Doomsday CAN work

Doomsday CAN work

How and why Doomsday can work as a "solo" villain in Snyder's Superman: The Man of Steel, and this movie only.

Editorial Opinion
By ThunderCougarFalconBird - Feb 09, 2011 02:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Man of Steel

After months of fan casting, rumour reporting and plain old wishful thinking, we finally have our Superman in Henry Cavill. Rather than wiping the foam from the fanboys rabid mouths, this has increased our hunger for knowledge regarding this movie which looks set to make or break the man of steel's future on the big screen. High on our hit list is the casting of Lois Lane along with confirmed plot details. An official plot synopsis will give us the greatest prize we long for...the villain(s).

The fan base is largely divided between two villains, Brainiac and Doomsday. There are some who long to see Superman finally throw down the way we know he can. The deflation the last movie outing left us with along with the advancement in modern FX demands this and Doomsday seems the obvious choice to deliver. But then there's the other side of the coin. Do we want a straight out slug fest for two hours? Brainiac can provide Superman with a physical threat whilst delivering a more cerebral movie experience. But would Doomsday on his own be such a mindless movie? I think not.

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos


Before I get too much further into this I think it's important to say a Doomsday movie doesn't have to mean the death of Superman. Nolan, Snyder and WB are hardly going to reboot a franchise with killing Superman. There are also the "other" people to think about. The movie goers who like Superman but don't have the inside knowledge on the character. The last time they saw the man of steel on screen what happened? He died. He was  on a hospital bed with no life signs, leaving the world wondering, "is he gone?" The general public don't want another movie with the same scenario, no matter how well it is done. Do we want them thinking "another Superman movie, wonder how he's going to die in this one?". No, we don't want Superman to die and just because he's up against Doomsday doesn't mean he has to.

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So how can a movie focusing on a walking tank give us a thought provoking cinematic experience worthy of Christopher Nolan's previous work? To answer that question, we need to look at all the information we have heard regarding this movie so far. All the rumours suggest a story close to the Bithright novel so I'm assuming this is accurate. 

Before people start moaning, this is NOT an origin story as such. Kal-El's origin can be told in the opening credits or in one simple scene. What Birthright  shows us is why Clark Kent decides to wear a colourful suit and become Superman. This is something that has never been seen in cinema.

I believe this personal journey of Clark's is almost enough for a great movie. Exploring how he is trying to find his place in the world, seeing the needless suffering people are subject to and deciding to declare himself to the world. There is a lot of action that can be enjoyed as Clark travels through war torn countries and a great internal conflict to display on screen as he struggles with his identity. After his choice to become Superman he is met with fear and scepticism by the world. Something needs to happen for Superman to prove his loyalty, something big. Throughout the movie we have been witness to a certain multinational company headed by a bald man uncovering something deep in the earths crust. It is now awake and causing a small inconvenience, to put it mildly.

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Doomsday, locked in a suspended state crashed into the earth after Krypton exploded just like Kal-El. But Clark was sent in a craft able to guide and land itself on Earths surface, Doomsday's capsule was thrown, unguided with nothing but gaining momentum and buried itself deep underground.

Superman must now put an end to the creature that represents all that is evil from his home planet. Fighting the toughest test he has faced to win the publics trust. During the fight he learns who uncovered Doomsday and flies off to talk to the man responsible. Expecting an apology from a businessman who made an honest mistake, he is met by a ruthless man angry at the loss of his greatest discovery and even more livid over Superman's survival.

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You see, I think there is more than enough there to give the most hardened fanboy a movie that satisfies him in every way, barring the sort of satisfaction one gets from one of Teabags private collection.

Sure, there are other villains who can easily fit into this story arc. But they can all hold an entire movie by themselves where as Doomsday can't. This is the only chance I can see for Doomsday to go solo, as much of the story is Clark's self discovery.

Yes, we will more than likely get Brainiac, and we all know that will be epic. But to avoid future overcrowding of a movie, let's see Doomsday do his thing!!



Please excuse the basic layout and any mistakes. My computer has died on it's arse and I've done this article using my phone! Thanks for reading


Stay classy!

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ThunderCougarFalconBird
ThunderCougarFalconBird - 2/9/2011, 2:58 PM
@LEE - could you throw the following image in as the teaser pal?

