Living up to his name, Superman’s animated film career has been pretty…well, super. The Man of Steel has appeared in dozens of animated films over the years, sometimes as the lead, and other times as a supporting player. He’s been voiced by some of the most notable actors in Hollywood, including a few surprise choices.
You might be wondering how many animated films Superman has been in and how they’re connected. If that’s the case, this article will answer all your burning questions. Let’s unpack Superman’s animated filmography…
WHAT ARE ALL THE ANIMATED SUPERMAN FILMS IN ORDER?
If you’re simply looking to watch the Man of Steel’s animated filmography in chronological order, there are quite a few films to go through. You can find the full list below.
It should be noted that this section only covers full-length movies, not short films, serials, or television episodes repackaged as movies. In other words, stuff like The Batman/Superman Movie: World’s Finest, which spliced together three episodes from the Superman animated series for home video release, doesn’t count.
Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006)
Superman: Doomsday (2007)
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
All-Star Superman (2011)
Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
Superman: Unbound (2013)
The Death of Superman (2018)
Reign of the Supermen (2019)
Superman: Red Son (2020)
Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (2022)
Now, if you’re wondering which of the above movies are connected, don’t worry, we’ll cover that later in this article.
WHAT OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES HAS SUPERMAN APPEARED IN?
This section covers the Man of Steel’s other animated film appearances. In other words, these are movies where Superman isn’t the main character, but he still is part of the cast. Some of the films, such as the various Justice League movies, give him a large role, while others, like The Lego Batman Movie, only feature him briefly.
It should be noted that this section doesn’t cover parody appearances, like Tiny Toons: How I Spent My Vacation, Space Jam: A New Legacy, or The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. There are a lot of movies here, but if you’re a completionist and love DC animation, feel free to watch them all!
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
Justice League: Doom (2012)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time (2014)
Justice League: War (2014)
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League (2015)
Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash (2016)
Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout (2016)
Justice League Dark (2017)
The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon (2017)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies! (2018)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis (2018)
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019)
Batman: Hush (2019)
LEGO DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters (2020)
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Justice Society: World War II (2021)
Injustice (2021)
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse (2022)
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
Legion of Super-Heroes (2023)
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One (2023)
Justice League: Warworld (2023)
Scooby Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two (2023)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One (2024)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two (2024)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three (2024)
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (2025)
WHICH ANIMATED SUPERMAN FILMS ARE CONNECTED?
As you’ve seen, there are a lot of animated Superman films, and you’re probably wondering which of them are connected. Are any of them set in the same universe as DC’s animated TV shows? It’s a great question, and it deserves a thorough answer. Here’s a brief multiverse atlas of Superman’s animated filmography.
Superman/Batman Duology
This one’s easy to get caught up on. In 2009 and 2010, DC released two animated Superman and Batman movies based on the first two arcs of Jeph Loeb’s Superman/Batman comic book run. Although these films feature Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprising their roles as Batman and Superman, the films are not set in the DCAU and shouldn’t be seen as continuations of Batman: The Animated Series or Superman: The Animated Series.Rather, they form their own two-movie continuity.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
The Doomverse
Another quick binge. The “Doomverse” consists of two direct-to-video Justice League movies. The films reunited various actors from the Justice League animated series, but once again, the films are not set in the DCAU and form their own two-movie continuity. (One noteworthy detail, both these movies were written by legendary writer and Milestone co-founder Dwane McDuffie.)
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
Justice League: Doom (2012)
LEGOLAND
Warner Bros. Animation has released a variety of LEGO DC movies. Despite the LEGO branding, these direct-to-video titles are unrelated to the 2017 theatrical film The LEGO Batman Movie, which is a spinoff of The Lego Movie. Rather, these lower budgeted offerings form their own loose continuity that spins out of the LEGO DC video games.
Don’t take DC’s LEGO films too seriously. At times, the animated movies break the fourth wall and there isn’t much consistency in the narrative. If you’d like to watch all of the ones in which Superman appears, this is the order in which they were released, but you can watch these ones non-chronologically without it making too much of a difference.
LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash (2016)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout (2016)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis (2018)
LEGO DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters (2020)
The DC Animated Movie Universe
After years of producing standalone films, Warner Bros. Animation began building their own shared universe for the home video market. Things kicked off with 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which launched a new DC Universe, much as it had with the comic book source material.
Warner Bros. Animation referred to this continuity as the DC Animated Movie Universe, or the DCAMU. The DCAMU was a full cinematic universe, complete with cliffhangers and running subplots. The largest and most robust of the animated movie universes discussed here, the DCAMU ended in 2020 with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, as the Flash was forced to reset the timeline once more.
The following list contains the DCAMU films which featured Superman.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Justice League: War (2014)
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
Justice League Dark (2017)
The Death of Superman (2018)
Reign of the Supermen (2019)
Batman: Hush (2019)
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Teen Titans Go! and Other Cartoon Crossovers
Technically this universe contains two Supermen. Let me explain…
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a theatrical film set in the same universe as the long-running Teen Titans Go! animated series that features Nicolas Cage as the voice of Superman. The 2022 direct-to-video movie Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse depicts the Titans observing the DC Super Hero Girls through a dimensional portal via their television (in other words, they’re watching a DC Super Hero Girls movie). This film-within-a-film features the DC Super Hero Girls version of Superman, who is voiced by Max Mittelman. Like with the LEGO movies, it’s best to just have fun and not think about continuity too much here.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies! (2018)
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse (2022)
The DC Animated Universe
Not to be confused with the previously mentioned DC Animated Movie Universe, this continuity is home to some of DC’s most iconic animated projects, such as Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited. In 2019, Warner Bros. Animation released Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, an animated film set in the DCAU. To date, this is the only DCAU film to feature Superman, making this one of the shortests list here.
It should be noted that while Superman: Brainiac Attacks is animated in the DCAU style and features DCAU voice actors, it is not part of the DCAU.
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019)
The Tomorrowverse
After the DCAMU timeline was reset in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Warner Bros. Animation launched a new, visually different cinematic universe with Superman: Man of Tomorrow. This universe, which was dubbed the Tomorrowverse, took some cues from the DCAMU, with cliffhangers, running subplots and all the trappings of an animated shared universe.
The Tomorrowverse seemingly ended with a Crisis on Infinite Earths film trilogy, which realigned DC’s animated continuity once more. The following list contains the Tomorrowverse films which featured Superman. Note that only the first film, Superman: Man of Tomorrow, features him as its central character.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
Justice Society: World War II (2021)
Legion of Super-Heroes (2023)
Justice League: Warworld (2023)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One (2024)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two (2024)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three (2024)
RWBY Duology
This brief (as far as Superman is concerned, at least) continuity consists of a standalone duology where the Justice League are transported to the world of RWBY, a fantasy web series from Rooster Teeth.
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One (2023)
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two (2023)
Ninjaverse
This continuity began with Batman Ninja, a 2018 anime that found Batman, his allies and his enemies dropped into feudal Japan. Superman, along with DC’s other heroes, appear in the 2025 sequel, Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, which finds the Justice League transformed into a corrupt yakuza.
Since this list only covers Superman’s animated appearances, we’ve left Batman Ninja off, but you should probably watch it before Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League for full context (and some great anime action).
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (2025)
Standalone Films
The rest of these films don’t fit into any specific continuity. Some of them are original stories, others are adaptations of comic books. Either way, these are standalone animated Superman films, which don’t share a canon with any other projects.
Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006)
Superman: Doomsday (2007)
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
All-Star Superman (2011)
Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
Superman: Unbound (2013)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time (2014)
Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon (2017)
The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
Superman: Red Son (2020)
Injustice (2021)
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (2022)
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
Scooby Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)
WHICH ACTORS VOICE SUPERMAN IN EACH FILM?
