Feature: Keeping Tabs on Superman

Feature: Keeping Tabs on Superman

This is a compilation of all that we know about DC's plan for the next film featuring the Last Son of Krypton - Superman.

And a brief SUPERMAN CBM history.

Feature Opinion
By 2cents - Feb 13, 2010 04:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Superman
Source: Man of Steel

#citizen9602: Possible Spoilers Ahead!!!



Untitled Next Superman Movie
Release Date: To Be Determined




recent NEWS and some RUMORS

2/9/2010
Christopher Nolan the director of Batman Begins and the Dark Knight is tapped to helped in mentoring the next adventure of Superman. He will not direct he will just play a sort of "Godfather" role in overlooking the movie.
#c: I'm excited with this because of the possibility of cross-polinating the franchise. I'm just not sure how he could ground Superman in much reality due to the character's very fantastic background but we'll see.
more




DIRECTOR and some of the MAJOR CASTS

Director:To be determined
#c: Don't let Bryan Singer get near this next movie, I don't want to watch another rehash of the Donner films. If I want to watch Donner's Superman I'll watch Donner's Superman not Singer mimicking Donner.

Superman: To be determined
#c: Routh I think was good for the role but sad to say after that misstep in Superman Returns I doubt he'll be back wearing the Big Blue Boyscout's uniform again.




SUPERMAN LIVE CBM HISTORY 101
For they who are not one of us :)

Brief Comic History:
Superman is a a comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc. in 1938, the character's first appearance is in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). With the success of his adventures, Superman helped create the superhero genre.

Superman possesses extraordinary powers, with the character traditionally described as "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound". For most of his existence, Superman's famous arsenal of powers has included flight, super-strength, invulnerability to non-magical attacks, super-speed, vision powers (including x-ray, heat-emitting, telescopic, infra-red, and microscopic vision), super-hearing, and super-breath, which enables him to blow out air at freezing temperatures, as well as exert the propulsive force of high-speed winds.

Live CBM History:
(1948 & 1950)
Superman first appear in live media in a serial with 15 chapters starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill; recounts origin story; then fights the Spider Lady. Kirk Alyn then reprised the role in 1950 in another 15 part serial entitle Superman vs. the Atom Man.


(1951 & 1952-1958)
Superman is next portrayed by George Reeves on film in Superman and the Mole Men. He later starred on the TV Series: Adventures of Superman.


(1961)
In 1961 Johnny Rockwell played a teenage Superman in an unaired TV series pilot entitled The Adventures of Superboy


(1975)
It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman, Televised production of the Broadway play starring David Wilson and Lesley Ann Warren.


(1978, 1981, 1983 & 1987)
Christopher Reeve portrayed Superman in four movies: Superman the Movie, Superman II, Superman III and Superman: The Quest for Peace.


(1988 - 1989)
Superboy television series, starring John Haymes Newton.


(1989–1992)
Gerard Christopher then replaced Newton on Superboy television series.


(1993 - 1997)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman television series, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.


(2006)
In 2006 Brandon Routh donned the tights of Superman in Superman Returns.


(2001 - )
Smallville television series stars Tom Welling as Clark Kent not totally inhabitting the Superman persona yet.


View Gallery: Different Faces of Superman

source:Wikipedia



#citizen9602: "Enjoy your citizenship"
SUPERMAN Star David Corenswet Addresses His DCU Future As The Man Of Steel: I Don't Think It's Up To Me
Related:

SUPERMAN Star David Corenswet Addresses His DCU Future As The Man Of Steel: "I Don't Think It's Up To Me"

GEN V And THE WHITE LOTUS Star Patrick Schwarzenegger Auditioned To Play SUPERMAN In James Gunn's Reboot
Recommended For You:

GEN V And THE WHITE LOTUS Star Patrick Schwarzenegger Auditioned To Play SUPERMAN In James Gunn's Reboot

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bleedthefreak
bleedthefreak - 2/13/2010, 4:23 PM
cool article man this series is the only one i think needs a reboot
Ven0m
Ven0m - 2/13/2010, 4:50 PM
Batman would beat supermans @$$
Magicfingers
Magicfingers - 2/13/2010, 7:54 PM
Good article, can't wait to see a New Superman.
@VenomZero- As much as I love reading stories about the Man of Steel, the Batman would kick his ass. Why? Because he cheats... j/k lol
jusme6
jusme6 - 2/13/2010, 8:21 PM
Sweet!