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

Thanks bud!
TheAwesome
TheAwesome - 2/9/2011, 3:29 PM
Cool.
PaulRom
PaulRom - 2/9/2011, 3:53 PM
I think if they're gonna go ahead and do a trilogy (which is inevitable), then they should have Doomsday at the third movie, and from there do a live action version of Superman Doomsday. Have Braniac in the first film and Darkseid in the second, with Lex Luthor behind the scenes in every movie.
golden123
golden123 - 2/9/2011, 3:57 PM
I can't wait to find out who the villains are. No matter which ones it happens to be I think this movie will be great. I'm actually wanting to know what characters are going to make up the supporting cast, more. Superman's supporting cast is one of the best features about the character, and since this is a reboot I would hate to see them waste such an oppurtunity as to have those great background characters.
LP4
LP4 - 2/9/2011, 4:08 PM
Brainiac or Doomsday...either one of those 2 would be great in my opinion. Darkseid seems like a villain too massive for this film- maybe save him for a teamup film ala- JLA perhaps in the future.

I think a Doomsday flick could work...only if a smarter villain were to pull the strings ala- Lex Luthor.

Before haters start slamming Luthor. I honestly feel Luthor could work well not just as a "partner" type but also as a solo villain. Just put him in the battle suit. He does i admit work better as a "partner" type but if the damn filmmakers had just used the REAL Lex Luthor I doubt everyone would be so opposed to the idea of Lex returning.
LP4
LP4 - 2/9/2011, 4:35 PM
@Ron- I love your write-up. A friend and I (he aint a Superman-fan, he's a GL-fanboy LOL) we both came up with a cool way to approach the introduction of both Brainiac AND Doomsday in the film together. If it sounds too contrived, let me know but what we're thinking is...

Superman battles Doomsday and defeats him. Brainiac discovers Doomsday and beams him into his ship. He rebuilds Doomsday with Brainiac-styled armor and sends Doomsday to attack Superman.

I figure that would be a cool AND modern way for Snyder to approach the new film. As for Lex Luthor, just have him there in a Luthor Corp building watching the devastation from his office.
golden123
golden123 - 2/9/2011, 5:01 PM
@LP4: Or they can loosly base this movie off the Doomsday Wars story arc. A great story that features both brainiac and Doomsday. Your idea is good and I think it could be turned into a great film, but it reminds me of the Doomsday Wars. So if the idea to the film is like yours then why not just do Doomsday Wars.
Scarecrow44
Scarecrow44 - 2/9/2011, 6:14 PM
I would rather have a villain liek Metallo or Parasite to start off. Doomsday in a later film.
steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/9/2011, 6:44 PM
@LP4

gotta disagree with you there bud. And with the article. I dont think it would work, I dont want it to work, if I see Doomsday, superman better die.

Snyder follow the comics to the letter, he wouldnt reinvent an amazing story. That's why Doomsday wouldnt work on this movie now. May be on the 3rd or something. May be, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay be loosely introducing doomsday somehow, showing him being "done" or put together, in another planet, could work.
LP4
LP4 - 2/9/2011, 7:07 PM
@golden123- Haha cool ya I see ur point! Snyder may as well follow Doomsday Wars, thanks for taking the time to read my take! And good suggestion on the story.

@steelrocks- Ya for a while I didn't want doomsday much either. But eh...he is a cool villain- if done right and I figure having him and brainiac together would be epic. Basically if it came down to Doomsday or Zod...i would prefer Doomsday. At least it is sumthing different. I mean we already had Zod in the old films. But Brainiac is my top choice by far =)
golden123
golden123 - 2/9/2011, 7:13 PM
@steelrocks: The Death of Superman is just the most famous and monumental Doomsday story; however, it was not the best. That title has got to go to Doomsday Wars. It seems like the only thing Doomsday is known for and the only reason he is popular is because he was the cause of Superman's death and caused a whole bunch of storylines based off that. The thing is I don't see The Death of Superman being turned into a movie coming out really well. I think a more intelligent, better story should serve the character of Doomsday better.
LP4
LP4 - 2/9/2011, 10:49 PM
Brainiac/Luthor teamup is what I really want. but I still think if Snyder could pull off having- Brainiac, Luthor AND Doomsday somehow and make it work...that would be so epic.
steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/9/2011, 11:19 PM
yeah if they show Brainiac and Luthor mainly and working together, and the last 5 seconds of the aftercredits scene shows doomsday I would piss my pants. Then yeah that would be amazing
steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/9/2011, 11:21 PM
@golden123 precisely bro. I want to see that monumental story, I want to see exactly that plot. I would love to see a badass doomsday and a badass fight. Superman dead, and all the other superman "back-ups" popping up.