This looks like a job for…some talented voice actors. Here’s a breakdown of the many actors who have voiced Superman over the course of his animated filmography. You might recognize some Superman voice actors from their roles in various Superman TV projects, such as Tim Daly and George Newbern. There are also a few outright movie stars, such as Channing Tatum and Nicolas Cage. And then there’s a few surprises. For example, did you know that Carl aka Chandler Riggs from The Walking Dead once voiced Superman?
Tim Daly
Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006)
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
Justice League: Doom (2012)
Adam Baldwin
Superman: Doomsday (2007)
Kyle MacLachlan
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
Mark Harmon
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
James Denton
All-Star Superman (2011)
George Newbern
Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019)
Mark Valley
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
Matt Bomer
Superman: Unbound (2013)
Sam Daly
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Travis Willingham
LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (2022)
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two (2023)
Peter Jessop
JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time (2014)
Alan Tudyk
Justice League: War (2014)
Nolan North
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom (2015)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash (2016)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout (2016)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis (2018)
LEGO DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters (2020)
Scooby Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)
Jerry O’Connell
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)
Justice League Dark (2017)
The Death of Superman (2018)
Reign of the Supermen (2019)
Batman: Hush (2019)
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Benjamin Bratt
Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
Channing Tatum
The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
Kenichi Suzumura
DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon (2017)
Nicolas Cage
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies! (2018)
Jason Isaacs
Superman: Red Son (2020)
Darren Criss
Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
Justice Society: World War II (2021)
Legion of Super-Heroes (2023)
Justice League: Warworld (2023)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One (2024)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two (2024)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three (2024)
Justin Hartley
Injustice (2021)
Max Mittelman
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse (2022)
John Krasinski
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
Chandler Riggs
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One (2023)
Takaya Kamikawa
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (2025)
WHICH ANIMATED SUPERMAN MOVIES ARE ADAPTED FROM COMIC BOOKS?
While some of Superman’s animated films are original stories, many of them are adaptations of iconic comic book storylines. Some of the adaptations closely follow the source material, while others are loose retellings, taking some liberties in order to deliver an entertaining story for the animation medium.
If you want to read the comics to compare them with the animated films, here’s a brief rundown of which stories each film adapts.
Superman: Doomsday (2007) – An adaptation of The Death & Return of Superman saga.
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) – An adaptation of Darwyn Cooke’s prestige limited series DC: The New Frontier.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009) – An adaptation of the 2003 storyline Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010) – An adaptation of Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner’s storyline Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010) – A loose adaptation of JLA: Earth 2 and 1964’s Justice League of America #29-30.
All-Star Superman (2011) – An adaptation of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman.
Superman vs. The Elite (2012) – An adaptation of Action Comics #775, with new material to make it feature length.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013) – An adaptation of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s iconic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Superman: Unbound (2013) – An adaptation of the 2008 storyline Superman: Brainiac.
The Death of Superman (2018) – Another adaptation of The Death of Superman, this time set in the DCAMU.
Reign of the Supermen (2019) – An adaptation of Reign of the Supermen.
Superman: Red Son (2020) – An adaptation of the classic Elseworlds storyline Superman: Red Son.
WHICH ANIMATED SUPERMAN MOVIE SHOULD I START WITH?
There is no wrong answer to this question. If you’re pumped up for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film, then All-Star Superman is a great place to start, as the comic book serves as a heavy source of inspiration for the DC Studios film. If you were interested in diving into a shared universe of films in which Superman plays an important role, go with either Superman: Man of Tomorrow or Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. (Man of Tomorrow is focused entirely on Superman, but Flashpoint Paradox is a longer series of films overall.) If you grew up watching Superman: The Animated Series or Justice League, Superman: Brainiac Attacks will feel like a blast from your past. While the animated film isn’t set in the DCAU, it uses the voice actors and character designs.
The point is, there is an animated Superman for everyone, and part of the fun is finding yours.
Prefer live action? Click here for our feature on how to watch all the live action Superman movies in order.
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, “Gotham Gazette.” Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
The Man of Steel has appeared in dozens of animated films over the years, sometimes as the lead, and other times as a supporting player. Let’s unpack Superman’s animated filmography… Read More