Thanks for the read!!! Always open to critique!
*This is a fun specualtive pitch. Ideas and concepts that act as a platform. The finer details aren't really present, like they would be in a script, but they can sort of be stripped and/or created from these larger concepts. I don't get to deep into those particulars, but I do know what they are, so feel free to ask me about them if need be.
Yes, it’s one of those. The old fan fiction, re-imaginings. Have you ever had a fantasy about re-imagined versions of your favorite characters or universes? Yes, you have. Don’t lie to yourself, you know it to be true. Search your feelings. This is what I do in my head when I can’t help but visualize the number of different stories, adventures and plotlines characters can become involved in. I've recently been thinking about the DCEU and how it all began.
My re-imagining begins with Superman. It’s important that he is the lynchpin of the universe. My concept is to set him up as a lightning rod of sorts that attracts tons of attention. Seeing Big Blue streaking through the sky, and how one might take comfort in knowing that he’s out there, always out there, watching over us all, ready to leap into the fray at the first sign of trouble, is something that will shake up the entire world. It’s important that the story is still personal and not too grand in scale, but still has a grave threat that's worthy of The Last Son's feats.
The aesthetic of the film is to be one brimming with a sense of wonder, exaltation and romance. It’s a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. This would be Sam Raimi's Superman in terms of tone. This film is heavily inspired by Superman: Birthright, All-Star Superman, Superman: The Animated Series and Superman For All Seasons.
The film will jump between varying time periods. It’s an origin story, but I don’t want it to play out like the usual. I think it’s better to find out hero in a certain place in time and see how their origins inform on them in a trying time.
A CHARGE TO KEEP – ACT 1
The opening of the film would have us meeting Superman trying to save lives during a devastating hurricane in Southeast Asia. Superman has been operating in the world for nearly a year. He successfully stops the environmental disaster. Superman spends days, helping the wounded, finding those trapped under rubble. While there, he’s questioned by the media on his thoughts concerning his divisiveness in the world and primarily verbal attacks from industrialist and astrobiologist Lex Luthor, who questions Superman’s significance to the Earth. He believes Superman makes humanity too reliant and that he’s an insult to the ingenuity, power and evolution of man. Superman makes it clear that there should be no issue when it comes to lives saved. “My primary goal is to save lives. I won’t apologize for doing what’s right.”
All of this contention causes Clark to seek solace. After he’s done doing all he can, he soars over to Africa. There, he visits a grave in a sprawling and beautiful field. He pays his respects and thinks back…
1 YEAR AGO
Clark Kent, 25, foreign correspondent for Galaxy Broadcasting System (GBS). He’s a jack of all trades doing photojournalism, written work and camera work with his team. We find Clark covering civil unrest in Northern Africa in the country of Zambesi. Clark is a recent college graduate who’s been doing foreign correspondence for a few years. This is his first coverage of a conflict. He’s knee deep in this African skirmish, trying to get photos. Clark Kent being an established reporter long before Superman comes into Metropolis and the journalist dons his hat makes more sense of him passing his dual personas off without people catching on, in my opinion.
During his travels, Clark has conversed with his mother, Martha, having face time conversations and sending her trinkets from his travels. He’s also kept in contact with his high school love, Lana Lang, doing the same. He’s shared his experiences and how he’s been forced to use his abilities under some circumstances. This has caused fear in those he saves as they’re afraid of his power. So, he’s dialed it back recently, out of fear of feeling isolated by his powers. Splice in pieces of Clark’s time as a child and teen here. As Clark and his mother, and Lana, correspond back and forth, we learn of his time helping people in the past in Smallville, parallels with instances where’s he’s helped folks while working abroad.
Surprisingly, Clark is aware of his alien origins. He carries a dense crystal with him, shaped in the
Superman crest, that houses a hologram that arrived with him when he first came to Earth. The hologram tells him of the storied history of Krypton, informed to him by his mother, Lara and father Jor-El. He studies it day in and day out learning things about Kryptonian science, fashion (the suit that was placed with him in his ship, is customary attire for the head of one's familial house) and much more. His mother was a historian and his father was a scientist. Clark has constantly watched this message for years, over and over. He’s not privy to anything more than this hologram and the info it provides (like the destruction of his homeworld). But seeing the crest of the House of El, emblazoned on his mother and father’s chest, has stuck with him for years.
A special something, we learn about Clark is that as kid he would fly high above in the sky. Near the stratosphere of the world and he would listen. Listen to the world around him. He would hear everything. But the pain he would hear, those in danger, would stick with him. This is where his need to do good originated in a way. As he aged he knew he couldn’t expose himself too much, but he could do things that brought attention to terror, pain, crime etc. So, he decided to be a reporter.