come on dude, look at my nickname. I wanna see this mofo on the big screen
LP4
LP4 - 2/9/2011, 11:49 PM
@steelrocks- Couldn't agree more, Steel is badass. I feel he got a bit...shafted in his film from the 90's. -_-
Knightstalker
Knightstalker - 2/9/2011, 11:59 PM
Hey steelrocks, your hero had his moment in the sun, refer to Shaquille O'Neil. Maybe they can reboot that one too.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
ThunderCougarFalconBird - 2/10/2011, 12:02 AM
Cheers guys, some great ideas coming through. I honestly think Brainiac is going to be the main villain in this movie. I just wanted to answer all those people who say Doomsday can't be a solo villain.

Doomsday can work as a part of a larger story arc featuring Brainiac or even Darkseid but it needs doing right. We don't want Doomsday turning out like Venom do we!!!

Darkseid is a villain too big for this movie unless he is a continuous character in a trilogy, in which case he is likely to use other villains to do most of his dirty work. Maybe he sends Doomsday to "prepare" Earth. But mainly I think Darseid would provide Superman with the perfect reason to assemble the Justice League.

Luthor needs to be present but not in your face...yet. He needs to have a part to play, either as a puppet master or have his business as a catalyst for events (unearthing Doomsday, etc). All the time he is planning to bring down Superman but he is never confronting him until later on where he could have his battle suit. Another good idea would be (much like the Doomsday animated feature) to have Luthor find a blood sample and clone Superman which results in a modern take on Bizzarro.
Apharmd
Apharmd - 2/10/2011, 12:20 AM
If it's half as good as this, yes we want Doomsday!

steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/10/2011, 1:00 AM
LP4, that was a bad interpretation of steel, no comments there.

@Knightstalker yeah that's gotta turn into ashes, they should reboot it in the right time. Like marvel is doing, if they do this, they can make 1000 movies in the same universe.
steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/10/2011, 1:01 AM
everytime I see routh, I wanna puke.
ManofSteel23
ManofSteel23 - 2/10/2011, 5:37 AM
It still doesnt seem like a 2 hour film even what you just said,it will get borin just seeing him go from country to country thinking hmmm do I want to wear this suit..nahhh leave it for an hour of the movie..then he only decides to go when he some how hears doomsday has been released then goes to metrop and has a big fight the end...sorry to me thats sounds shit and sounds like The Incredible Hulk plot...
ManofSteel23
ManofSteel23 - 2/10/2011, 5:44 AM
Basicly doomsday CANNOT work in a film yet,specialy since this is the first,you lot have got to think what if he uses doomsday and the film is shit,then once syder goes away cos hes failed your gonna think oh well we had the best superman,best villian,best fight and it still sucked superman is doomed *no pun intended*,so yeah i say keep it simple and just have a simple villian he can have a rough fight with
Trapdinsteel
Trapdinsteel - 2/10/2011, 5:58 AM
@Ron - Good article and I agree that Doomsday would be great in a Superman movie, however I feel more in line with PaulRom that it should be the third installment of a trilogy.

We've heard from Snyder that this first film will re-establish why Superman is relevant and have action. With that said this is how I would like three films to go:

1 - Birthright adaption ending by a battle with Metallo (created by Luthor in the background)

2 - Luthor, the rich businessman, realizes that Kryptonite weakens Superman and stays in the background of this movie again, mining the world for its kryptonite supplies (which he can also use for weapons technology) while Superman faces off against Brainiac. Could also be some team-up interaction between Luthor and Brainiac. This film MUST end with or roll after the credits showing one of Luthors mining sites as a familiar growl comes to life after sunlight peaks into the abandoned crypt and a shrouded fist punching its temporary "cage".

3 - The epic Doomsday movie that we have all been waiting for building up just like the comics did, slowly as the animal unleashes its destruction. THIS would be an opportunity to introduce other DC superheroes that try to take on Doomsday and fail in his path to metropolis. Eventually, Superman dealing with other conflicts around the world realizes what is happening and the battle is on like donkey kong. Once the beast is defeated and Superman takes his last breath assured that doomsday is done, they have funeral for a friend and the other DC heroes vow to never let something like this happen again forming the JLA to team up in extreme situations. After the credits, Lois goes to Supermans grave/statue that is built in his honor and his tomb is open and empty...the end.

