectacle in search of a message.
On the cultural ledger, this is a quiet picture. The League is diverse in the manner of the source material, which is to say the diversity is simply there and nobody remarks upon it. Rosario Dawson and Shemar Moore voice characters who exist because the comic put them there. Lois Lane has a byline and a spine, then spends the climax weeping over a body, a familiar arrangement. Wonder Woman fights and falls. None of this is offered as an argument, and the film seems content to let it lie.
What remains is a monster punching a man until one of them stops moving, followed by a funeral and a hint of resurrection. There is no sermon on the climate, no reading of Lex Luthor's fortune as an indictment of anything larger, no instruction on bodies or minds. The moral content extends to the standard note that sacrifice is noble, sounded without much throat-clearing. The result is a competent, earnest cartoon about grief, which in the present climate feels almost like a novelty. We are grateful for small mercies, and we log them accordingly.
Analysis generated by our Consciousness Algorithm
Part of
Synopsis
When a hulking monster arrives on Earth and begins a mindless rampage, the Justice League is quickly called in to stop it. But it soon becomes apparent that only Superman can stand against the monstrosity.
Questions about The Death of Superman
Is The Death of Superman woke?
No — The Death of Superman is not woke, scoring 7 out of 100 on our wokeness meter. That earns it a verdict of Ultra Based.
Does The Death of Superman have any woke elements?
Very few. None of the 10 markers reaches 30, the level where a marker counts as present; the highest is Representation Casting at 20.
How does The Death of Superman compare to other 2019 movies?
It ranks #214 of the 284 films from 2019 we've scored; their average is 22. The wokest is Black Christmas (79).
How is the Woke Score calculated?
An AI-assisted process researches the film and its reception, scores it 0–100 on ten markers, then combines those into one 0–100 Woke Score. It measures a specific set of 2020s cultural themes, not film quality.