Back to the present...
Back in Africa, Clark has grown especially close to a collective of people fighting for peace in their war-torn village during his time in Africa. He’s reporting on a tribe that is looking for equal representation in the government run by another more radicalized tribe that is exploiting conflict resources including lumber, oil, diamond, gold, cobalt, oil, among others; these are harvested through terror. Clark learns why he must put his all his extraordinary abilities to use, that he can no longer hide, and that a man of his power can make a difference - all this stemming from ordinary people fighting an insuperable and corrupt system.
Clark witnesses the deaths of a few of these individuals. While they were alive and he covered them, he became close with one of their members, who soon discovered Clark’s gifts. Clark heeded the words of one of the members, “The world doesn’t evolve for the timid, the scared, the isolated. If you care about humanity, be a part of it. Good men have a charge to keep. A promise. To make the world better because they were here. I want to be one of those men. You should want that for yourself. The abilities you have, its minutiae Mr. Kent. Some will fear your gifts, question them. But the reflection of a man’s heart is his actions. Never let them question that.”
Its increasingly clear that Clark is a cornfed Kansas farm boy with Midwestern charm. He’s adored by his peers. He brings a piece of himself and his family to some of the people he meets--leaving clothing, cards, pictures. Very down to earth, accessible guy--you feel like he could be your big brother or neighbor. Clark will talk about the impact of doing the stories and the dissonance of going home to a different reality than the stories he’s written about, with his colleagues.
The main purpose of this first act is to show how Clark has been traveling the globe to find out where he belongs in this world. He is well aware of his powers at this point, but he’s discovered that even those people he’s trying to help swiftly, meet any demonstration of these powers with distrust and hostility. People look at him and wonder what else he must be hiding. After ending his work in Africa, Clark makes a choice to return home and embark on a new adventure, one that will mean something for the entire world.
Back to the present…
Clark is standing over the grave of the man who gave him good counsel, Kwame Kenyatta. Clark is reminded of the advice he was given. Times are trying and he needed this. Times will soon become even more trying though.
OPENING CREDITS
A montage of Clark’s life will illustrate the opening credits. It will be reminiscent of the Spider-Man 2 opening credit sequence. Recapping the events of the Clark’s journey in an illustrated form inspired by the styles of Norman Rockwell painting. We’ll primarily see Krypton exploding, Jor-El and Lara sending baby Kal-El off at the last second, Clark traveling the cosmos in his ship accompanied by a small meteor shower, The Kents finding him the Kansas cornfields, him using his abilities as a child and a teenager, him flying over his barn kissing Lana Lang, holding Jonathan in his arms as he passes away, traveling the world as a reporter, creating the identity of Superman with his mother, finding the superman suit inside his ship, fine tuning it, donning it, and moving to Metropolis.
*Krypton is a blend between Donner’s depiction and All Star Superman. The people of Krypton dress like the Kryptonians do in the All-Star comic. Krypton itself, is a cold, sterile world full of crystalline structures. Very retro futuristic in their wardrobes. We will see more of this.
We All Fall Short Beneath Him
The second act introduces us to Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. Lois is doing an interview for the esteemed Daily Planet, top newspaper for Metropolis, and is in walking with Lex as they travel through his companies’ labs. Lex is a self-made businessman who has studied the stars for years. He's always had an affinity for astrology. He looked to the stars to escape the harsh reality he endured in his poverty stricken youth in Metropolis' crime ridden Suicide Slum. Lex made Metropolis a modern scientific/technological center. Think San Francisco and Seattle. Two cities that are prominent tech hubs. Its important to know, Luthor is an opportunist. He's become well known for this and wears it like a badge of honor. Escaping the destitution he endured growing up, he had to have this mindset. Being the self-made, self-reliant man that he is, Lex is all about hard work, human ingenuity and the human race progressing on its own.
Lex believes Superman’s appearance is a call to arms for the human race and a question too. He questions humanity’s resourcefulness, its strength, its evolution. Superman is a call to arms for humans to resist reliance upon an alien and to support dependence upon each other. Save one another, don’t wait to be saved. Lois is a staunch Superman supporter but she finds her faith a bit shaken.
Lois, 29, is the ace of the Daily Planet. She’s spunky, talkative, nosy, bull-headed and determined as hell. This is the persistence and sharp wit of Princess Leia and Ellen Ripley fused together. The spunk of Buffy Summers and Hermione Granger. Think Lois from Superman: The Animated Series and Lois from Smallville.