Next superman movie would be the 4 Superman and then ultimately his real "Return". But with the JLA established now as well that opens up the possibility for other hero solo films and variations of JLA matchups
Dev26111974
Dev26111974 - 2/10/2011, 9:20 AM
Dear Warner Bros.

Please make a Jor-El movie more intergalactic as the star wars movies basically the very beginning of the
Man of Steel.

Where Jor-El is trying to save Krypton from the clutches of Dark Seid but gets betrayed by his own brother Zor-El and best friend General Zod with subplots for the man of steel with Zor-El's built Brainiac in search of the Green Crystal which runs the fortress of solitude (Eternal Battery given to Jor-El by Green Lantern Corps as a honorary gift of good will & bravery ) and Dark Seid's plan to make an army of Doomdays so he can rule the universe (one escapes / or is not destroyed ), Programmed to kill Jor-El with his DNA input in his head (Doomsday mistakes Kal-El for Jor-El later in man of steel) and General Zod scheming
to destroy Krypton so he will be ruler of Kandora but ends up destroying both ignorantly unaware of Dark
Seid's mission to get rid of all kryptonians & Kandorians right before being Frozen in the Phantom Zone
along with Kara Zor-El who scarifies her life to help Jor-El to trap him, Ursa & Non together with all the
other Phantoms/Criminals of the universe.

As and when they do break free (Mistake of Kal-El of course while trying to save earth) she is released
also and helps superman get all of them one by one back in the Phantom Zone.

The Kryptonite which explodes thru out the universe creates mutated Super Beings like Grandy , Humanoid ,
Parasite, Kryptonite Man...etc..etc.. list goes on..with different locations around the universe for more sequels.

At Earth radiation from Kryptonite effects many humans including Lex Luthor increasing his brain capacity
but also giving him a cancer like disease ( Losing Hair ) for which he holds Superman responsible and with
his intellect he makes Machines ran by Kryptonite like Metallo and creates Bizarro by altering Superman's
DNA & plots the Nano-Tech Shape Shifting Amazo with the help of Brainiac's technology.and of course the
Super Suits he uses to kick Superman's ass included in the movie.

To do this.. Will need more then a trilogy to finish. with villains that can really make Superman bleed Black
& blue with blood is going to go well with public. who can finally see superman kick some serious ass as
he is boxed up in earth not able to use his full powers afraid he will do more damage then good.
(living in a paper box syndrome).

I really hope this can help anyone with the direction i want to see Superman/Jor-El. thanks.
Trapdinsteel
Trapdinsteel - 2/10/2011, 9:52 AM
@Apharmd - You are probably correct, doesn't mean I still wouldn't want to see that though!

However without the Harry Potter Tent Pole anymore and Nolan's Batman movies coming to an end...a successful Superman reboot with Cavill could kick things off in full motion for Superman/JLA/Other DC characters. One can hope.
steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/11/2011, 1:36 AM
@Trapdinsteel

Totally agree with you. There's gotta be a JLA movie before your n.3, as in the comics, doomsday decemated JLA before killing superman
Nemesis0FCoLum13us
Nemesis0FCoLum13us - 2/11/2011, 3:58 PM
From what I understood about the short lived Tim Burton Superman having both the characters of Brainiac and Doomsday was planed as the villains of the film. Basically the idea was for Brainiac searching for the Last Kryptonian or planning to destroy the earth and through the use of Kryptonian DNA creates Doomsday as his champion to fight off the Man of Steel.

In whatever scenario the writers conjure up there does seems to be a great necessity for this particular DC/WB hero to carry his own weight. Especially the only successful movie franchise is the Batman series. Although, it is not Superman's fault that he does not have as interesting a rouges gallery as the Dark Knight.

However, it does seem interesting that the Superman franchise as of late suffers a very similar fate to that of the Incredible Hulk. Both characters are the strong man champions of their label but can't get a decent movie deal. At least not since the 70's and 80's.
Akercocke
Akercocke - 2/11/2011, 5:29 PM
I'm cool with Doomsday, but I'd love to see Darkseid.
Masterkalel
Masterkalel - 2/12/2011, 4:13 PM
DOOMSDAY!!!!!!!!!!

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