Right, lets talk about Superman. The Man of Steel. A man who can dodge bullets and leap tall buildings in a single bound but apparently can't be translated particularly well to the silver screen. Now, I've been a pretty big Superman fan for a number of years now and just don't feel as if the character has been done justice, neither in terms of what Superman is all about nor in terms of making him interesting to the cinema going public of today. Personally I hate the majority of the cinema going public, but as Nolan proved with Batman it is very possible to make an intelligent yet crowd pleasing comic book movie, doing justice to the source material whilst also bringing in new ideas.
So here are 5 things I think need to be done to ensure a successful Superman flick.
# 5 - Make the story relevant to today’s cinema going audience
Now, I don’t mean make it all ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’, in fact I’ve come to loathe those 2 words somewhat as they seem to get thrown at every comic book adaptation nowadays. But not making it dark and gritty doesn’t mean you can’t still have captivating drama, hard hitting action and deep characterisation. Also, I’m not exactly saying I wanna see Superman beating up terrorists or saving the world from the economic crisis, but I think there’s certainly a way to bring Superman into our world, so to speak. For example, immigration has been a pretty big talking point for some time and Superman is essentially the ultimate immigrant. He didn’t just enter one country from another without permission, he came to a whole new planet. I think we need to see the struggle and hardships of being that alone, surrounded by people who don’t truly understand you. The hardships of entering an alien world and trying to build a life there. The idea of being alone and trying to find your place is a very universal character arc. I’m not saying he needs to be whiny about it, as Superman is not a whiny character, but it needs to be touched upon and talked about as well as perhaps reflecting the struggles of real immigration.
Kal-El has come to this planet on which he knows no one and nothing of its people and decides to take on this great mantle and protect this planet which welcomed him with open arms. Which rescued him from the rest of Krypton’s fate. This is something else which needs to be addressed, Superman’s origin and why he decides to wear a big ‘S‘ on his chest. I think something that made Batman Begins so successful was that his origin was very well drawn out and we saw the lessons Bruce Wayne learnt which lead to the decision to dress like a bat and fight crime. He didn’t just decide from the start that that’s what he’d do. Audiences need to see this happen, because Kal-El isn’t Superman from the beginning. He and the audience need to be taken on a journey to see why he decides to fight for justice in the manner that he does. I will use Superman: Birthright as an example here as it delves quite deeply into Clark’s travels around the world learning to be a journalist but assists in shaping his moral code. It also delves into why he decides to have a bumbling ‘alter ego’ and how he goes about making this believable. By doing this audiences would feel a lot less alienated by Superman and through this shared journey bonds between the audience and Superman can be made. This is crucial as a lot of people tend to not like Supes as they think he’s too good and this makes him boring to them.
There is also the idea of Superman’s affect on the world politically, scientifically and economically. Often in comics and TV shows Superman is asked to get involved politically and always refuses. I’d like to see this addressed in a film as it would give the film a sense of realism which people seem to love nowadays, as well as addressing Superman’s presence on Earth not just simply in terms of him saving people left and right. Dr Manhattan in Watchmen is a fairly good example of what I mean as in the comic it delves into his impact on the world in various ways . I wouldn’t want it to be that realistic, it wouldn’t even have to be in that much detail I’d just like to see it addressed in some way as comic movie audiences expect more depth and detail from their comic book movies nowadays. Superman needs to be introduced to this world, where truth and justice are not always black and white.
# 4 - Forget Donner’s films, start again
I like Donner’s films. I used to love them. As a child I’d always watch them if they were on TV (yes even the quest for peace) but comic films have moved on, just as the Batman movie mythos moved on from Burton’s films. This really was the biggest mistake by Singer in Superman Returns. Granted I dislike that film more and more each time I watch it and it makes a lot of mistakes but this was the real nail in the coffin for Superman at the movies. Most of SR is just Donner’s films repackaged with a new cast and better special effects. For Superman to work these films need to be left behind to make way for something new. This means everything. The cinematography, the script, how the characters were portrayed and even the music. Now, I love the music in Donner’s films, hell its probably the best bit of them and the theme tune has become quintessential to Superman but it all must go so that new talent can take the creative reigns. ( Rethinking it, the nail in the coffin was giving Superman an illegitimate son, but I don’t like to think about that part.) This also goes back to starting a new origin, portraying Krypton, Clarks landing and journey to becoming Superman differently so that a new audience can be there from the start as opposed to coming into a movie that’s in between the 2nd and 3rd movies of a quadrilogy. Ridiculous. Quite frankly I have no idea why Singer was ever allowed to make a Superman movie.
# 3 - Tone Down Powers
This again is pretty crucial. Another way that Superman tends to push away audiences is that he is just far too powerful thus defeating any threat unless it comes from Kryptonite. I’m okay with Superman being very powerful I am aware that he has other weaknesses which aren’t necessarily physical but this is not the case for those who don’t know the character. His limitless power takes away the threat of everything. If something massive is falling from the sky, Superman will catch it, if bullets are fired at him it don’t mean nothing etc etc. Now, I’m not saying I want Superman to get hurt by bullets or anything like that but he needs to look like he’s trying. For instance, in SR Superman is fired upon by a huge machine gun and he just walks towards the perpetrator, bullets bouncing off him left and right like it’s nothing. When bullets bounce off of Superman they need to make some sort of impact, suggesting his skin is bullet proof but he isn’t a completely unstoppable force. I mean, if bullets and bombs etc do basically nothing to him then he isn’t so much a hero as a guy who might as well do these things because there are zero repercussions. His strength needs to be toned down as well. Going back to SR because it’s a pretty decent example of how NOT to make a Superman film, Supes lifts what is essentially a small island made of Kryptonite into space. This is just ridiculous for so many reasons. First of all if he can lift islands then again we’re going back to him being way too powerful to be relatable in any way, and if he can lift something that big which is made of his ONLY WEAKNESS then there is literally no threat whatsoever which just makes it all very boring. Yes he should be able to lift things like planes and trucks but it needs to look like he’s making an effort.