She’s a young up and comer and the face of the Daily Planet. An army brat, Lois has a chip on her shoulder and it shows. Her character is peppered with traits that display this. Lex pushes the boundaries of Lois’ support of the Man of Steel by questioning his nigh co-opt as a political and military weapon; a short time ago Superman was involved in a conflict in Syria, asked to take part by the U.S. military, and takes on a dictator named Gustav. Superman becomes the key force in US foreign policy for a short time. I think it's entirely possible that that could happen in real life, although Superman might limit his cooperation to only certain causes that he thought were particularly good. He quickly causes them to surrender, and forces the regime to sign a peace accord with the Syrian National Coalition. Superman attempts to ensure that a democracy is established. The US disavows Superman as an independent actor they have no control over, but secretly cooperate with him.
Democratic movements are inspired in numerous other countries, causing riots across numerous oppressed countries. Numerous groups appeal to Superman for help. Some governments attempt to appease these movements by offering reforms. These riots possibly lead to civil wars, and Superman might not always be sure which side he should support, or if he should get involved at all.
Lex reminds Lois that Superman now carefully tries to avoid political or religious endorsements, only saying that he's willing to stand with any regime or people that allows free and democratic elections and is tolerant of each other. Lex further explains that, “Americans tend to think that American indoctrination is the 'right' kind, so we're happy to see a super-powered being fighting for "The American Way". If that ideology was replaced with something else, how terrifying would it be for some other nation to be championed by an indestructible, super-powered alien?” Lex is saying Superman’s influence on the status of power is too much and will shake humanity to its knees. That’s a problem. Lois tries to counter with the belief that Superman is genuinely good and hasn’t been anything but. Lex responds that any man, godlike or not, can be manipulated.
Lois finishes her interview and is obviously moved by it. As she returns to the Daily Planet, she runs into Clark Kent, one of the Planet’s human interest reporters. They debate the positives and negatives of someone like Superman. It’s a very thorough and intelligent debate that showcases both characters deepest thoughts on the matter. Clark is in awe of Lois and has fallen hard for her. We get a good look into this, by seeing how Clark will get caught glancing Lois’s way, reading her work at his desk and leaving a cup of coffee at her desk every morning. Clark and Lois have a cat and mouse relationship of sorts. There’s a respect and admiration at the heart of it though. Jimmy Olsen, a young photographer, is a close friend of Clark’s who spends a little too much time at Clark’s desk. Clark and Jimmy are actual good friends who have a humorous rapport. The Daily Planet is a place that Superman cherishes. It’s his job but it’s also the central hub of his life as Clark. He immerses himself into the work and social aspects of it all. He loves it.
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor has been up to something, as he always is. We discover he’s been sending signals of Superman footage into space, looking to incite some sort of reply. And his messages finally get a response of sorts. Two lost Kryptonians, Pax-Ur and Vala, are stranded in space when they intercept the signals and see a flying man with the House of El symbol on his chest. Intrigued, they make their way to Earth. Its important to note, the signal was intercepted and picked up by their ships thought to be nonfucntioning A.I. construct…Brainiac. Brainiac was an artificial intelligence that was created from the brainwaves of Vril Dox, a rogue Coluan who came to Krypton some time ago, and shrunk & stole Kandor. He was killed by the Kryptonian military but his intelligence was valuable and his brainwaves were copied and used to construct Brainiac, Krypton's primary A.I. that ran the planet.
Pax-Ur and Vala believe they picked it up the signal though. Brainiac had played dormant once Krypton exploded...because it aided in its destruction. When Brainiac discovered the planet's sun was dying and prime to explode, it usurped all of the knowledge on the planet and escaped by underhandedly installing itself in the ship of Pax-Ur and Vala; far off world as the two were far off on a mission. This A.I. contacts Lex Luthor and infiltrates his systems. He comes under the pretense of a peaceful exchange of knowledge with LexCorp. Lex wrestles with his disdain for anything alien, but notices the advantage foreign alien knowledge could provide him. So, he agrees to let Brainiac transfer information into his systems. Brainiac is secretly hoping to learn more about the flying Kryptonian, Superman. Lex soon discovers that this knowledge he's receiving is tied to Superman and now he has a leg up on the alien.
