A new Superman movie will be a tough nut to crack considering the last few missteps and ramifications stemming from the lawsuit filed by creators Simon & Shuster’s estates. One can only hope that an origin story will be jettisoned in favor of a complete adventure that will take full advantage of all the state-of the-art advances in VFX and finally give the man of steel his due.
Yet part of me can’t help but feel as if Superman will be given some sort of hack-eyed treatment by parties involved. Superman is the first…. Case 0, where the superhero genre in comics began to explode into popular culture. There is not one place on the globe that Superman’s crest would not be recognized, yet we live in cynical times where people are not so trusting, expect the worst from one another.
Is there a place for Superman in the imaginations of today’s society?
I have been watching Smallville for just over five seasons and the show currently in its tenth and final season continually retreads the mantra of Clark’s journey and the No-tights, No Flights themes set up by its original producers. It’s just that the show runners seem to be running out of ways to rehash the same tired “should I or shouldn’t” themes. Continuity is shredded wholesale in favor of well worn pseudo melodrama.
In short, this program has become a chore to watch. I like Tom Welling as Clark Kent. He projects just the right amount of “Good Will & Earnestness” to convince me that he will be Superman some day. The inclusion of altered versions of other DCU super heroes & characters helps make the show more palatable, but diminishes Clark’s impact.
I’ve been around long enough to have viewed the Superboy and bits of Lois & Clark programs. These shows had the suit and some decent action (Lois & Clark was bogged down by sitcom style writing.). But I keep coming back to the question in front of all of our noses, plain as daylight.
Can Superman be relevant according to today’s standards?
Think about MATRIX REVOLUTIONS where Keanu Reeves NEO character is presented as sort of a twenty first century version of the Man of Steel.
Now look at Tom Welling as the Blur in his dark clothing and trench coat reminiscent of NEO.
In 2006, Bryan singer’s version of The Man of Steel sported muted, burgundy colors in his costume, an overly subdued manner and a love child in an attempt to update him for a new generation. After viewing the film before writing this editorial, I ask myself why Singer felt the need to bring Superman down to ground level. It seemed as though this was the only way the director could relate to this Iconic character. The movie was a moderate if not critical success, but overall … audiences still didn’t “get” Superman.
Chris Nolan does excellent Batman films, no doubt about it …but has expressed some confusion regarding the Superman franchise. He should be a great producer for the franchise and has the clout to get Snyder’s version of the film done with minimal studio interference (I.e.; keep John Peter’s like interference from occurring).
Speaking of John Peters, here is an excerpt from the Kevin Smith’s Wikipedia page on his involvement with “Superman Reborn” project during the nineties:
Superman Lives
Kevin Smith pitched to Jon Peters his story outline in August 1996, in which Peters gave him permission to write a screenplay. However, Peters presented Smith with three rules, such as wanting Superman to wear an all-black suit, feeling the more traditional suit was "too faggy"; not wanting to see Superman fly, saying that Superman would "look like an overgrown Boy Scout." (In order to deal with this, Smith wrote Superman flying as "a red-and-blue blur in flight, creating a sonic boom every time he flew."); and have Superman fight a giant spider in the third act. Smith accepted the terms, realizing that he was being hired to execute a pre-ordained idea. Peters and Warner Bros. forced Smith to write a scene involving Brainiac fighting polar bears at the Fortress of Solitude, and Peters wanted Brainiac to give Lex Luthor a space dog, stating "Chewie's cuddly, man. You could make a toy out of him, so you've got to give me a dog." Smith claims this was because of the recent re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy, and claims that Peters wanted Brainiac's robot assistant L-Ron to be voiced by Dwight Ewell, calling him, "a gay R2-D2 with attitude."
Jon Peters is a SUPER GENIUS
(Fanboy Urban Myth: John Peters name is mud spelled backwards.)
In Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, Jon Peters admitted that the Superman franchise was problematic for him: "The elements that I was focusing on were away from the heart, it was more leaning towards Star Wars in a sense, you know. I didn't realize the human part of it, I didn't have that." He subsequently served as Executive Producer for Superman Returns, the 2006 movie directed by Bryan Singer.
That says a lot about the state of this franchise. I remember reading once that prolific B-Movie Director said of the Star Wars and Superman franchises …”I’d make one every year.” Sounds like the thought process of a B-movie director but it would have been sound logic and money in the bank.
Warner Bros. begs to differ dragging their feet on the project until comic book related movies were vogue again. Hiring Bryan singer away from the X-Men franchise and Fox Studios. Green lighting a project that clearly needed to be re-imagined for Generation Y. Singer’s take on the franchise was overly complicated when a simple action adventure would have sufficed. It is not about placating the fan boys, but simply giving the audience what it wants… “Entertainment”.
Yes, Zack Snyder definitely has his work cut out for him and I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes (well, maybe just a little.).
The world is waiting on baited breath for a New Superman for a New Generation”.
Shadowgeek10 returns to the shadows once more.