@Venom and Magic: Look I think Batman is super bad-ass and awesome. He's a great superhero and a great icon, but lets be real...

Photobucket
Phinehas
Phinehas - 2/13/2010, 8:25 PM
"Routh I think was good for the role"

Lost a couple of notches on the respect-o-meter with that opinion.
peterparker420
peterparker420 - 2/13/2010, 8:31 PM
LOL! ROUTH LOOKS LIKE A MORON IN THAT SUIT! LOL!

PHIN- LMAO!..I'm with you on that note.

EVERYONE look at that pic "jusme6" put up...
THAT IS HOW SUPERMAN IS SUPPOSE TO LOOK!
NOW, look at ROUTH in the costume and TRY not to LAUGH!
AvengingAngel1022
AvengingAngel1022 - 2/13/2010, 8:35 PM
one of my favorite heroes
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 2/13/2010, 8:43 PM
Hopefully we do get a bunch of news regarding the reboot now that WB's decided to finally pull their heads out of their asses.

And hopefully we can get JJ Abrams behind the camera too, teaming with Nolan of course. Abrams would provide the action, great effects, and great performances, and Nolan would try to keep the story and film in a mature and intelligent path. With Brainiac of course :P
jusme6
jusme6 - 2/13/2010, 8:45 PM
hang on not done yet!

Photobucket
WarNoodle
WarNoodle - 2/13/2010, 9:00 PM
@peterparker - no man on this planet could look like that as they have super man drawn there. Not even a body builder could really pull it off. Comic books make characters look perfect in every way for the most part. Plus... Routh does look like hes putting on more muscle these days. So hopefully if he did get another chance, he would look a bit better.
gibbyblaylock
gibbyblaylock - 2/13/2010, 11:00 PM
gtrman

I totally agree! Supes shouldn't be a body builder. So often I see people commenting that Routh was too scrawny and crap and I'm shocked.

There have been a great deal of artists who, while they are talented, seem to not understand the idea that Clark Kent should blend in, and in order for that to work, Superman can't be the size of a damn Mac truck.

Here's one of the worst offenders, Ed McGuinness:

Holy Crap! His triceps alone are the size of his head!

And if you think that's scary, look at him draw Bizarro:


I like McGuinness's style but he should stick to drawing the Hulk.
gibbyblaylock
gibbyblaylock - 2/13/2010, 11:08 PM
I like how this dude Gary Frank draws Supes and Clark


See, Superman doesn't have to be a flippin' pro wrestler. He shouldn't be.
Quitely is by far my favorite Supes artist though; he actually manages to make Superman look like he's wearing a costume and that the damn thing isn't painted on and Superman STILL looks cool!
TheNameIsBetty
TheNameIsBetty - 2/13/2010, 11:15 PM
lol....Dean Cain was a cheeseball
Ugh
Ugh - 2/14/2010, 12:15 AM
I always pictured Superman as a guy that looked like he worked on a farm. More rugged strong like a working guy. Oh and I can't believe how iconic that Reeves shot still is after all this time. We need some A-list talent on this project.
Fortress
Fortress - 2/14/2010, 4:55 AM
citizen9602: cool artical!

For me Christopher Reeve is the best Superman ever! But i do like Tom Welling, i think over the last few seasons he has stepped up to the role especially this year!

In regards to a new Superman film, i am pleased to hear that Chris Nolan will be part of it, if the reports are true! He knows how to reboot a massive character!

