Superman: Unbound

Aptly timed to coincide with the hyped build-up surrounding the theatrical release of the latest Superman movie, Man of Steel, this DC Comics film is an animated adaptation of the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac, rebooting the best-known-after-Lex-Luthor villain in the Metropolis mythology. Superman here is contending with his sometimes-unruly cousin from Krypton, Kara (alias Supergirl), when a robot scout arrives on Earth, alerting the heroes to the presence of Brainiac, a monstrous cyborg on a mission to gather knowledge of all civilized worlds before destroying the planets. Whilst fighting Brainiac (during which Superman seems to be getting the worst of it, until belatedly remembering he has laser eyesight), the heroes learn that Brainiac owns a shrunken-down fragment from the destroyed Krypton, with Kara's parents still alive in it. Featuring a breakthrough in the Superman-Lois Lane romance, filmmaker James Tucker's Superman: Unbound actually boasts a number of super-milestones that will please fans, while also serving up elements that older Superfans might not expect, such as the bloody eye-pluckings and head-burstings that earn the PG-13 rating here. Recommended. (C. Cassady)