Best of Krypton
Superman is present at his Fortress pf Solitude, a cavernous ice cave deep in the North Pole. It’s been terraformed to parallel the crystalline structures of Krypton. Superman’s ship came with the proper terraforming tech to do so. The fortress is full of inventions by Clark. Its also inhabited by robots Clark has created that watch over the fortress and monitor global activity. Its very All-Star Superman inspired. Superman is a thinker, an inventor and an intellectual of sorts. He’s very interested in all sorts of things. We see him experimenting with space travel as it is he longs to travel the stars. He's managed to make his first recent sojourn to a galaxy not too far away and even encountered some unique alien animals. He's cataloged a number of the alien speices he's captured.
The robots get word that there’s trouble in Metropolis. Two kryptonians are running amok in the city. Superman races there and is startled to see others like him. They’ve been bombarded by yellow sunlight for the first time and can’t control their abilities. Their heat vision is running rampant and their senses are being overloaded. Superman aids them and begins to acclimate them to Earth. He takes them to the quiet fields of Smallville, somewhere tranquil. The two assumed the signal came from Superman and came to look for him. Superman doesn't know anything about any signal. He's always had to struggle with his yearning to search for Krypton and his duties on Earth. He does wonders who sent it though.
The rest of this act would deal with Superman learning that these two are law enforcement officers charged with trapping rogue Kryptonians and jailing them in the Phantom Zone. They even show Superman the small Phantom Zone projector, a crystal they carry with them. They’re ship had been damaged on a distant mission and they couldn’t make contact with Krypton. Superman would then connect with his people. Pax-Ur and Vala would sympathize with Clark's struggles growing up without his people; being a god among men.
Brainiac then makes himself known. He plans to miniaturize the planet's foremost cities and collect them. Lex learns of this double cross and attempts to destroy the ship, source of Brainiac, that brought him here. The ship is indestructible under our sun. Lex then reveals that his investigation into Superman allowed him to discover kryptonite, small meteor fragments all over the world with a connection to Supes biology. A few of these meteorites fell to earth 27 years ago along with Superman. These fragments weaken the Man of Steel. Luthor kept this as a last resort type of thing, but reveals it must be used to destroy the ship and Brainiac. Superman, Pax-Ur and Vala all unite to stop Brainiac who’s commandeered all sorts of military tech to stop them. Also, Superman and the Kryptonian duo learn from Lex that Krypton perished. Lex revels in the pain he causes Superman. Lex has developed a kryptonite warhead, comprised of all the kryptonite he has, to take out the ship. Superman, Vala and Pax-Ur take the warhead up to detonate after dismantling Brainiac’s defenses. The world watches and waits.
Lex booby-traps the timebomb by not lining the warhead's hull with lead to supress the kryptonite radiation from weakening the Kryptonians. As Clark, Pax-Ur and Vala have been taking the warhead into space, they've slowly been growing weaker and weaker. Lex tracks their progress and when they reach the ship, he uses a a local satellite he owns to open fire on the trio, hoping to keep them hindered until the bomb detonates and he rids himself of the alien scumb. Vala and Pax-Ur make a sacrifice of sorts by using their remaining strength to shield Clark from the rapid fire from the weaponized satellite and push him back into the Earth's orbit as the warhead detonates. As they shield him, they let Superman know he’s the best of Krypton and what he’s doing for the humans is admirable. He’s truly needed on this world. Superman makes his way back into space after the explosion and finds Pax and Vala alive...for now. They have kryptonite poisoning and don't have much time. However, Superman ends up finding a way to save the two by sending them into the Phantom Zone, using the projector they introduced him to from their ship earlier on, where they won't succumb to the poisoning since time does not pass in the zone.
The film ends with Superman visiting his mother in Smallville and going to his father’s grave. They have a picnic at the gravesite and talk with Jonathan, reciting another tale of the Adventures of Superman. Meanwhile, Lex begins constructing a war suit, based off of the information he got from Brainiac’s download. Its also revealed that a small part of Brainiac survived in Lex's system and that it hid a small structure on the moon on its way to Earth, that houses dozens of small glass encased miniaturized cities. Brainiac then begins the slow process of rebuilding his Coluan body though bio-engineering. Lois receives a tip that Lex was in contact with Brainiac. Superman visits Lex, hovering outside of his building's top floor window. He says he knows Lex booby-trapped the warhead. Lex simply spits at the window.
Post Credits Scene
We discover that Lex still has some left-over kryptonite; a sliver. Its locked away deep in one of his labs. A dark shadowy figure breaks in, takes out multiple guards with precision, and takes the kryptonite, all depicted in silhouette. The figure makes it to the roof as the alarms ring. Asleek but large bat shaped aircraft appears and the figure grapples up to it. In the cockpit, a video screen lights up and an older man appears on it. He asks if everything went well. The figure responds, “Yes, Alfred. I've got my insurance.”