Im all for a reboot, with Chris Nolan leading the way! make the film dark but not the character!
mpk1988
mpk1988 - 2/14/2010, 5:22 AM
I think routh was good in that role too.. I mean if he puts on a little more muscle he'd be perfect..
gurugeorge
gurugeorge - 2/14/2010, 6:28 AM
The only way they're TRULY going to be able to do superheroes' bodies on film in the same way as they are done in comics (basically as nude, but gaily skin-coloured men and women) is with the new techniques pioneered by Avatar - i.e. with good actors driving ultra-high-definition, ultra-realistic CGI avatars.

Short of that, you're always going to have the problem that there are very, very few PEOPLE, full stop, with the genetics and the amount of necessary bodybuilding put in, to even portray the AVERAGE superhero's body - far less find one of those guys who is ALSO a great actor, far less find a whole CAST of them.

I mean, consider, of all actors who have ever lived, Arnie is the only one who has the true superhero's body, and he's pretty rare amongst living human beings so far as his body goes. And he's only an average actor (in fact we partly love him because he's such a bad, yet earnest actor, that he's actually kitsch).

Meanwhile, I'm afraid we're still going to be stuck with either kevlar bodysuits on reasonably well-built good actors, or merely well-built, and only half-decent actors looking a bit dorky in spandex (Reeve was probably the best of that bunch).

I mean, let's face it, NONE of those Supermen really look like Superman body-wise - not even the earlier, not-overly-"cut" versions of Superman.

So the true, full-on CBMs are still on the horizon, methinks, though probably not far off (the mocap techniques will probably come down in cost soon enough).

At the end of the day, it's the quality of the actor that counts more than anything else. Tom Maguire, Robert Downey Jr, Christian Bale, real, PROPER actors like that, are the only ones who are able to convincingly portray superheros' psychology on screen anyway. When the actor's body doesn't matter quite so much (as long as they look fit enough in ordinary clothes for their alter ego), because their acting is driving Avatar-quality CGI avatars, then you will see the beginnings of the REAL take-off of the superhero mythos on-screen. Spider-Man and Iron Man are the beginnings of it, they show what's possible, but the CGI in them still hasn't been QUITE up to snuff.

If they use Avatar-style mocap techniques on the new Superman, however (I mean not just in distant action shots, but close up, while talking to people, etc.), then that could be something really special, they could just get the best ACTOR for the role, and not worry so much about his body.
breakUbatman
breakUbatman - 2/14/2010, 6:52 AM
gurugeorge i agree that arnie looked superheroish but it was ridiculous how huge he was in Conan.

Honestly I dont hink Supes should even look like he worked on a farm after all he's not even really using his muscles.

For those who think Batman can beat Superman slow down. Have you notice how Smallville Kent only feels Kryptonite when he sees it? Someone with x-ray vision would see that stuff from miles away so I dont think you could sneak up on him. Superman would either lobotimise Batman or pull "Sentry Fatality".

Sad but true which is exactly why I don't find him that much fun and prefer Batman. In this new movie they should power him down or bring on some badasses no kryptonite unless there's Metallo.
rsalas
rsalas - 2/14/2010, 7:23 AM
I've always been a big fan of Gary Franks artwork. He onces said Christopher Reeves would always be his Superman. It shows in his artwork. It looks just like Reeves.
statechamp00
statechamp00 - 2/14/2010, 7:42 AM
This may seem weird, but I think where Routh loses his 'look-like-superman' quality is in the face/neck. Even in the less roided/bulky versions of superman in the comics he still doesn't have a small jaw or skinny neck imo. I think if Supes is getting a reboot then it should be someone besides Routh wearing that S on their chest. However, I would not be totally upset if Routh did play Supes again.
phenomenon
phenomenon - 2/14/2010, 8:38 AM
@gtrman you're absolutely right! supes isn't a bodybuilder! and stop talking about working out a lot, because most of you guys don't know shit about bodybuilding! so anybody with less than a 18 inch arm, keep your comments to yourself.......GRRRRRRRRR lololol

seriously..... conan should look like one, but as gtrman said..... he gets his power from the sun!