# 2 - Get Lex Luthor Right
When it comes to comic book movies the hero is only as good as his villain. Lex Luthor is Superman’s arch enemy which is why it irritates me no end to see him constantly portrayed wrong in films. How he’s shown works in Donner’s movies. Audiences could accept a greedy, land chasing capitalist who hated Superman for no real reason as the arch villain, but I don’t think that’s still the case for cinema going audiences today. Luthor needs to have the same level of depth as Superman. I’m not saying he needs an origin or anything, but we need to understand his reasoning for hating Superman to the extent which he does and we need to understand it on a human level. Luthor’s reasons for hating Superman are not simply based on the fact that he is the villain, he has logical, intelligent, personal motivations for disliking the Man of Steel so much. These reasons are based around fear and an inability to understand Superman’s motives. For Luthor is a greedy man, and because of this overwhelming greed he cannot understand why a being with such power would not use it for personal gain. He cannot grasp why someone with such power would be so self sacrificing. From this he is fearful that eventually Superman will realise that this world is no match for him and he will turn on us. But Luthor’s main reason for hating Superman, I believe, is because Superman embodies the end of humanity. Luthor is an intelligent, powerful man somewhat at the pinnacle of human achievement and to him Superman represents something that humanity will never achieve. This scares and infuriates him no end. And it is for these reasons Luthor hates Superman and wishes to bring an end to his reign as Earth’s mightiest hero. He believes Superman’s presence to be detrimental to humanity’s progression. This huge part of Lex Luthor and Superman’s relationship is essential to making a Superman film any good.
# 1 Get Superman Right
Obviously this is the most crucial aspect of making a Superman film enticing and entertaining to a cinema audience and frankly I don’t think Superman has been done right yet. Donner’s films came close but still did not capture what it is I love about Superman. Superman is a being sent to Earth, who with all the powers he possesses decides to use them for good. He uses them to dispense truth, justice and the ‘American way’. I for one think that cinema needs a hero like him once again. In this generation of films there are anti heroes aplenty but rarely do we see a true hero anymore. A lot of people seem to think that this purity which Superman possesses makes him dull and unable to relate to, but I disagree. It’s all in the build up and eventual portrayal of the Man of Steel himself which will grip an audience. Which is why we need the origin to be retold and extended. This doesn’t necessarily need to be done in the conventional structure of origin - struggle - hero as a lot of comic book movies do but we need to see that Superman is at his core; a very human hero. It is this humanity which audiences need to see and was very much lacking in SR. We also need to see how much Superman cares for Earth and it’s inhabitants, for humanity is his true weakness. Threaten him as much as you want with Kryptonite but threaten to harm the people of Earth and Superman will be brought to his knees. Superman is essentially a God who embodies all the greatest qualities of humanity, he dreams of being human and being accepted by the human race but is doomed to forever be an outsider. However with this sense of humanity comes negative aspects of the human condition as well. Being Earth’s Mightiest Hero does eventually give him something of an ego and the role of being a great leader also goes to his head giving him an air of arrogance. These flaws need to be shown also.
As well as Superman Clark Kent needs to be portrayed correctly. In both Donner’s movies and Superman Returns Clark is just a farcical character who, in the ‘real’ world would never go unnoticed due to his over exaggerated clumsiness and awkwardness. The aim of Clark is to throw off anyone who might suspect him, so surely he should be somewhat dull and quiet. His life as Clark is just as lonely as his life as Superman as he must forgo being liked and friendly in order to go unnoticed. At least this should certainly be the case at the beginning. The aim is to have people talk to him and then instantly forget that they had. To portray him as an overly bumbling, socially inept 6’4’’, built, handsome man is just silly. He’d be the first person people would suspect. Clark is another thing which puts people off of Superman because it does seem pretty ridiculous that Superman can hide behind a pair of glasses. We need to see how he makes this work and that it involves a lot more than just putting on some glasses. In order to make it work he has to change his whole persona down the last detail. Glasses, posture, speech need to change. Even his facial expressions and mannerisms need to change. Making him clumsy is not enough.
Last but not least is the aesthetic side of portraying Superman. Superman Returns had a couple of moments which were pleasing to the eye such as Superman hovering over Earth, listening for cries for help etc and when Superman flies closer to the Sun to ‘recharge’. These were nice moments, but other than them it lacked a lot of Superman’s presence as portrayed in his mannerisms. Perhaps this was a problem with Routh who, quite frankly didn’t do a superb job, but that’s most likely due to the fact that he was asked to copy Reeves portrayal. Anyway, Superman needs to pose and hold himself like the alien-being-with-God-like-powers that he is. Look at any comic involving Superman and you can see that he commands respect by the way he holds himself. Superman has a number of ‘classic’ poses which could easily be brought to the screen. Also, he needs to punch something. I mean, come on. If you want to alienate a hell of a lot of the audience having Superman not punch anything is a pretty good way of doing it. The flick at the front of his hair needs to go as well, I hated the flick in SR because it looked as if he had spent a few minutes sorting his hair out before going off to save people. That’s more a personal quibble though.
Hopefully now Nolan is somewhat at the helm the next Superman film will be done better and do justice to my favourite character. One can only hope. Apologies for such a long article, I have a lot more thoughts on Superman and especially how to make a Superman film but felt I had started to ramble.
Cheers.