and batman beating superman???? a man who can move planets??? only in comic-books man!!lolol

and peter parker..... I wonder how your skinny ass looks in a costume. when you achieved his kind of physique..... than you're allowed to talk again!!
phenomenon
phenomenon - 2/14/2010, 8:58 AM
@ gibbyblaylock........ THOSE TRICEPS.....THAT'S SYNTHOL ,MAN!!!
statechamp00
statechamp00 - 2/14/2010, 8:58 AM
This may seem weird, but I think where Routh loses his 'look-like-superman' quality is in the face/neck. Even in the less roided/bulky versions of superman in the comics he still doesn't have a small jaw or skinny neck imo. I think if Supes is getting a reboot then it should be someone besides Routh wearing that S on their chest. However, I would not be totally upset if Routh did play Supes again.
phenomenon
phenomenon - 2/14/2010, 8:59 AM
AND EEHHHH , superman a 300 pound body-builder???
he's gonna have a hard time to hide that as clark kent....duh
gurugeorge
gurugeorge - 2/14/2010, 9:34 AM
Clark Kent should look like a lumbering ex-farmboy - huge, filling his suit. A "gentle giant" type of idea.

There's a difference between mass and definition. Classically, Supes didn't have defined musculature, but he sure was massive. If you look at Alex Ross' interpretation, which I think is spot on to the mythological Superman most of us have in our minds, check the size of his head compared to the rest of his body. His musculature is not defined (like Jim Lee would draw him) but he is MASSIVE. His neck, in particular, is massive, and always has been in all his incarnations (that's one of the reasons Reeves was so apt, he has the right neck).

Also, classically, Supes costume wasn't ultra thin so you could see the muscular definition. Ross gets that right too. His costume is somewhat "clothy" looking, not really body-hugging spandex. But for Superman, the body under that HAS to be big.

Remember, the ORIGINAL IDEA for Superman, was the vaguely scientific idea that someone born on a higher gravity planet would be stronger and tougher than an ordinary human being. With "inflation" over the years that had to change (to the solar battery idea), but that initial idea made him a massive guy to start with: i.e. he was stronger and bigger than a normal human being BECAUSE HE WAS BORN ON A HIGH GRAVITY WORLD, i.e. that was his GENETICS.

He's always been massive, if not always highly defined.

So thin-necked pretty boy-band types are really the wrong type of person to play him altogether. He's handsome, but in a rugged, lantern-jawed way, and he has massive (but not "freakish") musculature - there's no getting around it.
phenomenon
phenomenon - 2/14/2010, 12:09 PM
If you know ANYTHING about muscles....... than you know that muscles adapt!!!! yes constantly living in higher gravity will make your muscles grow bigger and your bones denser!! but........... in less gravity,you absulutely will loose muscle mass, and your bones will get like glass and brake!! think of our ASTRONAUTS!!!

YES, they can make tremondous jumps on the moon, but staying a year or more over there, without normal gravity........ they will have significant health-problems!! or......... adapt throughout centuries, and you will get alien-like beings with weak limps and no legs!!

furthermore..... yes, high jumps...... but not be able to fly, or x ray eyes, or a steel skin!!!
sups gets his power from a yellow sun!! and nothing else!!!
flames809
flames809 - 2/14/2010, 1:02 PM
that good news and whoever said that the movie needs a a-list actor no it dosent it justs need someone good to play clark kent and superman. and i think the first villian should be Bizarro and why does everone want Brainiac. for the first movie hes one of superman most powerful villains and you want superman to fight him and probably kill him on the first movie which would be a dumb idea.
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 2/14/2010, 2:17 PM
Why does everyone want Brainiac? Hurm, that's easy.

1) Brainiac is one of Superman's best villains.

2) He can challenge Supes on a mental and physical level.

3) The writers can take a cue from the animated universe and connect Brainiac to Krypton, therefore establishing an emotional thread against Superman. And they can also open up the door for a long lasting Brainiac, since in the cartoons if even the tiniest piece of Brainiac is left, it can regrow and take new forms.

And I think that about covers it. Introduce Brainiac as being connected to Krypton and its destruction, have Darkseid discover Brainiac partially destroyed after the destruction and rebuild him to be his technological resource and weapon for Apokolips, Brainiac rebels against Darkseid and destroys half of Apokolips in his wake after learning about the Anti-Life Equation, Brainiac travels the galaxy while gathering more information and data about the universe as he goes, he finds Earth and recognizes Supes as the Last Son of Krypton, they eventually duke it out, Brainiac is defeated (but not completely destroyed), ending leaves a cliffhanger foreshadowing Darkseid's invasion of Earth because he is looking for Brainiac since he supposedly has secrets pertaining to the Equation, boom, set up for Justice League right there.

That's probably how I'd do it, with Lex in a supporting role as well.
gurugeorge
gurugeorge - 2/14/2010, 2:27 PM
@phenomenon
Don't moan at me lol. It was Siegel & Shuster's idea originally. I'm not sure but I think they thought it would be a genetic trait anyway - i.e. creatures adapted to Krypton would have that bulk. Or maybe they didn't understand about atrophy etc. (Remember I said "vaguely plausible scientific explanation" originally? That's why I qualified it with the "vaguely". These were young men INSPIRED by science, and wanting to create a new type of hero BASED on science, but I don't think you can expect them to have had the kind of knowledge we have today.)

Another thing: one or the other of them (can't remember which, I think it must have been the artist, Shuster) was actually into the new-fangled "science" of bodybuilding at the time (mid 30s). He drew inspiration from the guys he was seeing in the gym, and himself aspired to that kind of body.

Whatever, the point is, Supes is a big and bulky (but not freakish, highly "cut" or defined) guy, for whatever reason, that's the way he was originally designed, and that's how he's always been, until the more recent fads for extreme definition and vascularity came along.

@gtrman
Yeah I agree with that, I love Quitely's interpretation!
RoClover
RoClover - 2/14/2010, 3:21 PM
@statechamp00

I think it's because the costume that Routh wears has a neckline that circles his neck rather than cuts it into a square shape that you see on most Supes drawn or acted on-screen. The square cut accents his square jaw and also thickens the neck. Plus the cape, where it attatches to the costume in straight lines alone that same square shape, helps.
Magicfingers
Magicfingers - 2/14/2010, 3:38 PM
@jusme6- I knew Supes would win. My friends, who are all Batman fans, say that Bats would win. I look at them and say "You need a helmet if you think that is the truth".
@gtrman- Stuart Immonen- Great, Frank Quitely- Good, Alex Ross- Godly... There isn't an artist alive that can test him.
phenomenon
phenomenon - 2/14/2010, 4:18 PM
@gurugeorge........ I only moan on top of my girlfriends!!lol

and don't take me too seriously........ not even my girlfriends do.....lol

and that's the way it should be...... bulky, but not like nowada's topbuilders! like ..... routh for example....lol
CorporalHicks
CorporalHicks - 2/14/2010, 4:33 PM
Just have David Puddy play superman. I though about it today. I think he has the look. Just maybe older than most people want.
Magicfingers
Magicfingers - 2/14/2010, 10:58 PM
SHAZAM! LOL
comicb00kguy
comicb00kguy - 2/15/2010, 7:51 AM
jusme: thanks for that batman v. superman comic towards the top. Funny stuff!
jusme6
jusme6 - 2/15/2010, 10:02 AM
@Access: They're real to me!
@Comicb00kguy: You're welcome!
MovieMisfit
MovieMisfit - 2/17/2010, 2:01 PM
Everybody feel free to check out my first fan cast: Superman Reboot. http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/TonyDarkSite/news/?a=14972

SIG REMOVED.

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